Econet Wireless Set To Roll Out Shine’s Ad Blocking Service

Econet Wireless has recently announced that all ±40 million of their subscribers in Africa will benefit from Shine’s ad blocking software— starting with those in Zimbabwe.

This deal represents Shine’s first deployment on the continent, following partnerships they’ve struck with the likes of the Caribbean mobile operator, Digicel, and Three Group in the UK and Italy.

There’s no doubt about it, life is about to get a little tougher for online media platforms that rely on ad revenue to survive, as well as for web marketers that peddle online real estate. However, Econet’s subscribers are likely to relish the prospect of enjoying quicker loading times and cleaner web pages free from unsolicited advertisements.

In the discussion segment on this week’s African Tech Round-up, I chat to Scott Lyons of the Ford Motor Company. Scott leads Ford’s SYNC AppLink European Business and the Partner Development initiative within the Ford Connected Vehicle and Services Organisation. Our conversation touched on Ford’s plans to produce a fully autonomous vehicle by 2021, as per their announcement last week.

I also asked Scott to share what he makes of the disruptive influence of tech firms like Google and Uber on the traditional car manufacturing business, and asked him to let me in on the strategic thinking that went into choosing Morocco as the place to sponsor Ford’s latest Mobility Challenge aimed at promoting innovation in the country’s ride sharing scene.

First published on AfricanTechRoundup.com.

MTN Group Reports Losses In Mid-Year Results For 2016

MTN Group’s warning that their interim financial results for the period ending June 30th 2016 would be unpleasant did a lot to absorb the shock when reality struck last Friday— the day the report eventually dropped.

Despite revenue for the interim period improving by ±$5.7 billion, MTN reported an after tax loss attributable to equity holders of just over $401 thousand. That translates to a headline loss per share of nearly $0.20. Compare that with 2015’s headline earnings of just under $0.48 per share, and it’s sobering to see how humbling this must be Africa’s largest mobile service provider.

As expected, the mobile telco has put forward a long list of explanations for what went wrong. One of the more interesting items on that list is what they are calling “short-term losses” they’ve sustained thanks to their significant investments in Middle East Internet Holdings and of course, the recently rebranded Africa Internet Group— which now goes by Jumia.

I wonder what’s going through the mind of MTN Group’s President and CEO-in-waiting, Rob Shuter, who will no doubt have his work cut out for him when he takes up the reins from Phuthuma Nhleko come July 2017.

Also in this week’s African Tech Round-up, I share a chat I had with the Cape Town-based Zimbabwean digital all-rounder, Babusi Nyoni. Babusi is the Digital Creative Group Head at South Africa’s #1 ranked through-the-line agency, M&C SAATCHI Abel.

I caught up with Babusi to discuss an AI-enabled campaign he recently masterminded and executed for a global FMCG brand, and to chat about the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence in general. Tune in to hear him factor in on what the world might look and feel like when those technologies become common-place.