Africa is getting there - 26 Mar 2012

Over the weekend I got into a discussion on the topic of living in Africa. The person who I had this discussion with was from South Africa, the same place where I'm from. Although various points were brought up by either one of us, neither one of us was going to give into the other and thus there was no conclusion.

My argument was, as an African, we have what it takes to make a success. We are doing it for ourselves; we are making a success; we are using what we have, and we are making it work for this continent. By the time that the discussion came to an end, I was frankly quite shocked by the way I felt so excited about the developments on this continent. (Just look at some of the developments that came from the Samsung Africa Forum 2012 that took place last week).

If anything like: MTN launching 3G services in Cote d'Ivoire and Benin; Airtel Nigeria awarded a CSR award; ex BBA housemate to host TV show; talks of an African version of Telehouse Europe; and Samsung to offer free satellite TV to Africa is anything to go by in just this past week, then you should be excited to know that we can succeed.

With the rebranding of Africa Magic, new appointments at the Media Council of Malawi and MediaCom, and leadership changes at Ogilvy Kenya, these companies sure have plans for the future.

It's obvious to see that changes are taking place on the continent and definitely for the better.

Here's to a positive week!

Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985