Ecobank
Group Head of Corporate Communications Richard Uku presented the award
to Mr Asu at a gala ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the CNN
MultiChoice African Journalist Awards.
Femi
Asu of Nigeria’s Punch Newspaper is the winner of the Ecobank Economics
& Business Award at the 2015 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist
Awards (https://africa.cnnjournalistaward.com/en/home/).
Ecobank Group Head of Corporate Communications Richard Uku (http://www.ecobank.com)
presented the award to Mr Asu at a gala ceremony marking the 20th
anniversary of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards at the
Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday.
Richard
Uku said: “The Ecobank Economics and Business Award recognises the
excellence of journalistic reporting in this important field, and we are
delighted to present the award to Femi Asu for the talent he has
exhibited. Ecobank is pleased to be a long-time partner with CNN and
MultiChoice in the promotion of excellence in African journalism.”
Femi
Asu of Nigeria’s Punch Newspaper is the winner of the Ecobank Economics
& Business Award at the 2015 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist
Awards.
In
his winning story, Small businesses in death throes as power supply
worsens, Femi Asu reports on the issue facing many Nigerian
entrepreneurs, and exposes a major problem for those struggling to grow
their businesses. He explains how enormous expenses associated with
electricity, coupled with worsening power from the national grid, eat
into profits. He shows how many young Nigerians, whose projects could
create jobs for others and whose success is crucial to growing the
economy, are crippled by prohibitive costs and are going out of
business.
The
judging panel, which selected the entry from among many others spanning
39 nations across the African continent, said: “This is a story about
how the lack of stable electricity supply harms small businesses in
Nigeria. Femi Asu focused on an issue not particular to Nigeria but to
many African countries. With detailed examples, the author demonstrates
how businesses are severely affected including in some cases closing
down with huge consequences on the country’s economic development. The
piece is well written with the reader taken on a journey that highlights
the issue with affected individuals and businesses. Excellent
research.”
Ecobank Group Head of Corporate Communications Richard Uku presented the award to Mr Asu at a gala ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards.
Commenting
on his achievement, Femi Asu said: “I am so delighted to be the
recipient of the Ecobank Economics & Business Award in this year’s
CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards. It means a lot to me, and I
appreciate Ecobank’s effort towards boosting the fortunes of business
journalism in Africa by sponsoring this award category.”
The
CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards rotate location each year in
tribute to their pan-African credentials. Ecobank has supported the
awards as a corporate sponsor since 2008.
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