Africa Under The Venture Capital Spotlight | The Next Women ...

Guest article by Mike Lebus, co-founder of Angel Investment Network. Part of The NextWomen Africa Theme.

Africa has received a lot of interest from VC?s in the last few years as it continues to develop. The ever growing number of accelerators, tech hubs and angel networks appearing across Africa are further proof that entrepreneurship is flourishing in the region. The tech, web,?mobile and telecommunications sectors in particular are showing tremendous growth and are attracting a lot of interest from venture capitalists.?

Here is a list of 15 venture capital firms (some home-grown and some foreign) looking to take advantage of the opportunities Africa has to offer.

1. Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm EchoVC (http://www.echovc.com/), which has invested in companies such as LinkedIn, Betaworks, Facebook, Pandora and Bit.ly, has apparently committed around US$30 million to tech start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on Consumer Internet & Services, Mobile, Digital Media, Content & Advertising, Software, Services & Infrastructure.

2, San Francisco-based?I/O Ventures (http://www.ventures.io/) has launched a US$10 million fund?in Africa.? The Savannah Fund is a seed capital fund specializing in US$25,000 - US$500,000 investments in early stage high growth technology (web and mobile) startups in sub-Saharan Africa. Initially focused on East Africa, the fund aims to bridge the early stage/angel and venture capital investment gap that currently exists in Africa.

3. Invenfin (http://www.invenfin.co.za/) is a South African seed and?early stage venture capital?fund.?They are interested in all types of innovation in all sectors, so their funding requirements are flexible, but all investments?must have?unique intellectual property.

4. Sawari Ventures (http://www.sawariventures.com/) is a global venture capital firm focused on the Middle East & North Africa region. It is focused on early and growth-stage investing within tech media, telecoms, eCommerce and financial services.?

5. Fanisi Venture Capital Fund (http://www.fanisi.com/) is a venture capital fund established in Luxembourg to work with competitive and sustainable businesses across East Africa. Fanisi makes equity investments in high growth businesses across diverse industry sectors, focusing principally on companies with an established record but also reaching out to start ups and early stage companies.?Fanisi has a preference for investing in agribusiness, ICT, retail, financial services, education, ?and health.

6. Adlevo Capital (http://www.adlevocapital.com/) is a Mauritius-based private equity fund?established to capitalize on the growing demand for infrastructure and services in sub-Saharan Africa.? They target investments into technology-enabled infrastructure and services companies in sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on the Nigerian and South African markets.

7. 88pmh (http://www.88mph.ac/) makes investments in early stage mobile-web companies targeting the African market; focusing purely on ideas with potential to scale across Africa.? They invest up to US$100k per startup and make investments simultaneously in 10-12 startups.

8. East Africa Capital Partners (http://www.eacp.co.ke) is a technology, media and telecommunications sector-focused Venture Capital Fund Manager, investing in the greater Eastern Africa region. It specializes in carefully selected investments in technology, media & telecoms growth equities. EACP is currently actively investing funds from the $100m ATMT Fund 1, in the East African region.

9. eVentures Africa Fund (http://www.eva-fund.com/) is the first venture capital firm investing in African SME?s active in digital media.?Their focus is on internet and/or mobile applications, platforms, e-commerce and solution-providers.

10. Intel Capital (http://www.intelcapital.com/) has also entered the sub-Saharan Africa market. Marcin Hejka, managing director, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa for Intel Capital explained "Intel Capital is investing in the broad spectrum of technology opportunities including content, software and applications, consumer internet, e-commerce, data center and services; we are able to invest in technology companies at all stages of development, though majority of our investments happens at expansion stage".

11. Africa Media Venture Fund (http://www.amvf.nl/) mobilizes capital and experience in the Netherlands to invest in entrepreneurs in the media sector and small and medium sized African media companies.

12. KnifeCap (formerly PoweredbyVC) (http://www.knifecap.com/) is a Southern African growth equity fund manager focusing on technology-enabled ventures? It investment focus is on high growth, high impact technology-enabled businesses from South Africa and other frontier economies across Sub-Saharan Africa.

13. Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa (http://www.hp-ventures.co.za/) is an investment company based in South Africa. They invest in innovative technology companies with a proven track record of growth and a business model that is substantiated by the generation of historical revenue.?

14. 4Di Capital (http://www.4dicapital.com/) is an independent early-stage technology venture capital firm based in South Africa?s "Silicon Cape". They target startup investment opportunities with high growth potential at the seed- and early-stages in the mobile, enterprise software and web sectors.

15. Jacana Partners (http://www.jacanapartners.com/) is a pan-African private equity company that invests in entrepreneurs, builds successful small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and delivers sustainable financial and social returns. Their investment teams currently cover three countries in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) and three countries in West Africa (Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone). They invest in many different sectors but are particularly interested in markets like financial services, property, healthcare, technology, business services, insurance, education, manufacturing and agro-processing.

This is only a snapshot of some of the venture funds focusing on Africa.? Which other VC?s do you know that are offering funding to African companies?

This guest article was written by Mike Lebus, co-founder of Angel Investment Network, which has a network in South Africa (http://www.investmentnetwork.co.za/).

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono?/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Source: http://www.thenextwomen.com/2013/01/02/africa-under-venture-capital-spotlight

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Celebrities Who Worked In Finance - Business Insider

They have worked as pen salesmen, hawkers, cookie scoopers, ballet dancers, firefighters, professional soccer players, shoe salesmen, restaurant hostesses, lion cage tenders, lifeguards, mascots, bellhops and telemarketers. Think of any role and they have done it. These men and women have undertaken different jobs to stay afloat before becoming celebrities. (For related reading, see?Winning Celebrities And The Companies They Endorse.)?

TUTORIAL:?Financial Careers?

Some celebrities worked in finance before they became rich and famous. Some worked?part-time jobs, while others worked?full-time. Here are some of the notable ones.

Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and a talk show host. She sustained herself while looking for acting jobs by working as a bank teller, a bricklayer and a cosmetologist at a mortuary.

Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He studied to become an accountant, and then worked as a bank teller where he met his wife Anna.

Red Foo, one half of the party rock band LMFAO, was tracking stocks as a kid under his father Barry Gordon's guidance. Before he made the room groove, he held a job as a?day trader. He still invests, though his?portfolio?has become less risky. He believes that Apple's stock is a big winner.

Erin Isabelle Burnett is the anchor of CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront." She was the co-anchor of CNBC's "Squawk On The Street" program and the host of CNBC's "Street Signs" program. Burnett began her career as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs in investment banking. Her work included the areas of?mergers and acquisitions?and corporate finance. (To learn more, check out?Biggest Merger And Acquisition Disasters.)?

Timothy Maxwell "Max" Keiser is an American broadcaster and film-maker. He was the co-founder of the?Hollywood Stock Exchange. He has worked in finance for about 25 years and started his career as a?stock broker?on Wall Street.

Method Actor
Shia Labeouf isn't leaving his day job ? yet. He got hooked on trading stocks while he worked on his movie "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps." Preparing for his role at John Thomas Financial, he managed to turn his $20,000 to around $489,000, extending his midas touch from movies to finance.

Lou Dobbs is an American journalist, radio host, television host on the?Fox Business Network and author. Dobbs worked as a cash-management specialist for?Union Bank?in?Los Angeles after graduating from?Harvard University.

Martha Stewart made her millions teaching us how to bake and decorate homes better. She started her career as a stock broker?in New York.

The iconic Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)?worked as an insurance salesman before his famed career as founder of KFC.

It is difficult to imagine Demi Moore the star of "Indecent Proposal," "GI Jane" and "Striptease" as an employee in a debt collection agency, but she did.

Moving up the Ladder
Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Carly Fiorina, started out as a secretary and then moved into a broker position at Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services,?a commercial real estate brokerage?firm.?

Brett Ratner, director of the "Rush Hour" movies, worked as a stockbroker at South Richmond Securities on Wall Street.

Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand worked as a?foreign exchange?dealer at Elders Finance in Wellington, before rising to be head foreign exchange trader?in two short years. He has also served as Merrill Lynch's head of foreign exchange. He chose to jump from the high?volatility?of the world of finance to the more volatile field of politics.

Former British Prime Minister Sir John Major took a correspondence course in banking after being passed over for a bus conductor's job. He joined as a junior executive at Standard Chartered Bank before moving up the ladder.

Rick Yune the handsome, chilling villain from "Die Another Day" was not new to taking risks, having been a?hedge fund?trader post graduating from Wharton Business School. At the age of 21, he joined as a trainee at a hedge fund. When it was relatively difficult for a newbie to land a role in a hedge fund, he found it "humbling" to be entrusted with so much responsibility. He also enjoyed the role for its risk and not knowing what to expect next. He, however, was more?attracted to the calling of acting.

Michael Roiff, the independent film producer, initially started his career in the world of finance. He briefly worked as a management consultant at CIBC World Markets and The Parthenon Group before he set off to produce his first film "Waitress" in 2007.

The Bottom Line
Before the big bucks and glamour, these celebrities worked at regular?white collar?jobs, like a lot of us. They were ready to work many jobs to land?the one they loved. You never know when the spotlight will shine on you! (For additional reading, check out?Celebrities You Can Bank On.)

This post originally appeared at Investopedia.

This story was originally published by?Investopedia.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/celebrities-who-worked-in-finance-2012-12

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Biden To Rally Senate Dems (talking-points-memo)

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Egypt prosecutors investigate popular TV comedian

A Mousque silhouetted against sunset in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

A Mousque silhouetted against sunset in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

An Egyptian woman holds a poster with Arabic that reads, "my Christian siblings.. happy new year.." in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

An Egyptian protester walks past a banner near the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. Protesters will celebrate New Year's eve in front of the presidential palace. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian protesters decorate a Christmas tree near the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. Protesters will celebrate New Year's eve in front of the presidential palace. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

In this image released by the Egyptian Presidency, Mohammed Morsi addresses the newly convened upper house of parliament in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. Egypt's Islamist president warned against any unrest that could harm the drive to repair the country's battered economy in his first address before the newly convened upper house of parliament on Saturday, urging the opposition to work with his government. In the nationally televised speech, Mohammed Morsi said the nation's entire efforts should be focused on "production, work, seriousness and effort," now that a new constitution came into effect this week, blaming protests and violence the last month for causing further damage to an economy already in crisis since the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. (AP Photo/Egyptian Presidency)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian prosecutors launched an investigation on Tuesday against a popular television satirist for allegedly insulting the president in the latest case raised by Islamist lawyers against outspoken media personalities.

Lawyer Ramadan Abdel-Hamid al-Oqsori charged that TV host Bassem Youssef insulted President Mohammed Morsi by putting the Islamist leader's image on a pillow and parodying his speeches.

The case against Youssef comes as opposition media and independent journalists are growing increasingly worried about press freedoms under a new constitution widely supported by Morsi and his Islamist allies.

Other cases have been brought against media personalities who have criticized the president since Morsi's victory in the country's first free presidential election last summer. Some of the cases have ended with charges being dropped. Morsi's office maintains that the president has nothing to do with legal procedures against media critics.

A local committee of journalists and editors has called for stronger guarantees of press freedoms and a rejection of the current constitution, fearing it allows for jailing journalists under broadly-worded articles regarding media offenses.

Authorities ordered the closure of TV station "Al-Fareen" last summer after bringing its owner, Tawfiq Okasha, to trial for scathing attacks against Morsi and his Brotherhood group. Okasha had emerged as one of the most popular TV personalities of post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt by railing against the uprising that toppled Mubarak's 29-year rule in February 2011.

Another prominent case was directed at the editor of a prominent opposition newspaper, al-Dustour, who has since stepped down. He went on trial briefly for "spreading lies" and fabricating news.

Youssef, a doctor, catapulted to fame when his video blogs mocking politics received hundreds of thousands of hits shortly after the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Mubarak.

Youssef's program is modeled after Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," where he has appeared as a guest.

Unlike other local TV presenters, Youssef uses satire to mock fiery comments made by ultraconservative clerics and politicians, garnering him a legion of fans among the country's revolutionaries and liberals.

Among his most popular clips are the ones where he pokes fun at the president's speeches and decisions.

While holding a red, furry pillow with Morsi's picture on it, Youssef satirizes Morsi's style of speech.

"The president understands us. He understands us better than we understand ourselves," Youssef says in a clip. "He tells us things we never knew," he adds, before going to wordy clips of Morsi going into detail about the day of the week and other basic facts.

"It's October 6! Tell us when it's Christmas!" Youssef shouts to the camera as the audience erupts in laughter and applause.

The opposition, which is Youssef's main fan base, failed to defeat the constitution, despite mass street protests against it. The charter passed with almost 64 percent of votes. Opponents say the low turnout in the referendum, less than 33 percent, and the lack of national consensus undermine its legitimacy.

In another clip, Youssef asks whether Egyptians created a revolution to remove a dictator and bring in another one. That came after Morsi issued power-grabbing decrees that placed him above judicial oversight. The decrees allowed him to shield the Islamist-dominated assembly that was drafting the constitution from the Supreme Constitutional Court, which was set to rule on its legitmacy.

Youssef, 38, is one of Egypt's most popular TV presenters with 1.4 million fans on Facebook and nearly 850,000 followers on Twitter, just shy of the president's number of followers.

Also Tuesday, police said they arrested a suspect in a shooting that seriously wounded a protester in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, where an open-ended sit-in protesting the Morsi regime is taking place.

According to witnesses, before dawn on Monday, gunmen shot and wounded 19-year-old Muhanad Samir, who has said he was jailed and tortured under Egypt's former ruling military council after he witnessed the killing of another activist. Lawyers say the attacked appeared to target Samir, who is battling for his life with pellets embedded in his head.

Security officials dismiss allegations Samir was the victim of a political assassination. On Tuesday, they said they arrested the owner of a cafe in downtown Cairo who told police that he fired on the square after people manning makeshift checkpoints there searched his car and shot at him. The officials spoke anonymously in line with regulations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-01-Egypt/id-9f0b0649ff6746299ff69ff2ecc7d888

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Hiring Limousine Services for Your Business

Posted by aayana on 12/31/12 ? Categorized as Travel and Leisure

Limousine services can be for show but also for functionality. You may want to use a limo as a means of impressing those who work alongside you as well as the competition. The functionality of a limo depends to some degree on the amenities that are offered with it. That could mean having a wet bar, television, or other special equipment that will add convenience and comfort to those riding.

Looking good is important if you own a large company. This does not mean that there needs to be an unpleasant attitude. Someone can look good and leave a good impression without being rude to their fellow man. Using limousine services may seem showy, and in some ways it probably is. That is some of the enjoyment of it after all.

The functionality of a limo is great. They are good because you can bring several of your colleagues together and even have a meeting in the vehicle. You can enjoy refreshments and a quiet ride to your destination. The darkened windows of a limo provide the privacy you may want especially if you are high-profile or have riders who are high-profile.

Sometimes you may choose to use limousine services just for fun. If your business is small but growing, you might want to do something special for your close staff. Hiring a limo might be the perfect way to transport them to a fancy restaurant and pay for their evening. Doing special things for your employees goes a long way in having them be the productive workers you want them to be. It is also just a nice thing to do.

Whatever your reason for hiring limousine services, you will want to look for one that offers clean limos, trustworthy drivers, and amenities that make it more than a car ride. It might also be important for you to find out about the cost. It is most likely going to be a per hour charge for the limo, so you will need to budget that for your business.

If you have been considering what will be the best change to make for your business in the New Year, you might consider limousine services. Even if it is not something you do everyday, it still may benefit your business? image or the confidence of the employees you choose to treat with it periodically. If you are still thinking that the whole idea of improving your company image with a limo sounds snobbish, then consider ways to use it for good to help others as well.

Need to get to important functions and portray a sense of elite? Learn more about limousine services at: http://nolalimo.com.

Source: http://www.articlesrx.com/hiring-limousine-services-for-your-business/10283

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