How To Answer Common Job Interview Questions

The link for this was sent to me from my mum, its quite helpful.

A job interview can be stressful. Calm your nerves and boost your confidence with answers to these 7 common interview questions.

1. Tell me about yourself

When asking this question, the interviewer wants to get a general picture of who you are and what you've done before. Prepare a one-minute long presentation or 'sales pitch' about yourself, talking about your educational background, previous work experience, key skills and career goals. Don't sound too rehearsed and focus on work-related items - the interviewer doesn't want to hear your life story.

2. What are your strengths?

A strength is something that comes easily to you; something you're good at. You could, for example, talk about your ability to prioritise, solve problems, work under pressure, get along with different types of people, or lead a team. Give an example of a specific situation in which you demonstrated the skill/ability in question. And, unless you have a very tangible example to back up these claims, stay away from clichés like "I'm hard working" or "I am a very quick learner".

3. What are your weaknesses?
Although it's important to be honest, this is not the time to reveal your major character flaws. If you say, for instance, that you have a tendency to be late or argue with customers, the interviewer is not going to be impressed. The trick is to choose a weakness you can overcome. You could say you get nervous when giving presentations, but tackled this by presenting group projects as part of your studies. The interviewer wants to see that you are aware of your areas for growth and that you've taken steps to work on them. Again, stay away from clichés, like "I work too hard". If this is a real weakness, explain the consequences of working too hard (e.g. high stress) and how you addressed this (e.g. allocated more time for a hobby).

4. How have you dealt with angry customers before?
These kinds of questions are called competency questions as they help the interviewer see how you would handle particular situations. You could mention that you use a balanced approach to diffuse difficult situations. Let your interviewer know that even though you're not dominating or aggressive, you're not a push-over either. Say that you listen and go the extra mile for customers. But remember, you need to relate your answers to specific examples to give the interviewer a better idea of your actual competencies.

5. Why do you want to work for us? 
Base your answer on the background research you've done about the company prior to the interview. Are you attracted by its reputation or perhaps the career development opportunities it has to offer? Sincerity is important here, and relate your answer to long-term career goals. If you cannot (for example, you simply need a salary to fund your studies), still try to find positive aspects to explain why you want the job, like the nature of the position will allow you to use your excellent customer service skills.

6. What are your salary expectations? 
If you request a salary higher than the range for the job, the interviewer will say you're too expensive - and this could cost you the job. If you request a salary lower than the range, the interviewer will say nothing - and you've just lost money. Rather say something along the lines of: "I'm interested in finding a job that is a good fit for me. I'm sure whatever salary you're paying is consistent with the rest of the market" or "what has been budgeted for this position and perhaps we can go from there." Don't be tempted to inflate your salary - many companies will ask for your latest payslip - you don't want to be caught out lying. Lastly, be persistent (but not pushy) - the employer will give in where they can if you're the best candidate for the job.

7. Where do you see yourself in five years' time? 
Be careful about saying things like you want to be a manager as that could be the interviewer's job. Tell them in more general terms that you're interested in management and your goal would be to proceed to that level moving forward.

Let us Not Die too young....

Recently there have been a lot of young people dying in car accidents. It is such a tragedy for the parents to lose a child at such a young age, when their life is just blooming. I personally have lost a few people because of car accidents and quite frankly I am sickened and angered of hearing about more deaths of young people caused by the same incidents.

I thought it would be good to remind each other of the importance of being extra careful on the road.

Of course, some accidents are not really caused by the driver's mistakes but rather other drivers on the road.

The number one most important rule to remember is

WEAR YOUR SEATBELT!! This can not be stressed more! There have been so many incidents where accidents have occurred and the survivors where found to have been wearing seatbelts. When wearing a seatbelt your chances of survival during a collision MULTIPLY!


Another important point to remember is drive safe, it is not necessary to prove to your peers that your car can reach a speed of 180Km per hour, just because it is shows it maximum speed is 200km per hour does not mean you have to reach that limit.

I have decided to post some photos of a recent accident that has happened that caused the deaths of two young men who had a bright future ahead of them. And although they were not close friends of mine they were known and were loved by many people that I know.

So let us all try our best and be careful out there, and let us pray for our safety!

What successful people do in the morning

Source: http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com

The day may have 24 hours of equivalent length but author Laura Vanderkam says not every hour is created equal. Drawing on her own research, surveys of executives, and the latest science on willpower for her forthcoming ebook What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, Vanderkam argues that making smart use of the early morning is a practice most highly successful people share.

From former Pepsi CEO Steve Reinemund's 5 a.m. treadmill sessions, to author Gretchen Rubin's 6 a.m. writing hour, examples of highly accomplished folks who wring the most from their pre-breakfast hours abound in the book. What do they know that the average entrepreneur might not have realized yet?

"Seizing your mornings is the equivalent of that sound financial advice to pay yourself before you pay your bills. If you wait until the end of the month to save what you have left, there will be nothing left over. Likewise, if you wait until the end of the day to do meaningful but not urgent things like exercise, pray, read, ponder how to advance your career or grow your organization, or truly give your family your best, it probably won’t happen," Vanderkam writes. "If it has to happen, then it has to happen first," she says.

But what if you're a night owl by inclination and you go pale at the thought of setting the alarm for even five minutes earlier? Vanderkam explained to Inc.com that there is hope for nearly everyone.

"Around 10% to 20% of folks are confirmed night owls. Screwing up your schedule is not wise for these folks--and they may have to choose professions and ways of working and ways of dealing with their families accordingly. Everyone else is in the middle--and my thesis is that there are real advantages to training yourself toward the lark side," she said.

And luckily, you don't have to rely on sheer force of will to make the switch to earlier mornings (though some of that is, no doubt, required). In the book, Vanderkam lays out a five-step process to help you make the change with the minimum of pain:

Track your time: "Part of spending your time better is knowing exactly how you’re spending it now," writes Vanderkam, who recommends you, "write down what you're doing as often as you can and in as much detail as you think will be helpful," offering a downloadable spreadsheet to help.

Picture the perfect morning: "Ask yourself what a great morning would look like for you," suggests Vanderkam, who offers plenty of inspiration

Think through the logistics: "Map out a morning schedule. What would have to happen to make this schedule work? What time would you have to get up and (most important) what time do you need to go to bed in order to get enough sleep?"

Build the habit: "This is the most important step," writes Vanderkam before explaining how to gradually shift your schedule, noting and rewarding small wins along the way.

Tune up as necessary: "Life changes. Rituals can change, too."

Check out the short-but-useful ebook to learn more details on becoming more of a morning person, as well as additional ideas on how to put those reclaimed hours to use.

What's your morning ritual?

5 Ways To Lose Money On Shares

Economies are in a mess. Markets are in chaos. So whether you're bullish or bearish, it's all the more important to keep a cool head and make carefully considered, rational decisions.

The fact is, you probably don't. We all like to think that we make decisions based on logic, but emotion and psychology inevitably affect our thought processes. There's a large body of evidence from behavioural finance studies that indicate both private and professional investors are prone to psychological biases in their decision making. That leads to sub-optimal performance at best, and disaster at worst.

I've listed the five most dangerous biases below. Just being aware of these biases can improve your investment decision-making, but I've also suggested some practical steps to reduce the risk of succumbing to them.

1. Availability Bias

Availability bias is the natural tendency to give undue weight to more vivid or prominent facts. It's why we fear plane crashes more than car crashes, even though the latter are statistically more of a risk. I

In investment, availability bias frequently shows itself as an over-reaction to news. It's bad to buy a share straight after reading a tip or a relevant piece of news. Instead, it's good to thoroughly research a share and reach a considered view, then to buy as the market -- itself showing availability bias -- over-reacts to a piece of bad news.

2. Confirmation Bias

We don't just give more weight to recent facts, we also give more weight to facts that support our pre-conceived opinions. That's confirmation bias. While this psychological tendency no doubt helps politicians to sleep at night, it wreaks havoc in investment, where reaching the right conclusion matters more than how well you articulate your case.

The value of a share is a delicate balance between lots of positive and negative factors, and the investor has to judge what weight to put on eachine. To help address this bias, think hard about the negative points, and be your own Devil. 

3. Anchoring

Anchoring is the trait of being attached to a particular piece of information, and then interpreting other information to fit with it. In investing, the most obvious example is the market price: when we value companies we more often rationalise the market price than determine value from first principles.

Of course, the market price should reflect all the information about a share as interpreted by all investors, so this price does have a real meaning. But anchoring is dangerous when the price moves and your thinking remains stuck to what the share was once worth.

4. Overconfidence

You're not overconfident, are you? Me neither. Modesty could be my middle name -- except it sounds a trifle feminine. But I guess I'm not alone here in striving to obtain better-than-average returns. The problem is, too many of us think we can be above-average for us all to be right. A 2006 study by James Montier found that three-quarters of fund managers believed they achieved above-average returns. Montier's paper has a fascinating self-test to reveal your own cognitive biases.

So overconfidence is a trait we all have to be wary of. It manifests itself as being over-optimistic: seeing the potential upside more than the downside risk. And it can lead to over-trading.

5. Loss Aversion

Psychological experiments have shown that people are more strongly motivated to avoid losses than to make gains. In investing, it gives rise to the disposition effect, which we have probably all felt: investors are generally much more reluctant to sell shares at a loss than at a profit.

Logically and dispassionately, it should not make a difference to the decision to sell when the price is either above or below what we paid. In classical economics, losses are sunk costs. But there are a couple of exceptions to that rule. Crystallising profits and losses can have a tax effect. And there can be good reasons to sell winners, for example to maintain the balance of a portfolio or if you anticipate the good times will soon be over.

Four-Point Plan

Being aware of cognitive biases can help you avoid being over-influenced by them. Otherwise, taking a disciplined approach to investment is the best antidote.

I'm less disciplined than I mean to be, and that's less than I ought to be. This is real life. But I have a four-point plan to make myself act on cold logic:

·         Slow things down by always putting shares on a watch list before deciding to buy;

·         Go through a check list to force yourself to think about all the important factors;

·         Write down a brief investment thesis, with positive and negative points, and;

·         Have a stop-loss price. Even if this doesn't automatically trigger a sale, it should force you to revisit your investment thesis.

Do you have other techniques? Let us know in the comment boxes, below.

91-year-old becomes Britain’s oldest masters graduate

He Graduated from my University too!! It's never too late...........


Britain's oldest student has graduated from university aged 91- and is still planning to go on and do a PHD. 

Bertie Gladwin, 91, said that he had "a lot of laughs" with students less than a third of his age. Image- Maso …Bertie Gladwin left school aged 14 with no interest in academia, later going on to have an extensive career in MI6. Now the former civil servant is celebrating gaining a distinction in Masters in Intelligence History from the University of Buckingham - despite being more than 60 years older than his course mates. 

Rather than studying at home, Bertie packed his bag and headed into lectures and seminars with the rest of the post-grad students, who were all in their early 20s.Like any other student, the OAP turned up late for his first lecture and got lost in the maze of corridors at university.

The World War Two veteran was also left baffled by computers, which he had never used before he retired in 1987, and regularly deleted whole essays by mistake. 

But while he struggled with some aspects of modern learning, the senior student had no problem getting to grips with his degree- having previously worked through two decades of intelligence history he studied.

Bertie rose from his first job as a grocery delivery boy to become a radio communications engineer with the Foreign Office and secret service. As soon as he spotted the degree, Bertie - who still sends Morse code messages to friends across the world - knew it was perfect for him.

“Most of what we handled isn't secret anymore, in fact I had to study some of it for my Masters,” Bertie said. “It was a strange feeling to be reading about history in a textbook that you lived through yourself. When I started I was worried about being up to the challenge but once I got there I realised I could have been the most qualified person ever to do that course.”

Bertie, a resident of Milton Keynes, Bucks, admitted that he was a "late bloomer" and said that he is considering attempting a PHD.

"On the first day I couldn't find the class so I was around 20 minutes late and had to creep in the back of the room,” he added. “You are never too old to learn, it's a pleasure to be able to carry on learning through your life and makes the experience all the more enjoyable. I found that my humour hadn't changed that much, even if I did seem a bit old fashioned compared to my friends we had a lot of laughs.

“Going to university changed my whole attitude towards young people and I hope maybe I have shown them old people aren't too bad either”.

Bertie Gladwin worked as a radio communications engineer with the Foreign Office and secret service. Image- Ma …

Bertie graduated in March this year - just before his birthday, aged 90 - and was proudly watched by his wife Wendy, 79, who encouraged him to try university despite not even having A-levels.

Bertie completed his first degree, a BA in psychology from the Open University, in his mid sixties and followed it up with a BSc in Molecular biology which he finished in just two years, as he turned 70.

Impressively, Bertie's masters is his third degree since retiring 25 years ago, after he completed a BA in Psychology and a BSc in Microbiology through the Open University. He took the British record for senior studying from the previous 89-year-old title holder.




SOURCE: YAHOO UK News!

HOW TO LOOK GOOD IN EVERY PHOTO

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/look-good-photo-081009079.html

G8 SUMMIT 2012

May 18-19, 2012, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the EU joined President Obama at Camp David for the annual G8 Summit. The leaders met to address major global economic, political, and security challenges, including energy and climate change, food security and nutrition, Afghanistan’s economic transition and transitions taking place across the Middle East and North Africa.

Energy and Climate Change:

At the Camp David Summit, G-8 Leaders recognized that the development of and universal access to environmentally safe, sustainable, secure, and affordable sources of energy is essential to global economic growth and to their overall efforts to address climate change.

President Obama and G8 leaders announced a new alliance on food security with African leaders and the private sector as part of an effort to lift 50 million people out of poverty over the next decade.

A year after the historic events across the Middle East and North Africa began to unfold, the aspirations of people of the region for freedom, human rights, democracy, job opportunities, empowerment and dignity are undiminished. At the Camp David Summit, G-8 Leaders recognized the important progress that has been achieved in a number of countries undergoing transition and committed to maintaining their support for these transitions in four key priority areas: stabilization, job creation, participation/governance, and integration.

Food Security:

President Obama and G8 leaders announced a new alliance on food security with African leaders and the private sector as part of an effort to lift 50 million people out of poverty over the next decade.

Transitions in the Middle East and North Africa:

A year after the historic events across the Middle East and North Africa began to unfold, the aspirations of people of the region for freedom, human rights, democracy, job opportunities, empowerment and dignity are undiminished. At the Camp David Summit, G-8 Leaders recognized the important progress that has been achieved in a number of countries undergoing transition and committed to maintaining their support for these transitions in four key priority areas: stabilization, job creation, participation/governance, and integration.

TIC says Unido support promoting investments

The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has lauded the support it gets from the United Nations Industrial Development organisation (Unido) in promoting sustainable investment in the country.

The kudos was given by the centre’s Acting Executive Director, Raymond Mbilinyi at the launch of the TIC-Unido Africa Investor Report 2011 and Investment Monitoring Platform (IMP) that took place in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.

“The collaboration between Unido and TIC has come a long way since 2000…we hope we will continue so as to promote sustainable investment in Tanzania,” he said.

He said through Unido support, the Centre has managed to survey registered projects within TIC and confirmed that approximately 80 per cent of the registered projects operate even though “there is a need to conduct another survey to have an update status of the projects.”

He added that together with Unido, TIC managed to conduct Business Development Seminars around the country and assisted to develop 400 projects whereby 80 of them were selected and developed to become bankable ones and helped to find markets and joint ventures in and outside the country.

“UNIDO has continued to support TIC on capacity building through Investment Technology Promotion Office (ITPO),” Mbilinyi said.

For his part, Unido Representative in Tanzania Emmanuel Kalenzi expressed his gratitude to the centre for taking the lead, on behalf of the government in the investment survey exercise in collaboration with other institutions.

He also thanked the companies that participated in the survey for being cooperative and getting to quickly understand the importance of the survey and being part of the process throughout.

Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office, Investment and Empowerment, Dr Mary Nagu said that although Tanzania has attracted a growing number of foreign and local investors, it is not clear as to how many have actually taken off-the ground and what value they have brought into the economy.

“The survey and the tools that have been developed will be able to provide answers to some of the critical questions related to growth and impact of investment and the comparative and competitive advantage for Tanzania based on the actual data collected,” she observed.

By March, this year, more than 7,000 investment projects have been registered at TIC with the value of more than USD50bn and are expected to create close to  a million jobs.

The Investor Monitoring Platform (IMP) together with the African Investor Survey Report 2011 are a culmination of an intensive work initiated in 2009 on pilot basis in 22 African countries, Tanzania being one of them, with Unido technical support.

The IMP seeks to facilitate the participating governments through the different investment promotion agencies; to implement evidence based investment strategies and policies. 
It also seeks to facilitate investment promotion institutions to be proactive and responsive to the challenges and demands of investors.

Also, the platform expects to help the participating firms to promote their products, reach to global market networks and benchmark themselves against global and regional players.
A total of 450 Tanzanian companies took place in the survey.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

US govt says luring businesses to invest in Tanzania

The US government has said it is doing all it can to encourage the country’s corporate entities to invest and export to African countries, particularly to Tanzania.

This was said yesterday by US Assistant Secretary for the African Affairs Bureau, Johnnie Carson, in a teleconferencing held at the country’s embassy in Dar es Salaam that the main drive for the assistance is to help African countries meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Carson, who was speaking to journalists across the continent on the US policy on African countries, said, besides, they encourage US businessmen to look at Africa as one market they can benefit from.

“We encourage US businesses to embark on this strategy because Africa has enormous resources that can help it to move from where it is if it embarks on massive investments,” he said.

The US believes that Africa has a significantly growing market in US because 18 to 19 percent of all imported products are sourced from the continent, he said. These include petroleum, minerals, agricultural produce and other products.
In terms of minerals from Africa, he said, the US doesn’t import many finished products, noting that most of them are from South Africa.

He said he believes that trade between the US and African countries will continue to grow substantially because of the new American government drive that its firms should increase investments in African countries.

Apart from encouraging US firms to invest in the continent, the US government will continue to work in partnership with African countries to support them build democracy, support health services, boost agricultural production, he said.

He said it is now time to focus on Africa because the continent’s economic potential is well known noting that in other areas, US will continue working with the governments on bilateral basis to improve good governance and help build judiciary systems.”

Speaking on the Green Revolution, he said, President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete will join US President Barack Obama during the five-day G8 Summit to discuss issues relating to agriculture and food security.

While in the US President Kikwete and other Africa leaders will discuss different issues agricultural sector development and how the continent can have enough food for export to the world and security within their respective countries.

They have decided to focus on agricultural sector because although Africa has enough agricultural potential, absolutely the Green Revolution has not yet come to the continent.

Also while in the US, the African leaders will sign a memorandum of understanding with G8 countries for initiating major development projects in Africa countries.

At the teleconferencing meeting, Ambassador Carson addressed a wide range of topics on US engagement on the continent, including recent developments in Sudan and South Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Nigeria.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

About G8

In response to the political and economic challenges of the time, informal meetings were held at the White House in Washington, DC  in the 1970’s, involving several of the major countries of the world.  Labeled the “Library Group,” it became clear that an ongoing forum among world powers was needed.

Later, France and Germany called for a more formal summit, with the major industrialized nations of the world coming to the table.  France hosted the first summit in 1975, and the “Group of Six,” or G6, was officially on its way.

The tradition continues today, with an annual summit held in a location selected by that year’s host country on a rotating basis.  Today’s G8 is Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK, and USA.  In recent times, other important countries have attended the summit, to include Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the EU.

The relevance of the G8 and the usefulness of the such summits  is debatable.  The events have drawn widespread protest, with varying degrees of violence and property damage, interspersed with peaceful activism and with crowds of the curious.  In 2012, the host country is the USA and the summit will be held at Camp David, Maryland on May 19-20, 2012. 

Camp David is a military installation about 100 miles outside of Washington, DC, USA.  The secluded and well protected retreat was selected by President Obama on March 5, 2012 after much earlier announcements that the summit would run concurrent with the NATO summit scheduled to take place in Chicago, IL, USA.

Source:chicagog8.com

TIC to link Tanzanian enterprises with Finnish counterparts

The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), in collaboration with the Finnish Embassy in Tanzania, has announced a plan to support local entrepreneurs through links with their Finnish counterparts.

The plan was revealed by TIC’s Director of Finance and Administration, Beatrice Chonjo at a seminar organised by TIC and the embassy under the Finnish Business Partnership Programme which supports projects in developing countries in Dar es Salaam at the weekend.

According to Chonjo, the programme is very important because Tanzanian businesses which are not strong enough would be enabled to get exposure from their Finnish counterparts.
“Tanzanian businesses wishing to have connection with their Finnish counterparts should have a company status, send an application and reveal what they are doing,” she said, adding that the initiative is one of TIC’s efforts to strengthen businesses in the country.

The seminar attracted over 50 Tanzanian entrepreneurs, programme officials, TIC management and officials from the embassy.

Financed by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and managed by Development Finance Institution, Finnfund, the programme aims at promoting business cooperation between companies in Finland and those in developing countries in a move to create long-term business partnerships.

It also seeks to offer support for developing countries’ projects by offering matchmaking service for Tanzanian firms for the identification of Finnish business partners - business partnership support (financial grant)  - for Finnish companies and organisations for their projects in Tanzania and advice and guidance.

The Finn partnership Director of Planning, Siv Ahlberg said there are already companies in Finland that have shown interest to work with their counterparts in Tanzania but were lacking relevant information.

She said that they are ready to send information regarding Tanzanian companies to Finland once they get them urging players in Tanzania to utilise the opportunity.
One of the participants, Dr Hamimu Hongo hailed TIC for making efforts to connect Tanzanian entrepreneurs to their Finnish counterparts.

“Entrepreneurs have vital role in economic building,” he said.
Kimmo Laukkanen, the Head of Cooperation at the Finnish Embassy in Tanzania said the relationship between his country and Tanzania is a historic one and that it was now time to venture into business relationship for the benefits of both countries.

Statistics shows that Tanzania is fifth biggest African exporter to Finland, excluding North Africa.  In 2010 she was seventh.

From: The Guardian (Tanzania)

ICT GIANTS TO SUPPORT AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURS

From: Corporate Digest

Neal Silverman, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, DEMO, USA captured during the LIONS @FRICA Initiative Press Conference at the World Economic Forum on Africa held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 9-11 May, 2012

Microsoft, Nokia, infoDev, DEMO, African Development Bank and the World Economic Forum high level representatives at at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia have launched a new partnership to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

The Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations (LIONS@FRICA) partnership seeks to mobilise the knowledge, expertise and resources of leading public and private institutions to encourage and enhance Africa’s innovation ecosystem and to spur entrepreneurship across the continent.

“Building the right partnerships to give Africa a competitive advantage is a huge focus for us, and a shared passion among LIONS@FRICA partners.

Microsoft’s investment in LIONS@FRICA is a natural extension of our work to help accelerate the success of entrepreneurs and early stage start-ups on the continent, and to provide promising young African developers and innovators access technology tools and resources they need to realise their full potential,” said Aben Kovoor, Microsoft Area Director, Developer & Platform Group, Middle East & Africa.

Internet usage across Africa has grown faster than on any other continent in the world. The awakening of the African economy provides an opportunity for global and African entrepreneurs and enterprises to forge partnerships for mutual economic prosperity.

LIONS@FRICA seeks to capitalize on this growth and create new opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa by providing a platform designed to inspire and challenge African innovators and entrepreneurs.

This partnership will provide African startups with capacity building and training in business development, provide connectivity to global innovation grids, promote access to capital, create opportunities for partnership, and showcase best practices and successes in African-led innovation solutions.

“ICT-led innovation and entrepreneurship are at the heart of rapid socioeconomic development, and Nokia believes initiatives like LIONS@FRICA are essential to spur this progress. In addition, Nokia and its partners will continue to stimulate debate in Africa through forums such as the Open Innovation Africa Summit, and help emerging innovators spin their ideas into success stories at facilities across the continent like the Mobile Application Laboratories,” said Gerard Brandjes, Nokia’s Vice-President for South East Africa

Planned activities for the partnership include a series of programs across the continent featuring promising African startups and entrepreneurs as well as venture capital roundtables and innovation bootcamps, and Startup Weekend events in over 20 African cities.

Qualifying startups can join Microsoft BizSpark with access to a range of Microsoft technology for three years at no cost, to the community of BizSpark Network Partners in Africa, and to programs at Microsoft Innovation Centers in the region.

LIONS@FRICA will also launch the first-ever DEMO Africa, a global platform to connect African startups to the global ecosystem, where the most innovative companies from African countries come to launch their products and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed.

The Partnership will receive support from business networks and platforms from Business Action for Africa and Startup Weekend. Global Entrepreneurship Week will serve as the coordinating partner, while Business Fights Poverty will serve as an online community partner.

10 WAYS TO SAVE UP ON FUEL

1. SWITCH OF THE AIR CONDITIONER

Reduce the amount of times you switch on your "AC". 
On a good day you will get some fresh air.

2. WHILE IN TRAFFIC, SWITCH OFF YOUR CAR

3.    WALK IF YOUR DESTINATION IS JUST A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY

The benefits to your health are also numerous.

4. DO NOT OVERLOAD YOUR CAR

For example, a car with a 1300 engine might have to work much harder if it has to transport four or five people, as opposed to three.

For every 100 extra pounds carried around, your vehicle loses 1 to 2% in fuel efficiency. Don't drive around with too much junk in the trunk.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-gas-47031702#ixzz1uNBFgEFr

5. DO NOT CHANGE GEARS UNNECESSARILY

On paper, an automatic transmission will use more fuel. The reasons come down mostly to how it works: while a manual transmission disengages from the engine, thus using no additional power, an automatic is always engaged. Improvements in the design have reduced this, but not at low speeds. Yet much of the damage done to your petrol gauge by an automatic can be eclipsed by poor use of a manual. We all believe we are good drivers, but in reality most of us waste a lot of fuel through how we change gears. It is recommended that shifting at around 2,500 RPMs, though you should make some allowance for the load and angle. To really pick up the skill, consider signing up for an advanced driving course.

6.STRAIGHTEN UP

Poor alignment not only causes tires to wear out more quickly, but also forces your engine to work harder. Align your tires, and save up to 10%


Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-gas-47031702#ixzz1uN5cpDBg

7.PUMP YOUR TIRES

More than one-quarter of vehicles are driving on deflated tires. The average under-inflation of 7.5 pounds causes a loss of 2.8% in fuel efficiency.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-gas-47031702#ixzz1uN7w6ZZV

8.SLOW DOWN

For every 5 mph you reduce highway speed, you can reduce fuel consumption by 7%


Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-gas-47031702#ixzz1uNAtKJmE 

9.LAY OF THE BREAKS

Riding with your foot on the brake pedal will not only wear out brake pads (which will cost you at the maintenance shop) but can also increase gas consumption by as much as 35%.


Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-gas-47031702#ixzz1uNBBMUPm

10.DON'T IDLE


Besides causing pollution, idling wastes gas. If stopped for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine, and don't bother to "warm up" your car before driving -- it is not necessary.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-gas-47031702#ixzz1uNBOf9gh

MOTTO OF THE DAY

You don't know how close you might be to achieving your dreams- HAVE A LOVELY DAY :)

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Course on Conduct and Practice of Arbitration

The objectives of the course are: To create awareness on the various methods of settling disputes particularly Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms; To create awareness on the procedures for arbitration as means of resolving disputes in Construction Contracts; To equip participants with knowledge on Law and procedural aspects of Arbitration; To prepare participants for registration as Members of the Tanzania Institute of Arbitrators.


The Course Content: Settlement of dispute practice, Law of Arbitration, Appointment of Arbitrators, Powers and Jurisdiction of the Arbitrator, Inter-locutory matters, Hearing procedure, Costs and Interest, Award and Challenges on Award.  At the end of the course, participants will sit for an entry examination for the Tanzania Institute of Arbitrators.

Participation is open to all those who are interested in the resolution of commercial disputes through arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. The course is of particular interest to: Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Contractors, Estate Managers, Insurance personnel, Lawyers, Shipping industry personnel and other professionals.

The Course fee is Tshs. 500,000 per participant.  The fee will cover expenses for lunch, mid-break refreshments and course notes. Participants should make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. Payment may be made in advance (by cash or cheque) to National Construction Council or at the venue for those who have confirmed participation. Note that the course is limited to 20 participants and therefore early booking is necessary. 

Dates and venue:   COMING SOON!!! 

                            

Ten Powerful African women (2011)

From: Business news MSN

                            Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Harvard-educated Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, fondly called the "Iron Lady" by her supporters, has become Africa's first elected female head of state following Liberia's presidential run-off

                    Joyce Mujuru

Joyce Mujuru is a Zimbabwean politician, who serves as a vice-president of the Zanu-PF party, alongside fellow vice-president Joseph Msika and the president Robert Mugabe.

                    Luisa Diogo

Luisa Diogo is a Mozambican politician who became the Prime Minister of Mozambique in February 2004. Before becoming Prime Minister, she was Minister of Planning and Finance. She is the first female Prime Minister of Mozambique.

                    Maria Ramos

The CEO of ABSA bank, one of the biggest financial services firms in South Africa, is seen as one of the architects who crafted the new and improved South African economy.

                   Monhla Hlahla

Monhla Hlahla is the Managing Director at Airports Company South Africa. She was previously employed at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

          Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was the Deputy President of South Africa from 2005 to 2008. She was the first woman to hold the position and is the highest ranking woman in the history of South Africa.

                

                 Turai Yar'Adua

               Shirley Lue Arnold

                                                        ( IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE)

Shirley Lue Arnold served as Managing Director of Mmela Consultancy & Advisory Services. She acted as a consultant to a wide variety of organizations, and also set up her own BEE consultancy and advisory services company.

                 Wendy Luhabe

Wendy Luhabe is the Founder/Chairman of Women Private Equity Fund, and she is one of the most influential women in South Africa.

                       Cecilia Ibru

Cecilia Ibru is the former managing Director and executive Officer of Oceanic Bank and was one of the most powerful women in Nigeria.