Category Archives: Twitter

Twitter Business Voices from every African Country

Compiling a list of African voices on @Twitter who write about business with a bias to residents who live in the countries and actively tweet or write about finance, economics, investments, technology and other similar business topics.

Diaspora (marked as ‘d’), and government (marked as ‘govt’) writers are included and marked accordingly, but this is not to de-emphasise their ability to create authentic unique local content. There is also a  bias for people who tweet in English, and for individuals, not media or financial organizations, but these are not criterions for selection or exclusion. Feel free to suggest other names in the comments, by country, and to complete the gaps.

  • Algeria @omarelmohri (d), @eTabib3
  • Angola @CaipLounge @isabelaangola @MwangoBrain
  • Benin @yacinebtchane @ariahouansou
  • Botswana  @Emma_Wareus @SiyandaWrites @BogoloKenewendo (govt), @JacoBank, @MapulaTThema
  • Burkina Faso @bachirismael (govt), @ocomar @D_REAUX
  • Burundi @ThierryU(d) @mKabeya
  • Cabo Verde @pedrolopesCV @tonedepina
  • Cameroon @africatechie @mankangwafo @dibussi @Mimimefo237 @dibussi
  • Central African Republic @harleymckenson
  • Chad @andreaskoumato
  • Comoros
  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) @congofriends (d), @Ley_Uwera @Noellacc @sindika_dokolo @Bizzoly @AxamFaysal
  • Congo @officialHanifa
  • Cote d’Ivoire @nnenna? @nanaspio? @Laureenolsson @edithbrou @VictorOladokun @CandaceNkoth @kajenny @fayelle1 @ourmaninafrica @Naboufall
  • Djibouti @Ilyasdawaleh (govt), @samabdiosman
  • Egypt @Gsquare86 @tchibota_fleur @G_Hammouda @Ibrahimsagna @naglarzk
  • Equatorial Guinea @GabrielObiang (govt), @Ameugn @CesarAbogo(govt) @OscarBerniko @NchasoOscar
  • Eritrea @MesMehary(d), @MagdaBerheJ @tekerebanelim
  • Ethiopia @Zemedeneh @Kalkidafrique @deldeyoch @Mekmz @PreciseConsult @addisale @BethlehemAlemu @MuradAIssa @addis_fortune @GetachewSS ‏@EleniGabre @FlawlessinET @betelhem_dessie @iCog_Labs
  • Gabon @Isdimak @caro_enilorac @prjeanping  @agueminia @mays_kinga @gloriamika @LenhSean
  • Gambia @fatimaj_j, @TheJamaJack @haddijatoujonga @Fatushow @maimuhyai
  • Ghana @MacJordaN @ekbensah(d) @EFYA_Nokturnal @ethelcofie(d)  @anasglobal @ragyare
  • Guinea @diene_keita @MohamedKagnass1
  • Guinea-Bissau @raulcabr @Aimonia_2
  • Kenya @alykhansatchu @coldtusker @RookieKE @MainaT
  • Lesotho @mpolo_masenkane @BillyNtaote @charlesfogelman @Frank_Mothibe @Sthunya
  • Liberia @AxelAddy @kenyakate
  • Libya @MaryFitzger
  • Madagascar @lrakoto
  • Malawi @chiume @rachelsibande
  • Mali @KamissaCamara (govt), @Si_Duchatelet
  • Mauritania @azizachom @ahmed8687
  • Mauritius @mosesharding @azizachom
  • Morocco @bidrissi @Startup_Morocco @MarieMarieNelly @helenranger
  • Mozambique @clubOmozambique @Casa_Barry @sandragaveta
  • Namibia @KalondoMonica @Nashilongo @estelletjipuka @Dillish_lishy
  • Niger @Aalyel @AmindehBlaise @SouleyMoutari
  • Nigeria @PaulWallace123 @NaijaFlyingDr @eggheader @toluogunlesi @tosinolaseinde @JasonNjoku @nonso2 @chikaoduah @elnathan_john @venerableladyB @OlufemiAwoyemi @BankyW @markessien @DrJoeAbah @LindaIkeji @toluogunlesi ‏@NuhuRibadu @eggheader @biolaa1 @rolakeakinkugbe @_yemia
  • Rwanda @LucyMbabazi @cakamanzi @DKarusisi @YolandeMakolo @RwandAnFlyer(d) @Fionambabazi1 @YvonneMakolo @Julio_Bizimungu @Contact_Makeda @mwasa @kayizarica  @TravelRwanda @MichaellaRu. Also President @PaulKagame, and in Rwanda, virtually all top government officials tweet as well.
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Senegal @AliouneSambGR(d), @gayeadama000, @babacarjdiop(d), @MameKharyDIENE1 @kadediha @YannLeBeux @SSowsp
  • Seychelles President @DannyFaure (govt), @ronny_jumeau @FinesseMf @SeychellesTrade @BarryFaure (govt), @SeyInvest
  • Sierra Leone @UmaruFofana @IamIshaSesay(d) @memuna @VickieRemoe @KYumkella @dsengeh (gov), @sherriphie
  • Somalia @Fatumaabdulahi, @DrBeileh (govt), @omar_degan
  • South Africa @MichaelJordaan @alechogg @RanjeniM ‏@TheSoloWandera @PhutiMahanyele @ThuliMadonsela3 @Sentletse @ElanaAfrika @christopherM @rafiq @thando_mgqo @aishapandor
  • South Sudan @siinchol
  • Sudan @NesrineMalik (d), @YousraElbagir (d), @MagnusGTaylor (d)
  • Swaziland / Eswatini @LeendorM, @MantoeP, @AmogelangMbatha
  • Tanzania @CRBarretto @joachimm3 @moodewji @Arden_Kitomari @zittokabwe @Makambas (d), @carolinekere, @iMashibe @AnnieTANZANIA @MsigwaGerson (govt), @JMakamba (govt) @MikocheniReport @aeyakuze
  • Togo @Farida_N, @cinalawson(govt), @CarlManlan @sename_
  • Tunisia @benyeoma @Rana_J01 @nanaspio @SultanWalid
  • Uganda @KigoziMaggie @UgInsomniac @whthome @echwalu @ssanyaug @tufre80 @whthome @RosebellK @jssozi @Ruthaine
  • Zambia @Muloongo @MissZambia @mulumba @missbwalya @monicamusonda @GNdhlovu @ictjournalist @cholamukanga @lukonga
  • Zimbabwe @TrevorNcube, @MthuliNcube (govt), @SirNige @VascoDaGappah @elishabuffet

Nairobi Riverside Terror Attack

Here are some noteworthy moments covered on Twitter.

The calm shatters.

First documentary video of the attack by journalist John Allan Namu.

Some early advice.

Breaking news advice.

This is a Twitter thread, but Facebook has more reach in a crisis.

Volunteer first responders.

Pleas for help.

Mistaken identity.

Victims

Terrorism has no religion, tribe, or colour. Islam does not condone terrorism.

Survivors and Survival Tales

 

Keep hope alive.

Police lines.

Bank customers okay.

Others Tales

The foreign media, and the New York Times become a talking point.

Situation updates by the Police.

Calls for support.

Corporate support for the responders.

Counseling and therapy services.

Support the victims’ families.

Supporting business continuity.

Lessons learnt.

14 Riverside reopens on January 28.

Remain vigilant! – US Embassy cautions.

Bank manager charged with failing to report suspicious funds transactions linked to the attack.

 

Hotel Reopens – August 1, 2019.

Flag flies around the world to six countries, passing Bhutan, Thailand, Cairo, China, and Dubai in honour of the hotel’s fallen heroes.

Hotel ceremonies to mark the reopening.

Cellulant wins an award for resilience from the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) – Jan 14 2020.

What other notable tweets did you see this week?

NBK: Board PR vs. Blog

The month of March has seen quite a bit of online activity at National Bank of Kenya (NBK).

On one side has been the public relations for the bank, of which I get the releases. Yesterday (March 28) the bank sent one, full of caution, urging their customers to ignore, a blog. I wasn’t aware of any, so I searched and found this blog story (by  ) with the headline that the National Bank Board Sacks Munir Ahmed (the CEO of the bank).  

At the beginning of the month (March 1) , the bank had issued another press release with a warning, and a threat to sue a  blogger. The bank also said it had written to the  Central Bank of Kenya Governor and the Cabinet Secretary (a.k.a. Minister) in charge of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) about defamation of banks emanating from unregulated blogging.

The Bank requests members of the public and media to disregard any malicious stories spread by ill-intentioned persons on social media or otherwise about the bank who will soon face the full wrath of the law. 

Immediately after that, the Bloggers Association of Kenya reacted strongly against blanket condemnation of bloggers. in a statement that noted that blogger are regulated by a code of ethics, and that (i)  bloggers could be international (i.e. beyond the jurisdiction of Kenya), and that (ii) NBK should consider charging the said blogger for defamation, which is legislated in law.

Today, the bank sent a press release that indeed, the Board of National Bank has announced that the Bank’s CEO  and five top managers have been sent on compulsory leave pending an internal audit process.   

The Central Bank of Kenya, then released its own statement, welcoming the decisions of the board.

WhatsApp to Replace Twitter as Kenya’s Corporate Darling?

This week, Nendo Ventures and OdipoDev published a Social MediaTrend Report that analyzed recent trends. These included usage and messages on  WhatsApp, Facebook, and over 5 million twitter Kenya messages sent in the last year that spiked during events such as the March 2013 presidential election, the Westgate Mall terror attack and the Kenya@50 independence celebrations. 
They made several predictions in the report which including three main ones:
1. WhatsApp will change the media in 2014-15: With 82% of Kenyans having phones, and 19% with smartphones, WhatsApp which is pre-installed on some phones, is becoming used more and more for sharing of pictures, video, audio, and chats – and they predicted it will become the default communication channels for businesses. Already Citizen has Road Hog and Chase Bank has launched a dedicated WhatsApp channel.
While it’s questionable if Kenyan corporations, having recently embraced Facebook and Twitter, will migrate to WhatsApp, the authors cited the fact that WhatsApp is pre-installed on some phones, and has a very low barriers to entry (compared to Twitter that requires  an e-mail address and some internet knowledge). 

2. Social TV changes everything. This is the age of the second screen where people watch TV, attend events with mobile phones in their hand and chat & comment  on social media. In Kenya, it’s also known as the “Tujuane” syndrome after a local dating TV show that has recorded as many as 9,200 tweets an episode – and it opens a new way for for more advertising and communication from companies to connect with customers.
3. Social media Devolves – it will devolved to counties  – and citizens will set out to claim their web presence and self organize like some groups in Wajir already have. Somewhat related, the 2014 Kenya blog awards highlighted some cool county-focused blogs from Uasin Gishu, Kisumu, Mombasa and Baringo. 

Other predictions
– The establishment of the smart audience – and the authors estimate Kenya has a smart audience of 0.5 million on twitter and 3.8  million on Facebook and TV and other media organization, now use Twitter, rather than SMS as their preferred interaction and feedback channel.
– The rise of social media as a profession

@Mkaigwa briefs the media on the Nendo Social Media report

– The decline of ‘likes’ as a measure on Facebook. The noted that people on some local corporate Facebook walls are asking what a company WhatsApp number is

– Corporate use of WhatsApp to replace intranets
– The role of online media in personal security like the government’s proposed Nyumba Kumi (10 homes) neighborhood watch system.
– Fun Fact While they also predicted that this year will see more transparency on the paid interaction between brands and influencers/bloggers to, everyone wanted to know which corporations are paying Kshs 10,000 to 30,000 ($350) per tweet to influencers. 

Banks on Social Media

This week, Equity Bank went live on twitter – and joined other top bank groups in Kenya in their use of social media to respond to customer issues. About half of Kenya’s 46 banks are now on Twitter ( see this list of local banks on twitter), but as the table below shows,  the number of bank customers likely to use social media is a small fraction of the total numbers.
Social media stats on Kenya’s largest bank groups
While Facebook is a powerful medium for banks to convey news and products promotions (some even tweet links to longer pieces or videos on Facebook, not their own websites)  and get feedback, Twitter is equally as powerful on but for customers  as it gives them the ability to tag a bank manager or CEO’s or any widely watched trend such as  #twitterthumbsup (for good customer service) or #twitterbigstick for bad customer experiences. 
In the Bob Collymore era, Safaricom has raced to be the acknowledged corporate leader in Kenyan social media with 363,337 Facebook fans and two widely followed twitter channels – including one dedicated to customer care issues with over 47,000 followers  – but this is a company with over 19 million customers.