Nigerian musical powerhouse Timi Dakolo, and two of Africa’s leading vocalists Waje and Lira, are billed to perform at the fifth edition of the prestigious Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) holding at the Eko Hotel on Saturday, the 4th of March, 2017. Viewers can tune in to watch the show live on all Africa Magic channels on DStv and GOtv from 17:00 CAT.
The AMVCA is the biggest celebration of film and television talent across Africa with the first edition holding in 2013. This year being the fifth edition, the show promises to be even bigger with top contenders from across Africa competing for honours in a number of voting, non-voting and online polling categories including the newly introduced recognition award for M-Net’s original productions.
The Director, M-Net West Africa, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said: “We are excited to once again celebrate the finest hands in African film and television. This is the fifth edition of the awards, and we urge viewers from all across Africa and the rest of the world to tune in on Saturday, the 4th of March as we find out who wins top honours this year. The show promises to be a great experience for our esteemed guests on the ground and the many viewers at home, as some of Africa’s biggest names in music will be performing.”
Viewers should expect an evening of fun, excitement and stellar performances from Africa’s finest musical talents including Timi Dakolo and leading African songstresses Waje and Lira. Also performing at the AMVCAs are the winner of the first edition of The Voice Nigeria A’rese alongside other Voice talents Chike and the newly signed Mavin Records acts, the DNA twins.
John Ugbe, the Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria, said: “We are delighted to once again bring the AMVCAs to our viewers across Africa. MultiChoice is a firm believer in recognizing established and budding talent in the film and television industry, even as we remain committed to endeavours that recognise the hard work these talents put in every day, behind and in front of the cameras. We urge our viewers from across the country to catch the show as it promises to be truly exciting.”
The 5th edition of the AMVCAs holds on Saturday the 4th of March 2017 and will be broadcast on all Africa Magic channels on DStv and GOtv from 17:00 CAT. For more information on the AMVCAs and other Africa Magic programming, please visit www.africamagic.tv or www.dstv.com
• Now in their 5th Year, the awards will be hosted under the theme: Survival of the fittest: Partnering for success
• The key note speech to be delivered by Dr. Judy Dlamini, a successful female entrepreneur of the Mbekani Group of businesses in South Africa
• The awards season to feature a free Master Class covering a range of topics like SME Financing, Corporate Governance, Marketing and others
• In this 5th edition, a special Survivor of the Year Award will be presented to a female owned business that has shown resilience in the face of tough economic times.
In honor of women and specifically those engaged in small to medium business, MTN will be joining the rest of the world to celebrate International Women’s day. As has been done for the last four years, MTN will again host the MTN Women in Business Awards (WiB) 2017. These awards celebrate the achievements of Ugandan women entrepreneurs who against all odds continue to excel in the predominantly male dominated field of business. Under the theme; Survival of the fittest: Partnering for success, MTN will host the awards night on Friday 17th March 2017 at the Kampala Serena Hotel. The night will also feature a panel discussion and a key note speech delivered by Dr. Judy Dlamini, a successful South African female entrepreneur who is behind the Mbekani Group of businesses. Details at www.mbekani.co.za
Preceding the dinner night, MTN together with partners like CNBC & Forbes Africa, Stanbic Bank, Serena Hotels, Huawei, UAP Insurance and others, will host a Master Class on Friday 3rd March 2017 at the Protea Hotel. Speaking about this new feature in the awards season, the MTN Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Mrs. Mapula Bodibe commented that, “This day of education and networking seeks to further empower women with various skills in areas like Financing, Corporate Governance, Planning and Marketing among others”. The day long class will be facilitated by leading professionals and organizations with expertise in their respective areas of trade like Mr. Charles Ocici – CEO, Enterprise Uganda, Mrs. Ruth Sebatindira – Founding Partner, Ligomarc Advocates, Mr. Cedric Mpobusingye – Country Partner PwC Uganda and digital marketing experts – Zimba Women among others. Participating individuals and organizations will each be recognized with a Certificate of Participation. Those individual and companies interested in participating can register online at www.tiny.cc/wib17 on a first come; first service basis. Then on Saturday 11th March 2017, at the Shoprite Lugogo parking yard, MTN Business will facilitate a trade expo that will feature women owned businesses making their mark in Uganda. “We believe that the expo is a great opportunity for participating businesses to market themselves and reach out to new and wider audiences”, said Mr. Reginald Kafeero, General Manager – MTN Business.
The MTN Women in Business Awards have over the years become the most recognizable platform celebrating upcoming and successful women entrepreneurs in Uganda; and “MTN through its MTN Business division is proud to be championing what we believe is an area that holds great potential in realizing the fortunes of a huge segment of our population”, noted Mrs. Bodibe.
The award categories on the night are:
MTN Women In Business Excellence in ICT Award
MTN Women In Business Excellence in Financial Services Award
MTN Women In Business: People’s Choice (Survivor of the Year)
MTN Women In Business CEO Of The Year
In all award categories, a 2nd runner, 1st runner up and the eventual category winners will be recognized with an award and prizes to be announced on the night.
A special People’s choice Survivor of the Year Award will be presented to a female owned business that has shown resilience in the face of tough economic times that the country and the business community, in particular, have endured in recent times.
The winners will be selected by a panel of distinguished judges who are industry captains in their respective fields of business. This year’s judges include;
• Dr. Merian Sebunya – Board Member; Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and The East African Business Council (EABC)
• Mrs. Jennifer Mwijukye – Managing Director – Unifreight Group
• Dr. Maggie Kigozi – President, Business Professional Women
• Mrs, Rita Balaka – Head of Compliance, Stanbic Bank Uganda
• Mrs. Sophia Mukasa – Senior Manager Enterprise, MTN Business
To deliberate on what it takes to survive in business as a Ugandan female entrepreneur, the panel will comprise among others, ladies with experience like
• Mrs. Jackie Namara Rukare – a seasoned lady marketer
• Dr. Barbara Ofwono – founder and proprietor, Victorious Education
• Mrs. Elizabeth Ntege – Director, NFT Consult
• Ms. Caroline Mboijana – Founder & Managing Director, The Leadership Team plus;
• Mrs. Mapula Bodibe – Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Uganda.
If 2014 and 2015 were bad years for Uganda Telecom (UTL), then 2016 was worse. UTL’s under-performance continued in 2016.
This poor performance in the just concluded year was nonetheless unsurprising as UTL has been on a gradual decline since the unexpected overthrow of the Libya President, Colonel Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi (RIP) in 2011 and the civil war that followed thereafter. At that time, most of UTL’s funding came from Libya and thus the overthrow of Gaddafi left a huge gap that remains unfilled to date.
UTL which was formally part of the Uganda Posts and Telecommunications Company Limited (UPTCL) is a joint venture owned by Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company (LPTIC) also referred to as LAP Green of Libya – a company representing the Libyan Government and the Ugandan government with a reported shareholding stake of 69 percent and 31 percent respectively.
Sell Rumors: In 2016, there was unending talk that UTL was seeking new investors. Following failure by its shareholders to raise funds required to clear huge debts and disagreements on the recapitalization plan, the company was in 2016 seeking to sell off the 69 percent stake owned by LAP Green of Libya to investors from United States of America. According to a November report in the Daily Monitor newspaper; “the plan was to force the Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company (LPTIC) out of UTL and allow a fresh investor to come on board.”
Huge Debt: Additionally, Daily Monitor newspaper revealed in the same report that UTL was also “indebted to a tune of about UGX 128 billion and also had unpaid arrears of more than UGX 60 billion to Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) and other vendors in interconnection fees.”
Bad Press: The bad media coverage received by UTL in 2016 was thanks to its failure to manage its issues. Many of the media reports on this telecom in 2016 were about failure to clear debts, failed sale, and staff anxiety over pending retrenchments plus funds embezzlement.
LPTIC chairman holds talks with President Museveni over UTL future: In the third week of November 2016, the Chairman of Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company (LPTIC) Dr. Faisel Gergab was in Uganda and held talks with President Museveni focused on the “transformation plan to turnaround the Ugandan based telecoms operator UTL that would significantly boost the company’s existing Data Services.”
According to LPTIC Chairman Dr. Faisel Gergab, HE President Museveni reaffirmed the government’s willingness to work with LPTIC to transform UTL into a leading universal telecoms service provider plus providing suggestions for ways to implement the new plan that would ‘help turn the company around’.
“Following the meeting with HE President Museveni, all Parties are now confident that there will be real progress to quickly remove the obstacles that have blocked the implementation of the agreed plan, and clear the way forward to commence the execution of the UTL transformation plan,” a statement from UTL noted.
Uganda Parliament probes UTL: With matters seemingly running out of hand, the Uganda Parliament summoned UTL top management. This was after Budadiri West MP, Nandala Mafabi presented to Parliament a report showing several “flaws in the management and running of the company, in which government has a stake of 31 percent.” According to the New Vision; “Mafabi cited non-auditing of company accounts, lack of investment in the company and several court cases against the company as causes of the firm’s eminent collapse.”
Budadiri West MP, Nandala Mafabi presented to Parliament a report showing some of the issues affecting Uganda Telecom.
“Over the past few years, this company has continuously been on a free fall that has reached alarming levels. If nothing is done to rescue it, it could soon cease to exist,” Mafabi said as quoted by the New Vision newspaper.
Consequently, a seven member select committee was constituted by Parliament to undertake this activity. The parliament investigations started at the end of November with the seven member select committee given two months to investigate, present findings and recommendations. This is currently underway. By the end of 2016, several members of UTL’s top management team led by the managing director Mark Shoebridge had already appeared before the parliament select committee investigating the company. We now wait for the report expected early this year.
UTL’s top management team led by the managing director Mark Shoebridge had already appeared before the parliament select committee investing the company
Away from boardroom issues, UTL had a slow year in the market too. There were growing complaints about the scarcity of UTL airtime cards in different areas. Its sales team ought to do better.
Throughout the year, the telecom fronted several Voice and Data promotions; Kizze, Endobo, UGX 3 per second calls, Corporate Mega Bonus and New Sim Cards sales – ‘Talk More, Surf More and SMS’ on UTL.
Final Verdict: 2016 was a bad Year for UTL. In 2017, the telecom needs a committed savior to lead its recovery!
As highlighted in our previous review titled ‘Airtel vs MTN: The 2016 Scorecard with Winners and Losers!’, 2016 was a ‘roller coaster’ year in all aspects. A lot happened including the unprecedented Donald J Trump victory over the media favorite and pollsters’ president in waiting Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton during the November 8th USA Presidential Elections. Trump will be sworn in on 20th January as the 45th American president.
In Uganda, the telecommunication industry witnessed several battles in form of price wars, bundled services competition, PR and Advertising supremacy plus product and services rivalry. While Airtel and MTN were competing for the leading telecom position in the pearl of Africa, the other telecoms were positioning themselves as both the better and best alternatives for customers. In a nutshell, minus trying to woo new and ‘mobile virgin’ customers, Vodafone, Africell, Smart and Smile increased efforts intended to retain their existing subscribers plus winning over customers discontented with both Airtel and MTN plus the sleeping giant – Uganda Telecom.
At HiPipo, we followed the operations of Africell, Vodafone, Smart and Smile in 2016. Here is an analysis of their performance in the just ended year.
Africell Uganda: 2016 was a good year for Africell Uganda. Not only did their market share continue to grow, their brand visibility and awareness multiplied.
For a bigger part of the year, the Africell team involved in intense and nonstop below the line (BTL) promotions and activations mainly pushing their ‘King of the Bundle’ offering. They were in all main trade centers, university bazaars, markets, and roundabouts. Through this, their products and service propositions got more popular among potential customers.
While at that, Africell also entered the entertainment market through signing on board two brand ambassadors in the names of David Lutalo (2016 HiPipo Music Awards Artist of the Year) and Sheebah Karungi (2016 HiPipo Music Awards Best Female Artist). Among the informal sector, mass and emerging markets; David Lutalo has been the biggest artiste for the past two-three years. Having him as their brand ambassador in 2016 helped Africell appeal to the informal, mass and emerging audience.
On the other hand, Sheebah has been the best female artiste in Uganda for the past three years and one of the best female artistes across East Africa. Additionally, she was one of the top 5 Ugandan artistes for 2016. Her music appeals to the young, youth, mass and emerging plus a growing section of corporates. Again, she helped Africell reach out to a bigger audience in 2016.
In the last quarter of 2016, Africell embarked on a One Billion Promo; Load Airtime and Win campaign. It was climaxed at Nakivubo Stadium in mid-December with one lucky Ugandan walking away with UGX 1,000,000,000 (one billion shillings). It was a first of its kind promotion. Unluckily, due to the huge grand prize, many didn’t believe the campaign. Even when a winner was announced at Nakivubo stadium and issued with a 1 billion cheque, several people with a ‘doubting Thomas’ attitude said it was impossible. Pragmatically, the promotion never had the expected public excitement.
From different online and offline discussions with Africell Customers, the company’s Voice and Data services were okay. In 2016, it recharged and re-launched its mobile financial services – Africell Money. It is too early to rate the latter.
Final Verdict: Africell had a good 2016.
Vodafone: From its brand name, Vodafone is not supposed to be in this category (promising Telecos) but rather should be competing toe to toe with MTN and Airtel. Even though Vodafone is a big brand world over, it is yet to have its major big breakthrough in Uganda. That said, it had a very encouraging 2016 and here is why.
First, Vodafone in 2016 worked closely with the tourism sector and elaborately encouraged tourism players to embrace new technology for the long run development of the tourism industry. Secondly, Vodafone also worked closely with the youth. Through its CEO, Vodafone Uganda committed to supporting young entrepreneurs and innovators in 2016 and in the future.
In the same year, Vodafone ran the #ICreateTomorrow challenge that had three winners ( artist and student Darsan Ainembabazi, filmmaker Chris Lutanga and health care administrator Cathy Namubiru) travelling to London for business/career mentor-ship, exposure and tourism. All these rotated around one thing; creating, and exploring opportunities for developing both Ugandans and Vodafone business in Uganda.
From its activities, it is clear that Vodafone in 2016 shifted focus from both Voice and Data to mainly Data. The latter is with no doubt its strength. Vodafone Uganda’s focus on data sales was further boosted by its launch of the Vodafone Chat+ APP. The APP allows customers to make and receive ‘truly FREE HD quality app-to-app voice calls and send FREE messages to other Vodafone Chat+ customers’ among other benefits. The Vodafone Chat+ APP is part of the company’s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) prioritization over traditional voice calls. This shift by Vodafone Uganda was highly informed by the fact that Voice Service Provision is very crowded with both MTN and Airtel dominating. Plus, revenues from Voice continue to drop in most parts of the world.
But as a low for its customers, the company phased-out its popular unlimited data bundle offering. The unlimited data bundles were some of the most used service by its customers. A Vodafone Uganda Tweet in September noted: “Oh yes, the unlimited packs are no more ….. but let’s stay optimistic. New packages on the way, watch the space.”
And that was not all. Just like Airtel and MTN, Vodafone Uganda got a new CEO in 2016.
John Ndego was appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Uganda with effect from 11 July 2016, replacing Allan Richardson, who the company noted had ‘returned to the Afrimax Group office in preparation for the next market launches following the recent launch of operations in Ghana and Zambia’. John Ndego has just made five months at the helm of Vodafone Uganda. It is too early to assess his performance. We wish him the very best of luck.
In all; with key focus on Data, Vodafone Uganda continued to position itself as the ideal Innovation Enabler committed to growing its business but also ensuring that Ugandans use technology to create a better world for themselves. The fact that in 2016, Vodafone Uganda continued to interact with and strategically support small and medium enterprises, the Youth, Education and Tourism sectors increased its ratings as a brand committed to bettering lives of common Ugandans.
Final Verdict: Good 2016. We wait for bigger and better things from Vodafone in 2017.
Smile Communications Uganda: Since its entry in to the Uganda market in 2009, Smile Communications has showed signals of becoming the next big thing but it flattered to deceive most times. At its launch, it looked a game changer of sorts rolling out a low- cost proposition that would enable Ugandans who neither owned nor afforded mobile phones to make cheaper calls easily. This sounded great but never materialized at the implementation level. Then came the 4G crazy. Smile was among the first two telecoms to announce 4G data offers in Uganda. This was another great offer but again, its limited coverage across Uganda hampered it altogether!
Away from the past, in 2016, Smile Communications fared well, showing signs of strength. Among the cool things it offered in 2016 included the introduction of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service, Smile Voice APP, rearranging of its data bundles validity and costs. But the bigger of these all was Smile Communication’s introduction of the unlimited Data bundle. While Vodafone Uganda phased this out, Smile introduced it on the market. To internet users, such developments are sweet food to ears as they get more cheaper alternatives to enjoy the internet.
Lastly from Smile Communications, its brand visibility and advertising increased in 2016 when compared to 2015. They were more on TV, Radio, and Online Media. This is all good stuff for any brand.
Final Verdict: Smile Communications improved in 2016. Hope they can keep the momentum.
Smart Telecom: 2016 was at one time a busy year and later a quiet year for Smart Telecom. Among the things they continued to do well was the offering of some of the cheapest and stable data to their customers (100 MBs valid for a day at UGX 1000).
Smart Telecom’s highlight of the year was its entry into the mobile financial services (MFS) ecosystem with the launch of Smart Pesa. Smart PESA allows Smart Telecom Customers to ‘send money to on-net and off-net customers, deposit cash in and withdraw cash from your Smart Pesa wallet, top up airtime for your own account and that of others and request others to send you money through Smart Pesa’.
Their biggest undoing was the end of year commotions with Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). In mid-December 2016, Smart Telecom was among the three telecoms whose licenses were revoked by UCC and the regulator warned the public against doing any business with them. A few days later, Smart Telecom License was renewed after settling its matters with the regulator. The revocation tainted their image and affected customers’ confidence.
Final Verdict: Business wise, it was a progressive Year for Smart Telecom. A bad PR year ending.
Conclusion.
To date, these four telecoms are still below Airtel and MTN Uganda in market share, revenue and other important good performance indicators. Nonetheless in 2016, they covered a lot of ground and had many gains. Even though they are not where they wish to be yet, there are again not where they were in 2015. We are optimistic that in 2017, two of Vodafone, Africell, Smart and Smile will give the bigger boys a run for their money and hopefully ‘break even’.
Again, HiPipo Digital Team wishes you a great 2017 filled with landmark accomplishments!
Irrespective of your perceptions, 2016 was a ‘roller coaster’ year. Both its ups and downs, highs and lows have either been or are being well documented. Away from the election fever during the first quarter of the year, business was not rosy in 2016 with many struggling. Congratulations are in order for all those that did everything possible to ‘soldier’ throughout the year.
The telecommunication industry had a special year in her hands. The ‘young and promising’ telecoms worked hard to eat into the market share of the top two telecoms, plus pushing for absorption of customers of our sleeping giant – Uganda Telecom.
But while this was happening, both Airtel Uganda and MTN Uganda were embroiled in battles for market share, public perception and brand affinity supremacy. To achieve this, both MTN and Airtel rolled out several products and services, ran massive promotions and campaigns, and invested massively in Public Relations and Customer Service.
Airtel Uganda MD Anwar Soussa (L) and Uganda Cranes Coach Micho (R) kick off the AFCON 2017 Uganda Cranes promotion.
At HiPipo, we closely and impartially followed all that happened in 2016. Here are the areas in which the telecommunication battles between MTN and Airtel were won and lost. In some cases, there were stalemates for both.
Mobile Financial Services: Both Airtel Uganda and MTN Uganda continued to improve their Airtel Money and MTN Mobile Money platforms respectively.
The MTN Mobile Money Service was slightly more stable throughout 2016 when compared to Airtel Money. MTN Mobile Money had fewer cases of mobile money downtimes and service unavailability in comparison to its archrival Airtel. Not that Airtel Money fared below par; it too did well but in all MTN Mobile Money was more stable, available and effective.
Away from the quality of service for Mobile Financial Service (MFS), the other critical area is MFS innovations. Mobile Money continues to positively impact Financial Inclusion world over. It is now up to telecoms and banks to come up with MFS services that ensure that financial services are easily and effectively accessed by people, even at the deepest end of the world. Both Airtel and MTN continued to strengthen their MFS interconnections with Banks. While all this took place, there is one thing that happened and changed the MFS landscape. Yes, this one product/service made the difference in 2016.
MTN and CBA Bank launch MoKash- 9th, August, 2016.
In August, MTN Uganda and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) launched a convenient and innovative mobile financial service named MoKash; enabling MTN Mobile Money customers to operate mobile-powered savings accounts, earn reasonable interest on deposits and also access/borrow short term loans through the Mobile Money product portfolio. The product allows MTN Mobile Money subscribers to save between UGX 1 shillings to UGX 1.6 million, earn interests ranging from 2% to 5% on their savings and also get short terms loans of up to UGX. 1 million repayable within a month. By the close of 2016, MoKash had more than 1 million subscribers. Meanwhile, Airtel Uganda’s Savings and Loans product is also in the pipeline. We wait for the red brigade to unveil it whenever they are ready.
And as the year ended, MTN Uganda launched another massive MFS innovation – Cross border mobile money; enabling MTN Mobile Money customers to send money to Kenya and Rwanda through the code *165*1#.
Final Verdict: In matters Mobile Financial Services, 2016 was an MTN Uganda year. The Yellow brigade took the day.
Data: Mobile Internet is another area were both MTN and Airtel seriously rocked horns in 2016. Uganda’s internet usage continues to grow each year with the latest statistics suggesting over 9 million active internet users in the pearl of Africa. As such, each of MTN and Airtel did several things to wow existing and new mobile internet users. There were several internet bundles rearrangements, slight, somewhat minor price reduction, more internet combo services plus massive Advertising and PR for Data.
First, both Airtel and MTN Uganda, continued to offer fair internet speeds; per our standards but slow for international benchmarking. Secondly, MTN Uganda Data purchasing platform was more stable when compared to Airtel Data purchasing platform. Thirdly, Airtel Data Bundles were perceived to have stayed longer than MTN bundles; That is to say, many customers argued that for example Airtel’s 100mbs lasted longer than MTN’s 100mbs. But again, there are no scientific facts to prove it. Whenever Bundles were depleted faster, the telecoms’ customer support teams advised customers that such occurrences were a result of background APPs, and so many activities eating up the bundles. In all, basing on public Social Media re-actions and interactions with daily internet users, both MTN and Airtel Data services were more or less the same in 2016.
Final Verdict: In matters Data, 2016 was a tie for Airtel and MTN Uganda. Each must work harder in 2017.
Voice: Voice and SMS have been the traditional services offered by telecoms. Even though Voice revenues continue to sink thanks to growing usage of alternative services such as internet supported communications, it remains a core service for telecoms. As such, it remains, popular and extremely relevant.
For 2016, Airtel Uganda and MTN Uganda had a good Voice year for customers. Calls costs were significantly down and there was rapid growth in usage of bundled voice services. Actually, the latter are the new way of doing business with many people preferring voice bundles over the traditional call costs. From observations both online and offline, the voice quality of service from both was largely acceptable. We now wait for Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to publish the yearly Quality of Service report clearly indicating how each telecom performed. But as that comes through, it is in order to send a thank you message to Airtel and MTN for the good voice services in 2016.
Final Verdict: For matters Voice, it was a draw for MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda.
Sponsorships: This is one area that is very critical for both MTN and Airtel Uganda as it strongly shapes public perception and brand affinity.
Throughout 2016, Airtel Uganda did a great job sponsoring and supporting several Sports and Music activities in Uganda. We mean; the well-documented Eddy Kenzo brand ambassadorship, Airtel Rising Stars, Regional Football and taking over of Buganda Masaza Cup on a three years contract.
On the other hand, MTN exhibited a halfhearted approach to its sponsorships. Minus the 2016 MTN Marathon which is actually an MTN property, her other sponsorships were very lacking. MTN Uganda jumped out of the Simba FM Kiggunda Kyo’Mwaka, peripheral involvement in 2016 Masaza Cup and many others. To say the least, MTN Uganda’s sponsorship strategy must be overhauled.
And while this was happening at MTN Uganda, Airtel Uganda was part of a historical achievement. In 2016, the Airtel sponsored Uganda Cranes qualified for Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2017 to be held in Gabon starting January 2015. You can say that Airtel were just lucky or that MTN should have held onto the Uganda Cranes sponsorship a little longer (MTN had sponsored Uganda Cranes until 2014) but one thing is very clear; Uganda Cranes qualified for AFCON 2017 after a 38 years absence, at a time when Airtel were their sponsors and in so doing, Airtel had hatched an Egg laid by MTN! Both timing and good luck were on Airtel’s side and their risk has paid off!
Final Verdict: Talking Sponsorships, 2016 had one clear winner. That winner was Airtel.
Uganda Cranes’ Airtel cheerleaders entertain the audience before the Comoros match at Namboole.
Promotions and Activations; Closely related to Sponsorships, Promotions and Activations give brands legs and ensure that the public is well aware of what is happening with the brand. This is another area were Airtel performed very well when compared to MTN Uganda in 2016. Airtel gaveaway Cars, Land titles, Air Tickets to AFCON, Cash and several other goodies. On the other hand, MTN also gave away some good stuff including Mobile Money Kiosks plus Mobile Money capital in 2016.
For promotions and activations, the magic is not only in how much you have given out but also in how you have communicated. Airtel seems to have mastered the art of advertising and publicity. They made sure that their promotions and activations in 2016 were aired across media. On the other hand, advertising and awareness for MTN promotions and activations was too low. As such public perception is that Airtel took the day.
Final Verdict: The clear winner was Airtel again.
Supporting of Local Innovations: This is an area that suffered a huge blow in 2016 as it never got the deserved attention and support. The future of telecoms is in innovations. As such, all telecoms must deliberately support local innovations. When will Uganda ever have her Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page if the telecommunication companies are not involved? Minus, the enabling services offered, telecoms and other tech companies but for this article MTN and Airtel must purposefully push our innovators.
Here is the reason/s for our livid feeling.
In 2015, MTN Uganda launched what was named the Innovation Lab. The MTN Innovation Lab included several projects such as MTN Juniors Robotics Camp, MTN Apps Challenge and MTN Innovation Awards among others. MTN Junior Robotics Camp was for guiding kids’ as they kick started their innovation journey. MTN APPs Challenge was for mentoring and supporting Youths that are developing APPs with potential of changing the World. The MTN Innovation Awards were held to reward the best Innovators in Uganda. All these were hosted in 2015 and received massive applause from within and outside MTN Uganda. The public expected that 2016 was to be an even bigger year for Ugandan innovations as MTN had promised to go bigger on such projects. But guess what; none of these happened in 2016. Whatever happened to these well thought and impactful projects stayed a mystery!
Minus partnering with a few projects here and there, little was heard of from Airtel for matters Local Innovation support.
Final Verdict: Both Airtel and MTN Uganda lost. Hope they can change this in 2017.
Website and Social Media: We are in the new digital World. The website is the first point of reference for credible and updated information. In this case, both Airtel and MTN have websites. Airtel Uganda’s website is an extension of the Airtel group website while MTN Uganda in 2015 launched a new SharePoint website linked to its group website. Airtel Uganda website is rich in visuals while MTN Uganda website is easy to navigate.
Both MTN Uganda and Airtel continued to use Social Media in 2016 for mainly Customer Service, Official Communications and Marketing. Each tried to adopt the latest social media innovations including Facebook live videos, twibbons for Facebook and Twitter, Instagram for Events, Whatsapp customer service and live streaming among others. Importantly social media excitement goodies from both Telecos reduced to the displeasure of their diehard online followers!
At the end, MTN Uganda maintained her fan base lead.
Final Verdict: Holistically, both did well. To those that love numbers, MTN retained leadership and took the day.
CEO/Managing Directors: The CEO/Managing Director of every company is an important factor for its success or failure. The chief executive officer is at the center of all that the company does; he/she takes the major decisions, offers leadership and guidance plus planning for the future of the whole company. In 2016, both Airtel Uganda and MTN Uganda changed their managing directors.
New Airtel Uganda MD Anwar Soussa (L) shakes hands with the former Airtel Uganda MD Tom Gutjahr (R) in 2016.
At the start of May, Bharti Airtel announced the appointment of Anwar Soussa as the Airtel Uganda Managing Director, replacing Tom Gutjahr – who had been the Airtel Uganda boss since August 2014. Anwar Soussa started working on June 1st 2016.
New MTN Uganda CEO Wim Vanhelleputte.
One month later, MTN Uganda also had a new CEO. At the start of July, Wim Vanhelleputte officially started his job as the new chief executive officer for MTN Uganda, replacing Brian Gouldie who had been at the helm of Uganda’s biggest telecom for two years, since July 1st 2014.
Anwar Soussa has now been Airtel Uganda managing director for six months while Wim Vanhelleputte has completed five months as MTN Uganda CEO. They both need time to implement their leadership and management strategies.
Final Verdict: Any conclusion will be premature. Let us give them time.
And yes, that is how 2016 unfolded for both MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda. The scorecard is objectively clear as based on Social Media data, information off MTN and Airtel website, Media reports and interactions with customers.
Again, from the HiPipo Digital Team; Happy New Year!
The online betting revolution continues to gain momentum across Uganda. Each passing day, more Ugandans with love and passion for sport are using online betting sites to place their bets and try their luck. But that is not all. Lately, even those less or not passionate about Sport but with some extra income to spend are investing such money and time in online betting.
Unlike in the previous years when betting was only possible through visiting a betting vendor/shop, today you can easily place your bets from the comfort of your home, office or popular hangout. All you need is to register with a preferred online betting company, deposit some money on your betting account using mobile money and get started. With this, you have a chance to win a great fortune one day. For instance, while using BETPAWA, a stake of UGX 1 shilling on a maximum of 30 matches’ selection can earn you a payout of up to UGX 50 million.
In the past few weeks, I have interacted with online betters and they told me why they continue to prefer BETPAWA not other online betters. Below are the five reasons they shared with me.
Direct, easy to use and updated website. Many of those talked too noted that BETPAWA Uganda has a direct, easy to use and updated website. While its site design is not the most artistic, it functions very well. You can easily locate fixtures and any other urgent information in no time. As such, more online betters are opting for BETPAWA because the website is easy to navigate; saving time all the time.
Lucrative BET Odds. BET Odds are literally what one will win after placing a bet. For instance if a victory for SC Villa has an odd of 5.5 and you bet with UGX 10,000 in favor of SC Villa, you will win UGX 55,000. Many talked to found the BETPAWA odds well paying.
Live Match/Games Betting. This is the real game changer. Regardless of where you are, you can place an online bet with BETPAWA on a game that is already underway. As such, you can wait for game to start BEFORE placing your BET/s. But still even when you have a change of mind when the games are already underway, you can easily place a new receipt.
Freebets for first time Betters. For all first time betters, there is a free-bet. It gives you a chance to freely get started. And if you have your ‘lucky charm’ , you can win reasonable money from you freebet which you can later use to place more bets and increase your chances of winning millions.
Winners’ Payments made within 24 hours. This last one seals it all. Usually betters and for this case online betters are interested in having their payments as soon as they win. BETPAWA makes sure that all winners are paid within 24 hours after the games. Payments can be cash, cheque or wired to winner’s account. Whatever way the winner wishes to go, his/her money is paid with in one day.
Previous BetPawa winner with his 30 million cheque.
This latest MTN Mobile Money innovation allows customers to send money across Uganda’s borders through the code *165*1#
In yet another exciting development in mobile money innovation, MTN Uganda announced the launch of outbound mobile money transfer services to Rwanda and Kenya.
Last year, MTN launched international mobile money transfer services; but only supporting inbound transfers where MTN Mobile Money customers could only receive money from Kenya and Rwanda.
In this latest development, MTN Mobile Money customers in Uganda will now also be able to send money to MPesa and MTN Mobile Money customers in Kenya and Rwanda respectively. This MTN Mobile Money solution has an automatic currency converter, which means that both the sender and receiver will send and receive money in their respective local currencies. The service enables an MTN customer in Uganda to send money in Uganda Shillings to a recipient in Kenya or a recipient in Rwanda who will receive it in Kenya shillings or Rwandese Francs respectively. The recipient has to be a customer of Safaricom’s MPesa in Kenya and in Rwanda one has to be an MTN Mobile Money customer to receive the money directly on their phones.
Customers who intend to send money to Kenya and Rwanda will pay a fee of 5,000/-plus a 5% of the amount being sent. However, at launch, MTN is offering customers a 50% discount on this transaction fee for a limited period of time. With this discounted offer, it means customers will only pay 2,500/- plus 2.5% on every amount they send to either Kenya or Rwanda. This MTN Mobile Money cross border transfer service is a lot more affordable compared to existing international transfer options.
To send money internationally (to either Kenya or Rwanda), a customer simply dials *165*1* and selects Option 5 to send to Safaricom MPesa customers or Option 6 to send to MTN Mobile Money customers in Rwanda. It’s instant, secure and easy.
“Technology is helping us eliminate national borders, enabling a unified digital and mobile financial services world. We are delighted to offer a solution that further enhances that agenda and trust that our customers will find it a secure and easy way of transferring funds internationally,” said Mr. Phrase Lubega, MTN Uganda’s General Manager in charge of Mobile Financial Services.
The Mobile Money ecosystem has expanded extensively, with the launch of a number of innovative solutions that integrate Mobile Money into the fabric of our society, making it an integral part of our customer’s lives.
In August this year, MTN launched MoKash, giving millions of Ugandans access to micro loans and making it possible for them to save money easily on their mobile phones. In the three months since its launch, MoKash has attracted more than 1.2million customers with savings close to 3bn Uganda shillings.
For more information about this MTN Mobile Money transfer service, please visit www.mtn.co.ug/moneytransfer
The two channels will offer all DStv customers additional quality entertainment from Bollywood to Nollywood.
MultiChoice Africa is delighted to announce the launch of Televista and Trybe TV to the DStv platform in more African countries from 17 November 2016.
TelevistaTV, which will launch on DStv channel 194 on all DStv packages, is dedicated to the best of Africa’s TV series and Telenovelas from around the world. The programming offering will bring a wide range of themes for the whole family to enjoy including traditional romance stories, drama, mystery, action and adventure with high quality production values and featuring top talent from the Telenovela industry and African TV drama/series circuit. TelevistaTV is dedicated to the most compelling telenovelas from Portugal, Spain and even India mixed with brilliant local TV series for the whole family.
Tune in today from 11am CAT to catch hit Televista telenovelas like La Loba, Jodha Akbar, Be Careful with My Heart to Local hit TV series like Lekki Wives and 168. Televista will be available to all DStv subscribers (DStv Access, Family, Compact, Compact Plus and Premium) on Channel 194.
Another addition to the DStv family is Trybe, which will launch on channel 195 across all DStv packages. Trybe is a 24-hour channel that provides the best of African movies cutting across all genres, up to date news on the industry, spotlight the fastest rising talents; no-holds barred interview with the A-list stakeholders across the continent; exclusive access to premieres and other movie events; and an all-round exciting African programming. Trybe is another hot new destination for all things Nollywood in Africa.
On Trybe, Up Close & Personal will give viewers the opportunity to find out who the movers and shakers of the movie industry are and how they live. Every day, viewers can also catch an array of classic and latest African movies; the latest news and gossip on your favourite celebrities on Reverb News; exclusive interview with stars, icons and celebrities on One on One and more. Trybe will be available to all DStv subscribers (DStv Access, Family, Compact, Compact Plus and Premium) on Channel 195.
“We welcome the addition of the Consolidated Media Associates (CMA) Group’s channels, Trybe and Televista to the DStv platform. These two channels will bring our valued DStv subscribers access to additional general entertainment content, which further enhances their home television entertainment experience and ensure that there is something for the whole family to watch this holiday season,” said MultiChoice Uganda, General Manager Charles Hamya “The launch of Trybe will also add to the local content available on the platform which is line with our commitment of promoting local entertainment to uplift the local broadcasting industry to greater heights.”
Bloomberg today announced the launch of Bloomberg.com/Africa, a regional edition of Bloomberg’s flagship digital destination designed to serve the continent’s growing audience of business and financial professionals.
Bloomberg Media CEO Justin B. Smith unveiled the new edition at the second Bloomberg ‘Africa Business Media Innovators’ (ABMI) forum today in Naivasha, Kenya, which convened media, technology and business influencers from 11 countries – including nine African nations – to explore the role business and financial journalism plays in bringing accountability, transparency and investment to African economies.
Bloomberg.com/Africa will combine the resources of Bloomberg’s more than 100-strong editorial team across seven bureaus in Africa, as well as Bloomberg’s global team of more than 2,600 reporters and analysts. It is the latest in a series of regionally-focused editorial platforms built to serve the growing audience of business and financial consumers seeking stories on global markets told through a local lens.
Speaking at ABMI 2016 in Kenya today, Smith said: “Our mission is to build the leading multi-platform global business and financial media company and delivering more relevant stories to our global audiences via localized platforms is central to our strategy. In the last year, we have launched regional sites in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, re-launched our Japanese language website and entered into an ambitious multi-platform partnership in India. We are excited to now expand our reach across Africa’s vibrant and growing economies.”
“Africa is playing an increasingly significant role in the global economy,” said Antony Sguazzin, Managing Editor Bloomberg, Sub-Saharan Africa. “With the launch of this dedicated regional digital platform, we are establishing a home to showcase the best of Bloomberg’s rich content on the people, companies, politics and economies shaping the continent.”
Bloomberg.com/Africa will be powered by Javelin, Bloomberg Digital’s new article and template design that was unveiled recently with the launch of Bloomberg Technology. Javelin provides a significantly improved user experience, reducing page load time, which is critical in delivering a faster mobile experience for a largely mobile-driven African audience. Bloomberg.com has seen impressive growth in the region in mobile – in the last three months, the site has seen +23% growth in mobile unique visitors compared to the same period last year[i].
The best of the new edition’s content will be fed to a dedicated Africa Twitter handle @BBGAfrica. Bloomberg will continue to explore the addition of Africa-specific products to expand its reach to this important growing economy, and where appropriate, seek partners to help scale Bloomberg’s reach across the continent.
Bloomberg has accelerated its global expansion in 2016. The company will continue to leverage its multi-platform distribution, strong global brand, technological assets and editorial resources around the world to grow aggressively in 2017. In 2016, Bloomberg Media’s total revenue year-to-date through September is up +8% compared to the same time period last year.
For the past 10 years the Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation (QHSF) – Egypt’s largest private-sector-funded scholarship—has been awarding Egyptian students with post graduate scholarships to study at leading universities across the globe on the condition that they return to Egypt to work in their chosen field following the completion of their studies. The Foundation has thus far awarded 151 scholarships.
Recently, the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC), Qalaa Holdings’ US$ 3.7 billion greenfield refinery in the Greater Cairo Area of Mostorod, announced the launch of “Mostakbaly” a new initiative that aims to address educational inequalities amongst students in its surrounding community by granting them access to higher education at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the Arab Academy for Science and Technology (AAST). In its first annual round of scholarships, ERC presented a total of six (6)students with funding to pursue undergraduate degrees; one will attend AUC and five will attend AAST.
“Education has always been one of the main pillars of our community engagement strategy because we firmly believe that the task of building a prosperous Egypt is largely dependent on our ability to push through with educational reform and funding,” said Ahmed Heikal, ERC Chairman and, Qalaa Chairman and Founder. “We are honored to play a part not just by investing in these bright young men and women, but by serving as an example of how a private sector entity can help lead change.”
ERC has been active on all fronts of the educational spectrum with programs in place for school refurbishments, teacher capacity building and support to students. Thus far they have upgraded facilities in a total of 4 schools and conducted partial maintenance on 12 additional schools and one local training center benefiting a total of 60,000 students and 1,000 teachers. A needs assessment exercise was also conducted to identify training objectives for teachers resulting in the administering of 21 training sessions for 444 teachers from local schools. Support for students has been given through the provision of school supplies, bags and uniforms for 1,304 needy students, and the successful completion of the “Naddarty” (Eye Glasses) program which conducted vision tests and subsequently provided 661 students with eye glasses.
In the pipeline within the Mostakbaly initiative is a program that will see 30 local kindergarten and primary school teachers receive scholarships to partake in AUC’s “Teaching Early Learners” (CELE) program, a professional educator diploma at the American University in Cairo designed specifically for teaching young children in the classroom, at home and within the community.
