World
Geodrill Wants More Women in Mining, Exploration
Traditionally, mining has always been considered a male-dominated field. The Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (2014) says 5 to 10 percent of people working in mining are women. At the director level, it is seven percent; the lowest of any major industry.
This is consistent on a country level in most mining regions. For example, in 2014, of the 10,949 members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, there were only 659 women; thus, about six percent of the total membership.
In sub-Saharan Africa where South Africa and Ghana are leaders in the mining industry, there have been many calls to improve these disappointing figures.
An article published by Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE) in 2016 says, South Africa, a country known for world class mining, women constitute 11 percent of the workforce in the mining industry even after more than 20 years of democracy.
In Ghana, for instance, women comprise 15 percent of the legal and 50 percent of the illegal artisanal mining workforce. The case is not as encouraging in the well-established large scale mining firms.
Be that as it may, as the world observed the International Women’s Day last Sunday, March 8, 2020 Geodrill Ghana, a leading exploration drilling company in the West African sub-region strengthens its resolve to invest more towards increasing women involvement in mining. This they hope will create a good case for many other companies in the mining industry to emulate.
What Geodrill Is Doing
Geodrill, which was established in 1998 with one rig in Ghana, now has 67 rigs across Africa.
The Head of Human Resources, Iddi Baah-Kurey revealed that per the firm’s model, they do not look for ready-made skills in the job market. Instead “Geodrill prides itself in hiring people with minimal or zero skills and then put the individual through mentorship and on the job training.
The model helps them to make a conscious effort towards attracting women into the mining industry, an area which is traditionally a male dominated field.
Another strategy to increase employment of females is; reserving specific roles in key departments for women. This has seen the recruitment of women into the Finance, Health and Safety, Stores and Warehouse, Human Resources and Maintenance Planning Units.
Recruitment from University
To further improve and sustain women participation, Geodrill also selects candidates freshly from the university through an aptitude test. The final candidates, particularly those selected for positions reserved for women only, are trained over time to become well equipped and globally competitive.
The training and gender sensitive support provided by Geodrill has proven successful with high retention rate. It has also increased the company’s female employee from just handful in 2015 when the staff strength was about 600 to 65 females out of 900 employees across the group. The Ghana operations leads with 44 females out of the 65.
More Women Shy Away from Technical Roles
Iddi Baah-Kurey indicated despite these interventions it is unfortunate that not many women are interested in the technical roles as they are in the other roles.
He recounted that a couple of years ago, Geodrill conducted an aptitude test for graduating students of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa, with the hope of recruiting 15 gender-balanced graduates from the drilling class.
Try as they may, only two women made the final list. Despite the persuasion applied and benefits, the two women were unwilling to work on the drill rigs.
“Today, some of those who joined Geodrill from that year group have been trained to become deep directional drillers, engaged in world class drilling for our clients who are scattered in all our operational countries; Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Guinea, Togo and Mali. The company is now entering the African Copper belt.
Had the two women joined Geodrill they might be multipurpose or directional drillers today, Iddi Baah-Kurey recounted. He stressed that “as a world class drilling company, I am looking for to the day when we will have our first Ghanaian Female Driller in Geodrill”.
Success Story
Nonetheless there have been a lot of success in the other departments which are also male dominated. The Health and Safety Co-ordinator for Ghana operations, Bernice Adzo Gbadam is an example.
Having worked at Geodrill since 2014 Adzo Gbadam is the first full time female employee to work at the main workshop covering all Ghana drill sites.
She admits that despite the rewarding nature of the role, “my male colleagues initially struggled accepting a female HSE officer.” She commended top management for their role in transforming the company’s culture which now makes her respected in her position by all.
She was excited about her experience which has seen her work on projects in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire alongside her male counterparts. She described her experience saying “it is as good as gold.”
Geodrill Welcomes More Women Into Mining
Using herself as an example, Adzo Gbadam who is in charge of Health and Safety stressed that “We would really like to assure women that they can do this work, because Geodrill provides all the necessary training on the job. Something I benefited from to become who I am today.”
Iddi Baah-Kurey, Head of Human Resources urged women to consider drilling as it is safe; saying, “We work in conjunction with Mine Site Health and Safety teams to ensure the safety of all, including our female workforce.”
He noted that since the Health and Safety Coordinator for the firm’s Ghana operations was a woman; It goes without saying that she is in the best position to device Health and Safety practices to prevent harm and injuries to staff (Both men and women) at the work place.
Baah-Kurey acknowledged that although women some years back showed little interest in mining firms in general, the situation has improved. “Geodrill Ghana, West Africa’s leading exploration drilling company only wishes we had more women candidates applying for technical roles just as they do for other roles.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Social media platform, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with United States and global investors to operate its business in America.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive, Mr Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on January 22, 2026 would end years of efforts by the US government to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
It is in line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9 per cent of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15 per cent each.
Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.
The White House previously said that Oracle, which was co-founded by President Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.
The deal comes after a series of delays.
Business Post reported in April 2024 that the administration of President Joe Biden passed a law to ban the app over national security concerns, unless it was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on January 20, 2025 but was pushed back multiple times by President Trump, while his administration worked out a deal to transfer ownership.
President Trump said in September that he had spoken on the phone to China’s President Xi Jinping, who he said had given the deal the go ahead.
The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met face to face in October.
The app’s fate was clouded by ongoing tensions between the two nations on trade and other matters.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn