Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cote D'Ivoire, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, R Congo, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, The Gambia , Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
'Give me the good news'Somebody quipped on Facebook over the weekend that it seems as if legendary director Quentin Tarantino is 'directing' 2016, given how bloody, conflict-ridden and plain bizarre, things have been at times this year (think Brexit; and the rise of Donald Trump; and how many rockstars/icons have died). Or maybe it only seems like that to those of us embedded in a daily diet of news from around the globe. Luckily, when you work in B2B media, particularly in Africa, I feel, there is more good news about innovation, investment and talent to write about, than the truly weird. These are just some of the 'great news' stories from the continent this past week: The African Union is expected to formally launch the much-anticipated AU passport to facilitate trade and movement across the continent at its 27th AU summit at Kigali's new convention centre in Rwanda; Disrupt Africa profiles the five global accelerators supporting African startups; how GE's innovation 'garages' across Africa are becoming innovation hubs, where in Algeria, for example, students are given the opportunity to 3D print their graduation projects; there was a $24 billion investment boost for African agriculture from the African Development Bank; an African marketer, Kim Thipe from South African Airways, was named one of the world's top 15 women in marketing - a fantastic honour; there were several business tourism articles on hotel expansion and investment and new airline routes being added this week; as well as expansion by South African advertising and marketing agencies Joe Public and 99c into Africa; and so on. Of course the news isn't always good, with renewed conflict in Sudan; worries about food security in sub-Saharan Africa, and the blocking of the internet and social media by both Zimbabwe and Ethiopia this past week, albeit for different reasons.The fact is that the internet has been determined a human right by the United Nations and the days are over where regimes can try control information flows to stifle dissent or try control what news their citizens can see or share. But the point I'm trying to get across today, is that there is significant good news in business growth, innovation and investment coming out of Africa and it is inspiring and exciting. Have a great week! Louise Marsland
Africa Editor: Bizcommunity.comComment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your African marketing and media news and event invitations to africanews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-africa@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news". | Weekly top stories |
|  | The AU passport to facilitate trade across Africa is expected to be launched at the African Union summit this week... read
|
|
| |
|  | Mike Laws Marketers are falling short at a couple of significant mobile marketing strategies, says Mike Laws, CEO, Imaginatrix.mobi... read | |
Read more
| |  | The African Development Bank has pledged 24 billion US dollars as an investment to ensure the implementation of the continent's agricultural transformation agenda... read | |
|
|
![[Biz Takeouts Podcast] 180: Hendri and Kyle from Barbarossa Media](https://biz-file.com/c/1607/350784-120x120.jpg?2) | On the latest episode of Biz Takeouts Marketing and Media Radio show host Warren Harding spoke to Hendri Lategan and Kyle Hauptfleisch from Barbarossa Media... read | |  | Bakhresa Group and Verde Hotels to build Zanzibar's 'greenest hotel... read | |  | Food security, agriculture, peace and stability in Africa featured high on the agenda of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union recently. read | |  | SAA's head of marketing and a UCT Graduate School of Business alumna, Kim Thipe, has been named one of the world's 15 top women in marketing by the Direct Marketing News 2016 Marketing Hall of Femme... read | |  | Air Mauritius is launching a direct flight to China's business and industrial centre of Guangzhou on 12 July 2016... read | |  | Enacy Mapakame Listed hospitality group African Sun Limited has budgeted $25 million for the expansion of Monomotapa as negotiations with the City of Harare... read | |  | Social media, mobile and radio in Africa will be explored at the 17th PAMRO conference in August 2016... read | |  | Access to mobile internet presents revolutionary opportunities for addressing issues of inequality. This is according to a study by Vodafone... read | |  | ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia has blocked social media sites for the next few days, after questions from end-of-year exams were posted online last month, sparking a national scandal and leading to their annulment... read | |  | Issued by Ornico South African breakfast TV show Expresso and the weekly Top Billing show have both dethroned SuperSport to take first and second place on the Africa Brand Index... read | |  | Algerian students in Algiers were given the opportunity to 3D print their graduation projects at a GE Garages workshop in Algiers... read | |  | Tom Jackson Here are five international accelerator programmes - and accompanying VC funds - backing African tech startups... read | |  | Issued by Ninety9Cents Ninety9cents (99c), one of South Africa's largest independently owned full-service advertising agencies, has opened a new office in Lusaka, Zambia... read | |  | MultiChoice Nigeria has added Galaxy TV, a popular free to air (FTA) channel from Lagos, to its DStv platform from Thursday, 7 July 2016... read | |  | FAO launches the regional competition of "Aquaponics design" in collaboration with Arab Women Investors Union... read | |  | Louise Marsland The creative industries are key to building a circular economy which reduces waste and makes economic sense for brands... read | |  | There is certainly a great need and desire to bring technological advancement to Africa, but does the infrastructure exist to support this...? read | |  | With over 60 million people affected by El Niño, the United Nations is seeking to boost response to the dire impact in Africa, urging La Niña preparedness... read | |  | The Africa MBA Indaba brings the world's best business schools to discover and develop African talent... read | |  | A renewable energy pathway and biodiversity protection is crucial to poverty alleviation in Africa, says Greenpeace International executive director... read | |  | Dewa Mavhinga Zimbabwe government comes under fire for blocking the internet and mobile messaging services during protests, 6 July 2016... read | |  | GeoPoll will add over 20 business development representatives in coming months... read | |  | MISA-Zimbabwe are gravely concerned at the communication blackout on Wednesday, 6 July 2016, ahead of protests planned in Zimbabwe... read | |  | Google has announced it will buy Moodstocks, a French startup behind technology that helps smartphones recognise whatever they are aimed at. read | |  | Abey Tau The roll-out of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comes with a "leave no-one behind" strategy that moves from reducing to ending poverty, and one that puts sustainability and growth at its core... read | |  | Anish Abraham Increased access to smartphones and internet connectivity across the African continent has led to an explosion in the number of users consuming online video... read | |  | A thirst for personal success motivates young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and South Africa... read | |  | Intelsat & AfricaOnline to accelerate broadband connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa... read | |  | Pavithra Rao Drones are now being deployed in Africa for a variety of missions... read | |  | Gary Stocks Although traditional banks have retained their advantage of established trust relationships with customers, advancing digital disruption will erode profitability unless they can respond... read | |  | Dee Stephens Hold on to your chairs marketers, brands and publishers, your world is about to drop off its axis.... read | |  | A media revolution is taking place, and most people over 35 years of age aren't tuned in... read | |  | Charl Vollmer Search engine optimisation has pros and cons, like most things in life. With that said, there are two ways of doing SEO: the white hat way and the black hat way... read | |  | The Native Advertising Awards aim to acknowledge and reward great native advertising projects and promote creative, inspiring and effective work that helps organisations worldwide achieve their goals... read | |  | Venture capital in South Africa is starting to take hold. With a host of venture funds, section 12J companies, incubators and startup clubs being launched, startups are becoming more popular... read | |  | Candice Simon We are so caught up in the name 'consumer' that we only see people through the lens of goods and services... read | |  | Julia Rhodes As marketers search for innovative ways to engage audiences, it's important to recognise that the attention span of online audiences is quickly declining... read | |  | Bogosi Motshegwa How does a brand miss making a message or brand resonate with its target market or audience? It happens at the most critical aspect that is sometimes overlooked... read | |  | Dizengoff Ghana selects Gilat to implement a turnkey solution for the delivery of satellite-based broadband to schools and cellular services in rural Ghana... read | |  | So you've got your social media strategy covered when it comes to the youth? Think again... read | |  | The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) will hold its 69th World News Media Congress, 24th World Editors Forum, and 27th World Advertising Forum in Durban, South Africa, in 2017... read | |  | Tom Jackson Global seed-stage startup competition Seedstars World has opened applications for its Angolan leg... read | |  | The Democratic Republic of Congo has embarked on a mobile biometric enrollment solution to support fair elections... read | |
|
| | | | | Editing and proofreadingProvox Centre for Public Relations & Communication - 11 Jul 2016 to 12 Jul 2016, Ferndale, Randburg | | |
| Arthur Ashe "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." Maya Angelou "Nothing will work unless you do" Rabindranath Tagore "Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." |
More quotes Submit a Quote | |
 | Print any item in this newsletter. |
 | Email any item in this newsletter. |
 | Comment on any item in this newsletter. |
|
|
|
|  Twitter |
|
|
