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December 19, 2022
Ghana: Fintech Bezo Money Raises US$750,000 to Offer Social Financial Products and Services
The mobile phone financial ecosystem is steadily growing in depth and one of the more successful areas is small-scale loans. Russell Southwood spoke to Bezo Money CEO Mubarak… Read more »
December 14, 2022
Africa: Seventeen Years After Initial Deadline Sub-Saharan Africa Has Still Not Completed Digital Switch Over in Broadcasting
14 December 2022 Read more »
November 25, 2022
Africa: MTN's Social Platform Ayoba Has 10.5 Million Actives and Is Targeting 100 Million By the End of 2025
As African mobile operators seek to reinvent themselves for a digital future, one key area for competition will be social platform services. MTN picked up the challenge in 2019… Read more »
November 11, 2022
Africa: Africa Tech Festival/Africacom 2022 - Those Not Busy Being Reborn Are Busy Dying
Understandably this year's Africa Tech Festival/AfricaCom 2022 was smaller than the last time it happened. But there was a visible sense of relief at being able to meet… Read more »
November 04, 2022
Africa: Report Lashes Kenya State Broadcaster's Failings
A small number of Africa's state broadcasters have re-invented themselves for the digital age and as a consequence have sharpened their content offer. But in the main they have… Read more »
October 28, 2022
Africa: Nivi's Mobile-Based 'Conversational Marketplace' in Health Looks to Create an Ecosystem of Partners Who Are Interested in User Acquisition
Once upon a time every last NGO was creating pilot health apps in Sub-Saharan Africa. But those that have gained some deeper understanding are now getting into their stride. On a… Read more »
October 21, 2022
Africa: Newly Released Audience Survey Gives Pointers to Programming Preferences Across the Continent
21 October 2022- Satellite operator Intelsat's Media Market Watch 2022 gives broadcasters a peek into the programming preferences in six key African TV markets. Russell Southwood… Read more »
October 14, 2022
Africa: Open Access Data Centres Puts Money On Edge Computing for Sub-Saharan Africa
WIOCC's Open Access Data Centers has said it will invest US$500 million in data centres across Sub-Saharan Africa in the next five years. Russell Southwood spoke this week to Open… Read more »
October 07, 2022
Nigeria: The Advertising Regulation Council of Nigeria (Arcon) Sues Meta and Its Local Agent for Failing to Get Its Advertising Approved
Nigeria's advertising regulator ARCON has chosen to pick a fight with social media giant Meta over advertising approval and content. Russell Southwood looks at the implications of… Read more »
September 30, 2022
Africa: Zambia Looks to Become a Potential Communications Hub
Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking to turn the disadvantages of being landlocked into advantages. He says the country should see itself as strategically located and… Read more »
September 23, 2022
Africa: Ghana's GIBA Wins Case to Prevent Regulator Introducing Conditional Access for License Revenue Collection By Stealth
The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) went to court over what it argued was the regulator's (NCA) 'backdoor' introduction of conditional access as a standard on… Read more »
September 16, 2022
South Africa: Two South African Local Municipalities Seek to Use Digital to Deliver Better Services to Their Users
South African local government has a long history of underperforming in terms of providing services to the people who live in their local areas. Digitalizing these services is one… Read more »
September 09, 2022
Africa: Multichoice Seeks to Ride Video Streaming 'Tiger' Through Aggregation Strategy and Unique Local Content
Although MultiChoice's Pay TV subscriber numbers grew in its FY 22 results, the average amount per subscriber fell. But despite strong headwinds it remains confident about the… Read more »
September 02, 2022
Angola: Africell Angola Hits 5 Million Subscriber Mark and Will Roll-Out 5G in and Around Luanda
Africell's newest operation in Angola is proving that well-financed mobile competition can still energize African markets. Russell Southwood spoke to Christopher Lundh, CEO,… Read more »
August 26, 2022
Nigeria: Broadcast Regulators Threaten to Shut Down Stations Defaulting On Operating Licences - Fair Move or Undue Pressure?
Regulating media in general (and broadcasting in particular) is always a deeply 'political' activity in Sub-Saharan Africa. This week Russell Southwood looks at moves by the… Read more »
August 19, 2022
Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa's Mobile Operators Fail to Shift Dial On Market's Gender Divide On Internet Use
19 August 2022 - Despite a significant long-term GSMA initiative, Sub-Saharan Africa's mobile operators have over five years failed to close the gender gap on mobile internet use… Read more »
August 12, 2022
Africa: Canal+ Group Continues to Make Moves That Will See It Become the Dominant Pay-TV Player Across All Sub-Saharan Africa
12 August 2022 - Vivendi-owned pay TV operator Canal+ is increasingly flexing its commercial muscle across the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. As an independent, South Africa's… Read more »
August 07, 2022
Africa: The Long, Slow Death of Mobile Competition
Several decades ago competition was introduced to the new African mobile markets. Competition was supposed to deliver three things: cheaper prices, better service and innovation.… Read more »
July 29, 2022
Africa: African Broadcasters - How to Respond to the Digital Challenge in Increasingly Tough Economic Times
Africa's broadcasters nearly all took a financial hit during Covid-19 and are now about to face the impact of a global economic downturn. Russell Southwood tries to unpick the… Read more »
July 21, 2022
Africa: Ambitious 35-Year History of the Impact of Mobile and Internet On Sub-Saharan Africa Out Now
It's a firm principle of Balancing Act's News Update that we don't blow our own trumpet. But forgive me for making this week an exception. Manchester University Press published my… Read more »
July 08, 2022
Africa: Keeping Data Safe in Sub-Saharan Africa
Moving to the cloud has moved from being a conference 'buzz phrase' to something that African companies are doing in increasing numbers. Russell Southwood spoke to Andrew Mori,… Read more »
July 01, 2022
Kenya: Kenya's Kukua Lands Landmark U.S.$6 Million Investment Deal to Create a Kids' Edutainment Brand
In what is probably the first deal of its kind at this scale, Nairobi-based edutainment company Kukua has raised US$6 million to build a digitally-focused brand based on its… Read more »
June 24, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: Intelsat's Cellbackhaul Offers DRC Mobile Operators a New Business to Reach Remote Areas Not Connected to Fibre
With the growing spread of regional and national fibre, satellite operators have had to come up with new ways of selling their connectivity for mobile backhaul. Russell Southwood… Read more »
June 17, 2022
Africa: Mettlestate and Intel Launch Continent's First Esports Competition
South African e-sports games organizer Mettlestate has teamed up with Intel (which runs these kinds of events globally) to launch Africa's first pan-continental e-sports… Read more »
June 10, 2022
Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa's Top 10 Nightmare Wholesale Bandwidth Markets
As the continent's bandwidth requirements continue to ramp up, enormous progress has been made in terms of national, regional and international fibre networks. Prices continue to… Read more »
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