Editors Note: The following is an introduction to a series of blog posts on media in Africa. From Saba Kennedy who is spearheading this series: “Africa 2.0 is not formal group but a group of organizations that are networking through individual projects - with a common interest in Africa and African Heritage. Together we are all utilizing technology to bridge the communication, technology and economic gaps across continents. DIM Corp happens to be one of the entities that is involved in this entire network.” Disclosures will be inserted into any subsequent posts, but it’s important to note that Saba has been a part of both OffTheBus.net and Assignment Zero, earning this editor’s trust.

Africa 2.0 Project , Affecting Change Through Technology

As Africa becomes the next emerging market, Africa 2.0 is positioned to be the global key to bridging the gap between Africa and the world in our respective industries.

According to internetworldstats.com, the African market segment has shown phenomenal growth within a 7 year period and the most recent statistics from November 2007 are presented here:

AFRICA — 14.2% of the world population
941,241,130 - Internet Usage
Growth from 2000-2007 ——- 879.8% vs. 241.6% for the rest of the world.

Through Africa 2.0 we will centralize and bring information on the growing impact of Africa and the African Diaspora as this group affects change through technology. We will co-author a variety of articles and bring to the fore-front the main players in the Africa 2.0 movement. We will identify and showcase those power players who are positioned to help the world better understand and ultimately - guide them into the business of doing business with Africa.

[Disclosures] As a Writer, Promotional/Marketing Professional, African-born/Diaspora raised individual as well as Partner at Diaspora Interactive Media, Inc, Africa’s newest and most dynamic media corporation, I have the opportunity of interacting daily with Africa’s best and brightest.

These individuals, due to hardship in some parts of Africa, have become the fastest group of immigrants to Western Countries in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. The African immigrant market in the Diaspora consists of over 20,000,000 people. These individuals although uprooted from their native lands are seeking ways in which to connect with relatives, family and ultimately their heritage on the continent. In the United States alone, there are thousands of people that lack information pertaining to their situations, and therefore are seeking sources to help fill that void. We seek to inform our clients of issues, information and opportunities in a fresh, interesting and regular basis. Also, in an effort to cater to all the special cultural needs of our market we will provide products that are hard to find and are of cultural or popular value such as music, books etc.

Our research has shown that there is a lack of information out there for this growing group and whatever exists, is fragmented and in most cases incomplete. Through our individual projects and this Africa 2.0 opportunity with new assignment.net, we plan to facilitate this lacking by identifying the movers and shakers while creating a platform for off-line events that will provide access to hard to reach yet pertinent information required by our mass market. We will seek to answer questions that are asked often and even those that will be asked. We seek to inform our clients of issues, information and opportunities that are fresh and interesting.

We also seek to provide a platform for interactivity among this growing consumer/ customer base as well as the rest of the world that is seeking and needs to identify key players and influencers both on the continent and abroad. In essence with this project, we aim to create and present a “Thinktank” of experts that will facilitate dialog and bridge gaps cross continents. In an effort to cater to all the special cultural needs of our market we will also provide products that are hard to find and are of cultural or popular value to this growing segment.

As an example, of this, Diaspora Interactive Media (DIM CORP) first product launched is Jamati.com, “Africa’s Premiere Entertainment Portal.” Jamati, spelled Jaamati in kiswahili and means meeting place. Through JAMATIONLINE we seek to provide an interactive platform and quality editorial content for a demanding pan-African audience on 5 continents.

Nearly 25% of the growth of the black population between 1990 and 2000 was because of newcomers from Africa and the Caribbean, according to a published report. Their populations are growing at a faster rate than that of traditional African-Americans.

The number of African-Americans increased 10% to 31 million in the 1990s. But the number of blacks from Africa more than doubled to 537,000 in the same period. The number of blacks from the Caribbean increased 63% to more than 1.5 million.
Source: John Logan, sociologist, University at Albany, analysis of 2000 Census data.

This shift is beginning to reshape black politics in some cities and the focus of some black advocacy groups. An example of this would be the 2007 election of Nigerian native Nigerian-born Rotimi Adebari. The 43 year old won in a six to three vote by a nine-member council to become Mayor of Portlaoise (pronounced Port-leash-a), a town in Ireland with a population of approximately 15,000.

“In some major metropolitan regions, these new black groups amount to 20% or more of the black population,” says sociologist John Logan, co-author of the report on black diversity. “Local wards are very aware that this is potentially an important voting bloc.”
Blacks from Africa and the Caribbean tend to be better educated, have higher income and live in more prosperous neighborhoods than African-Americans, says Logan, director of the Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research at the University at Albany, part of the State University of New York. It is also noted that black immigrants, like immigrants of any color, tend to cling to national identities at first. This is precisely why information sharing through technology has become so critical to this growing segment. They are eager to connect with groups that are similar to themselves and share their experiences. In essence, they demand that their stories be told in a way that they understand and be packaged in a way that they can digest it.
Market Segmentation Africans overseas typically form sub cultures among national lines. We will therefore focus on bringing in the larger national communities: Namely

1. Nigerians, Ghanians, Somalis, Ethiopians, Kenyans
2. We are also targeting medium sized populations. These include groups like
3. Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Liberians
4. Overall however, we will work in concert and strategically to target national
5. populations that don’t have a lot of representation in our markets.

So, welcome to Africa 2.0 and the new assignment.net project. Our first group article will be co-authored with Mr. G. Kofi Annan, of the Annansi, LLC (gkofiannan.com) , an Entrepreneur, Strategist, and Author.
To Your Success!