Olushola Okunlade Writes

Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, announces today that the highly anticipated show, The Voice Africa, will debut on 26^th March 2023.

Airtel Africa, as the title sponsors, has partnered with FAME Studios Africa to broadcast the show on free-to-air TV stations across its markets and Airtel TV.

The Voice Africa received 78,804 registrations from Nigeria, Kenya, Seychelles, Tchad, Uganda, Congo, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 12,308 talents were then selected for auditions and a total of 100, seven per country in addition to two wild cards, were chosen to proceed to the live shows in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Voice Africa will follow the format of the global show, starting out with blind auditions, battle rounds, knockouts, and playoffs, and concluding with the live shows. The show will run for 25 weeks, airing one show per week, with the first shows running the blind auditions based solely on the talents’ voices and not looks. The Voice Africa is expected to attract both a pan-African and global audience, featuring a high-profile panel of coaches and TV hosts who will witness one of the 100 selected talents eventually crowned The Voice Africa.

Anthony Shiner, Group Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Africa said: “We are thrilled to finally bring Africa’s exceptional musical talents to the world through the continent’s version of the global award-winning show, The Voice. The Voice Africa will display African musical talent, delivering excitement and entertainment to millions across the world, whilst showcasing amazing voices, performances, and intrigues. It is an opportunity to celebrate and contribute to Africa’s music scene through real-life stories of resilience, persistence, struggle, and success that some of you can relate to and will undoubtedly impact your lives.”

Airtel Africa believes in enabling the youthful talent on the continent and has continuously supported the notion that Africa’s youth are future leaders, not only on the continent but worldwide. To show commitment and the organisation’s support, Airtel Africa has invested in various initiatives that aim to promote youthful talents and expertise in education, sports, and the innovation sectors.

In 2021, Airtel Africa announced a groundbreaking $57m investment in education in partnership with UNICEF that aims to provide and increase access to digital education for the betterment of Africa’s children’s futures. Other initiatives Airtel Africa has been involved in over the years include the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs), the Zain Africa Challenge, which brought university students together in a quiz contest, and the Airtel Rising Stars, a football tournament for Under-15 boys and girls.

For more information on the Voice Africa, please visit https://www.thevoice.africa/en

Olushola Okunlade Writes

BUA Cement Nigeria Plc has proven to be resilient in the face of macroeconomic headwinds as it recorded the fastest profit expansion among the dominant players in the industry.

The company has been recording double-digit growth in earnings since it was listed on the Nigerian stock exchange in January 2020 to become one of the most capitalised firms in Nigeria.

BUA Cement sustained its excellent performance in 2022, delivering a profit after tax (PAT) expansion of 12.42% year on year (yoy), relatively better performance when compared to Lafarge Africa (+5.10% yoy) and DANGCEM (4.90 % yoy).

In short, BUA Cement continues to outpace its rivals with double-digit growth at the bottom line (profit), it will overtake Dangote Cement as the largest firm by profit in the cement industry.

The cold commissioning of the Sokoto line 4 cement plant earlier in 2022 raised BUA Cement’s total installed capacity to 11.0MMTPA from 8.0MMTP, according to data from the company website.

Looking ahead, the company’s management plans to diversify energy sources by integrating solar energy on a limited scale of up to 10MW in 2023.

Of course, cost management and sales expansion will underpin profit margins this year, and such improvement is expected to deliver higher returns to shareholders in the form of bumper dividends and share appreciation.

It is worth noting that the company and peer rivals benefit from a price hike, which is significantly responsible for the revenue uplift.

However, inflationary pressures and volatility in currency still remains a downside risk to operating cost.

Analysts at Chapel Hill Denham Limited in research note said BUA Cement’s volume is now expected to come in at 7.4mmt, translating to a capacity utilisation of 52.0% based on an installed capacity of 14.0mmt per annum.

The cement maker’s operating profit spiked by 24.46 percent to N129.71 billion in December 2022 from N104.22 billion as of December 2021.

It trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of 33.30 while its shares trade at N92.45 as of March 1, 2022.

Olushola Okunlade Writes

Seven Up Bottling Company has announced a rebranding of its 7Up product with new packaging and identity. 

According to the company, the rebranding exercise happened to be 7Up first major overhaul in over seven years

PepsiCo, an international distributor has announced the rebranding of the 7Up product. The rebranding exercise is said to be the first major redesign in the last 7 years. Mauro Porcini, who spoke about the rebranding exercise said that the decision to rebrand aligned with the new “UPliftment’ brand strategy which would increase its international positioning.

He added that the new design which was launched with the expression, ‘New Get Up, Same 7UP’ would be used everywhere 7UP and 7UP Zero Sugar are sold.

“UPliftment is a concept that resonates with people globally. Our new visual identity for 7Up was inspired first and foremost by the brand’s creation of moments of UPliftment throughout its history.

“The PepsiCo design and innovation team created a bright and confident visual identity system that will echo across cultures, regions, and languages. The new 7UP features the brand’s signature punchy green, but with added citrus hues and distinct high-contrast lines that portray a feeling of upward energy.”, Porcini said.

7UP Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, Eric Melis also commented on the rebranding exercise saying ” “We’re excited to shine a light on our international positioning and reveal our visual identity system to the world. 7UP has always provided people with refreshing UPliftment through consumption and that’s why it feels like a natural fit for us to drive this narrative forward and center UPliftment within everything we do.

“We’ve got one brand with two great product offerings, and we can’t wait for the world to see what else we have planned.”

Melis also disclosed that the new identity would be taking effect globally on 7Up products in March 2023.