Save Our Needy Partners With PEP Stores To Support Vulnerable Women and Children

Multinational retail store, PEP Stores has joined hands with Save Our Needy to reach out to vulnerable women and children as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The retail giant has always made huge efforts to improve the lives of host communities over the years.

Since 2011, Save Our Needy has been committed to positively impacting the lives of disadvantaged women, children and young people through education, empowerment, enlightenment and community outreach programs.

L-R: PEP Stores team (Dynamos) with the Save Our Needy team

A generous donation of items including clothing, toys and baby nappies worth over a million naira was presented to the Save Our Needy team represented by the CEO, Ms Marvella Odili and the Program Manager, Mr. Jerry Odili, on September 30th 2016 by the PEP Stores team (Dynamos).

Widows, single mothers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) will be the main beneficiaries of this partnership.

Ms Marvella Odili expressed great joy and appreciation to the PEP Stores team as she received the donated items.

Marvella Odili, CEO, Save Our Needy expressing joy as she received the donated  items

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3 Lucky Nigerian Start-Ups Get Needed Support From President Buhari and Mark Zuckerberg

Nigeria has a growing technology scene, full of ambitious young entrepreneurs looking for ways to overcome various social challenges.

Thirty of them recently competed for a chance to pitch their business ideas directly to the president of Nigeria. Three of them made the final cut, including a Nigerian American:

Angel Adelaja, CEO, Fresh Direct, Nigeria

Angel Adelaja is the CEO of Fresh Direct, Nigeria, which specializes in urban farming to meet the needs of Nigerians who have been dependent on importing food products.

“We take a 20-foot [6.1-meter] container that you would put a car in to ship, and we fit it with hydroponic farming technology and we farm vertically, so we’re using as much space as we can in the system,” she said.

Adelaja is a Nigerian American who recently returned to Nigeria to cater to the expanding class of nutrition-conscious urbanites.

Ifedayo Oladapo, CEO, GRIT Systems Engineering

Ifedayo Oladapo is the founder of GRIT Systems Engineering. He is trying to amass data on electricity consumption and production. GRIT Systems manufactures an energy device for users to monitor their various energy sources.

“There’s an incredible amount of waste,” Oladapo said. “We spend $11 billion each year fueling generators. That’s 4 percent of our GDP, and that doesn’t even cover the cost of maintenance.”

Emmanuel Okena, CEO, Tracology Nigeria, shaking hands with President Buhari

Emmanuel Okena is the CEO of Tracology. He and his team created a barcode that will be posted on people’s front gates, so garbagemen know whether a customer has paid for the trash to be picked up.

“Once the utility provider comes to the house, all he has to do is scan this barcode and he knows in real time whether you have paid for that waste or whatever service he wants to offer you,” Okena said.

Meeting some high-powered people

Tracology’s Okena, along with the two others, got the chance to meet President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Okena won a cash prize of more than $8,000 from telecommunications company Airtel, an event sponsor.

“It has been humbling, and we are very grateful,” Okena said. “The president was so impressed that Nigerians are thinking out of the current crisis, economic recession, we have, making sure that we can generate revenue.”

The pitch event kicked off with a lot of fanfare, and with tech celebrity Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. Zuckerberg listened to the winning pitches from the startup owners and said he was reminded of when he first started building Facebook.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg

 

“This trip has really blown me away by the talent of the entrepreneurs and developers in this country, and by the focus on building something that is going to make a difference and going to make a change,” Zuckerberg said while on stage at the presidential banquet hall.

“I think if you keep on doing this, you are not only going to change Nigeria or Africa, but the whole world,” Zuckerberg said.

Article culled from ShareAmerica

5 Powerful Weekend Habits Of Super Successful Entrepreneurs

Most “nine-to-fivers” tune out for the weekend, grab a bag of potato chips, and catch the game– but not highly successful entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs tend to spend their spare time more wisely because they realize that if they want to be successful, they have to be proactive. For that reason, their weekends tend to bear a close resemblance to their work week. But it’s not about grinding 24/7, or being a workaholic, it’s about mastering time management. The key to maximizing your time is to create habits that can be carried over to the weekend to increase productivity and help you refuel so you can make the most of the coming work-week.

While individuals vary in their strategies, there are certain trends that pop up again and again when highly successful entrepreneurs answer the question “what do you do with your weekend?”

Give their tips a try and you can become more productive, too… even on the weekend.

1. HOWARD SCHULTZ: WAKE UP EARLY.

 

 

The majority of high performers have made a habit of rising early– even on the weekends; take Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks for example, he gets up every day at 4:30am. You just don’t see really successful business people sleeping in until 11am, even on the weekends. And there’s actually science behind it. In a 2008 study, Harvard biologist Christoph Randler discovered that early risers are more proactive. He found that morning people also foresee problems and try to minimize them. So set your alarm a few hours ahead and see what you can get accomplished. You may surprise yourself!

 

2. SPENCER RASCOFF: REFLECT ON THE BIGGER PICTURE.

 

 

Weekends free you from menial daily tasks that can keep you from seeing the big picture. Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow, says “My weekends are an important time to unplug from the day-to-day and get a chance to think more deeply about my company and my industry.” Take a cue from his success and make time on the weekends to reflect and think deeply about your company, your future, and the bigger picture.

 

3. RICHARD BRANSON: GIVE BACK.

 

 

Giving back can fill your life with purpose and a sense of achievement. No matter the struggles you may have gone through during the week with business, employees, or clients, you always have something to offer. As Anne Frank said, “No one has ever become poor through giving.” Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group is an embodiment of Frank’s motto. Through charities, programs and other initiatives, Branson has taken on AIDS (Virgin Healthcare Foundation), nuclear weapons (Global Zero), climate change, and even war itself (The Elders). But don’t think that you have to save the world– entrepreneurs can make a major impact on the future by simply mentoring those just starting out.

 

4. NAVEEN JAIN: NOURISH YOURSELF.

 

 

Weekends present a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to re-charge and re-focus on taking care of their own health and wellness. After all, you can’t run a company if you’re not in a healthy mental or physical state. Naveen Jain, CEO of Moon Express, a space mining company, says that the most important weekend habit for his success is ” keeping mind, body and soul nourished. Reading, work out and meditating does that for me.”Jain has science to back him up, too. In fact, studies indicate that meditation is effective at reducing anxiety, depression, and blood pressure, while, at the same time, increasing creativity and focus. So, take a tip from the man who’s going to the moon and take time for yourself. Your future self will thank you for it!

 

5. JACK DORSEY: PREPARE FOR THE COMING WEEK.

 

 

Highly successful entrepreneurs know that planning on the weekend makes them more effective, and offers the opportunity to hit Monday ready to go. It also means that since they will be more organized, they can present employees with a clearer vision and direction. Jack Dorsey, Twitter and Square co-founder says “Saturday I take off. I hike. And then Sunday is reflections, feedback, strategy and getting ready for the rest of the week.” With two massively successful companies, who could argue with his advice? Give planning a try and we promise you’ll see results.

For super successful entrepreneurs, leisure time can be a precious commodity– that’s why it’s so important to use it wisely. Use the 5 simple tips above to stop wasting your weekends and maximize your time and impact. Entrepreneurs who integrate these winning habits into their daily routines will not only be following in the steps of some of the most successful men on earth, they will be steps ahead of the competition.

 

 Article culled from SuccessFastLane.