Today, at the margins of the U.S. Africa Financial Inclusion Conference sponsored by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), Brij Technologies, Inc. unveiled Paybills.Africa. The platform seamlessly connects Africa’s merchants globally, allowing customers to settle bills from anywhere in the world with one-touch ease on its web or mobile app and with bank-grade security. PayBills.Africa allows payers to settle their bills directly with merchants.
Nicolas Saint Remy”>
Brij Technologies CEO Nicholas Koros (Right) and Digital Credit Management Country Manager Nicolas Saint Remy
“Whether paying bills or requesting payments, everything is settled in your localized African currency,” said Nicholas Koros, CEO of Brij Technologies, a U.S.-based company with an operational headquarters in Nairobi. “We achieve this via our proprietary technology that enables real-time local currency settlement.”
It is worth noting that Flutterwave, a U.S. company with operational headquarters in Nigeria, is one of the primary payment processors for Paybills.Africa.
The Brij platform allows for the integration of services with banks, fintech, and other telecommunications providers. In this vein, Brij was pleased to announce a partnership with Digital Credit Management LTD (DCM), which has operations in West Africa and offers a unique nano lending product.
DCM is established in Ghana as a licensed Enhanced Payment Service Provider by the Bank of Ghana. It has agreements with Telecom operators, including Airteltigo and Vodafone, which grants DCM access to over 3 million mobile money subscribers’ data. It is owned by Direct Credit Management LLC, a U.S.-based investment firm.
In this relationship, DCM will provide Brij with access to its digital lending platform and payment services in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, while Brij offers DCM exposure to their country operations, most notably in West and East Africa. “This relationship further reflects and solidifies our shared commitment towards solving unique problems in Africa,” said Koros.
“DCM creates digital profiles for those who do not have access to modern-day financial systems. We are excited to expand the scope of our operations across the continent through our partnership with Brij, which shares our vision,” commented Mr. Pierre Liautaud, CEO of Direct Credit Management LLC.
In closing, Mr. Koros said, “We are grateful to the USTDA for convening the U.S. Africa Financial Inclusion Conference and for its leadership in connecting the regulators and innovators driving Africa’s digital transformation.”
For More Information, contact: info@brij.africa
About Brij Technologies, Inc:
Brij Technologies, Inc (Brij) is a U.S. registered firm with a mission to create digital infrastructure to connect African nations and break down barriers to cross-border trade and investment. It specializes in consumer aggregation and financial intermediation (cross-border bill payment and International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) services), powered by a broad range of digital financial service (DFS) products.
Contact Information Terence Raft Creative Director traft@bridgeinnovation.io (27)798903730
The Co-operative University of Kenya (CUK) and The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Educational Fund, Inc. (ACREF) have today announced plans for a comprehensive two-week cross cultural, intergenerational summer study tour hosted on the CUK campus in the upscale Nairobi suburb of Karen.
The program runs from August 10 to August 25, 2023. Registration is limited – program fee discounts are available.
It is anticipated that participants will include U.S. and East Africa based undergraduates, graduate students, mid-career professionals and recent retirees – all sharing and learning from each other.
The one of a kind program offers exposure to leaders in Kenya’s public health, technology, transportation, energy, cultural and political sectors.
Program Summary:
When: August 10 to August 25, 2023
Where: The Co-operative Retreat and Conference Center at the Co-operative University of Kenya
Instructors:
Denis Kamau Muthoni – Senior Lecturer of Supply Chain Management, The Co-operative University of Kenya (CUK)
Melvin H. Cox – Lecturer, Merrill College, University of California, Santa Cruz(1) and Founder, The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund, Inc.
Program Design:
Roseanne Kinyua – EDU Africa
Tour Highlights:
• Nairobi National Park • The David Sheeldrick Wildlife Trust – Elephant Orphanage • The AFEW Giraffe Center • Bomas of Kenya • World Health Organization, Kenya • The Aga Khan University Hospital • AllAfrica.com • 95th Annual Kenya Music Festival • Kenya Ports Authority • Bamburi Cement • Mombasa Marine National Park • Haller Park • Fort Jesus Musuem • Mombasa Old Town • M-KOPA Solar • Lake Naivasha • Geothermal Development Company • The Green Belt Movement
Guest Lectures:
• Public Health • Media, Technology and Education • Transportation and Tourism • Energy • Culture in Education – Dr. Emily Achieng’ Akuno, The Technical University of Kenya
Contact:
ACREF Communications Team marketing@africanconnections.com +1 510 326-3522
Full Program Details are downloadable from: https://www.africanconnections.com/Docs/FOA_GlobalSeminar_2023_Overview.pdf
Online Registration is available at: https://tinyurl.com/766zj428
Please Note: In Nairobi, the group will be housed at the Co-operative Retreat and Conference Center at CUK. Visits to several of Kenya’s most popular tourist destinations, including the Nairobi National Park, the port city of Mombasa and Lake Naivasha, are included in the itinerary.
A special highlight of the study tour will be a visit to the 95th Annual Kenya Music Festival, held this year at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in the Central Highlands town of Nyeri – 110 miles north of Nairobi. The Kenya Music Festival is an annual event that identifies and nurtures artistic talents in music, dance and elocution. Conducted under the auspices of the Kenya Ministry of Education, the festival provides opportunities for school pupils and college students to create and showcase artistic and cultural renditions at a national festival.
On August 24, the inaugural Focus on Africa Seminar will be held on the CUK Campus. The theme of the one-day conference is: “Where Do We Go From Here?: Africans and Americans in Tryin’ Times”.
A live feed from the seminar will be streamed worldwide and will herald the official launch of The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Channel – powered by YouTube.
The study tour will include an orientation presented by EDU Africa, a basic Swahili language and intercultural competence workshop, a welcome dinner at The Carnivore (an internationally famous Nairobi eatery) and interactions with local families.
(1) This study tour is neither sponsored by nor affiliated with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).
The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund, Inc. Melvin Cox +1 510 326-3522 www.africanconnections.com Dr. Denis Muthoni dkamau@cuk.ac.ke
LOS ANGELES – July 13, 2022 – PRLog — Los Angeles, CA – Author Peter Cimini has issued his Film and Television Treatment (his Hollywood Treatment is the first step to a completed screen play adaptation based on his book) to some 35-plus key Hollywood producers at studios, cable networks and streaming entertainment companies. Those sent copies of his Treatment include producers at Netflix to Warner Brothers Studios to the Starz cable TV channel. This production has suitable and ideal parts-if they are interested-for such actors as Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Dwayne Johnson and Eddie Redmayne.
The Hollywood Treatment Mr. Cimini has created for the screen brings together a range of diverse elements all blended dramatically together, expertly woven to shape an appealing, provocative, and entertaining screen story from his book – – THE MAN WHO TRANSFORMED AFRICA: The Rebirth of a Continent. The story opens with Vatican intrigue between liberal and conservative cardinals, which leads to the unlikely selection of an Indonesian pope. Seizing the opportunity, the new pope uses his ex-cathedra (papal infallibility) to declare poverty to be an immoral human condition. The pope decides to lead by example, taking the provocative step of selling Vatican treasures to fund a long-term plan to build a strong middle-class society in Africa.The story follows the pope, an ex-president of the United States, and an African nationalist during the first two years of an estimated twelve-year project to build a strong African middle-class.
Commented Mr. Cimini on his film concept: “http://www.prlog.org/”The ‘man’ referred to in the title of my story is an Indonesian Pope who believes that poverty is an immoral state of existence, and chooses to lead by example when he takes drastic steps to move towards removing poverty from the African continent. Africa and Africans, since at least the 16th century have been vandalized. Citizens have been kidnapped and made slaves; countries have been colonized by other countries who stripped the continent of its natural resources; experienced corrupt political leaders have rogue criminal gangs; state hospitals do not meet minimal medical standards and there exists a faulty continental infrastructure. This film would show
About author Peter Cimini Author Peter Cimini was born in New York City, in the borough of the Bronx. He attended both a Catholic elementary and high school. Mr. Cimini holds bachelor and masters degrees from New York University. He was a teacher both in New York and Connecticut, and served students twenty years as a curriculum specialist, overseeing and writing curricula. He is also the author of The Secret Sin of Opi, on the topic of missing and exploited children. His favorite novel is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Author Cimini admires the works of writers Kristin Hannah and Nicolas Sparks. He lives in Connecticut.
Today at 3:00-6:00 p.m. New Orleans Mayor La Toya Cantrell Welcomes NOSACONN’s Celebrate Africa Week “Essence of Africa” Delegation at a reception hosted at Gallier Hall, 545 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130.
Mayor Cantrell to Greet NOSACONN Delegation
NEW ORLEANS – June 30, 2022 – PRLog — Posted Courtesy of Wright Enterprises San Francisco~Dallas Community Spotlight~~ Media Advisory:
New Orleans Mayor La Toya Cantrell Welcomes NOSACONN’s Celebrate Africa Week “Essence of Africa” Delegation Today at 3:00-6:00 p.m. Reception
WHO: Mayor La Toya Cantrell; Damon Batiste of NOLA’s Royal Family of Music, founder of NOSACONN-New Orleans-South Africa Connection; Pastor George Green, Record Industry Legend; CEO Ernie Singleton of Singleton Entertainment Los Angeles; Michael Johnson; and CEO Lloyd Ward of Ward Holdings International, LLC.
WHAT: Mayor’s Welcome Reception to include the Delegation of NOSACONN’S Celebrate Africa Week ‘Essence of Africa’ about bilateral trade between Africa and New Orleans with a focus on tourism, arts and culture.
With the world’s largest free trade area and a 1.2 billion-person market, the continent is creating an entirely new development path, harnessing the potential of its resources and people…The economy is set to expand by 3.6 percent in 2022, (The World Bank in Africa).
WHERE: Venue: Gallier Hall, 545 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
WHEN: TODAY, THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022, 3:00-6:00 p.m.
WHY: New Orleans is steeped in a history of arts and culture that is recognized worldwide. It’s important to be reminded New Orleans culture and history can uplift the under served. NOLA’s history plays on with the talents of many artists including Shaka Zulu who just received a National Endowment of the Arts Heritage Award yesterday, Jon Batiste of NOLA’s Royal Family of Music, who earlier this year received 5 of 11 Grammy nominations and others that are too many to list here.
NOSACONN’s African Heritage Series Celebrate Africa Week “Essence of Africa” NOLA Edition is a week-long celebration over the July 4th Holiday, going on simultaneously during Essence Magazine’s “Essence of Culture Festival” (not directly affiliated). Representatives from the following countries will be in New Orleans as a result of Damon Batiste’s vision for bilateral trade between the U.S. and Africa with the assurance of BIPOC communities benefit from equitable exchange: Cape Verde Islands; Gambia; Ghana; Ivory Coast; Mozambique; Nigeria; Senegal; South Africa; Tanzania; Uganda; and Zimbabwe.
DAMON BATISTE: “We want to ensure prosperity for all as we develop business deals centered around tourism, arts, culture and bilateral trade. We want to begin with our home base New Orleans. NOSACONN (New Orleans South Africa Connection) has extensive ties in Africa, where I have traveled more than 80 times since 1998.” Batiste’s partnership in “The Grammy Party in the Bush (https://www.thediplomaticsociety.co.za/3679-grammy-party-…)”at the Sensational Sunset Safari Lodge, a Game Reserve in South Africa is a perfect example of equity in entertainment that NOSACONN is working to achieve.
As another commerce related note, the Induction Ceremony of Damon Batiste as as President of Metairie Sunrise Rotary Club takes place tonight.
Venue: Porter and Luke’s Restaurant Address: 1517 Metairie Road Metairie, LA 70005 Time: 6:30pm
CEO Lloyd Ward was featured at NOSACONN’s The Power of The Emerging African Economy Amid Global Market Forces Panel at the New Orleans Jazz Museum 6/29/2022:https://youtu.be/LVZwS4Fn94A.
-30-
Editors’ Note: For B-Roll and information about recent delegations to Africa, African Artists and NOSACONN’s collaborations with African government officials visit the Youtube Channel-The Pulse:New Orleans by LyfePulse:
Specific to CELEBRATE AFRICA WEEK “ESSENCE OF AFRICA NOLA EDITION see the following video sources for B-Roll
https://youtu.be/LVZwS4Fn94A -Lloyd Ward was featured at NOSACONN’s The Power of The Emerging African Economy Amid Global Market Forces Panel at the New Orleans Jazz Museum 6/29/2022
https://youtu.be/pjJgsPrqu_k News Conference & Performance June 28th at New Orleans Jazz Museum
Visit www.nosaconn.com for more about NOSACONN- New Orleans South Africa Connection.
NOSACONN’s Celebrate Africa Week “Essence of Africa” NOLA Edition Examines Bilateral Trade Between U.S. and Africa Today at New Orleans Jazz Museum.
Batiste-Global African Arts & Business Panel 2021
NEW ORLEANS – June 30, 2022 – PRLog — Posted Courtesy of Wright Enterprises San Francisco~Dallas Community Spotlight~~~
WHO: Damon Batiste of NOLA’s Royal Family of Music, founder of NOSACONN-New Orleans-South Africa Connection; Pastor George Green, Record Industry Legend; CEO Ernie Singleton of Singleton Entertainment Los Angeles;Professor Ibrahima Seck, Lloyd Ward, Paul Robichaux, National Endowments for the Arts National Heritage Fellow Shaka Zulu (See Announcement Below).
WHAT: NOSACONN’s Celebrate Africa Week ‘Essence of Africa’ NOLA Edition Live in Person Panel Discussion: The Power of The Emerging African Economy Amid Global Market Forces.
With the world’s largest free trade area and a 1.2 billion-person market, the continent is creating an entirely new development path, harnessing the potential of its resources and people…The economy is set to expand by 3.6 percent in 2022, down from 4 percent in 2021, as it struggles to pick up momentum amid a slowdown in global economic activity, continued supply constraints, outbreaks of new coronavirus variants, high inflation, and rising financial risks due to high and increasingly vulnerable debt levels. The invasion of Ukraine compounds the factors holding back recovery in the region. (The World Bank in Africa).
WHERE:
New Orleans Jazz Museum 400 Esplanade Avenue New Orleans, LA 70116
WHEN: TODAY, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
WHY: NOSACONN’s African Heritage Series “Celebrate Africa Week ‘Essence of Africa’ NOLA Edition is a week-long celebration over the July 4th Holiday, going on simultaneous during Essence Magazine’s “Essence of Culture Festival (not directly affiliated). Representatives for the following countries will be in New Orleans as a result of Damon Batiste’s vision for bilateral trade between the U.S. and Africa with the assurance of BIPOC communities benefit from equitable exchange: Cape Verde Islands; Gambia; Ghana; Ivory Coast; Mozambique; Nigeria; Senegal; South Africa; Tanzania; Uganda; and Zimbabwe.
DAMON BATISTE: “We want to ensure prosperity for all as we develop business deals centered around tourism, arts, culture and bilateral trade. NOSACONN (New Orleans South Africa Connection) has extensive ties in Africa, where I have traveled more than 80 times since 1998.” Batiste’s partnership in “The Grammy Party in the Bus (https://www.thediplomaticsociety.co.za/3679-grammy-party-…)”at the Sensational Sunset Safari Lodge, a Game Reserve in South Africa is a perfect example of equity in entertainment that NOSACONN is working to achieve.
Shaka Zulu NEA Heritage Fellow announced today:https://www.arts.gov/news/press-releases/2022/national-endowment-arts-announces-2022-nea-national-heritage-fellows
-30-
MEDIA CREDENTIALS:
Network news company credentials are sufficient for panel discussion coverage. On site June 29th contact: Bryant Johnson, 702-704-3209 (cell phone);
Contact Jackie Wright, 415 525 0410 or Bryant Johnson for media credentials for special week-long NOSACONN sponsored events: Click Here for details of the week-long celebration events through July 5, 2022: https://nosaconn.com/nosaconn-celebrate-africa-week-essence-of-africa-nola-edition-kicks-off-a-week-of-celebration-during-the-essence-of-culture-festival/.
6/30/2022 Post Event Update: CEO Lloyd Ward of Ward Holdings International, LLC https://youtu.be/LVZwS4Fn94A featured.
Contact
