Pitfalls in marketing to teens online
[Anastasia Goodstein] While teens may mess with advertisers as a way to fight back against the onslaught of marketing they are exposed to, they are not averse to all marketing. This is especially true if they love a product, the marketing offers some extra value, or it's simply funny and creative. As they're used to controlling their online experience, they strongly dislike pop-up ads or spam in the form of instant messages and text messages.

New partners in Kenyan SMB market
[Carole Kimutai] AccessKenya Group has attained certification for the Cisco Channel Partner Program and is now one of only eight Cisco Premier Partners in Kenya.

CENTRAL AFRICA

SA oil giant seeks to boost competition in DRC oil industry
Customers of the big names in petroleum in the DRC look likely to get another supplier with the entry into the market of South African petroleum giant Engen as implementation of the agreement for its acquisition of the Shell Group's 60% share in Shell RDC and its 13% share in SEP proceeds.

Nigeria: New hope for old 'master plan' on Niger Delta
The government of President Umaru Yar'Adua says it is serious about tackling the root causes of violence and poverty in Nigeria's troubled Niger Delta with a ‘master plan' to develop the region and provide basic services.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Indian tech giant becomes 4th sponsor of 2010
[Michael Appel] An Indian global consulting and information technology service provider, Satyam, has become the fourth sponsor after Anheuser-Busch, McDonald's and MTN to sign up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Dazzling TV show for 2010 prelim draw
[Lavinia Mahlangu] The Preliminary Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will take the form of a dazzling television special, according to the Local Organising Committee (LOC). The draw takes place this Sunday, 25 November 2007, at the Nkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.

Prelim draw highlights 2010 branding, logos
[Lavinia Mahlangu] Actively identifying several sponsors, events and products linked to the 2010 FIFA World Cup through branding, has been one of the many focus areas in the week leading up to the Preliminary Draw on Sunday, 25 November 2007.

Iconic innovation at Entebbe Airport
Clear Channel Outdoor in Uganda have designed and built a unique landmark site for MTN at the Entebbe International Airport.

AFRICA

Harnessing Africa's dynamic potential
Africa is an entire continent crammed with potential and possibilities. This is the view of the Switch Group – one that it is already acting on, with a new branch office in Kenya and another planned for Nigeria.

Entries are open for AMASA's Roger Garlick Award - AMASA
The Advertising Media Association of South Africa (AMASA) has officially opened entries for the Roger Garlick Award which recognises exceptional innovation in media. Entries close on 13 February 2007. Judges for the 2008 Roger Garlick Awards will be looking for entries with a strong strategy as the underlying factor.

Post Bank to improve banking in Uganda
[David Muwanga] Post Bank Uganda has entered into an agreement with Map International, the New York based multi-dimensional financial systems that link consumers, merchants, banks, mobile operators and service providers to deliver modern banking services throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.

AIRCOM to provide consultancy services to MTN
South African communications giant Mobile Telephone Networks Ltd (MTN) has enlisted AIRCOM International to provide consultancy services as it rolls out its nationwide 3G network whilst continuing to provide a quality service to its customers on its 2G network. AIRCOM will provide network quality benchmarking services for MTN South Africa over the next two years.

Eepad invests in education
[Laeed Zaghlami] The Algerian education system will soon benefit from a large ICT facility being provided by the country's private Internet Service Provider (ISP) Eepad, the general manager of the ISP, Nouri Harzellah, recently announced.

Four young Kenyans become mobile reporters
“This is a great opportunity to promote responsive journalism and democracy in Kenya,” says Munene Kilongi. He is standing in a street in Nairobi while he is sending his report on the elections in Kenya from his mobile phone.

AFRICA

Ifra's new Arabic edition also available online
Ifra's international magazine on the technology and business of news publishing is now available with a special added section of Arab-region publishing news and other features written in Arabic. This new Arabic-enhanced edition is being made available in Ifra's ePaper format to newspaper publishers and their staffs throughout the Arab states in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

MTN investing more in Rwanda's mobile industry
[HANA Reporter] The MTN Group has recently concluded an agreement to increase its shareholding and interest in MTN Rwanda from 40% to 55%.

AFRICA

Africans access borderless mobile phone services
[Emmanuel Kola and Rose Kamau] More than 400 million people in twelve African countries can now access borderless mobile phone services opened by Kenyan mobile telecommunications company Celtel International.

SOUTH AFRICA

Applying the cardinal rule to mobile
[Harry Trisos] Amidst the technology hubbub of the 3G AfricaCom Conference in Cape Town this week, there is one thing that stands out like a beacon. It is that technology providers have delivered on their promise of a cost-effective and super fast mobile experience.

Nokia promises 'information society' via email
[Joyce Joan Wangui] Nokia, one of the world's leading providers of mobile phone services, has promised to release a new set of goodies in line with the company's goal to promote the information society.

KENYA

Safaricom, Google in internet partnership
[Joyce Joan Wangui] Safaricom Kenya and Google have sealed a pact to deliver e-mail services direct to mobile phones. The partnership is expected to increase the number of internet users from the current 2.7 million to 4.4 million by virtue of Safaricom's subscriber base.

Health stock library available online
[Joyce Joan Wangui] A leading web resource for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria 'GlobalHealthReporting.org' has launched a new video library providing television reporters and filmmakers with AIDS-related, rights-free, cover footage of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, India and Latin America.

AFRICA

Film competition to raise hunger awareness
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is inviting filmmakers, students and other Internet users to take part in a new international competition called “Hunger Bytes”.

Mozambique: No lift-off for biofuels yet
Ecomoz's biodiesel plant, surrounded by the decrepit remnants of an out-of-use oil refinery in the dusty industrial zone of Matola, just north of the Mozambican capital, Maputo, does not inspire much confidence in the newly-hyped energy of the future.

Malawi: Attitudes to child labour changing
Despite laws forbidding the use of child labour - often viewed as the norm and an important source of income - enforcement has been anything but strict in Malawi, until recently.

AFRICA

African farmers could earn 'green' money
Lack of information is the main obstacle to paying African farmers as an incentive to protect the environment, according to a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation official.

Music video project for Africa
Pan-African music entertainment network MTV Networks Africa and oil marketer Shell have partnered to boost Africa's contemporary music industry.

Cash crunch strains Zimbabwe's electronic payment facilities
[Dumisani Ndlela] The need to carry barrow-loads of banknotes, if you want to pay cash, has led to more and more Zimbabweans turning to plastic - and that is bringing it's own problems...

MTN donates over US$350 thousand for community development
[David Muwanga] As part of MTN's corporate social responsibility (CSR), MTN Uganda has launched a charitable organisation that would implement the company's public involvement initiatives.