Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, recently announced the launch of a large-scale sugar refinery in Ghana that is set to more than double the country’s formally irrigated farmland through a single initiative.



The Dangote Sugar Refinery, located in Kwame-Danso in Ghana’s Bono Region, will reportedly bring 25,000 hectares of farmland under irrigation to support industrial-scale sugarcane cultivation.



This represents a boost to Ghana’s formal irrigation network, which currently covers just 19,000 hectares under public schemes, according to Joseph Nartey, Deputy Director of Operations at the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA).



While Ghana has a total irrigation potential of 1.9 million hectares, only about 229,109 hectares — or 12% — are currently irrigated, and the vast majority of this is through small-scale or informal means.



The major irrigation projects maintained by GIDA primarily support rice and vegetable cultivation.



“Sugarcane production in Ghana is currently quite low,” Courage Zoiku, a Ghanaian financial analyst, tells FORBES AFRICA. “This is a massive infrastructure investment that would significantly boost production compared to the current rain-fed system, where farmers can only cultivate once annually. Doubling the harvest would increase the availability of raw materials and, in turn, enhance sugar production in Ghana.’’



The project is being implemented under Ghana’s flagship ‘One District, One Factory’ industrialization program. It aims not only to reduce the country’s dependence on imported sugar but to catalyze a self-sustaining agro-industrial ecosystem.



Ghana currently spends more than $160 million annually on sugar imports, primarily from low-cost exporters such as India, Thailand, and Brazil. Efforts to revive local sugar production have struggled, due to inconsistent supply of raw sugarcane.



Dangote’s new facility will feature an integrated sugar refinery with a daily crushing capacity of 12,000 tons of cane, as well as processing units for molasses and ethanol. The company has confirmed that all required regulatory permits have been secured and that construction is ready to begin.



Yet, infrastructure remains a critical concern.



“The government must invest in road access,” Zoiku stresses. “Once production begins, there will be not just the central farm but also hundreds of out-growers around the area. Without reliable transport infrastructure, neither raw cane nor refined sugar can reach markets like Accra efficiently.”



He also warns that the long-term viability of the project will depend on smart policy support. While agricultural companies in Ghana currently benefit from a reduced corporate tax rate of 13%, and even lower rates in designated hinterland zones, local producers remain vulnerable to competition from imported sugar unless trade protections are introduced.



“Just like with rice, sugar needs import quotas to protect domestic industry,” Zoiku argues. “If local producers can’t sell their sugar because the market is flooded with cheaper imports, all this investment risks becoming a white elephant.”



He further recommends that government institutions, such as hospitals, prisons, and school feeding programs, be mandated to prioritize locally produced sugar. “Public procurement is a powerful lever to build demand and stabilize the market,” he says.



“We envision more than just a factory,” Dangote wrote in the announcement post on LinkedIn. “We see a catalyst for autonomy, employment, and continental transformation.”

Dangote Group Chief Executive Officer Aliko Dangote Interview

Africa’s Richest Man To More Than Double Ghana’s Publicly Irrigated Farmland With New Sugar Project

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Meta’s oversight board criticized the company’s updated hateful conduct policies, which included a provision allowing users to describe LGBTQ people as mentally ill, among other controversial updates, urging the company to assess the “human rights impact” of the policy on LGBTQ people, minors and immigrants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



The Meta&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oversightboard.com/news/wide-ranging-decisions-protect-speech-and-address-harms/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">oversight board</a>, which makes company decisions and conducts mediations and is sometimes referred to as Meta’s “Supreme Court,” issued a response to Meta’s hateful conduct policy change Wednesday, criticizing the update as “hastily” made.



Meta’s hateful conduct policy was updated “in a departure from regular procedure, with no public information shared as to what, if any, prior human rights due diligence the company performed,” the oversight board said.



The oversight board called on Meta to assess whether its updated hateful conduct policy would pose a threat to human rights, demanding the company provide a public report.



The oversight board also urged Meta to assess the effectiveness of its “community notes” policy, which it had adopted after abandoning third-party fact checking.



A Meta spokesperson told Forbes the company “respond to their full recommendations within 60 days in accordance with the bylaws.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-meta-update-its-hateful-conduct-policy">How Did Meta Update Its Hateful Conduct Policy?</h2>



Meta announced sweeping changes to its hateful conduct policy and other content moderation standards on Jan. 7, which it billed as an attempt to improve free speech and reduce censorship on its social media platforms. The policy changes included renaming the “hate speech” policy to “hateful conduct,” and according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/hateful-conduct/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">policy’s change log</a>&nbsp;on the Meta website, many references to specific examples of hateful conduct were erased, while other controversial examples were added. Among the updated policy changes is a provision that clarifies: “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’” Under a section barring dehumanizing speech, Meta erased a previous provision that had prohibited people from evoking offensive stereotypes, including referring to “women as household objects or property or objects in general” and “transgender or non-binary people as ‘it.’” Meta also abandoned its&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2025/01/meta-more-speech-fewer-mistakes/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">third-party fact-checking</a>&nbsp;program in favor of a community notes program like that on X, stating it would be “less prone to bias.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-were-meta-s-conduct-policy-updates-controversial">Why Were Meta’s Conduct Policy Updates Controversial?</h2>



Meta’s updated policies drew scrutiny and allegations it would lead to increased discrimination against LGBTQ people, women and people of color. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrc.org/news/metas-new-policies-how-they-endanger-lgbtq-communities-and-our-tips-for-staying-safe-online" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Human Rights Campaign</a>&nbsp;said these policy changes “create fertile ground for misinformation, identity-based harassment, and abuse, and threaten LGBTQ+ inclusion and safety across Meta,” accusing the company of taking “specific aim at LGBTQ+ people.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-mark-zuckerberg-defend-meta-s-policy-updates">How Did Mark Zuckerberg Defend Meta’s Policy Updates?</h2>



Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had defended Meta’s content moderation policy updates as a move to improve free speech, particularly during a high-profile appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has more than 9 million views on Rogan’s&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/7k1ehaE0bdU?feature=shared" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">YouTube</a>&nbsp;channel. Zuckerberg said Facebook’s fact-checking policy was like “something out of 1984,” stating people felt the fact-checkers were too biased. “It really is a slippery slope, and it just got to a point where it&#8217;s just, OK, this is destroying so much trust, especially in the United States, to have this program,” praising Elon Musk’s X for adopting a community notes program in place of fact-checking. Zuckerberg said cracking down on hate speech “got to this point where there were things that you couldn’t say which were mainstream discourse,” citing Secretary of Defense&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Pete Hegseth’s</a>&nbsp;prior statement that women should not serve in certain combat roles, stating this type of speech should be allowed on social media if Hegseth could say it on the floor of Congress. Zuckerberg also said in the Rogan interview companies should adopt more “masculine” energy and accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of calling Meta to “scream” about monitoring Covid-19-related posts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/08/permitted-hateful-conduct-what-users-can-now-say-on-meta-platforms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Revisions of ‘hateful conduct’: what users can now say on Meta platforms</a>&nbsp;(The Guardian)



<a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/10/mark-zuckerberg-joe-rogan-facebook-censorship-biden" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Zuckerberg on Rogan: Facebook&#8217;s censorship was &#8220;something out of 1984&#8221;</a>&nbsp;(Axios)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Interview On The Circuit

Meta Oversight Board Urges Company To Assess ‘Human Rights Impact’ Of Hateful Conduct Policy

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Federal investigators are investigating claims suggesting Pfizer delayed announcing test results of its Covid vaccine until after the 2020 presidential election, the Wall Street Journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/pfizer-covid-vaccine-2020-election-probe-2f3ec247?mod=hp_lead_pos11" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>, bolstering a claim by President Donald Trump, who has said for years the company withheld vaccine results to impact his chances at reelection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is leading an investigation into claims by a scientist who used to work at Pfizer, who allegedly told colleagues and GSK that the company delayed announcing the success of its Covid vaccine until after the 2020 election, people familiar with the matter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/pfizer-covid-vaccine-2020-election-probe-2f3ec247?mod=hp_lead_pos11" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;the Wall Street Journal.



The scientist, Phil Dormitzer, who no longer works at GSK, reportedly denies making the allegations.



An investigation into the disputed comments follows claims by Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1325961445062938625" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">alleged</a>&nbsp;in a series of social media posts that Pfizer “didn’t have the courage” to announce details about the company’s Covid vaccine until after Election Day in 2020,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1325962203346972678" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">suggesting</a>&nbsp;without evidence Pfizer “didn’t want to have me get a Vaccine WIN” before the election.



Investigators have interviewed at least two people in the probe, including a GSK executive who took notes of a conversation with Dormitzer, and prosecutors are expected to soon interview a third person, the Journal reported.



Neither Dormitzer nor Pfizer immediately responded to requests for comment, though Pfizer told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-prosecutors-probe-tip-about-timing-pfizers-covid-vaccine-wsj-reports-2025-03-26/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Reuters</a>&nbsp;in a statement the company has “consistently and transparently reiterated the facts and the timeline” of its vaccine, arguing, “Theories to the contrary are simply untrue.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-pfizer-delay-the-release-of-its-covid-vaccine">Did Pfizer Delay The Release Of Its Covid Vaccine?</h2>



Both Pfizer and its biotech partner BioNTech have denied claims the companies delayed the release of their Covid vaccine. Kathrin Jansen, a senior vice president at Pfizer and head of the company’s vaccine research and development,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/fact-check-no-evidence-supports-trump-s-claim-covid-19-vaccine-result-was-suppressed" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;the American Association for the Advancement of Science shortly after the 2020 election that Pfizer’s vaccine development was “never about politics” and the company “had no time and still have no time to deal with politics.” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/announcements/open-letter-pfizer-chairman-and-ceo-albert-bourla?linkId=102134275" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">suggested</a>&nbsp;in October 2020 the company would know whether its vaccine was effective by the end of the month, though he noted federal guidelines would likely delay Pfizer’s request for an expedited public release until at least the third week of November 2020. Bourla previously projected trial results would come by late September 2020, but the timeline was delayed as the company increased the number of participants in its trial. Bourla&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-ceo-we-didnt-delay-vaccine-results-until-after-election-idUSKBN27X2N2/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;in November 2020 the company “didn’t conspire with anyone” to delay its trial result.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-has-trump-said-about-pfizer-s-covid-vaccine">What Has Trump Said About Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine?</h2>



Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/11/trump-angry-about-pfizer-vaccine/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">alleged</a>&nbsp;the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer conspired with the so-called “medical deep state” to delay the release of Pfizer’s vaccine trial results until six days after Election Day in 2020. After the announcement, Trump requested the Department of Health and Human Services to “get to the bottom” of what happened with Pfizer’s alleged delay, the Washington Post&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/11/trump-angry-about-pfizer-vaccine/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>. He pushed his claims on Twitter, now known as X,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1325961445062938625" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">writing</a>, “As I have long said, Pfizer and the others would only announce a vaccine after the election, because they didn’t have the courage to do it before.” Trump claimed the FDA “should have announced it earlier, not for political purposes, but for saving lives.” He later&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/ap-fact-check-trump-distorts-on-vaccine-state-distribution-76d1580f82b1586b207990396c1e3b5f" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">claimed</a>&nbsp;credit for Pfizer’s announcement and suggested the company denied having received financial support from the Trump administration. Though Pfizer never received direct federal funding to develop its vaccine, it did benefit from a nearly $2 billion advance order from the U.S. for 100 million doses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



Pfizer and BioNTech&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-vaccine-candidate-against" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;the results of their Covid vaccine on Nov. 9, 2020, six days after Election Day. Former President Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election just two days earlier, a result Trump and some of his allies decried amid false claims of widespread voter fraud. The companies said their vaccine was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing the spread of Covid in a late-stage trial, and the announcement did not indicate the vaccine would be immediately available to the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/pfizer-covid-vaccine-2020-election-probe-2f3ec247?mod=hp_lead_pos11" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">U.S. Prosecutors Probe Tip About Timing of Pfizer Vaccine</a>&nbsp;(Wall Street Journal)



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://sync.graph.bluecava.com/ds.png?p=4cb3430d-9dfd-11ef-a5fe-4201ac100015&amp;segment=forbeseval" alt=""/></figure>

Vaccinations at Egoli Township as Omicron Cases Spread

Did Pfizer Delay Covid Vaccine Announcement Until After 2020 Election? Here’s What We Know.

Access to vaccines remains a significant challenge across Africa, but technology is emerging as a key to breaking decades of relying on other nations for vaccine development- and to thereby stop the spread of disease much, much faster.



In 2021, Africa’s 1.3 billion people had to wait months for the Covid-19 vaccine. More than 40 million doses had reportedly been administered in wealthier countries hoarding the vaccine compared with just 25 doses given, in total, to one of the lowest income countries in Africa. 



The world was, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), on the “brink of a catastrophic moral failure”. It was a stark and unpleasant picture painted by lack of access, limited funding, and supply chain complexities. It’s also not the first time Africa has been left behind. The treatment for HIV/Aids took six years to become accessible to Africans who were among the hardest-hit by the disease, vaccines were hard to come by during the 2009 swine flu pandemic, and in 2023, there was a shortage of cholera vaccines when an Indian manufacturer stopped making the vaccine during an outbreak. 



The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has stated that over 200 disease outbreaks were reported in 2024. And they all have a direct impact on education, economic development, security and health. Yet, Africa remains reliant on vaccines produced in other parts of the world reportedly producing less than 1% of the world’s vaccinations. Out of the 54 countries in Africa, only eight have the capacity to produce vaccines – South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia.



Today, Mpox is a growing threat in Africa. In 2024, the Africa CDC declared its first Public Health Emergency of Continental Security and WHO issued its Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), one of its highest global health alerts. Across Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa and, more recently in 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mpox cases totaled more than 50,840 as of November 2024.



The continent’s leadership isn’t sitting still. The African Union and the Africa CDC committed to the ideal of Africa producing 60% of its own vaccines by 2040, signing two Memorandums of Agreement (MOUs) and forming partnerships with key organizations like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, who were instrumental in ensuring Africa received Covid-19 vaccines. But, with the continent expected to now produce 1.5 billion doses a year – 73 times more than what’s produced locally today – technology has become an essential tool to supporting vaccine development and distribution in Africa.



It sounds expensive, but as Arthur Salaün, partner at Boston Consulting Group, tells FORBES AFRICA, “Vaccines are considered one of the most cost-effective global health interventions – for every dollar you invest in vaccines, you get $20 return across economic and societal gains.”



Technology can play into the limited supply of vaccines on the continent. For example, as Michael Mynhardt, CEO and co-founder of MMH &amp; Partners Africa, explains, data can provide rapid insights into where hotspots are forming, giving healthcare providers more time to react. “You can use data to pinpoint and track outbreaks, allowing for teams to develop more effective vaccination strategies.”



He also raises one of the most significant challenges when it comes to managing vaccinations in Africa – the supply chain. There’s a growing need for solutions that can manage the cold chain efficiently while delivering vaccines to remote and hard- to-reach areas. “Drones and autonomous delivery solutions are able to access rural areas quickly and at a lower cost,” he adds.



In Kisumu, a city in Kenya, Zipline drones are being used to deliver rabies post-exposure prophylactics, malaria vaccines and measles vaccines to children. Zipline has also ensured the distribution of more than one million vaccines in Ghana, while the DRC has invested in drones to deliver yellow fever vaccines to out-of-reach locations.



Then there is the role technology is playing in the delivery of the vaccine into the human body itself. As Professor Willem Hanekom, co-national principal investigator for the M72/ AS01E TB vaccine candidate trial in South Africa, explains to FORBES AFRICA: “Most vaccines are delivered by injection – it’s practical and we know how to do it, but what if we developed patches instead? There are trials going on globally to try and convert vaccines into patches but it’s not a simple transition. They have to be safe to use and easy to deliver, and there are a lot of regulatory steps that can take years.”



Patches would be easier to manage, more cost-effective to transport, especially if using UAVs, and less intimidating for children, but their development is lengthy thanks to safety and regulatory challenges. Hanekom takes the conversation back to the supply chain and the critical need to ensure that every vial and vaccine has remained at the right temperature throughout transportation. “Technologies are coming into play that make this more efficient, for example, markers on every vial that can show whether or not there has been an interruption in the cold chain,” he says.



Dr Meg Schaeffer, EdD, MPH, MPA, an infectious disease epidemiologist and National Public Health advisor at SAS Institute in the United States, adds: “Real-time field monitoring tools ensure vaccines retain their efficacy as they move through the delivery process, but another critical factor is more of an interplay on the epidemiology side using a regional model. Technology can help us to consistently monitor where disease outbreaks are occurring and then model and potentially forecast different scenarios to assess which populations will be affected next, and to what extent. It helps us to determine where to position our resources quickly. This is the next critical frontier for Africa – using technology to deploy vaccines exactly to where they need to be so we can stop the spread of disease much, much faster.”



Finally, of course, there’s artificial intelligence (AI). AI is helping organizations reduce the time to discover a vaccine and put it on the market, allowing developers and healthcare systems to react far faster than today. “We see a future for vaccines where instead of 10 years, they will take a few months which means that when you have an epidemic, you can react far quicker than in the past,” he says. “AI-discovered drugs have a success rate of 80%-90% in phase one which is way higher than traditional drugs. The hope is that it will help Africa develop vaccines for local, daily diseases that are of no interest to global pharmaceuticals and change the narrative on the continent.”

Doctor fills syringe with medicine from vial. Vaccination and immunization

The Next Critical Frontier: Vaccine Development In Africa

Nigerians don’t just sip ruby-red cocktails — they tell stories with them. And in the country’s bustling party capitals, those stories are getting more exciting by the day, and night.



The sun has barely set over Nigeria&#8217;s commercial capital Lagos, but the rooftop bar in Victoria Island is already alive with laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the hypnotic hum of Afrobeats.



A mixologist with a flair for theatrics, twirls a bottle of palm wine midair, before pouring a smooth stream into a glass rimmed with hibiscus dust. This isn’t just a drink; this is Lagos in a sip.



Cocktail culture in Nigeria’s party capitals — Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt—is undergoing a renaissance.



Beyond the classic mojitos and margaritas, bartenders and enthusiasts alike are infusing tradition, artistry, and innovation into their drinks.



From locally-inspired ingredients to experiential mixology, here are five cocktail trends taking over the scene:



Palm Wine Cocktails: A Nod To Tradition



No longer just a staple at village gatherings, palm wine has found its way into the high-end bars of Lagos and Abuja.



This naturally fermented drink is now the base for creative cocktails, often mixed with tropical fruits, honey, and even a splash of gin for an extra kick.



The ‘Palm Royale’, featuring palm wine, passion fruit, and prosecco, is a favorite among those looking for a taste of nostalgia with a modern twist.



Zobo-Infused Spirits: The Hibiscus Revolution



Zobo, a beloved Nigerian hibiscus drink, is no longer just for street vendors.



Mixologists are experimenting with zobo-infused rum, vodka, and even whiskey, creating deep, ruby-red cocktails with a tart and floral undertone.



The ‘Zobo Spritz,’ a mix of zobo-infused gin, tonic, and a dash of bitters, is fast becoming a go-to for sophisticated palates.



Smoke &amp; Fire: The Rise Of Spicy Cocktails



Nigerians love their spice, and now it’s making its way into their drinks.



Cocktails infused with scotch bonnet peppers, smoky suya spice, and even ginger-infused tequila are adding an adventurous edge to the nightlife.



The ‘Pepper Punch’ — a blend of mezcal, lime, and a scotch bonnet syrup — is not for the faint of heart but is a guaranteed conversation starter.



Sustainable &amp; Zero-Waste Mixology



With sustainability on the rise, Nigerian bartenders are making use of every part of their ingredients.



From repurposing pineapple skins for syrup to dehydrating fruit peels for garnishes, eco-conscious cocktails are becoming a movement.



One of the most creative is the ‘Eco Tonic’, a gin and tonic made with upcycled citrus scraps and locally sourced botanicals.



High-Tech Mixology: Molecular Cocktails



For those who love a bit of spectacle, molecular mixology is making waves in Nigeria’s upscale bars.



Imagine sipping on a ‘Cloud Martini’ with a floating citrus foam or watching a cocktail transform colors before your eyes.



Using techniques like liquid nitrogen and edible bubbles, bartenders are turning drinks into an experience that’s as Instagrammable as it is delicious.



As the party never stops, expect even more bold innovations in the glasses of the country’s trendsetters.

After party at Lagos design and fashion week 2013

Nigeria’s Party Capitals Raising The Bar With Top Five Cocktail Trends

In November last year, Yemi Alade earned her first Grammy nomination in the 2025 Best African Music Performance category. That moment is already a major milestone for her.



“If you had asked me this six [or] seven years ago, I would say that success for me, personally, is when I win the Grammy. Late last year, I got nominated for a Grammy, and that honestly was a chip on my shoulder. It was a sign to continue to be myself, my original self, irrespective of what the world might think. [I need to] continue to shine in my culture, continue to shine in my personality,” she says.



Although 2024 was a memorable year for Alade, she says her journey in the industry has not always been easy. When she compares the experiences at the beginning of her career to now, Alade says the biggest challenge she has had is with herself.



“Challenges will always come up. It doesn’t matter what stage of life you are in. However, the one challenge that has stayed in my face is being consistent. That is waking up every morning and choosing to do this thing called music. It’s a challenge because nothing good comes easy,” she explains.



“In the beginning, when I had nothing but this talent to offer, it seemed to people like I was crazy, because I was waking up in the morning to go out and sing, and in an African community that makes no sense. And now where I am, at this point, comfort also becomes a huge distraction. The minute I succumb to comfort, I would not be waking up in the morning to choose music. I feel like that’s a personal challenge.”



Well-known for her feature on global icon, Beyonce’s song, The Power, Alade was the first African female Afropop artist to hit over 100 million views on YouTube and VEVO with her hit single, Johnny. It is also among Afrobeats’ biggest songs of all time. Alade released her anticipated sixth studio album, and tenth project overall, Rebel Queen, which features five-time Grammy award-winning artist Angélique Kidjo, in July.



Alade told FORBES AFRICA in an interview in 2024 that the album was a homage to her journey so far, which is why a lot of the music on the album is reminiscent of the core of Afrobeats, as she remembers it. Alade says: “I feel like history is actually in the making, and I am one of the few people holding the pen and writing history in my own time. I feel honored and privileged to experience this. To be one of the many who continue to fly the flag of African music and our culture. It’s a good time to be alive.”

Yemi

Over 30 Under 50: “History Is In The Making, And I Am One Of The Few Holding The Pen.” – Nigerian Singer Yemi Alade

Namibia’s first president, Sam Nujoma, passed away on Saturday at the age of 95, following three weeks of hospitalization in the country’s capital Windhoek. Nujoma, who was formally recognized as the ‘Founding Father of the Nation’ by a 2005 parliamentary decree, played a defining role in the country’s struggle for independence. As one of the founding members of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) in the 1960s, he led the resistance against South African rule, eventually securing Namibia’s independence in 1990.



His passing was announced by Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba, who acknowledged the profound impact of Nujoma’s leadership. &#8220;Our founding father lived a long and consequential life during which he exceptionally served the people of his beloved country… The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken,&#8221; said Mbumba.



Nujoma led the country for three terms, from 1990 to 2005, and was widely credited with stabilizing Namibia post-independence. His policy of national reconciliation encouraged white citizens to remain and contribute to the economy, particularly in agriculture. His administration also championed women’s and children’s rights, introducing policies such as mandatory child maintenance payments.



However, his leadership was not without controversy. While he was revered for his role in liberation and state-building, his tenure also drew criticism for its political rigidity and intolerance of opposition.



International tributes have poured in following his passing. King Charles III described his contribution to democracy as &#8220;immense”, while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed him as an &#8220;extraordinary freedom fighter”. African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat called him the &#8220;epitome of courage”, and Kenya’s President William Ruto lauded him as a &#8220;visionary leader.&#8221;



As Namibia reflects on Nujoma’s passing, his legacy remains deeply embedded in the nation’s history.



From spearheading the fight for independence to guiding the country through its formative years, his leadership shaped modern Namibia. His influence extended far beyond Namibia’s borders, earning both admiration and scrutiny. As the country prepares to lay its founding father to rest, his impact on Namibia’s trajectory — both its triumphs and its challenges — will continue to be debated for generations to come.

Dr. Sam Nujoma addresses the United Nations

Namibia’s First And Founding President Sam Nujoma Passes Away At 95

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Australian animated television series “Bluey” was the most streamed title in 2024, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2025/top-streaming-tv-trends-2024-artey-awards/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Nielsen</a>, garnering over 55 billion minutes of watch time amid a surge in overall TV entertainment streaming among Americans last year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



“Bluey” was the top overall streaming title in 2024 and had 55.6 billion minutes watched on Disney+, with 43% of its viewing total coming from children aged two to 11.



“Grey’s Anatomy” and “Family Guy” were the runner-ups behind “Bluey,” generating 47.85 billion minutes and 42.44 billion minutes viewed, respectively.



Netflix’s fictional period drama “Bridgerton,” which released eight new episodes in May and June, led the pack of most-streamed original series in 2024 with 21.42 billion viewing minutes and was followed by reality romance series “Love Is Blind” (16.45 billion viewing minutes).



“Fallout,” the Prime Video series based on the popular video game franchise of the same name, was the most-viewed new streaming drama series last year (11.95 billion minutes) and ranked fifth among 2024’s streaming originals.



“Moana” was the most-watched streaming movie for the second year in a row, generating 13.03 billion minutes to beat “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (11.72 billion minutes).



“American Nightmare,” a documentary based on the kidnapping story of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn, garnered 3.57 billion viewing minutes last year to become the most-viewed original, unscripted series in 2024.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



While young children make up the core of the viewership of “Bluey,” the show gained a strong following of child-free adults in 2023, with viewers finding comfort in the show’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/02/08/bluey-adult-fandom-tiktok/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">simplicity</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2023/08/bluey-season-3-review/675020/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">narrative depth</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



12 trillion. That is how many minutes Americans spent streaming in 2024, according to Nielsen, which noted the figure equates to about 8.4 billion days or 23 million years. The figure marked a 10% increase from 2023.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



Streaming has become increasingly popular in the last five years. Streaming represented about 26% of Americans’ total time spent watching TV in May 2021, Nielsen reported, noting that number jumped to over 43% by Dec. 2024. The surge in streaming has managed to coincide with increasingly expensive streaming services that include Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video and others. Netflix is the most recent streaming service to announce a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/21/netflix-is-raising-its-prices---heres-what-to-know/">price hike</a>, revealing this month it will increase its ad-supported tier from $6.99 to $7.99, its standard tier from $15.49 to $17.99 and its premium tier from $22.99 to $24.99. Crackdowns on password sharing across multiple streaming platforms have contributed to subscriber growth for multiple platforms including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/08/20/netflix-stock-hits-record-high-first-since-2021-after-ads-password-crackdown/">Netflix</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2025/top-streaming-tv-trends-2024-artey-awards/#legacyaward" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Nielsen ARTEY Awards: 2024 Streaming Unwrapped</a>&nbsp;(Nielsen)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/07/05/netflix-streaming-twice-as-many-new-subscribers-first-half-2024-peacock-paramount-hbo-max/">This Streaming Service Has Scored Twice As Many New Users As Any Other In 2024</a> (Forbes)<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/"></a>

In this photo illustration, the video streaming apps Netflix

Here’s What Shows And Movies Dominated Streaming In 2024

Standfirst: Africa will be the stage for FIFA World Cup matches for only the second time in the 100-year history of football’s greatest show when Morocco co-host the 2030 tournament with Spain and Portugal.



It follows South Africa’s successful tournament in 2010, when the frowns of a doubting global audience turned to cheers and smiles as the country created a party atmosphere like no other yet seen at a World Cup.



Those glorious four weeks changed perceptions about the country and the continent, and has left a lasting legacy in terms of infrastructure and goodwill, not all of which has been properly utilized in the ensuing 15 years.



It will be Morocco’s turn in five years’ time, though the goalposts have shifted since 2010.



Back then, the World Cup was a 32-team tournament that has since been expanded to 48 sides, a new format that kicks in at the next edition in 2026 when the United States, Canada and Mexico are co-hosts.



Just how many matches Morocco will host in 2030 is still to be determined, but however many, it will not have the same heavy burden on stadia, training facilities and tourism infrastructure that South Africa endured.



Still, the North African nation plans to invest greatly ahead of the tournament, the bulk of which is likely to be played in Spain.



A proposed new 115,000-seater Hassan II Stadium is set to be constructed in Casablanca, which would make it the largest purpose-built stadium in the world. Construction has yet to start.



There is another new 68,700-seater venue proposed for Rabat which is currently under construction.



FIFA, in their wisdom, have announced that the opening three games of the World Cup will be staged in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, as a nod to the centenary celebrations of the first tournament held in the latter in 1930.



That has been criticized by climate campaigners as creating too large a carbon footprint, but once the action shifts to the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco from game number four, it will be a condensed event with simpler travel links.



While this will be Morocco’s moment to shine, it is also a chance for Africa to reaffirm its position in the global game by proving an able and desirable co-host.



With the new 48-team format, there are only so many countries that can be a single host of the tournament. Saudi Arabia will be in 2034 because they can develop the infrastructure they need.



Certainly, within an African context, the co-hosting model looks the most likely when the continent’s next turn comes around in 2050 or 2054.



“The Morocco, Portugal and Spain partnership brings together and unites Africa and Europe through football, and inspires all of us to work together and make the world a better place,” Confederation of African football president Dr Patrice Motsepe said.



He lobbied hard for the tournament in Morocco and while there was no serious opposition to the Bid, he made sure African nations united behind it.



“The 2030 World Cup is a source of immense pride for the entire African continent. This is truly Africa’s World Cup. Morocco has set the standard for Africa. The work (the country) has done serves as a model for sustainable football development across the continent.”



Five years may seem a long way away, but it goes by in the blink of an eye and there is much work to be done by Morocco to be ready for the tournament.



But they will add a different flavor to the Iberian duo, and a welcome dash of North African culture.



Morocco have bid several times before for the World Cup, including losing out to South Africa in 2010, but their time has now come.



They will want to put on a good show primarily for themselves, but also to showcase that African football deserves its place at the top table. It is a moment for the whole continent to celebrate.

2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers draw to be held in Zurich

‘Truly Africa’s World Cup’: Morocco’s 2030 Football Showcase To Be A Celebration For The Entire Continent

Scott Belsky Says AI Is Collapsing Boundaries Between Traditional Business Functions And Putting More Creative Ability Within Anyone’s Reach.



Tell me a bit about your role at Adobe.



Belsky:&nbsp;My responsibility is overseeing our emerging product groups. These are the groups that include 3D &amp; Immersive. They include the AI-first products, like&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/10/14/new-creative-beginnings-gen-ai-redefining-ideation-with-project-concept" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Project Concept</a>&nbsp;and a whole roadmap of others. They include the Adobe Stock business, which is going through a re-imagination in the world of AI, and is also responsible for sourcing the data that we train our models on.



Then, of course, design. The design organization spans all of our products and services across the company, and it’s an important part of my role to make sure that the designers are aligned around the experiences we’re delivering to our customers. Upgrading our design system, ensuring that we don’t reinvent the wheel across different products when it relates to a particular component or function.



The Strategy &amp; Corporate Development Group also is in my organization. That’s a group that plots the strategy for Adobe going forward, and explores the edges that may someday become the center for the company, then also takes action on some of the inorganic opportunities that we have on the M&amp;A side.



When you’re looking forward, how large of a role does AI play in corporate strategy?



Artificial intelligence to me is reimagining and refactoring every function of an organization. Whether it be finance and accounting, or HR, or legal, or creative, or marketing, these functions are being re-imagined based on these tools. These tools are also collapsing the boundaries between some of these functions, which allow stakeholders who ordinarily were never able to access the power of these functions to be able to do stuff on their behalf.



When you look at the world of creativity and marketing, a few things become clear. First of all, you have a lot of marketers at the edge, like these social media marketers, and people who are engaging in real-time on behalf of the brand on social platforms, where a lot of the spend goes these days for marketing. Those folks need to be outfitted to be able to create in real time. They need to be able to create variations of marketing campaigns. They need to be able to create content that responds to the moment. So in some ways, the lines are blurry. These marketers are acting more like creators.



Similarly on the creator side, creators are starting to act as if they’re art directors and creative directors when they have the ability to assign tasks to AI. Instead of the three or five options that they have the time to explore, now they can explore 300 options leveraging the superpowers of AI. In some cases, that makes them more tastemakers, creative directors and art directors when they’re at that stage of the process.



When it comes to using tools to get exactly what’s in their mind’s eye reflected in some sort of content or creative asset, they have these new tools at their disposal. That’s one of the things that we’re most excited about at Adobe: Taking our creative pros from the prompt era of AI creativity to the controls era. Right now, the creative pros that I talk to are still tinkering with these models. They have fun putting in prompts and stuff like that. It’s a cool concepting and ideation process, but none of it is commercially ready for them to use for putting out something. They want to make all these changes, so they take it into Photoshop, they take it into Illustrator, they take it into our products. I think that control era, where AI becomes even more granular and they can take the reins, is an important step for creative pros.



It’s been two years since ChatGPT hit and every enterprise decided they wanted to have generative AI. How have you seen businesses change their perspective on AI? How do they look at it now?



I think there are two camps of businesses. There are the businesses that typically are the pragmatists. They’re always late to adopt new technologies, for all sorts of reasons. It could be regulatory, it could be deeply ingrained traditions, patterns and reflexes. And it could be the leaders are somewhat technophobic and they want to wait until they have to change something.



Then there’s the camp that’s always saying, we need to reimagine how we do what we do before someone else does. I think [a] characteristic of that camp that leans forward in new technology is they recognize that not only should they be optimizing their product, but they should also be optimizing how they work to create their product. They’re always saying: if we could have more efficient meetings, or if we could have more efficient usage of our data, or if we could optimize the way that we come up with marketing ideas, or if we could streamline this and streamline that.



In that camp, I feel like there’s a big lean in on this technology. They’re in most cases at least playing with it. Many of them are piloting it in some way, shape or form across specific projects. And those who are still playing and piloting are trying to protect the groups that are doing so by making the objectives more along the lines of learning, as opposed to a business outcome, because they want to make sure that they grasp the knowledge and learnings of these tools and their workflows.



And then there are some that have already started to achieve business outcomes and really refactor. When I look at Adobe, we are using products like Copilot and GitHub for our engineers. That has a material impact on how we work. We use Firefly for our branding and marketing work. We’re already creating variations of content and experiencing this kind of multiplier benefit of using those tools.



From where you sit and what you see, both at Adobe but also in the wider space, what do you see coming online and becoming available and accessible to businesses in the way of AI in 2025?



In 2025, there will be a few themes. Number one is that the memory that these AI tools have of our preferences is going to start to enhance the outcomes that we can achieve. On the content and marketing side, the AI remembering the character consistency of something you’re trying to generate content around—whether it be a product that you’re shooting marketing images of, or a character going through a commercial or a short piece of video that you’re developing. The remembering of your brand components, your preferences for brand tone and copy and all that sort of stuff.



On the personal consumer LLM stuff that we all use, the context windows are getting longer and more sophisticated. These AI agents remembering everything we’ve ever purchased, everything we’ve ever liked or disliked, those preferences are going to start to kick in to uplevel the quality of those experiences.



The rise of [AI] agents is going to surprise all of us. We’ve always had a learning curve when it comes to learning tools, software and processes. That’s the learning curve of starting a job or rising the ranks. I would imagine sometime this year, these agents are going to start to meet us where we are in the software tools that we use. They’re going to know what we know and don’t know about it, and they’ll allow us to leverage a lot of power with natural language.



I think it’s really exciting to know that anyone could be able to use a lot of tools that were out of reach. It [also] allows companies like us to not just target marketers and creative pros, but also the stakeholders of marketing and creative, which is almost everyone in an organization. And it also just drives better usage of the product. If an agent helps you and takes actions on your behalf and can explain and show you, it’s really a holy grail for helping people get value out of the products they use.



For creative and marketing tools at Adobe, what is on the horizon—in terms of new developments, ideas and concepts—that will impact what you do?



A couple come to mind. Number one is this new category of ideation and concepting. That typically is the top of the funnel of any creative process. It typically happens in a very offline or manual way, in the form of people making mood boards of images or bookmarks on Instagram of things that inspire them. As I’ve gone around and talked to a lot of creators, art and creative directors and brand managers, they’re constantly collecting all this stuff. For them to be able to use AI to rapidly expand the surface area of possibility they can explore to find great solutions to problems, that category of concepting and mood boarding in the age of AI is really interesting to us. I think that’s one new category that’s going to emerge that’s going to be important for Adobe, and also for the creative and marketing worlds.



The second thing that I think we will see is the maturing, development and innovation of our foundation models. Firefly is in the leading pack of models out there for media generation. The key difference is that Firefly was only trained on commercially safe content that we have licensed. I think we’re one of the only companies that’s really transparent about exactly how we’ve trained our model—as opposed to politely not answering the question. I think that’s important to a lot of our customers, especially in the enterprise, or [among] artists who want to use new tools like AI, but in the right way. I think these models will continue to get better, but that differentiation will continue to become more important.



While we want to make Firefly as great as possible and have it be the commercially safe model for commercial creativity and marketing, I also think that customers may want to use third-party models for various purposes. They might want to use a certain generative model that was trained to make explosions, or to help typography. I’ve been an advocate internally of us supporting third-party models in the workflows that people have. Adobe’s always been a platform-agnostic company, and whenever a platform like Apple or Windows gets better, so do our tools. Similarly, if a new video model comes out, and then another better one, and another better one, if all of those are accessible to our customers for various use cases, how could we not help our customers make use of them? That’s also something that we’re exploring.



You are one of the creators of the&nbsp;<a href="https://contentauthenticity.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Content Authenticity Initiative</a>. Where do you see that going in 2025?



This is one of the true passion projects of my career that I think [is] most important. The Content Authenticity Initiative started over five years ago when we started to see new features emerge in products like After Effects that allowed people to edit real video in a very fast way using AI. So this is before the advent of generative AI, but [it] allowed you to remove objects, mask and do things in video that made something very clear to us: The era ahead was one where we could no longer believe our eyes. In that sense, the question was: What do we do to help people demonstrate that something is real? Or if they’ve edited it, how do we help them show how it was changed so that they can still be trusted? It wasn’t developed to punish bad actors. It was developed to reward good actors who are willing to show the provenance and attribution of their work, which creators love. They want to get credit for their work, so they want to add credentials if they can.



Now, in the age of generative AI and the ubiquity of these technologies, the importance of the Content Authenticity Initiative became 10x, because suddenly all of this stuff, anything in your mind could be generated in a second. In some of the models out there that are trained on the open internet, you can make anyone be doing anything. We realized everyone’s looking for the same solution. The social platforms want a way to expose credentials of assets to show how they were edited or made. The enterprises of the world want to know which model was used to create assets, because if it’s a non-commercially safe model, they may not want to use it in a marketing campaign.



Over the last five years, this has become way bigger than Adobe. We are one of the leaders of a number of people. It’s an open-source, open protocol. It’s a nonprofit organization that runs this with constituents from other companies, including competitive companies. The adoption of content credentials is now north of 3,000. Organizations including all the major camera companies like Nikon, Leica, Canon, Sony. You name it, folks are getting on board.



The vision here is very simple. There’s a cryptographic signature that is put into every asset. It’s not a centralized service. This manifest of data, and how this asset was edited and made, travels with the asset. It’s done in such a way where even if you take a screenshot, it still preserves that information. The platforms that display it have the option—whether it’s YouTube, who’s on board, or Facebook, Meta’s on board—has the option of showing any degree of granularity over those credentials that are attached to that asset. And at the end of the day, us as end viewers can determine whether we can trust it or not.



If we were to be having a conversation a year from today, looking back on what’s happened in 2025 and what to expect in terms of AI for 2026, what would we be talking about?



I think we’d be talking about the new discoveries we’ve had on how to use these reasoning engines. I think we’re still at the infancy of how we leverage these state-of-the-art LLMs. As they gain more powerful and longer context windows, and they start to learn who we are, and in some ways empathize with us and where we are in our knowledge, and what our interests are, et cetera, these reasoning engines are going to play a really interesting role, kind of augmenting the way our brain works.



The thing that I find most interesting these days, personally, is when I talk to friends about how they’re using these tools: To go back and forth and make health decisions about themselves that they never had the resources to make. Or they’re putting a proposal together for a customer, and putting it into the LLM first and saying, what might give my customer pause? Why might my customer not want to do business with me based on this proposal? They’re getting such incredible, interesting responses increasingly based on who they are or what their company does. It’s really magical. It’s like having an instant focus group of exactly who you’d want to be in front of you at every given moment in time, and having those insights come back to you. I think we’re going to be surprised by the power of these reasoning engines for making decisions, for managing personal things, for being more effective in our jobs.



I also think they’re going to start to play a role in the commerce or purchase decisions that we make. The idea that we used to decide what restaurant to go to or what thing to buy based on how many stars it has from strangers is going to be replaced by the wisdom and guidance of an AI that knows us extremely well and can give us a recommendation based on our preferences, opposed to based on what the average person thinks.



If you could give some wisdom to CEOs that are looking forward and trying to map out an AI strategy for 2025, what would you say?



No. 1 is allow your teams to play and pilot this technology. Novelty precedes utility when it comes to adoption of new technology. You might not feel like it’s driving the bottom line immediately, but that play helps them discover the utility that ultimately makes a huge impact in the business.



No. 2 is constantly asking yourself a question. Whenever you’re reviewing the roadmap for a particular function of your organization, or the hiring plan, or the product strategy, you should always be asking yourself: Are we sufficiently refactoring how this works? And are we sufficiently re-imagining what’s possible? We’re in a platform shift now that happens probably once every decade—if not longer—where you actually can fundamentally change the way something operates. Over the coming years, roles will change. The tools that we use to run certain functions will change. And as a leader of an organization, you have to be asking yourself: Are we sufficiently refactoring? Are we sufficiently reimagining how we can achieve our mission?

In this photo illustration, the Adobe, Inc. logo is seen

AI Is Reimagining Every Aspect Of Business, Adobe’s Strategy Lead Says

Liz Sanya&#8217;s motivation for this latest attempt was inspired by the recent achievements of Nigerians who have broken various world records, including Hilda Baci&#8217;s longest cooking marathon and Tunde Onakoya&#8217;s longest chess marathon.



Twentytwo-year-old Nigerian-British fashion designer Elizabeth Sanyaolu, also known as Liz Sanya, has completed her attempt at the Guinness World Records for the largest sandal, measuring 8.147 meters long and 3.156 meters wide.



The Guinness World Records typically reviews evidence within 12 weeks to make the awards decision. The record was set in 2016 by the Municipio de Sahuayo (Mexico) in Sahuayo, Michoacán, Mexico, with a sandal measuring 7.45 meters (24 feet 5.31 inches) long and 3.09 meters (10 feet 1.65 inches) wide.



Sanya, founder of the fashion brand SANYA, started the attempt on January 2 at 10PM West African time (WAT) and completed it on January 5 at 4AM. The pink clog was constructed at a location in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria&#8217;s commercial capital.



&#8220;We took under 35 hours to complete the shoe as we had a timer and between rest breaks,&#8221; Sanya, who returned to Nigeria on December 10 for the attempt, says to FORBES AFRICA.



This is not Sanya&#8217;s first attempt at a world record. Previously, she had tried to set a record for the &#8220;world&#8217;s darkest shoe&#8221; by reimagining Air Force sneakers in an ultra-black finish.



&#8220;It was the comments at the time that encouraged me to submit to the Guinness World Records but they came back with concerns about some technicalities and no existing record of such nature,&#8221; she shares.



The fashion designer&#8217;s latest record-breaking attempt drew support from Nigerian celebrities, including Aboriomoh &#8216;Dremo&#8217; Raymond, Peace &#8216;P.Priime&#8217; Oredope, Phillip &#8216;Pheelz&#8217; Moses, and Mayowa &#8216;Mayorkun&#8217; Adewale, who visited her at the Lekki location to offer encouragement.



&#8220;I aim to take my brand to the global stage, making it a household name that resonates with people across continents,&#8221; notes Sanya who has also designed merchandise for Nigerian singer Divine &#8216;Rema&#8217; Ikubor&#8217;s 02 tour.

IMG-20250108-WA0000

‘Take My Brand To The Global Stage’: Nigerian-British Fashion Designer Attempts New World Record For Largest Sandal

Historical manuscripts and closely-guarded treasures of the VATICAN APOSTOLIC LIBRARY are now accessible through digitization and blockchain, ensuring their preservation.



There has always been a lot of mystery surrounding the Vatican Secret Archives. Secured in a two-story underground vault beneath the Cortile della Pigna, this incredible collection of documents, renamed the Vatican Apostolic Archive, spans 12 centuries. From ancient manuscripts to letters between popes and kings, records from the Roman Inquisition, and a list of banned books (known as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum), it’s an archive filled with secrets that only a select few are privileged to access. And although there have been many books, films and theories about what lies within its vaults, the true extent of its mysteries remains locked away.



The same could once be said about the Vatican Apostolic Library. Founded in 1475, the library houses one of the world’s richest collections of manuscripts, printed books, coins and medals. It was only accessible to high-ranking clergy and elite scholars, its content closely guarded until the 19th century.



All of these fragile documents required preservation and specialized, climate-controlled rooms were introduced. It’s only within the past decade that the Vatican Apostolic Library has focused on digitizing its vast collection, making 27,500 manuscripts in it accessible worldwide on platforms like DigiVatLib.



Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, NTT Data created a digital archiving solution called AMLAD (Advanced Museum Library Archives Deposit). AMLAD wasn’t created for the Vatican Apostolic Library but this mammoth collection, often referred to as historical heritage of humankind, made it the perfect project to showcase the platform’s capabilities. Even when well-preserved, ancient documents are at risk of deterioration, digitization provides a way to maintain and preserve these collections, which is why NTT DATA developed a tool for archiving both 2D and 3D data. 



“It’s one of the challenges that cultural institutions hold right now,” explains Kyohei Jinno, Deputy Manager of NTT Data Japan Corporation. NTT Data has been working with the Vatican Apostolic Library for a decade. Their cloud-based digital storage system now includes over 27,500 manuscripts which are available online to users worldwide, complete and free of charge with high-definition images. 



The next step for the Vatican Apostolic Library and NTT Data is Web3 – NFT technologies.



“We believe the concept of Web3 with its characteristics like decentralization, permissionless, native payments may enable a new community,” says Jinno. “The reliability of digital data becomes a challenge during digital data archiving and this can be mitigated by ensuring traceability through the recording and referencing of the digital data’s provenance information and immutability information.”



In other words, blockchain technology.



NTT have already used this technology to successfully build a digital archive system for the ASEAN Cultural Heritage Digital Archive (ACHDA) project. “Web3, as an open information system platform, isn’t tied to specific service providers, allowing everyone to participate. In this proof of concept, we issue NFTs as proof of contribution and use them as authentication keys,” adds Jinno. This novel approach gives users access to high- resolution images and detailed information about selected cultural heritage items. “Instead of providing original artwork, we are exploring options such as special experiences or abstracted content,” says Jinno.



The idea is that by using NFTs, they will not only encourage greater engagement with the library’s collections, they’ll be able to demonstrate blockchain’s potential for preserving and sharing heritage.



Jinno explains that a Web3-based digital archiving approach provides a way to safeguard these cultural assets by creating reliable digital versions that can be restored if the original materials are damaged or destroyed.



“The main purpose of preservation is to restore data,” he adds. “But at the same time, we’re showing people through a project like the Vatican Library how the blockchain works and how it can be used to protect original content.”

Christmas Celebrations In The Vatican

Where Ancient Heritage Meets Modern Technology: Why The Vatican Library Is Embracing Web3

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Meghan Markle is set to make her return to the small screen later this month with a new lifestyle show called &#8220;With Love, Meghan,&#8221; a Netflix original lifestyle series born out of her and Prince Harry’s Archewell Productions’ $100 million deal with the streamer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



A nearly two-minute-long&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdro1p53LYQ&amp;t=23s" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">trailer</a>&nbsp;released by Netflix on Thursday shows Markle wandering the rows of a meticulously kept garden, choosing fresh flowers, harvesting honey, kneading homemade bread and working in the kitchen with a lineup of famous friends.



Netflix says the eight-episode show, which will release in full Jan. 15, &#8220;reimagines the genre of lifestyle programming, blending practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old.&#8221;



Actress Mindy Kaling, chefs Alice Walters and Roy Choi, Godmothers Bookstore co-founder Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, “Suits” star Abigail Spencer, Prince Harry and other stars all make appearances in the trailer, with Kaling declaring her time in the duchess’ kitchen “one of the most glamorous moments of my life.”



The show is directed by Michael Steed, the man behind the &#8220;Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown&#8221; series, and showrunner Leah Hariton, who also made the Daytime Emmy-nominated &#8220;Selena + Chef&#8221; show with Selena Gomez.



An upcoming lifestyle series from Markle was first&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/04/11/netflix-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-polo-lifestyle-american-riviera-orchard/">announced</a>&nbsp;by Netflix last April, shortly after Markle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/03/15/meghan-markle-launches-new-lifestyle-brand-amid-kate-middleton-photo-editing-scandal-heres-what-we-know/?sh=26c9201758bd">launched a lifestyle brand</a>&nbsp;called American Riviera Orchard in March of 2024 that has yet to produce any content or products.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crucial Quote</h2>



&#8220;We&#8217;re not in the pursuit of perfection, we&#8217;re in the pursuit of joy,&#8221; Markle says in the trailer for “With Love, Meghan.” &#8220;Love is in the details.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Surprising Fact</h2>



Before she became engaged to and later married Prince Harry, Markle ran a lifestyle blog called The Tig on which she interviewed celebrities, talked fashion and revealed personal details of her early life and career as an actress. She closed the site in 2017.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



5. &#8220;With Love, Meghan&#8221; is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/04/11/netflix-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-polo-lifestyle-american-riviera-orchard/">fifth project</a>&nbsp;to come out of the reported $100 million deal with Netflix Harry and Meghan made after announcing their departure from the British royal family. &#8220;Polo,&#8221; a five-part series on the sport of professional polo, debuted in December but didn&#8217;t crack the streamers&#8217;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/tv?week=2024-12-15" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">top 10.</a>&nbsp;Their first project, a tell-all 2022 documentary called &#8220;Harry &amp; Meghan&#8221; was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/business/harry-and-meghan-netflix-documentary-most-watched/index.html#:~:text=Netflix's%20documentary%20about%20Prince%20Harry,service%20in%20its%20premiere%20week." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">watched</a>&nbsp;for 81.55 million hours in its first week and became the platform&#8217;s most-watched documentary premiere. The couple&#8217;s production company also created “Heart of Invictus,” a documentary following athletes participating in the Prince Harry-founded sporting event for wounded veterans, and “Live to Lead,” a docuseries on impactful world leaders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



In January 2020, 18 months after they were married and less than a year after welcoming their first child, Harry and Meghan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51040751" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;they would be stepping down as senior royals, citing bullying from the British media, racism within the family and general mistreatment. The couple moved to California, where they had one more child, and have since launched several business ventures to varying degrees of success. The couple created a charity organization and an audio and video production company using the name Archewell and signed deals with Netflix and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/meghan-markles-archetypes-podcast-at-spotify-wont-be-renewed-44311f4f?mod=hp_lead_pos12" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Spotify</a>&nbsp;worth $100 million and $20 million, respectively. In 2023, the couple&#8217;s Spotify partnership&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2024/02/13/meghan-markle-strikes-deal-with-smaller-podcast-distributor-after-spotify-agreement-ends/">ended</a>&nbsp;after they reportedly failed to meet “productivity benchmarks.” Last March, Markel announced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/03/15/meghan-markle-launches-new-lifestyle-brand-amid-kate-middleton-photo-editing-scandal-heres-what-we-know/?sh=26c9201758bd">American Riviera Orchard</a>&nbsp;as a lifestyle brand that, in an LLC filing in Delaware, said it would create an online retail store selling tableware, cutlery, cookbooks, servingware, coffee and tea services, kitchen textiles, jams and jellies, oils and other foods. The brand has hit several road bumps, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://wwd.com/pop-culture/celebrity-news/meghan-markle-trademark-american-riviera-orchard-denied-1236569541/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">rejection</a>&nbsp;of a trademark request and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thecut.com/article/when-will-meghan-markle-debut-american-riviera-orchard.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reports</a>&nbsp;no CEO has been found to lead the business, and has gone nowhere since the announcement. No posts have been made on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/americanrivieraorchard/?hl=en" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">brand’s Instagram</a>&nbsp;since last March and the company’s&nbsp;<a href="https://americanriviera.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">website</a>&nbsp;has been empty.

AAAAQRgtH-Un5JEeeJJeNpPJRMY6lbrUBE263C6bvohtO_W6OPjz7GyX2plNoQ2FXIuukHxgDizUM3yzfi5qDhDtwm4EWWh2RCetxL9Ai7r7oWbR5EqJB7wceuMEMlJIw9BVxny0scOp7n_NndcIXvLMNMHA

What We Know About Meghan Markle’s Netflix Lifestyle Show Ahead Of January Debut

Entrepreneurship often carries an air of glamor and boundless opportunity. For me though, it was neither a choice nor a planned move; it was a necessity. In 2019, I found myself stepping out of a senior leadership role at a bank, leaving behind the comfort of a stable sal- ary and the relative predictability of corporate life. What lay ahead was a journey of fear, uncertainty, doubt, and ultimately transformation.



It was the retrenchments that forced my hand. I had to make a difficult decision. Do I stay and fight for a role with no guarantees or take a package and walk away? I chose to run, hopeful, perhaps naively, that I could establish a boutique consultancy focused on corporate innovation.



Amazingly, I landed my first client almost immediately, a stroke of luck that initially vali- dated my belief in the new path.



But all projects end. Nine months later, as my first assignment wrapped up, reality set in. I hadn’t nurtured my network or built a pipeline for future clients. I assumed that initial success would automat- ically translate into ongoing demand. It didn’t.



Approaching Christmas with no prospects, no income, and mounting anxiety, was my lowest point. The fear of failing my family weighed heavily, and I often found myself taking deep, deliberate breaths just to keep going.



Yet, it was during this period of uncertainty that I began to learn how to become an entrepreneur.



And the first lesson was to learn how to control my emotions, particularly those of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, what entrepreneurs call ‘FUD’, as they had become constant companions. It was only when I stopped trying to suppress them but rather em- braced them that I was truly able to make progress in my business.



I started making cold calls. I tried doing live interviews. I volunteered to write a column. I started lecturing. I started a podcast. I offered coaching to senior executives.



I felt like an imposter. I embarrassed myself. But I took these feelings of FUD as an indicator that I was trying new things.



And that was good because it meant I was growing.



I was building resilience.



And it helped me to stop thinking in terms of success or failure and instead had me thinking more about actions and reactions.



Removing the fear of failure and replacing it with curiosity about the possibilities was, for me at least, an epiphany.



But much as I felt like these new experiences were putting me in the right places, I was still struggling to convert the experiences into business opportunities.



And that was because I was not actively looking for the signals within the noise.



Rather than getting out to potential clients and observing their actions, I had been asking my close friends and family for their feedback. And much as meant well, their well wishes were not reflective e marketplace. 



I had taken the easy route to find affirmation rather than the cold, clinical path an entrepreneur s to take to validate that there is demand for their product or service.



So, now, I watch for the signals. How many of my mailers were opened? How many pitches have converted? What was the body language like in the meeting? How many days did it take to get a response? Where are the referrals coming from?



Fast forward five years, and I’m still a micro-entre- preneur, facing FUD every day. But now, I see these challenges as part of the journey.



That innovation consultancy has now morphed into a PR and marketing agency that generates leads for others by hosting thought-leadership events.



And I still make cold calls, do live interviews, write a column, lecture, podcast, and provide coaching to senior executives.



And being totally honest, I still feel like a bit of an imposter.



But I have found my niche and have started to explore ways to scale. And I now enjoy what I do and have less worries about feeding my family.



So if you are thinking about, or have started on the journey of becoming a micro-entrepreneur, remember this. Your path will not be the same as mine. But if you embrace your fears, look for the signals in the noise, and experiment continually, you will increase your chances of building a sustainable and fulfilling business.



I wish you luck!

Female artist concentrating while doing craft at table in living room

Lessons From The Edge And Facing Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD): A Micro-Entrepreneur’s Journey

The technology scene on the continent is thriving, producing billion-dollar businesses that are transforming the digital landscape.



The word ‘unicorn’, synonymous with an entity that is &nbsp;rare and legendary, is the ideal way to depict startups valued at over $1 billion. Traditionally associated with Silicon Valley in the U.S., unicorns are now emerging across Africa, driven by rapid mobile adoption, a growing demand for financial services and an unstoppable entrepreneurial spirit.



These companies are pioneering solutions that respond directly to the needs of African markets, but are making waves far beyond the continent’s borders, while simultaneously attracting global investors and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the digital economy.



From Nigeria’s tech innovators to Egypt’s fintech pioneers, these African unicorns are transforming industries like banking, e-commerce, and digital payments.



Here’s a look at the businesses that are reshaping the way people and companies engage with technology in Africa and beyond:



Moniepoint – Nigeria’s Newest Unicorn



Fintech company, Moniepoint recently crossed the $1 billion mark after securing $110 million in funding, with Google’s Africa Investment Fund as one of its investors. Initially a banking infrastructure provider, Moniepoint now offers a full suite of digital banking services. It’s revolutionizing access to payments, foreign exchange, and credit, all thanks to Africa’s growing mobile connectivity.



Interswitch – A Pioneer in the Tech Scene



Founded in 2002, Nigeria’s Interswitch paved the way for digital payments in Africa and became one of the continent’s earliest unicorns, in 2019, with a reported valuation at $1 billion. Known for its Verve Card, Interswitch provides interbank transaction services, identity verification, and government infrastructure. The company has honed in on its mission to make financial transactions seamless across Africa.



Flutterwave – Simplifying Global and Local Payments



Flutterwave, founded in 2016, became a game-changer in payment solutions for businesses with its last public valuation at around $3 billion. Focused on simplifying international payments, it now empowers African entrepreneurs through tools like its Flutterwave stores and Disha, a platform for content creators. The company’s mission is simple but powerful: to ensure that’s it’s easier to do business with Africa.



OPay – A Fintech Powerhouse



OPay, founded by Opera and Balder Investment, quickly became a popular name in Nigeria and is valued at over $2 billion. After pivoting from ride-hailing to focus solely on fintech, OPay now offers services like airtime top-ups, microloans, and bill payments to over 18 million users. Its agent network is vast, enabling financial services even in remote areas.



Andela – Shaping Africa’s Tech Talent



Andela’s journey began in 2014 with a bold mission: to train Africa’s brightest developers and connect them with global companies. Today, it’s a talent marketplace, with a last reported valuation of around $1.5 billion, that places experienced engineers with top firms worldwide. Andela has moved from solely filling the global tech talent gap to &nbsp;also proving Africa’s potential on the world stage.



Wave – Senegal’s Mobile Money Innovation



Wave Senegal has reshaped the mobile money market in Francophone Africa, challenging telecom giants with its affordable, user-friendly platform. With lower fees and easy-to-use services, the startup, reportedly valued at over $1.7 billion, has seemingly become indispensable, making financial transactions more accessible for millions of users.



MNT-Halan – A Formidable Fintech Business in Egypt



The $1 billion valued MNT-Halan, as reported online, formed from a merger between ride-hailing and microlending platforms, is a leading force in fintech innovation in Egypt. Focused on loans, digital wallets, and B2B e-commerce, MNT-Halan provides vital financial services for individuals and businesses alike, making financial inclusion a reality.



Chipper Cash – Connecting Africa’s Financial Ecosystem



Chipper Cash, valued at around $2.2 billion, is breaking down financial borders with its cross-border payment services. Boasting over five million users, the app enables easy transfers, bill payments, and even crypto trading across Africa.

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