Texas a&M AgriLife Home to World’s Top Animal Science Researchers, According to research.com

Science and Health

Newswise — Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science and Texas A&M AgriLife Research faculty have secured the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the most recent edition of Research.com’s ranking of the best scientists in “Animal Science and Veterinary.”Fuller Bazer, Ph.D., is highlighted as the top researcher in the world in the ranking with a D-index of 132. Ranking at spot No. 2 in the world is Guoyao Wu, Ph.D., with a D-index of 131. The two have independently and collaboratively led the way in determining how nutrients such as amino acids, metabolites like lactate and signaling proteins are essential for optimal growth, development and health in both animals and humans.“Drs. Bazer and Wu are shining examples that the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science has world-class faculty,” said Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences. “I’ve had the fortune to work with these colleagues for decades. Their research endeavors help Texas A&M remain the preeminent leader in animal science education and research, nationally and internationally.”AgriLife Research supports College of Agriculture and Life Sciences tenure and tenure-track faculty. G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director of AgriLife Research, said the agency is glad to support Bazer and Wu’s research portfolios and is honored by this recognition, which is based on research outputs of high-impact publications and citations.“Dr. Bazer’s research in pregnancy establishment of livestock species has had significant impacts on production efficiency of all livestock species,” Lamb said. “Dr. Wu’s work in amino acid nutrition has revolutionized dietary changes for livestock species that improve survival and productivity. We are proud of their contributions to science.”Inspiring the future of animal science researchIn releasing the list, Research.com states, “Our aim is to inspire researchers, businessmen and politicians worldwide to explore where top experts are heading and to give an opportunity for the whole research community to discover who the leading experts in specific disciplines, in various countries or even within research institutions are.”Clay Mathis, Ph.D., head of the Department of Animal Science, said the department’s mission is to be the first choice of prospective undergraduate and graduate animal science students seeking the best animal science education, and of employers seeking the brightest and best-prepared animal science graduates.“This is confirmation we are employing the best in our faculty researchers,” Mathis said. “We strive to deliver cutting-edge scientific tools and innovative solutions, not just for Texas producers but as a leader in animal science to the world. We are proud of our faculty for being recognized for their advancement of animal science.”The listing is created using data consolidated from a wide range of data sources, including OpenAlex and CrossRef. The bibliometric data for estimating the citation-based metrics were collected on Nov. 11. Position in the ranking is based on a scholar’s discipline H-index or D-index, which only includes publications and citation values for an examined discipline.Bazer’s discoveries change animal management during pregnancyBazer, a Regents Fellow, Distinguished Professor and the O.D. Butler Chair of Physiology and Reproduction, is an international leader among reproductive biologists in animal sciences and related disciplines.He is credited with discovering uteroferrin, a phosphatase produced in response to progesterone that transfers iron to the developing embryo and stimulates blood cell and platelet development. This discovery clarified the biological mystery of signaling between embryo and mother to maintain pregnancy, with profound effects on the efficiency of animal production systems.Texas A&M AgriLife’s Fuller Bazer, Ph.D., Regents Fellow, Distinguished Professor and O. D. Butler Chair, Physiology of Reproduction, has been ranked the No. 1 scientist in the “Animal Science and Veterinary” discipline by Research.com. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)He also discovered estradiol as the pregnancy recognition signal from swine conceptuses and interferon tau as the pregnancy recognition signal from ruminant conceptuses. These and related discoveries have changed animal management to increase conceptus survival and pregnancy.Bazer is a past recipient of the Morrison Award from the American Society of Animal Science, Hartman Award from the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Marshall Medal from the Society for Reproduction and Fertility, and the Wolf Prize in Agriculture for his Interferon tau discovery as well as other pregnancy-associated proteins.He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a recipient of the L. E. Casida Award and the Animal Physiology and Endocrinology Award, both from the American Society of Animal Science, and awards for research, graduate education and service from the Society for the Study of Reproduction.Wu connects amino acids and proteins to fetal and postnatal developmentWu, a University Distinguished Professor, University Faculty Fellow and AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow, also holds appointments with the Department of Nutrition, the Department of Medical Physiology and the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences.Texas A&M AgriLife’s Guoyao Wu, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor, Animal Nutrition; University Faculty Fellow and Texas A&M AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow, has been ranked the world’s No. 2 scientist in “Animal Science and Veterinary” discipline by Research.com. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)His animal science research focuses on amino acid biochemistry and nutrition, including the arginine-nitric oxide pathway, as well as the syntheses of the arginine family of amino acids and glycine in mammals, birds and fish.His research in glutamine intersects with topics in cell signaling, gastroenterology, necrotizing enterocolitis, parenteral nutrition and taurine. His amino acid research incorporates elements of threonine, lactation and microbiology.Wu discovered metabolic pathways for the synthesis of amino acids and polyamines that are essential for animal growth, development, reproduction and survival. He also proposed two seminal concepts in nutrition — functional amino acids and dietary requirements of animals for traditionally classified “nonessential” amino acids — that transformed the feeding of livestock, poultry and aquatic animals worldwide.   Wu is the recipient of the Research.com Animal Science and Veterinary in U.S. Leader Award for the past two years, the Research.com Best Scientist Award, the Morrison Award from the American Society of Animal Science, and the Top Agri-food Pioneers award from the World Food Prize Foundation.He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has received the American Feed Industry Association/Federation of Animal Science Societies New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition Award and the American Feed Industry Association Award in Nonruminant Nutrition Research.

Abilene Awarded Kansas Tourism Marketing Grant

Travel

The Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau has been awarded a $9,800 Kansas Tourism Marketing Grant to support the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail 2.0 initiative.According to the organization, the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail highlights cowboy-themed attractions in four historic cities—Wichita, Abilene, Hays (City), and Dodge City—that played significant roles in the storyline of Gunsmoke, the longest-running Western in television history. The new phase of the project will build on its success through targeted advertising and digital campaigns, continuing the interactive passport program, and engaging visitors to follow the trail.“I’m so proud of our collaboration,” said Julie Roller Weeks, Director of the Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This project spans multiple towns and regions and is already attracting visitors, bus tours, and travel writers.”The project, building on the success of the initial campaign, will officially launch in 2025, with a focus on attracting international visitors attending the 2026 World Cup in Kansas City.“We appreciate the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Tourism Division recognizing and supporting our effort,” Roller Weeks said. “This partnership offers travelers an authentic and packaged itinerary to guide their visits to experience Kansas’ rich cowboy history.”For more information, visit www.KansasGunsmokeTrail.com.

Sen. Mark Warner hopes ‘a little bit of name-and-shame’ will make tech execs ‘up their game’ ahead of the election

Technology

Some fifty days from the November presidential contest, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) says people still aren’t taking election security seriously enough. 
Back in the spring, to much fanfare, he told anyone who would listen that election interference will be a bigger problem in 2024 than it was in 2020. “Well, I said that a number of months ago mostly to be provocative,” Warner said in an interview in his Senate office earlier this week. “I was trying to push the United States government to lean in more, and I think generally they have.” 
But he says there is still much to do. And that’s one of the reasons, he said, that he asked executives from Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday on disinformation and misinformation ahead of the election. 
“We have seen all of these companies take down or cut back fairly dramatically most of their own self-policing activities,” he told the Click Here podcast in an interview. “Frankly… my hope is a little bit of name-and-shame here may have them up their game.” 
And it seems to have worked, at least a little bit. 
A day before the hearing, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp said it would ban Russian state-owned media accounts — including RT — from its social media platforms in response to its influence operations. 
Hours later, Microsoft published a new report warning that two Russian-backed groups have used X (formerly Twitter), Telegram and several fake news websites to disseminate fictitious videos about Vice President Kamala Harris. One video claimed Harris had been involved in a hit-and-run and another said her supporters attacked a Donald Trump fan.
The interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
Click Here: Can you talk about how the landscape of election interference has changed over the past four years?
SEN. MARK WARNER: Initially it was just Russia, it is now Russia, it is Iran. China is still trying to figure out what to do, what they want to do. And even some frenemy nations have tried to influence our elections. 
Secondly, you know, unfortunately as we’ve seen recently about fake stories about immigrants eating pets, Americans have just a much greater tendency to believe crazy things. 
And then finally, we’ve got all of these new artificial intelligence tools, deepfakes being one example, but a whole host that allows you to spread disinformation, misinformation at speed and scale that’s unprecedented. So I said [we’re less prepared for election interference in 2024 than 2020], I put those words out and I think we got people’s attention. We just won’t know though how successful we are probably until late in the election because generally speaking, foreign entities will launch their efforts quite close to the actual voting date.
CH: There could be an October surprise we aren’t expecting.
MW: Right. At the Munich Security Conference this year, because I was concerned that AI tools might disrupt elections all over the world, 20 companies, including TikTok and X, all signed onto a voluntary set of agreements about being proactively willing to take down AI manipulation around elections. I’ve been concerned that they have not been as proactive. That’s the bad news. 
The good news is we’ve not seen artificial intelligence tools used in the European parliamentary elections, the British elections, the French elections at the level that I was afraid of. So a little good news, bad news. So I want to press them in particular on AI. But I also want to garner attention on that for the public. So if they see something that doesn’t feel right or smell right or somebody saying, ‘No, you don’t need to vote on this day. You vote on that day,’ that the public would be aware that this very well may be foreign malign influence in our elections. 
CH: So is this just to shed some light on the problem, or are you hoping that tech companies will come out and say, we’re specifically doing this, or we’re specifically doing that? 
MW: Well, we have seen all of these companies take down or cut back fairly dramatically most of their own self-policing activities. Frankly, Twitter/X, when Mr. Musk took over, almost eliminated that. We have, unfortunately, seen Meta and Google and others cut back as well. 
CH: Do you feel the naming and shaming actually works? Not just for tech companies specifically, but the practice more generally when, for example, the DOJ brings indictments against PLA hackers or people at RT who are allegedly launching influence operations… Does it work or just ends up raising general awareness?
MW: If I had my druthers, I would vote. I think Congress should legislate here. I think it’s long overdue on reform of what’s called Section 230 [of the 1996 Communications Decency Act], which is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card for any of these social media companies for anything that happens on their platform. 
Our record of legislating guardrails on social media or on AI is pretty poor, it’s virtually nonexistent. So I think it is both. Will they voluntarily up their game? And can we keep the public informed that other nation states may have a preference on a candidate or they may just simply want to undermine other states or basic faith in our systems. Unfortunately, when you have at least one presidential candidate that constantly seems to come back to this theme that you can’t even trust our elections, that does not do our system any favors.
We have made progress. I mean, when I think about this issue, there’s one side, which is the actual machinery of elections, the integrity of the voting systems and the reporting systems. And I think we’ve made great improvements there. CISA has made great progress. But again, we have to be wary because there could be other types of AI-related attacks. 
CH: When the Justice Department announced the RT case earlier this month, one of the things that caught my eye was that RT allegedly has a cyber espionage cell. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?
MW: I’m still getting more of the background on that, but what we’ve seen with RT, you know, I don’t think they pretend to be a news organization anymore. The Russians have very good cyber capabilities in many ways. I’ve been surprised that we’ve not seen, for example, in Ukraine, even greater use of Russian cyber.
In the past as well, what would happen? The Russians would have to create a fake persona and then amplify that. Now we’ve got Americans saying crazy enough stuff on their own. And they, in the case of RT, would amplify that. And in this circumstance some of these far right commentators were helping them amplify their destructive messages and oftentimes mimicking or echoing Russian propaganda talking points – that’s a real problem.  
CH: So about the cyber espionage unit itself, do we know what they were doing or are we still finding out?  
MW: I have not gotten a brief on that yet. In the last 10 days, I think we are still finding out, but let me follow up on that one.
CH: Back in June, the Supreme Court rejected a Republican challenge aimed at preventing the government from contacting social media platforms when they found disinformation or misinformation posted. The High Court basically said that the people who brought the case hadn’t suffered the sort of direct injury that gave them standing to sue. So now the communication between, say, the Biden administration and those companies can talk again. Are you seeing a difference since that was resolved?
MW: The short answer is yes. The case gave us about an eight month window without communications. Part of that, even when you turn the green light back on, you’ve got to know the person on the other end of the line. You’ve got to have some protocols that take some time to work through. The good news is that here we are now, you know, roughly 50 days away from the election. I think those communication channels have been reestablished. 
CH: But they must be a little gun shy, if you look at something like the Stanford Internet Observatory which was in the crosshairs of someone like House Republican Jim Jordan and ended up shuttering their operations… It must send a shot across the bow.
MW: Absolutely. Matter of fact, the level of independent researchers — similar to the Stanford group, but there are a few others — that have really pulled back because of their concerns about, frankly, being harassed, being sued on a constant basis. 
The right wing has targeted some of these individuals and I think that puts a chill on what in many ways has been one of the most valuable tools we have. Independent researchers can point things out in ways the government can’t. And then we can follow up with social media platforms and they say, ‘Well, we don’t want to be called out for bad behavior, so we’re going to improve our activity.’
It has been very disturbing to me that we’re down to literally only one or two still remaining independent organizations trying to help police this area. And we’re going to talk about that in the hearing too. 

China’s Failing US Lobby Playbook Puts Tech Companies at Risk

Technology

(Bloomberg) — US lawmakers are signaling to China that the world’s second-largest economy and its companies face a tough slog in America for the foreseeable future, regardless of who controls Washington after the November election.Most Read from BloombergAt a divisive point in the country’s campaign cycle, House members overcame partisan tensions to vote resoundingly last week to blacklist several Chinese biotech firms from lucrative US-funded research. It was a rare moment of accord that roundly neutralized Chinese lobbying efforts.Bloomberg Intelligence says that the Biosecure Act, affecting five companies to start, has a “high likelihood” of becoming law as it now moves to the US Senate. BGI Group, BGI spinoffs MGI Tech Co. and MGI’s US subsidiary Complete Genomics Inc., WuXi AppTec Co., and WuXi Biologics are the companies that would be impacted.More bills are likely to follow.One influential Democratic senator, Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, opened the door to broader legislation setting rules for Chinese technology companies rather what he calls a “Whac-a-Mole” approach targeting specific firms.Strategic industries like artificial intelligence and advanced computing may be next, other lawmakers in both parties said. Temu, the online shopping giant, and other Chinese exporters face bipartisan efforts to eliminate a tariff exemption that has helped fuel their US business.The House has also passed numerous other bills aimed at China, including ones targeting Chinese drones and the country’s dominance of the supply chain for electric vehicles.The current decade has been marked by the economic race between the world’s two largest economies, with the US recently pulling further ahead than China in terms of nominal gross domestic product. The competition between the two powers is a major component of the economic platforms of both US presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, who waged a tit-for-tat trade war with Beijing.“You’re going to see a lot more legislation like this in the next Congress regardless of who wins the majority,” said Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who was key to the Biosecure Act’s passage.There’s a direct and immediate effect on businesses in both the US and China — even if much of that legislation never becomes law, said Lily McElwee, deputy director of the China studies program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.“This creates, of course, a pretty uncertain environment for Chinese businesses seeking to sustain or expand partnerships with American firms,” McElwee said.‘TikTok Playbook’The Biosecure vote comes on the heels of another legislative success: April’s passage of legislation — now being contested in court — forcing Bytedance Ltd. to divest TikTok or face a US ban.In both cases, Chinese firms and their lobbyists in Washington asserted that their US outposts posed no threat to US citizens or security and were unnecessarily and unfairly targeted. TikTok has more than 150 million users in the US, and Trump has vowed to save the app.Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House’s China panel, said the firms affected by the Biosecure Act took a page out of the “TikTok playbook” of influence campaigns — and, like Bytedance, failed to persuade the vast majority of lawmakers.Krishnamoorthi said companies like China’s BGI Group — one of the targets in the House-passed bill — also use a complicated ownership structure to protect their US operations while maintaining ties to Beijing.“They operate in one company, it gets sanctioned; they set up another company, it gets sanctioned,” Krishnamoorthi said.China argues its companies are being unfairly targeted, saying the US is using a broad definition of national security to suppress foreign businesses and undermine fair competition..Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China “will continue to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its own companies.”Tangled WebThe saga of Complete Genomics, a San Jose-based company, shows just how much — and how quickly — relations with China have shifted.The Obama administration in 2013 approved BGI’s purchase of the maker of high-end DNA sequencing machines. As the US became increasingly concerned about China, BGI spun off MGI Tech, and with it Complete Genomics.The Department of Defense later put BGI, but not MGI, on its official list of Chinese military companies.Complete Genomics has insisted it’s no longer part of BGI, does not collect sensitive genetic data on Americans, and was committed to “American innovation.” The company dismissed concerns about data collection as a bogus “sci-fi narrative.”But while the companies are separate entities, the connections run deep.BGI Group’s co-founder and chairman, geneticist Wang Jian, also serves as chairman of MGI and owns 52% of MGI’s stock through affiliated groups, according to a report published by Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology in May.“Observing the growth of BGI Genomics and MGI Tech is watching China’s industrial policies unfold in real time,” wrote analysts Anna Puglisi and Chryssa Rask. Most of the companies’ other shareholders, they said, have direct or indirect ties to the Chinese government.The House’s China panel recently pointed to a new study indicating MGI employees listed BGI as their employer and urged the Pentagon to add MGI to its list of Chinese military companies.A BGI spokesman said Wang Jian’s shares in both companies don’t indicate they are the same company. The company’s spokesman also said BGI is not government controlled and its work is for civilian and scientific use only.BGI and MGI both contested the study’s conclusions via their lawyers. Puglisi, meanwhile, is testifying before Congress on Thursday on China’s efforts “to silence critics.”Complete Genomics, which has called the House-passed bill unconstitutional, warned that it would create a monopoly for the market leader for DNA sequencing equipment in the US, San Diego-based Illumina Inc. That, the company warned, would lead to higher prices, slow research and put the US at a disadvantage.Due ProcessMassachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern, who typically is a China hawk and has been sanctioned by the country, pushed to hold off on blacklisting the firms targeted in the House bill until the US government investigates the companies.The bill, McGovern argued, lacked due process and was more reminiscent of how China acts than the US government. His argument worked with some colleagues, like fellow Democrat Jamie Raskin of Maryland, but only 81 lawmakers ultimately opposed the measure.For McGovern, there was a hometown connection. WuXi Biologics, whose products are an important part of the global supply chain for prescription drugs, would be blacklisted just as it expands a factory in McGovern’s district that would add an estimated 200 jobs.McGovern said he’d be prepared to shut down companies, even the one in his district, if there was evidence of bad behavior. But first, he wants a probe.The bill’s backers, however, said there was already ample evidence. Wuxi Biologics’ executives, according to the China committee, participated in a 2023 event to “build and strengthen” the Chinese Communist Party’s control over supply chains.The company, meanwhile, is connected to another on the bill’s blacklist, WuXi AppTec. Like BGI and MGI, they purport to be separate companies but share a chairman, Li Ge, an American citizen and billionaire founder of Wuxi Apptec.A Wuxi Apptec spokesperson said Li Ge, its chairman and CEO, is the non-executive chairman of Wuxi Biologics but has no role in its day-to-day workings.–With assistance from Gerry Smith, Dong Lyu, Mackenzie Hawkins, Michelle Fay Cortez and Michelle Jamrisko.Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

U2opia Signs License to Commercialize Anomaly-Detection Technology for Cybersecurity

Technology

Newswise — U2opia Technology has licensed Situ and Heartbeat, a package of technologies from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that offers a new method for advanced cybersecurity monitoring in real time. Situ, which discovers and understands otherwise-undetectable events by analyzing security data, will go to the market through a commercial license. The company will continue to explore opportunities for Heartbeat, which detects cyber attacks by focusing on the physical behavior of a protected device, through a research and development license. U2opia Technology, a woman- and minority- led company, is directed by Maurice Singleton III, chief executive officer, and chaired by Joaneane Smith.Though Singleton first learned of the power of technology transfer partnerships 25 years ago, it wasn’t until 2019 that he began to pursue a partnership with a national laboratory. During an event at ORNL on Sept. 5 to celebrate the licensing, Singleton recalled that Stacy Prowell, a cyber security scientist in ORNL’s Cyber Resilience and Intelligence Division, persuaded him to make the leap. “Stacy was enthusiastic. He said, ‘You have the right concept, and we have the right tools at ORNL. We can solve this problem.’” Situ, developed by a team led by ORNL’s John Goodall, was supported by funding through ORNL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development, or LDRD, program, DOE, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. Heartbeat, developed by a team led by Prowell, was supported through the lab’s Technology Innovation Program, or TIP. “This partnership is a great example of connecting researchers and innovators to companies through programs like LDRD and TIP, which leads to global impact,” said Jennifer Caldwell, ORNL director of technology transfer. U2opia licensed both technologies for research and development purposes in 2023. The partnership between ORNL and U2opia has been recognized by the Federal Laboratory Consortium, earning an award for excellence in technology transfer.Situ and Heartbeat were developed through multi-disciplinary research drawing on mathematics, data science, software engineering, computing, artificial intelligence and complex systems, creating practical solutions to protect the nation’s infrastructure. Enhancing digital security is a key priority for DOE and ORNL, as threats to America’s national security emerge at a rapid pace. “Thanks to our researchers’ creativity and dedication, ORNL continues to advance technologies that benefit our nation’s security,” said Moe Khaleel, associate laboratory director for the lab’s National Security Sciences Directorate.Improved cyber security is also a pressing concern for small businesses. “Fifty percent of all small businesses breached by cyber security attacks go out of business,” Singleton said. “We need to get research out of the filing cabinets and into the marketplace, because it is difficult as a small business to allocate funds and resources to conduct R&D.”Delphia Howze, chief inclusion officer at ORNL, said, “Technology developed in the national laboratory system has the potential to transform small businesses; equitable access to its resources is very important to the Department of Energy. At ORNL, we have the privilege and responsibility to be intentional and inclusive. ORNL works with hundreds of small businesses through our Small Business Office, in regional economic development efforts, partnership agreements and technology licenses. Nearly half of our licenses in 2024 are with small businesses.”In addition to Goodall and Prowell, the ORNL development team includes Joel Reed, Joel Dawson, Aaron Ferber, Ali Passian, Jeff Nichols, Kelly Huffer and Dave Richardson. Former ORNL researchers Bobby Bridges, Erik Ferragut, Michael Iannacone, Jason Laska, Lane Harrison, Jarilyn Hernandez Jimenez and Christopher Rathgeb also contributed to the technologies.Senior commercialization manager Andreana Leskovjan negotiated the terms of the license. Browse ORNL’s portfolio of information technology and communications innovations.UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. — Brynn Downing

BusinessDay Media Limited Presents the September Edition of the SME Clinic: “Digital Tools for Your Business”

Business News

BusinessDay Media Limited is pleased to announce the September edition of its SME Clinic, an event dedicated to supporting the growth and sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. Set for Thursday, 26th September 2024, at 10:00 AM (WAT), this edition will focus on the theme “Digital Tools for Your Business” and promises to deliver valuable insights and strategies to empower business owners and entrepreneurs.
With the ever changing business landscape, the adoption of digital tools has become increasingly important for SMEs looking to enhance their operations, streamline processes, and improve customer engagement. This SME Clinic will explore how digital transformation can help businesses overcome challenges, reduce costs, and remain competitive in an era of rapid technological advancement.
The event will be moderated by Rakiya Abdul Karim, a prominent TV host, attendees can expect to gain from the experiences and expertise of a highly accomplished panel of speakers:
– Ajoke Yusuf, Country Manager, Treepz
– Mabel Adeteye, Head of Brand & Marketing Communications, WEMA Bank
– Ekundayo Ayeni, CEO, Business Plus Related News
These professionals will dive into how their respective industries have leveraged digital tools to optimize business operations, increase efficiency, and stay competitive. Their presentations will also address specific challenges SMEs face in adopting technology and how these tools can be scaled effectively across various business sizes and sectors.
Linda Ochugbua, Manager of Digital Sales at BusinessDay, explained that “in today’s economic climate, digital tools provide crucial solutions to key challenges faced by SMEs, including limited market access, operational inefficiencies, and customer retention difficulties. By adopting the right technologies, businesses can not only navigate economic uncertainty but also thrive”. The SME Clinic will showcase practical case studies and provide actionable insights on implementing these solutions, making it an essential event for business owners, managers, and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The SME sector is widely regarded as the backbone of the Nigerian economy, contributing significantly to job creation, innovation, and GDP. However, many SMEs continue to struggle with adopting modern business practices, particularly in the digital space. This session will address these gaps by providing participants with comprehensive knowledge of available digital tools, their benefits, and how to use them to scale operations and improve profitability.
Ajoke Yusuf of Treepz, for example, will share how digital platforms have revolutionized mobility and logistics in Africa, helping businesses to increase operational efficiency while reducing costs. Mabel Adeteye of WEMA Bank will discuss the financial sector’s role in supporting SMEs through digital banking solutions, while Ekundayo Ayeni of Business Plus will focus on digital marketing and customer engagement strategies that SMEs can adopt to compete effectively in the marketplace.
To ensure the September SME Clinic is accessible to a wider audience, the event will be streamed live on YouTube, allowing business owners from across the country to participate, regardless of their location. This aligns with BusinessDay’s commitment to providing value and resources to the SME community in Nigeria through innovative and inclusive platforms.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking to adopt new digital tools or an established business aiming to streamline your operations, the September’s SME Clinic offers invaluable knowledge to help you stay ahead of the curve in today’s fast paced digital world.

Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce to host ‘Business After Hours’ networking event

Business News

Chattanooga Chambers is hosting Business After Hours as part of their networking event series for business connections.The event offers Chattanooga Chambers business members the chance to connect with 200 other Chattanooga professionals in a relaxed environment.The event will be held on Thursday, September 19, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Refreshments will be available.To register for the event, go to the Chamber of Commerce ticketing website.

Rezoning OK clears path for 1,300-acre business park in Burke County

Business News

The Burke County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday night to rezone about 780 acres of land for a business park totaling about 1,300 acres.The rezoning to an industrial conditional district makes way for a large business development off Interstate 40 at exit 94. Burke County got more than $35 million from the state in 2023 for Burke County Development Inc. to buy the property to develop it into the Great Meadows megasite. 

The property outlined in orange shows where the potential business park in Burke County would be located. It is more than 1,300 acres, with about 200 acres in McDowell County.

Contributed by Burke County

Chairman Jeff Brittain and commissioners Johnnie Carswell, Scott Mulwee and Randy Burns voted in favor of the rezoning. Commissioner Phil Smith voted against the rezoning.“I have struggled with this. My wife can tell you I’ve laid awake at night not knowing what to do,” Smith said.

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Smith said many reasons were given for why the rezoning should be approved, but “I’m like old King Agrippa, ‘almost thou persuadest me,’ Acts chapter 26.” Smith said he is not persuaded that this is what Burke County taxpayers want.Smith was met with applause from the audience.Some people spoke in opposition to the rezoning, largely regarding its environmental impact. Speakers who opposed the rezoning were applauded by the audience.Meridith Adams and her mother Carla Adams said their family has lived on land beside the proposed business park for five generations.

Meridith Adams shared some of her concerns after the meeting, including the business park’s potential impact on health.

“None of you live there,” Meridith said to commissioners. “None of you are going to have a factory in your backyard, breathing those chemicals. Even if you wanted to grow a garden, now those chemicals are in your soil and you’re going to eat them.”Meridith added: “Did you know that our region, the Appalachian Mountains, are said to be older than bones? That means that when God was making the earth, before he made us, he decided that we needed this area. Who are you to say that you know better than him (God)?”Meridith also said she has heard families say there are slave cemeteries on this land and asked why that has not been investigated.“If there are graves there, they need to be found and either protected or relocated. You can’t just bulldoze on top of them. Those are sacred spaces, they deserve to be respected.”Commissioner Scott Mulwee asked if studies have been conducted regarding cemeteries and native species.President and CEO of Burke Development Inc., the organization developing the business park, Alan Wood said: “Cultural resources and archaeological studies have both been completed and there was nothing identified on those sites that would be disturbed, or that there was anything there that represented either of those.”Carla Adams said the land is beautiful and she enjoys listening to rain fall through the trees.

Carla Adams said she is concerned about the effect having a factory next to her family’s property will have on her great-grandchildren.

“I don’t want to hear factory whistles or traffic going by,” Carla said. “I don’t understand why five people can decide on the community, their well-being. I think it’s a shame that people we trusted, and elected to office to help take care of Burke County citizens, you’ve let greed take over and you don’t care about us any longer.”Carla added: “Let’s put the megasite in your backyard and let’s see how you like it.”Joanna Kentch came representing the nonprofit organization Stop Burke-Lake James Megasite, which she said represents about 3,500 residents of Burke and McDowell counties. The property sits mostly in Burke County, with about 200 acres in McDowell County.“We’re not opposed to building an industry, and we’re not opposed to development and we’re not opposed to economic development,” Kentch said. “What we’re opposed to is an industrial waste manufacturing facility being developed in this pristine area of Lake James.”Developing the business park site would be a boon to economic development in several ways, Burke County Community Development Director Alan Glines said in a presentation at the meeting. The park could bring in industries that create more high-paying manufacturing jobs.Glines said the following operations will not be permitted in the business park:Mining and quarry operationsCarbon black production plant or facilityRaw ore and mineral processing facilitiesAsphalt and concrete production facilityLandfill and toxic incinerator operationsGarbage disposal servicesScrap yardsMetal plating and finishingKentch said there are many other potential areas in Burke County where the business park could go.“Once you … vote and say that it’s going to be OK, there’s no turning back,” Kentch said. “It’s going to be gone and it’s going to destroy beautiful, pristine areas and hurt the wildlife, of course, but also, you’re not worried about what’s down the river from the Catawba River.”Kentch is also concerned that groundwater will be impacted from Burke County on to Charlotte.Representatives from the Lake James Environmental Association, Catawba Riverkeeper and Foothills Conservancy of N.C. spoke during public comments and thanked county leadership for working with the organizations to implement conservation restrictions and environmental safeguards to reduce potential environmental impacts.Shane Prisby with Foothills Conservancy of N.C. said some protections were reduced, including the recommendation for a 300-foot minimum buffer or 100 year floodplain — whichever is greater — along all surface waters and wetlands.“The current conditional rezoning includes a riparian buffer with a minimum width of 75 feet and an average of 100 feet,” Prisby said.During his presentation, Glines said the largest buffer between the edge of the property and development will be about 300 feet along Interstate 40. The roadside buffer along the Dysartsville Road and U.S. Highway 70 is proposed to be 150 feet, Glines said.Glines said homes off U.S. Highway 70 will have a guaranteed buffer of about 150 feet behind their property.“These customized standards will mitigate potential impacts to the surrounding community,” Glines said. “These conditions were developed based on ideas and concerns shared by members of our community.”Resident Stanlena Allen said, considering the vote, all the community could do was hope for the best.

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The Best Business Travel Tech Gadgets To Snag Before AfroTech

Business News

The 2024 AfroTech Conference is set to electrify Houston, Texas, from November 13-16, 2024. Attendees can look forward to engaging panels, networking opportunities, and insights from industry leaders. Tickets are available in various categories, including student and executive options. To secure your spot, visit the AfroTech Conference website and follow the ticket purchase instructions to join this inspiring gathering of tech creators and innovators.

If you’re attending AfroTech but need to stay connected, productive, and comfortable while on the go, these tech gadgets can help your trip. Here are the top five tech gadgets for business travel.

Our Top 5 Picks For Business Travel Essentials

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are a must-have for anyone traveling for business. These earbuds, known for their exceptional noise-canceling capabilities, allow you to focus on work or relax in peace. With up to 24 hours of total listening time and a comfortable fit, they make long journeys a breeze. The intuitive touch controls and seamless Bluetooth connectivity make them both easy to use and reliable. Perfect for business and conference calls or unwinding with your favorite music, these earbuds are a travel essential.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

The Kindle Paperwhite is a lightweight, portable library that fits right into your carry-on. With its glare-free display, you can read as comfortably in bright sunlight as you can in a dimly lit airplane cabin. It boasts a long battery life, lasting weeks on a single charge, and can hold thousands of books. These features make it perfect for both work-related reading and leisure. The waterproof design means you can even enjoy a good book by the pool during your downtime.

Rocketbook Core Smart Notebook

The Rocketbook Core Smart Notebook is perfect for business travelers who prefer handwritten notes but need digital accessibility. Its reusable pages and the ability to upload notes to cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox combine the best of both worlds. Write, scan, and erase, making it an eco-friendly choice that keeps your notes organized and accessible from anywhere.

Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro Wi-Fi Hotspot

Stay connected with the Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro Wi-Fi Hotspot, a portable device that provides fast and secure internet access wherever you are. Perfect for business travelers who need to stay online, it supports multiple devices and enables you and your colleagues to work seamlessly. With its long battery life and robust security features, you can confidently conduct business anywhere, from hotel rooms to remote locations.

Epicka Universal Travel Adapter

The Epicka Universal Travel Adapter is a versatile tool for international business travelers. Compatible with over 150 countries, it ensures you can power your devices no matter where your business takes you. Multiple USB ports and a smart IC chip provide fast and efficient charging for all your gadgets. Its compact design and safety features, like surge protection, make it a reliable companion for AfroTech attendees coming in from abroad.

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Refine strategies to boost local tourism, stakeholders urged

Travel

PETALING JAYA: Tourism industry stakeholders must focus on refining pricing strategies, boosting marketing efforts and investing in infrastructure and service quality if they wish to halt the holiday stampede to neighbouring countries, said Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Faculty Of Business, Economics and Social Development senior lecturer Dr Zaleha Mohamad. She was commenting on the 100,000 Malaysians who left for destinations in Southern Thailand during the long weekend in conjunction with Malaysia Day on Sept 16. Popular tourist spots in that country include Hat Yai, Songkhla, Phatthalung, Trang and Krabi, according to surveys conducted by Thai authorities. She said Malaysia urgently requires a coordinated approach to promote local tourism and address gaps that could make a significant difference in its success. “Malaysians currently prefer Thailand as their vacation destination instead of visiting domestic tourist areas.” Zaleha said Malaysia’s prices for food, staycations and entertainment are often higher than those of neighbouring countries, which deter budget-conscious travellers. “Even duty-free goods are more expensive in Malaysia, which prevents tourists from enjoying a good shopping experience due to the higher prices. “Duty-free shopping can be appealing for certain high-end or luxury items, but if prices remain high overall, travellers will be turned off. “Transparent pricing and clear communication about the benefits of duty-free shopping are essential to enhance its appeal.” Zaleha said while Malaysia’s infrastructure is generally good, there are areas in which improvements in service quality, accessibility and amenities could enhance the tourist experience. She said the government should capitalise on the country’s unique cultural and natural assets, such as its diverse heritage, tropical rainforests and culinary variety to differentiate itself from competitors. “Malaysians should explore and support local tourism more actively. Discovering the unique offerings within Malaysia can be just as enriching and enjoyable as travelling abroad, and it helps contribute to the local economy too.” Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Faculty of Hospitality, Tourism and Wellness senior lecturer Nik Alif Nik Hashim said Thailand is known for its lively nightlife, night markets, street food and Thai massages, making it a popular holiday destination. Nik Alif said the short distance to Thailand makes it easy for Malaysians to make quick trips there. The lower prices of goods, hotels and food also make Thailand a budget-friendly choice. He added that Thailand’s rich culture, history and friendly locals, combined with accessible travel routes to the country, and its shopping havens, relaxation offerings and adventure spots appeal to Malaysian travellers. He said while the “Malaysia Truly Asia” campaign has achieved some recognition, its marketing has been less assertive and lacks variety. Nik Alif urged the government to focus on improving the affordability and quality of tourism services to stay competitive in the global market, particularly by enhancing infrastructure in rural areas that feature appealing tourist destinations “Thailand’s marketing is more prominent and targeted, effectively reaching niche sectors such as wellness, adventure and luxury tourism, which is far more popular than Malaysia’s. “With campaigns like ‘Amazing Thailand’, it has successfully positioned itself as a leading global tourist destination. It has showcased its rich culture, bustling cities and picturesque beaches. “Thailand’s strength is in its marketing, which is impactful, and promoted around the world.”