CypressGH.COM: July 2020

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Latif Abubakar Tackles Stigmatization Over COVID In New Play

Playwright Latif Abubakar's Globe Productions in partnership with the Ministry of Information and supported by AirtelTigo is set to stage another live virtual play to intensify education concerning Ghana's COVID-19 campaign with a major focus on stigmatization.

Dubbed Judas and Delilah Covid-19 edition, the play seeks to bring together top Ghanaian celebrities to join the campaign in fighting stigmatization towards person infected with the virus.

The campaign according to the award winning playwright would also bring on board some respectable religious leaders including Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer Buckle, the Archbishop of Cape Coast and Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharabutu (Dr), the National Chief Imam, Political Leaders, Academia and many others.

In an interview, the Playwright said the play would serve as a tool that appeal to the emotions of people to end stigmatization and also encourage them to abide by the measures put in place by the government to aid the fight against the virus.

Growing Numbers

"Considering the growing numbers of theatre and entertainment lovers in Ghana, I am certain that the play would give hope to the people and deal with issues of stigmatization." He said.

Juliet Bawuah is the new Group Head of Sports at Media General, the parent company of TV3, 3FM, Onua TV, Onua FM, Akoma FM, and Connect FM.

Her appointment took effect July 1, 2020. She replaces Michael Oti Adjei, who has moved on to head the group's Digital division.

Juliet is expected to bring her years of experience to bear on the new role.

In the last few years that she has practiced, she has built an enviable brand that is credible and alluring.

Juliet holds a Masters from the Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom, and is an alumna of the US State Department-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). She is also a Fellow of the Radio Netherlands Training Centre (RNTC).

She holds other certificates from two of Ghana's prestigious Journalism institutions, the Ghana Institute of Journalism and the African University College of Communications.

She has also worked with other reputable Ghanaian media brands including CITI FM, ETV, and Metro TV.

Absa Bank Ghana has congratulated its Brand Ambassador and award-winning musician Kwame Amet Tsikata known in showbiz as M.anifest for being named one of the nine recipients of the Macalester College 2020 Alumni Awards in the United States of America (USA).

Nominated by peers selected by the College’s Alumni Board, M.anifest was announced winner of the Distinguished Citizen Award at the Grand Celebration: Reunion Kick-Off event held earlier this month.

According to the Macalester College Alumni Board, the award recognizes M.anifest’s leadership in civic, social, religious, and professional activities. “It is given because the Macalester community believes that a college education should be the training and inspiration for unselfish and effective service to the community, the nation, and the world.”

In a congratulatory message, Nana Essilfuah Boison, Marketing and Corporate Relations Director at Absa Bank Ghana commended M.anifest for positively impacting society through his music and arts.

Vodafone Customers Enjoy Big Value With Current Data Offers

Telecommunication giant, Vodafone Ghana, has enhanced its data packages to give customers exceptional value for money and unmatched experience on the network during this period.

Customers currently enjoy double data allocation on a host of Vodafone’s data offering including the Ghs 0.25, Ghs 1 and Ghs 2 daily bundles, and the Ghs 5 weekly bundle. Data allocation on Vodafone’s ‘2 Moorch Data’ proposition (Ghs 10, Ghs 20, and Ghs50), which offers the best volume of data and price points across the industry, was also doubled earlier this year.

The extra data allocation, which is available for browsing from 12am to 4pm, empowers customers to do so much more at the same price.

Additionally, the Telco has lifted the limited validity on its daily data bundles, Ghs 0.25, Ghs 1 and Ghs 2, as well as Ghs 5 weekly bundle. This means that all four bundles are now ‘No Expiry’ products. The prices of all the above bundles have been marginally reduced to enable customers confidently connect to the things that matter them most.

Few days ago, it was reported a 90-year-old woman was beaten to death. Cause of why this happened was — she was referred as a witch by community people as this occurred at Kafaba in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah region.

According to the report, women in the town were heard clearly refuting allegations that she is a witch as se was pushed down by one of the women, and beaten mercilessly.

Reacting to this sad and disturbing viral video, TV Africa’s morning show Presenter Roselyn Felli is against the action of seeing a woman lynch another over allegations that the 90-year-old woman was a witch.

Watch The Video After The Cut........

Ghanaian presenter, Brown Berry continues to stamp his authority on the media scene with his top notch presentations and interviews.

He recently interviewed DJ Cuppy, about her new single ‘Jollof on the Jet’ off her upcoming debut album ‘Original Copy.’

“The way the song came about is I was flying from Accra to Lagos, and I was eating jollof. I was with my producer, Killertunes and I said ‘you know what, what if we had a song called jollof on the jet,” disclosed Cuppy to Berry on his show ‘Ryse N Shyne,’ the morning show on Y 107.9 FM.

“It’s just about celebrating us being together. I thought this was a great way of just representing Africans,” added the host of ‘Africa Now Radio’ on Apple Music’ Beats 1 about the song featuring Nigerian artiste, Rema and Rayvanny from Tanzania.

Born Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola, the founder of Red Velvet Music Group, a London-based music management and content production company has collaborated with top talents on the African continent including Sarkodie and Kwesi Arthur.

She was a resident DJ at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards in Durban, South Africa.

The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hollard Ghana, Patience Akyianu, has been named the outstanding Group CEO of the year at the 10th edition of the Ghana Entrepreneur & Corporate Executive Awards.

The event was held under the theme, “Celebrating Ten Years of Entrepreneurial Excellence and Business Development in Ghana.” The prestigious awards, which took place at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, through a virtual live broadcast on TV3 Network and social media platforms, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, sought to publicly honour outstanding corporate executives across a wide range of sectors in Ghana.

Patience Akyianu is an experienced and well-rounded business leader with a strong commercial acumen. She has over 27 years of experience in Banking, Finance, and Insurance. This award is a testament of Patience's exceptional and versatile leadership having overseen Hollard Ghana’s double-digit revenue growth, a feat she achieved since assuming office as Group CEO in October 2018.

She is celebrated for her passion to increase financial inclusion through business and social initiatives that are positively impacting the lives of Ghanaians and in turn, translating into significant milestones and business growth for Hollard in Ghana.

Receiving the award at a brief and socially-distanced presentation ceremony at Capital Place, Hollard Ghana’s Head Office in Accra, the Group CEO of Hollard Ghana, Patience Akyianu said, “I am elated and humbled by this recognition. I give thanks to the Almighty God for his omnipresent grace and to my able Team Hollard, our business partners, and beloved customers for their immense support.”

#BBNaijaLockdown: Lucy Is This Week’s Head of House

Lucy has emerged the second Head of House (HoH) in BBNaija Lockdown edition.

She emerged winner of the weekly Head of House game on Monday night and picked fellow housemate, Prince, to be her Deputy Head of House. Her win gives them both an exclusive access to the luxurious Head of House lounge and immunity from the week’s imminent evictions.

The weekly HoH game is modelled after the popular Snakes and Ladders board game. It starts with each housemate rolling the dice to get a ‘6’ before moving their totems across the numbered squares.

They will encounter obstacles that would take them a few squares backwards or to complete a task like shooting a basketball through a hoop or drinking a bottle of water as quickly as they can. In some cases, their totems could land on squares that allow them to move several squares ahead. The housemates are given one minute to complete the game or go as far as they can before the buzzer goes off.

After doing poorly at the last challenge, the Big Brother Naija lockdown housemates were eager to do better this week and snatch the Head of House title from Nengi, who was exempted from playing the game this week.

#ParkNWatch Returns Friday August 7

#ParkNWatch, the highly anticipated outdoor movie screening experience in Accra is back after a long break due to COVID-19.

It is the opportunity you have been waiting for to enjoy some quality time with loved ones and friends after months of our lives being disrupted by COVID-19.

#ParkNWatch is an outdoor movie screening where you stay comfortably in your vehicle and enjoy several movies on large screens.

In this era of COVID-19, you need not worry about getting infected, social distancing or the several restrictions that have afflicted our lives because you never get out of your vehicle.

All you need to do, is to drive to Ghana Club with your partner or partners with your tickets, stay in the comfort of your vehicle and watch the several thrilling movies.

#ParkNWatch with us on Friday, 7th August at the Ghana Club from 6:30pm. Limited Parking Spaces Available. Call 0557587624 or visit www.hypeup.biz to reserve your space.

Ghanaian gospel minstrel, Jayana was on Sunday, 26 July 2020, adjudged the Female Vocalist of the year at the second edition of Ghana Urban Gospel Music Awards [GUGMA].

The ‘Victory’ hitmaker beat competition from Efe Grace, Celestine Donkor, Alexandrah and Pastor Dzifa.

A special highlight of the night was when Jayana took to the stage to minister her current hit songs ‘I Believe’ and ‘Who You Are’.

Born Jemima Annor-Yeboah, Jayana is noted for her soul-touching ministrations, making an immense impact on followers of gospel music.

The first BBNaija Lockdown Sunday Live show was held yesterday and there were a lot of surprises for the audience and the housemates.

The first twist that Ebuka announced is that every housemate will be put up for eviction. This means that from Monday, every housemate faces the risk of being evicted from the house. A housemate's chance of staying in the house depends on how much the audience votes for them.

Here is the best part, the Head of House and Deputy Head of House are automatically saved from eviction. This means that on Mondays, whoever wins the Head of House challenge and whoever is chosen as the deputy, cannot be evicted out of the BBNaija Lockdown house.

The second twist of the night is that there will be a live housemate eviction show on Sundays. What this means is that the four housemates with the least number of votes will also face the risk of eviction. The other housemates have to vote for who they want to stay in the house, and whoever has the least number of votes from the housemates will be evicted.

TV3 READIES FOR DATE RUSH SEASON 4

Leading Ghanaian television channel, TV3 Network, is preparing to roll out season four of Date Rush, the number one game show on television for eligible single gentlemen hoping to get a special date with a lady.

The station this week has announced the audition process urging members of the general public interested in participating in the next season of the show to send their pictures and details (name, age, occupation and location) to WhatsApp number 0261197411. They are also expected to show up at TV3 on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th July 2020 to be auditioned.

In a communiqué from the station, the new season of Date Rush is scheduled to start airing in August 2020 and promises to be more exciting with more add-ons from the last season. Special mention is made of candle light dinners, romantic getaways and other exciting inclusions.

The General Manager of Media General Television, Francis Doku, said “season four of Date Rush is certainly going to be bigger and better than the previous three season. There has been a lot of brainstorming done with the production team from Adesa Production Limited and we have no doubt the new season will be spectacular”.

Interior design is fast becoming an important part of Nigerian home décor, as more people now understand the effect of design in living and business.

Today we have young interior designers in Nigeria striving to meet the growing demands for interior design services, and no one exemplifies this growing need more than Olajumoke Ogunnaike of ‘Lefteye’s Signatures’, the outfit behind the art direction of the iconic BBNaija House.

The new season of BBNaija has returned to overwhelming acclaim, with many praising the attention to detail and vibrancy in the design aesthetic.

Ogunnaike once again sits at the creative helm and we sit with her to find out what makes her tick creatively, and what her experience has been working on Africa’s biggest television production.

Angry Panda Releases Debut Music Video 'Shots Fired' Featuring FRD, Kojo Linton And Q

Angry Panda Music Label, a new record label that is making big moves has released its debut music video called Shots Fired.

The video which features the label's formidable trio FRD, Q and KOJO LINTON is also an introductory video to outdoor the talents on the label.

SHOTS FIRED is the trio’s first feature song together and the label apparently took no expense in delivering a dope and different music video with an interesting storyline and great visuals. The story sees the trio acting as themselves in the video that was shot like a feature film.

The video was shot by SYNMATION STUDIOS and directed by RICHMOND BOADI (Ichigo Al Ghoul).

Fast-rising afro-dancehall musician Mijay is elated as government has announced it will allocate GHC50 million to cushion the creative arts industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.

She describes the development as refreshing since government seems to have answered the persistent calls by creatives for some support since the pandemic broke.

She said “it’s refreshing to note that government is thinking about us. Personally, I just released my song ‘Sweet Vybez’ and without events, I can’t promote it and ultimately get paid for performances. All I have is online revenue.”

“I applaud government for the initiative. It gives the younger ones like us hope that the future is bright,” she added.

Industry players have since March advocated and pleaded with government to support the creative arts industry since it had adversely been affected by the Covid-19 virus.

Events, concerts, movie premieres etc were canceled by authorities as measures to curb the spread of the virus. A situation which stifled the livelihood of many entertainers.

While some of us are still stuck at home, it’s easy to feel like we are forever cooped up indoors. While we have some spare time, a great way to pass it is trying out new things. A great habit to pick up is regular exercise, especially cardio workouts.

Cardio exercise is important, so let’s talk about one of the easiest ways to add an effective cardio workout to your fitness routine—running. Here are some easy tips to get you started on reaching your desired running goal.

It’s important to keep exercising while staying safe. One of the easiest – and safest - ways to stay fit is running.

More and more of us are finding fun and more creative ways to stay fit. From home workouts, using full water bottles as weights to online yoga classes and more, we can now choose the exercises we want to do from the safety of our homes.

Running is a great – and increasingly popular - way for people to stay fit. You can do it anywhere, be at any fitness level and don’t need a lot of equipment to get started.

E. Tamak Pops Up In A Berlin Studio; Is He Set To Drop A Banger Soon?

Ace artiste and video director, Eric Tamakloe aka E. Tamak has popped up in a studio inside Berlin, Germany working on something new after a hiatus.

He is widely known as the brains behind most of the music videos of the legendary Daddy Lumba and has worked with the likes of Yaa Pono, MzVee, T-Zee, Kofi Nti and Ricchie Rich.

Other acts he has shot for include Nhyriba Kojo, D-Flex, Dunsin, 5Five, NaturalFace, Old Soldja, Harry King, among others, under the name E-Tamak Films.

Currently based in Germany, he is poised to resume his career and feed his fans with a new banger which of course will be released with exotic visuals.

Anticipate as E.Tamak is back with fresh sounds and new vibes for your watching and listening pleasure.

Afro-dancehal musician Mijay is out with a brand new single christened ‘Sweet Vybez’.

This single comes after the afrobeats singer took a short break from the music scene, but is positive of a breakthrough in the coming weeks.

Mijay has had successful records in the past including ‘Carry Me Go’ featuring former label mate Gidochi and “Space’.

Sweet Vybez is a mid-tempo jam that talks about how the artiste feels around her lover.

According to her, it’s a song everyone that has fallen in love or wishes to fall in love can easily relate to.

‘Sweet Vybez’ is available on all digital stores and Youtube.

Listen To The Song After The Cut....

The former Mobile boiz member Yaw Grey has announced his upcoming album ‘AfroCan’ is dropping on 25th of July 2020.

The body of work, has proudly been titled “AfroCan” simply because Africa Can.

The Rapper is particularly excited about this album since it completely highlights his growth as an artist from the Mobile boiz era to the current Yaw Grey.

AfroCan is an 12 track album that together communicates that he, Yaw Grey “believes it’s only 1 race that can have Afro on and that is the African, that the black race.”

“If other races can really do big and explore, I believe we can as Africans. And I believe as a young man or young lady from Africa, we can sell Africa in the African way, in the African voice, and this album is put together to really sell Africa through music, with the passion.”

MASK4ALL CHARITY CONCERT HELD WITH TOP MUSIC STARS

A major COVID-19-themed music concert put together by the Coalition of Event Managers and Suppliers, an interest group of professionals in Ghana's events ecosystem, has been held in Accra.

Featuring KiDi, Lamisi, Prince Bright, Yaw Sarpong and Asomafo, Kuami Eugene, Mr Drew and a host of others, it paid a fitting tribute to the group's socially-progressive campaign to contribute to ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts.

Broadcast live to a global television audience, it saw in full splendour, the expertise of all the members of the group, which handed the event a solid appeal.

Prior to Saturday's event, the Mask4All campaign had garnered support by embarking on a massive drive to mobilize face masks for distribution to the vulnerable while putting out educational material on multiple mediums to help in the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

Nengi Wins The First Head of House Challenge In Big Brother Naija Lockdown Edition

Nengi has emerged the winner of the first-ever Head of House challenge in the Big Brother Naija Lockdown edition!

Today’s Head of House challenge was different from what you would usually expect. Biggie brought out a game that was like a BBNaija twist to the popular Snakes and Ladders game. The housemates were given the rules and told to take turns to play across a mat with numbered squares until they reached the end of the game or to score as high as they could under one minute.

Sounds like a piece of cake? The game is not as easy as it sounds though. The housemates could only start the game by throwing a die that landed on a six, and even then, their progress could be hampered or encouraged by the instructions found on the square they landed upon. Some squares would ask the housemates to start afresh (talk about starting from square one!), some others would ask the housemates to hastily drink water or hurriedly peel and eat an egg.

Although none of the housemates initially got to the end of the game, Nengi and Neo both scored 18. In a bid to break the tie, Big Brother asked them to roll the die again. Amazingly, Nengi and Neo tied with the same score two more times!

Pan African entertainment TV show, WatsUp TV has announced a partnership with Guinea Evasion TV and Burkina Faso's 3 TV , to extend its content onto the Canal+ platform thereby extending their viewership to over 40 countries and 7 million homes on the satellite platform.

The shows which will be produced and aired in French for the Francophone audience will feature a Top 10 countdown show and WatsUp TV playlist.

This initiative is expected to open the WatsUp TV's brand to a new market and presenting musicians and music promoters an opportunity to promote their content across the globe through this new platform instituted by WatsUp TV.

Commenting on this historic feat, Abdoulaye “ ABD “ Traore, CEO of WatsUp TV remarked that, the brand is growing to become a preferred platform for music artistes to promote their songs to the whole African continent.

The fifth season of the Big Brother Naija show premiered yesterday, July 19, 2020 and it was amazing!

The show’s premiere gave us all the feels - head-turning fashion, banging music from DJ Neptune, and lots of awwwn moments as we watched the new housemates welcome each other, talk about their life experiences, and cheer wildly when they heard Biggie’s voice for the first time.

Today, Biggie is set to remind them that they’re in a competition with the launch of the very first Head of House challenge!

The Head of House (HoH) title typically comes with some extra privileges. The bearer gets to sit on the throne-like HoH chair, gets information directly from Big Brother, and even reads out the day’s task to the other housemates.

In the previous editions of the show, the previous Heads of House would get a tastefully designed room to themselves. This privilege was usually hotly contested for, because the housemates usually appreciated some privacy and luxury in the midst of the communal living in the house.

The global streaming war has never been this intense especially in this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. But what eludes most African including Ghanaians is the access and direct integration with the world’s biggest music revenue market in the world USA.

To remedy this, Tunexmuse, the music vertical of Muse Africa has partnered with Pandora, the biggest and number 1 music streamer in market size in continental America to organize a webinar to introduce Ghanaian arts to the opportunities and power of growing their music streams.

This will take the format of a live virtual webinar to be presented by Juan Gomez, Head of African Content at Pandora Media.

Pandora which parent company is SiriusXM is part of the largest music streaming service within the US. It is a leading music and podcast discovery platform, providing a highly personalized listening experience to approximately 70 million users within the US each month.

This webinar forms part of Muse Media networks’ 5years anniversary in celebration in bringing together and widening opportunity for African arts to access platforms that can grow their music. The Webinar will take place on Tuesday, 21st July 2020 for musicians, producers, DJs, managers and all in the various facet of music business.

These are the spanking new BBNaija Housemates:

Ozo : Consultant and entrepreneur Ozoemena "Ozo" Chukwu (27), is from Imo State. One of his greatest achievements is working with a UEFA Federation in Europe. It is no surprise then that when he is not busy consulting or managing his urban clothing line, you’ll find him analysing sports and watching documentaries and TV shows.

Vee : Victoria "Vee" Adeyele (23) is a musician based in Lagos, Nigeria. Vee, as she is affectionately known, was born and raised in London and moved to Lagos almost a year ago to begin her music career where she has already made great strides.

Prince : Nelson Enwerem Prince (24) is an entrepreneur from Abia. A jack-of-all-trades whose portfolio includes modelling, fashion designing and interior decoration. He enjoys active sports and reading about ancient religions and African history. He's a graduate of pure physics from the University of Calabar and is currently living in Lagos.

Lilo : Boluwatife "Lilo" Aderogba (23) is a dietitian from Lagos, Nigeria. Lilo, as she prefers to be known, is also an entrepreneur and describes herself as “a product of God’s grace".

The 5th season of Big Brother Naija tagged “The Lockdown Edition” kicked off today with a grand live premiere show hosted by none other than Ebuka Obi-Uchendu with celebrity DJ, Neptune supplying the music.

This season of the show organised by MultiChoice Nigeria will see 20 housemates battle for the grand prize of 85 Million Naira over the course of 71 days.

From the newly improved house to the exciting new housemates, the Lockdown edition is already gearing up to be the most interesting season yet.

Below are four things viewers can look forward to in the new season.

Big Brother’s House: The house has always been an integral part of the show and this season is no different. Ebuka gave viewers a tour of the redesigned #BBNaijaLockdown house and from the reactions on social media, you can tell that everyone was positively wowed.

On August 6th, women-led B2B Enterprise Development Agency, ScaleUp Africa, will virtually host its inaugural Pan-African Business Festival coined IGNITE.

The festival is poised to nurture closer economic ties and opportunities for youth and women-led businesses in Africa and across the global stage. The digital experience is set to provide practical resources for entrepreneurs of African descent, globally.

The festival programmes are geared toward entrepreneurs with an interest in doing business in Africa and will support them with accessing new markets across Africa, the USA, the Caribbean and Europe. The event will offer attendees five Curated Sector Segments.

ScaleUp Africa will work with corporations to connect entrepreneurs to the networks and organizational partners needed to scale their solutions. Network connections will include professional advisors and partners to help overcome barriers that prohibit their growth.

By 2050, Africa will account for 50% of the world's population, with half of its population under 25. To say Africa is the future is an understatement. Population growth yields market potential and a major opportunity for SMEs, as African markets will need the jobs, services and general economic growth SMEs will provide. Africa accounts for a fraction of global trade, however, most black business owners perform below par in comparison to their non-black counterparts due to factors like limited access to funding, business resources and mentor guidance.

Absa Introduces Industry’s First Free Banking For Young Ghanaian Start-ups

Absa Bank Ghana has rolled out a free banking service for any Ghanaian start-up business that is less than three years old. It is an industry first and a game changer expected to support young start-ups in the country to scale up.

The free banking service forms part of the bank’s newly launched ambitious proposition known as “Absa StartUp Banking” which is an initiative that supports the grooming and scaling up of Ghanaian-owned start-ups with solutions that will bring their possibilities to life.

The Absa StartUp Banking, which is available across the bank’s branches and offices, will provide start-up businesses with clear- cut and tailor-made solutions such as opportunity to tap into Market Access, Business Mentorship, and free banking services.

Detailing the opportunities available for Start-ups, Mrs. Grace Anim-Yeboah, Business Banking Director at Absa Bank Ghana indicated that the free banking offering includes services such as zero commission on turnover (COT), free cheque books, free local transfers, free transactions on digital channels, free debit card and more.

DPU University Offers Subsidized MBA Package For Ghanaian And African Students

Renowned Indian online University DPU today announced a special package for Ghanaian and African students.

To this end, it has partnered with a number of local entities including the Accra-based Kandifo Institute to facilitate the admission of persons who desire to take up some of the available MBA courses.

Courses in Finance, Marketing, IT, Operations, and International Business Management among others, are available for the 2020 admission year.

Interested persons can apply at dpuacademicadvisor@gmail.com and also book through the mobile numbers +233 241 267 943 and +233 302 953 831.

With Covid-19 impacting physical classrooms, options such as what DPU offer, provide a seamless window for students to reach their dreams even in this pandemic.

Globally, over 1.2 billion educational institutions are out of use. Education has changed dramatically as a result, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. It is the new normal and fortunately, people across the globe are beginning to appreciate the need for virtual education.

The Kandifo and DPU partnership seeks to help build an enlightened, culturally and economically vibrant community through education in diverse disciplines as well as deliver on its mandate of providing high quality education.

AKA’s COVID-19 Diaries Now Airing On MTV Base And BET

Following multi award-winning South African musician, AKA’s, public disclosure of his positive COVID-19 results this past Friday, and his candidness about being transparent as possible about his recovery journey, AKA’s COVID-19 diaries will start airing today on MTV Base and BET.

You can catch AKA’s COVID-19 diaries at 17:00 on Newsish on MTV Base (DStv channel 322) and during the 21:30 break on BET (DStv channel 135).

As AKA continues to build his strength on his COVID-19 recovery, he also celebrates his two #SAMA26 nominations for his single Jika, in the categories Record Of The Year and Music Video Of The Year which were announced last week.

See Categories After The Cut......

On Saturday 11th July 2020, the nation’s fastest growing local language channel, Onua TV launched another exciting programme; a reality dating show dubbed Odo Fever at its studios in Accra.

The launch event was hosted by veteran Ghanaian actor and broadcaster, Micky Osei Berko, popularly known as Dada Boat and Ohemaa Acheampomaa, of Onua TV’s Girlz Kasa fame.

Odo Fever is a programme for single ladies and gentlemen above eighteen years looking for an opportunity to find love and take things to the next level. Two bachelors will spend thirteen weeks with twelve ladies in a bid to know each other. At the end of the season, the lucky bachelor out of the two will get to select one of the ladies as his partner.

During the unveiling of the contestants, Micky Osei Berko engaged them on their expectations, motivation for being part of the show, and their unique qualities that put them ahead of the other contestants.

MultiChoice Nigeria Reveals N85m Grand Prize for BBNaija Season 5 Winner

With the countdown to the season five premiere of Africa’s popular reality TV show, Big Brother Naija officially on, MultiChoice Nigeria has revealed that this season’s winner will walk away with a whopping N85m grand prize!

The grand prize which includes a N30m cash prize, makes this season’s winnings the biggest since its debut back in 2006 and highest prize for reality TV show on the continent!

Chief Executive Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe said: “The fifth season of BBNaija marks a major milestone in the reality TV series. We are making this season significant by not only increasing the winnings, but by also implementing other creative and innovative ways to ensure the show lives up to the premium entertainment especially during the current pandemic.”

The breakdown of the grand prize for BBNaija season five includes: a N30m cash prize; a two-bedroom apartment courtesy Revolution Plus; a top of the range SUV from Nigerian automaker, Innoson Motors; a trip to Dublin courtesy Guinness; home appliances courtesy Scanfrost; a trip to Dubai packaged by Travelbeta; a year’s supply of Indomie noodles, Munch it and Colgate toothpaste; a year’s supply of Pepsi, a branded chiller and a trip to watch the UEFA Champions League finale; and a brand new Oppo mobile smartphone.

Meanwhile, MultiChoice will in the coming days reveal other surprises for viewers and fans of the show.

Management of Ghana’s leading television channel, TV3 Network, on Friday 10th July 2020 presented the winners of Mentor Reloaded with their prizes at a brief ceremony at the offices of the station.

Mohammed Lukman, popularly known as “Optional King” won Mentor Reloaded and received documentation for the ultimate prize, a two-bedroom house. He is also entitled to GHC50,000 worth of airtime across all Media General platforms – radio, television and digital.

First runners-up, Chichiz received a cheque for GH¢6,000 and has GHC40,000 worth or airtime. Micah, the second runner-up, received a cheque for GH¢5,000 and has GHC30,000 worth or airtime whilst third runner-up, Yaw Black received GHC5,000 and GHC30,000 worth or airtime.

The General Manager of Media General Television, Mr. Francis Doku, congratulated the winners and urged them to work hard in order to produce good songs to entertain the world. He further assured them of Media General’s commitment to support them to launch their careers and also achieve mainstream success.

Vodafone Ghana has partnered with Opera, one of the world’s leading browser developers, to give its customers free browsing of up to 50 MB every day for those who use Opera Mini, Opera News, and Opera News Lite on their smartphones.

The partnership seeks to enhance the online experience for the millions of Vodafone customers by giving them access to their favorite websites, latest local and global news, as well as connecting them with family and friends via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on the Opera Mini browser.

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Commenting on the initiative, Pushpinder Gujral, Consumer Business Unit (CBU) Director at Vodafone Ghana said:

‘’This initiative affirms our commitment to finding innovative ways to offer our customers matchless value. We want customers to enjoy the experience of free browsing with Opera, products. Additionally, this initiative will give Vodafone users access to free and unlimited information about the global pandemic and more.’’

Vodafone Ghana has invested in an extensive fibre infrastructure rollout to provide seamless ultra-high speed fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity for its customers at home and at work. As part of this initiative, Vodafone has begun a campaign to upgrade customers on its copper-based broadband to its FTTH service for free.

The campaign is part of Vodafone’s FTTH rollout strategy, aimed at progressively replacing its copper network nationwide with fibre. Vodafone’s fibre broadband service is already transforming communities in Ghana by enabling businesses and customers to do so much more . It offers far greater reliability and seamless connection across data and voice calls.

As part of this campaign, Vodafone is upgrading customers in various communities within the Greater Accra Region onto its fibre broadband service for free. These communities include Abeka, Abelemkpe, Achimota, Adenta, Airport Residential Area, Ashongman, Asylum Down, Avenor, Awudome, Botwe, Bubuashie, Cantonments, Dansoman, Dzorwulu, East Legon, Fadama, Haatso, Industrial Area, Kaneshie, Kanda, Kokomlemle, Kotobaabi, McCarthy Hill, New Town, Nima, North Kaneshie, Nungua, Osu, Oyarifa, Pig Farm, Ridge, Spintex, Tema Community 18 and 22, Tesano, Teshie, West Legon and Weija.

Technology giant, IBM Corporation has appointed Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh Regional Head for North, East and West Africa where she will be responsible for IBM operations in over 40 countries in Africa including Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, Ghana and Tunisia.

Before her appointment, Ms. Kyerematen-Jimoh was Chief of Staff to the Senior Vice President in charge of Global Markets and Sales in IBM’s corporate headquarters in New York. Ms. Kyerematen-Jimoh who was previously Country Manager for Ghana joined IBM in 2011 as Marketing Manager for the West Africa Market Segment and rose through the ranks to become the Strategy Leader for Central East and West Africa.

Prior to joining IBM Ms. Kyerematen-Jimoh worked in banking, for UBS Investment Bank & ABN AMRO in London and GT Bank Ghana.

Chris Kirubi, East Africa Business Mogul and founder of Centum Investment said “I am exceptionally proud of Angela. Her dedication and commitment to her work is unwavering. She has all our support and I know she will make this a huge success story. We welcome her back to Africa.

On 17 July, we are celebrating World Emoji Day, and what better way to spend the day than with entertainment that evokes some of the emotions associated with our favourite emojis?

World Emoji Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated on 17 July.

The day is deemed a "global celebration of emoji" and has been celebrated annually since 2014.

The first ever emoji was created by Shigetaka Kurita in 1999 as part of a team working on a mobile internet platform in Japan where he distributed the first 175 pixel emoji's.

Following the release of Apple's iOS6 the emoji keyboard has revolutionalised texting.

AKA Tests Positive For Novel Covid-19 Virus & Goes Into Self Isolation

Multi award-winning South African musician, Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known professionally as AKA, has tested positive for the novel COVID-19 virus.

In an attempt to create awareness around the virus and to caution citizens to be more careful in their daily interactions with others, AKA has chosen to make his results public.

AKA pleads for everyone to adhere to social distancing guidelines, to wear masks and to hold stringent hygiene measures by frequently sanitizing and washing our hands.

Since the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, AKA has taken precautions that were stipulated by the WHO and the SA Government.

SIMPLY SHOWBIZ PREMIERES ON TV3 ON SATURDAY JULY 4

The arts and entertainment industry has over the years grown from just being a medium of entertaining people to a more business oriented space. However, in spite of the attempt to merge the two; there is a huge gap between making practitioners of the arts benefit from their works.

Well-meaning industry players and personalities have for years tried to revamp the Ghanaian Showbiz industry more lucrative. Some progress has been made and it is in this light that TV3, the best station when it comes to entertainment is once again out with another entertainment show.

In recent times, several stakeholders in the Ghanaian creative arts space have had a cause to complain about guests on entertainment magazine shows who are supposed to be impacting knowledge. It appears these half-baked panelists are just attention seekers parading themselves on media platforms for their parochial interest.

This is all about to change as Ghana’s leading television station, TV3 Network will be premiering a new exciting entertainment show with pundits and knowledgeable personalities known as authority when it comes to the Ghanaian arts and entertainment sector.

Health presents a challenge for all nations and according to a recent study done in the United States of America, majority of the respondents believe health is a problem in their country.

The study further established that the healthier the citizens of a country, the more effective the workforce of that country is likely to be. They are able to make important contribution to economic progress, as healthy population lives longer, are more productive and able to save more.

Onua TV, a subsidiary of Ghana’s leading Media Company, Media General is introducing an exciting health talk show from Sunday 12th July 2020 from 4PM to 5PM. Onua Doctor is a show designed to give viewers an opportunity to ask pressing questions concerning their health and wellness.

Each week, health professionals will be on the show as resource persons to discuss and educate viewers on various health matters. Viewers will have the opportunity to engage the resource persons and get answers to their questions through a phone conversation during the show.

Onua Doctor will be hosted by the extraordinary broadcaster and digital media professional, Nana Adjoa Owusu, widely known in showbiz circles as Ajoa Baloteli. The show airs this and every Sunday on Onua TV from 4PM to 5PM. Onua Doctor, Apomudenfie!

BBNaija Housemates In Isolation Ahead Of Live Show

Ahead of the commencement of Season 5 of the Big Brother Naija show on Sunday, all new housemates are currently in isolation. The organisers had announced that the 2020 edition of the reality show will go live on Sunday, July 19 on GOtv.

Amid the Covid-19 crisis and the social distancing protocol, many wondered if BBNaija will hit TV screens this year. At a virtual press briefing on Thursday, MultiChoice disclosed that they were working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure the highest level of safety of housemates and the production crew.

The organisers announced that “potential housemates are currently in isolation ahead of the July 19 premiere”. “They will be monitored whilst in isolation until they are cleared as Covid-19 free. Anyone that shows signs of ill health, will as expected not be a part of the show.”

The Big Brother House has also been disinfected and won’t be accessible to anyone till when the housemates make their way into their new abode. Channel Director, Africa Magic, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, explained that even before the current pandemic, housemates usually go through extensive health checks before entering the house.

Absa Bank Ghana has unveiled an ambitious proposition known as “Absa StartUp Banking”, a new initiative that will support the grooming and growth of Ghanaian-owned start-ups with solutions that will bring their possibilities to life.

The Absa StartUp Banking initiative, which was launched in Accra July 6, will see the bank provide start-up businesses with clear- cut and tailor-made solutions and support in key areas of Market Access, Mentorship, Visibility, among others.

The Bank in their bid to alleviate some of the financial burden, characteristic of Start-ups, is also offering free banking services such as zero commission on turnover (COT), free cheque books, free transfers and free debit card printing to start-ups.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Mrs. Abena Osei-Poku, the Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana said “As a passionate, bold and forward-looking bank, Absa is committed to help entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses by connecting their dreams to financial services and opportunities. We are excited and motivated to do this because of our social commitment to be a Force for Good in society.”

DADA BOAT TO HOST ONUA TV’S NEW EXCITING DATING REALITY SHOW

It’s an exciting time for viewers of Onua TV and lovers of quality entertainment content on television as the fastest growing Ghanaian local language channel, Onua TV, is set to premiere a new reality dating show.

Dubbed Odo Fever, the show is scheduled to be start airing on Onua TV from this Saturday, 11th July 2020 at 8PM and will continue every Saturday at 8PM. For the first season of Odo Fever, two bachelors looking for partners will get the opportunity to spend eight weeks with twelve single ladies also looking for love.

On the weekly episodes, there will be exciting tasks and date sessions for the bachelors and ladies to get to know themselves. There will also be studio interactions to discuss their experiences during their date and other matters of interest.

The 5th annual ‘Exclusive Men of the Year’ (EMYs) Africa Awards 2020 #EMYAfricaAwards2020 held yesterday July 4, 2020 to award men who have excelled in various areas such as business, education, arts, fashion, technology and communication.

This year’s award ceremony took place in Accra, Ghana despite the partial ban on social gathering due to the novel Covid-19 pandemic.

Multiple award-winning Radio/TV presenter and CEO of Kaya Tours Company Ltd; Dr. Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, popularly known as Abeiku Santana won Special Recognition Award for Tourism Marketing and Promotion.

Abeiku Santana as he has come to be known as Mr. Tourism is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Tourism Marking and Promotion in Ghana and Africa. With his experience in Tourism, he was appointed as Tourism Ambassador by the former Government of Ghana and he has represented Ghana and Africa in tourism seminars and events across the Globe.

Olympique Lyonnais To Play Debut Match In "Dubai Is Open" Jerseys

Emirates’ newest sponsorship partner, the French football club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), will play their first match under the Emirates contract in special one-off jerseys with the words “Dubai is Open” across the front. The friendly match will be played against OGC Nice at 6:30pm local time on Saturday, 4th July at OL’s Groupama Stadium.

Instructed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, the bespoke jerseys were created to help raise awareness that Dubai has re-opened for tourism, and comes on the back of the Dubai Government’s recent announcement that welcomes business and leisure visitors to the city from 7th July.

The “Dubai is Open” message will also be visible on digital signboards across Emirates’ other football sponsorships in Europe, including Real Madrid and Arsenal.

The OL v OGC Nice match will be broadcasted live on Canal+ TV in France and can be watched online on OLPLAY at 8:15pm local time.

Bridging The Language Gap In Healthcare Delivery - Vodafone Healthline Call Centre

Language barriers can be frustrating for patients and health professionals during healthcare delivery. Clear correspondence is basic to delivering excellent healthcare. The results could be disastrous, if medical information gets lost in translation when patients are describing their symptoms or when doctors explain treatment procedures.

Vodafone Foundation through its Healthline Medical Call Centre is successfully addressing the gaps in healthcare delivery brought about by language limitations. As part of efforts to provide accurate information and medical advice on COVID-19 and other health issues, the Vodafone Healthline Medical Call Centre is resourced with medical doctors who speak a host of local languages including Ga, Twi, Fante, Ewe and Hausa.

In addition to English, the doctors at the call centre deliver expert health advice in five other languages - Mandarin (Chinese), French, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese.

This is one of the many interventions by the Vodafone Foundation to bring quality healthcare closer to Ghanaians and other foreign nationals residing in the country whilst providing support for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on the Healthline Medical Call Centre’s multilingual approach, Geta Striggner-Quartey, Director of Legal and External Affairs at Vodafone Ghana said:

Ghana continues to make strides in its effort to bring the situation of COVID-19 under control. The global health crisis has undeniably affected the country with restrictions on key activities put in place to contain the spread of the virus.

There is now a stronger need for corporates to respond to the crisis and work with Government to help the people of Ghana. This was a strong factor in Samsung’s decision to support the country. Samsung has donated 500 units of Galaxy A2 Cores to the efforts.

The devices will be used by frontline health workers to improve communication as well as to monitor the movement of testing and care resources.

This is an essential part of Samsung’s strategy to support Ghana on its mission to curb the infection rate and flatten the COVID-19 growth curve.

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