Money Transfer leader ,Zoona,  has partnered with Zambian Woman of the year; Community Service Award winner Mwansa Bwale in a campaign targeted towards recognising and awarding young female entrepreneurs as well as change agents  making a difference in their communities. This is under Zoona’s theme #HelpingCommunitiesThrive. The campaign was launched in August 2016, with initial focus of Lusaka. The competition is open to young females below the age of 35 with proven track record of their work.

Mwansa had this to say “We want to discover and reward female entrepreneurs in Lusaka who are helping their communities thrive. So we need the public to nominate these women entrepreneurs including change agents operating in Lusaka, ie, even someone running a self-made orphanage/organization. One of these women will be chosen weekly to get a ZMK3000 prize, to be collected from their local Zoona booth. After 3 Weeks, we will have a GRAND DRAW and the final winner will receive slightly more. To enter our competition, nominate your community hero by COMMENTING their full name in the zoona posts on my page.  I will contact you for their inspirational story which I’ll post on my page for people to read . Let us spread the word and HELP COMMUNITIES THRIVE through zoona!!! Follow #IloveZoona and my page, Together let’s help the young women who are helping their communities thrive”.

The first winner was Zanji Valarie Sinkala whose track record, vision and focus is profound.  Judges couldn’t help but be in Awe of the amazing works she’s doing in her community.  Zoona is happy to support her cause so she can continue helping her community thrive.

Below is Zanji’s story:

“My name is Zanji Valerie Sinkala and I am a passionate advocate for women and youth empowerment. I am the founder of a non-profit organization called Ku Mwanachi, which means ‘To The Woman’ in my tribe Namwanga and signifies that all things are possible to the woman regardless of her gender and background and she can achieve all the success this world has to offer. There is a famous Chinese proverb that my mother always quotes, and it says “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” It is based on this proverb that I founded Ku Mwanachi, which aims at contributing to Women Economic Empowerment through educating low income female entrepreneurs (mainly marketeers) in business essentials in order for them to educate their children, provide health care for their families and improve their standard of living. The biggest milestone for the Ku Mwanachi initiative had been to register it in order to create credibility with different networks. Moreover, some potential investors were interested in partnering with the foundation to sponsor it’s training’s but this proved to be a challenge because we lacked the necessary documentation, therefore dragging the whole process altogether. However, it came as an amazing opportunity when I got a call from Mwansa Bwale a few days ago. I couldn’t hold back the tears of joy when she informed me that I had won the first round of the Zoona Competition.

I was overjoyed because this miracle happened at the perfect moment. Finally, I had enough money to set the required documentation in place and prepare for the foundation’s business essentials training which, in faith, had been set to take place in 3 weeks time! A week before this happened, a friend of mine recommended me for the Zoona Competition. I must say, I was a bit skeptical because I thought I didn’t stand a chance because my accomplishments paled in comparison to the formidable participants that were nominated. I surely count it a rare privilege and honor to be counted amongst these women.

I do not have so many friends on Facebook so obviously I didn’t expect to win considering that one of the conditions of winning was to have the ‘most Facebook likes’. I knew i didn’t stand a chance, so I gave up and forgot about it. However, I strongly believed that all the nominated participants were doing a great job in helping their communities so I really didn’t care so much about who won but instead hoped that whoever did would continue to help their communities thrive.

Today I am so grateful that I was chosen to be the first winner and that many ambitious female entrepreneurs my foundation is empowering will be helped immensely through this Zoona prize. It is true that when you educate a woman you educate the world, and therefore, as an organization, we have taken particular interest in the woman because she has a great deal of potential and influence. Take for example our youngest participant Harriet, a 20 year old lady who dropped out of school in Grade 9 due to lack of school fees and hence opted to start selling clothes at the market in order to raise tuition fees. Harriet has neither business training nor experience whatsoever. She confessed that she has not been able to raise the money needed for her school because business is tough lately. However, Harriet makes an average profit of k30 a day. If only she can be taught on how to prudently manage her small business, I believe she, and many other young ladies like her, can achieve their dreams of completing an education.

This October, Ku Mwanachi Foundation will conduct a training seminar on business essentials for various low income female entrepreneurs. In this training, the foundation will educate these marketeers on the importance of banking as opposed to ‘holding’, a practice widely popular among marketeers, open bank accounts for them in order for them to save money more effectively, teach them on how to prudently manage their merger resources, diversify their business, educate the women on the importance of sending their children- especially the girl child- to school and on how they can be self-reliant, thereby reducing the occurrences of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in our communities. A total of 20 women from N’gombe, Chawama, Chunga and Bauleni Compounds have been selected to participate in this seminar. Using the funds from Zoona, efforts of the training and the foundation at large have been realized at a faster rate. Thank You Zoona.”

A week later another phenomenal young entrepreneur was nominated and also awarded K3000 by Zoona. Thabo Joy Masiye. Hers was delivered in style before she was awarded the money at her community Zoona kiosk.
On Saturday 17th September Kupes Young Women’s Network held their first Conference at Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka. Thabo happened to be a member of the network so Mwansa Bwale represented Zoona at the event by surprising Thabo as the competition’s second winner. That was followed by her receiving the money at a Zoona kiosk the next day.

Below is Thabo’s story:

“My name is Thabo Joy Masiye. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Bugema University Kampala, Uganda and am currently Pursuing ACCA.

I am a self-driven and highly motivated individual. I believe in one working towards their full potential. It is through my desire and determination to be that independent hardworking woman that has made me the woman I am today. A proud entrepreneur.

I am the founder of Thabo’s Trendz (Clothing line) and also Thabo’s Jewels (Jewelry line). I taught myself how to design and hand-make jewelry. The fun part about creative designing is that mistakes actually turn out to be unique designs.

I have a great passion for art and it has always been my goal to pass on this great feeling of spending every day of your life doing what you love. For this reason, I am founder of the ‘Who I am Campaign’. This is an organization aimed at empowering young people to discover their Godly given talents and make use of them.

I want to help bring out the entrepreneur in as many youths as I can reach. I want to help get rid of the typical mentality of going through school with the belief that at the end of the road someone will create a job for you. I want to help raise a new era of youths that are self-motivated and determined to live up to their dreams and not depending on another person’s efforts to create a job for them. We are all different for a reason; each one can make a difference. We need to close the gap between employment and unemployment and I am determined to do this.

When I was nominated for the Zoona Challenge, I was so humbled and honored to know that people out there appreciate my work and recognize it. I was determined to not let them and myself down, I have come a long way I make time for every opportunity that comes my way. I submitted my bio at our first Kupes Young Women’s Network Conference (Founded by Mrs. Norena Chiteba) that Mwansa Bwale (Community Ambassador at ‘I love Zoona’) announced me as the winner of the competition. I was so flattered, indeed God is a gentleman, He always opens doors for us if we let Him.

I plan to invest this money into my business which will help me generate more capital to meet the expenses of the ‘Who I am Campaign’. Since the conference, I must say, a lot of people are geared to come on board and help me make this campaign a success. It’s all about young people working for young people to create a better Zambia and world at large. We will spread the spirit of entrepreneurship mindset to as far as we can go.

Thank you Zoona for investing in me and my work to make a difference in my community and country at large. By building an entrepreneurship mindset in young people, they will be willing to discover and develop their God given talents to create employment for themselves and their families too.

Thank you again to Zoona for this great opportunity. Your investment in young entrepreneurs is surely not in vain.”

The competition continues as Zoona’s search for the 3rd community heroine through Mwansa Bwale intensifies. After the 3rd winner is identified and awarded, the public will then vote for the Final winner out of the 3 heroines and Zoona will award her K5000.

Zoona continues to help communities thrive through providing the quickest and most reliable and affordable means of sending and receiving money at minimal costs. It takes pride in supporting young entrepreneurs who are in need of perhaps some extra cash. Mwansa Bwale is excited about this partnership because of her passion in community engagement and supporting her fellow young women aspiring to make a difference in their communities. She encourages young people to create their own employment than wait for government to give them jobs.

Follow the link below to Mwansa Bwale’s  official Facebook page for updates about Zoona’s helping communities thrive campaign.

https://m.facebook.com/MwansaBwaleOfficialPage

BY KAPA187

Pop star Emeli Sande says her new album was inspired by a “life-changing” trip to Zambia after her marriage ended.

The star, who grew up in Aberdeenshire, visited her father’s homeland in 2015, traveling to her grandmother’s village “deep, deep into the outback”.

“There’s no electricity, no running water,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. “But they’d light the fire and everyone would sing.”

“We took a lot of voice memos, and they’re sampled on the album.”

“There’s one track featuring my dad and my cousins, called Tenderly, and there’s a prayer for my auntie. “I feel like that [visiting Zambia] was such a big spiritual turning point for me.”

Sande returned from a four-year hiatus last week with a sweeping, cinematic new single, Hurts.

She said the lyrics were an emotional outburst, marking the first time she acknowledged the pain of divorcing her childhood sweetheart Adam Gouraguine in 2013.

“I mean, this was the only relationship I’d ever experienced,” she told the BBC, “so to finally be without him and without the relationship in my life, it took a lot of adjusting.

“Even just a small thing like learning how to handle myself in the real world. It was like a crash course in life.

“The shock of it all made me forget about the emotion for a while – put it off, put it off, put it off.

“[A] close friends I’ve had since primary school, she told me later on, ‘It was just really weird, you were acting as if you were fine for so long, and not addressing anything. I was really freaked out when I saw you because you said, “oh yeah, I’m fine, I’m cool.”‘”

“So Hurts came when I felt a bit more stable and ready to face it. This was the first time I addressed it within myself.”

Sande added that the end of her marriage had been partly responsible for her long break from music.

“I had to get myself to a state of full confidence, full energy before coming back.” she said. “This life, and the choice to be an artist, does take sacrifice. It affects everything. Your relationships, your mentality, your spirit.

“Everything is affected by your choice in career.”

‘Is that the same girl?’

Sande’s debut album Our Version of Events earned two Brit Awards and an invitation to sing for President Obama at the White House.

But her relatives in Zambia were unaware of her career success until her father brought a portable generator to his village and played a DVD of her show at the Royal Albert Hall.

“All my cousins were sitting there watching the show, and clapping when the audience were clapping,” she said. “And then they all started turning around looking at me like, ‘wait a minute, is that the same girl?'”

“It was almost too much for me to take in. ”

(bbc.com)

The Lusaka High Court has set November 24th as hearing date for the main matter on whether the rights of UPND president Hakainde Hichilema and his vice Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba were violated when the constitutional court decided to dismiss the presidential election petition.

In this case Mr. Hichilema wants the court to rule on whether his rights as enshrined in the constitutional were not violated when he was not heard before the constitutional court judges.
Mr. Hichilema has sued President Edgar Lungu his vice Inonge Wina, the electoral commission of Zambia, the Attorney General, Chief Justice her Deputy and the Constitutional Court.

The state has however asked the court to remove the chief justice, her deputy and the constitutional court from the case.

The state has submitted that it is the attorney general who is supposed to be sued and not the two individuals in their capacity as they are occupying public office.

Mr. Hichilema wants the high court to direct the constitutional court to hear and determine the presidential petition independently, fairly and within a reasonable time.

And the constitutional court has set Friday 30 September for hearing the matter in which Mr. Hichilema has asked the court on whether it was right to swear in president Elect Edgar Lungu in the absence of the declaration that he was duly elected.

Meanwhile, Mr Hichilema says former alliance partner and United Democratic Front (UDF) president Miles Sampa is inconsistent with his life and that he is only interested in his stomach.

Mr Hichilema told journalists at Lusaka Central Prison, popularly known as Chimbokaila, in Lusaka on Wednesday that Mr Sampa does not know what he wants in his life.

A TEAM from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected in the country at the end of October to discuss the planned rescue package for Zambia, Minister of Finance Felix Mutati has disclosed.

The IMF plans to provide a monetary aid package of between US$1.2 billion and US$1.5 billion to help re-energise the economy.

Mr Mutati said the revival of Zambia’s economy will require prudent fiscal management with Government placing emphasis on the removal of unnecessary subsidies.

He said Government has since started working on modalities for engagement with the institution.

Mr Mutati told journalists on the sidelines of the Zambia Institute of Banking and Financial Services second international conference yesterday that Government is also working on an economic plan that will help to rescue the economy that has been grappling with fiscal deficits on the back of fluctuating commodity prices on the global market.

“Our strategy is clear. First of all, we need to construct a home-grown recovery programme with the key elements that are troubling the economy as a platform for engaging with IMF. The strategy is that we need to secure a stable recovery platform to grow the economy,” he said.

He said as Government plans to take the economy to sustainable levels, reducing the fiscal deficit remains crucial as it will help reduce government borrowing and further bring down interest rates prevailing in the financial market.

Mr Mutati admitted that the infrastructure development programme has contributed to government borrowing, thus the need to re-sequence the programme to ensure that infrastructure needs do not out-weigh other economic needs.

Government plans to reduce subsidies, which are largely benefitting the rich at the expense of the poor.

“Subsidies are benefitting the well-to-do at the expense of the marginalised citizens, whose socio-economic programmes such as health and education have had to be stopped to facilitate subsidies.

“The other subsidies that enhance our economic activities, particularly those in agriculture, will be reformed to ensure effectiveness and efficiency,” he said.

Mr. Mutati says the key objective of reducing fiscal deficit is to put in place measures to reduce subsidies and enhance economic activity.

He also says Government intends to work closely with the Central Bank to normalise fiscal conditions and develop a roadmap to gradually dismantle arrears owed to suppliers of goods and services.

Mr. Mutati said this when he officiated at the 2nd Annual Conference on Banking and Finance which is underway at Lusaka’s Hotel Intercontinental.

Meanwhile, Zambia Institute of Bankers and Financial Services President Cephas Chabu says Zambia’s aspiration to transform into a middle-income can be achieved if the country becomes more financially inclusive.

Mr. Chabu further said the Country needs to adopt best practices of financial inclusion implemented by other countries in order to foster economic development.

And Leonard Mwanza, who spoke on behalf of the Chairperson for Bankers Association of Zambia, appealed to Government to put in place policies that favour the expansion of banking services to the financially excluded.

Mr. Mwanza further urged Government to consider giving a waiver on taxes on Point of Sales machines, ATMs as well as other equipment which can be set up in far flung areas of the Country, in order to capture the large population of the unbanked.

The 2 days Annual Banking and Finance Conference is being held under the theme “Financial Inclusion – Exploring Regional Best Practices” and has been organised by the Zambia Institute of Banking and Financial Services.

The Cypher Clash is a freestyle Hip Hop competition brought to you by The Effycom Group , that is designed to unearth the hidden talent of Zambia in the Hip Hop genre.

The aim is to not only showcase but educate and develop true Hip Hop talent and help maintain the essence of what it means to be a Hip Hop artist. The essence of Hip hop is to understand your struggle, your highs and lows in the journey of your life, your surroundings and the world at large; and vocalise it as a means of encouragement towards others and self expression. Hip hop is the movement that brings to light issues that are not normally addressed in society, the youth are susceptible to public opinion and the media, if there is no guiding voice to help them understand what it means to be in whatever situation they are in be it good or bad, without bias, and without judgment. Hip hop works as a vessel to reach out to vulnerable individuals and give them a true voice, it works as a platform to keep troubled individuals out of the arms of the law, and it provides a safe haven for them to feel free to express their opinions and thoughts and feelings. Hip Hop also serves as an asset to society if embraced well; many youth will be in a position to not only pursue their dreams as Hip hop artists and have thriving careers, but many more will be able to gain employment through the various positions the business has to offer behind the scenes.

The Cypher Clash has an experienced team with a combined over 30 years in the entertainment industry, with qualifications and experience in music, business, multimedia and marketing just to name a few. The team is geared to develop the contenders of the Cypher Clash and further spearhead the winning champion into having a successful career as a Hip Hop artist not only in Zambia but the rest of the world.

The Heats

The heats , which will take place at The Best Western Grand Hotel in Lusaka, are hosted by Sky Entertainment Hip Hop artist Klappa Heiz and Radio Phoenix DJ Roxy .There will be 3 heats in which the judges ; Slam Dunk Records CEO Duncan Sodala , So Good Entertainment CEO Lukundo Siwale and Effycom Productions Hip Hop Artist NANA, will decide the winner. Each judge offers a score out of 10 and the total is placed on the leader board. The leader board is used to determine the top scoring contenders who in turn get back in front of the judges after the first heat is complete, and the cycle continues with the top scorers on the leader board competing until the remaining 16 battle it out for their place in the quarter finals.

Quarter Finals

The 8 contenders who reach the quarter finals go through a couple of mentoring sessions with some special celebrity guests , these sessions are built to improve their self-esteem, improve their freestyle skills, as well as give them a better understanding of Hip Hop, and the music business. This time the leader board process is eliminated, and whoever wins their battle makes it through to the semi-finals

Semi Finals

The remaining 4 contenders, who qualify to the semi-finals, have an opportunity to battle with guest Hip hop artists to test their growth and freestyle ability. They will also have an opportunity to be tested on their understanding of the business side of the music industry and how to present themselves, through intense interviews for each of them conducted by a radio DJ that specializes in the Hip Hop genre on a live radio show. The points they receive from these tests will determine the contender that will have the option to choose who to battle with the two remaining mandatorily battling each other. The successful two move on to the finals with the remaining two battling it out for 3 rd and 4 th positions

Finals

The final two set to battle it out for the championship trophy, will go through a series of tasks. As part of their prize they will be releasing a single that will be marketed and distributed by Effycom Productions, this single will be written and recorded after the finale battle at their prize destination, London. The single is to be released on Monday the 12th Of December with digital pre orders made available at least 2 weeks prior to release, as fans will still be hot on the trail of the winner at that time. The finalists will also have the opportunity to be mentored on a one on one basis by an international Hip hop artist. They will also go on a promotional campaign on radio and TV. As finalists they will also get the opportunity to choose team supporters from the quarter-finalists giving them 3 team supporters who will assist in promoting them ( using the hashtag #ContendersnameTCC2016) as well as give them pointers and moral support all the way to the finale event.

[Heat 1] 3rd September 10am – 6pm 8:30am – 9:30am Registration 9:30am – 10am Entry into auditorium

[Heat 2] 17th September 10am – 3pm 9:30am – 10:30am Registration 10:30am – 11am Entry into auditorium

[Heat 3] 24th September 10am – 3pm 9:30am – 10:30am Registration 10:30am – 11am Entry into auditorium

[Quarter Finals] 8th October Red Carpet 2pm – 3:30pm, 3:30pm entry into auditorium, Show Time 4pm – 6pm

[Semi Finals] 15th October Red Carpet 2pm – 3:30pm, 3:30pm entry into auditorium, Show Time 4pm – 6pm

[Final] 22nd October Red Carpet 3pm – 4:30pm, 4:30pm entry into auditorium, Show Time 5pm – 7pm

The prizes

1st place – K10,000, feature interview and spread for the cover of The Global Zambian Magazine, travel to the UK with a recording and release of a single, shooting of video for the single all in the UK, 12 month management deal with Effycom Productions, 2 night stay at a Zambian holiday destination, merchandise, certificate and trophy.

2nd place – K5,000, interview in The Global Zambian Magazine, merchandise, certificate and trophy

3rd place – K2,000, merchandise, certificate and trophy

4th place – K 500, merchandise, certificate

For more information visit the official website : thecypherclash.com