Day: May 29, 2023

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Zeepay boss is Africa Fintech Leader of the Year again at Ghana CEO Summit 2023

Andrew Takyi-Appiah, the Managing Director (MD) of Zeepay, a leading mobile financial services company, has emerged Africa’s Fintech Leader of the Year for the second year in a row at the recently held 2023 edition of the CEO Summit.

The prestigious award was presented to him before a gathering of more than 500 of his peers, was an acknowledgement of his instrumental role in the growth and advancement of Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic landscape.

Mr. Takyi-Appiah emerged victorious amidst stiff competition from prominent figures in the fintech industry, and the award reflects the high satisfaction of users with Zeepay’s platforms and services.

Expressing his gratitude at the event which had as its theme: ‘Economic Sovereignty, Sustainable Corporate Governance, Digital Industrial Transformation: New Paths for Growth and Prosperity. A Private-Public Sector CEO Dialogue and Learning’, Mr. Takyi-Appiah stated, “Winning this award is a testament to all that African youth are Capable of and have what it takes to build global business.

It means that we the youth in Ghana must be taken seriously as we have indeed taken our destiny into our hands to contribute to build a better Ghana.”

Prior to co-founding Zeepay in 2016, Mr. Takyi-Appiah held key positions at renowned organizations such as UT Bank Ghana, PwC Ghana, PwC UK, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, and GTBank.

With an annual turnover of approximately US$900 million as of 2021, Zeepay has established itself as the largest cross-border remittance aggregator in Africa. Mr. Takyi-Appiah emphasized that this accolade is a testament to the strength of Ghana’s fintech regulations and legal systems, which have contributed to the rise of companies like Zeepay.

“Our customers should expect an improved business, an increase in our distribution network and availability. Going forward our customers should expect affordability in terms of reduced cash-out fees and more product innovation. I would like to dedicate the award to all our customers and staff for believing in the dream and driving it to this growth. I feel great and excited about the additional new markets we have added to the mobile money business,” Mr. Takyi-Appiah added.

This comes as Zeepay also emerged as the number-one company in Ghana at the 19th Club 100 awards. The recognition underscores Zeepay’s exceptional performance and its significant contribution to the nation’s economic growth.

The feat was attributed to the ingenuity of CEO Andrew Takyi-Appiah and as Zeepay’s vision is to expand its presence in the fintech and mobile money space beyond Ghana.

With its innovative mobile financial services, Zeepay has been revolutionizing the remittance and mobile money sectors. The company’s impressive growth and strategic approach have propelled it to the forefront of Ghana’s business landscape. By clinching the top position in the Ghana Club 100 rankings, Zeepay has solidified its status as a key player in the country’s corporate sphere.

As Zeepay looks toward the future, it aims to leverage its success to further establish itself as a dominant force in fintech and mobile money across Africa. With CEO Andrew Takyi-Appiah at the helm, the company is poised to unlock new opportunities and drive financial inclusion on the continent.

Source: Ghana Web

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The BAC Group donates to Bofoakwa Tano and Eleven Wonders ahead of DOL – Zone One Play-Off Championship

Ahead of the National Division One League play-off between Bofoakwa Tano and Eleven Wonders on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, at the Accra sports stadium.

The BAC Group led by Dr. Ernest Koranteng on Thursday morning presented a few items such as packs of Verna Mineral Water and Run Energy drinks to both teams as motivation for the make-or-break tie in the capital.

Speaking after the donation exercise, the CEO of the BAC group praised the technical handlers of both clubs for working hard in Division One League to come this far.

” We’re all proud of your achievements in the last few years. Indeed consistency and hard work pays. Congratulations to both technical teams”.

Eleven Wonders emerged victorious in Zone One A, while Bofoakwa Tano secured their place in Zone One B.

With Nations FC and Kpando Hearts of Lions having picked two of the three available slots for next season’s Ghana Premier League after winning Zone 2 and Zone 3 of the Division One League respectively, the focus has been shifted to Zone One which has been split into Zone ‘A’ and ‘B’ for various reasons to allow for smooth running.

Currently, seven clubs from Zone One, including Aduana FC, Berekum Chelsea, Bechem United, Real Tamale United, Legon Cities, Tamale City, and Nsoatreman FC, are competing in the betPawa Premier League.

Source: Ghana Web

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Sulemana hits double, Paintsil scores again: Performance of Ghanaian players abroad

Ghanaian players in the top five leagues and the Belgium Pro League were in action over the weekend as the Premier League reached the final matchday.

Kamaldeen Sulemana waited until the final day to score his first goals for Southampton, with the others putting in decent performances throughout.

Here is the Footballghana.com wrap of the Ghanaian players abroad over the weekend.

Premier League

Tariq Lamptey was still missing for Brighton when they lost 2-1 to Aston Villa because of his ongoing injury issuees.

Thomas Partey once again started in a right-back role and inverted into midfield in Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Wolves.

Antoine Semenyo was not involved in Bournemouth’s defeat at Everton because of injury.

Jordan Ayew played the entire 90 minutes for Crystal Palace in their 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest. His brother, Andre Ayew came on in the 89th minute for Forest.

Kamaldeen Sulemana scored twice against Liverpool for his first goals for Southampton in a 4-4 draw, ending the season with two goals and an assist in 18 games since joining in January. Mohammed Salisu was not in the matchday squad.

LaLiga

Inaki Williams was decent for Athletic Club in their 1-0 home defeat to bottom club Elche in the penultimate day of the season.

Abdul Mumin played tge full 90 minutes for Rayo Vallecano in their 2-1 win over Villarreal.

Joseph Aidoo lasted the entire game as Celta Vigo lost 1-0 to Cadiz.

Iddrisu Baba played the full 90 minutes for Mallorca in their 3-0 loss at champions Barcelona.

Serie A

Emmanuel Gyasi was on the field for 80 minutes as his side Spezia lost 4-0 at home to Torino.

Alfred Duncan lasted 76 minutes as Fiorentina claimed a 2-1 win over AS Roma.

Ibrahim Sulemana was superb for Hellas Verona in their 1-1 draw at home to Empoli.

Felix Afena-Gyan was an unused substitute for Cremonese in their 3-2 defeat at Lazio.

French Ligue 1

Alexander Djiku was not involved in Strasbourg’s 1-1 draw against PSG because of red card suspension.

Alidu Seidu played the entire duration for Clermont Foot in their 2-0 win over Lorient. Grejohn Kyei was subbed off after 76 minutes.

Salis Abdul Samed played the full 90 minutes for Lens in their 3-0 win over Ajaccio to seal Champions League qualification.

Gideon Mensah finished the game for AJ Auxerre in a 1-1 draw at Toulouse. Elisha Owusu is still missing for AJ Auxerre beacuse of injury.

Bundesliga

Kingsley Schindler was brought on in the 62nd minute for Koln as Bayern Munich beat them 2-1 to win the title on final day.

Ansgar Knauff was not involved for Eintracht Frankfurt in their 2-1 win over Freiburg. Daniel-Kofi Kyereh also missed out for Freiburg because of his ongoing injury rehabilitation.

Christopher Antwi-Adjei was vital for Bochum in their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to avoid relegation, playing the full 90 minutes.

Belgium Pro League

Joseph Paintsil scored a brace for Genk in their 3-1 win over Club Brugge for his 17th goal of the season. Denis Odoi was also played the entire 90 minutes for Brugge while Kamal Sowah was on the bench.

Abu Francis came off the bench to score his second goal of the season for Cercle Brugge in a 4-0 win at Standard Liege.

Source: Ghana Web

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Sunyani West Assembly offers support to students

The Sunyani West Municipal Assembly has offered educational support worth GH?22,000 to 12 brilliant but needy tertiary students in the Municipality.

Each of the students received cheque ranging from GH?1000.00 to GH?3,000.00 to enable them pursue their education in their various institutions across the country to transform lives.

In a short ceremony to handover the cheques to the beneficiaries, the Municipal Chief Executive, Evan Kusi Boadum underscore the importance of education and encouraged the beneficiary students to be motivated by the gesture to take their studies seriously while in school.

He indicated that the Assembly was doing everything possible to improve the standard of education in the Municipality and advised the students to attach importance to their studies.

Stephen Asirifi Darkwah, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to the Assembly for the support.

Source: Ghana Web

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‘Let’s deepen TVET training to create employment’ – Minister

Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, said Ghana must deepen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to provide hands-on training for the youth to address unemployment.

He said TVET offered direct skills and knowledge to help one to become self-employed and create employment for others.

Persons who went through skills training only required start-up capital, but those who passed through the main academic system had to wait to be employed by institutions and organisations, he said.

”Germany has done it with TVET and they have been successful, therefore, if we want to be successful as a country this is the way to go” he said.

Mr Baffour Awuah made the call at the handing over ceremony of business start-up kits to more than 400 young entrepreneurs in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions, who successfully participated in the Business Idea Competition and the ‘Adwumaye’ short-term skills training in Sunyani.

It was organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation, under the German Development Cooperation, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The competition was to empower young Ghanaian entrepreneurs and address the provision of essential business equipment to scale up businesses.

Mr Baffour Awuah explained that skilled work would continue to live with the people because TVET offered sustainable jobs and, therefore, commended the beneficiaries for choosing that path.

He advised the youth to be resilient and save towards the growth of their businesses to help make significant gains and expand them.

Mr Baffour Awuah said through the project, the beneficiaries would be mentored and their activities monitored by the Labour Commission and GIZ to assess their performance, while providing further assistance in terms of coaching until they became matured to be on their own.

Madam Grace Bennett, an entrepreneur and chairperson of the programme, said the Government alone could not provide jobs for the large numbers of unemployed youth, hence self-employment was the reliable answer to the challenge.

“Many young people are deprived, disadvantaged and marginalised and could not afford the basic business necessities and, thus, start-up capital to begin a simple enterprise was very important to them,” she said.

She said young trainees needed to be provided with innovative financing mechanisms with stringent technical backing, effective supervision and monitoring to enhance their work.

Source: Ghana Web

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‘Shut up if you can’t tell the truth’ – KKD descends on ‘defenders’ of Akufo-Addo govt

Veteran Ghanaian media personality, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah, alias KKD, has berated Ghanaians who keep defending the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.

According to KKD, the Akufo-Addo government, which he described as incompetent, has completely failed and there is no defending it.

He added that if supporters of the government cannot speak the truth about the damage done by their government, they should keep quiet and stop misinforming Ghanaians.

“It is sad, this is what a lot of Ghanaians are thinking. Those who wait for food to be pushed off tables when it falls on the ground, they eat it like dogs and would come and stand on TV and give you analysis and say they are impressed

“But deep inside when they lay down with their wives, their wives will look them in the eyes and say ‘my husband are you this foolish, are you happy with what you are saying, aren’t you ashamed’.

“If you can’t tell the truth shut up,” he said in an interview on JoyNew’s AM show which was monitored by GhanaWeb.

Source: Ghana Web

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‘I don’t want to believe Vanessa has developed love for Funny Face again’ – Caleb Nii Boye

Ghanaian show host, Caleb Nii Boye, has shared his view on the issue of Funny Face and his ex-partner, Vanessa.

In an episode of E-Forum hosted by Abrantepa on GhanaWeb TV, Caleb highlighted the difficulties faced by Funny Face and the insults endured by some individuals due to his depressed state during his misunderstanding with Vanessa.

As someone who was closely associated with Funny Face during that time, Caleb stressed the importance of approaching the topic of Vanessa wanting Funny Face back in their children’s lives with caution.

He advised carefully considering the implications of statements made.

“While closely involved with Funny Face during that time when he wasn’t ready to speak to anybody, I witnessed the difficulties he faced and the insults endured by individuals like Bola Ray. Considering the current situation, it’s crucial to be careful with how you present your speech or statements,” Caleb said.

Caleb Nii Boye suggested that Vanessa’s desire to reunite with Funny Face may not solely stem from love but could be influenced by the pressure of caring for their four children.

The radio show host believes Vanessa’s living arrangements, where she still resides with her parents, and the fact that the children have different fathers may subject her to criticism and ridicule from relatives or others in her social circle.

He further added that these circumstances could plausibly contribute to her motivation to reconcile with Funny Face.

“I don’t want to believe the lady has developed anything like love again for him (Funny Face). I don’t think it’s about love. Maybe the pressure of taking care of four children is a part of the reason why she wants to come back,” Caleb explained.

Caleb Nii Boye also recalled a previous incident involving Vanessa’s involvement in selling a product called ‘Pussy Sweetener,’ which promised to tighten women’s private parts and keep men attracted.

Drawing a parallel between this venture and Hajia Bintu’s similar product, Caleb suggested that Vanessa’s motivation for reconciliation might be financially driven.

“I am shocked she is coming out now because when Funny Face’s issue came up, I saw her selling ‘Pussy Sweetener.’ I am saying it the way she put it out there. She said it would make your private part tight; when a man goes there, he will stay,” Caleb revealed.

In a recent interview with Kwaku Manu on May 23, 2023, Vanessa expressed her willingness to reconcile with Funny Face and reintegrate their family.

She emphasized her personal growth and maturity over time, acknowledging the experiences they had been through as a couple and the fact that they share three children.

Vanessa furthermore expressed her openness to spending a week or two with Funny Face, indicating her willingness to reconcile and reunite their family and dismissed any concerns about potential harm, implying that if Funny Face intended to hurt her, he would have done so already.

Source: Ghana Web

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FAO spurs innovation for control of foodborne disease across Africa

Twenty-one scientists from nine different African countries (Benin, Cameroon, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe) convened on 21-25 May at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) in Accra, Ghana, to launch a new wave ofdiagnostic testing aimed at improving food safety and controlling antimicrobial resistance in food, animals, people and the environment.

The use of portable DNA sequencing allows rapid identification of microorganisms that cause disease. It is also a powerful tool to trace the source infections, a critical step in understanding and preventing disease transmission. Moreover, the technology is far less expensive and thus more readily accessible than methods previously used for the same purpose. Current limitations in diagnostic testing contribute to the 137 000 deaths caused by foodborne disease each year in Africa.

“Portable DNA sequencing is a potential game changer for detecting and characterizing pathogens – and improving food safety – across the continent,” said Jeffrey LeJeune, FAO Food Safety Officer.

At the meeting, the ‘ambassadors of innovation’ were provided with a training session on the laboratory and bioinformatics methods, enabling them to use this technology. Unique to this workshop, each participant was provided with a sequencing device and laptop computer necessary for them to apply what they learned in the training immediately upon their return home.

FAO, in collaboration with NMIMR and the Technical Institute of Denmark, arranged this training with financial support from the Fleming Fund (United Kingdom), the Government of Australia, and a private sector partner, Mars Incorporated.

Source: EMM