Jobs/Appointments
Goyal, Pule Join Advisory Board of Sabi
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The founder of Africa Lighthouse Capital, Bame Pule; and the Head of M&A at Udaan, India, Sapna Goyal have been appointed to the advisory board of Sabi, a leading B2B marketplace serving Africa’s informal economy.
The duo will work with the company and bolster its network and knowledge to help improve the infrastructure for informal business.
According to the co-founder/CEO of Sabi, Anu Adasolum, the two highly talented and strategic business leaders will bring fresh insights and perspectives to the board.
“Their expertise and track record in driving value will be critical for Sabi in our quest to serve the informal economy. We look forward to working together as we maintain our exceptional growth,” Adasolum stated.
Bame Pule established an independent Mauritius-based private equity firm founded in 2012 to invest in and nurture businesses into African champions.
The firm has a particular focus on helping investee companies adopt global best practices regardless of sector, attain benchmarks equivalent to those of global peers, and expand into multiple key African markets.
Prior to founding Africa Lighthouse Capital, Mr Pule worked at Actis Capital, ShoreView Capital, Goldman Sachs in New York, Credit Suisse in New York and Salomon Brothers/Citigroup in Los Angeles.
He pursued bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Political Science (double major) from Pomona College in Claremont, California and was awarded the Pomona Scholar prize for superior academic achievement in 1997 and 1999. Mr Pule also pursued a master’s in business administration (MBA) degree from Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.
On her part, Sapna has investing experience in early and growth stage internet start-ups in India. Before joining udaan, she worked with Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP) VC & Growth Equity Fund by being responsible for investments in the Indian internet space.
She also has investing experience in Indian Public Markets as part of a hedge fund at GS. She is passionate about the change internet can bring to India and how it is a great leveller. She is an active angel investor.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Yakusak Ezra, has been re-elected as the President of ECOWAS Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) Network in Accra, Ghana.
With the election, Mr Ezra is to serve another one-year tenure and will lead 15 other member ECOWAS countries in driving trade within the sub-region.
A statement signed by Mr Ndubueze Okeke, Head, Corporate Communications of NEPC said Mr Ezra’s re-election was also in line with Article 11 of the ECOWAS TPO Network.
“The ECOWAS Trade Promotion Organization is a network of all Trade Promotion Organizations in West Africa established by the decisions of the Council of Ministers at the Ordinary Session.
”Nigeria became the pioneer president in April 2021. Dr Ezra became the president following the expiration of the tenure of Mr Awolowo as ED/CEO of NEPC.
”The re-election of Dr Ezra was at the end of 2nd Annual General Meeting of the Network held at Alisa Hotel, Accra, Ghana from 19th – 20th May 2022.
”He was re-elected along with the vice president, Mr Ben Guy Mbangue from Cote’ D’Ivoire.
“The duo constitute the Executive Bureau of the Network and the tenure expires after one year. All members present unanimously re-elected the President and Vice President respectively,” the statement said.
ECOWAS TPO Network is a public-sector led entity and will work in partnership with the ECOWAS commission to drive inclusive trade development initiatives within West Africa and beyond.
The body is part of steps towards building mutual trust and cooperation without borders within the ECOWAS region. As of today, intra-Africa exports only account for about 16 per cent of Africa’s global export, and more specifically intra-ECOWAS trade only accounts for a tenth of ECOWAS countries’ global trade.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Mr Anamekwe Nwabuoku has been appointed by the federal government as the acting Accountant General of the Federation (AGF).
The appointment of Mr Nwabuoku followed the suspension of Mr Ahmed Idris from office after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested him over an alleged N80 billion.
Last Monday, the anti-graft agency apprehended Mr Idris after his failure to honour an invitation extended to him over the matter.
He was taken into the EFCC custody to answer questions about the alleged fraud and to ensure an “unhindered investigation,” the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, asked him to step aside.
This action led to the postponement of the monthly Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) last week as the embattled AGF leads the gathering.
In order not to create a vacuum, the federal government has asked Mr Nwabuoku to head the office in an acting capacity pending the outcome of the probe into the fraud allegation against Mr Idris.
His appointment was confirmed in a letter dated Friday, May 20, 2022, and signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr Aliyu Ahmed.
According to the notice, the acting AGF is expected to carry out his duties in strict compliance with extant rules and observe the highest sense of professionalism.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A professional statistician, Mr Semiu Adeniran, has become the substantive Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The appointment of Mr Adeniran was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, a statement signed on Friday by Sufuyan Ojeifo, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, disclosed.
The new Nigeria’s statistician-general was selected for the job following the death of the former occupier of the position, Mr Harry Simon on April 13, 2022.
According to the statement today, prior to his new appointment, Mr Semiu was the Director of Demographic and Household Statistics at the stats office.
The new NBS CEO has over three decades of statistical hands-on experience garnered from various local and international institutions and has a bias toward Demography and Social Statistics.
It was stated that the appointment is with immediate effect.
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