VideoLive Nominated for International Cartier Woman’s Initiative Award

Linda Ravenhill, VideoLive’s Managing Director has been nominated as one of the finalists for the prestigious International Cartier Woman’s Initiative Award for 2011.

The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards are an international entrepreneurship competition for women. Created in 2006 in partnership with the Women’s Forum, McKinsey and INSEAD, the annual competition supports 18 finalists and distinguishes 6 Laureates leading businesses in a variety of industries.

"I am honoured to have been chosen as a finalist for this award. It's acknowledgement of the commitment and unrelenting hard work that our VideoLive team has put into making video and audio streaming a sustainable reality in this developing market environment. It is my hope that the awareness the Cartier Woman's Initiative Award process brings to our company will showcase Africa as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to cutting edge technology... and it's women" Linda Ravenhill.

For more information on the International Cartier Woman’s Initiative Award for 2011 – Click here

Mobile commerce - Africa’s next big thing?

Africa’s mobile Internet usage is skyrocketing, with connected South Africans accessing the mobile Internet daily. “The mobile web has entered the mainstream and South Africans are ready for mobile commerce” (BizCommunity.com).

The recently undertaken kalahari.net Mobile Shopping Survey supports claims that South Africans are ready to embrace mobile shopping. Although mobile commerce may be in its global infancy, long-term growth in mobile commerce is expected to come from developing nations where mobile connection is the primary means of accessing the Internet. In fact, in South Africa, mobile phone penetration outnumbers fixed Internet users 5:2, the mobile screen is the only screen for this new generation of “mobile-only” Internet users.

A study conducted by InMobi found that Africa currently has 489 million mobile web users; at least 60% of African and 63% of South African mobile web users are using their phones to make online purchases. Convenience and ease-of-use are cited as the main reasons that mobile web users prefer the mobile shopping route. (Interestingly enough, the study reported that more non-Smartphone users prefer mobile shopping than Smartphone users, whose devices are considered more 'sophisticated' than 'ordinary' phones!)

The positive implications for Africa are significant: “Despite the continent still facing serious social, reputation and leadership challenges, brand experts believe the successes of sectors such as telecommunications and retail, and the resulting increase in overseas investment, provide optimism for the continent's future” (BizCommunity.com).