Fujn has a community of over 100,000 women from diverse backgrounds, educational levels, specialties, and expertise
SOUSSE, Tunisia, May 25, 2023/APO Group/ —
Fujn might be one of the few tech startups, if not the only startup, exhibiting at GITEX AFRICA 2023 (https://GITEXAfrica.com/) with 10 women coming from 6 countries and 4 continents. It is a privilege for us to be representing women in a significant way and in a historic technology event inaugurated for the first time in the African continent. Fujn is headquartered in Boston, USA. It is a tech startup designed by women, built by women, developed by women, executed by women, and funded (bootstrapped) by women, for women’s future of work. Fujn is founded in 2022, operates with a team of 20 women across 10 countries. Our upskilling platform has 5,000 women actively learners. Our community has 100,000 women living in 22 countries. So far, the most traction we have received, is in Africa and Southeast Asia. We have launched 6 services as of today and have 10 additional services to follow. We are fusing upskilling, work, and life of women, seamlessly. Hence, the word Fujn, which stands for fusion.
When we had the idea, a few years ago, to tackle the future of work of women, generative AI was not yet in the public spotlight. However, we knew then that the digital adoption has only one expected trajectory, which is becoming mainstream, across the globe. At that moment, we understood that the AI genie was out of the bottle, and no one could stop it. We can only manage it, be innovative about it, and implement sensible guardrails for the good of humans. We only knew that we must work harder and smarter to direct this zeitgeist to a positive outcome. The mission we have chosen is to help women thrive, with or without AI.
Fujn is honored to be taking on the role of representing women in a prominent technology conference, such as GITEX AFRICA 2023. Technology has become the brain of all economies. And women represent 50% of the markets within these economies. We believe representation is a sign of civilization advancement. We are convinced that representation is the logical illustration of human rights and democracy. We pursue this mission of representing women in technology in a material way. By material, we mean to represent women in the GITEX AFRICA 2023 event as tech founders, tech architects, tech investors, tech strategists, and tech enthusiasts. We are traveling to Africa to tell our story. More importantly, we would like to inspire many more stories, even better than ours, to come. Our big picture is anchored on the belief that digitalization is women’s historic chance to achieve gender equity if they pursue it. Digital brings:
Learning, upskilling, knowledge, and know-how to their homes
Remote and flexible jobs, freelance, gigs, entrepreneurship to their homes
Global mentors, career counselors, and experts’ guidance to their homes
Role models in one big global ecosystem that will inspire them how to start and execute
Funding, if the idea is solid and the business plan is convincing
Gender equity, if enacted well, is estimated to boost Africa’s economy with an additional 1 trillion dollars and the Moroccan economy with an incremental $150 billion, by the year 2025.
For Company Recruiters:
At Fujn, we are working and hoping to build both a culture and a community of women who are self-aware but selfless, ambitious but balanced, expert but well-rounded in knowledge. We are working to inspire women to strive for a high IQ, but also for a high EQ. And now we are also aware of a thing called AQ, which stands for Adaptability Quotient. This word emerges with the shift happening in the future of work, accelerated with generative AI. AQ means workers must quickly adapt or inevitably become irrelevant. Fujn has a community of over 100,000 women from diverse backgrounds, educational levels, specialties, and expertise. Fujnistas, as we address our users, are doctors, architects, attorneys, scientists, psychologists, sociologists, creatives, artists, and engineers… Our community is growing fast, and we are offering recruiters access to a large pool of women talent with a high self-drive and a growth mindset that would advance any organization. Recruiters get many benefits from hiring women. They get the talent they require and the diversity they need. They get a workforce that represents 50% of their market who starts thinking with them, designing products with the right market fit for women, articulating messages that resonate with women, and setting HR policies that suit the non-linear lives of women thereby ensuring productivity, sustainable diversity, and the company’s long-term performance.
For Investors:
When we talk about a tech startup working on gender equity, it is helpful to give the context of this business. Typically, investors do not pay enough attention to understand how investing in startups like ours has a double benefit: the potential for a high IRR and ROI plus the positive social impact as an ESG business. Below are some data for Investors’ thoughts:
As of March 2023, the Biden Administration has proposed the largest-ever US investment in gender equality programs, with US$3.1 billion for gender programs in FY2024. This budget proposal furthers the US administration’s aim to secure gender as a cross-cutting priority on both the domestic and global front.
Assets in U.S. gender equity funds have doubled over the trailing three years to $1.3 billion, as of the end of February 2023, Morningstar found. Yet those funds represent less than 0.01% of total equity fund assets in the US.
The total ODA disbursements related to gender equality amounted to $30 billion, with Germany, the EU, the US, the UK, and Canada as the top 5 donors.
According to the UN, more than 100 countries have taken action to track budget allocations for gender equality.
We are working and hoping to build both a culture and a community of women who are self-aware but selfless, ambitious but balanced, expert but well-rounded in knowledge
We are a week away from the conference and are pleased to have piqued the attention of 15 investors who either invited us to meet or confirmed our request to meet them. The Fujn team cannot wait to tell these investors how we are executing our vision to build an insanely cool platform for an insanely cool mission of “enabling women to become economically independent skilled leaders.”
Human-Machine Equity (HME):
The time published on May 16, 2023: “Sam Altman, whose company is on the extreme forefront of generative AI technology with its ChatGPT tool, testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and echoed his previous assertion that lawmakers should create parameters for AI creators to avoid causing “significant harm to the world.”
AI presents significant benefits but also momentous risks associated with many facets of the future: bias, democracy, security, wealth and power distribution, surveillance, freedoms….etc. However, the risk of jobs loss is the most obvious and imminent one:
Goldman Sachs Predicts 300 million jobs will be lost or degraded by AI
Oliver Wyman says 50 million Chinese workers must be retrained by 2030, as a result of AI-related deployment.
The U.S. will be required to retool 11.5 million people with the skills needed to survive in the workforce.
Wells Fargo says robots would eliminate 200,000 jobs in the banking industry in the next 10 years.
Well-trained doctors could be pushed aside by sophisticated robots that could perform delicate surgeries more precisely and read X-rays more accurately to detect cancerous cells than the human eye.
This leads us to think: Women have requested, for a very long time, gender equity, because women’s lives are not the same as men’s. Hence, giving men and women the same treatment at work has been NOT equitable. Life’s mysteries are now calling us to advocate for EQUITY between men and women as humans versus intelligent machines. Here is why:
Machines do NOT need to sleep and work 24/7
Machines do NOT a vacation, fall sick, take sick leave, or need a social life
Machines learn in weeks what humans learn in decades
Machines do NOT demand a salary and benefits
Machines do NOT require a corporate contribution to their retirement account
Machines do NOT join unions
Machines do NOT retire at their own discretion
Regulators, corporate leaders, legislators, activists, economists, and humanists, all have the duty to advocate for human-machine equity (HME) before it is too late. Fujn will continue to advocate for both, gender equity and Human-Machine equity (HME).
Strategic Partnerships:
We are now working to explain how we want to cooperate with African governments to include women in the next wave of opportunities created by technology, and how to leverage technology to include women, in the economic fabric of societies. When we say include, we mean to include women in a structural way, not as an afterthought. We mean in all sectors, in all occupations, and in all levels of responsibilities starting from the top, not the bottom. We mean to include women in the design stage of everything, technology, legislation, policies, and strategies. We have high anticipation to explore partnership opportunities with participating inter-governmental agencies from Korea, Abu Dhabi, and Japan. We respect the work that the teams at Mastercard and OCP Group are doing in the areas of upskilling and women. It will be our privilege to join forces with them to transform the lives of some women for the better.
We are happy to share that Khadija Khartit, Fujn’s founder, will be speaking on behalf of Fujn team on the stage of GITEX AFRICA 2023 about two topics:
Panel 1-The Importance of Equality, Inclusion, and Diversity in Tech:
On this topic, She will be share her thoughts on the inclusion of women, immigrants, and minorities. She would like to raise awareness about the inclusion of the neurodiverse and the disabled as the mother of an autistic child and an advocate for special needs individuals. She also wants to raise awareness about the benefits of diverse expertise in tech design: humanities, art, law, social sciences, behavioral sciences, regulation, public administration….and more, in addition to hard science and tech expertise. Tech design done by cross-functional teams who consider eventual unintended consequences is a MUST with AI to avoid major harm to humans.
Panel 2- Building Technical Growth Communities for Women in Tech:
This topic is core to Fujn as our main mission is to help women “be in the know” about technology and to train them on how to leverage it to build minds, hearts, wallets, and better lives. We see technology as a magic tool for women to reimagine their possibilities. When the word technical is mentioned, some women get intimidated when they should not. Women can be senior directors in tech startups without knowing how to code, but it is a plus, if women code. Mrs. Khartit is hoping to inspire women to get curious, to immerse themselves in tech, its landscape, players, and lingo because, after that, their horizons will inevitably expand.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GITEX Africa.
The Accra Investor Briefing will share insights into Ghana’s petroleum industry ahead of the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies conference this September
ACCRA, Ghana, April 7, 2025/APO Group/ –With a goal to increase the share of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to 50% of the market by 2030, Ghana’s downstream regulator the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is promoting private-led investment across the petroleum value chain. Strengthened policies and technology-driven strategies are already bolstering downstream productivity, but the NPA is seeking greater investment to strengthen fuel security and distribution across West Africa.
During the Invest in African Energies: Accra Investor Briefing on April 14, 2025, taking place at the Kempinski Hotel, the NPA’s CEO Godwin Kudzo Tameklo will outline strategies being implemented by the authority to strengthen the downstream value chain in Ghana. Tameklo is expected to highlight ongoing efforts to attract investment in downstream projects, while sharing an update on the country’s developments such as the Integrated Petroleum Hub, LPG expansion and broader infrastructure advancements.
As the downstream regulator, the NPA manages the importation and refining of crude in Ghana as well as the sale, marketing and distribution of refined petroleum products across the country. The NPA works to position the downstream sector as both a major contributor to domestic product growth and catalyst for long-term economic growth in Ghana. By leveraging technology and growth-centered policy, the NPA has led the growth of Ghana’s downstream industry.
With increased investment, Ghana stands to play a major part in enhancing fuel security across the broader West African region
In April 2024, the country witnessed a 15.4% growth in petroleum consumption, reaching 1,641 kilotons compared to 2023, as well as a 9% rise in gasoline consumption, reaching 588.5 kilotons. In 2024, LPG consumption also witnessed a surge, rising 7.25% throughout the year to reach 340 million liters. An increase in the adoption of LPG was largely attributed to the promotion of the Cylinder Recirculation Model by the NPA – a distribution system implemented in 2023 that allows residents and commercial consumers to utilize LPG through cylinder exchange. LPG adoption rose from 28.9% in 2010 to 60% in 2023, with LPG usage increasing from 18.2% in 2010 to 44.1% in 2023. Strategic LPG projects include the Puma Energy-owned LPG bottling plant in Tema – a $6 million facility with the capacity to deliver 1,200 cylinders per hour. A second plant is being developed by the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company, with a capacity of 150 million cubic feet per day.
To further strengthen distribution, the NPA is leveraging innovative technology and policies that enhance efficiency and profitability across the downstream sector. These include the introduction of a new transparent automatic price adjustment formular, transitioning from an annual regulated pricing model; a zero-tolerance policy for toxic fuel and an increase in low sulphur fuels; as well as technology-based mechanisms such as the petroleum marking scheme, bilk road vehicle tracking project, electronic cargo tracking system and enterprise relational database management software. These mechanisms support efficient monitoring and ensure optimized quality and quantity of petroleum products in Ghana.
Beyond domestic petroleum distribution, Ghana is strengthening regional exports. In 2024, the NPA signed an agreement with Senegal and The Gambia to enhance petroleum product exports. Ghana already exports petroleum to regional neighboring, including Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo. According to the NPA, the volume of petroleum exports to regional countries from Ghana amounted to 385,154,100 liters. Over 5,000 service providers are registered in Ghana, delivering over four million metric tons of petroleum products annually.
“Ghana is a strong example of the role natural gas and associated LPG production plays in Africa. Through targeted policies, technology-driven mechanisms and a commitment to low-cost, reliable fuels, the NPA is leading the charge towards a more sustainable future in West Africa. With increased investment, Ghana stands to play a major part in enhancing fuel security across the broader West African region,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber
APO Group is committed to ensuring that Africa’s stories are shared even more widely and in a manner that is convenient to the continent’s growing mobile population of journalists and news consumer
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 7, 2025/APO Group/ –APO Group (www.APO-opa.com), the award-winning pan-African communications consultancy and press release distribution service, is pleased to announce the integration of Telegram, the popular mobile instant messaging service, into its press release distribution channels. This exciting new development, which sees the company’s press releases available on the mobile app, further cements APO Group’s position as Africa’s premier digital PR and communications firm, with unmatched reach and engagement in the online space.
With an annual dissemination rate of over 10,000 press releases to more than 250 news websites and 450,000 journalists and bloggers across the continent and globally, APO Group is committed to ensuring that Africa’s stories are shared even more widely and in a manner that is convenient to the continent’s growing mobile population of journalists and news consumers.
Telegram gives these users direct access to the press releases published on APO Group’s www.Africa-Newsroom.com platform, enabling them to instantly share relevant real-time updates and exclusive content with their target audiences. Like the web platform, Telegram subscribers can choose their preferred language channel – English, Arabic, French, or Portuguese – providing bespoke, tailored access to APO Group’s press releases in mobile format.
With close to 53 million downloads (https://apo-opa.co/3FWfLWh) in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in 2024, Telegram has rapidly gained traction amongst the region’s users, fundamentally transforming how news is consumed. Incorporating Telegram into its already comprehensive press release distribution channels supports APO Group’s vision of delivering state-of-the-art communications solutions for Africa and the world.
“At APO Group, we’re not only committed to sharing positive and compelling narratives about the African continent; we also want to make it as easy as possible for journalists to republish our content, enhancing exposure for our clients through a channel that is widely accessible and easy to use, with an unlimited audience size. Tailored functionality ensures that information is relevant, topical, and presented in a user-friendly manner,” explained APO Group CEO Bas Wijne.
Innovation and digitalisation are key focus areas for us at APO Group when it comes to enhancing our press release distribution services
“Innovation and digitalisation are key focus areas for us at APO Group when it comes to enhancing our press release distribution services. Telegram presents us with a unique opportunity to further enrich our advanced distribution service, offering journalists a wider range of options to access and share Africa’s stories. This aligns with how the market is evolving, how users are evolving, and how the mobile market is growing.”
In addition to its comprehensive online Africa Newsroom press release distribution platform and the newly launched Telegram mobile news-sharing channel, APO Group is working to provide additional innovative mobile solutions to its clients and the African media in the near future, broadening distribution options even further.
Subscribe to APO Group’s Africa Newsroom Telegram channels using the following links:
NCBA and African Guarantee Fund (AGF) Strengthen Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Financing with KES 3 Billion Renewal, Prioritizing Women-Led Businesses
The agreement will continue to support the Group’s efforts to provide financial solutions for SMEs, with a special focus on women-led businesses and those in environmentally responsible sectors
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 7, 2025/APO Group/ –NCBA has today renewed its partnership with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) (https://AfricanGuaranteeFund.com), to enable the Group provide financial solutions to SMEs, through an enhanced guarantee agreement of KES 3 billion for 10 years.
Through the support of AGF’s risk-sharing mechanism, NCBA cumulatively disbursed close to KES 17 billion in loans. Out of these credit facilities, AGF has supported 696 SMEs [over 3,500 transactions] amounting to KES 8.0 billion. The outstanding portfolio is worth KES 1.7 billion. The partnership has so far generated 7,200 jobs, of which 2,200 target women, while youth account for 4,100 jobs.
Signed by Mr. John Gachora, Group Managing Director of NCBA and Mr. Jules Ngankam, Group Chief Executive Officer of AGF, this enhancement will allow NCBA, on one hand, to further increase its commitment to Kenya’s SME segment and on another, to promote the development of projects in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture as well as support women led/owned businesses.
During the ceremony, the Group Managing Director at NCBA, Mr John Gachora, said, “This strategic partnership with AGF is proof of our devotion to SMEs, particularly those spearheading sustainable practices led by women. I believe that by increasing our guaranteed limit, our capacity to offer more flexible and long-term financial solutions that support SME growth will contribute to economic growth.”
NCBA reaffirmed its commitment to advancing financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs during a recent International Women’s Day dinner in Kapsabet, where the Group hosted its clients. Recognizing the resilience and ambition of women-led businesses, NCBA emphasized its dedication to providing tailored financial solutions, fostering strategic partnerships, and offering business education programs. By equipping women entrepreneurs with the necessary resources, knowledge, and networks, the Group aims to support their growth and long-term success.
Our partnership with NCBA represents a significant step in our mission to support SMEs, who constitute almost 98% of all business in Kenya, and create over 30% of the jobs annually
In addition to the extension of the credit guarantee facility, AGF will provide a Capacity Development grant to NCBA that will be utilized in enhancing the Group’s capacity to lend to more SMEs and particularly to women-led SMEs through creation of a pipeline of credit ready WSMEs.
“Our partnership with NCBA represents a significant step in our mission to support SMEs, who constitute almost 98% of all business in Kenya, and create over 30% of the jobs annually. NCBA has been a valued partner for over 12 years, and this renewal marks a new milestone in our shared mission to unlock financing for SMEs. Our collaboration has already achieved remarkable impact, and by increasing this facility, we can reach even more businesses that are shaping the future of Kenya’s economy,” said AGF Group CEO, Jules Ngankam.
Furthermore, this partnership corresponds with AGF’s goals of promoting women’s empowerment through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program and endorsing green initiatives to stimulate a more sustainable economy, through its Green Guarantee Facility.
NCBA actively promotes sustainability through targeted mentorship and skill-building programs for women and youth, fostering diversity and diligence. The Group directs at least 30% of its procurement to women and youth, advancing inclusion. Through a KES6.5 billion partnership with Proparco, NCBA supports green financing and women’s economic empowerment, aligning with its “Change the Story” agenda.
Moreover, the institution invests KES150 million yearly in community development, education and sports. Its environmental efforts, such as tree planting and plastic reduction, further contribute to sustainable livelihoods.
NCBA encourages SMEs seeking flexible financial solutions to partner with the Group to unlock credit facilities and other services to grow their businesses. The partnership will benefit these businesses as they will have access to a range of solutions, including finance, currency exchange, cash management systems, online banking, and other services.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Guarantee Fund
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