National Taiwan Normal University celebrates its centennial anniversary
Bolt Introduces New Features To Enhance Drivers’ Safety
Leading ride-hailing platform, Bolt, is pleased to unveil new features to enhance drivers’ safety in Nigeria!
The introduced features further enforce Bolt’s commitment to drivers’ well-being and will give them more control over their ride performance.
The driver score feature is a transparent metric that allows drivers to better understand their in-app performance, encourages improvements in drivers’ habits, and helps them aim to offer the best possible rider experience. The feature is designed to increase the quality of service, thus being at the core of a positive driver and rider experience.
The driver trip sharing feature which adds an extra layer of safety for drivers allows them to share a link with their real-time journey information. The link can be shared by Email, SMS, or via instant messaging apps and enables any third party with access to the link to track and follow the driver’s ride status and location in real-time.
Commenting on the new features, the Regional Manager for Bolt in West Africa, Ireoluwa Obatoki, said, “Drivers are core to our business, so we are always innovating to improve their experience on our platform. The new features we have introduced add to our in-app customer experience and are aimed at helping drivers have more control of their Bolt rides and maximise their earnings within a safe environment.
The driver score and driver trip sharing features are in line with the entrepreneurial desires of the drivers and improve the overall user experience of the Bolt app.
We believe that drivers want to offer great services to riders. With the driver score feature, drivers can get constant feedback about their performance which will help them improve. The driver trip sharing feature on the other hand will act as a deterrent to people with potential malicious intent against drivers on the Bolt platform. Overall, riders have the best chances of being paired with a driver who is committed to high quality service,” she concluded.
The link generated with the driver trip sharing feature is valid for the current ride. Drivers must issue a new link for every ride if they feel necessary to do so. Links will remain active for up to 48 hours if a ride is not finished. Accessing a link after the ride is finished will notify the user that the link is expired.
Driver score is calculated for every last 100 trips performed by a driver. By default, a driver starts off with the maximum possible score of 100 “good” trips. This score will be decreased if the app picks up behavior that is against good practices or harmful to the rider.
Bolt continues to set the pace with driver experience initiatives in Nigeria’s ride-hailing sector. Recently, the leading mobility platform started the 2022 edition of its Driver’s League competition for new and existing drivers on the platform across Nigeria.
The competition in its third edition is a driver support initiative aimed at celebrating top-performing drivers on the platform by rewarding winners with brand-new cars and other prizes to encourage service excellence. Overall winners will be rewarded with prizes of an overall value of N20 million including brand-new cars as well as home appliances
African Development Bank Sponsor Of African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF)
The African Development Bank returns as a top-tier partner of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) – Africa’s largest agriculture conference – taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, from 6-9 September 2022.
On Monday, the Bank kicked off its AGRF 2022 activities by co-organizing a pre-forum side event focused on the African Emergency Food Production Facility at the Kigali Convention Center. The Bank’s $1.5 billion Facility is an unprecedented, comprehensive initiative to support smallholder farmers filling a food shortfall of at least 30 million metric tons of food – especially wheat, maize, and soybeans imported from Russia and Ukraine. Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Beth Dunford, will deliver opening remarks at the side event, speaking to how the new Facility will provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds, increased access to agricultural fertilizers, as well as help create an enabling environment for investment in building Africa’s food systems.
The Bank has earmarked $100,000 to support this year’s annual AGRF, which will be headlined by African heads of state and government, and will bring together delegates from governments, civil society, the private sector and research communities. The government of Rwanda and the AGRF Partners Group are hosting AGRF 2022, organized under the theme, Grow, Nourish, Reward. Bold Actions for Resilient Food Systems.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine, recovery from Covid-19’s economic impacts and the realities of climate change are complicating efforts to build resilient food systems in Africa. Coming to the continent’s premiere forum related to agriculture with solutions – like the Bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility – affords opportunity to establish new partnerships with a shared vision to feed Africa,” said Dunford.
Dunford will also speak at the Special Event – Agribusiness Deal Room Launch on Tuesday, 6 September at 11:30 EAT and the Plenary Leadership, Finance and Accountability: Advancing National Food Systems’ Pathways later that day at 17:00 EAT. She is also scheduled to participate in the Africa Food Systems Transformation Nexus Roundtable on 7 September at 9:00 and the Special Event: CEO Roundtable: Financing Food Systems Transformation on 8 September at 11:00 EAT, amongst other appearances.
Close to two dozen Bank representatives will join Dunford to participate in several pre-AGRF events, Forum side-events, AGRF plenary sessions, partnership and other bilateral meetings. Highlights include:
Martin Fregene, Director of Agriculture and Agro-industry at the African Development Bank will also join in the African Emergency Food Production Facility side event to offer closing remarks at a session titled, Bringing the latest in appropriate technology to African food systems, SMEs, and farmers: Mechanization, Digital Tools, Irrigation, & Energy on 8 September.
Other Bank participants include Atsuko Toda, Director for Agricultural Finance and Rural Development, who is scheduled to speak at the AGRF Food Crisis Roundtable on 5 September as well as at the Special Event – Agribusiness Deal Room Launch on 6 September. , when the Bank will introduce its new Agri-food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism Special Fund. The Fund aims to de-risk the provision of financing to the continent’s agriculture sector small and medium enterprises, as well as catalyze private investment.
Rwandan Innocent Musabyimana returns to Kigali in his new role as Coordinator of the Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative. Given TAAT’s delivery of proven technologies to help African smallholder farmers grow more food, Musabyimana leads organization of the Leadership for Agriculture and African Emergency Food Production Facility pre-Forum events, and he will participate in the Rolling Out New Research & Innovation for Sustainable Food Systems session on 6 September.
This year, AGRF’s GoGettaz competition that offers $50,000 in prizes to young “agripreneurs” running Africa’s most innovative and scalable business ventures, will have Bank Chief Financial Economist and ENABLE Youth Coordinator Edson Mpyisi as a judge, for the second time running.
The Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Coordinator, Esther Dassanou, has been named as a judge for the Value4Her Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards, and will announce the $20,000 winner of the Young Female Agripreneur category.
Other events include AGRF’s Special Event – Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Session: a new vision for sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation, on 6 September, for which the Coordinator of the Bank’s African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism, Marie Claire Kalihangabo, will serve as a panelist. A separate Africa Food Prize Awards Ceremony at the AGRF Gala Dinner will be attended by Aissa Toure Sarr, Bank Country Manager, Rwanda.
How Business Process Outsourcing Can Increase The Productivity Of Your Workforce
What is Outsourcing in Business?
Since 1989, businesses have used the outsourcing of labor to reduce costs that would otherwise be incurred, regardless of the efficiency of the business outsourcing is transferring responsibilities that should have been handled by in-house workforce to specialized third-party while core business operations are focused on. Third-party providers also called service providers have their employees set to take up roles when hired by an outsourcing company. An outsourcing company is the party that hires an outside company to do tasks its traditional workforce formerly performed.
Outsourcing workforce in business is capital-intensive and less labor-intensive. A business may decide to take this approach for reasons including the urgency of project results which its traditional workforce would probably need training before commencement or shared focus on core responsibilities. Many others outsource workforce in order to reduce paying bills for full-time employees who at times are not engaged. Other cost minimisation includes substituting rigorous labor costs for capital costs. More often than not, outsourced responsibilities are delivered with excellence from service providers and at a price favorable to the outsourcing company. Outsourcing offers the involvement of a wider range of services without having to employ new staff.
Services that can be outsourced range from security, cleaning agents, customer service, human resource, systems management, accounting, financial modeling, payroll, and the list goes on as it best suits a business. Any company may opt to outsource any position, but it should be conscious that some tasks, like monitoring the company’s financial books, are sensitive and should be protected from externalities to prevent the loss of proprietary information.
Types of Outsourcing
- Onshore Outsourcing: as the name implies is hiring service providers in the same country as the hiring company. It is also called local outsourcing. Outsourcing locally is helpful as language may not be a barrier in communication. Other advantages include the opportunity to meet the service providers in-person, having common cultural grounds. However, a business might still choose services not onshore because it is usually expensive outsourcing locally.
- Nearshore Outsourcing: this tells that it is not within a business immediate environment but it is around and close to its reach. This is outsourcing workforce within the same continent or close regions. Due to its lower cost, use of the same or nearby time zones, and reduced shipping delays, it is less unfavorable. The advantages of onshore and offshore outsourcing are combined in nearshore outsourcing.
- Offshore Outsourcing: this kind of outsourcing happens over long distances which is labor and capital efficient. Offshore outsourcing gives an opportunity to employ the best hands in that country not available within the local environment in a cost-effective way yet getting excellent results. Shortfalls to this type of outsourcing includes language and communication barriers, timezone disparities, authenticity of service provider, reliability to deliver when due amongst others
4 Major Areas of Outsourcing
- Technical Outsourcing
For purchase, installation, or maintenance, tools and equipment used in the production industry require specialist knowledge. To oversee system operations, a company may require IT engineers. These are the operational services necessary to control a company’s technical side.
- Process Outsourcing
In order to arrange a company’s processes, such as managing employee interactions, this involves enlisting the help of professionals in related industries. In this sector, outsourcing might be used for the recruitment process, legal process, or knowledge process. In order to achieve the company’s objectives, knowledge process outsourcing includes research, fact-finding, and foundation analysis. Outsourcing legal procedure entails meeting constitutional requirements for services, rules, and legal proceedings. Outsourcing the hiring and discharge of employees, the knowledge of job openings, and recruitment assistance are all included in the recruitment process.
- Multi outsourcing
Employing companies that provide more general services is what this entails. They provide both business and technical services. A few examples are companies that operate under the same brand and provide both security and janitorial services.
- Professional outsourcing
As the name suggests, this is concentrated on hiring the particular capabilities, who are typically with a license to function in that capacity. This comprises chartered accountants, business strategists, designers, and so on. Professional outsourcing makes use of knowledge, contacts, and resources that are not directly held by the business.
Is Workforce Outsourcing ideal?
Growth is typically a significant goal, though company goals and visions vary. However, since some firms like to maintain control, outsourcing might not be the best strategy for all businesses. However, it offers a range of capacities, flexibility to adjust to new working circumstances, emphasizes strength, lower prices, access to high assets, and great talents. The benefits of outsourcing are excellent instruments for expanding a company and successfully achieving business objectives.
EFG Hermes Foundation For Social Development Signs Partnership Agreement With Ministry Of Education
The EFG Hermes Foundation for Social Development, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that supports sustainable, high impact development initiatives to assist local underprivileged communities, has signed a partnership agreement with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, represented by the General Authority for Educational Buildings, to transition 102 schools across Luxor and Aswan to clean solar energy by providing, installing and operating solar panels.
The project is to generate 700 KWH contributing to an annual reduction of 250 tons CO2 emissions.
This comes as part of the country’s national strategy to reduce emissions and increase reliance on renewable energy as part of its National Climate Strategy 2050 and the national initiative Haya Karima. The investment also reflects the Foundation’s holistic strategy and integrated approach in tackling economic, social, and environmental challenges, as it frees up financial resources for injection in other lacking areas by education bodies, contributes to a clean environment, and engages youth in remote regions in climate action.
Major General Engineer Yousry El-Deeb, Director of the General Authority for Educational Buildings said “We’re proud to establish partnerships with private sector institutions that work towards achieving Egypt’s Social Development Goals (SDGs), such as supporting the education sector and addressing climate change. We aim to take advantage of this precious opportunity to develop schools’ infrastructure and make a positive impact by providing long-term, sustainable educational services to all students. I personally commend the Foundation’s tireless efforts to bring about a qualitative shift in the lives of citizens in areas most in need, especially in Upper Egypt, and hope we continue working with the Foundation on other projects that upgrade the education sector and deliver better services to students.”
Mona Zulficar, Chairperson of EFG Hermes Foundation said “Our mission is to improve the lives of people within our surrounding communities and make a sustainable economic, environmental, and social impact in underserved and marginalized regions. Partnerships are an integral component of how we achieve impact, and by working together with the public sector, we want to build Egypt’s resilience and adaptability to climate change as we align with the government’s Climate Strategy for 2050, which fits within the nation’s 2030 vision for sustainable development. Clean, affordable energy is a priority in this vision, and we are committed to allocating development funds towards transitioning to alternative energy sources, as it drives innovation, economic prosperity, and overall citizen welfare.”
Commenting on the partnership, Hanaa Helmy, CEO of the EFG Hermes Foundation and Head of CSR at EFG Hermes Holding said: “We’re very happy to be contributing towards sustainable education through renewables in Luxor and Aswan. By providing schools with clean energy, students are guaranteed no interruptions to their school activities, and by reducing carbon emissions, they can learn in a healthy and safe environment. It’s also an opportunity to create awareness in the classroom on the impact and value of transitioning to clean energy and create a conversation around climate change. We foresee it also opening doors for youth in the field of maintenance and installation services, which will need to be availed for the solar panels systems. It’s an exciting step towards a positive impact that builds a better future.”
The EFG Hermes Foundation has been operational since 2006 in the field of integrated development through partnerships with the Egyptian government, Egyptian education bodies, healthcare providers, and local civil society in Upper Egypt’s governorates, perceived as the most in need areas of development funds. It focuses on education, health, food security, poverty reduction, housing, drinking water and sanitation, and economic empowerment.
Earlier this year, the EFG Hermes Foundation for Social Development entered into an MoU with the Ministry of Social Solidarity to impact the lives of 15,000 people with the rehabilitation of an additional 30 homes in El Deir, Esna and development of waste management infrastructure in Naga’ El Fawal area in the same village. The project is part of an EGP 70 million Integrated Development Project in alignment with the UN SDGs to develop and revamp the rural communities of the Luxor governorate.
Since 2011, EFG Hermes Holding has been making strides to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into all aspects of its operations. The Firm seeks to align its development frameworks with the best international standards and practices, such as the United Nations’ 17 SDGs.
Adron Homes Partners Nigerian Police To Boost Security Presence In Ogun State
Adron Homes and Properties, a leading player in the real estate sector partners with the Nigerian Police Force to give Shimawa and its surrounding communities a strong security presence.
Ogun State Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole inspected the newly built, cutting-edge smart police station and quarters donated by Adron Homes and Properties, just as he commended the real estate giant for providing modern policing facilities in Shimawa, Ogun State.
The police chief, accompanied by the Area Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Ojugbele Adebola, did a general inspection of the building and other facilities put in place for police officers to be deployed to the area, the facilities include a cutting-edge smart Police Station and an elegant Officers’ quarters.
In his address after inspecting the facilities, he commended the company’s effort and lauded its cooperation with the force.
CP Bankole while appreciating the support of the host community for creating an enabling environment for business to thrive, which he said, would give the community the economic strength it deserves commended the Group Managing Director of Adron Homes and Properties, Aare Adetola Emmanuelking for the initiative and support towards the community.
Aare Adetola Emmanuelking in his speech reaffirmed Adron’s commitment to collaborating with the Nigerian Police Force, he said “safety has to be everyone’s responsibility” and that “safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment.”
“Every investment in security is an investment in life,” he continued, “because being conscious also means being responsible, and this is one way we as an organization believe we can demonstrate our resolve and desire to give back to society.
As a home to several of our iconic estates, Shimawa continues to have a special place in our hearts.
The GMD thanked the Nigerian Police Force, especially, Ogun State Command for its unrelenting support in the area of security in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
Arab Nations Demand Netflix Remove Homosexuality Content
Gulf Arab nations have demanded that U.S. streaming giant Netflix removes content showing gay and lesbian characters as it “contradicts Islamic values“.
In a statement released Wednesday, September 7, the Saudi and Gulf Co-operation Council media watchdogs said content, including material aimed at children, violated regulations and was deemed offensive.
While the regulator did not specify the offensive content, Saudi state television aired an interview with a woman identified as a “behavioral consultant” who described Netflix as being an “official sponsor of homosexuality”
At the same time, state TV showed blurred clips from the cartoon, “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” in which two teenage girls confess their love for each other and kiss.
فيديو | #نتفليكس تروج للشذوذ الجنسي للأطفال تحت غطاء سينمائي..
فهل سيحجب #Netflix في السعودية قريبا؟#نشرة_النهار#الإخبارية pic.twitter.com/kxu5zJ20en
— قناة الإخبارية (@alekhbariyatv) September 6, 2022
Saudi state television also aired a segment suggesting Netflix could be banned in the kingdom over that programming reaching children.
The Riyadh-based General Commission for Audiovisual Media’s statement said the content violated media regulations in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which groups Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
If Netflix continued to broadcast the content then necessary legal measures will be taken, it said, without elaborating.
In Saudi Arabia, sexual relations outside marriage, including homosexual sex, are strictly prohibited.
Under the country’s interpretation of Islamic law, consensual same-sex sexual conduct is punishable by death or flogging, depending on the perceived seriousness of the case.
In April, cinemas in Saudi Arabia did not screen the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after Disney refused a request from Saudi authorities to cut what they called “LGBTQ references”.
Redress Design Award 2022 winner of Timberland prize announced amid mounting urgency faced by global sustainable fashion practices
Fashion Designers Win Spotlight For Circular Design Solutions
HONG KONG SAR – ) is the world’s largest annual sustainable fashion design competition. Each cycle, participants from all over the world are empowered through a months-long educational journey to create fashion with minimal waste. We educate designers about fashion’s negative environmental impacts, whilst inspiring them to use the core sustainable design techniques of zero-waste, upcycling, and reconstruction. Through our university talks, sustainable fashion workshops, the online Redress Academy, and in partnership with more than 150 universities around the world, we provide emerging designers with the theory and techniques to help them understand the new circular economy and capitalise on its global potential for the fashion industry.
About Create Hong Kong (www.createhk.gov.hk)
Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in June 2009 to spearhead the development of creative industries in Hong Kong. From 1 July 2022 onwards, it is under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community. CreateHK has been sponsoring the Redress Design Award (formerly the EcoChic Design Award) since 2011 to promote Hong Kong’s fashion design.
*Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.
PetaRush Demo Version Gameplay Announced. Reveal the Blind Box for Free and Run in the Game as NFT Animal Characters
Step 1: Unlock the blind box for Free
No NFTs are required to play the game during the demo version gameplay period. Players can simply download the demo version gameplay via APK or TestFlight, then can log into the game directly and unlock the blind box to get their own animal character to race in games.
Step 2: PVE & PVP
When the players enter the game lobby, they can see and interact with various Peta NFTs. PetaRush has two gaming modes, PVE, and PVP. In PVE mode, players can claim Marscoins, and materials to cultivate Petas. The cultivated Peta NFT can get higher stats in the game and increase the win rate. In addition, players can bring the cultivated Peta NFTs to the METASENS NFT Marketplace to trade and resell them directly to other players. This makes the NFTs can be played for in-game earning, and traded out of the game. During the demo version gameplay period, only the PVP mode is available to the public. Players can play with others as long as two people get matched successfully and start to race.
Step 3: Racing
The core gameplay of PetaRush is simple and easy. Before players’ Petas start a race, they will need to pull a handle of a slot for filling the energy bar. The energy bar consists of four colors, different color combinations bring different skills. The player just has to press one skill button to increase Peta’s running speed, reduce Peta’s physical consumption, or trigger Peta’s attack skills that can temporarily put the opponent in a state of turtle speed.
Every time the player runs a third of the distance, the old energy bar will be emptied and receives a new energy charge instead. In this way, even a player who had a bad start has two more chances to turn the tide. Players can relax in bed and play PetaRush, but if they truly want to win the championship, it still requires a good strategy.
Step 4: Claim Rewards
During the demo version gameplay period, PetaRush Team members have also prepared generous rewards for players. Players can claim rewards such as NFT blind boxes, whitelist qualifications, and PT qualifier tickets if they are in the top 100 of the ranking. In addition, various community activities will be held on PetaRush’s Discord channel. As long as you complete some simple tasks, you have a chance to be airdropped tokens or NFT rewards.
PetaRush provides the players with this demo version to get a trial first. If the player likes it and would like to invest his time in this game, then spends money to buy Peta NFT and become an advanced player. “Keep the risk lowest for both sides,” says Louis, the Chief Creative Officer of PetaRush. “Community is about gathering like-minded people. PetaRush is a fun game and has a healthy economic model. We are confident we will earn recognition from players.”
PetaRush NFTs will be minted on Binance’s Galler NFT platform on September 20th at 0.2 BNB for seven days. Players who own NFTs can use them to log into the game and directly participate in the next closed beta period at the end of September. Players who want to get whitelisted can participate in community activities on PetaRush’s Discord.
PetaRush Demo Version Gameplay Date 9/8 to 9/15
Android download: https://lihi1.com/2XAZe
iOS download: https://lihi1.com/U3a84
PetaRush NFT: https://www.metasens.com/activity/peta
PetaRush Discord: https://discord.com/invite/petarush
Hashtag: #PetaRush #METASENS
About METASENS
METASENS is a Web3 gaming platform funded by Hong Kong-listed Imperial Technology Group. It owns a Web3 gaming platform, an NFT marketplace, and a variety of blockchain games, with the governance token MSU along with the game token to build a sustainable token-economic ecosystem. METASENS team also provides technical support and guidance for blockchain game development and promotion. METASENS aims to provide an open GameFi platform and build a Universal Amusement Park for players worldwide.
METASENS Website: https://metasens.com/





