Headlines
MarketingSOUTH AFRICA Africa: Bush's trip highlights flaws in US HIV/AIDS policyPresident George W. Bush's praise for US efforts against HIV/AIDS in Africa should not obscure how his administration's policies continue to undermine HIV prevention on the continent and globally, Human Rights Watch said today. ZIMBABWE Zim banks vie for deposits as government battles for funding[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's commercial banks have embarked on aggressive marketing campaigns to woo depositors, whose faith in the formal banking system was shaken by a three-month cash crisis that ended late January. KENYA Kenya's tourist arrivals drop by 90 per centKenya's tourist arrivals last month dropped by nearly 90 per cent as a result of post-election violence, according to industry players. ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe: Heading for difficult choices in dire times Political violence has been a traditional staple of Zimbabwean elections, but with the ruling ZANU-PF party now split, next month's ballot could see a whole new scale of trouble. NAMIBIA Bank records cellphone banking transactions worth millions in NamibiaTime off work usually means a chance to lie back, switch off your computer, and relax. This past festive season proved to be a different retreat in Namibia. Not only were consumers on holiday with their family and friends, they decided to bring an extra friend along, the cellphone, their only constant link to their bank. AFRICA Emirates comes to Cape Town Emirates fever is set to hit Cape Town as the Dubai-based airline thrusts itself into a series of awareness-building events ahead of the launch of its services to the city; its second in South Africa. Advertisement:
BrandingAFRICA Mobile company's subscribers top a million[Walter Wafula] Mark Kaheru, Uganda Telecommunication (UTL)'s PR Manager, says the company has attracted the new subscribers to its GSM network upping them from over 740,000 at the close of the 3Q of last year to a million presently, and is aiming to top two million subscribers by the end of 2008. UGANDA New cost-effective accounting software promises great savings[Walter Wafula] Saving Plus, accounting software that could save microfinance institutions and saving and credit cooperatives from losing millions of shillings to accountants, has been launched in Uganda. SOUTHERN AFRICA SADC to launch conservation brandA unifying brand for nature conservation areas across borders in Southern Africa is to be launched in Durban later this year.
DigitalEAST AFRICA Developing states must foster technologyEthiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has emphasized the need for governments in Africa and in other developing regions to create and develop market systems backed by appropriate technology.
Education and TrainingSOUTH AFRICA Empowering women at J&JJohnson & Johnson (J&J) has teamed up with the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) to create a leadership development programme specially geared to advancing women in the company's European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) branches. AFRICA Egyptian resort harnesses SA English literacy expertiseA multi-billion dollar resort and entertainment complex under construction at Port Ghalib in Egypt on the shores of the Red Sea is embarking on training initiative to improve the English literacy skills of hundreds of its employees, using training materials developed by Johannesburg-based training solutions provider Media Works.
EventingAFRICA AMEP announces third Maputo International Advertising FestivalThe third Maputo International Advertising Festival will take place 26 – 29 May 2008, organised by AMEP, the Mozambican Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations Association. MOZAMBIQUE A golden voice in AIDS prevention She has been mesmerizing fans for three decades.
MediaWEST AFRICA Independent press censorship in ChadPrivately-owned press have reportedly been harassed and censored by the governments of Chad and Sudan after rebels, who have been accused of being in the pay of Khartoum, launched an offensive against the Chadian capital, N'Djamena. SOUTH AFRICA Nic Wides new Touchline MD Nic Wides is the new MD of Touchline Media, it was announced yesterday, Thursday, 14 February 2008. He replaces Marc Blachowitz, who resigned suddenly in the midst of the Media24 audit scandal in September 2007.
MobileAFRICA New software for visualising network servicesAIRCOM International, a leading independent mobile network planning and optimisation consultancy, have successfully developed a software prototype that will allow telecoms operators to visualise how their network is servicing their customers. SOUTH AFRICA Global Mobile award winners announcedBARCELONA, SPAIN: The 13th Annual GSMA Global Mobile Awards proved lucky for some, as the winners were announced earlier this week at a gala dinner in Barcelona, hosted by international comedian Graham Norton. NIGERIA 4,000 more base stations for NigeriaCeltel Nigeria has outlined strategies to improve the quality of service (QoS) on its network by deploying 1,000 more base stations before December 2008. AFRICA Celtel to change brand name to Zain in Africa tooIt is now official: Celtel Communications is set to re-brand its operations in Africa from June and adopt a new name — Zain. NIGERIA Nigeria shops for new investors for NITEL/MTelThe Federal Government has embarked on the search for new investors for NITEL and MTel to improve on its dwindling fortunes. In a meeting with Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) last December, government made clear its position to get another investor to salvage the telecom company. SOUTH AFRICA Romantic getaway prize up for grabs for MTN Swazi customers - Starfish MobileStarfish Mobile International, an African Wireless Application Service Provider in partnership with MTN Swaziland, are running a Valentine campaign which will give one lucky customer a chance to win a romantic weekend away for two at the beautiful Royal Swazi Spa.
NewspapersSOUTH AFRICA US newspaper heavies form online ad flotillaOne of the problems with online ads is that they can be geotargeted, which means they targeted to a specific geographical area such as, say, the Bay Area; but advertisers cannot control which sites the ads appear on. "Much of the advertising is blind and therefore not appealing to brands," Sterling Market Intelligence Founding Principal Greg Sterling said.
ResearchAFRICA CNBC Africa survey provides some interesting insightsCNBC Africa conducted a small survey by means of an on-line questionnaire, and though the sampling is too small as a base for definitive, the results have proved valuable. There are some significant differences in responses from South Africans and respondent in the rest of Africa.
RetailCENTRAL AFRICA Rwanda implements NEPAD agri planRwanda is reviewing its progress towards implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) compact signed in March 2007. ZIMBABWE Zim inflation rate over 66,000%Zimbabwe's annualised inflation rate rose to a record 66,212.3% in December, dealing another blow to President Robert Mugabe's efforts to pull the once prosperous African nation's economy out of a deep crisis. AFRICA Here comes the sunAfrica's energy sources are reaching the crossroads, Oil Africa 2008 highlights key global issues such as peak oil and alternative energy sources. To ignore the future shock and its impact on costs and prices across the board, we need to look NOW at renewable sources of energy. And there's one clearly visible every day... GHANA Ghana to diversify exports to EUThe Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) and the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) of the Netherlands have signed a pact to boost non-traditional exports to countries in the European Union.
SponsorshipAFRICA UN injects US$2 million towards African governanceThe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated an amount of US$2 million for a programme aimed at supporting African countries to strengthen and deepen African Public Sector and Governance Reforms.
TVSOUTH AFRICA CNN boosts SA operationCNN has broadened its newsgathering presence in South Africa with the addition of Robyn Curnow and Nkepile Mabuse to the Johannesburg bureau, it announced yesterday, Thursday, 14 February 2008. AFRICA Business channel scores in GhanaCNBC Africa, the continent's first 24-hour international business channel, recently secured a terrestrial television distribution deal in Ghana, effectively delivering the channel's business news to a potential audience of five million viewers in and around the capital Accra. | 
