Econet has been recognised for its positive social impact and innovation in employing new technology to connect southern African audiences with global content. 

IBC Judges Prize Image Econet

IBC2018 Judges Prize: Econet

Econet’s Kwesé Play platform was developed as a video streaming service offering a variety of local and international content, including an exclusive partnership with Netflix. 

The technology partners include Verimatrix for its security technology, AWS Elemental for encoding the content to a single streaming format and DRM, and Roku for developing a player which would interpret this unified stream on any device.

The challenge for Econet Media was to develop a service which provided access across all types of OTT devices, but particularly to mobile devices in a geography in which fixed broadband is very limited.

It needed to present this in a form that was accessible, secure to protect the owners of the intellectual property, affordable in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, and practical to use.

“The outcome transcended the technology, delivering social change by connecting local people to global content” - Michael Lumley

IBC Judging Panel Chair, Michael Lumley said: ”Kwesé Play is a game-changer, bringing sport and entertainment to viewers in a part of the world which has been hard to serve.

“In our discussions, we recognised that the way the technology partners had collaborated on this project was innovative and successful, but we also felt that the outcome transcended the technology, delivering social change by connecting local people to global content.”

The ceremony, which will also see the IBC International Honour for Excellence presented to a very special guest from Sesame Street, is free to all IBC visitors.

The IBC2018 Judges’ Prize will be presented to Econet Media as part of the IBC Awards Ceremony on Sunday 16 September at 18:30 in the RAI Auditorium.