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)…

African public broadcasters facing a financial crunch – different circumstances and common threads but a worrying trend

18 June 2019

Two African public broadcasters (SABC and KBC) are in the depths of a financial crisis, a third (ZBC) has just taken on large financial loan and a fourth (UBC) is beginning to emerge from its crisis. Russell Southwood looks at the differences and the common threads and asks will others hit a rocky road soon. There are four of Africa’s Sub-Saharan broadcasters that are either in financial crisis or may be so in the future: SABC board chair Bongumusa Makhathini told South Africa’s Sunday Times last week that it was “drowning in debt” and might not be able to pay…

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.