See you in 2011!From the number of "out of office" replies I've been receiving of late after sending out the daily newsletter, it's fair to say a large number of you are already in the festive mood and enjoying the silly season. It's been a fairly smooth year as everyone took recovering from the global economic crisis in their stride - some failed while some showed true resilience and today are flourishing. In Africa the mobile sector is the talk of the globe over with growth at a phenomenal rate - active mobile subscriptions in Africa crossed the 500 million mark this year. Bridging the digital divide no longer seems like such a feat with the possibility of mobile internet access allowing Africans to frog-leap lagging technology now falling into irrelevance. It's going to be an awesome year for Africa with plenty of innovations and successes not just in the mobile sector but in the digital sector as well. This being my last newsletter for 2010, let's toast to the past year and to 2011; may we all share in the fruits mother Africa is to bear! Keep safe during your travels and festivities and keep an eye out from 10 January 2011 for the first newsletter of the year. Viva Africa, viva, Sindy Peters, Africa editor
PS. All those invited to contribute to Biz 2011 Trends Africa, please submit your pieces by Monday, 10 January 2011. Other thoughtleaders in the African media, marketing and advertising industries may contact africanews@bizcommunity.com for more information.
Responses to this column welcomed in our online editor's column archive.
Send all your Africa marketing news africanews@bizcommunity.com.
Today's top stories
Special focus on media freedom
NEW YORK: The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns harassment of the Lebanese news website Al-Akhbar after it published US diplomatic cables that were first disclosed by WikiLeaks. The website was hacked this week by unknown attackers, while the Tunisian government blocked domestic access to the site. Read more >>Marketing
Travel and Cuisine magazine has voted Kenya the New Desired Destination 2010 in China. Kenya was awarded the new status alongside Spain, Turkey, Egypt and Italy after selection and voting carried out by veterans from travel trade, and internet browsers. Read more >> Digital
[André-Michel Essoungou] In the mid-1990s, as the use of mobile phones spread in much of the developed world, few thought of Africa as a potential market. Now, with more than 400 million subscribers, its market is larger than North America's and is growing faster than in any other region. Read more >> Google recently released its 2010 Zeitgeist results revealing the top search terms globally as well as a few country-specific results. Apart from South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria were the only other Africa countries listed in detail. Facebook featured in second place as one of the most popular search items in both countries highlighting the speedy growth of social media in Africa. Read more >>NEW YORK: Facebook is challenging Google's supremacy on the internet with a radically different approach to how people live, work, play and search online. Read more >>The South African Department of Communications commemorated Africa Telecommunications Day early last week in celebration of the establishment of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU). The ATU, established by the African Union on 7 December 1977, fosters the development of ICT infrastructure and services. Read more >>Media
Aboubakr Jamaï, the co-founder and former managing director of the weekly newspaper Le Journal Hebdomadaire and a pioneer of the independent press in Morocco, has been awarded the 2010 Gebran Tueni Award, the annual prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) that honours an editor or publisher from the Arab region. Read more >>Online Media
Here are the top ten most read articles on Bizcommunity Africa for 2010. The MTN Group had the South African public excited when they announced the Zakhele shares on offer and it seems Google are in for some stiff competition next year from social media giant, Facebook. The Loerie Awards made its annual splash this year while McDonald's looks to open restaurants in the economically recovering Zimbabwe. Read more >>Production
[Frank Joffe] Intellectual property, such as patents, trademarks, registered designs, copyright and know-how, is an asset like any other and can be created, bought and sold and licensed. However, unlike some other assets, the ownership and transfer of intellectual property is not always straightforward. Read more >> TV
LAGOS: Nigeria, this year, dominated the 2010 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) held on Saturday night, 11 December 2010 in Lagos, Nigeria. Nigeria with four prizes was followed by South Africa with three awards. Read more >>JOHANNESBURG: The National Basketball Association (NBA) in the US and CAfrica Sports late last week announced a new multi-year partnership that will provide fans of the sport in sub-Saharan Africa with NBA games and programming. Read more >>[Franklin Ozekhome] At the recent design mind Salon in Amsterdam, Microsoft researcher and computer scientist Bill Buxton said: "Great design doesn't stem from a singular designer or a great design department, but from the entire culture of the company." An interesting example he cited was about Steve Jobs return to Apple as it experienced its worst downturn in the 90s. Read more >> NEW YORK: The One Club, late lask week, announced the jury for the third annual One Show Entertainment taking place in Los Angeles, US on 16 February 2011. One Show Entertainment recognises the intersection between brands and entertainment - in film, television, viral videos, gaming, music and mobile applications. Read more >>LONDON, UK: A new Facebook app was launched last week which enables users to keep an automated track of who has deleted them on Facebook. With a dedicated Facebook app and accompanying website, Who Deleted Me offers users a way to track Facebook de-friends. Read more >>JOHANNESBURG: The 11th annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards (ADAA) is now open for entries expanding its global reach to 15 languages and adding new categories for faculty and students. The awards ceremony will take place during the International Design Alliance (IDA) Congress in Taipei, Taiwan in October 2011. Read more >> More International news...
[Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] To win a tough title fight is never easy, particularly if you are a relative newcomer and you are completely different from the other contenders - which are just some of the challenges facing the Honda CR-Z hybrid now that it has shouldered its way into the finals for the coveted South African Car of the Year title. Read more >> More Motoring news...
[Bonga Percy Vilakazi] December is always an exciting time in the music industry. From new artists to the usual players, this period is only for the strong. Our music expert, Bonga Percy Vilakazi, has compiled a list of 12 CDs you must buy this December. From R&B to Gospel. Read more >> More BizLounge news...
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