A round-up of recent news from the UK, Africa and around the world.

Nominations are now open for the annual 'Black Youth Achievements (BYA) – The Awards' celebrating the achievements of young people throughout the UK. In its inaugural year in 2009, the awards received over 400 nominations and the organisers are predicting this number is likely to double in 2010. By focusing on the positive aspects of black youth, the awards ceremony acts as a platform for young people to be recognised and applauded, whilst also creating visible role models that their peers and younger generations can relate to. BYA is a registered community interest company founded in 2008 by London business woman Kay Oldroyd. BYA prides itself in operating at grass roots levels, focusing on helping young people become part of the decision making process to aid integration between services, businesses and wider communities. Some of the 2009 winners are now participating in the BYA Mentoring Programme, where they are receiving professional mentoring relative to their category. The programme will be rolled out during summer 2010 to any young person who would like to receive professional or personal mentoring and they will be helped to set achievable goals, make informed decisions and take positive steps in moving forward. The categories for this year are: Business and Enterprise, Community, Choices, Education, Sports and The Arts. New categories for 2010 are: BYA Young Chef of the Year and Technology. Nominees (individuals or groups) must be of African/Caribbean/Mixed heritage, between the ages of eight and 25 years and resident in the UK. Nominees can register via the website with nominations closing on 31st August 2010. For further information about The Awards, mentoring or the organisation, please contact Kay Oldroyd: Tel: 07908 258 681 Email: admin@blackyouthachievements.  www.blackyouthachievements.org

CNN Money has released its 100 Top MBA Employers list for 2010, a league table of where MBA students say they'd most like to work. The top 10 and some other notable entries include 1. Google, 2. McKinsey & Co, 3. Goldman Sachs, 4. The Boston Consulting Group, 5. Apple Computer, 6. Bain & Company, 7. JPMorgan, 8. Walt Disney, 9. Nike, 10. Johnson & Johnson, 12. Deloitte, 13. The Blackstone Group, 14. Morgan Stanley, 20. Credit Suisse, 21. Barclays Capital, 25. Bank of America, 34. Deutsche Bank, 41. Accenture, 44. PricewaterhouseCoopers, 45. Ernst & Young. For the full list of the Top 100:  CNN Money - 100 Top MBA Employers

A new report by recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark has revealed that the war for talent in the banking and financial services sector is back on, with over three-fifths (62%) of employees in this area looking to move jobs. 86% of employers, however, claim to be very confident that their staff will remain on board. It also seems that those looking for a career move in financial services will have more opportunities going forward, with 71% of employees in the sector looking to beef up headcount in the next 12 months. Badenoch & Clark's Guy Emerson, Associate Director, Banking & Financial Services, said: 'While many employers recognise retention as a key challenge, it's questionable as to whether they realise the extent of the issue. Our research in 2009 highlighted a lack of motivation and engagement of employees on the part of financial institutions during the downturn - the natural conclusion being that employees would move once the recovery was in sight. This appears to be bearing out with a significant number of employees expressing a desire to move jobs'.

The UK labour market continued to grow slowly in May, and HR is one of the professions where conditions are brightest for job candidates, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG. Their Report on Jobs, which uses survey data from recruitment consultancies, showed an increase in both permanent staff placements and temporary billings. Vacancies and permanent staff pay were also up slightly.On the supply side, there was also a small decline in the availability of permanent staff, for the first time in two years. This led to the REC identifying some professions – including HR – where conditions are increasingly favourable for candidates. Kevin Green, REC chief executive, said: “This month's report on jobs shows that job vacancies continue to grow but at a slower rate than previous months. On the upside, professional recruiters have identified a number of job categories – including accountants, HR professionals, software developers and chefs – where suitable candidates are in high demand. However, we remain concerned about the overall employment outlook as public sector recruitment freezes start to bite.”

HR departments that fail to respond to every job applicant could be hurting their organisation by alienating potential customers, experts have warned. Half of UK jobseekers have been left with a negative impression of an organisation following an unsuccessful job application, while a fifth have stopped buying their products as a result, according to a survey from talent assessment specialists SHL. The study of 1,600 jobseekers found that the biggest issue for candidates was being ignored by employers they had applied to work for. Nearly half (46 per cent) of respondents said that not being told whether they had been successful was their top concern, followed by lack of feedback on applications (39 per cent) and not acknowledging receipt of an application (36 per cent). SHL warned that although many organisations were now inundated by applications, they risked alienating customers and damaging business performance by failing to realise the link between the employer brand and customer brand. David Leigh, CEO of SHL, said: “It can be easy to dismiss applicants who aren't suitable, but employers must remember that unsuccessful job applicants are also potential customers and ignoring them could impact the bottom line. A bad recruitment experience can be at least as damaging as a bad customer experience in-store.” The research, which also included a survey of 500 in-house recruitment professionals, revealed that the retail sector was worse than average at communicating with rejected candidates after the initial recruitment stage – 19 per cent said they did not respond compared to an average of 16 per cent across other industries.The study revealed that 25 per cent of HR departments across all sectors were struggling to deal with the increase in job applications since the economic downturn. A quarter of recruiters surveyed had employed at least one more person to cope with the extra demand.

According to the latest U.S. census figures, while interracial marriages are still rising in the United States, the rate of growth has slowed since 2000. From 1990 to 2000, the number of interracial marriages saw a 65 percent rise, compared with the most recent figures, which show only a 20 percent rise. While some racial/ethnic groups slowed in interracial-marriage numbers, others increased. The groups in which growth slowed most significantly were U.S.-born Asians and Latinos. However, Blacks saw an increase in mixed-race marriages. According to the study, Blacks are three times as likely to marry whites now as in 1980; nearly 14.4 percent of Black men and 6.5 percent of Black women are in mixed-race marriages. For Blacks, the growth of the Black middle class, increase in higher-education attainment and a more racially integrated military are some reasons why experts say that their mixed-race-marriage numbers may have increased. Another notable result of the rise in interracial marriages: children. Multi-racial/multi-ethnic Americans make up about 5 percent of the United States' racial/ethnic population. Studies show that younger people are increasingly multi-racial.

One in four families suffers the 'dad gap' – those missing out on dads' involvement at home, a new poll released by the Fatherhood Institute shows. The poll shows that Britain has some of the worst paternity rights in Europe. The poll of 1000 parents reveals that an overwhelming majority of mothers and fathers want to share changing nappies, reading with their kids and taking their children to doctors or dentists appointments, with significant numbers wanting longer and better paid paternity leave and more flexible working for dads. The survey shows that despite substantial sharing taking place in many families, nearly a quarter of all families are unable to share key aspects of parenting. It reveals that 80% of parents believe that changing nappies is a shared responsibility – but only 58% of families manage to share the task pretty much equally. It also reveals that 86% of parents think reading with their children should be shared equally – but only 59% manage this. Three quarters (74%) of parents believe taking their children to dentists and doctors appointments should be shared equally – but in reality only 52% of families manage to share arrangements to this extent. The Fatherhood Institute says that there are real barriers stopping parents taking on the shared roles they desire. According to the poll, 84% of parents think fathers should get more paternity leave in the first year after their baby's birth. At the same time, 85% say paternity leave should be paid at 90% of salary, and 79% say new fathers should get more information on pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and caring for a baby. The poll also reveals that 80% of parents want dads to be able to work flexibly so they can care for their children. In addition, the gender-wage-gap which is particularly marked among middle and higher earners, means that men's greater earnings or prospects trap them in the breadwinning role - and mothers in the caring role. Rob Williams, Chief Executive of the Fatherhood Institutes, says: “In thirty years huge changes have taken place with far more women now at work and many more men involved in childcare. And it is encouraging that despite men's positioning as main breadwinners in so many households, in three quarters of families surveyed, a substantial amount of sharing is taking place. “But our system of parental leave is still stuck in the 1970's. Men and women want to choose how to balance work and childcare but the current system prevents them from doing so. Some 52% of men say they wish their father had spent more time with them when they were growing up. Thirty seven per cent of fathers, according to the poll, are trying to be closer to their child than their fathers were to them; and 35% say they feel their father had little influence or no positive influence on their upbringing.

The race is on to reward and recognise the UK's best female entrepreneurs. Entries are being invited for the eighth annual Everywoman Awards, a competition run by business training and support group Everywoman in partnership with NatWest bank. The awards aim to celebrate the achievements of women in business, particularly those who have had to overcome adversities such as financial constraints, social disadvantages or skills gaps. It is open to entries from any female business owner, whether they operate as a limited company, sole trader, or in partnership with others, as long as their business has been trading for more than a year. Entries must be made by 30 July – this year's winners will be revealed at a gala ceremony to be held at the Dorchester in London on 1 December. For further information about the competition, visit the Everywoman Awards website

A new survey from Ernst & Young on C-suite attitudes towards climate change shows that leading companies are taking their cues from the market by investing in climate change initiatives, reporting on their performance and leaning on their supply chains to reduce carbon emissions, rather than waiting for regulatory conditions to solidify. The report, "Action amid Uncertainty: The business response to climate change", includes opinions from 300 global executives from corporations with annual revenue of $1bn or more on how they are responding to climate change challenges. Ernst & Young conducted the survey to know about executives views on climate change and learn about the overall climate change frameworks in place at their companies. The survey found that 70% of these executives from 16 countries and 18 different industry sectors intend to increase investment in climate change initiatives such as energy efficiency and product development over the next two years. For nearly half of those in the survey, the expenditure will equal between 0.5% to more than 5% of their revenue. There are five factors, according to the survey, that drive climate change initiatives and are more important than regulation: energy reduction, changing consumer demands, the development of new products or services, competitive threats, and stakeholder expectations. However, the report highlights the need for reporting and transparency among companies. While, 40% of those in the survey called themselves industry leaders for their climate change performance, only 28% admitted they benchmark their performance against their peers.

Deloitte has stepped up Deloitte21, its global education and skills initiative focused on preparing underserved young people for success in the 21st-century economy, by announcing two new initiatives: the Deloitte21 Fellows, and the Deloitte21 Competition. Deloitte21 aims to support new and existing initiatives that develop the skills young people need - leadership, ethics, problem solving, and global awareness - to meet this century's most pressing challenges. By 2014, Deloitte21 aims to contribute $100 million worth of financial, volunteering, and pro bono support to 50 innovative community programs, providing new opportunities for underserved young people. Leading the implementation of these initiatives on the ground will be the Deloitte21 Fellows, a worldwide network of high-performing Deloitte professionals who will drive volunteerism within their firms to advance Deloitte21's impact. The projects supported include: encouraging participation in China's national and regional community programs; providing work readiness and job skills training to immigrant youth in Finland; helping College Summit, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the college enrollment rate of low-income students across the U.S., strengthen its financial management capabilities; and offering business skills and education to young women seeking to create self-sustaining businesses in African countries such as Malawi, Zambia, and Namibia through the MicroLoan Foundation.The Deloitte21 Competition will encourage Deloitte member firms to identify local programs whose impact and scale will be significantly enhanced with additional financial support. Deloitte member firms will nominate programs with which they are working hand-in-hand, and four such promising programs will be selected to receive funding -- one of $150,000 and three of $50,000 each.

The Network Journal (TNJ) a New York based Black professionals and Business publication is currently seeking nominations for its TNJ Africa Inaugural 40 Under Forty Achievement Awards. The selected group of honorees will be recognized based on their proven performance in their industry, their contribution to the community, their success in their business and professional careers, and their commitment to the development of Africa. Selected individuals will be honored at the awards gala in November at La Palm Beach Hotel in Accra West Africa and profiled in our November 2010 issue. This issue will be distributed across Africa and United States of America. The deadline for nominations is Friday July 16, 2010. For information on the nomination process, click here.

Recent research suggests that people who regularly put in overtime and work 10 or 11-hour days increase their heart disease risk by nearly two-thirds, reports BBC News. The findings come from a study of 6 000 British civil servants, published in the European Heart Journal. The researchers said there could be a number of explanations: People who spend more time at work have less time to exercise, relax and unwind. They may also be more stressed, anxious, or have depression. A career-minded person will also tend to be a 'Type A' personality who is highly driven, aggressive or irritable. Employees who work overtime may also be likely to work while ill. Dr John Challenor of the Society of Occupational Medicine said that it confirms that work/life balance plays a vital role in well being, BBC News reports. 'Employers and patients need to be aware of all of the risk factors for coronary heart disease and should consider overtime as one factor that may lead to a number of medical conditions.'

For the sixth consecutive year, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has been named one of the best companies for multicultural women by Working Mother magazine. In naming PwC to its 2010 Best Companies for Multicultural Women, Working Mother cited the firm's strategic focus on diversity efforts and keeping such initiatives top-of-mind during the economic downturn. The recognition honors organizations that dedicate themselves to bringing more perspectives to the decision-making table by promoting multicultural women's advancement. Programs that set PwC apart in the diversity arena include Vanguard, an intensive three-day on-boarding program that provides Black/African American campus-hires with career advice, coaching and feedback, and the Diamond program, which gives multicultural senior managers and directors leadership exposure and executive coaching. PwC supports women and working parents through numerous initiativesand has been recognized extensively for its commitment to people. In addition to the Best Companies for Multicultural Women, the firm has been named to Working Mother's "100 Best Companies" list for 15 consecutive years, including six successive years in the top 10. To be considered for Best Companies for Multicultural Women, each company applied and supplied Working Mother with 2009 data about the hiring, pay and promotion of multicultural employees. Applications focus on representation of multicultural women; recruitment; retention and advancement programs; and company culture. This year, equal weight was given to all segments of the 350-question survey. An independent survey research firm tabulated the scores.

The Great Place to Work® Institute has named Abbott one of the Best Workplaces in Europe at its European Conference in Madrid. The company was specifically honoured for workplace leadership in Denmark, Ireland and Norway. So far in 2010, Abbott has been honoured as a top employer in 16 countries across Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Creating a leading workplace for more than 20,000 Abbott employees in Europe is a priority for advancing Abbott's ability to bring forward innovative new devices, diagnostics, nutritional products and pharmaceuticals. Beyond Europe, Abbott also is recognized as a top employer in countries around the world, including Brazil, Canada, South Korea and the U.S. The Great Place to Work® Institute Europe selects the Best Workplaces in Europe from more than 1,300 companies that participate in local-country Best Workplaces surveys across Europe. The local country surveys have the same basic methodology that combine the results from the employee survey Trust Index© and the management survey Culture Audit©. The opinion of employees is the most important element of the evaluation. Abbott's global approach is to be a premier employer in every country where we operate, helping us to realize the full potential of our employees to discover new ways to improve the health of people around the world. Including Best Workplace honours across Europe, Abbott has been recognized as an outstanding employer in more than 20 countries around the world. In addition, FORTUNE magazine recently named Abbott the No. 1 Most Admired Company in its industry sector in 2010, in part for the company's strong performance in people management.

Five M.B.A. graduates at The George Washington School of Business (GWSB) are the first in the United States to earn a Certificate in Responsible Management (CRM), the first certification program of its kind in the country. This achievement signals a shift in business education that emphasizes corporate social responsibility and ethical leadership and encourages future business leaders to work toward a more inclusive and sustainable global economy. The CRM aligns with GW's sustainability efforts, which are a significant component within the University's strategic initiatives. The CRM was created by GWSB faculty and students, guided by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). Students from GW's student-led branch of Net Impact, a global non-profit established to use the power of business to affect positive change, led the charge to get the program off the ground at GW. The CRM is offered through GW's M.B.A. program within the Institute for Corporate Responsibility and GW is one of 235 universities to sign the UN's PRME initiative and pledge to incorporate these principles into degree programs and is the first university to take the next step by initiating a certificate program. Launched in May 2009, the CRM requires that MBA students complete at least two courses focused on to the UN's PRME, contribute at least 15 hours per semester toward working with a group or club that improves the University community and devote 50 hours toward service learning. A social media component is also required in which students blog about their experiences.

CSRwire is proud to announce that the CSR Directory now presents more than 3,000 organizations worldwide. The directory, titled "Resources for Promoting Global Business Principles and Best Practices," is a resource guide to organizations working on all aspects of corporate social responsibility in more than 105 countries. The directory is located at www.csrwire.com/directory and is managed and edited pro bono by its founder, Michael Kane. CSRwire provides free public access to this important resource as part of its work to assist global corporate social responsibility initiatives. The CSR Directory provides websites for each organization. Searchable by organization and location, the directory provides cross-referenced entries in 80 categories and a listing of all organizations also by country. Since the online launch of the directory in September of 2003, Mr. Kane has added over 2,300 organizations.

The World Cocoa Foundation has launched the Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP) in Cameroon. The program is managed by the World Cocoa Foundation and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 15 chocolate industry companies. CLP is expected to significantly improve the livelihoods of nearly 30,000 cocoa farmers in Cameroon by 2013. The work in Cameroon is part of a larger five-country program, first announced in February 2009, targeting 200,000 cocoa-growing households across Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria. The program will be active in three regions of Cameroon: South West, Central and South. In addition to providing training on cocoa production, the program will promote diversification of income and business skills development. For Cameroon, market studies were completed on cassava, plantain, oil palm and cocoa yams to determine their viability as diversification options. This information will be used to train farmers to identify appropriate options to incorporate on their cocoa farms. The Cocoa Livelihoods Program is managed by the World Cocoa Foundation and implemented through a consortium of five organizations. Additional support is provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The governments of the five participating African countries have representation on the Steering Committee.

Investing in women smallholder farmers is the key to halving hunger in Africa and results in twice as much growth as investment in any other sector, a new ActionAid report reveals. Less than one per cent of the agriculture budget is targeted at women in the three countries researched by ActionAid – Malawi, Kenya and Uganda - despite women's central contribution to the production of food, reports Fertile Ground. And international donors say that as little as ten per cent of their aid to agriculture goes to women farmers. At the moment, virtually nothing is being spent on research into crops grown by women, training, credit, early childhood education and access to land, despite food price hikes and shortages likely to worsen as climate change intensifies. "Despite African Governments making a commitment in 2003 to spend 10 percent of their budget on agriculture, seven years on, only eight African countries have met this commitment," said Tennyson Williams. "And government spending on agriculture remains poorly targeted and hugely inconsistent with the realities of women's role in food production." Fertile Ground shows that 2.9 million Ugandans could be lifted out of poverty by 2015 if the country reached a six per cent agricultural growth rate annually. In Kenya, 1.5 million lives could be improved, if current sums on agriculture doubled from 5 to 10 per cent. In stark contrast, Malawi is one of Africa's highest spenders on agriculture and as a result food security is better than at any time in recent history. In 2004, 1.5 million people needed food aid while in 2009, this number had dropped to 150,000 people. Extension services, agricultural research focused on smallholders, and rural financial services – are the most under-resourced but would help women the most. Low-cost, ecologically sustainable and climate-resilient methods of increasing productivity are being neglected in favour of conventional intensive approaches that often benefit richer farmers most, and can have high environmental costs.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, welcomes the announcement by BMCE Bank, Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur, that it has become the 68th financial institution to adopt the Equator Principles. This confirms the bank's commitment to sustainability, environmental and social risk management, and leadership in corporate social responsibility in Morocco and North Africa. It further establishes the Equator Principles as the international environmental and social standard for project finance. The Equator Principles are a voluntary set of guidelines for managing social and environmental issues related to the financing of projects, which are based on IFC's performance standards. Launched by 10 banks in June 2003, the principles were revised in June 2006, and to date have been adopted by 68 financial institutions. Financial institutions from emerging markets have been playing an increasing role in project finance in their respective regions. By adopting the Equator Principles, they not only are levelling the playing field, but also are reducing their risks by investing in like-minded companies with a focus on sustainability.

Virgin Atlantic has launched its new service between Ghana and London with the company predicting that it would carry more than 60,000 passengers in its first year. The inaugural flight took off just a week after Ghana's national carrier Ghana Airways went bankrupt, leaving Virgin in a straight fight with BA for direct services between London and Accra. Accra is the airline's fifth African destination, after Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Lagos in Nigeria, and Nairobi, Kenya.

IFC - a member of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement to invest $100 million in the Africa Infrastructure Investment Fund 2, an equity fund that will promote the development of basic infrastructure in Africa. The equity fund plans to raise $600 million to $1 billion to invest in unlisted equity and equity-like infrastructure investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. The fund will take significant stakes in a range of infrastructure projects including toll roads, wind power farms, and other renewable energy projects, ports, water and sewerage utilities, and social infrastructure. The fund, known as AIIF2, was established by African Infrastructure Investment Managers Proprietary Ltd, a joint venture between Macquarie Africa Pty Ltd, part of the Macquarie Group, and the Old Mutual Investment Group (South Africa) Pty Ltd, which will advise the fund on investment matters. Lack of infrastructure is hampering growth in Sub-Saharan African economies, hindering their quest for global competitiveness and poverty reduction. IFC is helping develop assets such as a reliable power supply and road networks, which are essential for economic growth and sustainability and for improving the quality of life of the people living within and across the communities they serve. AIIM is a joint venture that was established in 2000 by Macquarie Africa (Pty) Ltd, a member of the Macquarie Group of Australia, and Old Mutual Investment Group (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. AIIM is the leading manager of unlisted infrastructure equity funds in the Sub-Saharan region and draws upon the considerable experience of its shareholders.

The Government of Uganda has signed the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Compact. The Compact was signed at the end of the country's two-day CAADP Round table meetings. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda highligted that the CAADP framework provides for a genuine path towards robust and sustained agriculture-led economic growth. Uganda's agriculture sector contributes about 20% to the country's GDP, employs 73% of the population and it also accounts for 48% of exports revenue. It is a key driver of growth and pverty reduction. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD's) CAADP is based on two major principles: the pursuit of a six percent average annual growth rate at the national level in the agricultural sector, and the allocation of ten percent of national budgets to agriculture. In line with the NDP/DSIP targets of improving the lives of people in the rural areas the Government of Uganda is planning to increase agricultural sector growth from the current 2.6 percent to atleast 6.0 percent per annum by 2015. To achieve the DSIP tragets, Uganda plans to increase budgetary allocation to the Agriculture Ministry closer to 10% of the national budget in the financial year 2010/2011, from 4% in 2008/2009. The total budget for agriculture in 2010/2011 was sh310b, compared to sh223b in 2008/2009. The planned increases were announced by Uganda's Agriculture Minister, Hope Mwesigye and the State Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Ephraim Kamuntu. Uganda is also the fifth member state in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region to sign the CAADP Compact, alongside Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia more recently Swaziland. The Secretary General of COMESA Sindiso Ngwenya, called upon the private sector, farmers' organisations and the private sector to take advantage of various COMESA initiatives such as the COMESA Business Council, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa and the COMESA Customs Union in their CAADP implementation processes.

The South African government plans to increase support for small businesses and co-operatives via a new academy and advisory board, and by introducing legislation that makes it easier for South Africans to run co-operatives. Briefing the media ahead of his budget vote in Parliament in Cape Town this week, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said his department would also be looking to revive its proposal for government to buy 10 key products and services from small business owners. Davies said 20,000 callers had accessed the small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) payments hotline, which was launched in September and is housed at the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda). The hotline, which helps business owners claim late payments from government departments and public bodies had so far facilitated payments of R31-million to entrepreneurs, he said. The department was also looking at institutional support for small businesses, specifically at how to boost finance and business training and wanted to interrogate whether government support was viable and whether the country had a proper support system in place.

Blommer Chocolate, North America's largest processor of cocoa beans and ingredient chocolate products, today announced a new $3 million cocoa sustainability partnership supporting farmers in Ivory Coast, West Africa. The joint venture, called the Processors Alliance for Cocoa Traceability and Sustainability (PACTS), is being developed in conjunction with Cemoi Chocolatier of France and Petra Foods of Southeast Asia. The PACTS mission is to improve the supply of high quality, fermented cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast while improving the livelihoods of the local cocoa farming community. The program was introduced today at the World Cocoa Foundation meeting in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The PACTS program trains farmers in modern techniques and provides them with skills to improve crop yield and quality, and to give them a better understanding of the marketplace. The program focuses on the establishment of fermentation centers that help the farmer improve post-harvest processing and improve bean quality. The fermentation centers also act as a hub from which farmers can improve their agronomy skills and understanding, with a goal of increasing crop yields and, ultimately, farmer incomes. Over a three-year period, the joint venture will establish up to 30 fermentation centers that will support approximately 10,000 farmers. It is expected that the program will expand as the cocoa farming community reaps the benefits of better prices and consistent, high-quality crops. The Ivory Coast is the largest cocoa producing country in the world and approximately 90 percent of its cocoa is grown on small family farms.Blommer has a long history of involvement in supporting cocoa community sustainability, beginning in the early 1950s when company founder, Henry Blommer, helped found the American Cocoa Research Institute. That organization has evolved into the World Cocoa Foundation, and Kip Walk, Director of Cocoa for Blommer Chocolate, has acted as chairman of the foundation since 2008.

The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) today welcomed five new company members to the foundation and announced the start of three new projects in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa-producing country. The announcements were made during the welcoming remarks of WCF's 17th Partnership Meeting & Roundtable Sessions in Utrecht. The World Cocoa Foundation announced that five companies have joined the foundation since October 2009. The new member companies are: CEMOI, Comercial Roig CxA, Puratos, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., and Safmarine Container Lines N.V. The foundation also announced the start of three new projects in Côte d'Ivoire to address farmers' health, safety and research needs. The first World Cocoa Foundation grant is to the Association pour la Promotion de la Santé de la Femme, de la Mère, de l'Enfant et de la Famille (APROSAM ? Association for the Promotion of Health of Women, Mothers, Children and Families), an Ivoirian non?governmental organization, to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, malaria and sexually transmitted infections. The project will train and support peer educators in 15 cocoa?growing communities to address these important health issues with farmers and their families. The second and third grants are supported through the Swedish Chocolate, Confectionery and Biscuit Manufacturers' Association (CHOKOFA). CHOKOFA is supporting two one?year challenge grant projects with the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA), Côte d'Ivoire's national agricultural research institute. One of these projects is developing extension materials and radio messages on integrated pest management. The other project will build closer ties between farmers and the research institute in order to promote farmers' adoption of improved, higher?yielding planting material and other research developments.

The new Unity Bridge linking Tanzania and Mozambique is set to stimulate economic activity between the two Southern African countries and improve living standards in the region. The 720m-long and 13.5m-wide road bridge runs over the Ruvuma River, enabling goods to be transported more effectively. It will also mean that traders from the neighbouring countries will have easy access to each others' markets.Both nations are funding Unity Bridge's construction bill of about US$30-million (R226-million), part of which has been paid. Kikwete, reported Daily News, said the countries will form joint strategies and programmes to stimulate trade, investment and economic development. It's expected that it would attract more economic investments mostly into Tanzania's regions of Mtwara, Lindi and Ruvuma, and Mozambique's Cape Delgado and Pemba. Although roads leading to the bridge now need to be constructed, a 5km stretch of tarred road has already been laid down from both countries' sides. Now the Tanzanian government is looking for funds to upgrade and join the road from the village of Mangaka, in the south of the country, to the Unity Bridge. Unity Bridge is a realisation of a vision shared by the countries' first presidents, the late Julius Nyerere and Samora Machel. They mooted the idea of a bridge across the Ruvuma River in 1975, soon after Mozambique was liberated from Portuguese colonial rule. The idea lingered for about three decades until Joaquim Chissano and Benjamin Mkapa, the respective former presidents of Mozambique and Tanzania, decided to set aside funds from their budgets to construct the bridge. Construction began earnestly in January 2005 under the Asian firm M/S China Geo Engineering Corporation. A one-stop border post will be established on the bridge to facilitate the flow of people and goods between the two countries, enabling businesses to trade with minimal hindrance. The border facility will also enhance security and immigration controls between the countries. Security personnel operating in the post will include employees of the Tanzania Revenue Authority.

South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal, Europe's biggest source of coal burned for electricity, is boosting supplies to India and China as rebounding Asian economies build new power plants. India's imports in the first quarter rose about 27 percent to 4.55 million metric tons from 3.59 million a year earlier, based on data e-mailed by Zama Luthuli, a spokeswoman for RBCT. China purchased about 1.9 million tons during the first three months of this year compared with 1.38 million tons in 2009. South Africa is boosting sales to Asia after recession curbed consumption in Europe. India and China, whose economies are growing at rates faster than 8 percent, together accounted for about 42 percent of RBCT's shipments in the first quarter of this year compared with about 25 percent a year earlier.

Themed Ke Nako! ("It's Time!"), South Africa's pavilion at the Shanghai Expo has opened its doors to visitors wanting to learn more about what modern-day South Africa has to offer, from the upcoming 2010 Fifa World Cup to tourism, trade and investment opportunities. The Shanghai Expo's theme of "Better City, Better Life" is embodied in South Africa's stunning pavilion with a design inspired by a traditional Southern African rondavel round house, interpreted in a modern way fusing traditional designs with modern materials. The Pavilion invites visitors on a journey which is truly South African with experiences ranging from traditional artefacts, to world-class wines and modern urban living solutions. The expo runs from 1 May till 31 October. Each month, the Pavilion will promote a different theme including the 2010 Fifa World Cup; re-modelling of urban communities; tourism and heritage; environment and climate change; and trade and investment. South Africa will profile its economy by introducing some of South Africa's pillar industries including agro-processing, beneficiated metals and mining technology, defence technology, ICT, as well as bio-fuels and alternative energy. As the fourth Expo which South Africa has participated in, it is also the largest Expo ever held. With nearly 300 pavilions covering an area of 5.28 square kilometers, Shanghai Expo is expected to attract over 100 million visitors. Positioned as a gateway to Africa for investment and trade from China, participation at Shanghai Expo becomes relevant when considering that in 2009 the total trade between China and Africa amounted to over US$106-billion, an increase of 45% over the previous year, of which South Africa accounted for 20%. Meanwhile, China's imports from Africa amounted to $56-billion, an increase of 54% over the previous year.

South Africa's Standard Bank group and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) have signed a US$400-million (about R3.1-billion) risk-sharing facility for financing small businesses in Africa and other emerging markets. Businesses using the facility can secure loans of between $7.5-million and $40-million, which can be accessed in US dollars, euros or local currency, with the tenor ranging between four and 10 years. Standard Bank has an extensive network and origination capacity in several African countries, while FMO brings additional financing with longer tenors that were currently not available in the commercial banking market. FMO, the international development bank of the Netherlands, invests risk capital in companies and financial institutions in developing countries. As a result of its relationship with the Dutch government, it is able to take financial risks that commercial financiers are not prepared to take.

Over the past 5 years the South African BPO sector has matured from a developing third world destination, into a world class operation. This change has resulted in various multinational companies outsourcing to South Africa. At present there are a number of UK and US based operations working out of South Africa, but due to English being the primary business language for these destinations, we are also in direct competition with the likes of India and the Philippines, says Fagri Semaar interim CEO of BPeSA Western Cape. On the back of the recession, more and more European destinations have begun to look at outsourcing as a feasible cost saving alternative. In an effort to further grow the South African BPO footprint, BPeSA Western Cape has begun to look to the likes of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany for investment opportunities. According to the latest DTI report from 2005 to 2008 the BPO sector created 1 172 000 new jobs in India, and 271 465 in the Philippines, while in South Africa the number of people employed by the industry is expected to reach 100 000 by 2014.

South Africa's economic growth is likely to exceed the Treasury's target this year and next as a global economic rebound bolsters demand for exports, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast. Africa's largest economy will probably expand 3.3 percent this year and 5 percent in 2011, after contracting 1.8 percent last year, the Paris-based OECD said in a report released on its website today. In the Feb. 17 budget, the Treasury forecast growth of 2.3 percent this year and 3.2 percent in 2011. Economic growth accelerated to an annualized 4.6 percent in the first quarter as record low interest rates triggered a rebound in consumer spending, while demand from abroad boosted mining and manufacturing, the statistics agency said yesterday. The central bank has scope to further reduce its benchmark interest rates, currently at 6.5 percent, with inflation likely to remain within the upper half of its 3 percent to 6 percent target band, the OECD said. The OECD forecast inflation of 5.3 percent this year and 5.2 percent in 2011. Consumer prices rose 7.1 percent last year.

South Africa's current account gap will widen to about 4.9 percent of gross domestic product this year and 5.5 percent in 2011, from 4 percent last year, the OECD said. On Feb. 17, the National Treasury said the gap was likely to reach 4.9 percent this year and 5.3 percent in 2011.