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Five years ago, when Social Media Week launched in Lagos, it was the first event of its kind in Africa on that scale. At the time, social media seemed mostly a fun and useful marketing communications platform.
Looking back, that was only partly right. Social media is undoubtedly a lot of fun and many a brand, including personal brands, have established themselves with social media.
But five years ago, it would have difficult to anticipate the importance of social media in Africa as a key communications tool with tools like WhatsApp, Viber and more recently WeChat. For some Africans, the newsgroups within WhatsApp alone have become a primary source of news and entertainment.
Like elsewhere, Facebook and Twitter have also been important for sharing news and local information. But in countries where the press has been weakened or compromised, having outlets to share news has been more important than ever. Local newspapers do great work across the continent, but they also need social media to reach as many readers as possible, particularly younger ones.
TV news is also still very relevant, but there are fewer than 60 million households in sub-Saharan Africa, which has a population closing in on one billion. Traditional TV isn’t reaching everyone. Meanwhile, mobile phones already have a higher penetration and smartphone use more than doubled in the two years to 2016. YouTube has been a source of great entertainment, but it also makes it easier to share important video.
All to say that social media in Africa has been a lot more than just than sharing selfies and funny hashtags (though there have been plenty of those too). Social media has been so influential and consequential in the lives of young Africans over the last five years that some governments now target social media specifically for blockages around elections and political protests. And in some cases, the blockages result in a crude complete cut-off of internet access.
The transformation of “social media” to plain old “media” is happening fast in advanced economies, but in emerging countries, particularly in Africa, the impact of that transformation may already be apparent. The decentralization of media and communications may seem a threat to those who have traditionally controlled the levers of power, but the true, and mostly positive, influence of social media has only just begun. It should be embraced.
Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Stories from this week
Africa’s next boom should come from marketing digital trust. Nation states can be defined based on their common language or as living in a particular geographical territory. Yet in the age of the internet, Bright Simons challenges us to see countries as portals, connected through a borderless internet—with Africans leading from the front through innovation and sound regulation.
Attacks on Africans in South Africa spark fears of a repeat of xenophobic violence. South Africa is yet again on edge, as attacks on immigrants’ homes and businesses raised concerns of renewed xenophobia. Yet despite the lives lost in previous waves of violence, the country may not have learned a painful lesson, finds Lynsey Chutel from conversations with anti-immigrant protesters.
Growing discontent is pushing Kenya’s activists to run for office. Kenya is a country with a dynamic private sector and a growing economy. But six months before a general election, frustration over endemic corruption and the failure of social services, is pushing young activists and journalists to run for office, reports Abdi Latif Dahir.
One of the world’s leading nations in mobile money will print its first banknotes in 25 years. The only currency note available in Somalia is the 1,000 shilling—98% of which are considered fake by the IMF. But a decision to print its first cash banknotes in a quarter century later this year could prove easier said than done.
How space technology can help a shrinking African lake. Chronic droughts have contributed to the shrinking of Lake Chad by 90% in 50 years. But as Calestous Juma notes, emerging technologies like civilian drones and, increasingly affordable, space technology could help provide real-life monitoring of climate change and ecological trends.
The shareholder jitters behind the failed Shoprite and Steinhoff merger. It was supposed to be the deal that created the retail champion of Africa. But grocery retailer Shoprite and furniture company Steinhoff called off their merger after shareholders felt they wouldn’t get value for their money.
CHART OF THE WEEK
Government inaction is preventing millions of Africans from accessing the internet. High data costs prevent poor people all over the world from gaining full access to the internet. But that’s more so in African countries, where one gigabyte of prepaid mobile data costs the average resident nearly 18% of their monthly income.
Other Things We Liked
Trump, Tillerson and the resource curse. A few hours after Rex Tillerson’s confirmation as US secretary of state, president Trump nullified a rule that had plagued Tillerson’s old company, Exxon. The “publish what you pay” rule obliged US companies to disclose payments to foreign states—an effort to bring transparency to dealings with countries like Equatorial Guinea, writes David Pilling in the Financial Times ($) .
Inside Africa’s non-protestors’ protesting toolbox. A noisy march may not always be the best way to highlight a pressing issue. And as James Wan writes in African Arguments, African citizens have found different ways to subvert the system—whether its through whistling, donning red, or going on a sex strike.
The magnificent cross-cultural recordings of Kenya’s Kipsigis people. Since 1921, British ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey studied and recorded African music. He believed the music of Africa was being slowly eradicated or erased by colonial government and missionaries, writes Amanda Petrusich in the New Yorker.
Keep an eye on
Social Media Week Lagos (Feb. 27-Mar.4). Africa’s biggest social media event takes place in the continent’s largest city with participation from Quartz Africa, Guardian Nigeria, YouTube, Facebook and investors like Techstars and Singularity Investments.
Nigeria will release GDP data (Feb. 28). Investors will be seeking clarity on the trajectory of Africa’s largest economy—and if it still is Africa’s largest.
Ghana’s budget day (Mar. 2). Ghana’s finance minister will reveal the new government’s first budget.
Jalada Mobile Literary and Arts Festival (March 3 – 31). The literary event will involve both a traditional festival and a literary bus tour that will cover 5 countries and 12 towns.
Our best wishes for a productive and thought-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, real Somali shillings and best social media practice tips to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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