[Netprophet 2011] African ecommerce market has a long way to go

[Herman Manson: @marklives] A billion Africans and 50 million bank accounts. In South Africa, credit cards are used by only 16.5% of the population (2008). No African country comes close to 1% of total retail spend spent online - the magic figure which constitutes the tipping point for digital retail growth (in SA, ecommerce has a 0.4% share of the retail market, while in countries such as Egypt and Nigeria, the figure stands at 0.01%). No wonder, then, that the ecommerce market in Africa hasn't bloomed. 12 May 2011 18:55

Social media, popular revolt: cure against African dictators?

[Issa Sikiti da Silva: @sikitimedia] The events and developments of the past six months in Africa have demonstrated that the rise of social media has not only revolutionised the business environment, but also redefined the political scene by shaking the foundation of dictatorship, lack of service delivery and corruption for the first time since the dawn of independences. 5 Jul 2011 10:14

2011 Maputo International Ad Festival set for May

The sixth Maputo International Advertising Festival will take place from 25-27 May 2011, AMEP - the Mozambican Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations Association announced yesterday. The festival recognises advertising agencies, producers and communications companies worldwide especially from Africa and the Indian Ocean regions. 23 Feb 2011 07:22

Neo@Ogilvy global CEO talks up role of emerging markets, mobile

[Herman Manson: @marklives] Neo@Ogilvy's global CEO, New-York based Nasreen Madhany, has been visiting South Africa for a corporate summit, where she talked up the role emerging markets will play in the future profitability of her company. 5 Jul 2011 13:30

Botswana benefits from sub-sea connectivity

Gateway Communications, the supplier of pan-African telecommunications services, continues with its plans to bring sub-sea connectivity inland across the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The most recent country to benefit from this initiative is Botswana, with capacity from SAT-3 being brought into Gaborone securely via South Africa. 14 May 2012 12:09

Google+ launch puts pressure on Facebook

As two technology giants in Google and Facebook position themselves to dominate the social networking space, an information and communications technology expert has warned against complacency, in particular from market leader Facebook. 8 Jul 2011 10:01

Latest Apple iPhone to hit China on 13 January

SAN FRANCISCO, US: Apple has announced that the latest version of its hot-selling iPhones will be released in China and 21 other countries on 13 January. It is already available in South Africa. 6 Jan 2012 09:43

Are you the world's most networked person?

[Issa Sikiti da Silva: @sikitimedia] Western Union, the multinational company specialised in money transfer, is celebrating its 160th anniversary by launching a global online network - a Facebook-linked platform meant to hunt for the most networked person in the world. The South African launch took place yesterday, Thursday 4 August 2011, in Rosebank simultaneously with Ghana, Kenya and Morocco. 5 Aug 2011 12:05

Wireless broadband, mobile phones to connect Africa

The penetration of mobile phones in many African countries is higher than the world average. Data on the number of mobile subscriptions per 100 people show that penetration rates in Algeria, South Africa, Gabon, Tunisia, Mauritius, Botswana, Morocco and Mauritania are all above the world average of 60%. 23 Jun 2011 10:59

Significant shifts in South Africa, Africa's mobile patterns

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] A global study conducted by TNS Research Surveys shows that South Africans' unconditional love for handsets - more than content as it is in developed markets - is beginning to change and will even shift faster as bandwidth improves, and as cheaper smartphones appear on the market - probably from China. 21 Apr 2011 09:37

Intelsat wins new contracts

LUXEMBOURG: Intelsat SA, one of the world's leading providers of fixed satellite services, recently announced a series of new contracts with media customers using the company's leading video neighbourhoods. 14 Apr 2011 10:56

Loeries 2011 opens for entries, categories revised

The Loerie Awards launched its 2011 campaign, Tuesday 15 March 2011, entitled "Don't hate. Create", created by Draftfcb and supported by a mobisite and specially developed augmented reality apps, linking digital technology to the printed media, along with a revamp of its award categories. 15 Mar 2011 13:19

Roundup of SxSWSA posts from the weekend

[Ivo Vegter: @sxswsa] Here is a roundup of the posts published on sxswsa.co.za this weekend. We're over halfway through SxSW Interactive in Austin, Texas, but there's still plenty material in the works, so keep an eye on the blog for another few days. Also, follow @sxswsa, or the entire the #sxswsa Twitter list. [view twitterfall] 14 Mar 2011 13:15