Toyin Adegbite-Moore Executive Director of Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance discusses with Maggie on ways AVPA supports Female-led SMEs in Nigeria and share insights on how women empowerment projects should be checked and tracked.
AVPA is a Pan-African network for social investors who are interested in collaborating to increase the flow of capital into social investments across Africa and ensure that capital (financial, human and/or intellectual) is deployed as effectively and innovatively as possible for maximum social impact.

AVPA views venture philanthropy/social investment (VP/SI) as a continuum that encompasses everything from philanthropy to impact investing, CSR and sustainable investments by private businesses.

Celebrating Women Leaders

Here Alexander Muterko, the Project Manager at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development discusses with Maggie on what the ICMPD does around promoting innovative, comprehensive and sustainable migration policies. There have been several stories and reports that speak to Africans migrating and the loss of human capacity which is as a result of migration.
The discussion will share insights on upcoming projects to drive human capacity and investment in Nigeria

Investing In Human Capacity

Here Maggie speaks with Funmi Omo the Managing Director of Enterprise Life Nigeria on the importance of the Insurance sector, highlights the opportunities in the sector and shares the products Enterprise Life Nigeria has for the working class in Nigeria which will in turn make Insurance as a lifystyle.

Insurance As A Lifestyle

Maggie discusses with the Senior Government Relations Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Procter and Gamble, Temitope Iluyemi on Building relationships in Business. She gives  an overview of how US Corporations build relationships in the private and public sector without impinging on its core values but at the same time drive revenue growth indirectly and directly.

Building Relationships In Business

Maggie discusses with Amaka Anku of Eurasia Group on the Chinese incursion in Africa, the Security situation for Western Investors investing in Africa, US Government initiatives for Africa, and how best the US Government can be a partner to African Governments.

US - Africa Relations

This episode highlights Ecosystem Restoration in recognition of the World Environment day celebrated on the 5th of June with the themes “Reimagine. Recreate. Restore.”  Amaka Onyemelukwe, Director of Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability shares what Coca-Cola does in ensuring its products do not impact the environment negatively, best practices on building sustainable ecosystems as well as thoughts on policies in this area.

Environment & Sustainability (1)

In this episode, Vicky Akai the Director-General of  Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry shares her thoughts with Maggie on the increasing role of Chambers of Commerce in driving advocacy and enabling environment for private sector. Interesting conversations on the role of data in advocacy as well as empowering and equipping Women-owned businesses in Nigeria ahead of the AFCFTA  through market access and capacity building.

Advocacy For Private Sector Episode

In this episode, the Rita Amuchienwa of Intel discusses with Maggie on the critical digital infrastructure needed in Nigeria and Intel's plans to build capacity in Africa.
Intel is one of the foremost innovative Semiconductor manufacturers in the world. Intel's innovation in cloud computing, data center, the Internet of Things, and PC solutions is powering the smart and connected digital world we live in.

Investing In Nigeria's Digital Sector

Considering the importance of data in modern times and the heightened need for proper regulation, a Data Protection Bill was proposed to the National Assembly in 2020. Alongside this, a new NITDA Act has been proposed to the National Assembly and the Nigerian Government has tabled exclusivity from cross-data flow at the WTO.
On this episode of the Business Exchange, Maggie discusses with Kasim Sodangi, the Head of Compliance at @Smile Identity, the proposed legislation and their impact on the growth of the Nigerian digital economy and the negotiations at WTO.
Kasim Sodangi is the former National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Content Development in Information and Communication Technology (ONC/NITDA), and the former Acting National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation.

Data Regulation in Nigeria

Maggie discusses with Sumbo Akintola of Aluko Oyebode and Moses Faya of API on the postal bill its implications to business, extrapolate reasons for the postal bill, and discuss the opportunities the public and private stakeholders need to leverage on.

Creating a Competitive Courier and Logistics Sector in Nigeria

SME's face a myriad of challenges to their business development on a daily basis. These challenges include the insufficiency of infrastructure, policy, incentives, and most commonly all access to finance. 
In this week's podcast episode, Womoemi Diriyai, Country Head, Dun and Bradstreet Nigeria shed light on the cause of these challenges and what can be done to overcome them.

Business Development For SMEs

Since its presentation before the legislature in 2008, the Petroleum Industry Bill was passed into law on 16 August 2021. The Bill, now an Act, makes far reaching changes to the structure of Nigeria's energy industry. 

In this episode, we will be discussing the history of the PIA, a summary of its provisions, perceived challenges to its implementation, and its impact on the future of energy in Nigeria with Taiwo Oyedele. Taiwo Oyedele is the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC. He is the Thematic Lead for the Public Finance & Taxation Policy Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group; Chairman of the Taxation & Fiscal Policy Faculty Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria; member of the Nigerian Taxation Standards Board; and a member of the Ministerial Committee on the implementation of Nigeria’s National Tax Policy.
More on Taiwo Oyedele here https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/contacts/t/taiwo-oyedele.html

The Petroleum Industry Act 2021

One of the indicators that drive foreign investments is the perceived stability of the desired Country for investment and the current heated polity in Nigeria may have cast a shadow on investors' confidence in the country. 

Across the African Continent, various groups have sprung up due to economic, social, political, and environmental factors and have led to armed conflict.  

Listen to Maggie discussing with revered political activists such as Prof Pat Utomi and Nimah Arigbabu, share their perspectives on how peace and economic growth go hand in hand and the role of the private sector and Federal Government in creating a sustainable environment.

As a follow-up, The American Business Council and partners will be hosting a webinar titled 'The Imperative of Peace for a Successful Economy'. This is to engage critical stakeholder groups in a forum to underscore the need for a peaceful society where lives and businesses can thrive as well as encourage Nigerian institutions to partake in peacemaking processes/programmes. 

Date: 25 October 2021  Time: 3 pm WAT

The Speakers at the event include:
Dr. Kayode Fayemi - Governor, Ekiti State
Dr. Garba Abari - DG, @Nigerian Orientation Agency 
Dipo Faulkner - President, American Business Council
Abidemi David Edmond - CRO, @The Nedola Initiative Ltd  
Dr. Ayo Teriba - CEO, @Economic Associates 
Prof. Pat Utomi - Founder, @Centre for Values in Leadership
Nimah Arigbabu - Founder and Public Policy Analyst, @NGVoices
Dr. Bello Kankarofi - Ex-Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, APCON

Register to attend via this link – https://bit.ly/3Bw6Rrt.

The Imperatives Of Peace For A Successful Economy

The global animation market size was valued at US$ 354.7 billion in 2020. Since the creation of the Black Panther comic into a movie, we have seen a burgeoning of interests and investments into African Content. These facts make one curious to know how the  Nigerian comic and animation industry taken hold of the global demand.

Listen to Jide Martin, CEO and Founder of Comic Republic speak with us on Nigeria's Animation Industry and Prospects for Growth.

Nigeria's Animation Industry: Prospects for Growth

Mira Mehta, CEO of Tomato Jos discusses with Maggie her milestones in investing in Nigeria, challenges, and the future of Tomato Jos.

Doing Business In Nigeria

On this episode, Tejaswi - General Manager, Strategic Marketing and Business Development at Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) shares insights on the development, which is integrated with Lekki Deep Sea Port (first of its kind in Nigeria) and well-positioned to address the port challenges in Lagos.

Lagos Free Zone developed by Tolaram, enhances the competitiveness of Nigeria as an investment destination and offers unique advantages to Nigeria's manufacturing and logistics sector.

Lagos Free Zone

Here Margaret Olele of the American Business Council reviews and discusses the monumental events of 2021 with Nonso Obikili of the United Nations, and Gyude Moore of the Centre for Global Development. The discussions touch on the Nigerian Economy, Africa's relations with China, the US, and the EU, Energy poverty in Africa, COP26, COVID-19 variants (Omicron) and Government's reaction, US Democracy Summit, and expectations for 2022.

2021 in Review

Here Margaret discusses with Hon (Dr) Ujam of Nina Jojer and Tolu Oyekan of BCG share the pillars of the economy that drove economic growth and looked at the best possible ways of evaluating infrastructural investments with impact on development.

About the Speakers
Dr. Chukwuemeka Ujam is a Nigerian politician, and was formerly the elected member of the House of Representatives representing Nkanu East/West Federal Constituency of Enugu State. He has a career background in telecommunications technology. He has held many senior engineering positions in several major UK telecoms and security organizations as well as board level responsibilities in IT startup organizations. He is currently the CEO of Nina Jojer, a consulting firm.

Tolu Oyekan is a Management Consultant with global experience across industry sectors. His expertise spans across strategic and operational topics on growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions, lean manufacturing, and network optimisation. He is the Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (Nigeria).

Business Opportunities In 2022

At the American Business Council, our key focus for World International Womens’ Month is to break the gender bias with positive visibility and focus. In this episode, the guest speakers share their success stories as leaders in the sectors they play in, how they found themselves in such fields (Tech, Energy, Insurance, Franchising, Healthcare), and the impact they make in society.

IWD - Showcasing Female Leadership Success Stories

Blockchain technology has received widespread attention for its
potential to transform virtually every sector of our economy – from finance, healthcare, and
logistics to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Moreover, the
technology itself has created its own industries, including new markets for digital property (e.g.,
non-fungible tokens (NFTs)) with associated intellectual property rights to protect and enforce.
Governments, courts, and practitioners alike are continuously how this emerging technology can
be used to improve existing IP enforcement resources, and whether and how blockchain
technology applications fit into the current IP legal regime. On this episode, we speak with Abi Hamed Haruna, Board
Director and Managing Legal Counsel for Oracle. Abi gives us an insight into the importance of Blockchain and its importance in Nigeria.

Blockchain And IP Enforcement

It is hard to doubt the rise of Afrobeats in 2022 as well as the individuals who have led to the success of the genre over the past couple of years. According to a report from consultants at PWC forecasts that the fast-growing entertainment industry will earn $14.8bn in 2025, up from its current revenue of $7.7 bn. On this special episode, M.I Abaga joins us to give us a more in depth understanding into the Nigerian music industry and how it can be a potential source of investment for foreign investors. M.I also discuss what the future of the music industry will look like for Nigeria in the coming years. This special episode of the business exchange was hosted by Paul Olele, Freelance Journalist and co-founder of 703 W.F LLC and OluwaToyin Adegbite Moore, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Sheafam & Tam Limited.

The Upward Trajectory of the Music Industry in Nigeria (Featuring M.I Abaga)

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) was a laudable initiative of the past administration to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria. The Council initiated over 160 business enabling reforms in government ministries, departments, and agencies. As a result of these reforms, Nigeria’s ease of doing business score improved by over 8.5 basis points, and Nigeria moved up 39 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings at some point. In one of its final acts before bowing out of the stage, they passed Business Facilitation Act was passed into law on 14 February 2023. This Act amends 21 business related laws and aims to consolidate and institutionalize all the reforms initiated by PEBEC for ease of ongoing implementation. Our guests Toyin Bashir and Ayokunnu Ojeniyi discuss more about this topic in this episode hosted by Chiamaka Ibeh.

Reducing Market Distributions - Business Facilitation Act 2023

American Business Council Nigeria recently established a sustainability Working Group led by Adebisi A. Country Leader for Dow in Nigeria and supported by Ehize Ilozavbie of ATC Nigeria to initiate interventions that support Nigeria’s transition to clean energy and combat climate change. The project will include a survey of the sustainability initiatives deployed by American businesses operating in Nigeria and the publication of the survey results in an Impact Report. Adebisi Adeoti will be our guest for the Council's Podcast "The Business Exchange: How Business Works" with focus on "Greening the Nigerian Economy."

Greening The Nigerian Economy

The world celebrated #worldsicklecellday2023. Nigeria remains the country with the highest incidence of birth and death before the age of five. What healthcare policies are in place to mitigate this situation? Are Multinationals Companies working together to support the efforts? Are there public -private sector collaboration in this area? American Business Council Nigeria's Margaret Olele discussed with Bukola Bolarinwa of Sickle Cell Aid Foundation(SCAF) and HaimaHealth to examine the sickle cell ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa.

Healthcare And Sickle Cell In Nigeria

On the episode of the business exchange podcast, we have the new President of American Business Council Nigeria, Sopiribo Ideriah, discussing the future of Nigeria following its transition into a new government.

A Peek Into The Future

On this episode of the Business Exchange, Kenneth Obiajulu of Agricorp International joins the show. Agricorp specialises in livestock production, processing, and export of poultry products, utilising cutting-edge technology to meet growing market demand. Our state-of-the-art poultry facilities are strategically located in three locations in Nigeria, with a combined annual production capacity of 4 million birds.

Harnessing Youth Participation In Agriculture Episode

On this episode of the business exchange, Gbemisola Abudu, Vice President & Country Head, NBA Nigeria, joins us for YouthinTEAS series to discuss the importance cultivating the next prospect of Nigeria's youth in sports, particularly in the field of basketball.

ABC Podcast - Harnessing Youth Participation in Sports in Nigeria

Following up on out YouthinTEAS Series, we feature Dr. Inya Lawal, Founder of Ascend Studios Foundation. This non-profit organizations is a Global Movement with a mandate to provide Capacity Building and Social, Educational, and Economic Empowerment to Women and Youth.

Youth In Technology In Nigeria Ft. Dr. Inya Lawal

On this episode of the Business Exchange, Opeyemi Iredumare, Managing Partner/Co-Founder, Technolawgical Partners and author of the book, "Music Commerce in Africa" joins the episode to discuss about the progress in the creative industry in Nigeria and what changes need to be implemented to further advance this fast growing sector in the country.

ABC Podcast - Youth In Business And Entertainment Ft. Opeyemi Iredumare

The recent episode of the business exchange features Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke, Chairperson, Nigeria Office for Philanthropy & Impact Investing (NPO) as they discussed Driving Economic Growth through Social Impact in Nigeria.

Driving Economic Growth Through Social Impact

On the next episode of "The Business Exchange," Margaret Olele celebrates Women History Month by talking with Eyono Fatayi-Williams of Women in Energy Network about Empowering women and embracing diversity.

INSPRING INCLUSION - EMPOWERING WOMEN, EMBRACING DIVERSITY

Here Maggie interacts with Olusegun Zaccheaus an Associate Director, Strategy and Economics at KPMG Africa on the current state of the Nigerian Economy, Investors sentiment to the Nigerian market, policy changes and expectations from the ABC Economic Update organised by the American Business Council, where the 10 Macro trends that will shape 2021 will be shared to business leaders and policy makers.

The Nigerian Economy And Investor's Confidence

In this episode on Margaret Olele interacts with Zainab Balogun of The New Practice on the new CAMA Act which improves the ease of doing business especially for SMEs and MSMEs as well as how the Act will encourage investors into the domestic market.

Improving The Ease Of Doing Business - CAMA 2020

On todays episode of the Business Exchange, the CEO of the African Resource Centre for Nigeria shares her perspectives on supply chain management in Nigeria, opportunities for investments and what ARC has done to support the value chain in supply chain management.

Azuka also shares ARC work with the Federal Government in Nigeria in building a sustainable national strategy for Supply Chain Management and its move to other spaces of the economy beyond healthcare.

Supply Chain Management In Nigeria

Every second and last Tuesday's of the month, the hosts will offer sharp insights on how business works in Nigeria with a deep dive into the biggest stories in business and policy. They will also make bold predictions across various sectors of the economy. 
This podcast is brought to you by the American Business Council, the voice of American Investors in the Country.

The Business Exchange: How Business Works

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