Vodacom South Africa To Launch An SVOD Platform Called Vodacom On Demand

Trace TV is fixing to launch arguably the most anticipated SVOD offering of the year, Trace Play. Their ambitious roll-out will involve making Trace Play available in English and French in 100 countries around the world. Trace’s Co-founder and CEO Olivier Laouchez is clearly serious about making sure that Trace TV remains the #1 urban network outside of the US.

This past week, Vodacom South Africa announced the planned launch of an SVOD of their own called Vodacom On Demand. They plan to go live in 2017 with DSTV’s ShowMax onboard in a very cosy arrangement that’s left us wondering if their partnership could grow into something more substantial, like a deal to rival AT&T’s recent acquisition of Time Warner, for instance. Vodacom has said that they’re happy to partner with as many serious content players as might want to play with them, revealing that a future partnership with Netflix will happen in due course.

We’re fairly certain that a deal of AT&T-Time Warner proportions between a telco and big content player is inevitable as the continent’s VOD market matures. Some commentators have suggested that the AT&T-Time Warner deal was driven by the notion that distribution rather than sheer size, or even access to quality content is vital for success in executing big media plays in the digital age.

There’s no doubt that on some level the deal represents a lifeboat for Time Warner, given how all of its cable channels are losing subscribers at an alarming rate. AT&T’s extensive wireless footprint and a significant share of America’s direct video businesses, DirecTV and U-verse could help turn that around. Traditional media players on the continent could very well see similar saviour potential in a mobile network like Vodacom, and be hoping that the mobile telco comes knocking to propose acquisition.

First published on AfricanTechRoundup.com

 

What’s The Big Fuss About Apple Ad Blockers?

As an avid consumer of new media, it’s hard not to love the ad blocking features Apple has worked into iOS9, and the clever ad blocking apps that are selling like hotcakes on mobile app stores everywhere.

But content publishers are claiming that ad blocking is tantamount to taking the bread out of their mouths, and warn that ultimately you and I will suffer as great content— traditionally funded through ad revenue, will no longer be viable to produce. Meanwhile, it doesn’t help that fake media traffic schemes— powered by bots, are eroding the confidence we all have in the internet’s ability to deliver an efficient and integrous way for advertisers to display ads to targeted audiences.

In this week’s discussion, Tefo Mohapi and I weigh the pros and cons of ad blocking, and discuss how this might shape the future of advertising on the web. Publishers will no doubt need to tweak their business models if they are keep the lights on. It will be interesting to see whether these developments lead brands and publishers to look to native advertising to save the day.

Also in this week’s African Tech Round-up, all the week’s biggest news from across Africa:

• South African JSE-listed tech firm, Altron is poised to sell its Autopage subscriber base for an estimated $108 million,
• Ethiopia rings in the New Year with the launch of Chinese-built light-rail system,
• Groupon is to withdraw from Morocco as part of its global rightsizing efforts,
• MultiChoice throws disgruntled Kenyan DSTV subscribers a bone by adding more channels to its “Compact” offering,
• Kenyan ISP Zuku is keen to woo customers to subscribe for its video-streaming service,
• A major survey reveals that there is a growing cyberbullying epidemic among South African teens, and
• Infamous South African Twitter personality, @PigSpotter’s identity has been revealed.

How To Build Products For Africa And Avoid Failing Like The Altech Node

It’s official. Citing “increased competition” and “unfavourable market conditions” Altron is puling the plug on the Altech Node console and will discontinue its video-on-demand offering come the end of October 2015.

The news comes in the wake of Naspers’ recent launch of the Netflix-clone, ShowMax, which the tech giant is clearly not sparing any expense in promoting. (By the way, you may as well take advantage of ShowMax’s free seven-day trial offer to check out what all the fuss is about.)

What is the best way to build new tech products for Africa?

The Node’s spectacular failure to appeal to consumers has led Tefo Mohapi and I to ponder the question, “What is the best way to build new tech products for Africa?” Perhaps there are lessons that big tech and startups on the continent would  do well to learn from Altron’s costly misfire regarding how to effectively build and roll-out relevant and commercially successful products and services.

Also in this week’s African Tech Round-up, all the week’s most important digital, tech and innovation news:

• Visa has choses to test ground-breaking biometrics technology— for use at ATM’s, in South Africa,
• Apple is preparing to shut down the transit app, Hopstop— which it bought from its Nigerian founder, Chinedu Echeruo for $1 billion in 2013,
• WeChat and Nigerian online tech publication, Tech Cabal are set to host conferences in Nigeria, aimed at empowering developers to make use of WeChat’s API, and
• Mobile phone manufacturer, Mi-Fone, accuses its Chinese rival, Xiaomi, of intentionally using similar sounding names for mobile devices they have recently launched in Africa.

“Cashflow Rules Everything Around Me” Alludes iROKOtv’s Jason Njoku

Launching a start-up in Africa is not for the faint-hearted. Very few promising ventures– even those that achieve solid traction, can expect to land Silicon Valley-type investment offers that might allow a founder the liberty to concentrate solely on growth, versus say, survival.

This week’s discussion is inspired in part by a recent blog post by iROKOtv Founder and MD, Jason Njoku, written in response to a question posted on a popular Nigerian tech message board by someone who was curious to know how many Nigerian startups are in fact profitable.

Tefo Mohapi and I weren’t sure of what to make of both the question and and Jason’s subsequent response to it, so we decided to bounce some ideas around to try and determine which of these three: 1) growth, 2) profitability, or 3) being cashflow positive, African startup founders should focus on in order to succeed. Consider this just the start of a very long conversation that we plan to keep applying our minds to.

A definite highlight this week was having Jovago.com Founder and MD, Marek Zmyslowski aka Chinedu join us on this week’s African Tech Round-up while he was in Johannesburg on business. It was very kind of him to let us hijack him for a couple of hours, and include his two cents on this week’s news and discussion topic.

Be sure to catch all the week’s biggest digital, tech and innovation news:

• Kenya and South Sudan are set to start work on a multi-million dollar high-speed fibre optic cable within the next two years,
• The Consumer Federation of Kenya is leading a boycott of DSTV over high cable subscription rates,
• Nigerian e-commerce platform Yudala is keen to pull an ‘Amazon’ as it plans to roll out a traffic-beating drone-delivery service,
• South Africa’s largest online news platform, News24, has finally opted to disable public comments to articles posted on their website,
• Facebook 2nd Quarter African User numbers reveal some fascinating trends,
• Singtel, Orange, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica are joining forces to launch a VC initiative spanning Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, and 
• A quick reminder to anyone living in South Africa that public comments on the proposed new Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill are to be submitted to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on or before November 30th.

Unathi Msengana & Asanda Madyibi: 14 Years of Creative Collaboration (Part 2)

This is the second and final part of my take on the transition from craftsmanship to entrepreneurship featuring Unathi Msengana and Asanda Madyibi. If you missed Part 1, click here to catch up.

Unathi Msengana is a well-loved South African media personality and business woman (Musician, Metro FM DJ, Idols South Africa Judge and Television Producer) who is easily one of the most relevant and, indeed, most bankable entities in the Africa’s fickle entertainment industry. While, Asanda Madyibi is an incredibly talented fashion designer to the stars whose garments have graced catwalks around the world.

Unathi, Asanda and I go way back, but not quite as far back as their friendship. They have been thick as thieves since Asanda designed Unathi’s graduation dress 14 years ago.

Recently, I was lucky enough to crash a dress fitting at Asanda’s private fashion studio in Milpark, where Unathi was being outfitted for a high-profile musical performance. A lively chat ensued, and happily, I got it all on tape!

Enjoy this brief exploration into the lives of two very different, yet equally brilliant women, whose life journeys have seen them begin the transition from craftsmanship to entrepreneurship.

Many thanks to my mate, Global Entrepreneur, Author, and CEO of Sirdar Global Group, Carl Bates, whose ideas have inspired me to explore the difference between craftsmanship and entrepreneurship, and led me to appreciate the importance of distinguishing between the two.

(Artist Credit: Ballpoint Pen Drawing by Tumi Sibambo)

Unathi Msengana & Asanda Madyibi: 14 Years of Creative Collaboration

Unathi Msengana is a well-loved South African media personality and business woman (Musician, Metro FM DJ, Idols South Africa Judge and Television Producer) who is easily one of the most relevant and, indeed, most bankable entities in the Africa’s fickle entertainment industry. While, Asanda Madyibi is an incredibly talented fashion designer to the stars whose garments have graced catwalks around the world.

Unathi, Asanda and I go way back, but not quite as far back as their friendship. They have been thick as thieves since Asanda designed Unathi’s graduation dress 14 years ago.

Recently, I was lucky enough to crash a dress fitting at Asanda’s private fashion studio in Milpark, where Unathi was being outfitted for a high-profile musical performance. A lively chat ensued, and happily, I got it all on tape!

Enjoy this brief exploration into the lives of two very different, yet equally brilliant women, whose life journeys have seen them begin the transition from craftsmanship to entrepreneurship.

Many thanks to my mate, Global Entrepreneur, Author, and CEO of Sirdar Global Group, Carl Bates, whose ideas have inspired me to explore the difference between craftsmanship and entrepreneurship, and led me to appreciate the importance of distinguishing between the two.