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7 Aug 2015
Time for long-term strategic thinking!
3 Aug 2015
Mobile gaming in Africa can skyrocket if telcos offer cheap data and fast connection speeds, says gamer Pippa Tshabalala
What is your background and how did you become interested in the gaming market?
I've
been active in the more public sphere of the gaming market since 2008 when I
began presenting a show called PlayR and then later The Verge, both of them on
Vuzu on DStv, but I've been a gamer my entire life and before becoming involved
in television I was teaching a Masters level course on video game theory at
Wits University. Although I'm not currently presenting (The Verge ended in
2012), I'm still active in the local industry. I write and have written for a
number of brands and publications over the years.
What makes South Africa’s gaming industry exciting and how does it compare with
other regions? South Africa and
indeed Africa in general is quite unique because we have a very vibrant indie
game industry with a big focus on mobile gaming. I think due to the
proliferation of mobile devices in Africa, there is a real need for good
quality mobile games that speak to an African audience although that is
certainly not the only area in which we excel. There are a number of local
developers who are producing award winning games that are being picked up for
distribution on platforms like PS4 and Xbox One as well as PC and mobile. In
terms of comparison to other regions, we have no large AAA studios producing
games, but I don't see this as a bad thing - it gives us a real opportunity to
innovate and develop unique content.
Which gaming companies should we watch in the coming years? Definitely Free Lives, the creators of Bro Force. The Brotherhood is also producing incredibly interesting work in the form of Stasis. Thoopid is also one to watch, especially in the mobile development arena - they're responsible for the hugely successful Snailboy on iPhone. New companies are appearing all the time as game development becomes an increasingly viable career option - I think we should always be on the lookout for good content.
What role can telecom operators play in the development of a successful gaming
industry in Africa?
I
think the real issue for many people is data. While the prices certainly have
come down in recent years, being able to connect to the internet to play
against friends when you're not on a WiFi network can get quite expensive. More
and more games incorporate multiplayer, and ideally cheap or free data would be
a real boon to the gaming sector. Telecom operators need to offer increasingly
competitive packages to accommodate this. Gaming for many people is still a
luxury because to download a large game is simply not possible unless you're on
WiFi.
What do you think will be this year’s most game-changing development in
Africa’s digital entertainment sector?
I'd
like to link this to my above point and say that I hope to see a decrease in
cost and an increase in connection speeds - we still lag behind a large portion
of the world significantly when it comes to these two points. If both of these
things happen then I think you'll really see the use of mobile phones in the
entertainment sector skyrocket. Already with the current connection speeds and
data charges, consumer spending on mobile gaming is expected to grow to R1.5
billion by the time we reach 2018 - imagine if we had access to cheap data and
fast connection speeds?
What are your expectations of the mobile gaming debate at AfricaCom this year?
I
certainly think it's going to be interesting! Everyone has very different
opinions not only about what is needed in the gaming sector, but they also come
from very different backgrounds within it. Everyone bases their arguments on
their experiences within the industry, and understandably those have all been
unique. I think we'll all go away with some thought provoking insights that
hopefully we can use to further the industry in Africa. 
The mobile gaming panel will take place during the Digital
Entertainment stream on Tuesday 17th November at AfricaCom. To view
the whole programme click here.
Top 10 reasons to attend AfricaCom 2015
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29 Jul 2015
The AfricaCom 2015 brochure is now available to download!
AfricaCom, Africa's premier communications congress and exhibition returns to Cape Town on 17-19th November for its biggest and best year yet.
Download your copy of the brochure now and be the first to find out what's on offer:
Registration is now open!
We have a number of different passes available to you, including delegate passes, free passes for regional operators and regulators, free passes to the CIO Forum or free exhibition passes - available to all.
To find out more about AfricaCom, download the brochure!
Download your copy of the brochure now and be the first to find out what's on offer: - View the full conference agenda with 90+ hours of content
- See our exciting speaker line-up with 63% new speakers
- Experience 25+ dedicated networking hours
- The Ericsson AHUB - New for 2015!
- The prestigious AfricaCom Awards, celebrating digital Africa
- 375+ industry leading exhibitors
- SDN Proof of Concept Zone - New for 2015!
- The CIO Forum - New for 2015!
- The Village - a luxury networking space
Registration is now open!
We have a number of different passes available to you, including delegate passes, free passes for regional operators and regulators, free passes to the CIO Forum or free exhibition passes - available to all.
To find out more about AfricaCom, download the brochure!
13 Jul 2015
Interview with AfricaCom Keynote speaker Moussa Thiemoko Dao, Director Orange Money, Orange Cameroun
We interview AfricaCom speaker Moussa Thiemoko Dao, Director Orange
Money, Orange Cameroun ahead of the event to get his insights on the
future of mobile money in Africa and the challenges being faced by the
market.Moussa will be speaking on Tuesday 17th November at 15:00 on the Central African experience with special focus on Cameroon - how do banks benefit from Mobile Money integration? and on Wednesday 18th November at 14:20 in a panel discussion on the future of International remittance.
To find out more and to download the draft agenda, visit our website.
What is the future looking like for mobile money in Central Africa and Cameroon?
The future for mobile money is bright in all aspects in Central Africa and in Cameroon in particular: The market is increasingly getting exposed to the service (including in the very remote areas), government is enforcing the use of mobile money in a growing number of operations, partnerships between the major stakeholders are increasing, overarching financial institutions (World Bank; IMF;…) are giving more attention to the current challenges,…In short, the development of mobile money in the region is key for the all the major stakeholders, including the users who constantly make suggestions on how to expand the knowledge and usage of the services within their communities.In a recent publication, reference was made to Sub Saharan Africa as the laboratory for mobile money development. The term laboratory says it all and Central Africa is not an exception to it . Indeed, it took some vision and a definite boldness (from the Central Bank of Kenya; from the operators; from the partners;…) to establish mobile money in the usages in Kenya and make it a success story. Tanzania is developing the service in the same fashion. In Cameroon and in the Central Africa region, we are coming to terms with certain factors which have been slowing down the development of the service. This will get boosted under the impulsion of the operators, the Central bank, the partners and of course the users.
What would you say are the main challenges that mobile financial services in Africa need to overcome in the short to mid-term?
In my view, the 1st challenge is to secure a wide and optimal accessibility to the service through various supports and levers. The more accessible the service is, the more exposed populations are to its features. The combination of these two fosters confidence.The 2nd challenge in the continent is a regulatory one. At times, we may have the impression that the rules are not levelled by the Central Banks for the participants in the same geography. In some instances, banks are favoured, in some others, launching new services get very constraining,…
The 3rd one is on the involvement of the government. We have seen across the continent some very interesting initiatives (Tax payment in Cameroon; School fees in Cote d’Ivoire; prepaid electricity in Botswana)...In all financial services, the involvement of government is a key success factor.
Overall, it is also key to note that informal financial transactions have always existed as an answer to unreliable or insufficient financial systems. Mobile money is actually an opportunity for all stakeholders to safely channel money; protect the users; develop the SME’s,… simply put, mobile money is key to unlock the benefits of financial inclusion.
How effective have Orange been towards solving real issues around rural unbanked populations in Africa?
We have been launching interesting initiatives to secure the accessibility of this service across our footprints. A certain number of them have been very effective into boosting the adoption of the service. Such trend have given us the confidence of public authorities (Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali,…) to handle the transactions towards the rural unbanked populations (social welfare; school fees; tax payment;…)It is a constant exercise into our ambition to keep leading the mobile money business in our footprint.
How are interoperability and international remittance assisting Orange on it’s journey?
International remittance has proven to be a very good enabler. The corridor Mali-Senegal-Cote d’Ivoire has shown very interesting results. International remittance is an important lever which we keep exploring to better serve our customers.How do you feel regulators should foster innovation in the mobile payment space? Is there too much flexibility or too much regulation at present?
Regulation is key to the success of mobile money. It is interesting to note that we have been observing along the years how regulators have position mobile money (surely according to the local configurations and financial system set up) to enable the activity and trigger the relevant innovations: In some geographies mobile money has been set up as a clear enabler of financial inclusion through flexible configurations and direct interactions with the regulators (East Africa). In some others, it has either been set up as a strict extension of the commercial banks (Central Africa) or, on the contrary, as a complete and independent business unit in charge of developing the service with a direct relationship with the Central Bank (West Africa). It is therefore challenging to draw a global conclusion at the continent level.However, we have noticed that places where mobile money is more developed are where regulation does not precede innovation and where there is an open ecosystem which allows interactions all the way to the regulator (Central Bank in most cases). In parallel, a code of conduct has been signed by the mobile money providers in the telecommunication industry. It is the commitment we all take to ensure that we define and abide by a standard of mobile money business. This shows that we acknowledge the level of professionalism which we, providers, must put in the execution of the initiatives. In the light of this, it will be helpful that regulators constantly aim at favouring conducive environments through flexible set ups which will enable direct interactions with the banks and the Central Banks. Such set up will help include mobile money as a complete suite of primary financial services in their respective geographies. It will also help to reduce the challenges of industry related interpretation of the regulation in such an innovative space. We like to think that this evolution is worth the effort in regards with the objective to provide primary means of payment to people with no (or limited) access to basic means of financial payments, a population estimated at 80% of the Sub Saharan Africa.
To find out more about AfricaCom, or to register your interest, visit our website: www.comworldseries.com/africa
1 Jul 2015
Using PR is an investment in your technology brand
By Dominique Pienaar, Gauteng Regional manager, DUO Marketing + Communications
The proof of the value of public relations is in the experience - and one of our clients, Brian Timperley, MD and co-founder of Turrito Networks has been quoted as saying: “The lesson I have learnt is that small businesses and even startups should not underestimate the value of PR.
“Entrepreneurs are often advised of things you should and shouldn’t spend money on. PR is rarely included here. I would unequivocally disagree with this approach – as long as you have the right partner, with the right skills and experience, PR can be one of the best weapons at your disposal in any business.”
Business-to-business technology companies should view public relations as an investment that enables them to demystify their products and services, build credibility, and emphasise the business value of their offerings.
Strong, authentic, and transparent PR messaging also becomes increasingly valuable as digital media grows, and more businesses will need to build communication resiliency.
Partnering with the right agency also ensures that your PR strategy is agile - achieving omni-channel integration, staying on top of trending topics and responding quickly and being able to test and refine your messaging for maximum exposure. Digital channels provide the agency and client with direct analysis on outputs, allowing both parties the agility to test, modify and evolve the strategy to ensure commercial return on investment.
While there is undoubtedly a place for generalist PR agencies, if the objective is to translate complex or hard to explain technologies to end users, non-technical business decision makers and entrepreneurs, then tech companies would be well placed to consider a specialist B2B tech agency.
The skills requirements for any PR agency are quite similar, but for a B2B tech company, the need to have a grasp of the business, technology, and crossover media is critical.
A key function of a specialist agency is to look beyond the costs or specifications and to rather demonstrate how it can help businesses reduce costs, improve profitability, or gain a competitive advantage.
Purchasing decisions are not always made by technology decision makers, but rather by business decision makers, and an important part of the PR objective is to show how a product or service can help a business become more efficient.
Coverage in mainstream media as well as relevant industry trade publications help establish business executives as thought leaders in the field, while also raising awareness about their company’s products and services - which may otherwise need expensive advertising support.
Clients have told us that some of their new referrals have been made on the back of an interview or editorial placement in on-target media.
But, investing in PR is about more than just having press releases placed - it helps B2B technology companies build trust and create a lasting relationship with both the media and a highly-targeted business audience in an industry characterised by long sales cycles, normally with high sales values.
www.duomarketing.co.za
The proof of the value of public relations is in the experience - and one of our clients, Brian Timperley, MD and co-founder of Turrito Networks has been quoted as saying: “The lesson I have learnt is that small businesses and even startups should not underestimate the value of PR.
“Entrepreneurs are often advised of things you should and shouldn’t spend money on. PR is rarely included here. I would unequivocally disagree with this approach – as long as you have the right partner, with the right skills and experience, PR can be one of the best weapons at your disposal in any business.”
Business-to-business technology companies should view public relations as an investment that enables them to demystify their products and services, build credibility, and emphasise the business value of their offerings.
Strong, authentic, and transparent PR messaging also becomes increasingly valuable as digital media grows, and more businesses will need to build communication resiliency.
Partnering with the right agency also ensures that your PR strategy is agile - achieving omni-channel integration, staying on top of trending topics and responding quickly and being able to test and refine your messaging for maximum exposure. Digital channels provide the agency and client with direct analysis on outputs, allowing both parties the agility to test, modify and evolve the strategy to ensure commercial return on investment.
While there is undoubtedly a place for generalist PR agencies, if the objective is to translate complex or hard to explain technologies to end users, non-technical business decision makers and entrepreneurs, then tech companies would be well placed to consider a specialist B2B tech agency.
The skills requirements for any PR agency are quite similar, but for a B2B tech company, the need to have a grasp of the business, technology, and crossover media is critical.
A key function of a specialist agency is to look beyond the costs or specifications and to rather demonstrate how it can help businesses reduce costs, improve profitability, or gain a competitive advantage.
Purchasing decisions are not always made by technology decision makers, but rather by business decision makers, and an important part of the PR objective is to show how a product or service can help a business become more efficient.
Coverage in mainstream media as well as relevant industry trade publications help establish business executives as thought leaders in the field, while also raising awareness about their company’s products and services - which may otherwise need expensive advertising support.
Clients have told us that some of their new referrals have been made on the back of an interview or editorial placement in on-target media.
But, investing in PR is about more than just having press releases placed - it helps B2B technology companies build trust and create a lasting relationship with both the media and a highly-targeted business audience in an industry characterised by long sales cycles, normally with high sales values.
www.duomarketing.co.za
23 Jun 2015
The NigeriaCom 2015 brochure is now available to download!
We are pleased to announce that the NigeriaCom 2015 brochure is now available to download!
The 6th edition of the event will place at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, this 22 - 23rd September, attracting 750+ senior decision making attendees; 43% C-Level and 54% operator attendance.
NigeriaCom 2015 will provide you with two days of unrivalled networking opportunities, 11+ hours of insightful case studies, round tables and expert tips from our leading line up of speakers, plus the chance to discover the latest solutions and technologies in the market.
The
conference will support and foster development of stronger networks and
affordable access to allow the digital economy to flourish. Key features and topics include:
To view the full agenda - download the brochure now!
If you're interested in joining this years exclusive speaker line up, please do get in touch with your topic outline, company and profile - Adam Thompson E: Adam.Thompson@informa.com / T: +44(0)207 017 5610
We also have a number of bespoke sponsorship and exhibition packages available - if you would like to discuss these, please do contact us: Joao Oliva E: Joao.Oliva@informa.com / T: +44(0)207 017 5249
The 6th edition of the event will place at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, this 22 - 23rd September, attracting 750+ senior decision making attendees; 43% C-Level and 54% operator attendance.
NigeriaCom 2015 will provide you with two days of unrivalled networking opportunities, 11+ hours of insightful case studies, round tables and expert tips from our leading line up of speakers, plus the chance to discover the latest solutions and technologies in the market.
- IOT and what it really means for digital Nigeria
- National broadband strategy for growth and social development
- Implementing next-generation broadband networks
- Deepening financial inclusion through mobile
- Hosted round table lunches
- The rise and future of e-commerce
- Business implications from apps and smart-phones
- Entrepreneurs Hub for start-ups
- Data revenues and the content gold rush
- The CIO Forum: transforming your digital enterprise
- Unified communications convergence
- Optimising operational efficiency through cloud
- Smart e-governance and public sector ICT
To view the full agenda - download the brochure now!
If you're interested in joining this years exclusive speaker line up, please do get in touch with your topic outline, company and profile - Adam Thompson E: Adam.Thompson@informa.com / T: +44(0)207 017 5610
We also have a number of bespoke sponsorship and exhibition packages available - if you would like to discuss these, please do contact us: Joao Oliva E: Joao.Oliva@informa.com / T: +44(0)207 017 5249
22 Jun 2015
What's new for VAS Africa 2015?
VAS Africa 2015 will see a host of new speakers, topics and features this coming 30th June - 1st July. Registration closes this Friday 26th June - make sure you're part of the debate and purchase your delegate pass today
to experience this exciting event, with two days of insightful
presentations and inspiring workshops. Don't forget, it's FREE to attend
for regional operators, content creators and regulators - find out more.
Brand new speakers from companies including:
Huawei Digital Services Product Line, MTN, BT, Airtel Nigeria, Telkom
Business Mobile, Vodacom, Ewallet solutions FNB, (Snapscan), Zazoo,
Konga online shopping, wigroup South Africa, QPlay Music, Content
Connect Africa, Wabona, Afrikan Dust Media group, M4JAM, Silicon Cape
Initiative, Qurio, & Innovation, Afroterminal, nFrnds, I’m Bored,
weChat, mymobworld, International Omni Retailing Markets Association,
Mezzanineware, Funda Technology, Vodafone Egypt, Rekindle Learning and
Kytabu.
All new agenda topics:
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Expanded M-Commerce and Mobile Money section: FNB Ewallet Solutions, Zazoo, Konga online shopping and wigroup South Africa contribute to our expanded sessions this year - focussing on the convergence of mobile money and merchant payments with traditional payment and creating sustainable and viable mobile financial services. Day One, Tuesday 30th June at 11:45. |
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Innovation for Africa: discussion, panels, showcasing start-ups: Silicon Cape Initiative, Qurio and Latest Sightings will discuss fostering growth in the VAS start-up community, showcasing a number of exciting developments and addressing how regulators, telcos and ICT leaders can support this growing community. Day Two, Wednesday 1st July at 11.15. |
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Video on demand and new music players join the Digital Entertainment: We’re pleased to welcome new speakers - Qplay Music, Content Connect Africa, BOZZA and Simfy to the stage - be the first to hear how smart phones and low cost tablets FNB changing consumption and distribution of digital entertainment services. Day One, Tuesday 30th at 14.50. |
New features for 2015:
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Hosted Roundtable Lunches: On day one, meet and network with senior level decision makers over lunch in our hosted roundtables – table topics include the future of Mobile Money, launching a new VAS product and overcoming technology barriers. |
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AfricaCom 100 at VAS Africa:
Launched in 2014, the AfricaCom 100 is a group of top leaders and
influencers in Africa’s telecoms, media and ICT sector. VAS Africa comes
at a perfect time for the group as the results of 2015’s first
AfricaCom 100 survey on key market trends will be revealed. The
AfricaCom 100 members and VAS Africa speakers will meet for an exclusive
networking gathering on the eve of the conference to discuss the
results in an informal setting. |
Make sure you don't miss out - purchase your delegate pass today, or if you're a regional operator or regulator, register here!
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