VC

• Organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Startup Forum, and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), ComeUp Korea took place from 8 to 10 November 2023 in the city of Seoul.
• ComeUp Korea provides a timely platform and opportunity for SMEs and entrepreneurs to network and forge partnerships that lead to long-term prosperity.
• Our participation in events such as ComeUp Korea plays a role in helping to advance and accelerate the growth of our startups internationally.
• ComeUp Korea builds on Saudi Arabia's relationship with Korea and strengthens our business ties with the nation.

• Zeal Capital Partners , the Washington, D.C.-based mission driven and category specific venture capital firm dedicated to investing in dynamic early-stage technology businesses with diverse management teams, today announced that Stefanie Thomas will join the firm as Managing Director.
• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231107274268/en/
  Stefanie Thomas Joins Zeal Capital Partners as Managing Director (Photo: Business Wire)
  Thomas joins Zeal from her role as founding member and investor at Impact America Fund (IAF).
• “We’re thrilled to welcome Stefanie to Zeal Capital Partners, to spearhead a timely effort to propel the next generation of diverse entrepreneurs and companies shaping the future of technology and business at scale,” said Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner, Zeal Capital Partners.
• “I’m thrilled to join Zeal Capital Partners to support the mission of democratizing capital access so that the most talented teams and business ideas can thrive,” said Stefanie Thomas.

The secretary-general of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors in Nigeria recently disclosed that only 38 women have been vice-chancellors of universities in Nigeria since 1960, out of more than 720 in total. The Conversation Africa asked Ekanem Braide, the Nigerian Academy of Science president and a former vice-chancellor, why this is so and how the country can have more women as university heads.

Why are there so few female vice-chancellors in Nigeria?

• As in other professions, the early career years of young academics in universities coincide with marriage and having children.
• Most young female academics have to take care of young families, teach, conduct research, publish and generally struggle to climb the academic ladder.
• Discrimination against women and under-representation of women in leadership positions are deeply rooted in cultural beliefs, values, traditions and attitudes.
• In my experience, the belief in male supremacy and female subordination remains dominant.
• Higher value is therefore attached to the boy over the girl even by highly educated men and women.

You have been a VC twice. How did that come about?

• I did not apply for the position of vice-chancellor in both instances.
• In 2004, I was invited by Donald Duke, governor of Cross River State, to head the new Cross River University of Technology.
• I was again invited to serve as pioneer vice-chancellor of Federal University, Lafia and I served from 2011 to 2016.

What advice do you have for women wanting to be a VC in Nigeria?

Female academics who aspire to become vice-chancellors should:
set a personal goal and plan to achieve it
prepare a convincing plan for the university, making it clear what they want to achieve as vice-chancellor
serve well in any position so their name comes to mind
be confident
undergo leadership training
study and be conversant with all mandatory documents guiding operations in the university
be familiar with the roles of the National Universities Commission, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Federal Ministry of Education and other departments and agencies in the university system
apply and prepare adequately for the interview.

How can Nigeria have more female vice-chancellors?

• Men and women should just change their mindset about women.
• There are many women who are qualified to serve as vice-chancellors in Nigeria.
• Second, the government at national and state levels, as well as private proprietors, should consider and appoint women to lead universities.

Ekanem Braide does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• STIX aims to be the most trusted liquidity avenue for buyers and sellers of illiquid digital assets through its online marketplace in Q4 2023.
• STIX is managed by an experienced team of experts with deep knowledge across Web3, capital markets, private equity and secondaries.
• STIX hopes to establish a trusted, private, and compliant OTC platform that enables data-driven price discovery and enhances secondary markets liquidity.
• The STIX platform also plans to release a full-suite of proprietary risk management and portfolio analytics tools.