C&C Alpha Group Sponsors Mother and Baby Nutrition Conference

LONDON, January 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

London-based investment company C & C Alpha Group has sponsored a high-powered academic weekend symposium on nutrition for mothers and babies in the developing world.

The event organised by Templeton Green College in Oxford was attended by  C&C Alpha executive director Bhanu Choudrie and chief executive officer Cherian Thomas.

The event, which took place at Egrove Park in the city from 9-12 January, was part of the college's on-going series of annual meetings  under the Emerging Markets Symposia umbrella, which has been sponsored by C&C since 2008.

C&C announced at this year's gathering that sponsorship for the event would continue until at least 2018 with a further financial contribution of £600,000.

Mr Choudhrie said after the meeting: "We are delighted to support the EMS 2014 on a subject very close to our hearts -Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in emerging markets. This completes five years of the EMS and long may it continue. It was a great pleasure to see many academics and other experts in attendance and I believe that some serious steps forward were made."

The EMS brings together influential leaders in a dedicated forum to systematically address issues of human welfare that are critical in emerging market countries.

It aims to enhance public understanding of those issues and to promote the implementation of its recommendations through changes in public and private sector policies and practises.

This mission is consistent with GTC's objective of promoting understanding of the issues of managing human welfare in the modern world as well as its commitment to the flow of ideas across traditional disciplinary and professional boundaries.

Symposia take the form of extended conversations under the Chatham House Rule. Conclusions are actively disseminated and participants advocate their implementation.

Participation is by invitation and limited to 50 individuals, most of whom hold (or have previously held) senior positions in government, corporations, the voluntary sector, multilateral organisations and academia. A core group of participants is joined each year by scholars and practitioners in relevant fields.

Symposia to date have focused on: health and healthcare (2009); urbanisation, health and human security (2011), tertiary education (2012) and gender inequality (2013).

The EMS is headed by a steering group chaired by His Excellency Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Its patron is Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of Oxford University.

Professor Sir David Watson, Principal of GTC, said: "In a relatively short space of time, the EMS has become recognised around the world as a valuable contribution to the contemporary human welfare agenda. It represents the 'convening power' of Oxford University and the College at its very best."

Commenting on the C&C Alpha group support, Ian Scott, GTC Associate Fellow and Executive Director of the EMS, added: "The support of EMS's main sponsor the C&C Alpha group and their commitment to the on-going programme has been critical to the Symposium's success and impact over the last five years and we are looking forward to even greater success in the future with their continuing support."

Notes to editors

Green Templeton College is a graduate-only college of Oxford University with an intellectual agenda focusing on understanding the challenges of human welfare in the 21st century. The College is home to a number of academic initiatives, including the Emerging Markets Symposium; the Oxford Health Experiences Institute and the Global Health Policy Programme. http://www.gtc.ox.ac.uk

The Emerging Markets Symposium brings together authoritative and influential leaders from governments, the public and private sectors and academe to address sectoral issues that are critical to human welfare in emerging market countries; to enhance public understanding of those issues; and to promote changes in public and private sector policies and practises to implement their recommendations. Before its creation in 2008, human welfare problems - which, given the scale and trajectory of emerging markets are global problems - were not being systematically addressed in any existing forum. ems.gtc.ox.ac.uk

C&C Alpha Group (CCAG) was founded by Bhanu Choudhrie in 2002, with headquarters in London and offices in Singapore, India and United Arab Emirates. It was  established to serve as a holding company for a group of private investors who have been in the business of venture capital funding for more than 30 years. CCAG's experienced team includes successful entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, project managers, project developers & financial analysts. CCAG has a proven track record of successfully incubating businesses in the field of Healthcare, Hospitality, Real Estate, Aviation, Utilities and Agriculture across geographies.

At C&C Alpha Group we aim to create stakeholder value through organic growth and strategic partnerships by backing management teams with proven track records and pursuing opportunities that create value in the medium to long term ultimately taking pride in incubating star projects and transitioning them from entrepreneurial risk taking to structured growth. We invest into businesses which have the potential to leverage CCAG's international and cross industry expertise to create synergies which optimise on our strengths of incubating and building business value.

Contact: Eben Black, Partner, Newgate Communications +44(0)7887-636-914 eben.black@newgatecomms.com

Jessica Stevens, C&C Alpha Group, +44(0)207-630-0808  jessica.stevens@ccalphagroup.co.uk