The rankings are one of the world’s most recognised assessments of corporate environmental performance. Newsweek partnered with Corporate Knights Capital and leading sustainability minds from non-governmental organisations and the academic and accounting communities, to complete the rankings.
“The ranking is particularly significant for MTN because we are in a small select group of global companies whose revenue is generated off a relatively low environmental impact basis,” says Paul Norman, MTN Group Chief HR & Corporate Affairs Officer.
The 2014 Newsweek Green Rankings measures the environmental performance of large public companies using eight clearly defined performance indicators, including Combined Energy and Waste Productivity. MTN is ranked in position 276, with a Green Score of 35.4 percent.
“This ranking is recognition of our years of hard work on being environmentally responsible across the business. By ensuring we take our environmental responsibilities seriously, we hope to mitigate our impact on our customers’ environments,” adds Norman. (VENTURES AFRICA)
Total sets up solar-powered station for greener services in Africa
French energy giant, Total has opened a $1.5 million environmental-friendly solar powered service station in Lagos, the first of its kind in the West African region, confirming its keenness to offer greener services across Africa.
Total Nigeria said its decision to build a solar-powered service station which is furnished with SunPower solar panels was part of its pledge to provide renewed energy solutions that are environmentally friendly and efficient.
The service station is part of the company’s vow to produce innovative and safe energy that are in line with international health and safety standards, said Momar Nguer, Senior Vice president Total AMO.
“It is not borne out of purely economic reasons but out of Total’s passion to make sustainable and positive impact on the lives of people in developing societies,” he explained.
Total is aiming to expand its green programme reach across Nigeria with an additional solar-powered service station due to be launched in Abuja, the country’s capital city, before the end of the year. It intends to adapt this new identity across its service station in Nigeria by the year 2017.
Meanwhile, Total Nigeria Managing Director Alexis Vovk has noted that while more than 80 million people lack access to electricity in Nigeria, Total has been investing on several creative solutions like the Awango by Total solar lamps, hybrid energy solutions for the telecommunications industry and the newly launched solar-powered service station.
Through the sale of its solar lamps, the company plans to take advantage of the on-going power sector reforms in the country as it seeks to provide access to lighting for 5 per cent “off-the-grid” households in Nigeria in the next three years. (VENTURES AFRICA)
FCm expands African operation with Morocco’s Activ deal
Australia-based global corporate travel business, FCm Travel Solution continues to expand its reach in Africa as it signed a new partnership with Morocco’s Activ Travel to leverage on the booming travel and tourism market in the North Africa country.
FCm hopes to take advantage of Morocco’s well-established market and Activ´Travel’s exclusive business travel management services to add to its business network in the region.
Activ´Travel Company Director, Abdellatif Benmoussa said his company looks forward to building successful business with FCm which he said provides “the best possible local travel service, which is supported by a global team of industry professionals and travel resources.”
General Manager of FCm MEA Network, Ciaran Kelly also concurred that the partnership with Activ´Travel will allow his company build an extensive network in the corporate travel market while forming and maintaining solid relationships with suppliers to negotiate the best deals for clients which will go a long way in strengthening the company’s partnership in the country.
FCm Morocco provides a dedicated Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) team which includes dedicated specialists that offer general experience in managing large-scale incentive trips and corporate events.
Activ´Travel is a leading business travel agency based in Casablanca, which provides retail travel service as well as MICE travel and logistics. (VENTURES AFRICA)
British mining giant revives Zambian nickel mine
British mining giant, Consolidated Mining Investments (CMI) has taken over struggling Zambian nickel mine, previously ran by Chinese company, Jinchuan Group of China.
Zambian Mines Minister Christopher Yaluma said that operations at Munali Nickel Mine in southern part of the country which shutdown three years ago has been taken over by CMI and will start operating end of June.
“I can confirm that the nickel mine is set for revival and the new investor is expected on site before the end of the month,” said Yaluma.
Zambia, according to Yaluma, is confident that the new investor will bring the desired benefits for the people of Zambia. Munali Nickel Mine operations collapsed in 2011 owing to plummeting base-metal prices on the global market.
Mining is a crucial part of the Zambian economy, with the direct contribution to GDP reaching about 11 percent in 2010 ($590 million) and expected to grow to $1.35 billion in 2015. The indirect contribution might be as much as half the economy. (VENTURES AFRICA)
Nigeria’s oil output may improve as Camac’s Oyo-8 takes off
Drilling had started on Sunday at the new Oyo-8 development well, which is located off-shore Nigeria, Camac Energy, the oil and gas explorer, said on Tuesday.
Camac Energy, which is listed on the Johannesburg (JSE) and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges, is the “operator” of the Oyo-8 well. The firm also holds a 100 percent working interest on the well.
This development well is one of Nigeria’s first deep-water oil finds. It is located about 75 kilometers offshore Nigeria in water pits of about 300 meters.
The Northern Offshore Energy Searcher drillship is drilling the Oyo-8 to a full deepness of about 1,800 meters, Camac said.
The Oyo-8 well is likely to start production in the last three months of this year. The firm said the Oyo-7 well will also be finished following the Oyo-8 well. The two wells are likely to boost production from the Oyo Field substantially, brewing hope that Nigeria may soon see a reversal in oil output fortunes, which is currently experiencing a dwindling trend.
Factors including oil theft, vandalism of oil facilities, and bunkering have all been listed as key challenges facing the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
Crude production has reportedly shrunk in the last year, with recent figures placed at 2.5 million barrels daily. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is said to have lost more than $2.5 billion in potential oil revenue, owing largely to the drop in production.
This might have also motivated actions by the US to reduce importation from Nigeria, the country’s largest oil trading partner, accounting for 40 percent of its total oil exports. (VENTURES AFRICA)
Paypal enters Nigeria, three other African markets
PayPal has announced plans to bring its global payment services into 10 new markets, starting today.
“From today, people in more than 200 markets around the world will have the option to pay with PayPal,” said Rupert Keeley, senior vice president of PayPal Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The people of Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Belarus, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Paraguay will be able to register for a PayPal account and start making payments on millions of websites around the world without the worry of entering their credit or debit card details online as soon as services go live.
“While technology is breaking down barriers to global commerce, many people are wary of entering their credit or debit card details on the website of an unknown seller, operating in a distant country,” said Keeley.
Paying via PayPal, according to the senior VP, provides peace of mind, “because people never have to expose their financial information during the transaction.”
The global payment service company addition of these markets will bring the total number of markets PayPal serves to 203. (VENTURES AFRICA)
Being too busy is not great compliment
It may be an unavoidable part of modern society but we have turned ‘being busy’ into a kind of accolade. The other day I asked a client how she was and she replied with a sense of glee that she had been so busy. It was as if she had, like so many of us, directly correlated her selfworth to her level of busyness.
In contrast, I recently visited a CEO who presented quite a different picture. When I booked the appointment with his personal assistant I enquired about his availability. She responded by saying: “He leaves a portion of his calendar open for new ideas, specifically for conversations like these.” How nice, I thought, a senior executive who was not chasing his tail. We met at his office, which had an air of calm about it, his desk free of clutter. During the meeting he was completely present in the conversation; there was no checking of cell phones or iPads or pained looks and glances at the time. When I asked how he achieved such presence and seeming calm, he responded by saying: “It’s simple. I don’t wear busyness as a hero badge. I know the value of not being busy and over committed.”
Being too busy and Creativity Cannot Co-exist
What this executive knows and what many others are beginning to understand is that you cannot be creative, innovative and move to new levels at the same time as being busy. Busy is a function of ‘doing’ but moving to new levels requires a new way of ‘being’. It requires introspection, reflection, down time and the interrogation of how we do things. Busyness is, for all intents and purposes, a pattern; a habit that we get into to avoid change. I am not suggesting that you cease to engage in activities but unless busyness is coupled with down time and introspection, you will not know if your activities actually align with your grand vision.
Ditching Busy
So how does one rectify over-commitment? Here are some simple techniques to help you cut to the chase:
• Go back to your vision and check your daily activities against this. Are you busy with the right activities? If not, delegate or let them go.
• Follow Jobs! Steve Jobs was famous for taking time out to go sit in the park and draw. He would come up with new ideas and innovations this way. As they say, don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it!
• Grab a coloured pen – yes you probably have a smart phone, iPad and laptop but there is just something special about writing in colour. Besides which, it connects with the right brain, the creative part of the brain, and allows us to express our creative ideas.
• Make time for nothing. It might sound crazy but ask any Zen master and they will tell you, you cannot fill a cup that is already full. You cannot get new, creative ideas unless you make space for them. Leave your diary free for a couple of hours each week and wait and see what happens.
Wishing you Magic Unlocked! (VENTURES AFRICA)
Gilat Satcom provides connectivity in Africa’s underground mines
Gilat Satcom, a leading provider of satellite and fibre-based connectivity services in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has announced a new system which will provide high-quality voice connectivity to people working in underground mines.
Traditionally, communication with underground workers has been via temporary coax cables which are prone to damage and unsuitable for many locations. Gilat Satcom’s SuricatePRO service however provides coverage extension for standard satellite phones extending telephony underground without loss of signal quality.
“Communicating with workers in underground mines has always been problematical,” says Dan Zajicek, CEO of Gilat Satcom. “Our system is extremely reliable, cost-effective and market-proven. We are actively reaching out to mining companies in Africa where we know our system will be of great benefit.”
SuricatePRO takes advantage of Foxcom’s leading RF-over-fibre technology.
The company has been providing a similar system to underground bunkers operated by military forces around the world for a number of years. It has adapted this system to cope with the harsh conditions found at many mines, particularly in developing economie
Page 3 of 3
