NIGERIA

Nigeria's advertising industry worth N500bn, says APCON
Under a current assessment by the sector operators, the worth of Nigeria's advertising industry has been put at over N500bn (about R34bn).

ZIMBABWE

Winners emerge at Zim advertising awards
[Dumisani Ndlela] DDH&M dominated Zimbabwe's annual Ngoma Advertising Awards ceremony held on Friday March 28, 2008 in Harare, taking the most sector awards as well as the overall prize – the campaign of the year award.

AFRICA

Emperor's Palace to host APEX gala event
The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) has announced that the 2008 Advertising Performance Excellence Awards (APEX) will be taking place at the Emperor's Palace Convention Centre, Gauteng, on 10 April 2008.

Media giants challenge portals for online ad turf
[Anick Jesdanun] Traditional media companies trying to stem the flow of advertising dollars to Google and other large Internet companies are increasingly building ad networks of their own, anchored by their brands.

Greenwash is losing its shine - Gallo Images
Simply being seen to be green will soon not be enough, according to Getty Images global planning director, Rebecca Swift. In a recent update at BBC News24 she argues that time is running out for advertisers who "greenwash" audiences with empty eco-cliches.

EGYPT

IBM builds state-of-the-art data centre for Telecom Egypt
IBM and Telecom Egypt have announced the construction of an innovative, state-of-the-art data centre for Telecom Egypt that includes the world's most sophisticated energy-efficient "green" technologies.

New investment in TEAMS
[Carole Kimutai] Jamii Telecommunications Ltd (JTL), a subsidiary of AdGroup, has made a strategic investment in TEAMS project to complement its metro fibre network that will allow users reliable and flexible services with high-speed access to the internet.

Understand and experience the Chinese business environment - USB-ED
USB Executive Development Ltd of the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), in conjunction with Stellenbosch University's Centre for Chinese Studies, is launching a new, structured executive learning programme called “Passport to China”. This is in response to China's increasing global presence and rapid economic expansion that have created considerable business interest in the world's most populous nation.

UGANDA

Uganda to host COMESA telecom regulators
[David Muwanga] The Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) is organising a one-day symposium to be attended by telecommunications regulators from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member states. This is going to be one of the activities of the commission that would be marking its tenth anniversary on 22 May 2008. Other activities would include launching of a new corporate identity and the logo.

West African countries to beef up banking
A cross-section of experts from across the banking sector, insurance and stock markets in the West Africa sub-region will hold a two-day meeting in Accra, Ghana, this week.

Declaration to strengthen Africa, India relationship
Africa and India are to adopt a declaration to reinforce their existing relationship at the Africa-India Forum Summit to be held next month in India.

FOSSFA Conference roots for Knowledge Economy
The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) recently hosted the Third African Conference on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and the Digital Commons "Idlelo 3" at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD II) in Dakar, Senegal, from 16 - 20 March 2008.

WAN protests against press crackdown in Tibet
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and World Editors Forum (WEF) have protested to Chinese President Hu Jintao against the crackdown on coverage of events in Tibet and the banning of foreign media, in violation of international agreements, Chinese law and China's Olympic promises.

NIGERIA

Court orders MTN, Celtel to compensate subscribers
[Remmy Nweke] A Federal High Court in Lagos, Nigeria, has insisted that the two-some Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) operators, MTN and Celtel, must compensate their subscribers over poor quality of service experienced as at 31 January 2008.

KENYA

Now Kenyans can pay mobile bills online
[Carole Kimutai] GTV has entered into a subscription payment deal with PostaPay and subscribers anywhere in Kenya can now pay their subscriptions online via over 200 branches countrywide.

UGANDA

Uganda's telecom operators throw the money around
[Walter Wafula] From serious business to showbiz and generosity, Uganda's telecom companies are walking a similar path. Celtel Uganda started it all with the Say Yes! and Win a House campaign in 2007 where it gave away seven houses in excess of one billion shillings.

EAST AFRICA

Lake Victoria's mobile network to avert accidents
[Walter Wafula] Celtel Uganda is extending its mobile phone network coverage across Lake Victoria to provide connectivity to thousands of lake users. The network expansion is expected to fuel economic and social development of lakeside communities as well as reduce the number of fishing-related deaths.

Starfish Mobile initiate Easter Race in Nigeria - Starfish Mobile
Starfish Mobile International has created and implemented another SMS-based campaign with Celtel Nigeria during March 2008. The Easter Race campaign was created by the Starfish Mobile International team and was based on the popular ‘Amazing Race' concept.

ZIMBABWE

Probe as CIO boss obtains unpublished Independent story
[Lebo Nkatazo] The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) said Tuesday, 25 March 2008, it has launched an investigation into allegations that the organisation was used by the country's intelligence services to intercept an article which a local weekly newspaper intended to publish.

Shops scared to sell until after vote
Some shops in Zimbabwe have stopped selling their merchandise until after this weekend's presidential and parliamentary elections, state media reported on Tuesday, 25 March 2008.