President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi has committed to contesting the deforestation of the Congo basin rainforest. The Congo basin rainforest is second largest in the world after the Amazon.

At the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow on Tuesday, Tshisekedi, chairs person the African Union, stated that his country was more determined with its contribution at the national level to achieve a 21% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. His country plans to launch a programme aimed at planting one billion trees by 2023 and expanding their energy mix to include greener choices.

"In addition, the protection of the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples is essential," Tshisekedi posited.

The green recovery plan for Africa set in motion by Tshisikedi as President of the African Union, is focused on strengthening its actions in favour of environmental sustainability and prosperity in Africa.

Informational/educational and those that tried to replicate a tradeshow floor with virtual exhibitors are the two categories that virtual corporate events have fallen into during the pandemic. Of the two categories, educational programming gets a higher number of attendees. When trade show sponsors talk about a hybrid approach to future events, they mostly mention the educational component that the virtual attendees will experience.

Publisher of Airport Improvement Magazine, Paul Bowers, stated that after experiencing both virtual exhibit halls and virtual conferences during the pandemic, he is convinced that virtual exhibit halls do not work, and virtual conferences can effectively substitute for learning in person.

“Virtual trade show substitutes weren’t a complete waste, but I’d be hard-pressed to ever exhibit at one again,” Bowers said. “There is no return on my investment. On one I participated in, I paid the same amount that I pay for the in-person conference, and it was a waste of money. The seminar part can be done well virtually. I’ll spend money to send our editor to attend a virtual conference, but I won’t spend to exhibit virtually.”

By Shelly Palmer

As of this writing, Coinbase's market cap exceeds $86 billion. (I won't weigh in on the Wall Street aspects of this direct listing on Nasdaq; you can find that info online.) Quick facts: Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange. It trades under the ticker symbol COIN. It makes most of its money on trades involving Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), but also lets you exchange about 50 other cryptocurrencies. Almost everyone you know who has a substantial amount of BTC or ETH has done at least a few trades on Coinbase.

As you well know, we're in a crypto/NFT bubble right now. I'm not offering financial advice of any kind, but if you are going to start trading in crypto, Coinbase is far from the low-cost provider in the space. That said, don't get into this without doing your homework. The fine print on crypto transactions is so small you can't always see it.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 (Montego Bay, Jamaica, W.I.)  The State of the African Diaspora (SOAD) held its first Jamaica Virtual Press Conference on March 11, 2021. The conference explored ‘Everything you need to know about the LUMI,’ a thirty-six-month stimulus package which began the distribution of the AKL LUMI Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) since October 28, 2020 and ends September 28, 2023.

The information session equipped Jamaicans to access and take full advantage of the opportunity for economic independence. The stimulus marks the genesis of a global economic transformation for all Jamaicans and by extension, the entire African Diaspora. SOAD’s official spokesperson, Deandrea Hamilton, referred to the phenomenon as “a pioneering event for the State of the African Diaspora”. 

This initiative, according to Dr Linus Etube, Developer of the Swifin Digital Platform, will give the approximately eighty percent (80%) of people who do not have access to a bank account, access and a foundation from which to experience economic freedom in a world where only one percent (1%) has ever been offered that opportunity. This will further diffuse the inclusivity of the currency. Over 135 countries with registered members, have been consistently receiving their monthly stimulus on the 28th of each month. Dr Linus reassured that “Everybody in Jamaica who has the Swifin account receive their LUMI stimulus on the 28^th. About 135 countries around the world who will also receive their stimulus precisely on the 28^th day of every month without fail.”

The AKL LUMI “is a very powerful currency. It is as much an instrument of inclusion as it is an instrument of trade and economic empowerment. It is an instrument that recognizes and embraces all collective birthrights and natural endowments. No man, no woman or no child shall be excluded,” Linus said.  LUMI is a tool for investment and trade for the disenfranchised in this bottom-up paradigm. Dr Etube demonstrated to attendees of the conference how to access the Swifin platform by sending and receiving AKL LUMIS. On the platform, users can utilize their AKL LUMIS, to pay for bus fare, cinema tickets or even fertilizers. Hugh Johnson, Vice Prime Minister of SOAD and a Jamaican, shared his success of selling his fertilizers to Jamaicans as a testament that they can begin trading with merchants on the Swifin marketplace with their LUMI now. Access the marketplace at http://www.Platform.swifin.com .

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA- March 18, 2021- A virtual press conference, which was facilitated by members of the State of the Africa Diaspora (SOAD) and the Economic Community of the Sixth Region (ECO-6) was held on March 11, 2021 with the aim of sensitizing the media on all there is to know about the AKL LUMI.

The AKL LUMI Stimulus, from its very inception was deemed a priority to stimulate the Pan-African economy of training entrepreneurship, skills development, business, healthcare, social economic growth, goods and services.

The Regional Vice President for the Americas, Melvin Brown commenced the event by giving an outline of the development plans that the SOAD is working to execute, some of these are: 1 billion AKL LUMIS to assist farmers and their families in the Diaspora, plans to tackle food security issues and also showcased about several successful pilot programs in the Americas. He also provided details about the issuance of the stimulus package started in October 2020 and ending October 2023. In addition, he noted that business owners and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to register on the Swifin Platform at https://platform.swifin.com/ to receive the equivalent of US$10,000 in LUMI in terms of line of credit.

Wed, February 24, 2021 The East Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has executed the first retail transaction for its “DCash” digital currency.
The successful transaction using the central bank digital currency (CBDC) was conducted at a supermarket in Grenada on Feb. 12, technology partner Bitt announced. “This transaction is a major milestone in our mission to place DCash in the hands of the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. … We are now on the cusp of the public launch of DCash,” said Timothy Antoine, governor of the ECCB.
The public launch will see the roll out of DCash in four of the eight members of the East Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU): Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia. The central bank been developing the blockchain-based CBDC with Bitt, a
Barbados-based fintech company, after a deal was struck in spring 2018.

Work on the CBDC began in 2019, with the infrastructure built over the last year using Bitt’s digital currency management system (DCMS).

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AkinfemiOnadele

Money management refers to the process of tracking and planning an individual or group’s use of capital. In personal and corporate finance, money management usually includes budgeting, spending, saving, and investing.

To be money smart is a skill that needs to be acquired as this skill will help you to lead an almost seamless life of ease with minimal issues.

WORK WITH A BUDGET THAT SUITS YOUR SITUATION. It is good to have a budget that you work with. Income can be divided into parts this may differ depending on where you do your research 10% to Savings, arrangements can be made with your bank to do compulsory savings, 20% towards debt payments if there are any and 70% to live off for the duration until more income is generated. There is a saying that goes "Live Within Your Means", to do this individuals tend to spend all their income, but I prefer the saying by Kevin Trudeau "Live Below Your Means", when this is practised there is hardly anyway that you will overspend.

With the emergence of the subscription economy and in particular in the SaaS industry, we have come to distinguish 2 main business activities that contribute to the growth of a company: Hunting and Farming.

The purpose of Hunting is to go out in the world, identify potential customers, and close deals – this is the main mission and purpose of the Sales team. They contribute to the company’s bottom line by consistently adding new customers.

On the other hand, Farming aims at keeping existing customers to sustain the growth generated by the Sales team and increasing revenue through the expansion of current accounts – this is when the Success Team steps in. By delivering more value to customers, they in return, bring more value to the company.

Hunting and farming: How Sales and Success thrive together

A sales rep’s job is to reach out to prospects and evaluate whether they could benefit from the product. If they are a good match, he will push for the sale. As an example, let’s say a rep managed to negotiate a deal with one customer for their support team for 20 users offering basic features.