AFRICA

Marketing dilemma: to invest or not to invest in Africa?
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] For the past year or so, African governments and marketers have stepped up campaigns aiming to convince potential investors to do business in Africa despite a litany of serious problems hampering the continent's socio-economic development.

Scangroup eyes West African market
Breaking into the lucrative West African market tops the “to do” list of advertising and media services firm Scangroup which only listed at the Nairobi stock market in 2006.

Call for submissions for Encounters Africa Shorts 2009
Encounters in partnership with the SABC and the Jan Vrijman Fund call for submissions for the Africa Shorts 2009. Following on the success of the first Africa Shorts workshop and productions launched at Encounters this year, Encounters, SABC and the Jan Vrijman Fund are running a four-day storytelling and production workshop this year.

Dutch export their refuse to Africa
Dutch councils are indirectly profiting from the dumping of hazardous substances in Africa. Electronic equipment that is imported as second-hand goods is often dumped straight away. A change in regulations in the Netherlands has made the trade in superfluous electronic goods possible.

Kenya opens first e-waste management plant
Computers For Schools Kenya (CFSK) has opened East Africa's first e-waste management plant in Embakasi, Kenya, to handle the region's electronic recycling needs.

US$6bn to be spent on submarine and terrestrial fibre-optic cable developments in Africa
In the last decade or so, investment in Africa's ICT infrastructure has improved significantly. However, marked deficiencies persist in the backbone networks across the continent.

AFRICA

Africa's new voice
[Janine Erasmus] Africa will soon get a new dedicated 24-hour independent news channel. In the spirit of CNN, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and South Africa's own recently-launched eNews channel, A24 will bring news from the African continent delivered from an African perspective. The Nairobi-based initiative is the brainchild of Kenyan Salim Amin, the son of renowned cameraman Mohamed Amin, who died in a plane crash in 1996.


MISA Malawi protest over ban on parlimentary proceedings coverage
[Gregory Gondwe] The Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has protested over government's decision to ban live coverage of parliamentary proceedings currently underway in Malawi.


Primedia Outdoor strengthens SADC region development commitment
Primedia Outdoor has sold 25,1% of its Namibia operations to the Namibia Mineworkers Investment Holding Company (NAMIC).

Cyber Lotto partners with Zain on mobile lottery
[Gregory Gondwe] Cyber Lotto Limited has acquired African Lotteries Limited (AFLOT) and has partnered with the mobile service provider, Zain Malawi to operate online and mobile lottery games.

Facebook, Coca-Cola and medical aid in Africa
A recent development on Facebook has shown that social networking may be more powerful than simply a vehicle for gossip between friends, co-workers and ex-significant others.

KENYA

Nairobi advertisers get the message across using local talent
[Vuyo Mkosi] What first strikes you about Nairobi is the vast number of outdoor advertising sites visible. The city is littered with outdoor, positioned at every roundabout, in every neighbourhood and on most streets. These are not just small or average-sized billboards either, they are all huge.

Nokia to open research unit in Africa
Nokia is set to open a unit in Africa to carry out research into its products and services across the continent.

AFRICA

Zim auction firm resorts to barter trade
[Dumisani Ndlela] An auction company, Hammer and Tongues Auctioneers has introduced a new barter trade system for its car auction, as the Zimbabwe dollar remains under assault from rampaging inflation.

AFRICA

How much damage will Mauritania's coup do to Africa?
African governments are now anxious to attract booming foreign investment on the continent and nervous that coups or crises like that in Zimbabwe, whose economy has collapsed, will frighten off overseas investors.


Trouble out of Africa
London: Africa's tempting natural resources have attracted huge investment from mining companies and oil explorers, but the risks were evident on Wednesday as the military seized power in Mauritania and miners went on strike nationwide in South Africa. Investment in Africa, however, is unlikely to suffer.

UCT GSB hold roundtable on WTO Warwick Commission's report
[Dr Mills Soko] A new report by global trade experts is shedding light on ways in which the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can evolve to better resolve trade troubles. The UCT Graduate School of Business this June played host to a special roundtable to discuss the findings of the Warwick Commission's report on the state of the global trade system.