AfDB signs agreement with Tchadian Government for US$32 million to finance Chad-Niger section of Trans Sahara fibre route

14 June 2019

One of the links in first east-west fibre route has been financed by the African Development Bank. It has agreed with the Government of Chad to provide US$32 million to underwrite the Chad-Niger section. Russell Southwood looks at what’s proposed and the challenges of these kind of Government-led fibre projects. At the end of May Chad’s Ministry of Posts, New Technologies information and Communication announced that it had signed an agreement to get a grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for FCFA 18.96 billion. "By funding the Chadian component of the Trans-Sahara fiber optic (SDR), the European Union (EU)…

Surviving and winning as a production company in a small market – Botswana’s Mohau Mannathoko, Industry Media on the impact of DTT channels and Government tenders

5 June 2019

Everybody knows about Africa’s high-profile production markets like Nigeria and South Africa but how does a production company thrive in a small market like Botswana? Russell Southwood spoke to Mohau Mannathoko, Managing Director, Industry Media about getting work and wanting to make high-quality TV. Industry Media was launched in 2014 and has survived for five years in one of Africa’s smallest broadcast markets. There are only two Free-To-Air TV channels, the Government’s Botswana TV (BTV) and South African owned eTV, alongside Multichoice as the Pay TV operator. Mannathko launched the company because he wanted to produce better quality content:”We don’t…

Sub-Saharan Africa’s Digital Landscape and its Top 11 Markets – data prices, smartphones, digital content and services and e-commerce.

Researched over a four year period, this new report is probably the most detailed description yet of online behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa.