Oil palm? Phew! What a Releaf.🌱

Releaf - Read as relief (the removal of stress or discomfort)Hello Venturer, Are you aware that Nige Oil palm? Phew! What a Releaf.🌱 By [VA Weekly]( • Issue #38 • [View online]( Releaf - Read as relief (the removal of stress or discomfort) Hello Venturer, Are you aware that Nigeria used to be the world’s largest palm oil producer in the early 1960s, and contributed a 43 percent share to the global market? Well, now you know. However, Nigeria is now a net importer of this product, and about $500 million is spent annually on oil palm importation. 80 percent of palm oil product is derived from smallholder farmers which largely constitutes the sector. These farmers often use the traditional rock-to-nuts method of processing oil palm which in turn hampers their productivity. This week, we take a look at how Releaf, a Nigerian agri-tech startup is providing relief to oil palm production with its Kraken innovation, and also boosting farmers’ finances by linking them up with processing factories. Adekunle Agbetiloye Staff Writer, Ventures Africa. What's New Profit at all cost: The sins of the tobacco industry in Africa. While wealthier nations recorded substantial declines in smoking, Africa’s smoking population has been on the increase. According to the latest edition of the Tobacco Atlas, the number of smokers in Nigeria alone is expected to increase by seven million by 2025. Religion and culture have been gatekeepers of tobacco adoption, but its walls are not high enough. [Read more]( about this industry. Releaf: The agritech startup industrialising oil palm processing in Africa “Our goal is to develop technology that will bring this sector into the twenty-first century and deploy it as close to the farmers as possible. It will not be a large factory in Lagos or Ibadan, but a factory in local and rural areas with high agricultural productivity. That is where the factories should be so that farmers can concentrate on production and factories can concentrate on processing.” [Read more](. Mastercard launches Strive: A global small business initiative to accelerate economic recovery. The pandemic necessitated a rapid shift to digital platforms and processes that have created new opportunities but also pushed many to the brink of failure. To address the transition to digital, Mastercard – through the Center for Inclusive Growth –launched Strive, a global initiative focused on strengthening the financial resilience of small businesses and supporting their recovery and growth. [Learn more.]( [PC- PYMNTS] PC- PYMNTS GE Healthcare and partners work together to deliver quality cancer care in West Africa. In Nigeria, cancer leads to approximately 72,000 deaths every year. It is estimated that there are 102,000 new cases of cancer annually, with breast and cervical cancers as the two most common types, accounting for approximately 50 percent of all cases. Given the disproportionate number of women impacted by these cancers, GE Healthcare’s focus on oncological diagnosis and care is a step forward in a key initiative for the country. [Learn more.]( OPN contracts African expert mPharma as technical partner for operational redesign. The National Pharmaceutical Office, a public purchasing centre for medicines and other health products, recently placed under the management of the Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund, has signed a technical partnership agreement with mPharma, a renowned Ghanaian company in public health sector. mPharma specializes in providing technology solutions for the management and distribution of medical products across Africa. [Read more](. #VANUGGET Remember to stay safe! Did you enjoy this issue? [VA Weekly]( By [VA Weekly]( Ventures Africa is an online business news site and community that produces stories about an evolving Africa. Our stories inspire people to positively shape their environment. We cover business, policy, innovation and culture in Africa. [Tweet](    [Share]( If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe [here](. If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe [here](. Powered by [Revue](