As the the world goes online by the millions, the possibilities for domain names grows. The internet naming governing body, ICAAN, has been doing a good job so far of keeping up with the demands of online activity and creating standard practices. But while ICAAN considers the creation of non-english domains, Andrew Mack asks, “In a world of .com and .org, why not .Africa?”. Andrew raises a good point as the African continent attempts to attract investment; what better way to reach as many people as possible than organizing around a similar domain. From a business and tourism stand point I can see the .africa domain working as it will help foreign consumers identify services available within countries on the content. Imagine if there was a www.tourism.tz.africa for Tanzanian tourism information instead of the current www.tanzaniatouristboard.com. As Andrew points out, many southern African businesses have currently adopted the .za domain in an attempt to create an association with the strong South African economy and brand. But why not eliminate the regional segmentation and create a continental domain that would aggregate the strengths of the various economies. A .africa domain will also allow the centralization of many African content, business or otherwise, and more accurately reflect the size and depth of content about the continent strengthening the Africa’s brand image. So what do you think? What are the pros or cons of a .africa domain? Would you change your domain? Read more about the .africa efforts at www.dotafrica.blogspot.com.
After Gladwell’s Blink, Kenna’s new dilemma
Recently, MTVU, the university station of MTV, organized a visit by best selling author Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking) and Ethiopian-born American musician Kenna to a University of Pennsylvania sociology class. The class was in the process of studying the chapter “Kenna’s Dilemma” from Gladwell’s book Blink and the two men made an appearance to discuss the dilemma Kenna faces as an artist who, though heralded by many in the music industry as the next big thing, has yet to connect with a large enough fan base.
If you haven’t heard Kenna’s music yet, I encourage you to get familiar. Kenna, born Kenna Zemedkun, makes some of the most inspiring left of center music today. As a member of the Neptunes production duo’s (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) extended StarTrak family, Kenna’s sound is not what you’d expect pop music to be. Though his previous album New Sacred Cow, the subject of Gladwell’s chapter, had a creative video for the single “Freetime” and gained a 3 star review from Rolling Stone Magazine, it has not made Kenna the superstar he needs to be. Not one to be deterred, Kenna returns this time around with a new marketing strategy for his new cd Make Sure They See My Face. As with similar African-born western-raised artists such as K’Naan, Akon, Somi, and Chosan, Kenna’s comfort with balancing his African and western identities make his music uncategorizable for many. This time around though the combination of re-newed interest in ’80s-style music and fashion, the growth of the popular black nerd trend (Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West) as an alternative to the blinged out hip-hop stereotype, and Kenna’s own growth as an artist and business man, position’s Kenna and his music for better commercial success. Kenna’s image and music adds another dynamic to the growing Afropolitan demographic. As Kenna and the Afropolitan demographic grows more confident in his/her own identity they are exerting incresing influence on popular culture through their art. Hopefully the only dilemma Kenna will face this time around will be how to live with his celebrity. I’ll be watching his rise, and so should you.
NPR on Kenna’s career
Upcoming in-store appearances
CLEVELAND, OH
Tuesday Oct. 16th @ 4 PM-
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music
3466 Mayfield Rd.
Cleveland Heights
216.291.8605
ANN ARBOR, MI
Thursday Oct. 18th @ 4 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music
612 E. Liberty Ann Arbor
734.668.7652
NEW YORK, NY
Monday Oct. 22nd @ 12 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music (Wall Street)
100 Broadway
212.964.1988
BOSTON, MA
Tuesday Oct. 23rd @ 4 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music (Downtown Crossing)
10-24 School Street
617.557.7188
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Thursday Oct. 25th @ 1 PM
Instore performance and signing
FYE
100 S. Broad Street
215.496.8338
ATLANTA, GA
Monday Oct. 29th @ Time TBC
Instore performance and signing
Criminal Records
466 Mooreland Avenue, NE
404.215.9511
ORLANDO, FL
Tuesday Oct. 30th @ 3 PM
Instore performance and signing
Park Ave CDs
2916 Corrine Drive
407.447.PARK
Tanzania launches first ever US television campaign on CNN
Two weeks ago I attended the African Travel Association‘s Second Annual Presidential Forum on Tourism at New York University. The forum, organized by the ATA – a global travel trade association promoting tourism to Africa – and hosted by NYU’s Africa House, was put together to provide African leaders from Tanzania, Ghana, Cape Verde, Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi, and Rwanda with the opportunity to “present the continent’s rich travel opportunities to almost 200 leaders from government, non-government and business communities, the tourism industry, travel trade media, and education”. As we waited for the Presidents and representatives to arrive, I spoke to Maria Mmari, Tanzania’s Assistant Director of Tourism Development, who told me about her country’s efforts to encourage tourism. Ms. Mmari informed me that the week prior, Tanzania had launched it’s first ever television campaign “Tanzania: Land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and The Serengeti†with an event at at Tavern on the Green. In line with the ATA’s 
current theme of promoting “Destination Africa“, Tanzania’s campaign focuses on positioning the nation as the home of some of Africa’s most recognized destinations, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and the Serengeti, Speaking to Ms. Mmari, I got the feeling that the Tanzanian tourism board had the right idea about what steps to take to encourage American tourism. As Ali Velshi, CNN senior business correspondent, said during his presentation at forum, “American tourists are concerned with safety, reliable communications, stable governance, reliable banking, and luxury”, and African countries hoping to attract these high-spending tourists need to find ways of alleviating these fears. Though I haven’t yet seen Tanzania’s television spot on CNN, CNN Headline News, CNN Airport and CNN.com where it is currently running, I applaud the Tanzanian government for taking the steps to create a brand association for their country. I would encourage the tourism board to continue their efforts. It’s good to see that African governments are taking branding and marketing seriously. I’ve long argued that African countries needs to work on their brand image at the same time as it is working on it’s other problems. While everything might not be perfect on the ground, there is no reason not to start the process of repairing the global image and get interested parties involved in our successes early on.
Bradford Global Marketing, New York, is handling the campaign, which will run through the year-end holidays on CNN’s airport network. Placement also includes CNN’s “Headline News and CNN.com through next March and resumes again next fall. Budget was not disclosed. The outreach also will include on online training program to train travel agents as destination specialists. The U.S. is Tanzania’s No. 2 source market behind the U.K. More on the campaign at BrandWeek
African family adopts Britney’s kids!, Slate.com
Slate posts a hilarious story on a Malawian family’s adoption of Britney Spears’ children. A must read!
“Los Angeles, where the Federline children have been living, is one of the richest cities in the world, trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of depravity, narcissism, and veganism. Nearly 27 percent of the children in Los Angeles suffer the misfortune of having celebrity parents. Mr. and Mrs. M were stunned by the deplorable conditions these victims live in. Children are subject to verbal abuse via cell phone, and babies are dangled over balcony railings. “Fathers kill mothers, and then put out badly written books about it,” Mr. M said. “And the names these children must bear,” said Mrs. M. “Apple, Fifi Trixibell, Fuchsia, Moxie CrimeFighter, Pilot Inspektor, Sage Moonblood—what kind of future can these poor children have?” – Slate.com
Thanks to Afromusing for the link.
Video: Sierra Leone’s Chosan on Kanye West’s Diamonds video and Africa as a celebrity cause
Annansi Notes: Fall Out Boy, Mandela, Clint Eastwood, African babies, Facebook in Kenya
- Fall Out Boy head to Africa….Uganda really (What’s a rock band’s image without an African charity connection. Shout out to director extraordinaire Alan Ferguson) )
- Clint Eastwood will direct Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in a new Nelson Mandela movie “The Human Factor” (The Hollywood/Africa trend grows. They should expect a call from some concerned Africans real soon.)
- Facebook is the new office fashion in Kenya (Rupert Murdoch needs to get the Myspace/Wall Street Journal thing sorted out fast)
- Actress Mary-Louise Parker adopts a child from Africa (Can all these African childrens’ biological families get visitation visas now?)
Video: Journalist Andrew Mwenda on the dark side of African aid
Egypt, Ghana, Kenya among top 10 reformed business economies says World Bank report
The World Bank has released its annual ranking of the ease of doing business in 178 economies. The newly released Doing Business 2008 Project “provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 178 countries. The team works closely with thousands of professionals around the world”. While the report gives a worldwide view on where to do business within various categories including starting a business, registering property, and enforcing contracts, of particular interest are the economies which continue to rise by offering new incentives and steamlining business processes. Of the top 10 reformed economies for 2006/07, three African countries – Egypt, Ghana, and Kenya – show some serious potential. This is particularly good news for Ghana as it will attempt to raise $750m on the international market this Thursday by having the “first ever listing of Ghana’s sovereign bonds on the international capital market”. With a one week listing on the London Stock Exchange beginning Thursday, September 27th, Ghana will be only the second sub-Saharan African nation, after South Africa, to be allowed to issue bonds on the international market as a means of raising funds to finance national projects.
The Doing Business 2008 Report is a great starting point for individuals and companies looking to spread their wings and enter one of the many attractive emerging African markets. The Doing Business website offers in depth explanations as well as an interactive chart where users can specify their region of interest and sort data by business concerns.
Growing African film and African-American talent
In the years I’ve been lending my expertise to the growth of the African film industry I have gotten a chance to understand the complexities that exist behind the scenes. As a moviegoer, I’ve always detested the role Africa plays in film. Working behind the scenes, I have come to understand what drives the movie studios to continue to make these kinds of films. In trying to change the final product (movies), the studios’ bottom lines (financial rewards) plays a major part. Simply put, movie studios are have to see the possibilities of a financial reward in producing Africa-related films the “right way”. While I cannot say it’s an easy task, I am always inspired by the small changes I continue to see. In my opinion, one of the ways which will change the process of making African films for Western audiences is to tie the African film industry to the strong African-American film community. While the film industry at large struggles to make a return on the production costs, with blockbusters not making the numbers they used to, the African-American film community has a great opportunity to align with the African film community and continue to grow professionally and financially. But creativity and authenticity is the real key. One of the first of what is sure to be a slew of African-American/African film projects looks to be the film adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith’s bestselling book “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agencyâ€.
The NY Times gives some background about the efforts to make “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency†in Botswana. With a primarily African-American and African cast including Jill Scott, Idris Elba, and Anika Noni Rose, the film is an example of the African stories which can finance African growth, and breath new life into the American film industry while allowing African-American filmmakers to share in the possible successes.
…in the end the government of Botswana sealed the deal to make “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency†on location and not in a Johannesburg back lot, contributing $5 million to finance it. In return Botswana received not only the economic benefits of housing and servicing a major film but also hands-on training in moviemaking that officials hope will sow the seeds of a film industry. Botswana is also counting on a tourism benefit from the film: the Kgale Hill set that includes Mma Ramotswe’s (the lead character) office is being preserved and will become part of a “Ladies’ Detective Agency†tour for those drawn to Botswana by Mr. Smith’s stories.
Africa Enterprising articles part 4
The 4th edition of the The Carnival of African Enterprising has launched at Nii Simmonds’ Nubian Cheetah blog. As with the previous 3 installments of ideas, this edition highlights some of the best posts from the African business/entrepreneurship blogosphere. I’m happy to see that as the carnival continues, there are new names and perspectives being added. This edition covers Blogging Trade & Investment Forums, Business in Africa, Entrepreneurship in Africa with posts on:
- TED Global 2007: Afterglow (David McQueen)
- Idea Exchange: sponsors & links (Bankelele)
- TED Global, Africa: The Next Chapter (Jen Brea)
- Vote to add Africa 2.0 panel to SXSW festival schedule (G. Kofi Annan)
- IBM Thinks Africa (Benin Mwangi)
- Hear IBM Vice President’s view on Africa’s present market opportunities (African Path)
- Kenyans in the Diaspora Conference Final Thoughts (Joshua Wanyama)
- Planting Seeds: TED Global (Emeka)
- The Power of a TED Talk (Erik Hersman)
- Tanzania diminishes chances of regional integration (Ken Teyie)
- In the media: Khartoum, the Dubai of Africa (Africaincorp)
- Want Financial Freedom? Start your Own Fashion Business (Uduak Oduok)
- Ideas to grow the informal sector in Africa (Nii Simmonds)
- Meso Finance: the next area of financing for SME’s in Africa (Nii Simmonds)
- From China to Virtual Africa: How Can Participatory Media Benefit the World? (Alanagh Recreant)
Head over to the Nubian Cheetah blog for the post description and links.