AFRICA

Africa Centre of Excellence in Marketing launched

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] In a joint initiative, Coca-Cola South Africa and Wits Business School (WBS), last night, Thursday, 15 April 2010, launched the Africa Centre of Excellence in Marketing in Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa. The R4 million project will support the continent's marketing industry on numerous levels, including raising African marketers' skills and enhancing the continent's business sustainability. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Local music gets World Cup boost, OTC ticket sales open

An agreement to feature more local artists at the Official Kick-off Concert for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and an announcement that the SABC will play only South African and African music on its 15 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) division's radio stations means visitors and fans will experience SA sound more fully during the World Cup. Over the counter ticket sales opened yesterday, Thursday, 15 April 2010, so pop down to join the crowds and buy your tickets and sing along through the games. Read more >>

AFRICA

World Cup fans to get free visas

CAPE TOWN: Soccer fans that have tickets to the 2010 FIFA World Cup and needed a visa to visit South Africa will be able to obtain them for free on entering South Africa. Read more >>

AFRICA

Tourist buddies for World Cup tourists

[Nosimilo Ramela] Kwazulu-Natal province has launched a R1.5-million (US$205 000) training programme for 1,500 volunteers aptly named “tourist buddies”, who will provide helpful tourism information and friendly service to 2010 FIFA World Cup visitors. Read more >>

ZIMBABWE

Gary Thompson helps rebrand Zimbabwe PSL

[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's Premier Soccer League (PSL) has roped in advertising and marketing guru, Gary Thompson, for a charm offensive on an unenthusiastic corporate sector as it battles to secure cash and sponsorship deals. Read more >>

AFRICA

Will Google's advertising investment in Chrome payoff?

[Craig Kolb] In September 2008, Google Chrome was released to the world as an alternative to Microsoft's market leading Internet Explorer. Americans have since been subjected to an unprecedented barrage of advertising which fortunately or unfortunately we seem to have escaped in Africa. Read more >>

AFRICA

NPCA wins award for Africa Rural Connect

WASHINGTON, DC: The Interactive Media Council has awarded the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) for its Africa Rural Connect (ARC) project, an online project launched last summer. The NPCA is this year's awardee of an Interactive Media Award (IMA). With an overall score of 463 under the category “agriculture,” ARC won the 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award, the second highest honour bestowed by IMA. Read more >>

CENTRAL AFRICA

WAN-IFRA condemns Congo journalist murder

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum (WEF) have called on the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo to conduct an investigation into the recent murder of Patient Chebeya Bankome, a journalist in the country. Read more >>

NORTH AFRICA

Sudanese journalist charged with 'waging war' against state

NEW YORK: The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday, 14 April 2010, called on the Sudanese authorities to immediately drop criminal charges against prominent journalist and opposition party member Al-Haj Ali Warrag. Read more >>

AFRICA

ME and Africa handset market continues to grow

Market intelligence and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Wednesday (14 April 2010) that the Middle East and Africa (MEA) mobile handset market grew marginally during 2009 as the effects of the global economic crisis continued to bite. Read more >>

AFRICA

Africadoc launches South African session

Africadoc, a programme for the development of African documentary cinema has, this year, launched its first South African session taking place currently till 23 April 2010 at AFDA Film School in Johannesburg, South Africa. Read more >>

AFRICA

Fleishman Hillard SA hosts African counterparts

Fleishman Hillard (FH) South Africa recently hosted the MDs from its African partner offices in Joburg to discuss the building of African PR capacity in the wake of recovering business levels and the run-up to the World Cup. The meeting saw partners representing Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, Zambia and Cape Town in attendance. Read more >>

EAST AFRICA

Somalia: Radio music banned

Radio stations in southern and central Somalia stopped playing music and jingles on Tuesday (13 April 2010) under a ban ordered by Islamist insurgent group Hizbul Islam. The rebels announced the ban earlier this month claiming songs are un-Islamic. Read more >>

AFRICA

SA, Tunisia can contribute to Africa's growth

PRETORIA: South Africa and Tunisia can contribute to Africa's development, says SA Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. Read more >>

AFRICA

No news was bad news for Gauteng, CNBC

[Chantelle Benjamin] When it came to light that business channel CNBC Africa, a unit of US-based news network CNBC, received more than R40m in two years from the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC), the question most asked was: why the secrecy? The public was never informed about the deal when it was signed in 2005 under the tenure of then Gauteng economic development MEC Paul Mashatile. Read more >>