MULTICHOICE LAUNCHES AFRICA RISING CAMPAIGN

Africa’s leading pay television provider, MultiChoice Africa, has launched Africa Rising, a campaign designed to inspire Africans to become involved in community-based social upliftment projects. The campaign was launched with a pan-African, song composed and performed by top African artists, drawing on the very best talent from across the continent.

Following a surprise unveiling of the campaign at the MultiChoice Content Extravaganza held in Mauritius, the composition was termed bold, energetic and a rallying call to the people of Africa by those at the launch.

The six artists who have collaborated to form the song titled Rise Up are Davido, a Nigerian American recording artist and record producer; Tiwa Savage, a Nigerian singer-songwriter, recording artist, and actress; Diamond Platnumz (or simply Diamond), a Bongo Flava recording artist from Tanzania; Sarkodie (also referred to as Obidi Pon Bidi), a Ghanaian hip hop recording artist and brand ambassador; Lola Rae, a British singer of Nigerian/Ghanaian descent who garnered recognition as a dancer in the street dance group Myztikal; and finally Mi Casa, a South African band consisting of three members, Dr. Duda and Jsomething and Mo-T.

As pioneers in pay television on the continent, Africa Rising campaign is set to create a new shared value movement that inspires Africa, which is undisputedly regarded as the world’s next big growth market with huge potential.

The campaign was broadcast to an audience of some 25-million people supported by other media from the launch in Mauritius at the MultiChoice Content Extravaganza. Furthermore the launch featured youth engagement hubs on three African regions namely, Southern (Zambia & South Africa), East (Kenya) and West (Ghana and Nigeria) where young people engaged about the impact that Africa Rising can make in communities across Africa.

MultiChoice has an unmatched social investment record stretching back two decades creating a meaningful legacy on the continent. The company strongly believes that the inspirational messages from Africa Rising will create a new social investment movement, based on hope and pride, inspiring an unprecedented upswing in involvement in community projects.

The campaign not only showcases MultiChoice’s commitment to the continent but will inspire, by revealing the remarkable stories of Africans who have achieved and excelled through opportunities from MultiChoice’s commitment of creating shared value.

MultiChoice is a born and bred African business, and is an active participant in the social and economic transformation of its host communities. The Africa Rising campaign underscores the Group’s passion for Africa’s development on the ethos of creating shared value.

Thus the main objective of the Africa Rising campaign is to encourage Africans to stand up and make a positive impact on the continent.Its various corporate social investment projects include building up capacity in film and television production and the creation of the Africa Magic channels, creating jobs and skills, the development of MultiChoice Resource Centres, CNN MultiChoice Africa Journalist of the Year Awards and the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards in addition to its investment in sport productions and youth initiatives such as Let’s Play through SuperSport.

These initiatives have grown over the years and the huge growth in local capacity, employment and skills training and other success stories will be showcased in Africa Rising. The remarkable outcome of these significant investments is evidenced in the success of the Africa Magic channels, in large part facilitated by the need for Africans to tell their own stories.

MultiChoice believes that there are many social investment and upliftment projects in Africa and these stories need to be told. The company wishes to encourage all people in Africa to rise up and be an inspiration to others.

The Africa Rising televised inserts are also supported by an online portal and other media that detail the Group’s projects and campaigns on the continent.