Despite South African musicians performing well on Spotify, the streaming platform paid local artists a small fraction of the $10 billion it paid to artists in royalties in 2024. Local artists were paid R400 million in royalties last year. The platform reports that South African artists generate 600 000 hours of streaming per day with a substantial portion of those streams coming from outside of the country. It seems that even in the digital age, being a musician isn’t profitable.
Absa Bank has revealed its intentions to expand its reach into the Middle East by establishing a presence in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Pending regulatory approval, Absa’s goal is to increase its investments in the Middle East and North Africa region. This seems like a response to competitors like Investec, Standard Bank and others that have already opened divisions in the region.
Amazon has launched a Think Big Space at its Cape Town headquarters, the first on the African continent. The company partnered with Tangible Africa to bring the facility to life. The Think Big Space offers educators comprehensive training programs, teaching resources, and ongoing support through Tangible’s WhatsApp portal. The program is fully funded and aims to equip teachers with the skills needed to teach coding and digital skills.
