Broadcasting
To realise the promise of AI in Africa, we need to make AI work for workers
By Zuko Mdwaba,
Just as generative AI continues to open opportunities for businesses in Africa to change customer experiences and increase revenue, the benefits for workforce strategies and employees can be significant.
Indeed, executive urgency to incorporate AI tools into business operations has increased seven times over the past six months, according to Slack research.
The AI-powered future of work isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about employee experience – and it promises to redefine everything from careers to culture. But to make this future a reality, AI has to work for workers. Businesses need to create a workplace where humans and AI agents work successfully side-by-side.
To help employees understand where they are on their AI journey – and leaders know how best to support them -Slack’s Workforce Lab identified five distinct AI personas in the workplace today.
The biggest group currently are ‘Maximalists’ (30%), who use AI multiple times a week to improve their work. Next are ‘Undergrounds’ (20%), those who use AI often, but are hesitant to share with their colleagues that they are doing so.
Whereas ‘The Rebels’ (19%) avoid using AI and consider it unfair when coworkers engage with these tools, Superfans (16%) are excited, but aren’t yet making the most use out of it at work. Observers (16%) have yet to integrate AI into their work. They are watching with interest and caution.
By not adopting AI now, companies and employees alike risk missing out on tangible benefits — from improving efficiencies, to overall performance and productivity, to wellbeing.
Empowering employees to leave repetitive tasks to bots, so they can focus on more meaningful work isn’t just good for employees, it’s also good for business.
At Salesforce, we prioritised four enterprise-wide solutions designed to help enhance goal-setting, automate daily tasks, find information faster, and streamline support — all while freeing up our employee success and IT teams to focus on more complex tasks.
Making AI work for workers requires leaders reimagining how they develop and train every part of their organisation. With perspectives and experiences of AI among desk workers varying so widely, a tailored approach to AI enablement is essential to setting every employee up for success.
Three key actions leaders can take to encourage AI adoption are: creating a culture of continuous learning, giving visibility to use cases of AI, and encouraging experimentation.
Clear permission, guidance and training are critical to fostering AI adoption. Only 15% of desk workers say they have the education and training necessary to use AI effectively.
Those who are trained to use AI are up to 19x as likely to report that AI is improving their productivity.
Sharing how others are using and benefiting from AI tools, and troubleshooting AI use cases, will help clarify AI norms and encourage more employees to share their own AI learnings.
Thirdly, the benefits of creating a trusted environment where teams feel supported to try new technologies are clear. Desk workers who feel trusted by their employers are 94% more likely to have tried AI for work-related tasks.
This explains why at Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce announced plans to expand access to skilling opportunities with free AI training for anyone.
The company will waive all fees for its paid instructor-led courses and credentialing through the end of 2025, totaling an anticipated $52 million investment.
To support these efforts, Salesforce will open new spaces at its San Francisco headquarters, including a pop-up AI Center for in-person community AI training courses, and dedicated floor for employees to skill up on AI tools and agents.
Salesforce’s new offerings will help skill up the workforce to address this AI skills gap and set up workers for success now — and in the future.]
Across the company, Salesforce is helping upskill its 72,000 employees by introducing global quarterly AI learning days to give employees hands-on time with the latest AI innovations.
As we build a culture of experimentation and encourage people to find ways to improve work with AI, we also have to change how we measure impact.
Rather than measuring productivity through the lens of activity or input metrics—such as time spent on a task, focusing on defining clear outcomes—such as customer satisfaction or developing new product offerings—will encourage employees to shift from mere busywork to using their time to be creative and employing whatever tools they have to achieve those outcomes.
As AI innovation and workplaces continue to change fast, employers must evolve to help employees — and ultimately their customers — be successful.
Ensuring employees collect different experiences, skills, networks, and expertise with AI will allow them to thrive in the AI-driven future.
MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), a Pan-African film and television training institution, has announced the opening of applications for its 2026 intake.
MultiChoice
The fully funded programme is open to African graduates aspiring to become directors, filmmakers, scriptwriters, producers and storytellers.
According to MultiChoice, the nine-month accredited curriculum combines online learning with intensive in-person training, and is designed to balance theoretical knowledge with practical immersion.
MTF academies are located in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia, and serve aspiring filmmakers from 14 African countries. Since its inception in 2018, the initiative has trained 296 filmmakers, with graduates producing more than 42 movies aired on DStv, GOtv and Showmax platforms.
Organisers said alumni of the programme have gone on to establish over 50 production companies, while many continue to work within the MultiChoice ecosystem.
Graduates have also won accolades at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, Kalasha Awards, Uganda Film Festival and Women in Film Awards.
Applications for the 2026 intake close on Feb. 27, 2026. Interested candidates can visit https://apo-opa.co/3XW53oE for programme requirements.
Broadcasting
Davido, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Karl Toriola, Others To Be Honoured At The Most Influential People of African Descent Awards In Lagos
Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) is excited to announce the Lagos Diaspora Experience 2025, a week-long celebration of African art, culture, innovation, and connection, culminating in the End of the Year Awards & Celebration on Sunday, December 21st, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Most Influential People of African Descent Awards
This historic occasion marks the first time the world-famous Most Influential 100 Recognition & Awards Ceremony—traditionally held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)—will be hosted in Lagos, Nigeria.
The week will feature events such as Diaspora Day at the Fela Exhibition (Afrobeat Meets Diaspora), Cultural Heritage Day, and Business Leadership Luncheons, all culminating in the awards celebration.
The evening will honor the Best & Brightest of the Year, recognizing exceptional individuals and institutions whose work has advanced Global African Achievement and Black Excellence across business, government, media, culture, and technology.
Key Recognitions for 2025
– Governor of the Year & City of the Year: His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, honored alongside Lagos as City of the Year for its global leadership in culture, innovation, tourism, and diaspora engagement.
– Her Excellency Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, will be honoured as Minister of the Year for her contribution to the creative economy’s role in nation branding and cultural diplomacy.
– Most Influential Woman of the Year: Olorì Atúwàtse III, Queen Consort of the Warri Kingdom
– Most Influential Man of the Year: Adewale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive, OANDO
– CEO of the Year: Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria; who will deliver a keynote address, recognized for his transformative leadership and impact on Nigeria’s telecommunications and digital economy.
Others include; Karl Toriola of MTN as CEO of the year, Uche Pedro of Bella Naija as Lifestyle Personality Of The Year, Ojy Okpe of Artise News as Most Influential News Anchor Of The Year, Stephanie Busari as Media Executive of the Year, Kayode Okikiolu as Pressman of the year, Davido as Artist of the year and several others.
In celebrating this year’s honorees, Michael Ehindero, Managing Director, Pernod Ricard Nigeria, owners of Martell Cognac, who emerged as Brand Of The Year expressed deep appreciation for the brand’s continued global recognition, saying: “It’s a great reward for the team who’s delivered Martell excellently in Nigeria over the years.
“We say thank you to the teams, we say thank you to our consumers and we say thank you to MIPAD.
“Martell has a lot of promising experiences in the years to come in Nigeria and with this we invite you over to Nigeria to experience Detty December”.
The ceremony will also celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2025 Honorees, alongside past Nigerian honorees who were unable to attend their year of recognition in New York.
“For the first time, we’re bringing our world-famous recognition platform home to celebrate excellence within the Global Africa Family — right here in Lagos,” said Kamil Olufowobi, Founder & Chairman of MIPAD. “This is more than an event; it’s a movement uniting the best of us — connecting, collaborating, and working together to change the world.”
Event Details
📍 Lagos, Nigeria
– Friday, Dec 19 – #DettyDec Diaspora Day at Fela Exhibition FREE
– Sunday, Dec 21 – End of Year Recognition & Award Ceremony STRICTLY BY INVITATION
🎟️ RSVP: https://rsvp.oakenevents.com/mipad
Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has called for urgent adoption of advanced digital protections after blocking seven piracy sites amid escalating online threats to Nollywood content.
The call was made during a webinar hosted by Greychapel Legal titled “Clicks, Streams, and Copyright: Who Owns Nollywood’s Digital Future?”, which brought together filmmakers, regulators, entertainment lawyers and media strategists to examine how content ownership and copyright enforcement are being reshaped by the digital age.
Lynda Alphaeus, director and head of the NCC Lagos Office, said the Commission has intensified its efforts to combat piracy across digital channels and is upgrading its operations to meet emerging threats.
According to her, Nigeria’s new Copyright Act was deliberately updated to strengthen creators’ rights amid the explosion of online distribution.
“NCC has worked, and is still working tirelessly to adapt Nigeria’s legal framework to cope with digital distribution challenges. We now have the power to block networks publishing illegal content, and we have already blocked seven websites distributing pirated Nigerian works,” Alphaeus said.
She revealed that the Commission has established a special taskforce known as the STOP Unit to coordinate anti-piracy operations online, alongside new awareness campaigns targeting local markets and schools to educate content creators and the public on copyright obligations.
Alphaeus urged filmmakers and producers to take ownership of their digital safety by deploying available technological protections to safeguard their intellectual property.
She explained that tools such as encryption help prevent unauthorised copying, blockchain technology offers immutable proof of ownership, digital watermarking allows creators to trace illegal uploads, while cloud security and regular offline backups protect creative files before they reach the market.
While noting that copyright in Nigeria does not legally require registration, she stressed that registering one’s work strengthens protection and provides legal presumptions that can be vital in enforcement.
“Whatever you register is presumed to be yours until proven otherwise,” she said, urging creators to invest in copyright knowledge as part of their business strategy.
Other speakers at the webinar reinforced the urgency of protecting Nollywood’s digital assets.
James Omokwe, film director, noted that while streaming platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for visibility and monetisation, they have also opened new vectors for intellectual property theft and unauthorised redistribution.
Solafunmi Laelle, media strategist, added that audience data, which streaming platforms rely heavily on, will increasingly determine leverage and value in film licensing negotiations.
According to her, creators who lose control of their intellectual property, whether through piracy or unfavourable contracts, also lose access to valuable data that could shape their long-term earnings.
Nky Ofeimun, entertainment lawyer, emphasised the need for creators to understand the contractual implications of ownership, platform exclusivity, and reversion rights.
She noted that many filmmakers still underestimate how quickly digital copies can be illegally duplicated or uploaded once control is lost.
The panelists agreed that as Nollywood deepens its digital footprint, piracy will continue to evolve and become more sophisticated.
They stressed that the industry must respond with equally sophisticated tools, stronger contract negotiation, and improved education around copyright.
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