Multichoice announces 2024 price hike for DSTV, GoTV. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

 

1. Multichoice announces 2024 price hike for DSTV, GoTV

 

Multichoice, the parent company of DSTV, has disclosed plans for a forthcoming price increase across all its African subsidiaries in 2024.

The CEO, Tim Jacobs, confirmed the development in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday, January 1, 2023.

The CEO attributed the anticipated hike to growing financial challenges, citing the company’s struggle to maintain a robust balance sheet.

He said: “For many years, especially in South Africa, we have priced our products at less than half of inflation. We’ve been concerned and watching the consumer’s wallet. The chances (now) are that we’re gonna be looking at inflationary price increases, both in the South African market and the rest of Africa.”

On the need to review charges and correspondent fees, Tim Jacobs further stated: “We are actually to the point now, with load-shedding and our revenue number coming under so much pressure, that we have to be a little bit more disciplined about recovering some of our costs.”

Multichoice faces heightened pressure to augment its revenue following the revelation of the company’s latest financial results, indicating a downturn.

The company experienced a 1% decline in overall revenue to $1.53 billion (R28.33 billion) in its financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2023.

Trivia: Which type of server uses zone files?

A. Database server
B. DNS server
C. File server
D. Mail server
Find answer below

 

2. Tunisian Imaginario AI closes $1m Pre-Seed Funding for Global Expansion

 

Imaginario AI, a Tunisian startup specializing in AI-driven video and audio content processing, has closed $1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by 216 Capital.

The round received support from Blue Lake VC, Earthling Ventures, Comcast NBCUniversal, Techstars, and various business angels, aimed at fueling the startup’s international expansion.

Founded in 2021 by Jose Puga and Abdelhak Loukkal, Imaginario AI seeks to revolutionize video and audio content management through artificial intelligence.

But little can be said about its success beyond fund raises as records of the startup’s revenue stream are not made public or provided for media scrutiny.

According to the startup, however, its AI-powered API and platform streamline the handling of extensive data as it looks to expediting the creation and comprehension of multimedia content for marketers and content creators.

Ripples Nigeria also gathered that players in Hollywood, including Warner Bros. Discovery, Universal Pictures, and Cineverse, attested to Imaginario AI’s ability to reduce search and creation time by over 60%.

The injected fund is expected to support the startup’s growth, enabling the expansion of its engineering and sales teams across the United States, Europe, and the MENA region.

 

3. Saudi’s Tameed secures $15m Series A Funding

 

Tameed, a Saudi Arabia-based fintech firm, has secured a $15 million Series A funding round, with prominent participation from Alromaih Investments.

This is contained in a press release signed by the CEO, and co-founder of Tameed, Mohammed Alomayyer, and made available to the media.

Established in 2019 by Mohammed Al Alshaikh and Mohammed Alomayyer, Tameed offers Shariah-compliant P2P financing solutions for SMEs.

According to the the CEO, the new capital will be invested in accelerating its expansion plans as well as cater for its increasing demand for its digital lending products.

He said: “The coming years are promising for the growth of the Kingdom’s economy, and we in Tameed are keen on meeting the needs of SMEs by offering innovative funding products.”

He highlighted the addition of performance bond financing to broaden support for SMEs participating in major projects.

Speaking on the prospect of the startup, Omar Alromaih, CEO of Investments at Alromaih Group, emphasized their confidence in the opportunity and sector, anticipating Tameed’s sustained growth.

He said: “We look forward to seeing Tameed continue its growth and expand its investment and funding opportunities to meet the needs of SMEs for financing and address the funding gaps created by Vision 2030 programs and projects, estimated to be SAR 300 billion by 2030.”

Trivia Answer: DNS server

A zone file is a plain text file stored on a name server that contains information about the domains within that name server’s zone. It includes contact information about that name server’s administrator and lists each domain and subdomain alongside its corresponding IP address.

Zone files are a critical part of the Domain Name System infrastructure, allowing computers to locate servers on the Internet at all levels of the DNS system hierarchy.

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