Nestlé Releases Its 2020 Creating Shared Value And Sustainability Report

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Nestlé Releases Its 2020 Creating Shared Value And Sustainability Report

Nestlé has released its 2020 Creating Shared Value (CSV) and Sustainability Report. This year’s report represents the completion of the majority of Nestlé’s public commitments.

These commitments align with and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They focus on promoting healthier lives for adults and children, improving livelihoods in the communities where Nestlé is present and protecting and restoring the environment. The report also explains how Nestlé plans to close the small gaps on the few commitments that remain.

“We are proud of what we have achieved so far, but now is the time to accelerate our efforts,” said Rob Cameron, Global Head of Public Affairs. “Nestlé will work to create a resilient future for our planet and the communities where we operate.”

The report is verified by Bureau Veritas UK Limited, a widely recognized provider of testing, inspection and certification. It demonstrates how Nestlé is using food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. Nestlé’s most notable achievements include the following:

  • Over 4 900 nutritious food and beverage products for mothers-to-be, new mothers, infants and children, such as plant-based alternatives, have been launched since 2016, with 80 million children having benefitted from nutrition education over the same period
  • Greenhouse gas emissions within its own operations (scope 1 and 2) have been reduced by 36.7% since 2010
  • 90% of its main forest-risk commodities, like palm oil, pulp and paper, soya, meat and sugar, have been assessed as ‘deforestation-free’, as of December 2020
  • 127 550 children have been protected against the risk of child labor through support such as income generating activities, bridging classes, school kits and school renovation and building since 2012

Although Nestlé has closed a chapter on its 2020 commitments, the company has announced new commitments for the future. It has, for example, committed to making 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. It also plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the whole of its operations by 2050.

In December 2020, Nestlé published its detailed net zero roadmap with tangible, time-bound targets to reduce emissions, within and beyond its operations. Achieving this will require radical action across the whole value chain from working with 500 000 farmers and 150 000 suppliers to support them in implementing regenerative agricultural practices. Nestlé is also switching to renewable energy in factories and offices and looking for new innovative packaging solutions for its products.

Since its foundation, Nestlé has strived to create value both for its shareholders and for society. The conclusion of its 2020 commitments is another step in this ongoing journey which Nestlé will accelerate. New commitments will be announced later this year.

Standard Chartered Advocates For Women Empowerment In The Workplace

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Standard Chartered Advocates For Women Empowerment In The Workplace

Standard Chartered Bank recently organised a power-packed stakeholder for its Corporate, Commercial, and Institutional Banking female clients.

Tagged, ‘#choosetochallenge Women’s Roundtable, the attracted over 100 corporate clients from various sectors including manufacturing, technology, corporate real estate, FMCGs, oil and gas and many more.

Speaking at the panel were Asue Ighodalo – Founding Partner, Banwo and Ighodalo Law Firm; Yewande Sadiku, Executive Secretary/CEO Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission; Joke Bakare – Managing Director, Medplus Pharmacy; Bisi Lamikanra – Former Partner KPMG Nigeria and Mobola Faloye – Executive Director/Chief Risk Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria.

Standard Chartered Advocates For Women Empowerment In The Workplace
Panel Of The Day-

All speakers emphasized the importance of organisational support for women in the workplace and the role business leaders play in ensuring women are provided with enabling environments to help them thrive.

A charge was also made to women to courageously challenge societal status quos, gender bias and disparities through excellence in service and responsibilities; dedicated hard work on the job, continuous self-development through the acquisition of relevant skills, creating opportunities for younger female colleagues to learn and grow; collaborating more strategically with each other and with male colleagues and also to proactively take up responsibilities that support their growth and visibility.

 Speaking at the event, Korede Adenowo, Executive Director, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking, Nigeria & West Africa, Standard Chartered said,

“IWD as we know it is a day set aside to celebrate female role models and allies, and an opportunity for us to reaffirm our commitment to gender equality as we continue building an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. For us at the Bank, it is not a one-off celebration but an always-on agenda that we prioritize across our markets especially in Nigeria.

“We always #choosetochallenge: whether its through community programmes like Goal and our Women in Tech incubators, or products and services designed to support female entrepreneurs; we continue to empower women with the confidence, skills, knowledge, tools and opportunities to become leaders in their families, communities and industries.

“As an organisation, we are proud to not only support women but to speak up and take action to fight for gender equality and create a level playing field for all”.

 All through the month of March the Bank will continue to celebrate women through various events and virtual engagement sessions.

World Sleep Day: Mouka Strengthens Commitment To Fostering Consumers’ Healthy Future

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World Sleep Day: Mouka Strengthens Commitment To Fostering Consumers’ Healthy Future

Mouka has affirmed that it will continue in its firm resolve to safeguard consumers’ healthy future through quality sleep solutions, which has always been its hallmark as it celebrates this year’s world sleep day.

World Sleep Day is an initiative of the World Sleep Society to recognize the impact of sleep on human health. This annual event focuses on the effects of sleep problems and the importance of healthy sleep at every stage of the human life cycle.

The company’s standpoint was made known by its Chief Executive Officer, Raymond Murphy while assuring existing and new customers that they can attain a healthy future through regular sleep on Mouka products.

In line with this year’s theme, Regular Sleep, Healthy Future, he said that they been propagating healthy sleep culture through campaigns and quality sleep solutions. This has earned it the endorsement by the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) and the National Association of Orthopaedic Manual Therapists (NAOMT).

According to him, the foremost company would continue to promote consumers’ well-being, which is at the core of its mission Mouka promises to keep innovating and renovating its product portfolio through intensive research and development to cater to varied consumer needs and preferences adequately.

The company created an educational video in collaboration with medical experts to celebrate the 2021 World Sleep Day. In the video, the President of the NSP, Dr Nnenna Chigbo, said in the short term, irregular sleep negatively impacts attention span, memory recall and learning, with increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and weakened immune system in the long term.

According to her, using mattresses and pillows of ergonomic standards keep the upper body aligned during sleep, to prevent aches and pains that can be detrimental to physical and mental well-being.

On his part, the President of NAOMT, Dr Teslim Onigbinde, said regular sleep fosters a healthy future.

He affirmed that regular sleep is not out of reach and can be achieved easily by creating certain habits. These include: fixing a bedtime and wake up time, reducing screen time, especially at night, regular exercise, reduced noise and room lighting at bedtime and comfortable beddings.

In March 2011, the socially responsible company held its inaugural edition of World Sleep Day in Nigeria. Since then, it has continually celebrated the benefits of quality sleep during World Sleep Day.

Mouka continues to add comfort to life through its array of quality products such as Wellbeing Orthopaedic mattresses, Mondeo Plus spring mattress, and an assortment of pillows to help Nigerians sleep well and wake up refreshed.

 

Rolls-Royce And Code First Girls Launch Free Artificial Intelligence Course

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Rolls-Royce And Code First Girls Launch Free Artificial Intelligence Course

Rolls-Royce in partnership with Code First Girls is hosting a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on artificial intelligence and machine learning that is open to anyone.

With record subscriptions of over 500 people, the one-hour MooC launches on March 25th and follows on from The importance of diversity in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning’ podcast released earlier in March (Spotify​, Apple​).

Manisha Mistry, Portfolio Director, Digital Culture and Collaborations at Rolls-Royce, said: “This MOOC is a key element of our partnership with Code First Girls and a further indication of our journey at Rolls-Royce to become the world’s leading industrial technology. Diversity and inclusion are key to that and part of our work with Code First Girls is to ensure opportunities are available to women who want to get into tech.

“This course will give participants a brilliant introductory view of Artificial Intelligence and its importance in organisations such as Rolls-Royce. Just as importantly, they’ll also get access to our R2 Data Labs community to collaborate, practice and share ideas as they learn.”

R2 Data Labs has also just taken on three interns as a result of the Code First Girls partnership. Rebecca Hallows, Hanan Moalin and Isabel Scavetta have all joined from non-technical backgrounds having crossed over into tech from finance, engineering or humanities studies.

Jonathan Hewitt, Growth and Marketing Manager, Code First Girls, said: “Rolls-Royce’s commitment to an inclusive and diverse workforce, coupled with its ethical commitment to technological innovation in next-generation manufacturing and AI applications make it an ideal partner for Code First Girls.

“We are excited to have Rolls-Royce onboard, among over a dozen visionary tech companies, to deliver coding education and career opportunities to women across the world. Together, we will teach 40,000 women to code by the end of 2021, and I’m sure we will achieve many further milestones in the years to come.”

Participants can register for the machine learning and artificial intelligence course here. It builds on the free-to-access Helping You Prepare programme run by Rolls-Royce and its partners, which launched in May 2020 and has seen more than 30,000 subscribers take advantage of the world-class digital training that Rolls-Royce uses for its own digital transformation.

The Danger Within: At Least A Quarter Of Users In South Africa, Kenya And Nigeria Are Attacked By Malware Hiding Within Their Devices

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The Danger Within: At Least A Quarter Of Users In South Africa, Kenya And Nigeria Are Attacked By Malware Hiding Within Their Devices

There is a common misconception that the most dangerous threats to encounter on modern users’ digital journeys are likely to appear during Internet surfing.

The reality, however, based on the most recent analysis of cyberattacks in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria within 2020 by Kaspersky experts demonstrates that users are in fact more likely to face malware-related attacks hidden within their devices.

Such threats are classified as ‘local’, which means they are detected either on users’ devices or on portable data storage devices, such as flash drives. In 2020, 25% of Kaspersky private users in South Africa, 40% in Kenya, and 38% in Nigeria were attacked by such threats. To provide a comparison, web attacks only affected 9% of users in South Africa, 11% in Kenya and 8% in Nigeria.

When looking at corporate users in these regions, the numbers are similar: 23% of corporate users in South Africa, 29% in Kenya and 35% in Nigeria encountered such local threats within 2020.

Unfortunately, there has been an increase in the sophistication of such threats – which may be hiding on the user’s device within a seemingly legitimate file for a while, to fly under the radar, and only strike later.

“The cyber threat landscape across Africa is constantly evolving,” says Denis Parinov, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky. “A few years ago, there were much more drive-by attacks – cases when different malicious software is downloaded and being run while the user simply browses the Internet. Nowadays, most of the web-threats “stays in browser”: they specialise in content replacement, browser locking or clickjacking, online-skimming, cookie stuffing, etc. Now the situation when a user could download a malicious file directly is not too often.

It’s more common for malware to be disguised as something else to hide from the security solutions, remaining an unseen threat to users. The good news however is that modern security solutions are too advanced for such malware to fly under radars – it is more likely to be blocked either during the initial scan of the file by a security solution that happens by default, or within the very moment such programs attempt to launch.”

To protect against cyber threats including malware, Kaspersky recommends keeping to the following guidelines:

Do not follow dubious links from letters, messages in instant messengers or SMS
Regularly install updates for the operating system and applications Install applications only from official stores Use complex and different passwords for accounts.

Regularly copy important data from your device to the cloud, to a USB flash drive or hard drive Do not give applications access to those functions that they do not need Install a reliable security solution such as Kaspersky Internet Security (https://bit.ly/3168MCA)

In addition, companies are encouraged to provide training to improve cyber literacy among their employees. For example, the automated platform Kaspersky ASAP (https://bit.ly/3cZ8frF) helps to develop safe behaviour skills and form sustainable cybersecurity habits.

The solution allows the company to assess the current knowledge of an employee in the field of cybersecurity, and in accordance with this, determine the set of skills that the employee needs, depending on job duties and risk profile, and build a timetable for the program.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kaspersky.

K’nect Mobile: Shoprite Launches Mobile Network With Flat Call And Data Rates

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K’nect Mobile: Shoprite Launches Mobile Network With Flat Call And Data Rates

In a world where data access is a necessity, Shoprite Group moves to launch its own mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), called k’nect mobile, offering competitive rates and several other rewards to customers.

K’nect mobile’s key differentiator is simplicity, with flat call and data rates, and no complicated tiers. Airtime, data bundles and rewards only expire after 60 days, rather than the more common 30-day expiry.

Call and data rates are among the most competitive in the country:

  • 50c per minute all day k’nect to k’nect calls
  • 99c per minute all day calls to other networks
  • 15c per megabyte for any size data bundle, up to 1GB

k’nect mobile also offers the following Xtra rewards:

  • 10% free on recharge
  • 10% Xtra for Xtra Savings cardholders
  • 5% Xtra when recharging via Money Market Account
  • Double airtime rewards on Xtra Savings airtime deals

Users of products in the Shoprite Group’s ecosystem, such as Xtra Savings and the Money Market Account, also stand to benefit by signing up. k’nect mobile customers can, for example, expect free airtime, data or streaming content when swiping their XtraSavings cards at checkout.

Other rewards include early access to Computicket events and tickets, and 100MB free for three months (six months for Xtra Savings members), subject to in-store RICA and activation.

Importantly, customers using a k’nect mobile SIM card will also benefit from zero-rated data on selected Shoprite and Checkers websites and apps, including the Money Market Account, Computicket website and the Group’s jobs portal – all without incurring any data charges.
At

the same time, the move will help the Shoprite Group streamline communication and drastically reduce its internal data costs. Its 141,000 employees are now able to receive communications directly on the Group’s internal app (called SiyaRinga) without the need to reverse data costs.

The network forms part of the Group’s financial services offering, which enables customers to conveniently pay bills, buy cell phones, make money transfers, buy airtime and data, lotto tickets, electricity, and even funeral insurance in partnership with OUTsurance.

“k’nect mobile is part of our ever-growing suite of fintech products designed to better serve our customers. We’ve spent a lot of time understanding how a mobile network can add value to our customers’ lives, and our solution is an easy-to-understand network that offers straightforward call and data rates as well as tangible rewards.” said Jean Olivier, General Manager: Financial Services

The prepaid cellular network has partnered with digital enabler FREI One Digital, and piggybacks off the mobile network infrastructure of Cell C, whose roaming partnership with MTN provides award-winning coverage.

Sony Takes Top Spot In Leading Smartphone Vendors In 2020 – Report

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Sony Takes Top Spot In Leading Smartphone Vendors In 2020 – Report

The global smartphone Image sensor market recorded total revenue of $15 billion in CY 2020, according to the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service report.

Strategy Analytics’ latest research report “Smartphone Image Sensor Market Share Q4 2020: Sony Takes Top Spot But Sees Drop in Share” finds that the overall smartphone image sensor market experienced revenue growth of 13 percent year-over-year in 2020.

Sony managed to take the first position in the smartphone image sensor market with 46 percent revenue share followed by Samsung System LSI and OmniVision Technologies in CY 2020.

The top-three vendors captured almost 85 percent revenue share in the global smartphone image sensor market in 2020. The major CIS vendors drove the sales of high-resolution image sensors to customers.

Jeffrey Mathews, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics says, “The pandemic did little to dent the image sensor market growth as CIS vendors observed strong demand from smartphone OEMs who aggressively adopted high-resolution sensors and higher sensor count across smartphone tiers in 2020. Samsung, OmniVision and SK Hynix continued to take share from Sony as the vendor lost key business owing to sanctions on Huawei.

‘We expect Sony’s market dominance will be increasingly threatened by the rising competition in the smartphone image sensor market.”

Stephen Entwistle, Vice President of the Strategic Technologies Practice at Strategy Analytics commented, “The demand momentum for smartphone CIS, driven by the expansion of multiple cameras and superior photography capabilities in smartphones, will propel the image sensor market growth. However, the semiconductor shortages could create challenges in meeting the CIS demand.”

Source: Strategy Analytics, Inc.

Cardinalstone Capital Advisers Announces Final Close Of Maiden Private Equity Fund, And First Fund Investments

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Cardinalstone Capital Advisers Announces Final Close Of Maiden Private Equity Fund, And First Fund Investments

CardinalStone Capital Advisers (CCA), a Lagos-based private equity fund manager, has announced the final close of its maiden private equity fund, the CardinalStone Capital Advisers Growth Fund LP (CCAGF or the Fund) at US$64 million.

The Fund which recorded its first close in December 2018 and final close in September 2020, was established to support the growth and institutionalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in two of West Africa’s leading economies—Nigeria and Ghana.

The CCAGF is a generalist fund that makes equity investments of US$5 million – US$10 million in high-growth SMEs operating across a range of sectors which include industrials, agribusiness, consumer goods and services, education, healthcare, and financial services. CCAGF investors, which are a mix of commercial and development finance institutions include Kuramo Capital, the UK Government’s CDC Group, FMO – the  Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank Group), the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and a number of high-net-worth individuals.

Cardinalstone Capital Advisers Announces Final Close Of Maiden Private Equity Fund, And First Fund Investments -Brand Spur Nigeria
Femi Ogunjimi-Brand Spur Nigeria

Femi Ogunjimi,  Co-Founder and Managing Director of CCA commented, “We are pleased with the successful close of our Fund in the prevailing challenging environment. We are very grateful to all of our Limited Partners for the resounding support shown through the process; their support is an endorsement of our hands-on approach to building SMEs into sector champions.”

 

The Fund has invested in 2 businesses, iFitness Center Limited (“iFitness”) and AppZone Group Limited (“AppZone”), and will invest in another 6 -7 companies over the next 2 years.

iFitness, Nigeria’s leading and fastest-growing fitness chain, operates with a mission of improving the overall health and well-being of the average Nigerian by providing high-quality, yet affordable fitness offerings.

AppZone, the foremost fintech solutions provider in Africa, provides a bouquet of offerings, developed with proprietary intellectual property, targeted at accelerating economic prosperity across Africa by leveraging technology to deepen financial inclusion.

Cardinalstone Capital Advisers Announces Final Close Of Maiden Private Equity Fund, And First Fund Investments -Brand Spur Nigeria
Yomi Jemibewon

Commenting on both investments, Yomi Jemibewon, Co-Founder and Managing Director of CCA said, “We are excited about our investments in both iFitness and AppZone.

The founders of both businesses have ambitions to disrupt and consolidate key segments of their respective industries and have done an amazing job establishing solid foundations that complement CCA’s brand of bold, yet collaborative, investing.

We look forward to partnering with more like-minded founder/promoter teams towards building businesses with transformational impact across our target markets”.

Solomon Wifa, Partner at Willkie Farr (UK) acted as legal adviser, while Trident Trust (Mauritius) will provide administrative services to CCAGF.

Insider Dealing: Zenith Bank Executive Director Acquires 1,212,160 Shares

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Insider Dealing: Zenith Bank Executive Director Acquires 1,212,160 Shares
Ahmed Umar Shuaib, an Executive Director, Zenith Bank Plc, purchased 1,212,160 ordinary shares of the financial institution.

Insider dealings give clues on insiders’ sentiment and director unlike before the new transparent policy where shareholders do not know what executives that formulates policy that impacts their desire stocks are doing.

In a statement released and signed by the same Leo Okafor, company secretary, Ahmed Umar Shuaib bought 1,212,160 shares at N22.50 per unit on February 24, 2021, bringing the total amount to N27,273,600.00.

Insider Dealing: Zenith Bank Executive Director Acquires 1,212,160 Shares

Again, Zenith Bank GMG/CEO Acquires More Stake in Zenith Bank

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Again, Zenith Bank GMG/CEO Acquires More Stake in Zenith Bank

Zenith Bank Plc on Tuesday disclosed insider dealings of 3,000,000 shares in line with the new Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) policy.

In a note signed by the company secretary, Michael Osilama Otu, and made available through the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the lender said Ebenezer Onyeagwu (Group Managing Director/CEO) purchased 3,000,000 ordinary shares of Zenith Bank Plc, at an average price of N22.50 per unit.

The total amount spent on this amounted to N67,500,000.00 on March 22, 2021.

Previously…

Ebenezer Onyeagwu purchased the 5 million shares in four different transactions on Friday, March 19, 2021, at N22.65 per unit to take the total purchase for that day to 5 million at an average price of N22.41 and a valuation of N112.050 million.

Transaction details:

Again, Zenith Bank GMG_CEO Acquires More Stake in Zenith Bank Brandspurng

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