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Harvard Business School Launches Tony Elumelu Foundation Case Study

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Spotlights Role of African Philanthropy in Transforming the Development Agenda in Africa

BOSTON, United States of America, March 11, 2024/APO Group/ — 

At a time of renewed geopolitical interest in Africa, and an increasing questioning of traditional development finance models, Harvard Business School today released a case study examining the role and impact of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) (https://www.TonyElumeluFoundation.org), and its unique approach to catalysing entrepreneurship in Africa.

The Foundation, Africa’s leading funder of young entrepreneurs, has pioneered an innovative approach to seeding, capacitising and networking young entrepreneurs across Africa.  Drawing directly from Tony Elumelu’s entrepreneurial journey, his acknowledgement that luck and chance played an important role in his success, the Foundation democratises luck, spreads opportunity, in a sector agnostic approach, and has developed a bespoke infrastructure that reaches every country in Africa. The Foundation is a direct expression of Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, that the private sector must play a pivotal role in Africa’s development, and that investment must seek social, as well as economic returns.

We know that entrepreneurship is the solution to youth unemployment and insecurity

The case study, the first of its kind focused on African philanthropy, was launched today, Thursday, February 29, 2024, before a class of graduate students at Harvard Business School and explored the Foundation’s unique approaches and transformative initiatives, showcasing how the strategic philanthropy offered by TEF, is driving positive change and elevating countries and communities.

The case study recognises challenges the Foundation faces, and its responses, as it developed its mission, since founding in 2010.  The track record is impressive, with over 20,000 entrepreneurs funded, over a million connected digitally and the development of an impact assessment capacity.  TEF has disbursed over USD$100 million, reaching every African country.  The Foundation is increasingly developing a partnership-based approach, working with institutions such as the EU, US agencies, the UNDP, the ICRC, the Ikea Foundation, and others to develop bespoke programmes focused on fragile states, female entrepreneurs and sustainability initiatives.

Tony Elumelu, who spoke at Harvard said, “TEF is creating economic hope and opportunity for African entrepreneurs.  We know that entrepreneurship is the solution to youth unemployment and insecurity.  Through the intervention of the Foundation, we are transforming our young people, giving them hope.  Collectively, all of us can resolve the challenges that we have on the continent.

It is wonderful to have had the opportunity to work with HBS, to spotlight our successes, acknowledge the challenges that we have at times faced, and provide the opportunity to spread our experience, for the benefit of others.”

The Harvard Business School session provided an opportunity to engage in a meaningful discussion on the role of philanthropy in shaping sustainable and inclusive economies.  As the world grapples with complex challenges around demographics, climate and sustainability, the Tony Elumelu Foundation model offers a fascinating model of how strategic philanthropy can be a driving force for positive change.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

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Enhancing Hong Kong’s strength as a global financial centre: 2026-27 Budget

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Paul Chan

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 27 February 2026 – In his 2026-27 Budget announced on Wednesday (25 February), Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) outlined areas for comprehensively reinforcing the city’s position as a leading international financial hub.

Despite the complex and ever-changing external environment, Mr Chan noted that Hong Kong’s financial market had performed strongly and the city’s financial system remains robust.

In 2025, Hong Kong ranked first globally for funds raised through initial public offerings.

“We will continue to consolidate our existing strengths, tap into emerging fields, strengthen market systems and risk control and deepen financial co-operation in the Greater Bay Area,” Mr Chan said. “By doing so, we will enhance Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre on all fronts and contribute to the national strategic goal of ‘accelerating China’s development as a financial powerhouse’ “.

With Hong Kong being the world’s largest hub for offshore Renminbi (RMB) business, the Financial Secretary said the city would leverage its unique strengths and proactively align with national development strategies.

For advancing the internationalisation of the RMB, Mr Chan said Hong Kong would facilitate the wider use of RMB in activities such as trade and cross-boundary business; reduce transaction costs; enrich product offerings in the offshore RMB market; improve price discovery in the short-to-medium-term-interest-rate market; and attract high-quality issuers to increase RMB bond issuance in Hong Kong.

In 2025, the stock market delivered a stellar performance. The Hang Seng Index rose by 28 per cent over the year. The daily turnover surged by 90 per cent to a historic high of close to $250 billion (US$32 billion).

Mr Chan said the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) would continue enhancing the securities market, attracting issuers and boosting market efficiency.

“We will also introduce the next stage of reforms, including enhancing the regulatory regime for listed companies, providing specific guidelines for overseas companies seeking secondary listing in Hong Kong, offering more overseas markets as recognised exchanges, and continuing to explore with the market the provision of an over-the-counter trading platform for delisted stocks or those requiring special handling.

“The electronic bond-trading platform will also be launched in the second half of this year, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as a global fixed income and currency hub,” he said.

To attract more family offices and funds to set up in Hong Kong, Mr Chan said Hong Kong would enhance the tax regime, including expanding the scope of “fund” to cover specific funds-of-one, as well as classifying digital assets, precious metals, and specified commodities, etc. as qualifying investments eligible for tax concessions.

Regarding the development of digital assets, the Government published the second policy statement for developing Hong Kong into a global hub for digital asset innovation through the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework.

A bill will be introduced this year to establish licensing regimes for, among others, digital asset dealing and custodian service providers.

“We will also explore the adoption of electronic signature for bond issuance documents and the digitalisation of bearer bonds,” Mr Chan said.

To promote the application of fintech and enhance the efficiency of the asset management market, the CMU OmniClear, a market infrastructure operator established by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, will establish a digital asset platform this year. It will support the issuance and settlement of digital bonds. The platform will also be gradually extended to other digital assets and linked with other tokenisation platforms in the region, consolidating Hong Kong’s leading role in the realm of digital assets.

In order to build an international gold trading market in Hong Kong, Mr Chan said the Government would explore offering tax incentives for eligible institutions conducting gold trading and settlement in Hong Kong; assist the industry in setting up an industry-led trade association to consolidate resources, step up promotion, and foster ties with industry stakeholders from around the world; and help the industry keep abreast of the latest gold market developments, acquire relevant skills and develop a training framework.

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Binance Reinforces Industry-Leading Compliance Commitment to Foster a Safer Crypto Ecosystem

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Binance

Global crypto leader Binance continues to set the standard for regulatory compliance and security, driving innovation with transparency and trust

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 3, 2026/APO Group/ –Binance (https://www.Binance.com), the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, highlights the progress it continues to make in strengthening compliance and regulatory excellence, reinforcing its role as a pioneer in building a safer and more transparent crypto industry. Over the past years, Binance has invested significantly in enhancing its global compliance framework by expanding its teams, systems and controls that align with evolving regulatory expectations across its key markets. These ongoing efforts are designed to support responsible innovation while ensuring that user protection, financial integrity and market transparency remain at the core of the platform’s operations.

 

Leading with Robust Compliance Measures

Binance has implemented a multi-layered compliance program that includes advanced transaction monitoring, stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols, and continuous enhancements to its anti-money laundering (AML) systems. These efforts are designed to protect users, prevent illicit activities, and ensure adherence to evolving regulatory requirements across jurisdictions.

 

Building the Future of Crypto with Advanced, Measurable Compliance

Over the past several years, Binance has built one of the most robust compliance programs in the digital-asset industry, combining world-class talent, advanced monitoring technology, and strong partnerships with regulators, law-enforcement agencies, and independent analytics providers. These programs include rigorous onboarding and KYC controls, sophisticated transaction monitoring systems, sanctions screening, behavioral analytics, and a dedicated global compliance team of more than 580 professionals, supported by more than 970 employees in compliance-related roles across customer-service, technology, and product teams.

 

The results of these efforts are measurable: Binance’s direct exposure to illicit activity has dropped by 96% between January 2023 and June 2025, while its capacity to detect, report, and help disrupt financial crime continues to grow. Specifically, sanctions-related exposure reduced dramatically and is now marginal (from 0.284% in January 2024 to just 0.009% in July 2025, a 96.8% decrease). This progress reflects daily collaboration with authorities, independent research, and the lived experience of serving over 300 million users safely, demonstrating how modern crypto compliance works in practice and underscoring Binance’s ongoing commitment to transparency, regulatory excellence, and a safer financial ecosystem.

 

Noah Perlman, Binance Chief Compliance Officer, “At Binance we’ve built a system that doesn’t just react to threats, it anticipates them. A 96% reduction in illicit exposure is a testament to our infrastructure and the 1,500+ professionals working behind the scenes to protect our 300M users.”

 

Our mission has always been to increase the freedom of money, but that freedom is only sustainable if it is built on a foundation of trust

Driving Industry-Wide Standards

Binance’s leadership team emphasizes that compliance is a shared responsibility and that the company actively engages with regulators, policymakers, and industry partners to foster a collaborative environment. This engagement helps shape balanced regulations that support innovation while safeguarding users and the broader financial system.

 

Transparency and User Protection

Transparency remains a cornerstone of Binance’s compliance philosophy. The company regularly publishes updates on its compliance initiatives and welcomes dialogue with the community and regulators. By maintaining high standards, Binance ensures that users can trade with confidence on a platform that prioritizes security and integrity.

 

National Cybercrime Units Collaborations

Binance responds to tens of thousands of law-enforcement requests each year. In 2025 alone, Binance responded to more than 71,000 law enforcement requests and assisted in confiscating over $130 million in illicit funds.

 

Binance supports agencies such as Europol (https://apo-opa.co/4coJAx9), INTERPOL (https://apo-opa.co/4b0FCIt), the DEA, the NCA, Homeland Security Investigations, and multiple national cybercrime units. These collaborations have resulted in the takedown of ransomware groups, darknet markets, human-trafficking networks, and financial-fraud rings. The value of our work has been repeatedly recognized by our global law-enforcement partners.

 

Richard Teng, Binance co-CEO, “Our mission has always been to increase the freedom of money, but that freedom is only sustainable if it is built on a foundation of trust. By integrating compliance into our product DNA, we are proving that the world’s largest exchange can also be the most secure.”

 

Binance remains committed to building a secure, transparent, and trusted platform through ongoing investment in compliance, strong global partnerships, and independently validated results. Since its launch in 2017, Binance has focused on protecting users and supporting the responsible growth of digital finance, with measurable progress recognised by law-enforcement agencies and regulatory stakeholders worldwide.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Binance.

 

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Network International powers card tokenization for Apple smartphones in Egypt in latest regulatory rollout

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Network International

The successful launch comes within the third wave of the Central Bank of Egypt’s granting of tokenisation licenses to select banks and is an important milestone for Egypt’s digital payment ecosystem

CAIRO, Egypt, March 3, 2026/APO Group/ —

  • Enablement signifies a critical milestone in Network’s proven execution capabilities for multi-bank payment initiatives
  • The launch of Apple tokenisation deploys the highest standards of security and operational resilience in Egypt’s digital transformation rollout

We are grateful to the Central Bank of Egypt and the participating banks for their trust and partnership as we continue to help accelerate secure and scalable digital payments

Network International (Network) (www.Network.ae), a leading fintech company across the Middle East and Africa, has announced the successful enablement of Apple Pay acceptance by powering card tokenisation for Apple smartphones for four renowned Egyptian banks, as part of the country’s digital transformation initiatives.

The successful launch comes within the third wave of the Central Bank of Egypt’s granting of tokenisation licenses to select banks and is an important milestone for Egypt’s digital payment ecosystem. The initiative reinforces Network’s scale, innovation leadership and proven execution capabilities in the market.

Supporting all four bank go-lives within the same wave underscores the strength, reliability, and agility of Network’s processing platform, alongside the depth of its local delivery and implementation expertise. The achievement reflects Network’s ability to execute complex, multi-bank digital payment initiatives at pace while maintaining the highest standards of security, operational resilience, and service quality.

Dr. Reda Helal, Group Managing Director – Processing, Africa & Co-Head Group Processing at Network International, said: “We are proud to have supported four renowned banks to successfully transform themselves as Egypt strengthens its digital economy. We have been present in the market for over 20 years and delivering multiple simultaneous implementations demonstrates our local teams’ expertise and the robustness of our processing platform. We are grateful to the Central Bank of Egypt and the participating banks for their trust and partnership as we continue to help accelerate secure and scalable digital payments across Egypt.”

This launch also supports Network’s broader focus on expanding its presence and strengthening its brand across the region, underpinned by its long-standing commitment to Egypt’s payments ecosystem. In 2023, Network International announced the investment valued at EGP 1 billion to expand its operations in Egypt, while serving 160+ banks across Africa and 65+ in the Middle East from its Egypt hub.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Network International.

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