Manchester United is announcing a new partnership with StarTimes to bring MUTV to its numerous fans in Africa.
Digital TV operator, StarTimes, will distribute MUTV to subscribers in over 30 countries across sub-Saharan African. Viewers in countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana will receive exclusive Manchester United content 24 hours-a-day via StarTimes platforms.
Manchester United fans will be able to watch first and Academy team games, live manager’s press conferences, player interviews, documentaries and news on the clubs TV channel.
We are proud to have hundreds of millions of passionate fans in Africa says Phil Lynch, Chief Executive of Media, Manchester United, speaking about the partnership.
“This long-term agreement will allow them to get closer to the club through MUTV’s exclusive, round-the-clock content from Old Trafford and the AON Training Complex.” “MUTV is one of our most important channels for engaging with fans around the world, whether through linear or direct-to-consumer streaming platforms, and we are excited to be significantly increasing its reach through our new partner, StarTimes, in Africa.”
Phil Lynch
Manchester United is one of the most iconic football clubs in the world, notes Kristen Miao, Sports Deputy Director, StarTimes. “We are delighted to share MUTV with football fans across Africa as part as our commitment to enhancing our subscribers’ experience.”
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Opera is launching a new product called ‘Hype’ with the pilot progam rolling out in Kenya. Hype is an integrated chat service built into Opera’s mobile web browser, Opera Mini. The chat service is launching first in Africa.
Opera notes Opera mini web users in Kenya can set up an account and start using the service immediately. The company is also partnering with local communication companies Safaricom and Airtel to boost the adoption of Hype by offering free daily browsing.
Chat service, Hype, the company notes, offers secure end-to-end encryption. It will also be the world’s first mobile web browser with an integrated chat service.
Product Lead for Hype, Charles Hamel, says Hype is developed with African consumers in mind.
“Today, 40% of the Kenyan population has access to smartphones, with younger generations becoming early adopters of technology. With such demographics, there is massive potential for the growth of Hype in Kenya.
On top of that, we are also partnering with Safaricom and Airtel, the leading carriers in the country, offering free daily browsing to all Opera Mini users. We believe the combination of these factors will lead to the rapid adoption of Hype in the country.”
Charles Hamel, Product Lead for Hype
The chat service also comes with stickers desgined by Kenyan artists Brian Omolo and Lulu Kitololo.
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Pikie Monaheng, CEO of Amdocs South Africa says the covid-19 global pandemic is accelerating the need for digitization. He is therefore asking communications service providers (CSPs) to step up as African customers demand a more seamless digital customer experience.
It’s no secret that CSPs need to transform their businesses to compete in the continent’s highly competitive communications landscape and deliver the experiences that customers are demanding today. However, digital transformation is a journey, which takes time. And there are many tasks to undertake on the way.
So, how do CSPs go about achieving true digital transformation? What are the main challenges they must address?
IT modernisation is a key enabler of any digital transformation and adoption of cloud technologies is central to that. In addition to cost savings, the cloud provides the ability to swiftly evolve, react to market dynamics and launch new offerings. It enables elasticity on demand, creating an always-on environment where the flexibility to do things as a service is much greater and the organisation is not confined to own-premise computing power and IT.
CSPs will necessarily adopt a hybrid approach to cloud adoption with some systems remaining on-premise and others migrating to private cloud, public cloud and even multiple public clouds (like AWS, Azure and GCP) to benefit from the latest technologies and cost efficiencies. This complex IT environment creates challenges around managing the hybrid co-existence of the current and the new platforms, which requires careful management. Moreover, adoption of cloud brings new concerns such as the need for continuous optimisation, financial and economic management, regulatory compliance and data and security management.
Data is key for anticipating customer needs. Savvy CSPs will need to start leveraging data more effectively to make more astute business decisions. Here, AI plays a key role, helping CSPs to quickly create new offerings based on what customers are demanding. Injecting artificial intelligence into everything the organisation does will help it make critical business decisions, but also keep pace with an ever-changing, connectivity-first society.
CSPs will also need to inject intelligence into their own operations. To remain ahead of technology’s rapid evolution, organisations will be compelled to introduce AI-driven operations, while making continuous improvements to their IT environments. This is the only way to ensure flexibility and a fleet-footed response to change.
Ultimately, the success of any digital transformation depends on the people and the processes that execute the transformation. This requires getting employees to buy into digital adoption, embrace new technologies, new processes and new ways of working.
CSPs need to adapt their organisational culture to break down barriers and automate and expedite processes. They must instil a continuous learning and innovation mindset in their employees. Steps such as these will allow CSPs to be more agile and ensure their employees have the inherent ability to quickly adapt to the next big disruption.
With the focus on reskilling and repurposing, as well as the automation of manual tasks, employees will no longer have to do repetitive or onerous tasks. Rather, they will be freed up to concentrate more on business innovation and customer service.
One successful digital transformation story is that of a South East Asian media conglomerate, which recently underwent a digital transformation programme and migrated its business support systems (BSS) to cloud. The aim was to improve the user experience and increase self-service adoption, personalise recommendations and improve usability.
In 14 months – and negotiating Covid-19 challenges – the transformation journey resulted in upfront operational and capital expenditure savings, as well as 10% cost optimisation. Also, the business was able to decommission data centres and enable updates to individual apps without impacting its overall digital architecture.
In another instance, Philippines-based telecommunications company, Globe, modernised a fragmented and inefficient call centre to deliver an enhanced digital experience for customers.
To deliver better customer interactions and reduce waiting time, increase call resolution rates and enrich their customers’ digital lifestyles, the company’s legacy system was migrated to the cloud (Amazon Connect) and an Amdocs solution was adopted to convert 31 screens to a single, unified agent desktop. This led to a 40% reduction in operating expenditure (OPEX) and an overall improvement in net promoter score (NPS).
Monaheng says digital transformation journeys may come with some challenges, but the rewards are worth the effort. “CSPs that have already embarked on accelerated journeys to transform their businesses are positioning themselves to deliver digital customer services that leverage new opportunities and technologies and elevate their customers’ satisfaction and happiness rates. And frankly, the operations that don’t ride the transformation wave will be left behind.”
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For several years now, Africa has been viewed as an upcoming growth market. According to experts, there are several reasons to back the optimism: the continent has the youngest population globally, a promising consumption market for decades to come, and the continent is increasingly mobile phone-enabled.
A growing digital ecosystem becomes a crucial factor in economic growth, as access to mobile phones and other smart devices enhances consumer information, job creation, networking, and financial inclusion. The development of intuitive technology through mobile-friendly apps provides the perfect avenue for growth.
An excellent example is the Betway app, an exclusive betting app that allows users to customize their accounts for ease of use. It comes in a simple interface which makes going through different sections on the website easy. With Betway already operating across several African countries, the launch of the app acts as an ideal blueprint for further innovations created for other sectors.
Despite all these reasons, the promise of growth remains underwhelming. Growth in the continent has stalled, forcing the IMF and the World Bank to trim their 2019 economic growth expectations for Sub-Saharan Africa to 3.5 and 2.8 percent, respectively. Disturbing stats reveal that close to 440 million of the poorest people live in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank went further to project that should poverty reduction measures remain sluggish, Africa could be home to 90 percent of the world’s poorest by 2030.
The Impact of Technology Across 5 African Countries
Countries drawn from different regions in Africa offer diverse potential in terms of economic growth, median age, governance, and digitalization. Looking at South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, technology offers significant growth potential. We are looking at three prime categories capable of driving economic growth via technology: job creation through digital platforms, digital potential per country, and the tools necessary for digital growth.
Job Creation Through Digital Platforms
Countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa look ready for high-skilled digital jobs and have structures to take up online freelance jobs. The level of education among the youth is on the rise, and the IT sector is attracting massive enrolment primarily due to the promise of the digital revolution taking over the globe.
Local and foreign companies are already working across Africa in poverty-alleviation programs in conjunction with local governments. Such projects are steered through technological innovations created by local youths. Companies like Betway are creating income-earning opportunities, but the freedom given to local graduates to develop systems for specific industries is both motivating and empowering.
Digital Potential Per Country
Different countries have put in place digital structures to support local economic growth. Looking at development over a decade or so, it is clear to see the biggest beneficiaries. Rwanda and Egypt have incorporated foreign input into their systems to boost growth, and it seems to be working remarkably well for both countries.
The use of mobile money is also on the increase. Kenya takes the biggest market share of mobile money technology, with more than 85 percent of the Kenyan population already using MPesa, the first of its kind in the world.
Tool Necessary for Digital Growth
Besides governments providing the necessary infrastructure for growth, governance and online freedom remain key. Internet connectivity is above average across these five countries, but poverty levels remain a major hindrance.
Through respective ministries, governments have been at the forefront to address widening gaps in the digital divide. It is out in the public domain that the future is digital, and businesses are currently operating online. The emphasis on having citizens embrace technology as the new order is at an all-time high, and the fruits are evident. Various industries are working towards getting everything done online, and that includes the betting industry, where players like Betway offer the latest digital trends for users.
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The Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has hinted the Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria is looking to work with Microsoft to make Nigeria the tech hub of Africa.
By collaborating with the multinational corporation to use technology to address issues affecting Nigerians and engage Nigeria’s youth.
The vice-president met virtually with Brad Smith, Microsoft President and Akin Banuso, Microsoft country manager, Nigeria. When Microsoft called on him to offer support for the Digital Transformation pillar of the Federal Government’s economic sustainability plan.
The meeting saw Microsoft disclosing plans to partner with the Nigeria FG for the benefit of the Nigerian people especially the youth. The finer details of this partnership are yet to be agreed on.
Microsoft president Brad Smith notes, the vision for Microsoft’s investment in Nigeria is one that will lead to the creation of Africa’s most viable technology ecosystem.
The vice-president has on various occasions appealed to global technology multinationals to build capacity and employ Nigerians.
I have always wondered how Microsoft can be a much more effective partner with us as a country, Prof. Osibanjo asks.
“Beginning with the African Development Center which I think is excellent, I think it shows the commitment of Microsoft in developing the digital centre here in Nigeria. And it also shows the company’s confidence in the sort of talents that we have and the commitment of the government to ensuring that we develop that talent in the best possible ways that we can.”
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