Broadcasting
Microsoft Announces New Initiatives to Support 10,000 African Start-ups Over Next Five Years
Not less than 10,000 start-ups across the African continent would benefit from series of initiatives put together by Microsoft aimed at fast-tracking investment in Africa’s start-up ecosystem over the next five years.
According to Wael Elkabbany, Managing Director, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office: “Investments into Africa’s startup ecosystem are growing at an exciting pace.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there are more than 640 active tech hubs across Africa, accelerating innovation and creating employment, particularly among the youth. currently, the African startup market represents less than one per cent of total investments worldwide. This needs to change.”
Elkabbany, also informed that Microsoft is also creating new partnerships with accelerators and incubators across Africa, including Grindstone, Greenhouse, FlapMax and Seedstars to provide industry-based startups with access to markets, technical skills and funding opportunities.
These partnerships according to Elkabbany, will provide Africa startups with access to skilling programmes, access to markets, including opportunities to co-sell with Microsoft, and access to technology, with support from Microsoft’s engineering and product teams for co-innovation opportunities.
Elkabbany concluded: “There is huge potential for Africa to become a thriving hub of digital innovation on the global startup landscape. Our ambition is to see an explosion of the local invention that will contribute positively, not just to Africa’s digital economy, but to global society.”
Gerald Maithya, Startups Lead, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office, while speaking on Microsoft’s Founders Hub, noted that: “The Founders Hub allows Microsoft to engage with accelerators, incubators and tech hubs across the continent.
“Our partnerships with key African accelerators provide crucial support to accelerate growth-stage startups with their business development and market expansion plans.”
Dwelling on Microsoft’s partnership with start-ups, Maithya stated: “We understand that each startup is unique and exists beyond the limitations of a one-size-fits-all partnership model.
“This is why Microsoft will tailor each partnership to the needs of individual startups, providing support and access – whether to technology, markets and co-sell opportunities, funding or digital skills – to enable them to grow and contribute to the wider economic growth of Africa.
“Our goal in establishing these partnerships with venture capital investors is to extend the network of potential partnerships between Microsoft, venture capital investors and startups, thereby increasing the funding made available to eligible startups.”
A major shake‑up rocks viewers and subscribers of DSTV/GOTV as many channels are set to shut down and be removed on January 1, 2026.
The trigger for the upcoming shut‑down is a breakdown in negotiations between the owners of multiple global channels and the pay‑TV operator.
As of December 2025, the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and DStv/GOtv has expired and the two parties have not reached a renewal agreement.
Without a new carriage/distribution agreement, the channels belonging to WBD risk being pulled off the DStv/GOtv line‑up.
This is the most significant content cutback the service has seen in years.
The affected channels are:
Discovery Channel
TLC
Cartoonito
Cartoon Network
CNN International
Food Network
The Travel Channel
TNT
Investigation Discovery
Real Time
HGTV
Discovery Family
Paramount Africa is officially shutting down at the end of December 2025, drawing the curtain on more than two decades of operations in South Africa and Nigeria.
The company, which once reached over 100 million viewers across 52 African territories, confirmed it will close its doors as part of a massive global restructuring at its parent company, Paramount Global.
This is the same Paramount Africa behind channels like BET, MTV, MTV Base, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and more.
Its digital footprint has also been significant, with millions of monthly page views, social media engagements, and content partnerships across Africa.
But despite that scale, rising costs and a global strategic reset have caught up with the business.
Paramount’s retrenchment has been building for months.
Earlier this year, plans to launch a standalone Paramount+ app in South Africa were quietly shelved.
Then in August, the company said its content would remain available only via DStv and Showmax.
And last month, MultiChoice confirmed that BET Africa and MTV Base will disappear from DStv and GOtv on January 1, 2026, as Paramount Africa winds down entirely.
The shutdown is tied to aggressive cost-cutting after Paramount’s merger with Skydance. The company is targeting a 15% reduction in global staff and $3 billion in savings.
International divisions, including Africa, have taken the hardest hit as the business pivots away from linear TV and doubles down on a more streamlined streaming-first model.
At the same time, the global media landscape is being shaken by Warner Bros. Discovery’s chaotic auction. Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast have all submitted fresh bids for WBD, with some offers reportedly focusing on the studios-and-streaming division, home to HBO, HBO Max, DC, and Warner Bros. Pictures.
Analysts say the crown jewel bundle could go for as much as $70 billion, a deal that would reshape Hollywood and accelerate the decline of traditional TV.
DStv subscribers may lose access to 12 major Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) channels, including CNN International, Discovery Channel, TLC, and Cartoon Network, from Jan. 1, 2026, if MultiChoice and WBD fail to conclude a new distribution agreement.
DStv
MultiChoice, now owned by Canal+, issued a notice to customers on Monday, warning that its current carriage deal with WBD will expire on Dec. 31, 2025, and negotiations to renew the contract remain inconclusive.
“While discussions between the parties continue, no agreement has been reached at this stage. If this remains unchanged, several Warner Bros. Discovery channels may no longer be available on DStv from Jan. 1, 2026,” the company said.
The channels at risk include Discovery Channel, CNN International, TLC, Discovery Family, Real Time, TNT Africa, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and Travel Channel.
The development comes amid subscriber losses for MultiChoice, which has shed 2.8 million active linear subscribers over the last two financial years.
This includes 1.2 million customers lost in 2025 alone, representing an 8 per cent decline across South Africa and the rest of Africa.
In Nigeria, MultiChoice has lost 1.4 million subscribers in the past two years, largely due to repeated subscription price increases, according to Nairametrics.
The broadcaster is also set to lose additional content in the coming months. Paramount Africa will discontinue BET Africa and MTV Base from Jan. 1, 2026, while CBS Reality and CBS Justice will cease operations on Dec. 31, 2025.
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