The Sunday Mail
Captured in a honeycomb, its logo indicates that Africa, the land of its birth, is a land of milk and honey. LEADING converged communication service provider, Africom, has teamed up with other players in “bringing everyone together” to push “mbiri yedu” and is calling on citizens to go “tell someone” about “Nhaka” which comes to enable everyone to “connect to success”.
Nhaka is the first of a myriad of technologies expected to come as the Ministry of ICT continues to promote infrastructure consolidation. The latest initiative from Africom is a convergence of multiple networks including broadcasting, telecommunications and the internet.
Partnering with telcos and a variety of content providers, Nhaka’s inception responds to the demand for local and regional content, and it provides a formal platform with which to carry African news across borders.
It is anchored by all available telecommunications infrastructure including that of Transmedia. The maiden launch for the project began with the national broadcaster ZBC, which engaged local operators with the aim of igniting the scheduled digitisation project, effectively ensuring that ZBC would be projected to customers who have access to a smartphone or the internet in their homes.
This exciting initiative ensures that there is an almost immediate coverage of local content across Africa. Further to Nhaka hosting ZBC, it will also project many other popular international news channels such as Russia Today and CNN.
In essence, Nhaka is African in its make-up, and as such, it will carry all national broadcasters from across the region as a means of promoting regional integration.
Nhaka, boasting of its African heritage, will highlight the treasures of Africa and speak to the opportunity and richness of the continent. Captured in a honeycomb, its logo indicates that Africa, the land of its birth, is a land of milk and honey.
This portrayal of milk and honey will reflect the richness, depth, beauty and diversity of the African continent through its programming. To completely experience the ingenuity and creative product of Nhaka uninterrupted, one needs only have access to a 4G network or unlimited high speed broadband.
To appeal to a captive audience, it will showcase the dormant talent and skill of African film makers and depict the African story.
Nhaka’s platform will screen African archives and the regional synergies that exist in culture and tradition from days of old, all the way through to current practices.
The station thus provides a platform for new and creative content producers, presenting them with an opportunity to stage their content, and allowing them to reach out and entertain audiences that are within and outside of Zimbabwe’s borders.
The opportunities available are vast and endless, therefore in order to develop the platform further, Nhaka is inviting content producers to embark upon this amazing prospect by submitting their masterpieces, as they strive to establish themselves and fly high in the world of television.
It is a platform that increases exposure and creates a potential for international recognition in the areas of scriptwriting, directing, producing, acting and content distribution.
Independent film producers may include their feature films, short films, documentaries and music videos for airing, as Nhaka serves to promote local talent in the international sphere.
Nhaka additionally provides an alternative platform for multinationals and advertisers who seek to showcase their products and services to external markets for possible export.
As the product is supported by infrastructure development across the region, it accentuates a communications and entrepreneurial spirit, allowing Africans to trade among themselves, thereby enriching the lives of the African people.
Speaking at a recent function, ICT Minister Supa Mandiwanzira noted that despite earlier indications towards resistance, the infrastructure sharing model has taken off and is starting to bear fruit.
A lot more can be derived from this stage, and all programs will lean towards addressing national inclusion, some of which have already begun to yield benefits today.
As Nhaka grows in leaps and bounds, it will no doubt spark an interest and create a following among African content seekers, helping to set it up as the entertainment champion of note that is defined by its African theme and driven by the value it derives from its heritage.
