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Plateau State Governor Joins Nigerian Governors at UNDP-NGF Executive Leadership Retreat in Kigali

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Governor Mutfwang in Kigali 2 UNDP NGF

In a bid to strengthen governance structures and bolster leadership effectiveness at the sub-national level, Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, has joined fellow Nigerian governors at the ongoing Executive Leadership Retreat. The event is jointly organized by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is taking place in Kigali, Rwanda.

The primary objective of the retreat is to provide a platform for governors to engage in strategic discussions aimed at enhancing the efficiency and impact of leadership within Nigeria’s states. Governor Mutfwang, known for his unwavering commitment to value-driven governance in the interest of Plateau State, is enthusiastic about the potential of the leadership methodologies under consideration during the retreat. He believes these innovative approaches could pave the way for transforming challenges faced by both Plateau State and the broader Nigerian context into opportunities for growth and development.

Under the theme “Rethinking Leadership and Leading Systems,” the retreat encompasses a diverse array of sub-themes, including an exploration of the future trajectory of Nigeria under the theme “Reimagining Nigeria: Exploring the Future of the Nation.” The agenda also features a moderated dialogue focusing on contemporary leadership within an ever-evolving global landscape.

The collaborative initiative between the NGF and UNDP marks a significant stride towards elevating governance standards and fostering progressive leadership within Nigeria. As the retreat continues to unfold, governors from across the nation are expected to exchange insights, share best practices, and collectively chart a course towards a more prosperous future for their respective states and the entire nation.

Governor Mutfwang in Kigali (2)

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New leaders, new fund: Sequoia has raised $7B to expand its AI bets

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Few venture firms have bet more aggressively on AI than Sequoia Capital, and it isn’t slowing down.

The Silicon Valley stalwart has raised roughly $7 billion for a new fund, according to Bloomberg. Sequoia declined TechCrunch’s request for comment. The money will go toward what the firm calls its “expansion strategy” — essentially its late-stage investing arm, focused on the U.S. and Europe — and it’s nearly double Sequoia’s last comparable fund, a $3.4 billion vehicle raised in 2022.

That growth in fund size reflects something bigger: late-stage investing has taken on an entirely new meaning in the AI era. Companies can now scale at a speed and cost that would have been unimaginable a decade ago, and the firms backing them have to keep pace.

The money signals where Sequoia sees the future: deeply embedded in AI, from the giants building the underlying technology to the startups putting it to work. The firm has backed two of the most prominent players in the AI race — OpenAI originally and, more recently, Anthropic — both of which are reportedly eyeing public listings in 2026. The development that could mean a significant payday for the firm.

Sequoia isn’t only swinging for the foundational AI heavyweights, however. It has also placed bets on other buzzy startups, including Physical Intelligence, the Bay Area robotics startup, and Factory, which builds AI agents for enterprise engineering teams.

The fundraise is also the first major capital raise under Sequoia’s new leadership, with Alfred Lin and Pat Grady now serving as co-stewards of the 54-year-old firm.

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Factory hits $1.5B valuation to build AI coding for enterprises

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More than three years after the emergence of generative AI, AI-assisted coding remains by far the most popular and lucrative use case for the technology.

Although multiple companies — including Anthropic, maker of Claude Code, as well as Cursor and Cognition — are already vying for dominance, investors believe there is room for at least one more player.

On Wednesday, Factory, a startup developing AI agents for enterprise engineering teams, announced it had raised $150 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, and Blackstone. Keith Rabois, a managing director at Khosla Ventures, joined the startup’s board.

Factory founder Matan Grinberg told the Wall Street Journal that the company’s key differentiator is its ability to switch between different foundation models, such as Anthropic’s Claude or Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. However, startups like Cursor also don’t rely on a single model to generate code.

Factory’s customers include engineering teams at Morgan Stanley, Ernst & Young, and Palo Alto Networks.

The startup was founded in 2023 after Grinberg, then a PhD student at UC Berkeley, cold-emailed Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire. The two bonded over mutual academic interest. (Maguire’s PhD from Caltech is in the same area of physics Grinberg was studying.)

Maguire convinced Grinberg to drop out and launch Factory, with Sequoia backing the startup at the seed stage.

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