Month: October 2021

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TheNationalNews.com: Ethiopia lashes out at. US over possible trade pact expulsion

PM Abiy’s office releases video warning the US of the consequences of expelling Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act Bryant Harris Oct 9, 2021 ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came out swinging on Thursday against US threats to remove Ethiopia from a key trade pact over the humanitarian crisis in Tigray. The prime minister’s office released a video urging the United States not to expel Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which grants eligible participants in Sub-Saharan Africa duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products. The video highlights a woman named Saron working in an Ethiopian garment factory using the Twitter hashtag #LetHerWork. It says she is one of hundreds of thousands young women employed in Ethiopia’s AGOA-dependent industrial parks. “With the potential for AGOA sanctions, losing this opportunity not only means loss of occupation, but also driving millions into poverty,” a voiceover states. “And women like Saron would face forced marriage and illegal migration.” The video represents Ethiopia’s most public pushback against President Joe Biden administration’s threatened penalties on Addis Ababa over the Tigray crisis. It comes after US Trade Representative Catherine Tai took the unusually rare step of warning her Ethiopian counterpart Mamo Mihretu in August that “the ongoing violations of internationally recognised human rights amid the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia” could “affect Ethiopia’s future [AGOA] eligibility if unaddressed.” Cameron Hudson, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Centre, told The National that he expects the Biden administration to notify Congress of Ethiopia’s expulsion from AGOA by November 1. “It would have both a practical impact and also a symbolic impact,” said Mr Hudson. “This would put Ethiopia in a distinct minority in having been kind of unceremoniously removed from this programme, and so it’s just another measure of where the bilateral relationship is.” While most countries that benefit under AGOA primarily export raw materials, Ethiopia is unique in that it relies on the trade pact for tariff-free exports of its light manufacturing industry, including garments. “It’s a lot of money for them,” Karl Von Batten, the head of the consulting firm Von Batten-Montague-York told The National. “In five years, the projection was a few billion dollars.” Mr Von Batten has been lobbying the Biden administration and Congress to expel Ethiopia from AGOA in the hopes it will prompt Mr Abiy’s wealthy backers to pressure him to end the conflict in Tigray. “What it’s going to do is impact the power brokers who are making millions off this, who are grassroots supporters of Prime Minister Abiy,” said Mr Von Batten. “We’re hoping that it will compel them to come to the table to call for a ceasefire, negotiations, peace talks.” “It pains me to do this because this is going to affect people’s lives, but it’s the law.” AGOA stipulates that a country must “not engage in gross violations of internationally recognised human rights” in order to receive preferential trade status. Under US law, the president must publish a determination as to whether AGOA beneficiaries such as Ethiopia continue to meet the eligibility requirements in the federal register every year. The National first reported last month that the State Department is reviewing whether Ethiopia’s actions in Tigray constitute a genocide. A genocide designation could make it hard to justify keeping Ethiopia in AGOA under the law’s eligibility requirements. Mr Biden also signed a broad executive order last month paving the way for sanctions on all actors responsible for human rights violations in the Tigray civil war, including the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments as well as the Amhara Regional Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Before the threats of AGOA expulsion, the Ethiopian government previously had little to say as a public response to the Biden administration’s interagency pressure campaign over Tigray. “I look at this video in the context of what the Ethiopian government is doing more broadly, which is not responding to the overwhelming criticism with introspection, with the review of its own policy,” said Mr Hudson. “This video is a consistent policy of trying to spin their way out of this. And this conflict in Tigray, if it has been marked by anything, it has been marked by propaganda efforts to explain away what is going on through a very advanced and sophisticated propaganda campaign led in large part by the Ethiopian government.” Although Ethiopia has maintained an internet, phone and media blackout in Tigray, witnesses have described widespread human rights abuses, including the displacement and murder of civilians, gang rape, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the burning of crops. The Ethiopian government has also blocked humanitarian aid to Tigray, recently expelling UN aid workers. An Amnesty International report released last month found that Ethiopian forces and their allies “subjected hundreds of women and girls to sexual violence”, war crimes that may also amount to crimes against humanity. Fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have also retaliated with their own abuses during raids on villages in Amhara, including a massacre last month that killed 120 people. .

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

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After Raids, 6 Migrants Killed in Shooting at Libya Detention Center

At least six migrants were shot dead at a Tripoli detention center on Friday, the head of the U.N. migration agency’s Libya mission said, as many reportedly escaped from the facility and others gathered in nearby streets.

Overcrowding triggered chaos at the Ghot Shaal center, with people sleeping in the open and different security forces present, said Federico Soda, the Libya mission head for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Shooting started,” he said, adding that at least six people had been killed.

Libyan security forces have cracked down on migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers over the past week, detaining more than 5,000.

There are hundreds of thousands of migrants in Libya, some seeking to travel to Europe and others coming to work in the major oil exporter.

They routinely face violence in a country that has had little peace for a decade, with many held in detention centers that the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said were crowded and unsanitary, and where Amnesty International on Friday said they face torture and sexual abuse.

Libya’s Government of National Unity was not immediately available for comment.

A decade of strife

The country has been in crisis since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Moammar Gadhafi, and much of it is controlled on the ground by local armed forces that operate independently of the government.

Numerous videos posted on social media on Friday, which Reuters could not immediately authenticate, showed dozens of people pouring through a gap in a fence, and larger numbers marching through Tripoli streets.

Two residents said they had seen large numbers of migrants running through the streets in that area.

Soda said security forces in Tripoli had detained at least 900 migrants later Friday, a group that likely included many of those who had fled the detention center.

A Reuters journalist who had seen dozens of migrants sitting on the floor surrounded by guards said that there was a very heavy security presence around the area and there had been sporadic sounds of shooting.

UNHCR said earlier on Friday that it was increasingly alarmed about the situation for migrants and refugees in Libya after more than 5,000 had been arrested in the recent crackdown.

“The raids, which also involved the demolition of many unfinished buildings and makeshift houses, have created widespread panic and fear among asylum-seekers and refugees in the capital,” it said in a statement.

On Monday U.N. investigators said abuses against migrants and refugees in Libya were “on a widespread scale … with a high level of organization and with the encouragement of the state … suggestive of crimes against humanity.”

Source: Voice of America

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Volcanic Grit, Water Shortage Threaten La Palma’s Banana Crop

“It’s worse than a plague,” said Pedro Antonio Sanchez, fuming over the volcanic grit coating his bananas, the main source of wealth on the Canaries’ island of La Palma.

“It’s worse than a pest or disease because it scratches [the fruit],” said Sanchez, gesturing at the black sandy deposits that have rained down since the volcano erupted on September 19.

The volcano has caused major damage to banana plantations in La Palma, the second-largest producer in the Atlantic Canary Islands, where the crop accounts for 50 of the island’s economy, industry figures show.

Once the ash lands on the bananas, it is almost impossible to remove.

And it causes further damage in the handling, transport and packing, with the huge bunches, which are known as “pineapples” and can weigh up to 70 kilos (150 pounds), carried on the shoulders.

“You have to blast it off with water or something — to be honest, I don’t know how to do it,” said Sanchez, 60, who owns a small plantation. “When the dew forms overnight, it really makes the grit stick, and in the morning it just won’t come off.”

Can’t be sold

The skin blackens in the form of a scratch but nothing like the brownish-black markings that show the fruit is ripe.

And although the banana is perfect, it is rejected and cannot be sold.

“European quality regulations ban the sale of bananas with more than four square centimeters of scratches per fruit, even if they are perfect inside and can be eaten without risk,” said Esther Dominguez of ASPROCAN, which represents banana producers in the Canary Islands.

The volcano’s eruption has predominantly hurt the Aridane valley on the western flank of La Palma, although the problem caused by volcanic ash and grit has affected a much wider area.

“It is not just the Aridane valley, because the wind changes direction and ash is blown all over. So 100 percent of the island is affected,” Juan Vicente Rodriguez Leal, head of the Covalle agricultural cooperative, told AFP.

“So we are going to have a significant loss of at least one year’s crop,” he said, estimating losses of “around 120 to 130 million euros [$140 to $150 million].”

The plantations are also suffering from a lack of water after the lava destroyed the area’s irrigation pipeline.

Bananas need a lot of water and the current shortage “is the biggest threat,” Sanchez said.

La Palma has long suffered from water shortages. It has no rivers, lakes or reservoirs, so the island gets its water from underground aquifers or rain collected by pine trees and transferred to the ground.

Bananas “need a lot of irrigation every seven days. Now we’re irrigating every 15 days to save water, and although they’re not going to dry out, the fruit feels the impact,” Sanchez said.

A third of Canaries’ crop

In 2020, La Palma produced 148,000 metric tons of bananas, or 34.5% of the Canaries’ overall crop, ASPROCAN figures show.

In terms of production, it is second only to Tenerife, which is three times larger.

One-tenth of La Palma’s 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) is dedicated to agriculture, of which 43% is planted in bananas, according to the Biosphere Reserve of La Palma.

More than 80% of the banana plantations in the Canaries are modest plots of less than 2.5 acres (one hectare), with many farmers living hand to mouth.

Although Sanchez enjoys the work, he’s had enough of living on the bread line.

“There are months when you bring in 1,000 euros ($1,150) or a bit more, but it’s normally less,” sometimes even as little as 300 euros, he said.

“It just doesn’t make me feel like working.”

Source: Voice of America

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Seaweed a model solution for fighting climate change

Seaweed a model solution for fighting climate change

Researchers from KAUST and Aarhus university believe they have identified a model solution to climate change, biodiversity loss, joblessness, hunger and environmental damage. In a paper published in Nature Sustainability, the co-authors outline how the cultivation and use of seaweed as a carbon capture technology, a job and tax revenue generator, and a food source, can protect and restore the planet. Credit photos from Aarhus to Michael Bo Rasmussen, Aarhus University.

THUWAL, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Seaweed, as its unfortunate name suggests, can be a nuisance. It makes a mess of beautiful beaches. It bobs up and down in the waves in an unsightly blob. And it sticks to unsuspecting swimmers as they try to enjoy a dip. But despite its reputation with some ocean goers, seaweed just might be one of the most powerful tools we have to save the planet from manmade climate change while providing a path to realizing many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Researchers from KAUST and Aarhus University believe seaweed is a model solution to climate change, biodiversity loss, joblessness, hunger and environmental damage. In a paper published in Nature Sustainability the co-authors outline how the cultivation and use of seaweed as a carbon capture technology, a job and tax revenue generator, and a food source, can help protect and restore our planet.

“Our research consolidates seaweed farming as an underpinning of a sustainable future,” Professor Carlos Duarte, study lead author said. “It is scalable, with a 2,000-fold increase potential, it generates valuable products while also contributing to carbon sequestration below the farm, it produces sustainable fuels, and it displaces carbon-intensive products, thereby providing a range of contributions to climate action. While growing at sea, seaweed forms an ecosystem that delivers multiple benefits to the marine environment.”

The cultivation and use of seaweed, the authors believe, will directly support six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and indirectly support several others. Achieving zero hunger, supporting good health, making clean energy affordable, as well as supporting industrial innovation, climate action, and ocean conservation, are all outcomes of cultivating seaweed. Not only is the plant climate positive, profitable, and edible, but it promises to feed and employ millions while preserving the planet and fostering poverty reduction and gender equality.

“Seaweed provides wonderful materials for a range of applications, grounded in their amazing diversity, as seaweed are as far apart from a genomic perspective as mushrooms and elephants. This genomic diversity provides a phenomenal source of new materials across a range of industries, from food, to fuels and plastics,” Duarte said.

The pitch, as much as there is one, is that seaweed cultivation must be ramped up significantly. This, of course, might encounter roadblocks in legislatures around the world as western regulations, where seaweed farming is just starting, are quite unwelcoming to seaweed aquaculture. The paper outlines in broad terms the objections that could be raised and addresses them in turn.

“Because seaweed farming is a new industry in western nations, existing regulatory frameworks do not facilitate its development. In some nations it is easier to get a concession for marine oil and gas extraction than for a seaweed farm. Creating a friendlier regulatory environment that encourages, rather than deter, seaweed farming will be critical to delivering on its potential.”

“Currently, seaweed farming occupies about 2,000 Km2 of land, compared to about 60 million Km2 land food producing systems occupy. We consider that about 4 million Km2 of ocean can support seaweed aquaculture while delivering positive impacts on the marine environment. In the rump-up to COP26, we consider that scaling seaweed farming can be a wedge of a regenerative approach to our oceans, delivering climate action while alleviating hunger and poverty,” Duarte said.

Professor Dorte Krause-Jensen from Aarhus University adds that sustainability standards and consideration of the carrying capacity for seaweed farming need be in place to avoid potential unattended negative consequences the farming.

“The utilisation of seaweed in a cascading biorefinery extracting biomolecules sequentially, offers a path to maximise the value of the biomass and render seaweed farming profitable, even in Western countries where costs are higher” said senior researcher Annette Bruhn of Aarhus University. “Promoting sustainable seaweed cultivation as an emission capture and utilisation technology supporting the circular bioeconomy, calls for a cross-sectorial approach to solving societal challenges. We need a disruption of the traditional way of thinking climate, environment and resource provision in each their sector and we need partnerships between science, industry and authorities”.

About KAUST

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) advances science and technology through distinctive and collaborative research integrated with graduate education. Located on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia, KAUST conducts curiosity-driven and goal-oriented research to address global challenges related to food, water, energy, and the environment.

Established in 2009, KAUST is a catalyst for innovation, economic development and social prosperity in Saudi Arabia and the world. The University currently educates and trains master’s and doctoral students, supported by an academic community of faculty members, postdoctoral fellows and research scientists. With over 100 nationalities working and living at KAUST, the University brings together people and ideas from all over the world.

To learn more visit kaust.edu.sa.

About Aarhus

Aarhus University has been achieving excellence in research and education since 1928. Being a top 100 university with more than 50 Masters and Bachelors educations in English, Aarhus University is a leading globally oriented university with a strong engagement in the solving the societal challenges on local and global scale.

Department of Bioscience provide teaching, research and consultancy in all aspects of life; from bacteria to whales, from genes to ecosystems and from fundamental research to applied biology in nature management and biotechnology.

To learn more visit https://international.au.dk/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5141687d-2aea-43e1-bddc-623aab93621f

For more information, please contact global.pr@kaust.edu.sa
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Les algues : une solution modèle pour lutter contre le changement climatique

Les algues : une solution modèle pour lutter contre le changement climatique

Les chercheurs de la KAUST et de l’université d’Aarhus pensent avoir identifié une solution modèle au changement climatique, à la perte de biodiversité, au chômage, à la famine et aux dommages environnementaux. Dans un article publié dans Nature Sustainability, les co-auteurs soulignent comment la culture et l’utilisation des algues en tant que technologie de captage du carbone, générateur d’emplois et de recettes fiscales, et source alimentaire, peuvent protéger et restaurer la planète. Le crédit des photos d’Aarhus revient à Michael Bo Rasmussen, de l’université d’Aarhus.

THUWAL, Arabie saoudite, 07 oct. 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Les algues, ou mauvaises herbes marines, peuvent être une nuisance, comme leur nom le suggère. Elles souillent les belles plages. Elles flottent de haut en bas dans les vagues, formant des amas inesthétiques. Et elles se collent aux nageurs peu méfiants souhaitant profiter de leur baignade. Mais malgré leur réputation auprès de certains baigneurs, les algues pourraient être l’un des outils les plus puissants dont nous disposons pour sauver la planète des changements climatiques causés par l’homme tout en fournissant une voie vers la réalisation de bon nombre des Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU.

Les chercheurs de la KAUST et de l’université d’Aarhus pensent que les algues sont une solution modèle au changement climatique, à la perte de biodiversité, au chômage, à la famine et aux dommages environnementaux. Dans un article publié dans Nature Sustainability, les co-auteurs soulignent comment la culture et l’utilisation des algues en tant que technologie de captage du carbone, générateur d’emplois et de recettes fiscales et source alimentaire, peuvent aider à protéger et restaurer notre planète.

« Notre recherche consolide l’élevage des algues en tant que fondement d’un avenir durable », a déclaré le professeur Carlos Duarte, auteur principal de l’étude. « Elles sont évolutives, avec un potentiel de multiplication par 2 000, elles génèrent des produits précieux tout en contribuant à la séquestration du carbone en aval de l’exploitation, elles produisent des combustibles durables et elles remplacent les produits à forte intensité de carbone, fournissant ainsi une variété de contributions à l’action climatique. En se développant en mer, les algues forment un écosystème qui offre de multiples avantages au milieu marin. »

Les auteurs pensent que la culture et l’utilisation d’algues appuieront directement six des Objectifs de développement durable (ODD) des Nations unies et indirectement plusieurs autres. Parvenir à l’éradication de la famine, soutenir une bonne santé, rendre l’énergie propre abordable, ainsi que soutenir l’innovation industrielle, l’action climatique et la conservation des océans, sont autant de résultats de la culture d’algues. Non seulement le climat de la plante est positif, rentable et comestible, mais il promet de nourrir et d’employer des millions de personnes tout en préservant la planète et en favorisant la réduction de la pauvreté et l’égalité des sexes.

« Les algues fournissent des matériaux merveilleux pour une variété d’applications, sur la base de leur incroyable diversité, car certaines sont aussi éloignées sur le plan génomique que les champignons et les éléphants. Cette diversité génomique fournit une source phénoménale de nouveaux matériaux dans une variété d’industries, de la nourriture aux carburants et plastiques », a déclaré M. Duarte.

Pour faire court, selon lui, la culture des algues doit être considérablement augmentée. Ce discours pourrait bien sûr rencontrer des obstacles dans les législatures du monde entier, car les réglementations occidentales, où l’élevage des algues ne fait que commencer, ne sont pas favorables à l’aquaculture des algues. Le document décrit en termes généraux les objections qui pourraient être soulevées et les traite tour à tour.

« Comme l’élevage d’algues est une nouvelle industrie dans les nations occidentales, les cadres réglementaires existants ne facilitent pas son développement. Dans certaines nations, il est plus facile d’obtenir une concession pour l’extraction de pétrole et de gaz marins que pour une ferme d’algues. Créer un environnement réglementaire plus convivial qui encourage, plutôt que décourage, l’élevage d’algues sera essentiel pour réaliser son potentiel. »

« Actuellement, l’élevage des algues occupe environ 2 000 kilomètres carrés de terres, par rapport à environ 60 millions de kilomètres carrés de systèmes de production alimentaire. Nous estimons qu’environ 4 millions de kilomètres carrés d’océan peuvent soutenir l’aquaculture des algues tout en produisant des impacts positifs sur le milieu marin. Au cours de la montée en puissance jusqu’à la COP26, nous considérons que la mise à l’échelle de l’élevage des algues peut jouer un rôle important dans l’approche régénérative de nos océans, offrant une action climatique tout en réduisant la faim et la pauvreté », a déclaré M. Duarte.

« L’utilisation d’algues dans une bioraffinerie opérant en chaîne en extrayant les biomolécules de manière séquentielle offre une voie pour maximiser la valeur de la biomasse et rendre l’élevage des algues rentable, même dans les pays occidentaux où les coûts sont plus élevés », a déclaré Annette Bruhn, chercheuse principale de l’université d’Aarhus. « La promotion d’une culture durable des algues en tant que technologie de captage et d’utilisation des émissions soutenant la bioéconomie circulaire appelle à une approche multisectorielle pour résoudre les défis sociétaux. Nous avons besoin d’une révolution de la façon traditionnelle de penser le climat, l’environnement et la fourniture de ressources dans chaque secteur et nous avons besoin de partenariats entre la science, l’industrie et les autorités. »

À propos de la KAUST

La King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) fait progresser la science et la technologie grâce à une recherche distinctive et collaborative intégrée à l’enseignement supérieur. Située sur la côte de la mer Rouge en Arabie saoudite, la KAUST mène des recherches pilotées par la curiosité et axées sur des objectifs pour relever les défis mondiaux liés à l’alimentation, à l’eau, à l’énergie et à l’environnement.

Créée en 2009, la KAUST est un catalyseur pour l’innovation, le développement économique et la prospérité sociale en Arabie saoudite et dans le monde. L’université éduque et forme actuellement des étudiants en master et en doctorat, soutenus par une communauté universitaire de professeurs, de boursiers postdoctoraux et de scientifiques dans la recherche. Avec des individus de plus de 100 nationalités travaillant et vivant à la KAUST, l’université réunit des personnes et des idées du monde entier.

Pour en savoir plus, rendez-vous sur kaust.edu.sa.

À propos d’Aarhus

L’université d’Aarhus parvient à l’excellence en matière de recherche et d’éducation depuis 1928. Comptant parmi les 100 meilleures universités avec plus de 50 cursus de masters et licences en anglais, l’université d’Aarhus est une université de premier plan à l’échelle planétaire avec un fort engagement dans la résolution des défis sociétaux au niveau local et mondial.

Le département de Bioscience assure l’enseignement, la recherche et le conseil dans tous les aspects de la vie, des bactéries aux baleines, des gènes aux écosystèmes et de la recherche fondamentale à la biologie appliquée dans la gestion de la nature et la biotechnologie.

Pour en savoir plus, rendez-vous sur https://international.au.dk/

Une photo accompagnant ce communiqué de presse est disponible à l’adresse https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5141687d-2aea-43e1-bddc-623aab93621f/fr

Pour plus d'information, contactez global.pr@kaust.edu.sa
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Customertimes Announces CT Vision on Salesforce AppExchange, the World’s Leading Enterprise Cloud Marketplace

Customertimes’ customers can now benefit from a powerful Retail Execution mobile app.

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Customertimes announces that it has launched CT Vision on Salesforce AppExchange, empowering customers to streamline and enhance the Retail Execution process. A Salesforce-native solution and part of the award-winning CT Mobile suite of products, CT Vision delivers better performance with both on- and offline availability.

Built on the Salesforce Platform, CT Vision from Customertimes is currently available on AppExchange at https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3u00000PGQktEAH.

CT Vision

With innovative image recognition technology for retail store check, CT Vision enhances visit execution by ensuring share-of-shelf calculation and planogram compliance with photo audit functionality. Ensure image quality, track KPIs by shelf and scene type, and get actionable data insights within seconds, all from your mobile device.

Results are immediately available in your Salesforce instance for reporting, analysis, and stakeholder review.

Comments on the News

  • “We are thrilled to share CT Vision on AppExchange,” says Anna Markova, Product Manager at CT Software. “This AI-powered retail execution tool can save time for sales reps, and, like all CT Mobile products, can result in business and efficiency gains for our customers.”
  • “CT Vision from Customertimes is a welcome addition to AppExchange, as they power digital transformation for customers by powering efficient retail execution,” said Woodson Martin, GM of Salesforce AppExchange. “AppExchange is constantly evolving to enable our partners to build cutting-edge solutions to drive customer success.”

About Salesforce AppExchange

Salesforce AppExchange, the world’s leading enterprise cloud marketplace, empowers companies to sell, service, market and engage in entirely new ways. With more than 6,000 solutions, 9 million customer installs and 117,000 peer reviews, it is the most comprehensive source of cloud, mobile, social, IoT, analytics and artificial intelligence technologies for businesses.

Additional Resources

Salesforce, AppExchange and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

About Customertimes

Customertimes Corp. is a global consulting and software firm dedicated to making the top IT technologies accessible to customers. With more than 4000 projects completed and 1300+ highly skilled experts, their solutions are engineered to help clients realize true business transformation and achieve maximum value from their technology investments. An early entrant into the Salesforce consulting and implementation space in Eastern Europe and an award-winning product development organization, Customertimes Corp. currently has headquarters in New York City, with regional offices in London, Paris, Toronto, Kyiv, Minsk, Riga, and Moscow. For more information, visit www.customertimes.com.

Media Contact:
 Meriel Sikora
 Customertimes
 212-520-0059
 meriel.sikora@customertimes.com

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Finacity, a White Oak Company, Facilitates Consumer Loan Funding Program for Express Credit Group’s African Lending Operations

STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Finacity Corporation, a White Oak Company, (“Finacity”) announced that it has successfully completed the facilitation of a new consumer loan funding program for Express Credit Group’s Botswana specialty finance operations (”Express Credit”). The new facility will purchase loans from Express Credit through a newly created special purpose corporation. The first tranche consisted of the purchase of USD 9.0 million pool of payroll deduction loans. Additional tranches are expected to follow. Finacity developed the program in coordination with Africa based financial advisor Africa Growth Capital.

About Express Credit Group

Express Credit Group operates specialty finance businesses in several African nations, including Botswana and Namibia. Express Credit offers payroll deduction loans, unsecured loans and real estate secured loans to consumers. Charlotte Mathula, CEO of Express Credit Botswana said that “the new loan funding program enhances our liquidity and our ability to serve our customers. Express Credit Botswana anticipates additional loan demand which could be supported by this new facility.”

About Finacity, a White Oak Company

Finacity, a White Oak Company, specializes in the structuring and provision of efficient capital markets receivables funding programs, supplier and payables finance, back-up servicing, and bond administration. Finacity currently facilitates the financing and administration of an annual receivables volume of approximately US $100 billion. With resources in the USA, Europe Latin America and Asia, Finacity conducts business throughout the world with obligors in 175 countries. Finacity is affiliated with White Oak Global Advisors, LLC, a leading alternative debt manager specializing in originating and providing financing solutions to facilitate the growth, refinancing and recapitalization of small and medium enterprises. For further information, please visit www.finacity.com.

About White Oak Global Advisors

White Oak Global Advisors, LLC (“WOGA”), together with its financing affiliates, provides over twenty lending products to the market, including term, asset-based, and equipment loans, to all sectors of the economy. Since its inception in 2007, WOGA and its affiliates have deployed over $9 billion across its product lines, utilizing a disciplined investment process that focuses on delivering risk-adjusted investment returns to investors while establishing long term partnerships with our borrowers. More information can be found at www.whiteoaksf.com.

For more information on this transaction, please contact:

FINACITY CORPORATION, a White Oak Company

Paul Jenison
Tel: +1 203 428 3511
Mobile +1 917-833-1827
pjenison@finacity.com