The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Xolisa Dyeshana named one of AdWeek’s Creative 100
Xolisa Dyeshana, chief creative officer at Joe Public Johannesburg, has achieved global recognition as one of the top international agency leaders in the prestigious AdWeek Creative 100 list for 2021.
Now in its seventh year, AdWeek’s Creative 100 is an annual celebration of today’s most fascinating and enviable creative professionals, ranging from influential icons to emerging game changers.
According to the US-based brand marketing publication, Dyeshana is one 15 creative leaders from all over the world who are reshaping the industry through their work to bring a user-centric approach to advertising and break down the barriers between media and creativity.
“These global agency leaders didn’t just execute new ideas; they weren’t afraid to push the envelope or in some cases, get downright strange. That eccentricity is what made their work unforgettable, and the marketing landscape is all the better for it,” said Stephen Lepitak, AdWeek’s Europe bureau chief.
“AdWeek is a household name for marketers, and I am profoundly humbled to be named on such a prestigious list. It gives me great pleasure to represent South Africa in these very competitive global rankings. It is testament to the creative excellence that exists here in the country. Thank you to my Joe Public United family – the place I have called home for the past 15 years. This recognition would not have been possible without them. Thank you to all our incredible clients as well, who continually trust us with their precious brands as we endeavour to grow their brands,” Dyeshana said.
The full list of honourees can be found here.
People moves
TV presenter and radio personality LootLove is new host of Apple Music 1’s Africa Now Radio
South African TV presenter and radio personality Luthando Shosha, aka LootLove, is taking over as new host of Africa Now Radio on Apple Music 1, beginning Sunday, 13 June.
Africa Now Radio, Apple Music radio’s first global African music radio show, recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.
“I am beyond elated to host Africa Now Radio,” said LootLove. “This is a big moment for the universal language that is music. A moment that continues to shine a light on our continent, my home country — South Africa — and on all the magical talent we have. I am looking forward to seeing more, experiencing more and learning more through the beauty of Africa’s music. From the Cape to Cairo and to the rest of the world.”
Stefaans Brümmer leaving amaBhungane after 11 years
Joint managing partner of amaBhungane, Stefaans Brümmer, will be leaving amaB after 11 years at the helm with partner, Sam Sole.
To ensure a smooth transition, Brümmer is serving a two-month notice period, although he should have handed over most of his daily responsibilities by the end of June. He intends embarking on a long-planned travel experience with his family in July.
Brümmer’s decision was taken after introspection about his career and the futureproofing of amaB.
A change in leadership often presents risk. But amaB is better shielded from it than most start-ups at this point, amaB said in a press release. Sole remains at the helm as managing partner, supported by team members across the editorial, digital, advocacy and operating portfolios. The current recruitment pipeline may also be reshaped to ensure any lacunae are filled.
Egg Films announces new partners, Lebogang Rasethaba & Zwelethu Radebe
Egg Films has boosted its leadership firepower with director Zwelethu Radebe and director and Arcade co-owner Lebogang Rasethaba joining long-standing colleague, executive producer Colin Howard, as the ‘nest’s’ main shareholders and partners. The move comes after director Sunu stepped down as partner to focus on his longform.
Founded over 21 years ago, Egg Films is one of the most established and respected production companies in the industry. Rasethaba and Howard launched Arcade, the sibling production company, nine years ago in 2012.
The duo view the new Egg Films partnership as the extension of their current working relationship, and have brought in Radebe to complete the partnership. The new leadership team intends build on Egg Film’s already high level of craftsmanship while creating culturally relevant commercials, documentaries, short films and music videos for the local market.
Egg Films will continue to be a majority Black-owned level 2 contributor to B-BBEE. With offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, it represents a strong roster of South African directors.
Zanele Ntulini appointed FMI’s new CMO
Life insurer, FMI (a Division of Bidvest Life Ltd), recently announced the appointment of Zanele Ntulini as its chief marketing officer.
“We’re excited to have Zanele join the FMI executive leadership team where she will contribute to the company’s continued focus on innovation, growth and transformation,” said Neil Wolno, FMI acting CEO. “As a brand and communications leader, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. I am confident that she will elevate our brand and take FMI to greater heights.”
Ntulini is a strategic marketing and advertising executive with 19 years’ experience in building strong brands, and developing and implementing marketing strategies that translate into effective integrated marketing communication solutions.
She holds an impressive track record, having held various roles in the marketing departments of Liberty, Old Mutual, Discovery Health and Hollard. She has agency and consulting experience, having co-owned a through-the-line advertising and design agency in the Western Cape and serving as Managing Director at Collective ID.
Reed Exhibitions Africa welcomes new events director to FAME
Reed Exhibitions Africa has welcomed Judith (Judy) Goddard as the new event director of FAME Week Africa taking place in the host city of Cape Town from 12 – 14 September 2021.
Founder and director of creative events agency Masiwela, Goddard has a passion for events, people and working on creative, collaborative projects. Combined with her Swiss Education Group Alumni from the Swiss Hotel Management School graduating class of 2008 and her involvement in key industry events such as the kykNET Fiestas, The Johannesburg Film Festival, The Ghoemas, Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor South Africa, The Bachelorette South Africa to name a few, she is ready to meet the magnificent highs of FAME.
She said: “It is an incredible privilege to join the RXSA team; they are a big thinking, action orientated and dynamic team of people who are leading the trajectory of business events in Africa.”
ProfitShare Partners appoints one of SA’s top CA’s as CFO
ProfitShare Partners has welcomed Michael Kransdorff to the team as its chief financial officer (CFO) from 1 June 2021.
Kransdorff’s was one of the top chartered accountants of his year also and was also awarded his Master’s in Tax from Wits. His global experience has also includes a Master’s degree from Harvard University, specialising in Economic Development, International Finance and Political Analysis.
Previously a senior banker at one of the largest banks on the African continent, Kransdorff worked in a specialist unit charged with sourcing the next billion rand business for the bank.
Mbaya to head INMA Africa Division
Doreen Mbaya has recently been appointed to head up the International News Media Association (INMA) Africa Division.
Mbaya, a media veteran out of Kenya, is part of INMA’s focus on Africa. We aim to ensure that the innovation our continent embraces is showcased within INMA’s global media community.
Business moves
Tractor Outdoor expands its Cape Town network with more RSD sites
Tractor Outdoor is expanding its roadside presence with an additional three Roadside Digital (RSD) sites, which will take the media owner’s nationwide RSD network to 23 screens – one of the largest in the country.
Ben Harris, managing director and head of rights and development at Tractor Outdoor, said the growing interest in DOOH has necessitated the media owner expanding its RSD footprint, increasing its capacity to meet the rising demand. “The dynamic nature of RSD integrates the latest programmatic technology, allowing the advertiser to update the artwork in real-time, in line with the needs of the campaign,” Harris explained.
The new sites will be based in Cape Town – a prime market for Tractor, and an area that Harris believes has not yet unlocked its full potential. “There are far more sites in Johannesburg than any other province in the country, and so our current focus is on expanding our presence in the Mother City – which will also be one of the first areas to benefit from the return in tourism.
“Our knowledge of Cape Town’s signage bylaws have afforded us the opportunity to build one of the largest third party digital sites in the country, and the first double-sided portrait digital screen on the city’s iconic Marine drive.”
Harris said Tractor also has another 14 RSD sites earmarked for Cape Town, and it plans on adding more sites to its network across various other provinces over the coming months, as well as pivotal arterial routes which it has not previously covered.
The media owner has also just concluded signage rights with Sasol Forecourts, expanding its nationwide outdoor footprint through an additional 100 digital screens. This move will take the media owner’s total digital inventory count to 222 screens, meaning that advertisers can now also benefit from having access to the largest digital network in South Africa.
Daily Maverick and Absa tackle climate crisis with the launch of Our Burning Planet partnership
Daily Maverickhas launched a partnership with Absato make the risks of the global climate crisis a bigger focus of everyday life – with practical approaches on how to address them.
Spurred by the threat of Day Zero – when it was forecast Cape Town would run out of potable water – Daily Maverick decided to tackle the climate crisis head-on. What was originally intended to be an intermittent series called Our Burning Planet has become a fully-fledged unit in the Daily Maverick editorial team, concentrating on the catastrophes that happen when bad governance and climate change collide. From travelling to rural areas to see how weather changes have transformed food production and livelihoods, to speaking to scientists and uncovering corrupt business deals that threaten healthy ecosystems, the path was clear: help South Africans understand that we are in a climate crisis, how it affects them and how we can address the key risks for the region.
Already achieving massive impact with its investigations and reporting, the Daily Maverick team has received support from Absa, who have helped fund independent research into the key climate risks for the SADC region in 2020. The relationship with Absa has grown into greater support of the Our Burning Planet effort through an annual sponsorship and grant funding.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that global challenges require global coordination and brave action. At Absa we recognise Africa’s vulnerability to climate change, and together with like-minded media partners such as Daily Maverickand their team of dedicated journalists, we hope to stimulate public debate, shift policy and contribute to creating sustainable and value-creating solutions to some of Africa’s greatest environmental challenges,” said David Wingfield, head of brand at Absa Group.
“We’re excited that our vision for reporting on the climate crisis aligns with Absa’s strategic focus. We’ll be able to invest more into our already impactful editorial efforts and help showcase Absa’s support for the cause,” added Daily Maverick CEO Styli Charalambous.
FoxP2 increases BEE ownership to 51%
In a positive step forward for transformation in the South African advertising industry, FoxP2 has increased its recognised black ownership from 45% to 51% through an investment in the agency by the Vumela Fund, established by FNB Business and Edge Growth.
FoxP2 was founded in Cape Town late in 2005 and opened a Johannesburg office in 2013. Its initial 45% BBBEE-ownership was achieved through its 2018 deal with Japanese international marketing, advertising and public relations company dentsu.
This left the agency with three sets of shareholders: dentsu, a dentsu-backed Employee Staff Ownership Programme (ESOP) and the FoxP2 partners Charl Thom, Grant Jacobsen, Justin Gomes and Andrew Whitehouse. The ESOP took the form of a BBBEE employee share trust structure across the dentsu South African group of companies, beneficiaries for which are selected from the entire dentsu SA group.
The current deal, in which the Vumela Fund has acquired a 10% private shareholding, effectively places 51% of FoxP2 in the hands of black owners.
FreshStop joins Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island as key sponsor
FreshStop at Caltex, South Africa’s fast-growing convenience retail brand, has signed up as a key sponsor for this year’s Survivor South Africa season that kicked off last week. For the first time in eight seasons, 20 castaways from across South Africa are competing to be the ‘Sole Survivor’ on South African soil.
FreshStop, joins well-known brands such as Mahindra, Cape Union Mart, OUTsurance and the Wild Coast Sun, as key sponsors of this season.
GinjaNinjaPR launches a digital service offering as demand for social media service increases
GinjaNinjaPR, an 18-year old SME focused communications agency, has launched a bespoke social media service aimed at improving businesses’ use of digital tools, while also introducing it to those who currently don’t have a plan in place to engage digitally. Owner and MD, Samantha Hogg, said including a digital offering was an organic process as clients started to recognise the importance of social media within a broader communications strategy.
“Launching a social media offering was a natural extension for GinjaNinjaPR. We develop and manage the majority of the external communications for clients, so extending this to social media was pretty logical. For years, I have had a love-hate relationship with social media, believing intrinsically that it was a tool of PR and not an alternative. It seems that the market is finally coming around to the same opinion, which is when I knew that it was a great opportunity to add more value to my clients, while also having another carrot for my new business drive,” said Hogg.
Oxigen Communications announces new business growth
Oxigen Communications, an integrated, turnkey marketing agency, has announced the addition of five new contracts to its stable of clients in technology, B2B, communications, mining, and event & sponsorship in the past three months.
Notable client wins include the SPAR Virtual Women’s Challenge 2021, Digicall Group, and Sigma, Nova and the 6th year renewal of its agreement with TLT-Turbo GmbH. This announcement was made just two months after Oxigen revealed new client wins in the healthcare and virtual learning space at the end of 2020. The momentum comes amid tough market conditions as South Africa continues to grapple with the on-going Covid-19 lockdown and the residual economic challenges that the country was faced with in 2020.
Oxigen’s business-to-business division is leading the agency’s growth having recently signed agreements with Digicall, Sigma and Nova – all specialists in business processes, communications technology and human capital services. TLT-Turbo GmbH, a long standing Oxigen client renewed their contract bringing the track history with this client to six years from first signing an agreement with their South African branch.
Okayplayer & Google News Initiative announce The Byline Project
Okaymedia and its news and culture site, Okayplayer, have announced the launch of an exciting new pilot programme called The Byline Project in collaboration with Google and the Google News Initiative.
Designed to empower local journalists, investigative journalism, and underserved communities, The Byline Project allows individual journalists and under-resourced newsrooms to easily manage and collaborate with freelance contributors, and in turn tell more local stories. Developed as open-sourced technology by Okayplayer, the software also includes a simple and accessible way for readers to directly support local journalists and newsrooms through a digital/ crypto ‘tipping’ functionality. Okayplayer is implementing The Byline Project” technology on an eponymous section of the website and has unveiled a short video introducing the project.
Kryolan Professional Make-Up appoints The Lime Envelope
The Lime Envelope, a Johannesburg-based public relations agency servicing national and international brands, has secured professional makeup company Kryolan Professional Make-Up as a client and is poised to implement a year-long campaign with the brand.
“Kryolan Professional Make-Up in a small way, wants to give back to athletes and provide them with a brand that truly understands and supports them, values their career, and caters to them – on and off the field! We are proud to be the first company and country to have thought of such a concept and cannot wait to bring it to life. We greatly appreciate having both The Lime Envelope and SASCOC on board to assist us in making our vision a reality. Watch this space for the announcement!” said MD Neil Wilkinson. [See snippet in Making Moves below.]
Google launches programmes to support continent’s small retail businesses
Google has kicked off a series of programmes, rolling out throughout the month of June, which will not only support the growth and recovery of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Africa’s post-Covid economy but will help them thrive.
Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, Google’s head of brand and reputation for Africa, said: “As more consumers start their journey looking for products and services online, we want to do more to help retail small businesses digitise and better leverage online tools for growth. One thing we know for sure is that when small businesses recover, African economies rebound and do well and this benefits everyone”.
Activities planned by Google for International Small Business Month include:
- The launch of a new Google for Small Businesses portal to help small businesses find the solutions and guidance they need to get online and grow
- A series of SMB skills webinars aimed at helping small businesses use digital tools to connect with and grow their customer base. SMBs can register for free webinars available on 9, 16 and 23 June at goo.gle/smbwebinars
- Shop Small Fridays – a social media video series highlighting and celebrating small businesses across the continent. Those interested can follow the #ShopSmallFridayseries on our Google Africa Twitter account
Cellucity partners with Pargo to connect South Africans
Delivery in South Africa is not easy. Many South Africans live in outlying areas where there isn’t a well-developed infrastructure in place to get online orders to customers in a way that is both convenient and affordable.
For this reason, Cellucity partnered with smart logistics company Pargo whose innovative pickup point network extends far across South Africa. Lesa Jackson, ecommerce sales manager at Cellucity, explains: “Though Cellucity has many brick and mortar stores, the majority are found in large cities. Historically it’s been challenging to get our products in the hands of customers who live in outlying areas where we have no physical presence.”
Pargo recently reported that their network of pickup points has grown to over 3000 and plan to continue with this growth further into 2021.
Corona becomes first global beverage brand to achieve a net zero plastic footprint globally
Corona has become the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic footprint, meaning the brand recovers more plastic from the environment than it releases into the world. This achievement is part of Corona’s vision to be a sustainability leader in consumer packaged goods and is the latest in the brand’s longtime efforts to help protect the world’s oceans and beaches from marine plastic pollution.
Achieving this milestone comes after an extensive external assessment of Corona’s global operations against the 3RI Corporate Plastic Stewardship Guidelines by South Pole, a leading climate solutions provider. Thanks to these mitigation efforts, Corona now recovers more plastic than its plastic footprint.
“As a brand born at the beach and deeply connected with nature, Corona has a responsibility to do all it can to be an ally to our environment and our oceans. Becoming the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic footprint is the latest in Corona’s broader ambition to help protect the world’s oceans and beaches from plastic pollution,” said Marsha Kumire, Global Brands Director Africa.
In addition, Corona has created Plastic Reality, an innovative augmented reality experience that allows people to see their annual plastic footprint in their own home.
NorthVCA Joins Global Network
In celebration of seven years of creative excellence, brand design consultancy North has been named the 26th company to join By The Network, a burgeoning community of independent creative agencies from around the globe.
With offices in Cape Town and Amsterdam, North was chosen to represent the Sub-Saharan region of the continent and is the only African-based representative in the global mix of top-notch independent agencies.
The global network was founded by creative leader Per Pedersen who spent over 25 years working in the Grey Group, most recently as Global Creative Chairman of Grey Worldwide. By The Network have dismissed the dated corporate structures of the past and formed a global dream-team of highly awarded independent agencies and world class creatives, offering a new breed of curated creative and strategic talent. Since its inception in October 2020, the network has been selected to lead global work for Snap, Netflix and Carlsberg to name a few.
A new digital face of PR winning in tech space
Three-years ago Hook, Line & Sinker (HLS) was born with a simple formula to combine marketing, publicity, content, and social media, to breathe life back into the PR game. And then the pandemic happened. Many companies and global stock markets struggled for growth, but for some it was about seizing the moment. What was seen as a business threat quickly turned into a business opportunity, and the recipe of tech clients – Covid-disruption – paired with digital agency support, saw HLS revenue quadruple as its business reached into Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, while forming partnerships with global giants such IBM, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and United Nations.
The key to success? The rapid growth of their tech clients combined with their multifaceted digital offerings. “Times are changing, and so too is the era of the press release and red-carpet events,” said HLS Head Honcho, Adam Hunter.
“The print media has been challenged for many years. This, combined with Covid-19, has seen media houses close and publications disappear, and has resulted in one journalist for every 10 PR professionals – making it extremely competitive for brands to be seen and heard.”
Hunter oversees the HLS team that now supports 16 different market units across the globe and specialises in business-to-business (B2B) tech clients and global start-ups.
The agency’s client list includes companies such as SAP, Skynamo, RoomRaccoon, Mobiz and UK’s CoGrammar, trading as HyperionDev in SA – all heavyweights and innovators in their spaces, and all leveraging HLS’ unique approach to ensure highly visible penetration into competitive markets.
Making moves
Kryolan: inspiring women in sport
International professional make-up brand, Kryolan, is launching a nationwide search for70-100 professional women in sport in an effort to support those who are often not considered for sponsorships. The sponsorship drive will provide opportunities for female athletes to increase brand visibility and show support for our South African sportswomen.
Kryolan is widely recognised as a leader in stage, theatre and film make up, but has also gained good traction as a leading manufacturer of traditional cosmetics for day-to-day use.
In recognising women in sport, Kryolan is partnering with South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to identify the athletes and to drive greater awareness of female sporting achievers, with a focus on the inspiration they provide to their fans and followers.
Neil Wilkinson, MD at Kryolan South Africa, said, “The main focus of our partnership with female sports achievers is to empower them to inspire and to change perceptions around women’s highly influential standing in sports achievement. Traditionally, male sportspeople receive the lion’s share of attention. We would like to showcase the fact that women are equally as influential and important in sport.
“Looking and feeling good is a great source of confidence for anyone – male or female. And in providing a product that allows these women to achieve the ultimate comfort with who they are, we hope that we can inspire other women to feel empowered”.
Precious cargo in transit
Look out for a new slogan on a bum near you this September, as the Daredevil challenge asks for the smartest newest campaign punchlines.
With the annual Hollard Daredevil Run being postponed until September, what better way to keep men’s cancer awareness top of mind than by hosting a digital competition to come up with the catchiest and cleverest new campaign slogan.
Hundreds of witty suggestions were submitted during the two-week campaign, each vying for the prize of a brand-new iPhone 12 and for their slogan to be selected to adorn those renowned purple speedos. This digital campaign secured a reach in excess of 2 744 000 and engagements of over 65 000.
Eight finalists were chosen, and the public were asked to vote for their best Daredevil slogan, with the catchphrase ‘Precious Cargo in Transit’ being the hands down favourite.
“With this campaign, we continue to urge the men in our lives to show their precious cargo some love. Look out for this, and other versions of real poetry in motion when speedo-clad runners participate in the annual Daredevil run through the streets of Johannesburg again in September,” says Heidi Brauer, chief marketing officer at Hollard.
Be first in line when entries open and get more information by following Daredevil Run on Facebook.
ZIZI Digital launches #Zizi4Youth
Zizi Digital has revealed a new Campaign, #Zizi4Youth. It is a unique opportunity for South African based youth-owned start-ups to win R5000 in cash to use on their business.
Following recent statistics showcasing that the official unemployment rate in South Africa has reached a record high of 32.6% Zizi Digital encourages youth to explore self-employment opportunities in effort to combat this.
“As a black, female, start-up owner, I believe that this is the prime
opportunity to create your own employment. I believe that the youth of today
hold the key to our nation’s future and success,” said Nombulelo Nana Malinga,
founder and director of Zizi Digital.
Youth-owned start-ups are called to enter through the official Zizi Digital social
media platforms Facebook,
Instagram, LinkedIn
and Twitter.
There, users will find more information and a chance to spread awareness as well as enter to help support the movement.
Rogerwilco announces 2021 Township Marketing Report & Webinar
Rogerwilco, winner of the FM AdFocus Small Agency of the Year 2020, is releasing its first-ever Township Marketing Report during an online webinar on Tuesday 22 June from 8am – 12pm.
The study was undertaken by Rogerwilco, market research company Survey54 and Marketing Mix Conferences and aims to equip today’s marketers with actionable insights from over 1 000 individuals living in townships across South Africa.
“Almost half of South Africa’s urban population lives in townships and informal settlements, yet very little data exists for marketers to speak to the needs and wants of this substantial audience that represents hundreds of billions of rands in aggregate,” said Rogerwilco CEO Charlie Stewart. “The 2021 Township Marketing Report aims to partially plug this gap.”
The webinar will cover topics such as ‘Life. Covid. Money. Digital and everything else – a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the New Normal in SA’s Emerging Market’ presented by Jack Hlongwane, business development manager at Kantar; ‘Home deliveries are dynamic; how about online retail’ by Jessica Boonstra, CEO & founder of YEBO Fresh; ‘Cash is king, but the trend to non-cash options is irreversible’ by Nkululeko Mvulana, director business development, Kazang Connect and ‘The vicious cycle of an economic downturn – Traditional Trade strategies for the new normal’ by Jacqui Le Sar, MD, Inperspective.
Potential delegates can sign up for the webinar here at a cost of just R2 000.00 ex-VAT which includes a copy of the 2021 Township Marketing Report.
Power Brands get on board with The 67 Logos Designathon
Now in its fourth year, the 67 Logos Designathon sees welcome additions to the initiative, making for an even more powerful impact for participating entrepreneurs. This year Over The Rainbow has partnered with iLearn and Retail Capital to offer a Hosted Learnership Solution. This learnership empowers and equips black-owned businesses with the skills and knowledge needed to create wealth in the global economy and build sustainable and thriving businesses.
“Our team is extremely excited about this unique opportunity and the shared value that this project will create for black entrepreneurs in South Africa this Mandela Day. Our ultimate goal is to empower the successful entrepreneurs by providing them with the necessary skills to develop sustainable businesses, allowing them to become more economically active,” said Richard Rayne, Managing Director at iLearn.
The successful learnership entrepreneurs sourced from Retail Capital’s network – who will automatically be part of the 67 Logos Designathon– will write a SETA accredited FETC: New Venture Creation NQF 4 qualification, facilitated by iLearn. This is a 12-month SETA accredited learnership qualification designed to provide entrepreneurs with the formal academic knowledge and skills needed to run small to medium business ventures.
“In addition, the contribution of creatives in terms of their time and design abilities are crucial to the success of the initiative and CWDi will be contributing to this year’s Designathon by committing logos towards the campaign, with Creative Consultant Ahmed Tilly doing his part by reaching out to designers in his extensive network to participate and support. As a result, 45 designers have signed up already, and we’d like to challenge other agencies and creatives to get on board and do the same,” said Lesley Waterkeyn, the brainchild behind the 67 Logos Designathon, as well as the Founder and Executive Director at Over The Rainbow.
ISPA celebrates its quarter century
The Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) this month celebrates 25 years of being a force for positive change in South Africa’s ICT (Information and Communications Technology) sector.
ISPA has spent a quarter century shaping and influencing ICT policy for the better; investing in people and communities; and leveling the telecoms playing field to the advantage of its nearly 200 members, consumers and the economy.
Much of ISPA’s early activities were focused on preventing Telkom from using its monopoly position to unfairly compete against the country’s fledgling Internet access providers. ISPA’s steadfast efforts eventually resulted in Competition Commission rulings that resulted in the split of Telkom’s wholesale and retail activities.
Today, Openserve provides services equally to Telkom’s retail division and to other ISP (Internet Service Providers). It is fitting then that ISPA is now able to welcome Openserve as its newest member. Openserve joins Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Seacom as ISPA’s three Backbone members who quite literally operate the backbones of the nation’s Internet infrastructure.
YouTube Music expands commitment to black music through the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund
YouTube Music is deepening investments in black communitiesby opening applications to the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund Class of 2022, aimed at enabling Black artists to commercialise their work.
Grant applications for the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund Class of 2022 will open on 21 June 2021. Eligibility has been expanded to include songwriters and producers, allowing black artists residing in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Canada and the UK, in addition to the U.S., Brazil and Australia, to apply.
YouTube Music is also launching a new partnership with renowned music education institution, 1500 Sound Academy, founded by GRAMMY-award winning songwriters and producers, James Fauntleroy and Larrance ‘Rance’ Dopson. Through the inaugural #YouTubeBlack Music Future Insiders Scholarship, YouTube will fund ten full ride scholarships to the Academy’s Live Online 1500 Music & Industry Fundamentals programme.
“The YouTube Music team is excited to expand the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund and create new opportunities while also reflecting on the progress made to date,” said Alex Okosi, YouTube’s EMEA managing director for emerging markets. “The six-month scholarship term will see recipients undertake courses in music production, engineering, songwriting, mixing, music business and much more.”
