This document summarizes trends in marketing, storytelling, and digital culture in Africa from a monthly report. It discusses how virtual reality presents new opportunities for African storytelling by immersing audiences in imagined worlds. It also explores how platforms like Uber are disrupting transportation systems across Africa and developing innovative solutions tailored to the continent's unique needs. Finally, it discusses how gaming, satellite imagery, and solar-powered digital TV are connecting more Africans and using technology to impact people's lives.

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September 2016
THETRENDSREPORT

2. A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF TRENDS INMARKETING,
STORYTELLINGANDDIGITALCULTUREFORAFRICA.

3. “Africa is more and more perceived as the new frontier for
investors and global economic growth. This new shift is fuelled by
a steadily growing economy, uptake of technology, and untapped
markets with ready consumers.”
- Estelle Verdier-Watine, Managing Director of Jovago.com,
the leading hotel booking website in Africa.

4. CREATIVITY
ANDANEW
REALITY

5. Storytelling has long been an oral tradition,
reliant on the mind’s eye to immerse oneself in
the narrator’s world.
Virtual reality presents an entirely new
dimension for African storytellers to transport
their audience into brave new worlds.
Leapfrogging reality

6. New Dimensions of Storytelling
The combination of augmented reality, virtual reality,
and noise-cancelling headphones has the ability to
transport an audience into new imaginings ofAfrica,
as is done in the Elsewhen project for the Dakar
Biennale.
Source:afrocyberpunk.com
READ MORE

7. “Millions of people in Africa already have one half of a VR device in their
hands, and that number will only keep rising. I really look forward to the
day when African kids casually boot up virtual environments and use their
imaginations to shape the architecture of the metaverse.”
- Jonathan Dotse, AfroCyberPunk.com

8. INNOVATION
AND DISRUPTION

9. Africa is not a continent that always easily
accepts copy-paste models of Western
infrastructure. Our world has different needs that
require specialised and unique solutions.
We can see this phenomenon clearly in our
transport systems, and in the variety of
ingenious solutions that have developed as a
result.
Transport re-imagined

10. Everything Uber in Africa
In Africa, Uber has moved to not only disrupt the
local taxi industry, but to take on the greater
transportation system as a whole. This will have
a significant effect on e-commerce on the
continent, making delivery services more
efficient and comprehensive with
UberEverything.
Source:qz.com
READ MORE

11. The World’s First Flatpack Truck
The OX is the result of a very unique
combination — a philanthropist, a Formula 1
designer, and IKEA flatpack furniture.
Sixty pieces, twelve hours and three skilled
people can produce one assembled OX truck.
Let’s hope the instructions come with more than
just pictures.
Source: psfk.com
READ MORE

12. MEDIA
JUJITSU

13. A fresh look at gaming as a medium not only for
entertainment, but of real-world outcomes that
have the potential to greatly impact people’s
lives.
The game of life

14. Diagnosis: Gamification
Miguel Luengo Oroz took the laborious process of
diagnosing malaria and translated it into a
‘malaria hunter’ game. The objective: identify the
malaria parasite in blood samples.
Source: itnewsafrica.com
READ MORE

15. CONNECTING THE
UNCONNECTED

16. Light has been integral to human existence from
time immemorial, but that doesn’t mean it’s
reached the limit of its potential usefulness. Light
has been used in each of the following examples
to connect people in new and extraordinary
ways.
Shed light on the
situation

17. Satellite Imagery + Machine Learning
Researchers at Stanford University are using
day and night satellite imagery in combination
with machine learning to determine where aid
is most needed in Africa. This could prove key
to lighting up the lives of people who need it
most.
Source: digitaltrends.com
READ MORE

18. Solar-Powered Digital Television
Kenyans who do not have access to electricity
are now able to connect to thirty free television
channels through M-KOPA — a solar digital
television kit. While this may seem frivolous, we
must bear in mind how crucial television can be
for education and the dissemination of
information, especially about current events.
Source: damngeeky.com
READ MORE

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