Congrats to Johan-Allan Namu![](https://biz-file.com/b/0907/29906.jpg?1) Congratulations are in order for Kenya's Johan-Allan Namu who won the title of CNN Multichoice African Journalist 2009 over the weekend. Namu also made history by scooping both the Television News Award and Television Features Award for his work on Kenya Television News (KTN). He is now not only an inspiration to aspiring journalists in his home country but to those across the African continent as well. Africa has the brains but it also has the beauty. Face of Africa 2009 will also run its course and concludes the 14-episode series in early 2010 in Nigeria. There are plenty of other innovations added to the competition, one of them being that participants are able to apply online, so let the search begin. There's nothing to cheer about though for wine and spirit consumers in Zimbabwe as finance minister Tendai Biti announced an increased customs duty on these products. But then perhaps it is not the best option to be spending cash on wine and spirits during an economic downturn. This is not the only upset on the continent this week as a joint venture between Russian energy giant Gazprom and the Nigerian state oil company encounter one of the "worst branding disasters of all time" by naming the project NIGAZ. Investment in Africa is always welcome but perhaps a brand surgeon should be on hand at all times. Cheers! Sindy Peters, Content manager Send all your Africa marketing news to africanews@bizcommunity.com. Today's top stories
Branding
[Darren Olivier] Thinking of taking your business international? Take a moment to consider the latest brand blunder caused by the name the new joint venture between Russian energy giant Gazprom and the Nigerian state oil company - to be called NIGAZ, and then contact your branding advisors. Read more >> Digital
[Titus Kaloki] According to the Harvard Business Review (HBR), July/August 2008 issue, acceleration in market competition among industries in the US economy was due to the internet and enterprise IT, not because more products were becoming digitalised but because more processes are. Read more >> Media
![](https://biz-file.com/c/0907/33637.jpg?r=1) Dual category winner, Johan-Allan Namu, from Kenya, scooped the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist of the year 2009 award in Durban at the weekend in an event that was transmitted live to the continent. Read more >>Mobile
Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe's largest telecoms operator, has reported a strong improvement in performance due to its accelerated drive to sign on new subscribers. Read more >>[Sean Pashley] At the end of June 2009 Google announced the launch of Google SMS in partnership with MTN Uganda. The Google SMS offering is a suite of mobile applications, which provide access (via SMS) to information on a variety of topics such as weather, news, agricultural tips etc. In addition, the product includes Google Trader, which is effectively a marketplace where people can, in their own words, sell a variety of products such as cars, crops, jobs and much more. Ultimately, Google will expand the offering into a variety of African territories. Read more >> Research
According to a report from Balancing Act, the top mobile markets in East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands are amongst the most liberalised on the continent. The top three markets are Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and they all have approximately 10 million subscribers. Read more >>Retail
[Dumisani Ndlela] It's no longer cheers for local wine and spirit lovers. Come August, they will pay more for wines and spirits, after finance minister Tendai Biti increased customs duty on these products. Read more >>Johannesburg: Large-scale food assistance to Zimbabweans could start in the next few weeks, according to a USAID situation report released on 16 July 2009. Read more >>TV
M-Net has announced that Face of Africa 2009 will air as a 14-episode television series, rather than a four-part special as done in previous years. Entrants can enter online and the finale will be held in Nigeria, in February 2010. Read more >>Youth Marketing
![](https://biz-file.com/c/0907/33597.jpg) Mahmoud Bouneb, executive general manager of the Pan-Arab, Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC), will give the MIPJUNIOR closing keynote on Sunday 4 October. The 17th edition of MIPJUNIOR, the world's showcase for children's and youth programming screenings, will be held on the 3-4 October at the Intercontinental Carlton Hotel, Cannes. Read more >> "You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give." - Winston Churchill Print - Print any item in this newsletter. Email - Email any item in this newsletter. Comment - Comment on any item in this newsletter. | | Advertisement:![](https://biz-file.com/b/0905/27943.gif) Advertisement:![](https://biz-file.com/b/0906/29056.gif)
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