Good People, here is the final week schedule for our current edition. We have three Live sessions for this Graduation Week. I begin tomorrow on Growth & Partnerships, to be followed by Henry Mgbemena, Global Security Adviser, World Vision International. With the security paralysis in most parts of Africa, we are bringing security experts to provide thought-leadership. Then, on Saturday, I will lead the final Closing Ceremony. All Zoom links in the Board.
When it happened in Nigeria, many shouted that it was not a good idea. The Nigerian regulators had put a quota on the minimum local content MultiChoice, owners of DStv and GOtv brands, must carry to be in compliance. Largely, the Nigerian regulators explained, thoughtfully and rightfully, that it was necessary to have a dose of Nigerian content in the most popular satellite TV provider in the nation. Expectedly, MultiChoice was not happy. But it went ahead, invested and complied. To a large extent, that strategy has worked well: the Nigerian content has connected the brand to many Nigerians.
More so, that government decision has benefitted some of us; DStv has run my profile in DStv Africa Magic Igbo channel many times. Of course, it was done without any coordination; possibly, they developed that program as part of meeting the local content requirements.
South Africa has received a similar playbook from Abuja: now, it was all providers to have at least 30% South Africa’s local content. This means Netflix, MutiChoice, Amazon Prime, etc, must invest in local content in the nation to stay in compliance. I am not sure it is a bad idea!
South Africa’s government is floating a controversial new plan to force local and international video streaming services like Netflix, Showmax, Amazon Prime Video and others in future, to carry at least 30% local content in the country.
Forcing streamers to have a third of their content be local South African series and films will likely end up hurting consumers by taking away choice if these streamers, in order to comply, instead decide to downsize instead of upsize their overall ringfences offering for South Africa to comply.
South Africa’s department of communications and digital technologies does not only want to impose content quotas on streaming services. As part of its plan, it now also wants to change the existing legislation to force MultiChoice (DStv), StarTimes (StarSat) as well as subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix SA, Showmax, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and others to collect SABC TV Licence fees that will be added into consumers’ bills from these private companies, because the SABC isn’t able to do proper licence fee collection.
About the plan to force a 30% local content catalogue quota on streamers, Collin Mashile, chief director of broadcasting policy at the department of communications and digital technologies, said: “These video-on-demand subscription services, when they come and operate in South Africa, everything that they show to South Africans in terms of their catalogue, 30% of that catalogue must include South African content.”
The draft legislation also proposes the creation of a government “team” that would be able to blacklist and block subscribers’ payments from South African banks to international streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video if streamers don’t comply with regulations.
Yes, there is another extension on that game: a laptop being used to watch Netflix could be classified as a TV, to ensure the owner buys a TV license in the nation. You need a TV license to watch a regular TV in South Africa; the country now wants to redefine what a TV means since most people do not need TV to indulge on shows, destroying revenue streams for the government. By making all laptops and smartphones TVs, you would be forced to buy a “TV license” before you pay for that Netflix or Showmax subscription!
Amazon is closing on Walmart as the biggest employer of labour: Amazon reported 1.125 million employees at the end of Q3 2020. Walmart employs 1.5 million people in the US but 2.2 million globally. Looking at the chart, you see about 430,300 employees in 10 months, or +50% from a year ago. Yes, those asset-lite messages on ecommerce operations have fallen apart: I have long maintained that there is nothing digitally leverageable on ecommerce when you look at the marginal cost trajectory. Ecommerce operators exhibit the typical average fixed cost shape as they gain scale.
Amazon could even overcome Walmart in that huge record: the world’s largest employer of labour as it ramps up employee headcounts over the next two years. Largely, as Amazon builds up its logistics, we are learning quickly that ecommerce can indeed power a new labour force. This could be a good outcome as many had postulated that the rise of ecommerce could bring doom in the labour force.
Yes, the question is this: how far will Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon, get in his mission of absolute domination of retail America? Amazon is worth $1.59 trillion while “smaller” Walmart commands $433 billion. Yes, Amazon can buy Walmart and still have a change of $1 trillion+. That is all textbook analysis to help us see what is at stake here.
A nation rises when pioneering entrepreneurs emerge. America has many in abundance, luckily for it. Look at the curve, it is all the way to a great parabolic one: those are jobs and opportunities.
Nigeria: blessed will be when your pioneering entrepreneurs are unleashed, untethered by the bounds of state capitals and Aso Rock, to rise to the mountaintop. Amen to that, somebody!
It is an amazing piece of engineered intelligent system with many patents already filed: a Hierarchical Recursive Workflow Management Platform. When I saw it from the Florida-based team, I invested. Among others, Krozudelivers quantitative measurement of human productivity at work. In other words, if you are a boss or HR lead or supervisor, we have brought the technology that makes it possible to know how your team members are executing. From days to weeks to months, you want to know how productive they have been; all you need is to click a button, and Krozu tells you.
Besides metering and measuring productivity, Krozu powers collaboration, plus more. Founders Wiggerman, Solomon and Palandro engineered productivity. Krozu REVOLUTIONIZES project management by organizing projects in the same manner and structure as your business. It makes perfect sense, if businesses have been employing a hierarchical organizational structure for thousands of years, so should your project management tool. This in turn simplifies everything from permissions, roles, progress, dependencies, communication, and much more. Here are some features of Krozu.
You can get Krozu from Wragby Business Solutions & Technologies, and Comercio Limited in West Africa. Please contact my team (on click) if you want to know how Krozu can support your missions. We welcome channel partners from across the world. Will connect you to our team.
Portfolio healthtech startup Medcera expands, opens an office in Lagos. Medcera is the first location agnostic electronic health record system in Africa. Once you are in our ecosystem and if your clinic, lab, imaging center, etc uses our solution, you will have only ONE copy of your health record irrespective of wherever you are.
It is an amazing work: doctors will not offer scientific miracles with guesswork because they will always have the records they need. We do all under HIPAA Act compliance, the gold standard in healthcare privacy and patient rights.
Medcera provides a connected ecosystem that brings together Doctors, Patients and Healthcare Partners making it possible to deliver top-grade patient outcomes. Doctors have the tools they need. Patients are provided with support they deserve.
Clinics, Labs, Imaging centers, Pharmacies, Labs, etc: visit Medcera and let me know how we can serve you.
