NIGERIA

Branded TV entertainment keeps audiences glued

[Oguntimehin Olufemi Olamide] It remains a serious battle for advertisers to draw TV target audiences into watching commercials and then entice them to act upon the ads. Viewers are fond of channel hopping during ad breaks; in Nigeria, for example, the lack of television content has been blamed for this avoidance, yet even with the introduction of satellite TV and local stations loaded with content, this has not changed. Read more >>

NIGERIA

Flying Dove opens new Sony showrooms in Lagos

LAGOS: Flying Dove, a distributor of Sony consumer electronics products in Nigeria commissioned on 26 June 2009 two new Sony Showrooms in Lagos. They are located at the Palms Shopping Mall and at Victoria Island. Read more >>

KENYA

Journalists' trauma book launched in Kenya

The Kenya Correspondent's Association (KCA) and Kenya Association of Photographers, Illustrators and Designers (KAPIDE) launched a journalist's trauma booklet, The Healing Messenger, on 26 June 2009. The booklet is published by the International Media Support (IMS), and provides insight into the trauma experienced by journalists covering the post-election violence in Kenya in early 2008. Read more >>

AFRICA

Africa Business Reporting Awards 2009 winners announced

Diageo announced the winners of the 6th Africa Business Reporting Awards at a gala ceremony at Sheraton Park Lane, Piccadilly, London last night, 2 July 2009. Xan Rice from The Guardian and the New Statesman won the award for Journalist of the Year 2009. Read more >>

CENTRAL AFRICA

Malawians hail Zain, Western Union partnership

[Gregory Gondwe] A number of Malawians that are also clients of one of the country's mobile phone service providers and use Western Union banking services have hailed the two institutions' partnership. Read more >>

AFRICA

YouTube doubles video file size to 2G

WASHINGTON: Video-sharing site YouTube announced on Wednesday, 1 July 2009 that it was doubling the size limit for uploads to its website to allow users to post more high-definition (HD) video. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

MasterCard survey: SA consumer confidence declines

Despite the decline, however, South Africans remain optimistic overall and are the third most optimistic in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa region. The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence was released on 1 July 2009. Read more >>

UGANDA

Economy-Uganda: Traders go down as prices go up

[Wambi Michael] KAMPALA: With the world economy in the grip of a credit crunch, traders and consumers in Uganda are struggling with price inflation and the depreciation of the country's currency, the Ugandan shilling, against the dollar. Especially importers have not been able to bring goods in which were ordered when prices were lower. Read more >>

MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique: IMF approves US$176 million for exogenous shocks

[Arao Valoi] The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday, 1 July 2009, approved a 12-month, SDR of 113.6 million (about US$176 million) for Mozambique under the IMF's Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF) to cushion the country from the effects of the global economic downturn, said Felix Fischer, IMF resident representative in Mozambique. Read more >>

AFRICA

Inclusive economies for women needed in development

[Alison Walkley] One of the last discussions to occur at the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development, which took place on 26 June 2009, saw leaders from the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and representatives from Australia, Finland, and Nicaragua convene to discuss gender equality and its role in economic recovery and sustainable development. Read more >>

EAST AFRICA

Samsung's internet enabled TV hits East Africa market

[Walter Wafula] Samsung Electronics has unveiled a flat-panel TV with a provision to access content on various websites, in East Africa. The 29mm LED TV was launched in Kenya at the end of June 2009. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Courses set for August and September in Johannesburg and Cape Town - Quo Vadis Communications

Organisational communication training specialists, Quo Vadis Communications, is to run two additional courses before the year's end to meet demand. Read more >>