PositiveNaija

Accra Weizo is an annual Tourism event for the ECOWAS region which is organised by Akwaaba African Travel Market and it is held in Accra, Ghana.

Stella Obinwa, the Director of International Operations in charge of Africa for Dubai Tourism won the Travel Personality of the Year for West Africa.

SAHCOL was voted as the Best Handling company in West Africa.

The Top 100 Travel and Tourism Personalities in West Africa were also honoured at the event.

Mr Frank Nneji the CEO of ABC Transport won the award in recognition of his trail blazing effort which has transformed land transportation across West Africa and in the process linking several countries conveniently through the gesture.
Leading travel promoters in Nigeria and Ghana equally emerged winners of the award, among whom are Mrs Uloma Egbuna, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Tour Brokers International; Mr Simon Grindrod, the General Manager of The Wheatbaker Lagos; Dr Michael Pinder, Group General Manager, Sun Heaven Hotels and Resorts, and Mr Lehlohonolo Hloni Pitso, the Regional Manager West Africa for South African Tourism’s regional Africa office based in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to Mr Ikechi Uko, organiser of the awards:

“The Top 100 Tourism Personalities was set up to recognise individuals who have distinguished themselves and through their efforts or that of their organisations have impacted positively on the travel and tourism sector across the West African sub region.
Also the personalities whose efforts have stimulated and helped to achieve their individual country’s tourism goals and forging interactions among stakeholders and customers across the region.”

Chioma Ukonu, co-founder and COO of RecyclePoints has won 2nd place and a prize of US$ 200,000 at the 2017 Chivas Venture Competition. Chioma Ukonu emerged victorious after a rigorous voting and pitching process involving inspirational social entrepreneurs from 32 countries, with the grand final in Los Angeles.

RecyclePoints is enabling individuals, particularly from low-income households, to create value from their everyday waste. It operates an incentive-based model which collects recyclable waste materials from registered households, and in turn rewards them with points, which they can accumulate and redeem for cash or other useful items offered through their iRecycle Store. The company employs young ‘Wastebusters’ to ride its electric tricycles and collect door-to-door recyclable waste such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, newspapers, or cartons. These items are then processed at the company’s Collection & Sorting Hub by unemployed women within the community, and sold on to recycling plants to use as raw materials for new products. RecyclePoints supports environmental sustainability, and engages the community to be part of the solution. With additional funds the company is hoping to expand its operations and impact, within its current city and to other states, purchasing new equipment and replicating its solution in a franchise model.

The global competition staged by Chivas Regal, was launched with a mission to find promising, up-and-coming startups that also have a positive impact on the world.

The Chivas Venture Competition was open to startups that have a working business model and at the same time, create social good with their endeavors. With 32 countries taking part, each region held its regional round, with winners eventually being selected to participate in the grand finals for a chance to win and share a stake from the US$1 million social entrepreneurship fund. The ultimate aim of The Venture is to find and support the most promising startups with the potential to succeed financially and make a positive impact on the lives of others.