GEN Z REPORT 2018

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Contents
03
Introducing Gen Z

02

A new generation is emerging across
Africa who have never known life
without the internet or social media.
How will their consumer behaviourand spending patterns shapebusinesses in the future?

Introduction
By 2020, the digital economy isestimated to account for over 26%
of global GDP, presenting Africa witha huge opportunity to be a part of
the new digital world order.

07

Digital skills for adigital future Generation Z will play a definitiverole in building Africa’s digital
economies in the years ahead.
Here we speak to a range ofbusinesses, start-ups andacademics to find out what new
skills they will need to create asuccessful future.

13
New media platforms
for a new generation
As the world’s first generation of
truly digital natives emerge as
consumers in their own right, themedia and entertainment spaceis having to adapt. Fast.

16

Empowering Gen Z
through technology
Ben Roberts, Liquid Telecom’s
Group CTIO, explains how accessto technology can inspire a newgeneration of African techies.

17
Reaching the nextlevel


1 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

Greater access to high-speed
internet, a growth in local gaming
content and enthusiastic gaming
communities are all creating
the perfect storm for Africa’s
gaming scene.

The generation that willdefine Africa’s digital futureBy 2020, the digital economy is estimated to account for over
26% of global GDP, presenting Africa with a huge opportunity to be a part of the new digital world order.
Across the region, businesses and governments are taking
steps to ensure that Africa can compete in the digital age.
Digitalisation is expected to bring an additional $300 billion
to Africa by 2026, and with this comes an expanding digital sector thatcan fundamentally change how people live and work.
However, in order for Africa to fulfil its digital potential, a new generationneeds to step forward with fresh ideas, a hunger to learn digital skills anda passion to use technology for the better of everybody.
Welcome Generation Z.
Born between 1995 and the early 2000s, Generation Z is the first to havenever known life without the internet or social media, which has shaped
their attitudes and abilities to operate online. Gen Z are not just comfortable with rapidly changing technology - they are set to become the authoritative figures on technology in the modern workplace.
The African Generation Z Report 2018 takes an in-depth look at how
Gen Z could shape business and innovation in Africa in the years to come.
From examining how Gen Z will consume digital services to analysing
what new digital skills will be critical in the not-so-distant future, thereport gathers insight and opinion from across the region.
Technology is empowering Gen Z to do things no other generation
before them could. Access to information online has reduced dependency on traditional teaching methods, enabling young Africans to teachthemselves coding and other valuable IT skills.
This is creating a culture of entrepreneurship amongst young adults,
who are questioning traditional ways of working and adopting new
approaches to tackling problems. As this report highlights, the next generation are demonstrating an enormous passion and appetite for technology. Although what is particularly heartening is how many of them aren’t
motivated by personal economic gain, but by the goal of using innovation
to solve some of the region’s largest problems and improve lives.
But at the same time, Gen Z are set to inherit some major challenges.
Approximately 20% of Africa’s population is aged between 15 and 24,
marking the region as the youngest in the world. This age group, however,are hit the hardest when it comes unemployment and underemployment.
Over the coming years, the next generation in Africa has both the mostto lose and the most to gain. Their future lies in the hands of a healthy androbust digital economy.

Editor:Alex Hawkes
Contributors:
Gabriella Mulligan, Disrupt Africa
Tracy Burrows
Designer:
Liam Keating
Feedback:
alex.hawkes@liquidtelecom.com
Follow us@liquidtelecom
linkedin.com/company/liquid-telecom
facebook.com/liquidtelecomgroup/

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INTRODUCING GEN Z

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Africa’s n

A new generation is emerging across Africa who have never known life
without the internet or social media. How will their consumer behaviourand spending patterns shape businesses in the future? And as more
Gen Zs enter the workforce, how will their new ideas and approaches
alter the workplace?

M

ost Gen Zs have likely
never posted a letter, read a
newspaper, used a library filereferencing system – much lessan encyclopedia, searched forcontent alphabetically, navigated using a map,
looked up a number in a phone book, rented
a movie, endured a broadcaster’s choiceof viewing schedule, bought or used a CD/
DVD, or even used a mobile device with anumeric keypad.
Gen Zs source their trivia and news fromthe likes of Buzzfeed and 9gag, study using
SparkNotes,
self-teachusing
YouTubetutorials, line up their own choice of streamed
entertainment including vlogs on YouTube, run

3 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

real and fake social media accounts (curated
for public and private consumption), instantly
identify and discover music and entertainment
content using Shazam on their mobiles,‘crowdsource’ their opinions via social media,
receive invitations via social media event alerts,
group chat on instant messaging, find love via
social media and dating apps, and find their
way using Google Maps. This generation is
immersed in a digital world.

Global Gen Z vs Millennials
Across the developed world, Millennials,
who reached adulthood in the early 2000s,
embraced the digital revolution and helped
drive its innovation, while Gen Z was born intoa digital world and cannot remember a time
before internet access, smartphones and an‘appified’ world. Globally, Gen Z habituallymulti-screens, is connected to a multitude
of messaging platforms and social media
apps, and is accustomed to a pay-per-use‘sharing’ economy.
Analysts believe this generation has lost faithin formal tertiary education and the traditional
career path, and may be more inclined tomove directly into the workplace if possible.
US marketing agency Sparks & Honey foundin a recent survey that only 64% of Gen Z-ers
are considering an advanced college degree,compared to 71% of Millennials.
Gen Z, inundated with information andcommunication channels, is reported to havea lower attention span than any preceding
generation. Up to 60% of Gen Z youths
polled by Sparks & Honey want to have an
impact on the world, and around one-quarterare involved in volunteering. Google’s studyof teens, entitled ‘It’s Lit’, concluded there
were around 60 million Gen Zs aged 13 –17, with a purchasing power of up to $200
billion a year, thanks to their influence onhousehold purchases.
In 2016, Instagram was the most popular
platform among teen Gen Zs (59.6%), followedby Snapchat (56.4%), Facebook (52.8%) andTwitter (35.4%).

The African differentiators
Africa’s Gen Z is a disparate group, however.
Unlike Gen Z in the more developed world,much of Africa’s Gen Z faces more basic
challenges and a range of unique priorities.
While the developed world’s Gen Z has
typically grown up in a digital environment,
millions of youth across Africa have yet
to experience the basics such as reliable
electricity, adequate sanitation, dependable
education and digital technology.
Internet penetration across the continent still
falls well below international averages, anddata costs remain relatively high, excluding
millions of Gen Zs from the international
digital world. South Africa, with one of Africa’s
highest internet penetration levels, passed the
40% mark in 2017, according to World WideWorx’ Internet Access in South Africa 2017
report. This report noted, however, that income
disparity was a major factor in the digital divide.
South Africans on high income levels had aninternet penetration rate of over 82%, whileinternet penetration fell below 30% among thelowest income earners.
The ITU’s 2017 IT Facts and Figures report
noted that in 104 countries, more than 80% of
the youth population are online. In developed
countries, 94% of young people aged 15-24 use
the internet compared with 67% in developing
countries and only 30% in Least Developed
Countries (LDCs). Nearly 9 out of 10 young

individuals not using the internet live in Africa
or Asia Pacific. However, given the opportunity,
young people across Africa lead adoption. In
Africa, where the average internet penetrationis around 21%, the average penetration among
youths aged 15-24 is around 40%.
Therefore one of the key differentiators
between Millennials and Gen Z – growing up asa ‘digital native’ – does not apply to millions ofAfrican youth. This divide may align millions ofyouths more closely with Millennials than withGen Z. But there is no telling how quickly they
may bridge the divide and identify with Gen Z
once they have affordable high-speed access.
Acknowledging the difference between
international Millennials and pan-African
youth, some industry watchers adopted theterm ‘Afrillennials’ for the younger Millennials.
Student Village, which coined the term
Afrillennial™ after extensive research, said key“This generation
is impatient anddynamic, they adapt
to change easily.”Oswald Jumira, Head of
Innovation Partnerships,
Liquid Telecom

innovation, which presents both employment
opportunities for them and socio-economic
development hope for their countries. Oswald
Jumira, Group Head of Innovation Partnerships
for Liquid Telecom, works closely with global
vendors, innovation hubs, start-ups and otherstrategic partners across the Liquid markets toimplement the group’s innovation strategy. In
recent months, Jumira has been developing
partnerships with innovators and startups
across Africa. Many of these innovators are‘cusp Millennials’ and Gen Zs, he reports:“We are seeing massive innovation coming
out of Africa, much of it from very young
entrepreneurs. It’s encouraging.”
Jumira believes innovation hubs and theefforts of large enterprise to take ICT skills
development to school-age youths is helping
drive this groundswell of innovation among
Africa’s youth. “Across Rwanda, Uganda,
Kenya and Tanzania, for example, there is a
lot of activity in terms of teaching the youth todevelop apps. And many of the award-winningand most promising apps coming out of Africa,
designed by the youth, address uniquely
African problems.”
Africa’s Gen Z is displaying value systems
that differ from those of their predecessors,
says Jumira: “They are growing up in a
global sharing economy, so they have a new
approach to ownership of goods. They are very
passionate about what interests them and will
immerse themselves in it. They are also very
entrepreneurial, confident, and less likely towant to work for a boss.”
While these traits may be encouraging interms of Gen Z’s potential to innovate, Jumira
believes they will also force change in the
traditional workplace. “Gen Z is impatient anddynamic, they adapt to change easily. So theymight get frustrated by the ‘old guard’ andtraditional ways in the workplace. They don’t
want to be taught so much as to self-teach inan environment that facilitates this.”The ‘Born Free’ generation‘Afrillennialisms’ included an indebtedness tofamilies and community, with an associatedfeeling of responsibility to give back; as well
as a deep commitment to transformation andcultural diversity. The differences between
Afrillennials and global Millennials are likely toextend into the Gen Z zone for years to come.

The rise of the innovators
With their natural Gen Z affinity for technology,
Africa’s youth are poised to drive massive digital

GfK research, in its report ‘GenZZA – capturing
tomorrow’s opportunity’, noted that up to
41% of South Africa’s population is aged 21
or younger. While this generation may not
yet have significant spending power, it isalready influencing consumer behaviour andbuying decisions among older generations– particularly in the technology arena. This
generation is also set to disrupt across society
and work in years to come, says Rachel
Thompson, Insights Director at GfK.
“In defining Gen Z in South Africa in particular,
we must remember that this is not only ageneration raised in a digital environment, but
is also the ‘Born Free’ generation – born after
the dawn of democracy in South Africa,” shesays. This means that South Africa’s Gen Z
has been shaped not only by technology, but

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INTRODUCING GEN Z
also by socio-political factors. “The Born Frees
are an equal opportunity generation, often
the most educated in their households, andhave grown up in a society characterised byuncertainty and change. This has influenced
their attitudes and priorities, making themsignificantly different from any generation
before them.”
Thompson believes key defining attributes ofSouth Africa’s Born Free Gen Z include fluidityand disruption. Everything from gender identityand beauty ideals through to family structure
and career progression is fluid in the Gen Z
environment, leaving this generation free toinvent themselves, the rules they live by andthe world they choose to live in.
This also puts pressure on them, says
Thompson: “There is so much change
happening in the world and this generationis concerned about a lot – including sociopolitical injustice and the environment. Many
are under pressure to succeed since they wereraised by Gen X perfectionists, and may havebeen given opportunities their older relatives
never had.”
Despite the pressure to perform and aplethora of challenges to overcome, Gen Z is
showing several distinct attributes not seen in
earlier generations, says Thompson. Amongthem are a solid sense of self-worth, a drive
to succeed and an inclination to co-create.
“In our research focus groups, we have foundthat Gen Zs embrace their differences andcelebrate the unusual, rather than conforming
to stereotypical ideals. They embrace
disruption, are typically less risk averse thanearlier generations, and have high aspirations
and high expectations of themselves.”

Gen Z: The new consumers
GfK research has found that Gen Zs are highly
enterprising, challenge the status quo andexpect their voices to be heard. For future
employers, this could present both challenges
and opportunities.
“Enterprises wanting to be the disruptors
rather than the disrupted should harness
these characteristics. They should create anenvironment in which Gen Zs have some levelof autonomy and space in which to innovate,”
Thompson says.
For brands targeting Gen Z, the generation’s
co-creative spirit presents opportunities to
go to market in ways previously unheard of.
Thompson says: “On our research question ‘I
will be more loyal to a brand that lets me give
input and help shape the products’, 76% of Gen
Z participants said yes. This generation, with
its sense of self-worth, believes its opinions
count and is happy to become involved increating products for market. So progressive
brands can involve Gen Z in shaping new
products, going to market with products inbeta for example.”

5 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

Gift (21)Johannesburg, South Africa
My motto: “Explore all possibilities.”
Biggest problems facing my generation:
Alcohol and substance abuse or addiction isthe biggest problem facing my generation.
My ideal workplace: I want to work in aformal type of place, where I would have towear a suit every day in my own corner office.
Talking tech: Technology is almost everything
to almost everyone, these days.

Tapiwa (21)Haley (17)Motto: “The game’s not over until I win.”
Biggest problems facing my generation:
The biggest problem facing my generation is asustainable way of living.
My ideal workplace: My ideal workplace
would be open plan, with opportunities todevelop not only in a position but as a person.
Talking tech: The first thing I look at in themorning is my phone, and my future profession
might replace me with technology, which is
exciting. These are very telling, “adapt or die”
times, where we either deny or try to prevent
innovation, or find ways to make this innovation
work for us.

My motto: “Keep on keepin’ on.”Biggest problems facing my generation:
Placing the wrong kind of importance ontechnology and social media. As well as
understanding how to balance our relationshipwith our screens with real life experiences.
My ideal workplace: An informal office set-up
but, preferably my own home.
Talking tech: Technology plays an importantrole in my life in ways a couple years ago would
have seemed outlandish. On the same phone,
I’ll like a picture on Instagram, and then withnothing but a few taps on my screen I canbe asking my maths teacher to re-explain aconcept taught to me earlier on. Which seems
kinda weird that my technology can be mybiggest distraction yet also allow me to accessmaterials that in the end help me pass school.

Harare, Zimbabwe

Hellen (20) (L)

Lindwire (20) (R)My motto: I live by “Sink or swim.”
Biggest problems facing my generation:
There are so many issues that my generation
faces! The main one is that we need to try,so hard to fit into this society that’s just fullof issues, and it’s a society we had no role increating. We have to somehow find a place ina society that we don’t really belong in.
My ideal workplace: My ideal workplace
would be in like, a natural setting. I don’t know
how – just there would be a lot of plants andnature around me. That would be so nice!
Talking tech: Technology plays a huge rolein confusing me every day! It creates issues
with forming your identity. It makes me feel
displaced and puts pressure on me to conformto what social media says I have to be.

My motto: “Own race, own pace.”
Biggest problems facing my generation: A
big challenge for my generation is self-image.
We are under so much pressure to focus on the
superficial parts of our lives because of social
media, that we have to deal with this constantfeeling of never being good enough.
My ideal workplace: My ideal work environment
would be modern, corporate and formal.
Talking tech: Technology adds so much extra
pressure and stress to every day life and canhelp to make all new insecurities or encourage
the old ones to get worse…. Oh my gosh! My
phone literally just died!!

Johannesburg, South Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

Dominique (22)Johannesburg, South Africa

My motto: “Carpe Diem.”
Biggest problems facing my generation:
Technology rules every aspect of our lives.
Technology taking over has made it so difficultfor people to have meaningful or significant
interactions with other people.
My ideal workplace: A corporate setting, I’dlike to work in my own office with a view.
Talking tech: Technology plays a big role in
my life. You use it for everything these days,
you can’t leave home without your phone, orsome kind of device. Even just to wake up in
the morning, you need your alarm.

Tracy (23)Johannesburg, South Africa

Zimbabwe

My motto: I don’t have a life motto, really…
My daughter is my everything, so I just live mylife for her.
Biggest problems facing my generation:
Teen pregnancy and drugs are some of themost serious problems that we need to face.
My ideal workplace: My ideal workplace
would be fun. I would get to meet new people
and have new experiences every day. I think
I would get bored of having to do the exact
same thing each day, there must be something
new and exciting to look forward to.

Paul (16) (L)Patricia (15) (R)My motto: “God first, the rest follows.”
Biggest problems facing my generation:
Technology
contributes
toisolation,
addiction, and anti-social behaviour, affecting
relationships with family, academics andco-curriculum activities.
My ideal workplace: Anywhere I can accessthe internet.
Talking tech: Technology has disrupted theway I do things, [and gives me] access to
information and education.

My motto: “If you don’t stand for something
you will fall for everything.”
Biggest problems facing my generation:
Technology. We have no identity anymore.
Technology defines my friends: Who I want tobe, where I want to go, my beliefs. Its my life.
My ideal workplace: Virtual and flexible but
connected to the world
Talking tech: To me, technology meansno strain, the world at my fingertips, andentertainment galore.

Kenya

Kenya

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DIGITAL SKILLS

Ixio Analytics

Megan Yates is Chief Scientist
at Ixio Analytics; a South
African-based data science
company specialising inreal-time customer insights,
statistics, artificial intelligence, machinelearning and advanced mathematical modeling of businesses. Megan founded Ixio
in 2012 after seeing a need for strong, data-led modelling and analytics in business,and today leads the advanced modelling
programs and coordinates technical requirements for clients.

DIGITAL SKILLS FOR A

D I G I TA L
FUTURE

Generation Z will play a definitive role in building Africa’s digital economies
in the years ahead. Here we speak to a range of businesses, start-ups andacademics to find out what new skills they will need to create a successful future.

7 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

“We offer advanced data services to businesses across a broad range of industries,
including banking, retail, insurance and media.
Our focus is on solving problems with data and helping businesses to move away frombeing reactionary to using forecasting andpredictive modelling to proactively manage
their businesses for more successful outcomes. We use open source tools like R andPython to develop custom built solutions forour customers. We usually create custom
built predictive models, and we’re passionate
about sharing the code with our clients. We
spend a lot of time teaching and coaching ourclients so they can carry on the work, and we
also help develop coding skills within somebigger organisations.
I have a team of data scientists in CapeTown, South Africa and Accra, Ghana, andwe’re slowly expanding our operations acrossthe region. We’re seeing and experiencing ashortage of data science skills across Africa,
which we want to help address.
One of the main challenges isn’t around thelack of coding skills, but more the translation
into business solving skills. There is a huge
gap between hard-core coders and those who
can develop a solution that truly works for abusiness. But progress is being made. There
are a number of leading data science courses
being run here in Cape Town, while Nairobi
is also home to several business schools.
Online courses, semester programmes andinternships are also hugely important. The
African Leadership University in Mauritius andRwanda, for example, is aiming to train three
million African leaders by the year 2066 – withcomputer science and data science playing a
key role.
The next generation are definitely growing
up with more confidence in technology andmore passion for a job in the digital economy.
We’ve had interns work with us that are true
digital natives – they have a confidence withdata that seems to come naturally to them.
They have a great understanding of the digitalworld, and they’re very passionate about solving real problems that matter and change lives– not just how to increase profits. And
that is certainly a generational shift that weare seeing.
With data science being a relatively new
field, it can be hard for students to get handson experience. Even if you do a master’s
degree in data science, a practical year isessential. Getting involved with the code andthe client can really grow a data scientist’s
confidence and skillset. By 2050 around 2.2
billion people could be added to the global
population and more than half of that growth
will occur in Africa. This will put enormouspressure on resources such as water andelectricity. In the future, as the supply ofthese finite resources becomes critical, data
science will play an extremely important rolein business and society.”

insight2impact (i2i)Nkosi Ncube is Head of Application
Lab at insight2impact (i2i), whichaims to increase the use of client-centric and alternative data andresearch by financial service
providers in the development of products
and services for financially underserved individuals. He oversees the DataHack for Financial Inclusion (DataHack4FI) innovationcompetition, an initiative by i2i that brings
together some of the brightest and mostinnovative minds from across the continent
to harness the power of data science todevelop new evidence-based solutions toimprove financial inclusion. Last October,i2i partnered with Liquid Telecom, which isproviding free high-speed internet accessto start-ups entering the 2018 edition of the
DataHack4FI innovation competition.
“The aim of i2i is to discover new ways to use
data science for financial inclusion, but werealised early on that there was a lack of data
science skills in the region.
We wanted to try to encourage young
people to get into data science so we set up
the DataHack 4FI competition.
The first market we launched in was Rwanda. On the first day of the competition, there
were so many young people in the room.
Many had come from high schools and setup their own teams. They didn’t know muchabout financial inclusion, but they wereattracted to the competition because theywant to be part of technology and innovation.
This meant many of them arrived with apassion and understanding for coding, but did
not understand the business side. Thankfully,

they were willing to learn.
Since then, we’ve seen teenagers arriving
to our competitions in our six focus countries
with coding and/or mathematical and statistics skills. Some of them are studying maths
or computer science at college, but many ofthem are self-taught and have a real passion
for sharing information.
My generation had to go out and actively
learn ICT skills, but technology is second
nature to this new generation.
When it comes to data science, however,coding alone isn’t enough. For them to be
fully fledged data scientists they need to havebusiness flair, and that’s what we’re trying
to develop and teach through the DataHack
competition. We focus on bringing three pillars
together in the DataHack: (1) the young innovators, (2) coding and mathematical skills, and(3) business skills.
Young people are also learning coding skills
at innovation hubs, which have a very important role in developing talent. They are a greatplace for them to meet like-minded people
and learn new skills. Through our collaboration
with in-country partners, we aim to influence
the strategy and proliferation of a data science
focus in these hubs.
Governments also have an important role toplay. It is no coincidence that young peoplein Rwanda have such passion for technology
when the government has placed so much
importance on ICT. Likewise, the Kenyan government’s initiative to bring tablets to primaryschools will have a hugely positive effect.
I have a lot of confidence in this generation,
which are addressing two weaknesses of theprevious generation.
Firstly, they are good at thinking acrossborders. The entrepreneurs before used
to think within their own borders, but thisgeneration thinks big – they’re trying to solve
problems for everybody. At the same time,they embrace the reality that there is no ‘onesize-fits-all’ solution, and different regions
and cultural norms necessitate innovative,
tailored solutions. Secondly, this generation
is attracted to teamwork, and finds it easy toform teams and share information.
If you link those trends with Generation Z’s
ability to code, develop software andcome up with innovative ideas, then with theolder generation’s help on the business side,
I’m confident they will take Africa to thenext level.”“My generation had togo out and actively learn
ICT skills, but technology
is second nature to thisnew generation.”
Nkosi Ncube, Head ofApplication Lab at i2i

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DIGITAL SKILLS
is a paradigm shift with the new generation –everything to them is about time. They wanteverything now. We must learn to cater tothat and academic models must change
accordingly.
This generation is the only one that can truly
lift the digital economies across Africa. It isa huge opportunity, but success won’t comefrom making products for the global market.
They should focus on solutions for Africa. And
they must be patient.”

GebeyaA

madou Daffe is CEO andCo-Founder of Gebeya; which isbuilding a self-sustainableecosystem that aims to train,hire and incubate the best African talent.
Gebeya aims to provide an online workplace for local IT talent to showcase andcontribute their experience and skills tosoftware projects, while providing businesses with a platform that will help themget their project built right and on budget.
“Gebeya means market in Amharic, and ourgoal is to create a self-sustaining market
ecosystem for IT and software developers
across Africa.
Gebeya was formed 18 months ago in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia when I realised there wasn’ta shortage of computer science graduates,
but rather that they lacked relevant work
experience within an industry. Today, we takegraduates in engineering or computer scienceand place them in our specialised industry
specific training programmes, giving them therelevant experience they need for their careers.
This experience could be across a wide range
of industries and technologies, from Fintech toeCommerce.
At the same time, we’re seeing increasing
demand from organisations for IT and softwaredevelopers. Some of the best clients we workwith are start-ups because they have more
flexibility, so we can send them a developer towork in-house or for contracted hours.
I want to position Gebeya as the company
in Africa that provides the best softwaredevelopers for any industry. Demand is ramping up as it doesn’t make sense for multinationals to bring in expats to Africa anymore.
They instead need to find local multi-lingual
talent and partners to implement the solution
cheaper. Demand is only going to increase
further as we see the introduction of emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain andInternet of Things (IoT). We are trying to shape
our business towards the fourth industrial
revolution, and have, for example, begun
machine learning and data science academies
aimed at teaching graduates how to become
AI engineers.
Africa has been playing catch-up with theworld when it comes to traditional industries.
But software development and technology
offers the lowest barrier of entry for Africa tocompete - all you need is a laptop, a brain and
Wi-Fi. Young people are predisposed to contribute to the digital economy as the internet isalready such a big part of their lives. But there

learnt during this process was that the designof the user interface had to be very simple. It
had to be designed so that a child who had
never used a phone before could navigate theapplication without the help of an adult. For
example, we’ve seen other education apps
where kids got stuck at the log-in stage – so
we designed our log-in to be a selfie, which issimple and all kids know how to take.
It took a lot of testing to get to where weare now, and then we were faced with the
distribution challenge – how do we get theapp into the hands of as many kids who need
it as possible? There are two ways we aredoing this. The first is by partnering with governments and NGOs to ensure that our app is
uploaded to the tablets that they are providing
to children in schools. The second is to target
families where parents can let the kids use theapp at home in their spare time. In the spaceof two months, we had 3000 downloads fromword of mouth and some excellent metrics

Kukua

L

ucrezia Bisignani is Co-Founderand CEO of Kukua; a start-up
company leveraging new media
and technology to empower children to learn through engaging
experiences. Kukua has a dedicated teamof entrepreneurs, game designers, cognitive psychologists and educational experts
fuelled by the research that shows how
acquiring even basic literacy and numeracy
can change a child’s entire life trajectory.
Last November, Kukua was selected as thewinner of the Liquid Launchpad competition at Africacom, beating off competition
from four other start-ups to receive asix-month fixed membership at the MEST
Incubator in Cape Town.
“Three years ago, we set out to design an app
that could address the illiteracy crisis amongst
children in sub-Saharan Africa. With the arrivalof more affordable smartphones and tablets,
we saw an opportunity to support children
who had not developed basic reading, writing
and maths skills, which are fundamental to therest of the education path.
We brought together world literacy experts
to develop the methodology for the app, andthen created 30 games around this methodology. We also created a narrative of locallyinspired characters and scenery that kids
could truly resonate with.
We spent over two years finalising thedesign and production of the app. Even
though production was completed at a design
studio in Italy, we constantly tested the app
with kids in slums, refugee camps and impoverished areas of Africa. Overall, 3000 kids
tested the app and we made 500 iterations
based on their feedback.
Kids were not engaged with the app content to begin with. But by the end, we had
increased engagement and created a sticky
product that kids spend a lot of time on –and, most importantly, which improved theirliteracy outcomes. One important lesson weChildren playing and learning on the Kukua app

on stickiness and engagement – kids were on
average using the app three times a week withaverage of 30 minutes per session.
Moving forward, we’ve realised that it is very
difficult to create a sustainable business in the
education sector and so we’re adopting a new
innovative approach to our business model.
We are writing an animated TV series centredon the main character in our app – a courageous African girl called Sema. We’ve already
hired screenwriters and producers, and wereally feel this will be an effective way to bothraise our profile and expand our revenue
channels. It is a long-term vision that will takeus many years to achieve, but we have a lotof patience and passion – we believe we can
combine education products that change lives
with innovative entertainment.
I think game-based learning will have a bigrole to play at primary school level, where
games are the best way for kids aged 5 to 8 touse their imagination and creativity. There areso many studies now that demonstrate thatgaming can increase learning outcomes, andwe’ve already seen a lot of changes in three
years. Everyone now wants to use technology
more in schools and the education field.
Kids in Africa are now growing up withtechnology for the first time. If they can see
how technology can be inspiring, creativeand change lives then they will want to
be involved.”

East Africa Data
CentreDan Kwach is General Manager at
East Africa Data Centre (EADC);
the region’s largest and mostsecure data centre. EADC has
recently entered into a partnershipwith Strathmore Business School (SBS), thegraduate business school of Strathmore
University, to launch a new data analytics
centre focused on data-driven researchand practices for African businesses.
“Business data has grown exponentially inrecent years, but its usage in driving forwardbusinesses had been relatively limited, until
now. More companies are moving to analyse
the data they collect - be it on what we buy
in the supermarket, or where or how often
we park in the city, or how many times weresearch flight prices before we book, or evenwhat age group is most likely to load phonecredit at 3am either to buy an internet data
package, bulk SMS package or for calling.
The power of all this data can enable better
product creation, more accurate business
forecasting, mitigate business risks, and develop more efficient and streamlined marketing and business systems.
According to market research company
Dresner Advisory Services, 53% of companies
used Big Data Analytics in 2017, with telecoms and financial services industries leading
the way, at 87% and 76% respectively.
The need to analyse huge volumes of data
is prompting the creation of new facilities andtools in Kenya. In January, for example, Liquid
Telecom Kenya partnered with Strathmore
Business School (SBS) to launch a new data
analytics centre focused on data-driven
research and practices for African businesses.
Liquid Telecom Kenya is providing the analytics centre with dedicated rack space andcolocation services at the East Africa Data
Centre (EADC), which is the region’s largest
and only Tier III-certified data centre. It is alsoestablishing a direct fibre link between the
SBS campus and EADC in Nairobi, to enableswift handling of the huge volumes of dataneeded in data analytic services.
However, such huge data flows can present
enormous storage and processing challenges.
To meet this demand, Africa Data Centres,
part of the Liquid Telecom Group, has established state-of-the-art data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare and Nairobi,with a combined 6,800 square metres of rack
space. Liquid Telecom is helping to drive theadoption and uptake of Big Data Analytics as
the next ‘must have’ strategy for any businessto run smoothly and smartly, enabling users toincrease sales and beat the competition in a
new era of multiple tools and methods for the
extraction, analysis and presentation of data.
The ultimate winners will be businesses,
consumers and start-ups, as well as millennials and Gen Zs that are pursuing computer
systems and related courses - with software
coding, statistics and data analytics increasingly becoming lucrative disciplines, especiallywhen combined with machine learning andArtificial Intelligence (AI) knowledge.
Ultimately, the future workforce will be able
to create applications in real-time that facilitate the creation of groundbreaking products
and services.”

Strathmore
Business SchoolDr George Njenga is Dean ofStrathmore Business School in
Nairobi, Kenya. With over 8000
students, Strathmore University has become one of the mostrespected private universities in the region.
It is a leader in ICT and innovation throughits research centre I-Lab, and has createdpartnerships with top universities allover the world such as Harvard, IESE
Business School in Spain, New York
University, the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) and Columbia Universities among others.
“It is more important than ever before thatthe next-generation adopts a multifaceted
approach to data science. Learning how toanalyse data and extract information fromdata is important, but at the same time theymust learn how to work alongside different
types of people and organisations
That’s why data science is a core competency across all our curriculums because it
applies to almost every industry vertical.
We might see, for example, students
studying marketing, finance or maths whoare involved in designing apps for agriculture,
healthcare or forensic science.
Another exciting development is that a lotof students are taking separate courses inprogramming or coding online. They recognisethat today you can build anything as long as
you build it with data.
In Kenya, we have the “hustler mentality”– which means you might be involved in a particular profession but you’re also working twoor three other jobs to generate cash. Therefore
we’re not too concerned about training students in a particular field – we want to develop
multifaceted students.
During the 19th century, Africa neverindustrialised like other parts of the world. We
didn’t make that jump from raw materials toprocessed materials, and so we lost the mindset that comes with specialised industry.
But now the next generation has a realopportunity to be part of the global digital
economy.
I will give you a good example of how
important Generation Z can be to our digital
economy: Back in the late 1970s, the Kenyan
government began running outreach programmes to small and medium farms, providing advice on how to plant and sow crops.
Over the last 20 years, that civil service
function was lost and the business community
did not step into help them.
Now I have a student who has designed thefunction of a traditional agricultural outreach
officer using a phone. It can test the soil
humidity and quality, and offer advice to thefarmers on the phone.
Technology is enabling Africans to accesstechnical information, which is bringing more
and more people into the economy for the firsttime through online platforms such as smartphones or tablets.
The digital economy needs young people.
Not only do they have the confidence andknowledge when it comes to technology, butthey have the ideas too.
This generation has more of a link to welfare
and society than ever before. It makes me
proud and grateful to see so many of mystudents focused on developing solutions to
help others. They are doing a great job.
Academic and industry collaboration will befundamental moving forward – but this isn’t amatter of just asking for a job. It is about what
students can bring to the table.
That’s why developments such as the newStrathmore Africa Analytics Data Centre areso important. It’s the first analytics centre ofits kind that provides students with access todata stored in a commercial data centre,
enabling them to engage in data-driven
research and practices.
It means we can bring students into the dataappliance field long before anyone else has.
The next generation will also be responsible for addressing some of the challenges
presented by a digital economy. How do you
democratise online? How do you create a safe
environment for everybody?
They need to think very seriously about the
ethics and morality that comes with newtechnologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI).
I’m confident they will be able to come up
with the solutions.”

EADC, Nairobi

9 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

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A NEW MEDIA GENERATION

Talking about my generation

AS THE WORLD’S FIRST GENERATION
OF TRULY DIGITAL NATIVES EMERGE AS
CONSUMERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, THE
MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT SPACE IS
HAVING TO ADAPT. FAST.

13 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

Online music service Mdundo is a good
example of how content delivery is changing
to cater for the next generation of consumers.
In 2017, Mdundo saw 12 million people
make use of its African music streaming anddownloading platform - 32% of these users are
aged between 18 and 24. It is the sheer sizeof Africa’s Generation Z which gives them somuch power as a consumer group, believes
Mdundo CEO Martin Nielsen.
“We see them as a key market because theyaccount for such a big chunk of the populationand hopefully will also be the same people
who start paying in the future when they havestronger purchasing power,” he says.
However, Generation Z can be notoriously
difficult to please. Nielsen says Generation Z is
the most demanding of all Mdundo users, andthey expect to find all the content they wantat their fingertips. “They are very demanding
and require a ‘full content solution’, and they
will not use services that cannot give themeverything they are looking for,” he says.
While Generation Y proved to be loyal to aparticular service or brand, the same can’t besaid of Generation Z.
“We see lower retention in this group andthey very easily give up using solutions unlessthey satisfy all their content needs – piracy
does and for them it’s superfast and easy,”says Nielsen.

Gen Zs want content – and the more of it
the better. Across all ages, approximately 95%
of the songs streamed on Mdundo are fromlocal musicians and artists. Yet, Generation Z
still likes to know it has access to the latest
international hits: “They are not necessarily
very interested in listening to Ed Sheeran, butthey want to know that they have the option.
Whereas the older users care less about thisand more about the music they actually wantto listen to,” Nielsen says.

Mobile-centric youth
As a result, content providers are becoming
mass aggregators of content - stocking
both the latest local releases as well as backcatalogues of international content. At thesame time, Gen Zs are hyperaware of data
costs, and this constrains how much content
they consume.
First and foremost they want to be able tointeract on social media, and secondly theywant to access video. Content providers
therefore have to think carefully about how
they can design their products toaccommodate this.
For IROKOtv; one of the first video-ondemand platforms focusing on Nollywood
films and series, this means focusing theconsumption of its content on mobile platforms.
“We have completely revisioned and built our
product to be mobile first, second and third.
So the way people consume media has been
the main informant of how we structure ourcompany and build our products - and this issomething that will inform all of our key productdecisions going forward,” says Matteo Cuellar,
Head of Product Design at IROKOtv.
While IROKOtv doesn’t track Generation Z
as a specific user sub-group, an indication of
the platform’s popularity among young users isfound in the fact that 32% of its users are aged
between 18 and 24.
The preference for accessing content via
mobile spans all age groups in Africa, however,younger users are characterised by their useof lower to mid-level devices, IROKOtv has

found. This means that in order to tap into
younger consumer groups, platforms need tofunction seamlessly on even the most basic
mobile device.
This challenge again is linked to the high costof data in many African countries - content
providers must offer solutions that work wellon entry-level devices, with the lowest datarequirement possible.
“In our efforts to make IROKOtv accessible
to everyone, we make sure that our app works
on the most basic device. Our engineers spend
a lot of time working on the efficiency andperformance of the app. We also introduced
downloading to the IROKOtv app in 2016,
which includes a low-quality download option
to give the user the option to save on data
cost,” Cuellar explains.
From a content perspective, IROKOtv
is finding that social media is playing an
influential role in the types of content preferredby different age groups.
While the platform focuses on Nollywood,the company has found young users demand
access to the latest films which they see
advertised on social media - compared toolder users who have favourites, or also wantto access traditional content.
“This is arguably due to increased use ofsocial media where newer movies are promoted
and hyped by celebrities and producers,”
says Cuellar.

Multi-screen marketing
Pan-African video streaming services platform
Kwesé Play is also discovering innovative ways
to cater to the emerging African consumer ofthe future.
Dubbed the “home of Netflix in Africa”, Kwesé
Play has a partnership to offer Netflix services
across the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, andalso offers other leading streaming services
such as YouTube and TuneIn.
The company defines Generation Z as “choice
conscious Africans”, who use a combination ofdevices at the same time to consume content.
“Mobile has become a natural extension or

Source: SHUTTERSTOCK

G

eneration Z consumers areshowing new attitudes andappetiteforconsuming
content.
And
content
providers haven’t necessarily
worked out how best tocater to them. The race is on to gather andunderstand data on this emerging tech-savvy
consumer group, who hold the future of thecontent space in the palm of their hand.
In Africa, the impact of Generation Z will be
felt more than anywhere else in the world. As
the world’s youngest region, approximately
20% of Africa’s population is aged between
15 and 24. But Africa is on the precipice ofa staggering global phenomenon - it is the
only region where the proportion of its youth
population has not yet peaked. The continent’s
young population is set to grow by 42% by
2030 - and by 2055, this age group will havemore than doubled on 2015 figures.
There’s no denying it - Africa’s youth willbe the new economic heavyweights andtheir mass involvement in the market
changes everything.
Generation Z is also the first to have grown
up completely at home with consumer
technologies - to them, mobile and connectivity
are not mere commodities. All of which,poses a big challenge for businesses in thecontent space.

liquidtelecom.com | 14

OPINIONA NEW MEDIA GENERATION
accessory to Gen Z, but a TV screen is still the primary screen forwatching TV,” says Tracy Aberman, Head of Product at Kwesé Play.
Aberman agrees that young users can be difficult customers, and“seek instant gratification”. But while young millennials have grown up“Any type of content that allows them to be sociallyengaged while watching their favourite programme
will have Gen Z flocking to their TV screens.”
Tracy Aberman, Head of Product at Kwesé Playto be “data conscious”, it’s the digital natives or Gen Zs who see data
not so much as an allowance but a commodity, says Aberman.
Key to satisfying this young user group’s demands is high-speed
quality internet. “One thing for sure is that when it comes to customer
experience, these users can be very unforgiving. According to Google,
53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds toload. Gen Z have grown up with the same expectations for streaming
TV – if it takes too long, they will move on,” Aberman says.

Social media interaction has become an integral part of content
consumption for the digital native generation. According to Aberman,social engagement has become a central strategy pillar for content
providers, necessitating a dedicated team of staff.
“Any type of content that allows them to be socially engaged while
watching their favourite programme will have Gen Z flocking to their TV
screens. While not a new concept, the value of social TV has moved frombeing a campaign-driven idea to an ‘always-on’ strategy that requires a
dedicated set of people resources who understand their content offering
inside and out.”
The experiences and data gathered by various media and entertainmentorganisations as Generation Z begin to emerge as consumers in theirown right clearly varies, but the overarching position of all players in thisspace is the same: Generation Z is set to become the biggest consumerof content in the market. “At the end of the day, we cannot control the
exponential rate at which the world is adopting new technology. But
we can control what we do with our data in order to reach massive
audiences - by making or supplying content people want, rather thanmaking people want content – and doing it in the fastest way possible,”
Aberman concludes.

New content delivery channels make their markAcross Africa, innovative new content delivery channels are taking over from traditional media: print,
radio and even television are out. Online, vlogging, and social media is the new order of the day. Here we
look at examples of successful local content that reflect this new trend…
BustopTv

BustopTv
Youth-run Zimbabwean media outlet BustopTv launched in 2014, producing video content aroundpolitical and social issues affecting society - through a satirical “skit”-type model. The online TV
platform quickly gained popularity, particularly on Facebook. However, it was not until 2016 thatthe founding team realised the potential of using the BustopTv’s social media presence to growthe company’s revenues. They began to monetise BustopTv’s YouTube channel, which has over
22,000 subscribers. The channel has since brought in over $3,500 - testament to the increasing
tangible impact of social media on local businesses.
Mzansi Magic
It’s not only emerging content producers that are adapting to the rise in social media engagement.
South African DSTV channel Mzansi Magic has been around since 2010 and is the product of
M-Net - so by no means new to the media scene. But today, the channel’s shows are characterised by their total take-over of local social media during broadcast - trending at number one on
Twitter each time an episode is showing.

Open Parly ZWOpen Parly Zimbabwe aims to increase youth engagement with politics in Zimbabwe, through aninternet and social media-powered citizen journalism initiative. The website sees young people
publish their own news and analysis reports from the Zimbabwean parliament, and encourages
transparent discussion between the country’s youth and politicians via the initiative’s Twitter account. The concept has proven extremely
popular, with over 40,000 Twitter followers and a million visitors to Open Parly’s Twitter page each month.
Pap Culture SA
Cape Town’s popular YouTube channel Pap Culture SA was created in 2015 by an all-female team of video enthusiasts who felt there wasno platform available for South Africa’s youth voice. The channel is dedicated to discussing topics relevant to young South Africans - frompolitics and social issues, to entertainment, celebrities and events. Long-time lovers of video, the young founding team has built Pap Culture
SA specifically as an online content platform delivered via YouTube, attracting half a million views to date - speaking to the changing preferences of Generation Z on how they access video content.
Don’t Lose the Plot
The creators of TV show “Don’t Lose the Plot” had one objective in mind - to use video
and modern entertainment trends to give agriculture “a new look”. The East
Africa-based show sees four young contestants given a farming plot for a season,competing to be the most effective and business-minded farmer - with the winnersecuring $10,000 in farming investment. The show aims to contribute to achieving
food security by promoting farming as an attractive career for youth - leveraging reality
TV and a competition format to change the sector’s outdated reputation. The tactic
seems to work: in 2017, 3.4 million households across East Africa tuned in each week.
Don’t Lose the Plot

15 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

Empowering Generation
Z through technology
Ben Roberts, Liquid Telecom’s Group CTIO, explains how access totechnology can inspire a new generation of African techies.

T

he future of Africa belongs toGeneration Z. As the world’s
youngest region, approximately
20% of Africa’s population iscurrently aged between 15 and 24.
But the hope and promise of this generation
also presents potential disaster if there aren’t
enough new jobs to sustain them.
No industry or business today has beenleft untouched by digital disruption. The way
society interacts online has fundamentallychanged – and a lot of jobs that exist today
could be gone in the not-so-distant future. The
way we work at Liquid Telecom is changing.
Traditionally, the focus of our company has
been on infrastructure and we have hugeengineering teams across Africa deploying
fibre and configuring our networks. We’regood at it: we’ve so far built the region’slargest independent fibre network stretchingover 50,000km and connecting 9 countries.
But today our focus has turned towards
digital services, and how we can support
our customers further along with their digitaljourney – we’re currently doing this byproviding leading cloud-based services, suchas Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure.
This means not only are we transforming thetypes of services and products we sell, but weare reimagining the way we work and engage
with our customers.
Digital skills will be fundamental to boththe future of Liquid Telecom and Africa. And
I’m a big believer of empowering youth withtechnology to teach themselves those skills.
I was 14 when I earned enough money
delivering newspapers to buy my firstcomputer: a ZX Spectrum. I taught myself
BASIC programming by reading books andmagazine articles, as well as copying code.
Primarily our objective of writing code at age
14 was to create games and music or hackinto commercially purchased games, such as
to grant ourselves unlimited lives or special
powers in the game.
We had an IT lab at school, but teachers andparents had no particular involvement in my IT
education – it was, and still is, my passion. ICT
initiatives, such as the Kenyan government’s
Digital Learning Programme (DLP) which has
already seen 70,000 tablets distributed to
public primary schools throughout the country,

Ben Roberts
Group CTIO, Liquid Telecom

will be critical in providing kids with accessto online resources – which also means they
are no longer reliant on the standard of local
teaching. Africa needs to consider that it may
be the role of the children to teach ICT skills totheir elders, rather than the other way around.
The rising popularity of video gaming across“Africa needs to consider
that it may be the role of thechildren to teach ICT skills totheir elders, rather than theother way around.”the region could also prove to be a catalyst for
inspiring a new generation of techies. Kids love
to play games, and with the gaming industry
changing beyond recognition over the last 10
years, they now have access to an abundanceof online games on their mobiles, tablets,
desktops and game consoles.
We saw the pent-up passion and enthusiasm
for gaming first-hand at last year’s Nairobi
Comic Convention (Naiccon), where we
provided high-speed internet for the region’s
first ever international multiplayer gaming
tournament. With virtual reality on the horizon,
kids are only going to be more absorbed by thelimitless fun of gaming.

Gaming can also enable kids to learn
while they play, and with the right balance,
they won’t even realise they’re learning while
they’re playing. Kukua, who were the winnersof our Liquid Launchpad competition last year,
are doing some great work in that regard – bybuilding mobile games that help children in
Kenya learn basic writing and reading skills.
We need to start preparing for the arrivalof Generation Z in the workplace. For a start,
CIOs need to make sure their networks are
in order – Gen Zs see access to social media
platforms and video content as a basic humanright, and companies could have to find new
ways to balance their Wi-Fi to accommodate
IT systems and personal use.
We also need to start preparing for thearrival of Generation Z as consumers. And that
could prove trickier. We’ve already seen thatbrand loyalty doesn’t exist in the same way
with this new generation. They’re much more
influenced by fashion and trends. Facebook,for example, was out - with one study exposingthat it is losing its share of the 12 to 17 year oldmarket for the first time – and snapchat was in.
And then one tweet later from a Kardashian,snapchat was out too – the company’s value
dropped a reported $1.3 billion after a negative
comment from Kylie Jenner.
One thing is for sure: the arrival of Generation
Z is going to keep things interesting.

Anybody remember this?

Ben’s first computer was a ZX Spectrum

liquidtelecom.com | 16

REACHING THE NEXT LEVELREACHING
THe

Greater access to high-speed internet, a growth in local gaming content
and thriving gaming communities are all creating the perfect storm
for Africa’s gaming scene.
amers are a passionate bunch.
Last July, over 3000 comic book,
gaming, animation and movie fansdescended upon the Nairobi Comic
Convention (Naiccon) for two daysof creative workshops, cosplay competitions andgaming tournaments. With a total of 16 PC andconsole gaming teams competing from Kenya,
Uganda and Rwanda, the gamers arrived at 9AM
and played straight through the night until 7PM thefollowing day when the event closed.
And it is precisely this sort of enthusiasm thatis helping to turn gaming from a hobbyist, grassroots movement into an exciting new industry formany African countries. While South Africa has anestablished gaming scene – complete with large
expos and established gaming communities –there is now pent-up demand from gamers acrossthe rest of the region.
Change is underway. According to gaming
analyst firm Newzoo, estimated gaming revenuesin Egypt ($205 million) and Nigeria ($168 million)
surpassed South Africa ($118 million) in 2017.
Revenues are growing elsewhere in the region– Kenya, for example, had estimated gamingG

17 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

revenues of $30 million last year, while Morocco
had $86 million.

From grass-roots level up
Much work is currently being done at grass-root
level to raise the profile of gaming and addresssome of the barriers to entry.
Greater internet access has played a significant
role in enabling more of the population to playgames – be it on their mobiles, consoles or
personal computers. But there is still a major divide
between gamers in Africa and the rest of the world.
The rollout of additional fibre will play a key role insatisfying the demand for real-time, multi-player
games, which rely on fast and consistent internet
speeds – as even a minor delay or disruption in
speed of service can cause a major impact to agame. Throughout Naiccon, for example, Liquid
Telecom supported the multiplayer gaming
tournament with unlimited bandwidth, with usage
peaking at 750Mbps and never dropping below
100Mbps. “The internet provision was the best
the gamers had ever experienced the event,”
said Naiccon organiser Thomas Imboywa, wholaunched the first event in 2014 when he and his

friends were unable to attend Comic-Con in
San Diego. “The tournament was streamed liveon Twitch, YouTube Gaming and Facebook,while gamers connected directly to Liquid
Telecom servers to play the games.”
This quality of the network at the event hashelped inspire more gaming communities toattend the next Naiccon event in August: “Thereception to last year’s event was awesome,and now we have gaming communities
from Ethiopia, Zambia and Zimbabwe who
would also like to come compete at the 2018
tournament,” says Imboywa. “Right now we’revery excited – it’s an amazing time for e-Sports
globally and in Africa.”
Online multiplayer gaming requires dedicatedservers, which have so far been missing inmany African countries. Multi-player gaming
communities like GamersNights in Uganda
have been instrumental in not only bringing
together enthusiasts, but also in addressing thechallenges facing African gamers. “In Africa, a
key problem is latency,” says Kyle Spencer,
a founder of GamersNights and an Internet
technology specialist focused on African
infrastructure, content and policy development.
“Prior to launching our own servers in 2009,
gamers in Uganda would experience delays of
600 millisecond or more when playing online.
The East African region was still connectedto the rest of the world via satellite and allof the gaming servers were hosted on othercontinents. This made it impossible to play. The
arrival of submarine cables helped to reduce
this delay, but the round-trip time to Europe isstill 250 milliseconds or more.”GamersNights initially hosted East Africa’s
first online gaming servers on a private hospital
network they had access to in Uganda. They
hosted events and encouraged other gamers in
the country to connect. In 2012, GamersNights
partnered with Liquid Telecom and moved
the servers to their network in order to takeadvantage of their rapidly expanding regional
fibre-optic network. This made it possible forplayers from other countries to compete on thesame servers for the first time ever. These are
the very same servers used by gamers at lastyear’s Naiccon.

Tapping into local content
Another important contributor to any gaming
scene is local gaming content. Gamedevelopments studios have emerged in many
African start-up hubs, including South Africa,
Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.
Take The Innovation Village; a hub and coworking space in Kampala, which has seen arise in the number of gaming developers using
its facilities. “We have a community of gaming
developers building content for businesses andstakeholders,” says CK Japheth, CEO and cofounder of The Innovation Village. “But we also
have a community of hard-core gamers who

Last year’s Nairobi Comic Convention attracted gamers from across three countries
are into eSports. Recently both communities
have discovered they have much in common
and can learn from one another.”
And it seems gaming is in vogue with theinvestor community right now: “The gaming
developers attract a lot of interest from visitors
to the hub, which are typically investors orbusinesses. They want to know how to gamify
their content,” says Japheth.
Investors will be attracted further by stories
like Matatu. Developed by Kola Studios,
the mobile app is based on a popular local
Ugandan card game, and today has over
200,000 game downloads on Google Play store
and more than 90,000 monthly active users.
“The game is very specific to Uganda andhas been played here for a very long time. It is
important to have that familiarity when it comesto new products,” says Sharon Rwakatungu,
Operations Manager at Kola Studios.
Kola Studios has since been trying to expand
its portfolio by launching other games in
Uganda and East Africa, as well as building
games for corporate clients. “Making populargames is one thing but building a sustainablebusiness is another,” says Rwakatungu.
“The appetite for gaming is growing, and ourdownloads keep increasing as smartphones
and tablets become more affordable. But manybusinesses are still hesitant to advertise on agame, which is holding the market back a bit.”As one of the only virtual reality (VR)production companies in East Africa,
BlackRhino is also trying to find new ways toincrease investment in gaming. Establishedin 2014, the company specialises in creating
cinematic immersive experiences for different
companies and organisations, while at thesame time developing its own unique local
VR content. Facebook’s $2 billion acquisitionof VR start-up Oculus Rift in 2016 certainly
helped raise interest in VR, but there is stillsome market education to be done acrossthe region: “We are trying to demistfy thetechnology,” says Brian Afande, Black Rhino’s

Head of Business Development. “Our aim is tomake Africa’s unique experiences and cultural
heritage accessible to everyone in the world
through the power of VR.”
BlackRhino is doing this in two ways.
Firstly, it has a growing portfolio of corporate
customers, and has created local VR content
for the likes of UNICEF, Shell, Safaricom and
Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS). Secondly, itruns a series of workshops, hackathons andnetworking sessions aimed at exploring newuse cases for VR across East Africa. “Forexample, we think VR can play a big role ineducation and we’re currently building Africa’s
first VR educational platform,” says Afande.
“We’ve also started a non-profit organisation
called ‘VR Without Borders’, where we go
visit local communities and provide them withVR experiences.”
Afande sees the next few years as being
crucial for raising the profile and investment
in VR. “We need investors to come and seethat VR can be an important industry in East
Africa, and that we can develop world-class VR
solutions. From real estate to sports, VR canhave an impact in every facet of our economy.”

Africa’s first eSports stars
A generation of local eSports stars would
certainly help raise the profile of gaming further
in Africa. And there has been considerable
progress on this front. Last year Kwesé Sports,
Econet Media’s premium sports content
platform, signed an exclusive, five-year deal
with the world’s largest eSports company
ESL, to distribute ESL content and host
events across Africa. The partnership saw
Kwesé and ESL bring the first ever continental
eSports championship to Africa, and launch
the region’s first 24/7 eSports channel. “2017
was a landmark year for African gaming inalmost all aspects. With Kwese bringing ESL to
Africa, we were able to host the first continentwide tournament,” says Bradley Kirby, Headof Esports at Kwesé. “Not only did this put

liquidtelecom.com | 18

ABOUT US

REACHING THE NEXT LEVEL
a vast amount of cash into the eSports prize
winning ecosystem, but it also created more
opportunities for talent around the periphery as
we proudly showcased some incredible African
talent and brought sports level broadcasting
to eSports which has not been done on thiscontinent before.” But it is not just about
raising the profile of eSports in Africa. It is also
about exposing more African gamers to theinternational scene. “We are hoping to carry on
the momentum of an awesome 2017 into 2018as we firmly put Africa on the eSports map. It
is heart-warming to identify and showcase our
local talent by telling these inspiring stories toour audience across Africa,” says Kirby.
Greater interest and investment in eSports
will only help to bring down the digital

divide between African gamers and the restof the world. “The more numbers that wehave involved in gaming, the greater theopportunities presented to everyone in theecosystem,” says Kirby. “There has never beena better time to earn a living from gaming as
there is today. From winning vast amounts ofprizes, sponsorships, endorsements, content
creation, streaming, vlogging etc.”
Kirby also see Generation Z as absolutely
crucial in taking gaming to the next level: “Frommultiple screens and devices to streaming,
genres and interactive content. I firmly believethat their abilities are slightly enhanced.
From an increase in fast-paced and accurate
reactions and reflexes to being able to track
more multiple targets moving at different

speeds and directions in 3-dimensional spacethan before,” he adds.
Talent and passion will help drive Africa’s
gaming scene over the coming years, but
its success also hinges on greater support
from the business community. “As part of
the Liquid Telecom Innovation Partnerships
strategy, we are investing together with ourpartners to help create a captive and engaged
gaming community across Africa that will
present new opportunities for the African
gaming industry. We intend to attract the large
gaming companies to locally host their gaming
platforms in Africa, and also enable gaming
entrepreneurs to create the next Africancentric games,” says Ben Roberts, Group
CTIO, Liquid Telecom.

Meet Africa’s youngest app developer

Goma

CONGO

GABON

Brazzaville

BukavuKinshasa

Inga

MuandaGarissa
Thika

Lamu

Malindi

Moshi

A

M

S

SEYCHELLES

SEAS

Morogoro
DAR ES SALAAM

IringaTundumaLuandaTE

Mombasa
Tanga

Mwene-Ditu

TANZANIA

Kolwezi
Lubumbashi
Chililabombwe

Solwezi

Chingola

ANGOLA

Kitwe
Ndola

MOZAMBIQUEZAMBIA

MALAWI

LUSAKA
Chirundu
Livingstone

SeshekeKasaneVictoria Falls

NAMIBIA

KaribaBindura

ZIMBABWE

MADAGASCARHARARE

Gweru

NacalaNyamapanda

MutareBulawayo
PlumtreeZvishavane

Francistown
Phokoje

BOTSWANA

Walvis Bay

Windhoek

SeroweMAURITIUS

TzaneenPolokwane

GABORONE

Lobatse

Pretoria

Johannesburg

MAPUTOSWAZILANDSOUTH AFRICA
Kimberley

Masvingo

Beitbridge

Morupule

Molepolole
Thamaga
Kanye

Bloemfontein

Richards
Bay

Durban

E

A

S

S

y

SEACOM

Beaufort WestSAFE

Yzerfontein

Port Elizabeth
CAPE TOWN

Our pan-African fibre network

LiquidTelecom isprovidingstart-ups
in theregion withconnectivity
and cloudbased
services.

January 2018: Liquid Telecom partnered with
Strathmore Business School (SBS), the graduate
business school of Strathmore University, to launcha new data analytics centre focused on data-driven
research and practices for African businesses.
Strathmore Africa Data Analytic Centre will
be hosted at East Africa Data Centre (EADC) in
Nairobi where it will provide businesses with data
analytics services.
December 2017: CEC Liquid Telecommunications
is helping to accelerate Zambia’s emerging gaming
and Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem through a
new partnership with BongoHive; Zambia’s firstinnovation and technology hub. As part of Liquid
Telecom’s ongoing African Innovation initiative,
start-ups in Zambia will have greater access tohigh-speed internet and cloud-based services.

ArushaSingidaKanangaCacuacoE

A look at some of our partnerships
so far…

Namanga

Shinyanga

KikwitC

to dream of what they want to be. Ethan has definitely shown a desire
to inspire others to be the best in any field.
The amount of energy Ethan puts into learning – be it video gaming,music or sports – is amazing. We think with the right opportunities,
exposure and focus he could be an inspiration to many kids and agreat ambassador of excellence in whatever they do!

The Liquid Telecom Innovation Partnerships
initiative was launched in 2017 and is aimed
at supporting the growth of digital technology
innovation across Africa.
By bringing together key players from within theregion’s innovation ecosystem, Liquid Telecom
is helping technology companies originatedand founded in Africa to scale through mutually
beneficial partnerships.
Under the Innovation Partnerships initiative,
Liquid Telecom is providing start-ups in the region
with connectivity and cloud-based services, andthrough Go Cloud - a new programme launched
by Liquid Telecom and supported by Microsoft –is also raising awareness, adoption and usage of
Azure Cloud across Africa.

MwanzaBURUNDI

Liboi

Meru

Isibania

Rusizi Rusumo
Bujumbura

Pointe Noire

A

What would Ethan like to do when he grows up?
We are hoping that with the right support EthanMan will be his thingas he grows up. We as parents believe in children having a free mind

Innovation

NAIROBISOMALIA

KENYA

NakuruKisumuKagitumba
GatunaKIGALIRWANDA
DEM. REP. OF CONGO

Busia

S

Does Ethan hope he will inspire other children of his age to also
explore app development?
Ethan hopes to inspire other children beyond app development. He
hopes that there will be more children out there encouraged to takeinterest in technology and innovation, who will be encouraged tofollow their dreams and take a positive path while growing up.
He wants to use his app and character to teach children - through astructured supportive curriculum (like Montessori) - about values andpositive character development.

Telecom

Mbale
Tororo Bungoma
EldoretMasakaMbararaC

19 | AFRICAN GEN Z REPORT 2018

Libreville

LESOTHO Mtunzini

About Liquid
Partnerships

UGANDA

KarumaKAMPALAA

Does Ethan plan to develop more apps?
Ethan hopes to expand the EthanMan universe – with an EthanMan

NumuleMasindiMASERU

cartoon series, EthanMan merchandise and more games and books.
He wants children to order EthanMan-inspired cakes and wear
EthanMan-inspired costumes on their birthdays.
He has a BIG vision and at the core of all this is teaching, inspiring,
motivating and engaging children in a way that adds value and allow
them to live their full potential. This is well captured in his tagline:“There Is A Superhero Inside You Too!”

ETHIOPIA

SOUTH SUDAN

DoualaW

How did Ethan learn the skills to develop an app?
Ethan connected with an innovative learning organisation called i-Learn
East Africa who worked with him to turn his book into an interactive
animated book. And then an app development start-up called Tujenge
Technologies worked with him to create his EthanMan app.
The team, which was led by Ethan, worked together to bring his
vision to reality. Ethanman was launched on June 16 2017 at an eventfor the Commemoration of the Day of the African Child. Ethan was only
a 6-year-old student in grade one at this time.
He is so driven to inspire other kids through his EthanMan characterand platform. He is currently taking coding lessons so that he can“make his games and app super awesome!”

Liquid Telecom is a leading communications
services and solutions provider across 13
countries in Eastern, central and Southern Africa
that serves carrier, enterprise and retail customers
with high-speed, reliable connectivity and digital
services.
It has built Africa’s largest independent fibre
network, spanning over 50,000km, and operates
state-of-the-art data centres in Johannesburg,
Cape Town and Nairobi, with a combined 6,800
square meters of rack space.
This is in addition to leading cloud-based
services, such as Microsoft Office365 andMicrosoft Azure, and innovative digital content
provision, including Netflix, NBA, TED and Kwese
Play.
Through this combined offering, Liquid Telecom
is enhancing customers’ experience on theirdigital journey.

3
AT

At what age did Ethan start showing an interest in gaming?
Since Ethan was 3 years old, he has always been very interested invideo games - particularly superhero related ones. With gaming apps
becoming available on mobile handsets, Ethan’s interest grew and hewould download loads of games on his father’s iPhone and iPad. On
his fifth birthday, his father got him an android mobile phone that heprimarily uses for gaming. When he realised his superhero characters
were not real, he wanted to create his own ‘real life’ superhero
character (based on himself) with super powers that children
could emulate.
To test his seriousness, we suggested that he writes a book about
his character. He wrote his fist book titled “When I Grow Up” to inspirekids to dream big and be what they want to be. We were truly moved
and impressed with his drive and vision.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICCAMEROONSAt the age of just 6 years
old, a Tanzanian student
called Ethan developed
his own Android gamecalled Ethanman.
Here Ethan’s mum Irene
talks us through his
passion for technology
and innovation…

About Liquid Telecom

Nairobi Garage’s Entrepreneurship Centre

November 2017: Liquid Telecom Uganda
partnered with The Innovation Village, a hub
and co-working space in Kampala, to support
Ugandan start-ups with high-speed internet andcloud-based services. Liquid Telecom Uganda will
work alongside The Innovation Village to provide
new opportunities for start-ups operating in
Kampala, enabling access to additional resourcesand expertise that can help them scale and launch
locally relevant solutions.
October 2017: Liquid Telecom is supporting
start-ups entering the DataHack4FI innovationcompetition by providing free high-speed
internet access and cloud-based services. Now
in its second year, the DataHack for Financial
Inclusion (DataHack4FI) competition, an initiativeby insight2impact (i2i), brings together some of
the brightest and most innovative minds fromacross the continent to harness the power of data
science to develop new evidence-based solutions
to improve financial inclusion.
September 2017: Liquid Telecom Kenya begins
providing free internet to Nairobi Garage’s newly
opened Entrepreneurship Centre along Ngong
Road in Nairobi, supporting up to 300 co-workers
with free high-speed fibre internet connectivity of
150Mbps. The move forms part of Liquid Telecom
Kenya’s drive to support businesses across Kenyawith both internet and, now, software services too.
To find out more about Liquid Telecom Innovation
Partnerships visit: www.liquidtelecom.com

Ethan playing with his EthanMan app

liquidtelecom.com | 20

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