CNN Press Room

First Bank is Exclusive Sponsor Of CNN International’s New Series, ‘African Start-Up’

CNN International today announced that First Bank is the exclusive sponsor of a new weekly segment series, ‘African Start-Up’.

First Bank’s integrated campaign runs across TV and digital, including sponsorship of a weekly sponsored segment in ‘Global Exchange’; weekly commercial vignettes; sponsorship of a bi-monthly 30 minute show and sponsorship of the ‘African Start-Up’ microsite, www.cnn.com/africanstartup

Celine DeCarlo, Account Director CNN International Ad Sales said, “We’re delighted that First Bank has chosen to connect with CNN’s global audience of key business decision makers and opinion leaders around the world via ‘African Start-Up’. This is the first time CNN has created dedicated programming looking at African SMEs. First Bank’s exclusive sponsorship provides a unique opportunity to support a series that will shed fresh light on the successful entrepreneurs contributing to the growth and development of Africa’s economy.”

Folake Ani-Mumuney, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank said, “We are proud to sponsor ‘African Start-Up’ on CNN International. SMEs play a critical role as the engine of growth in the economy, providing employment to thousands of people and contributing significantly to GDP. This segment is a critical platform for repositioning the national economy for sustained growth, and one which aligns with First Bank’s position as the No.1 SME Bank in Nigeria.”

About African Start-Up:

‘African Start-Up’ follows several SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) entrepreneurs in various African countries to see how they’re working to make their dreams become reality. It explores how they generate their ideas, formulate business plans, raise capital and distribute their products. The entrepreneurs take viewers through their daily challenges, where the rules are not defined, the setbacks are frustrating and opportunities exist for those with vision and creativity.

The weekly series airs Wednesdays in ‘Global Exchange’ at 1600 GMT / 1700 WAT / 1800 SAST / 1900 EAT. Every two months, viewers will be able to catch up with all the segments in a 30 minute special, from January 2014.

The programme is the latest addition to CNN’s African programming roster, comprising ‘Inside Africa’, ‘CNN Marketplace Africa’ and ‘African Voices’.

A dedicated CNN website www.cnn.com/africanstartup encourages user participation, and serves as a forum for ideas.

For further information, please contact:

Joel Brown
Senior Press Officer
CNN Europe, Middle East & Africa
Tel: + 44 20 7693 0967
Joel.brown@turner.com

ENDS

About CNN International

CNN’s portfolio of news and information services is available in five different languages across all major TV, internet and mobile platforms reaching more than 375 million households around the globe. CNN International, awarded “News Channel of the Year” by the Royal Television Society in March 2013, is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region and Latin America. The CNN digital network is consistently one of the top news and current affairs destination on the web. CNN has 45 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource. CNN International is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.