In SA, digital advertising is eating TV and this is why
In the late 90s and early 2000s, TV was the peak form of leisurely entertainment in South Africa and ads had a high return on investment for advertisers. But from the late 2000s, as viewers went from watching big boxes in their living rooms to watching little boxes on their palms, TV’s attractiveness as an advertising medium has continued to wane. Broadcasters like state-owned SABC are feeling the bite, reporting R600 million ($33 million) in reduced advertising revenues in 2023. Multichoice, owners of pay-TV service DStv, also recorded a 7% decline in advertising revenue in its latest annual results, stating that “SA TV advertising came under pressure from the ongoing competitive pressures from digital online channels.” The broadcaster also blamed the impact of weak macro trends such as inflation and currency devaluation on marketing budgets and TV ratings. Back in the day, advertisers would pay whatever broadcasters charged to place their ads on prime-time TV slots. But a changing viewership landscape, driven by cord-cutting and the rise of digital advertising mediums, has seen the once almighty TV broadcasters scrambling to survive the migration of advertisers’ rands to digital platforms. TV ads like Oros’ “Flavour Drums” were popular in the early 2000s. (Source: YouTube/Oros) According to the 2023 Kantar Media Report, globally, TV fell from being advertisers’ third most preferred advertising medium to 12th. The Media Box, a 24-year-old television advertising agency based in Johannesburg, South Africa, initially focused on offering just TV advertising. The model worked well at the peak of TV in the late 90s and early 2000s but by the late 2000s, the agency saw the changing viewership landscape. According to managing director Marius Wannenburg, The Media Box started offering digital advertising for clients in 2010 as social media proved to be a mainstay with consumers. “Companies who want high-value leads have shifted their spend from TV to digital media,” Wannenburg told TechCabal. Digital advertising offers more for less A 30-second TV ad can cost more than R2.5 million($136,000) to produce and place on TV channels. Advertisers only have to spend a fraction of that in digital advertising because consumers of digital advertising “don’t have any production value expectation–they simply want to be entertained,” said Mannenburg. Digital advertising is also more measurable, helping advertisers know exactly how ads are performing.“TV is falling victim to these data-focused channels and the deeper engagement of in-person touch points,” said Matthew Arnold, chief connections officer at VMLY&R, a South African advertising agency. Advertisers like Nandos now advertise directly to consumers through platforms like YouTube and social media. (Source: Youtube/Nandos) Another selling point for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Google is that they can give advertisers access to billions of eyeballs globally. With this huge audience and good old economies of scale, the platforms can offer pricing which is a fraction of the cost of advertising on TV. According to Rob Smuts, CEO of RMS Media, insights like conversion volumes, conversion rates, click-through rates, and cost per acquisition which are offered by digital platforms are also important sell points. These metrics allow advertisers to personalise and target ads more precisely, something TV advertising cannot offer as it “broadcasts the same message to a broad audience, regardless of individual preferences or behaviours.” All is not yet lost for SA TV In its latest annual results, South African TV broadcaster eMedia recorded a profit of $17 million, showing that there is still bank to be made in TV advertising. Free-to-air broadcasters such as eTV continue to offer value to advertisers because access to the internet for social media and streaming remains a challenge, especially for low-income groups. Multichoice on the other hand, stated that to resurrect the declining DStv revenues, it would leverage popular sports events, bringing in new clients to TV via its small and medium enterprise initiatives, and driving uptake of the group’s digital advertising channels. To hedge against digital advertising’s surge at the expense of TV’s decline, some South African broadcasters are also moving ad sales in-house to block ad agencies like The Media Box from offering alternative digital advertising options to advertisers. “But companies will continue to allocate more of their ad spend towards digital because that market sector continues to grow,” said Mannenburg.
Read MoreNigeria’s securities exchange issues disclaimer on $DAVIDO
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a disclaimer alert to investors regarding $DAVIDO, a meme coin backed and promoted by Afrobeats superstar Davido which dipped by 90 within 24 hours of its launch. It raced to a $10 million market capitalisation just four hours after it launched on Wednesday, May 29. “The Commission does not recognise $Davido as an investment product or investable asset class under its regulatory purview, as such individuals who patronise it do so at their peril,” the SEC said in a statement on its website. On his third venture into the crypto space, the disclaimer from the SEC could dent his reputation as a viable investment partner after the failure of $echoke on the Binance Smart Chain and Racksterli, which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. The Grammy Award nominee was accused of rug pulling, after he posted his gains from the project. Solana welcomes $DAVIDO, but party ends quickly as valuation dips in 24 hours A rug pull is a scam in the cryptocurrency space where coin project developers create a false sense of security and hype. Investors are lured in by promises and a seemingly legitimate project, only to have the developers vanish abruptly, leaving the invested funds inaccessible and the project worthless. The SEC advised the public against investing in the coin, noting that meme coins are not “intended to serve as a medium of exchange accepted by the public as payment for goods and services, or as a digital representation of capital market products…or other kinds of financial instruments or investments.” “The general public is hereby advised that meme coins lack fundamental value and are purely speculative. The general public is further warned that investing in meme coins, including $Davido, is highly risky and should be done with a full understanding of the associated risk,” the Commission said.
Read MoreExclusive: Brass opts for a smaller team under new management
While the takeover of business banking startup Brass by a group of investors was widely hailed as a win by the tech ecosystem, it also entailed a restructuring that saw several employees leave the business. An initial TechCabal report claimed only Sola Akindolu, the CEO, Emmanuel Okeke, the CTO, and head of design, Tolulope Saba, left the company, but 16 employees who were furloughed in March 2024 were also laid off. “While Brass has been recapitalized, the new operating model [which prioritises prudent runway management] requires a smaller team during this period of transition, and as a result, the furloughed team members have been let go,” Brass said in a statement confirming the layoffs. It was a disappointing turn of events for the employees, who were told by the previous management that they would return to the company after the furlough. Two former employees claimed the layoffs happened immediately after the acquisition was communicated. “While the product and customer-facing experience remain the same, for all intents and purposes, back-of-house operations are now run by a new company,” Brass said in a statement. YC-backed Prospa is unable to process withdrawals for the second time in 5 months The restructuring did not only impact furloughed employees. “They gave the remaining employees [including team executives/ team leads] a choice to resign from the company or have their roles re-evaluated through an interview,” a former staff told TechCabal. “Nearly seventy percent of non-furloughed Brass team members who were interested in joining the new entity were retained and re-hired.” Brass confirmed that people who didn’t pass the evaluation or opted to leave the company parted ways with a severance of one month’s pay. Brass’s goal is to keep the headcount at manageable levels. The company has still not named a permanent CEO and CTO, and in the interim, a team of former Brass and current Paystack employees are leading the team.
Read MoreFIRS drops tax evasion charges against Binance executives
Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has dropped the tax evasion charges brought against Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla making Binance the sole defendant, one week after sixteen US lawmakers accused Nigeria of holding Gambrayan, hostage. Gambrayan has been detained for 110 days, while Anjarwalla escaped detention on March 22. “The charges against Mr. Gambaryan are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic by the Nigerian government to extort his employer, Binance,” the lawmakers wrote in a June 4 letter to Biden pointing out that Mr. Gambaryan qualifies, a U.S. Citizen, was “wrongfully detained by a foreign government.” “We are relieved that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have served and filed amended charges today, resulting in tax charges against Tigran Gambaryan being dropped, further illustrating that Tigran is not a decision-maker at Binance and does not need to be held in order for Binance to resolve issues with the Nigerian government,” a Binance spokesperson said in a statement shared with TechCabal. Although the tax evasion charges have been dropped, Gambaryan, who has been diagnosed with malaria and pneumonia according to his lawyers, will remain in custody as the money laundering charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are still pending, with a court ruling on the matter yet to be delivered. Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were formally charged with tax invasion charges in March 2024 after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) alleged they failed to pay taxes on cryptocurrency transactions worth billions of naira. The crypto exchange was accused of non-payment of value-added tax and company tax, and failure to file tax returns. Before the tax invasion charge, Gambaryan was taken into custody by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and held for several days before being released on bail. Gambaryan first appeared in court on February 22, 2024, to face money laundering charges.
Read MoreKenya hikes minimum bank capital 10-fold to match regional peers
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will increase the minimum capital requirement for commercial banks ten-fold to $77.8 million (KES10 billion), Kenya finance minister Njuguna Ndung’u announced on Thursday. The new capital requirements will boost resilience to potential financial risks like increased cyber fraud threats and economic shocks but it could prove challenging for over half of the 39 licensed commercial banks. For these small and mid-size banks, mergers or raising capital from the stock markets are options they will consider. “The CBK intends to progressively increase the minimum core capital for banks from the current KES1.0 billion ($7.7 million) to KES10.0 billion ($77.8 million). The CBK will engage the market for an appropriate timetable to achieve this goal. This is intended to strengthen the resilience and increase the bank’s capacity to finance large-scale projects while creating a sufficient capital buffer,” Ndung’u said during the annual budget speech in parliament. This is the second time in a decade that Kenya is pushing to review the minimum capital threshold for lenders. In 2015, a similar proposal to raise the key capital requirement to $38.9 million (KES5 billion) was rejected by parliament. CBK requires lenders to maintain a 10.5% floor for the core capital to risk-weighted assets ratio, 14.5% total capital to risk-weighted assets, and 8% for the core capital to deposits ratio. State-owned Consolidated Bank is the only lender that does not meet the current threshold. The KES 1 billion current requirement has been in force since 2012. This trails the capital adequacy requirement in South Africa ($90 million), Nigeria ($337.1 million), and Egypt ($104.7 million)–the three biggest banking industries in Africa. Neighbouring Uganda increased its threshold to $40 million (UGX150 billion), which has since seen some banks downgraded including Nigeria’s GTBank, Kenya’s ABC Capital Bank, and Opportunity Bank. Tanzania last reviewed core capital requirements in 2013 and has been mulling plans to raise.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Bolt and Uber must apply for licences in South Africa
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning This is our last call for reviews on TC Daily. Before you take the long weekend off, please take one minute to fill our survey and let us know what you think. We’ll be writing to you all through Eid so you don’t miss a thing. In today’s edition South African ride-hailing services must now apply for licences Meta reduces Lagos office space after global layoffs MTN Uganda unsold share sale sees oversubscription BlackRock’s iShares ETF to exit Nigeria, Kenya Funding tracker The World Wide Web3 Job openings Regulations South African ride-hailing services must now apply for licences In 2022, e-hailing drivers across South Africa embarked on many a strike actions as their vehicles faced impoundment for lack of permits. At the time, over 2,000 vehicles were impounded in just one year. This year, 6,000 drivers were booted from Bolt for misconduct. When issues like these arise, e-hailing services are always quick to distance themselves from their drivers. In Kenya and Nigeria, for example, the companies have called the drivers contractors and not “employees” to escape vicarious liability. These e-hailing apps may no longer have this get-away excuse in South Africa as the country has now amended its land transportation act, and it does come with a fair bit of turbulence for e-hailing operators. The obvious road is clear: e-hailing operators in the country must now apply for licences to operate in South Africa. The amended Act, signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa, simplifies the process for ride-hailing companies to operate legally. Up until now, they had to follow rules and obtain permits meant for different types of transportation: charter permits (typically for large buses) and meter taxi licenses (for traditional taxis). However, a larger roadblock is the requirement for these licences. E-hailing services must ensure that drivers on their platforms have the appropriate licences while on their platform. They must also “disconnect the e-hailing application” once they discover any driver is operating without the necessary permits. If these providers fail to comply, they could face fines of up to R100,000 ($5,428). With this, the government is foisting the responsibility of verification and adherence on e-hailing apps. If drivers on their platforms are caught without permits, the drivers will pay fines and so will the e-hailing providers. The signed and amended Act is not yet public, but the bill to amend is. It remains to be seen when the amendments will be enforced on e-hailing operators. Moniepoint is Africa’s fastest-growing fintech The Financial Times has ranked Moniepoint as Africa’s fastest-growing fintech based on its absolute and compound growth rate. Read more about it here. Layoffs Meta reduces Lagos office space after global layoffs Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram is set to reduce its office space in Lagos after global layoffs affected the workforce of its Nigerian office. As the social media giant reevaluates its tenancy agreement for office space in the 15-story Kings Tower building in Ikoyi, where the asking rent is $800 per sqm and hosts offices of Flutterwave and Microsoft, one would wonder if these are signs of Meta leaving Nigeria. However, the renegotiation of its tenancy agreement to reduce its office space is directly linked to the company’s global layoffs which happened in 2023 and affected at least 35 employees per a report by TechCabal. “It is a remarkable about-face for a company that has consistently invested in Nigeria and has spoken about prioritising the West African nation. In March 2024, Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs visited Nigeria and announced the company would begin offering monetisation to creators in Q3 2024. During his visit, he spoke about the recognition Nigerian creators have garnered globally and their use of Meta’s platforms to build communities. Per Statista data, there are an estimated 43 million Facebook users in Nigeria,” Frank Eleanya wrote for TechCabal. Despite office space reduction plans, Meta does not want anyone to think it is reducing its presence or commitment in Nigeria. “We regularly review our office spaces to ensure they suit the needs of the business, and the office in Nigeria is no different. As we shrink our real estate footprint, we’re transitioning to desk sharing for people who already spend most of their time outside the office,” Meta said in a statement. So far, Meta is the second big tech company that is visibly reducing its operation scale in the country after Microsoft, in May 2024, closed its African Development Centre, and announced layoffs for its entire engineering team in the country. Telecoms MTN Uganda unsold share sale sees oversubscription When MTN Uganda launched on the Uganda stock exchange in 2021, it was a mixed bag. The listing raised the biggest capital—$4.43 billion—in the bourse’s 24 year-history. However, the IPO listing was also the first undersubscribed round in USE’s history, as the telecom failed to sell every portion of its shares allotted to local investors. Ugandan regulation mandated the telecom to sell 20% of its shares to local investors, but the telecom only managed to sell 13% of the shares. In May this year, the telecom sought to fix that. It announced the sale of its remaining shares from the 2021 listing, offering over 1 billion ordinary shares on the Ugandan bourse. MTN gave a 14-day window—May 27 and June 10— for the sale of the shares. Well, the results are out, and it’s all positive for the telecom. An oversubscribed round: While MTN offered 1.6 billion shares for sale, it received applications for 3 billion shares. The announcement of the results also meant that MTN has resumed trading in its stock, which it briefly suspended due to the sale of its shares. Investors in MTN Uganda are in for a good ride, as the telecom, with a subscriber base of about 15 million, has seen continuous revenue growth and high-profit margins, translating to huge dividends If you’re in Uganda and you
Read MoreWorld Bank approves $2.25 billion financial support for Nigeria
The World Bank has voted in favour of a $2.25 billion financial support package for Nigeria that will serve as a much-needed boost to the country’s economic reforms. It comes two weeks after Finance Minister Wale Edun spoke about the need to stay the course after tough reforms like the removal of fuel subsidy and a long-running currency peg accelerated inflation. “Our economy has been in desperate need of reform for decades. It has been unbalanced because it was built on the flawed foundation of over-reliance on revenues from the exploitation of oil,” President Tinubu said on June 12, a public holiday to celebrate democracy. He has pledged to raise revenues and tackle inflation. “The approved operations include $1.5 billion for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation (RESET), Development Policy Financing Program (DPF) and $750 million for the Nigeria Accelerating Resourcer Mobilitation Reforms (ARMOR),” a statement from the Minister’s office said. Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, said “Nigeria’s comprehensive macro-fiscal reforms are placing the country on a new path that can stabilize the economy and lift people out of poverty.” Despite some early reforms, economic analysts have criticised the government’s follow-through. After an initial removal of fuel subsidy, a foreign exchange rate spike and a rise in global oil prices forced the government to begin quietly paying subsidies. And despite a free float of the naira and several interest rate hikes, FX prices have remained unpredictable, swinging wildly in February, gaining ground in March before losing momentum again by the end of April. FX prices have partly contributed to the acceleration of inflation and multiple taxes and excise duties on food products and other goods have not been removed. A presidential task force has recommended the removal of several taxes and expects to see progress by the end of the year. *This is a developing story
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New PM Kisan status check 2024
The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM Kisan) is a beneficial program for Indian farmers. Here’s a guide on how to conduct a PM Kisan status check 2024. Available PM Kisan status check methods There are two primary methods for a Kisan status check 2024: Using Aadhaar card: This method allows you to check your Kisan status 2024 using your Aadhaar card number. Using mobile number: If you registered your mobile number with PM Kisan, you can retrieve your status using that. Steps for PM Kisan status check 2024 (Aadhaar card): Visit the official PM Kisan website: [pmkisan.gov.in]. On the homepage, locate the “Farmer’s Corner” section. Click the “Status of Self Registered Farmer/ CSC Farmers” option. You’ll be directed to a page requiring your Aadhaar card number or Aadhaar number (both terms are used interchangeably). Enter the relevant details. Complete the image verification (captcha). Click on the “Get Details” button. Your Kisan status 2024, including beneficiary details and installment information, will be displayed on the screen (if registered). Steps for Kisan status check 2024 (Mobile Number): Visit the official PM Kisan website: [pmkisan.gov.in]. On the homepage, locate the “Farmer’s Corner” section. Click on the “Beneficiary Status” option. Enter your registered mobile number. Complete the image verification (captcha). Click on the “Get Details” button. Your Kisan status, including beneficiary details and instalment information, will be displayed on the screen (if registered). Final thoughts Ensure you enter the correct details (Aadhaar card number or registered mobile number) to avoid errors in the PM Kisan status checking process. Also, completing Kisan KYC (know your customer) process is essential for receiving benefits. You can check your KYC status on the PM Kisan website. If you notice any discrepancies or need further information about your PM Kisan status, contact the PM Kisan helpline or your local agricultural department.
Read More“We only planned to increase prices once in 2023,” MultiChoice CEO claims
South African Pay-TV giant MultiChoice Group claimed that despite planning to increase prices just once in 2023, worsening macroeconomic conditions in the Rest of Africa markets including Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi forced its hand. Two price increases in 2023 proved unpopular with its customers. In Nigeria, a tribunal claimed MultiChoice did not give customers adequate notice before increasing prices while in Malawi, the company temporarily shut down its operations after the regulator barred it from increasing prices. Nigerian subscribers decline to 8.1 million as MultiChoice Group records $217m annual loss However, Calvo Mawela, the company CEO, said currency devaluation in those markets forced its hands and made price increases inevitable. Despite raising subscription fees, the revenue contribution of major markets like Ghana and Nigeria declined significantly from 44% to 35%. Despite these struggles, the pay-TV company will not deprioritise cable in favour of other business segments like streaming or fintech. “Pay TV remains the mainstay of our operations, we must safeguard the business,” said Mawela. With $217 million in losses for FY24, MultiChoice will focus on cutting costs for the next year. In the last year, it saved over R1 billion in costs by reducing subsidies on decoders and renegotiating content pricing. “The group will further accelerate its cost-saving programme [with a target of ZAR2.0bn for FY25] and reduce capital outlays, prioritise customer retention, leverage popular sports renewals, develop its local content pipeline further and leverage promising traction in its new platforms and services,” the company said in a statement. It will hope those initiatives will move it towards profitability. “This is not a wishlist,” said Tim Jacobs, the company’s Group CFO on an earnings call. “We have a multi-year cost reduction program. This combined with ongoing retention initiatives will help us maintain profitability in the Rest of Africa.”
Read MoreYC-backed Prospa is unable to process withdrawals for the second time in 5 months
Prospa, the Y Combinator-backed business banking startup, is the subject of complaints and social media callouts after persistent delays in processing customer withdrawals. Four customers said their withdrawals had not been processed since May 2024 amid the company’s claims of service downtime. It is not the first time customers have experienced such delays. In February 2024, the company also claimed a service downtime impacted transaction speeds, with customers needing to wait weeks to access withdrawals. Prospa did not immediately respond to a request for comments. These delays are worrying for business owners who use Propsa to hold deposits and access other services like company registration, virtual storefronts, invoicing, bookkeeping, sub-accounts, and working loans. “Either their [customer care] phone lines were switched off or they responded saying they have NIP server issues,” one person who had ₦800,000 in his Prospa account told TechCabal in March. “I called my friend who works at NIBSS [the country’s payment aggregator] and they said Prospa had no such issues.” The delays were resolved in mid-March, according to affected users, some of whom visiting the company’s Yaba office. Others formed virtual support groups to share updates. In May, customers began experiencing delays again, with some withdrawals taking up to three weeks to process. “At this point, the customer care reps are just engaging complaints because they have to, and not to actually help,” an affected user told TechCabal. Like the last time, many are visiting Prospa’s office to demand a resolution. “When they come round, we get our account managers to attend to them and resolve their complaints,” an employee told TechCabal. An ex-employee rejected comparisons to Brass, a business banking startup that struggled with working capital before it was acquired by new investors. “Prospa has never had capital issues. They only had technical issues,” a former Prospa employee who worked in Credit told TechCabal. “They are partnering with commercial banks so most times, [the engineering team] say issues are from them.” The bank has previously partnered with Wema Bank, and Parkway ready cash. Per its website, it partners with Good News Microfinance Bank.
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