Winners of Fidelity Bank’s #FidelitySMEspotlight Initiative Announced.
This year, Fidelity Bank celebrated Small Business Saturday differently.
In line with the bank’s policy of supporting SMEs for sustainable growth and success, they spotlighted winners of its #FidelitySMEspotlight initiative across their social media platforms on the 30th of November i.e. Small Business Saturday.
These winners were selected based on the following criteria – a unique business idea, number of nominations received and social media following. The top winners are
Community Mart (makers of coconut-based food and skin products)
Careers and Business Everything (a small careers and business consultancy for job seekers, students and
entrepreneurs)
Anike Edibles (a maker of packaged indigenous snacks)
These winners were invited for a video interview shoot at the Fidelity Bank Private Banking Lounge and the videos will be deployed in January so look out for them.
Read more
Experience BAFEST 2019; ‘More For Culture’ Second Instalment
If your breath was taken by the first edition of the Born In Africa Festival (BAFEST), then get ready to be blown away this time as the second edition returns. Now is the time to take a look at your plans for the weekend and reschedule them, because the 2019 edition of BAFEST powered by Access Bank is set to hold this Sunday, the 15th of December 2019, at Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island Lagos, and you do not want to miss it.
Date: Sunday, December 15th, 2019
Time: 9am
Venue: Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island Lagos
The daylong event will kick off at 9 am with the fashion, art and film park, where various artists, fashion designers, and filmmakers will showcase their works. The festival will then be concluded with a music concert featuring Africa’s biggest musical talents.
“More for Culture” is the theme for this year, and as usual the festival combines all elements of art (Music, Film, Fashion, and Art) and is aimed at projecting and celebrating the true unbreakable African spirit while shining a positive light on the richness of the African culture and unparalleled dynamism of her creativity.
A look at the star-studded list of music artistes, filmmakers, fashion designers, and artists lined up to showcase their talents at the festival brings more reason for excitement. Africa’s finest music artists such as Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Niniola, Patoranking, MI, 9ice, Ice Prince, Naira Marley, Sheyi Shay, and Fireboy as well as other phenomenal acts will be gracing the stage. Filmmakers such as Ama Psalmist, Emeka Chukwuleta, 37th STATE, Love Nebo, Ayomikun Paseda, Ibikunle Ibitayo, Tosin Igho, Akay Mason, Adetola Films, Tosin Ibitoye, Olabisi Akinbinu, Miriam Dera and Al – Farouk will showcase captivating films in the Short Films, Feature Length Films, and the Accelerate Filmmaker Project Short Films 2019 category. Not leaving out other facets of the creative industry, some of Africa’s most prolific models, fashion designers and artists will also be present to exhibit their works.
Access Bank has taken pride in projecting the best of African creativity through platforms like the BAFEST. This crowns all its efforts aimed at changing the negative narrative associated with Nigeria and Africa. For Access Bank, the BAFEST initiative makes sense and comes naturally, as the bank, through the years has been strongly associated with the African creative sector; from its sponsorship of ART X Lagos to its backing of AFFRIFF and other platforms promoting African creativity.
Access Bank is an institution that has properly positioned itself through passionate support for African creativity as Africa’s gateway to the world, providing more than just banking.
Source: Bella Naija
Cynthia Erivo, Lupita Nyong’o, Sterling K. Brown Nominated for SAG Awards 2020
Nominations for the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced, and Nigerian-British actress, Cythia Erivo and Kenyan Lupita Nyong’o were nominated in the same category of outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role.
Robert De Niro will be receiving a Life Achievement Award for his work on screen and humanitarian accomplishments. The 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will air on Sunday, January 19, 2020.
See the full list of nominees follows below:
Read more
Lizzo is TIME’s 2019 “Entertainer of the Year”
Time Magazine’s 2019 “Entertainer of the Year” goes to “Good as Hell” singer, Lizzo.
The “Truth Hurts” singer incorporates themes of confidence and self-love into her music, TIME wrote. “Her sound is relentlessly positive and impossibly catchy: bangers that synthesize pop, rap and R&B, with hooks so sharp it feels like they’ve been in your brain forever. Her lyrics are funny, bawdy and vulnerable: reminders to dump whatever idiot is holding you back and become your own biggest fan.”
Lizzo reminiscing “why this year, after nearly a decade on the road, performing shows for next to nothing, living in her car, being her own hype man and bagging more Grammy nominations than any other artist,” says:
I’ve been doing positive music for a long-ass time. Then the culture changed. There were a lot of things that weren’t popular but existed, like body positivity, which at first was a form of protest for fat bodies and black women and has now become a trendy, commercialized thing. Now I’ve seen it reach the mainstream. Suddenly I’m mainstream! How could we have guessed something like this would happen when we’ve never seen anything like this before?
Her self-empowerment anthem “Truth Hurts,” originally released in 2017, went on to top the Billboard Hot 100. She carried a tiny Valentino purse down the red carpet at the American Music Awards, generating a million memes.
Her third album, “Cuz I Love You“, earned her eight Grammy nominations and each of moment of her winning helped develop her as the defining entertainer of this year. It also made her a bigger target.
I have to bite my tongue on certain things. When people challenge my talent, they challenge whether I deserve to be here. They challenge my blackness. I’m like, ‘Oh! I can easily just let your ass know right now in 132 characters why you’re f-cking wrong.
Lupita Nyong’o is one of New York Times’ “Great Performers” of 2019
New York Times’ annual “Great Performers” issue names 10 actors whose work was the most captivating, challenging, shocking and inspiring in the year gone by.
The cover spotlights Lupita Nyong’o’s most praised role as Red and Adelaide in the horror-thriller, “US”.
Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lopez, Leonardo Dicaprio, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, amongst others were also mentioned.
New York Times says:
One is “sane” and the other is “evil,” meaning Nyong’o alternates, terrifyingly, between poles of psychological extremity. Sure, that in itself is a feat. But it’s merely the most obvious thing to applaud. The rigor of her achievement is that it won’t stop revealing itself. For the movie’s first third, what she’s doing might seem rather unremarkable. She plays Adelaide Wilson: bright, upper-middle-class and on vacation at her California ranch house with her goofy husband and their two children. Her biggest worry appears to be her teenage daughter’s decision to quit the track team. But you can sense her gathering fear that some terrible event is on its way; it’s dimming her glow as it heightens our anticipation.
The event, of course, is the other Nyong’o. This one is credited as Red and has made her way up from deep underground to Adelaide’s house, on a mission to exterminate the planet’s current inhabitants so that her people — all clones — can take over. As Red, Nyong’o stands with the bearing of certain dictators — crimson jumpsuit, shoulders back, nose up — but moves as if she was reared by Alvin Ailey (if his dancers also carried water in a Japanese teahouse). Red looks prepared to bellow. But Nyong’o makes Red’s voice thin and gasping, the sort of sound that makes you want to call an E.N.T., even as it brings you to the edge of your seat to get closer to her mouth.
Maybe Nyong’o had a pre-existing model for this character. (She has mentioned that Peele prompted her with words like “regal” and “cockroach.”) But I’ve never seen anything like what she’s done here. Just the flick-flick flitting of her hand to command her troops to attack scared a year of my life. The movies are rich with textured villainy. But it’s not villainy that Nyong’o is acting here. It’s having been irrevocably wronged. And the woman who wronged her, decades ago, is 10 feet away, trembling on the sofa.
Visit www.nytimes.com to read more.
Photo Credit: @jackdavisonphoto
Mayorkun takes Lagos with ‘TMOL Fest 2019’
Fresh from a sold-out headline concert at the Indigo at the O2 in London, Nigeria’s favorite Pop Prince Mayorkun is set to take it a notch higher this Detty December as he prepars a 3-day special for his fans titled the “TMOL Fest 2019”.
Date: Friday, December 13th, 2019
Venue: XVII Glover in Ikoyi & Ikeja City Mall, Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island
Date: Saturday, December 14th, 2019
Venue: Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island
Date: Sunday, December 15th, 2019
Venue: Private Beach House
The 3-day event will kick off on Friday, the 13th of December with a Pop-Up Show (Free Entry) which will happen simultaneously at XVII Glover in Ikoyi & Ikeja City Mall. The next event and the most important is the TMOL Concert which will take place at the Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island on Saturday, the 14th of December. To round it off, the Mayor of Lagos will host a super private Beach House Party on the 15th of December which is strictly by invitation.
The singer has had a stellar year so far following up his debut album release last year with two huge bangers this year; “True” featuring Kizz Daniel and more recently “Up To Something” which embodies a strong message about body positivity.
Tickets can be obtained via the official festival website – www.tmolfest.com. Discounted student tickets can also be procured at the Burg Restaurant in Ikeja and Filmhouse Cinemas in Surulere and Lekki.
Nigerians’ Top Google Searches for 2019
Google has announced the results of its “2019 Year in Search“, offering a unique perspective on the year’s major moments and top trends based on searches conducted in Nigeria.
This year’s top trending news search is ‘ASUU Strike,’ which took the highest place over other trending news topics like ‘AFCON 2019’ and ‘Naira Marley’.
Naira Marley leads the list as the most searched persons over Atiku Abubakar, while Neymar made the list as the top trending sports person searched by Nigerians in 2019.
In Nollywood, Regina Daniels was the most searched actor, ranking over other actors like Genevieve Nnaji and Tonto Dikeh among others, while Wizkid‘s ”Joro” was the most searched songs this year, and ‘what is xenophobia’ the most asked question.
Top Trending News Searches
ASUU strike
AFCON 2019
Naira Marley
Women’s World Cup 2019
Xenophobia
Election result
XXXtentacion
iPhone 11
MC Oluomo
Headies Award 2019
Top Trending People
Naira Marley
Atiku
Neymar
MC Oluomo
Rema
Cameron Boyce
XXXtentacion
Teni
Nipsey Hussle
DJ Arafat
Top Trending Sports People
Neymar
Emiliano Sala
David Luiz
Bruno Fernandes
Higuaín
Nicolas Pepe
Tammy Abraham
Denis Suarez
Daniel James
Isaac Promise
Top Trending Actors
Regina Daniels
Genevieve Nnaji
Tonto Dikeh
Hadiza Gabon
Ini Edo
Eniola Badmus
Iyabo Ojo
Femi Adebayo
Ken Erics
Toyin Aimakhu
Top Trending Questions
What is xenophobia?
What is ruga?
What is terrorism?
What is election?
What is justice?
What is political party?
What is revolution?
What is capital market?
What is happening in South Africa?
What is first aid?
Top Trending Songs
Joro – Wizkid
Dangote – Burna Boy
Brown Skin Girl – Beyoncé, Wizkid, St Jhn
Woske – Olamide
Pawon – Olamide
Risky – Davido
Billionaire – Teni
Oil and Gas – Olamide
Uyo Meyo – Teni
Blow my mind – Davido, Chris Brown
Top Trending Movies/ TV Shows
Big Brother Naija
Mehek
Captain Marvel
When they see us
Aquaman
Shazam
Game of Thrones Season 8
Money Heist
John Wick 3
Avengers Endgame
Quramo ‘Festival of Words’ Kicks off this Weekend
This weekend, literary heads will gather at the Quramo Festival of Words, in a 3 day literary experience to include book panel sessions, masterclasses and everything in-between. The event which will climax with the prestigious Quramo Writers Prize will crown one winner with a prize of one million naira and bragging rights as the best entry for this year.
The amazing three day line-up will kick off with an exclusive Book Presentation of ‘Mirror on the Wall’ by Jesutofunmi Fekoya hosted by Ugo Anidi and then we meet the winner of the 2018 Quramo Writers Prize, Samuel Monye as he unpacks his winning book ‘ Give Us Each Day’ in a session facilitated by Sope Martins.
Day 2 is prepped to unveil a plethora of exciting literary activities to include masterclasses from Toni Kan, Sefi Atta and Eghosa Emasuen. Then we meet the current NLNG prize winner and author of ‘Boom Boom’, Jude Idada in a convo anchored by Farida Ladipo-Ajayi.
Next is the panel sessions; ‘The A-Z of publishing’ and ‘Edutainment The Pathway to Knowledge’ with renowned literary big shots like Supo Shasore, Amanda Kirby, Aderonke Adeola, Femi Odugbemi, Toni Kan, Eghosa Emasuen and Deji Toye.
The day ends with the screening of the Qcut Special, Journey of an African Colony and Awani.
Want some advice?
Day 3 should definitely be at the top of your ‘To- Do- List’ because it features a special ‘Q conversation’ with Kadaria Ahmed, anchored by Molara Wood and also the unveiling of the 2019 winner of the prestigious Quramo Writers Prize followed by a stage play by MC Seun.
This weekend is definitely packed.
The event will kick off from the 13th to the 15th of December 2019 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
You should definitely make plans to attend.
