African Technology Market Attracting US Investors

American corporations are becoming increasingly interested in investing in Africa, with some regarding it as the last big growth market, but they are often deterred by Africa’s negative image, a new study shows.  US companies in some sectors, particularly technology companies, now regard Africa as "the last frontier for growth."   It has a market of one billion people, mobile telephone networks have been successful, and other countries, particularly China, are increasing their African investment thrust.   Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent after Asia, with 20% of the world’s land area and 14% of global population.

The study, released today in Washington, identified the technology sector as an important US investment opportunity outside of Africa’s traditional natural resources and agricultural sectors. While Chinese and to a lesser extent European corporations are increasing their African investment, US executives often see other geographical areas as offering better returns or less risk.

The study was conducted by the Africa Business Initiative of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC, and Baird’s CMC, an international communication management consultancy which conducted all of the interviews.

The conclusions and recommendations are based on in-depth interviews with top executives from some 30 US multi-national corporations, of which half are Fortune 100 Companies.  The objective was to identify the factors affecting US corporations’ investment decisions in Africa and what US executives believe would make Africa more attractive to them.  A second part will study the response of African leaders to these American attitudes.

"We want to tap in to the 'conversation behind closed doors', both in US boardrooms and in African cabinet discussions. We hope that these frank viewpoints by US business leaders and African policy-makers will help increase American investment into Africa," said François Baird, Baird’s CMC co-chairman.

The study concluded that the main reasons why Africa has not yet become a top investment priority for corporate America are that US executives do not believe the risks involved are commensurate with the promised return, that other countries and regions offer better investment options and that US executives see Africa as needing too much effort to be attractive at the moment.

Commenting that attracting US investment is "a long haul," the study recommended that African countries and regions sell themselves aggressively to corporate America which needs "a strong and specific pull from Africa."

About Baird’s CMC
Baird’s CMC is an international communication management consulting firm, operating in 11 countries with 28 partners employing over 400 people. Baird’s CMC is represented in Washington, D.C., New York, Johannesburg, Gaborone, Harare, New Delhi, Mumbai, São Paulo, London, Newport (Wales), Paris, Berlin, Moscow and Warsaw. Its global research practice has interview panel members in 42 countries.

Contact:
Francois Baird: francois.baird@bairdscmc.com or +1703 212-9611
Lenore Cooney: Lenore.cooney@bairdscmc.com or +1917 846-3596

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Fabrice Grinda and OLX in Business Week

Here's some great coverage our client OLX got in BusinessWeek right before the holidays.

A Web of Classified Ad Rivals Challenges Craigslist

Globally, upstarts led by OLX move to edge Craigslist out of fast-growing local classified advertising markets and to crack its dominance in the U.S.

By Douglas MacMillan

Fabrice Grinda is bullish on Brazil and betting big on Internet classified ads in South America's largest country. This year, Grinda's New York-based company OLX opened an office in São Paulo, hired locals to translate the OLX site into Portuguese, asked top real estate brokers and auto dealers to offer low-priced listings, and recruited an executive from eBay (EBAY) in Latin America.

That approach has worked well for OLX in Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and a handful of other countries. And in September, OLX became the leading classifieds site in Brazil, surpassing local rival QueBerato in visitors, according to researcher comScore (SCOR). Craigslist, which has come to dominate the U.S. and other markets by charging no fees for most ads, is a distant No. 42 in Brazil, according to comScore. "I would like to think we have a chance to become the Craigslist of the rest of the world," Grinda says.

Craigslist is a worthy target. Founded in 1995, the popular site for free online listings has almost singlehandedly replaced the classifieds business of print newspapers and now dominates the U.S. online market. Yet critics say Craigslist has done little to innovate, ignoring opportunities to expand through search, social networking, and wireless communication. It's also been slow to penetrate some developing overseas markets. Internationally.Craigslist is "asleep at the wheel," says Grinda.

New players are raring to overhaul online classifieds. "Classifieds have gone through two chapters," says Craig Donato, co-founder and CEO of classifieds startup Oodle. First came newspapers, then Craigslist, he says. "We are focused on the third chapter." Craigslist declined to make an executive available to comment for this story.

Most of the innovation in classifieds has happened in specific areas such as job postings on Monster (MWW) and real estate listings on Trulia. "Those sites all have a lot of traffic and they co-exist with Craigslist," says Greg Sterling, founding principal of researcher Sterling Market Intelligence. Jobs are one of the few areas where Craigslist charges a fee for postings. It also charges for New York real estate listings.

No. 2 OLX tries harder with locals

Newcomers find it tough to challenge Craigslist's array of listings, which range from used Apple (AAPL) iPods, to beachfront properties in Miami, to solicitations for "casual encounters," often a euphemism for consensual sex.

Still, upstarts are making headway. In 2009, its fourth year, OLX became the world's second-most-visited online classifieds property, leapfrogging eBay's Kijiji sites and approaching Craigslist. Co-founder and CEO Grinda says the site encompasses 90 countries and 40 languages, compared with Craigslist's 70 countries and 6 languages. Unlike the more established site, OLX works hands-on with locals in all its major markets to translate its services and to relate to merchants in the community, Grinda says. Hands-off Craigslist relies mainly on local sellers to post listings. It does next-to-no marketing.

OLX makes money by promoting ads to the top of listings, charging $2 to $10 a week. The company saw its first profit in June and expects more than $10 million in sales this year. "OLX is the leading classifieds site in a bunch of markets that are small today but have the opportunity to be the same size as Craigslist," says Jeremy Levin, partner in Bessemer Partner Ventures, which contributed to OLX's $29 million in funding. "When you add them all up you get something that's substantially larger than the U.S. market and a business that generates—if it is successful—hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue." This year, Craigslist is expected to bring in $100 million in sales, according to the AIM Group. The closely held company doesn't report financial figures.

Craigslist's dated technology also gives rivals a lever, even in the U.S. Oodle, which started in San Mateo, Calif., in 2005, is pursuing what it considers a missed opportunity in connecting classifieds to social relationships on sites such as Facebook. Classifieds are "not about inviting some anonymous person over to my house to test-drive my car," says Oodle co-founder Donato. "We're trying to create a different experience, based on trust and reputation."

Craigslist ads search poorly

Oodle's approach is best demonstrated on Facebook Marketplace, a classifieds site on the social network. There, Oodle lets users buy and sell items in an environment where people and merchants use real names; users can quickly share good deals with Facebook friends. The company earns revenue by taking bids for prominently placed ads, similar to OLX, and through a subscription service that helps real estate brokers and other professionals find customers. Besides Facebook, Oodle has partnered with Wal-Mart (WMT), AOL, and News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace. Oodle has raised more than $20 million in funding, including some from Greylock Partners.

Another complaint about Craigslist is that it lacks sophisticated search. Shoppers can't search within a limited geographic area—say, a tri-state area. Its listings typically don't get picked up by search engines such as Google (GOOG). San Francisco-based Vast is trying to help online classifieds become more searchable by working with publishers to help users quickly retrieve listings tailored to them. For example, Vast powers the search for cars on the Web site of Kelley Blue Book.

Such online niche sectors as travel, autos, and real estate are already worth at least $1 billion apiece, says Vast CEO Kevin Laws. His company collects most of its money from fees paid by advertisers each time the search engine refers a customer. Some real estate brokers end up sharing a significant percentage—sometimes more than $1,000—upon completion of a sale.

Craigslist's new competitors may not soon edge out the classifieds king, says Kelsey Group analyst Peter Krasilovsky. Craigslist has the critical mass of millions of users that many upstarts struggle to achieve, he says. In the U.S., the service had 44.1 million unique users in October 2009, up 20% from a year earlier, according to comScore. "There's no evidence that Craigslist has been cannibalized," says Krasilovsky, who nevertheless contends there's room for new players to grow. "There's more participation in classifieds than there's ever been before."

Fabrice Grinda and OLX on TechCrunch

We at Abraham Harrison LLC are excited by the amazing coverage that OLX has been getting recently, especially since they're our client and we're responsible for their social media outreach and digital PR. I am especially blissed out that OLX made it into TechCrunch recently -- Craigslist Competitor OLX Scores $5 Million For Online Classifieds -- so please check it out and please be sure to read through the comments:

Craigslist Competitor OLX Scores $5 Million For Online Classifieds

OLX, the Craigslist for the rest of the world, has raised $5 million in funding from from Nexus Capital India. The company raised $13.5 million in Series B funding in April 2008 from General Catalyst Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders Fund and DN Capital, bringing the total funding raised to $28.5 million. OLX raised $13.5 million in Series B funding in April 2008 from the same investors as above, and raised an undisclosed Series A round of $10 million in September 2006 with the same VCs and various angels participating.

While the free classifieds site has trouble competing with Craigslist in the U.S., OLX has a strong user base internationally. With a presence in more than 87 countries in 39 languages, OLX’s popularity lies mainly in Spain, India, Portugal, Mexico, South America, China, and the Philippines.

Fabrice Grinda, founder and CEO of OLX says the new investment will be used to make new acquisitions, implement site improvements, expand globally, and pursue aggressive marketing initiatives. In 2007 OLX has made an investment in Edeng.cn, a Chinese free classifieds site and acquired Mundoanuncio.com, a Craigslist-like classifieds site targeting the Hispanic market, in 2006. Much of its success in the Philippines can be attributed to its white label partnership with Friendster. Its offices are also spread over the globe with 125 employees (OLX has added almost 35 employees since last year) working in New York, Buenos Aires, Beijing, and Moscow.

While OLX may play second fiddle to Craigslist in the U.S., the site prides itself on being a second-generation free classifieds site, complete with Web 2.0 features such as social network widgets, better search capabilities, interactive maps, and mobile functionality. Craigslist has recently been under scrutiny by Attorney Generals over prostitution and the “Craigslist Murder” that have taken place in conjunction with the site. eBay’s Kijiji is also a competitor in the space, but Kijiji has set its sights on catching up to Craigslist in the U.S., even considering a name change.

Global Classifieds Giant OLX Expands In Brazil

Internet Classified Site OLX Strengthens its Team to focus on the Brazilian Market.

São Paulo – NOVEMBER 19, 2009 – Our client OLX,  announced the appointment of Rodrigo Ribeirão as Country Manager of OLX Brazil. In his new role, Ribeirão will lead all OLX Brazil operations, including both the internet classifieds site (www.olx.com.br) and the mobile classifieds site (http://m.olx.com.br).

“It’s with great pleasure that I announce the addition of Rodrigo to the OLX team. We see Brazil as one of the most vibrant internet markets in the world and we are seeing a great response from the Brazilian market to OLX (www.olx.com.br). By having a local presence, we aim to understand the Brazilian consumers better and tailor our product offerings to their needs and preferences,” says Alec Oxenford, Founder and Co-CEO of OLX, Inc.

Rodrigo comes to OLX from MercadoLivre Brazil, where for 3 ½ years he was responsible for Online Marketing and created the Retention Marketing area in Brazil. As the OLX Brazil Country Manager, Ribeirão will build brand awareness, improve user engagement, form strategic partnerships and develop strategies for driving growth.  He will be based in OLX's new office in São Paulo and will work closely with OLX’s Co-CEOs Fabrice Grinda, and Alec Oxenford.  Because OLX views success in the Brazilian market as central to its goal of becoming the world's top classifieds site, Grinda and Oxenford sought someone whose competence would ensure not only the brand's success in the important Brazilian market, but also contribute significantly to the company's global aspirations.

Rodrigo Ribeirão says, “The challenge of leading OLX’s operations in Brazil is an amazing opportunity.  I look forward to ensuring that Brazilians get great service from OLX and grow to recognize its superiority in the competitive online classifieds market.”

With the addition of Ribeirão in the new office in São Paulo, OLX now has 130 employees in 6 offices around the world.  Its growth in human resources and infrastructure mirrors its impressive growth in the online classifieds space – OLX.com.br has over 10 million visitors per month with over 750,000 items at any given time.

About OLX
OLX is the next generation of free online classifieds. OLX provides a simple solution to the complications involved in selling, buying, trading, discussing, organizing, and meeting people near you, wherever you may reside. OLX is used in over 90 countries in 40 languages. The company was co-founded in March 2006 by Internet entrepreneurs Fabrice Grinda and Alec Oxenford. OLX is privately held. The company is based in New York, NY and Buenos Aires, Argentina and operates two leading online classifieds networks hosted at www.olx.com and www.mundoanuncio.com. For more information, visit: www.olx.com.br

CONTACT:
Fabrice Grinda
Co-CEO, OLX, Inc.
#(917) 371.5441
fabrice@olx.com

Huge Growth Expected in Leading Latin American Online Market for our client OLX

Global Classifieds Giant OLX Expands in Brazil

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - (February 4, 2010) - OLX, already present online in 90 countries, has announced the opening of a new office in Brazil. OLX.com.br has grown by 450% in the last two years and already counts 14 million visits per month in Brazil, with more than 1 million published items. The online classifieds company expects continued strong growth, aiming for 20 millions visits per month in 2010.

"The new office complements OLX's presence in Latin America and allows us to be closer to our local clients, create marketing action plans and provide better technical support and stronger client relationships," says Rodrigo Ribeirão, head of operations of the new Brazilian unit. Through those efforts, OLX anticipates attracting an even bigger Brazilian customer base, advertising and buying and selling online.

OLX offers seven categories of ads: real estate; autos, motorcycles and boats; community; classes; jobs; meeting people and services. The market for autos, real estate and jobs has the highest demand, representing more than 1 million ads published in Brazil and around 40 million around the world.

OLX sees Brazil as a very promising market since the country already has 67 million internet users and 14 million of them visit the OLX.com.br site every month. "We see Brazil as one of the most attractive online markets in the world. With the largest and most mature online market in Latin America, our goal in having a local presence is to better understand the Brazilian internet user and adapt our products to the needs and preferences of the local buyer and seller. Furthermore, with the opening of the Brazilian office, we expect our local activities to grow by 175% in the next two years, reaching 3.5 million active ads on the site," explains Alec Oxenford, founder and CEO of OLX.

About OLX

OLX is the next generation of free online classifieds. OLX is used in over 90 countries in 40 languages. The company was co-founded in March 2006 by Internet entrepreneurs Fabrice Grinda and Alec Oxenford. OLX is privately held. The company is based in New York, NY and Buenos Aires, Argentina and operates two leading online classifieds networks hosted at www.olx.com and www.mundoanuncio.com. For more information, visit: www.olx.com.br

CONTACT:

Fabrice Grinda
Co-CEO
OLX, Inc.
#(917) 371.5441
fabrice@olx.com

Motionbox, Announces Motionbox PRO — Video-Sharing for Business.

Our client, Motionbox, Announces Motionbox PRO — Video-Sharing for Business.

Thomson Reuters and Gawker Media among the first to sign up for the new commercial version of Motionbox’s acclaimed video service.

New York, NY – November 4, 2009 — Motionbox, the leading personal video sharing service,today announced Motionbox PRO. Intended for businesses and other organizations seeking to share video with selected users, Motionbox PRO fills a previously unmet need in the video sharing market. Professional users were flocking to Motionbox because of its virtually unlimited storage and full screen HD playback, but needed the ability to upload and share commercial content in an unbranded, high quality player.Motionbox PRO answers that demand.

PRO provides a comprehensive video hosting solution that includes archival storage, web-based editing, streaming and embedding, all in superior quality, up to 1080p HD. Commercial customers will receive best-in-the-industry support for HD formats and pricing that is
significantly lower than that of competitors in the commercial video sharing market.

The introduction of Motionbox PRO comes as a response to a wide range of Motionbox customers, including real estate agents, film production companies, and small businesses in search of an affordable professional video hosting solution.

Motionbox PRO also comes in a version for larger Enterprises, and among the pre-launch customers to move to Motionbox’s new PRO version are Thomson Reuters and Gawker Media. “Reuters is committed to exploring innovative new ways of disseminating news and information, and applauds Motionbox for their easy to use upload tools and web-based editing. Using Motionbox, Reuters’ journalists are able to get the most current video content distributed to Reuters’ readers and clients,” said Chris Cramer, Global Editor, Multimedia, Reuters.

Tom Plunkett, CTO of Gawker Media said, “Gawker manages a number of blogs that all use video content avidly. We chose Motionbox because of the customizability of the platform and because Motionbox HD video quality is the best out there.”

Coming on the heels of Motionbox’s partnership with Shutterfly and its acquisition of Viddyou,the release of Motionbox PRO caps a year of strong growth for the New York-based company, which enables millions of users to share their video memories privately and securely with friends and family.

To learn more about Motionbox PRO, log on to: http://www.motionbox.com/content/pro

About Motionbox:
Motionbox enables individuals and families to easily upload, edit,store, and share their personal video memories, including those that have been captured in High Definition. In addition to free membership options on Motionbox.com and via partners such as Shutterfly, Bebo, and AOL Video, Motionbox provides a subscription-based Premium service featuring HD playback and sharing, unlimited archival storage, and
download capabilities. Motionbox also offers hard-good products that allow consumers to enjoy personal videos beyond devices and computers. Visit http://www.motionbox.com/ for more information.

PRESS CONTACT:
Dan Krueger
Abraham & Harrison Public Relations
dkrueger (at) abrahamharrison (dot) com

&

Stephanie Mello
Motionbox, Public Relations Manager
stephanie.mello (at) motionbox (dot) com

Motionbox: The First Personal Video Channel on the Roku Digital Video Player

Our client, Motionbox, announces the First Personal Video Channel on the Roku Digital Video Player.

Partnership lets consumers watch digital home movies right on their televisions.

New York, NY, November 23, 2009 -- Motionbox, the leading personal video sharing service, announced today that it is a launch partner in the Roku Channel Store, and the only content partner that enables consumers to view their personal videos. Via the Roku player, Motionbox users may now browse and watch their own video memories - and those shared with them by friends and family - in high quality (including high definition) on any television with the click of the remote. All Motionbox users, regardless of account type, will be able to access their videos and videos created by their Motionbox contacts via the Roku player. The Motionbox channel was developed by Mediafly, Inc., a Chicago-based technology company that delivers podcasts and Web content to a variety of mobile and set-top devices.

"We're thrilled to partner with Roku," said Josh Grotstein, CEO of Motionbox, "The ability to share HD home movies on television represents the 'holy grail' of personal video sharing, bringing video memories off the camcorder and the computer and into the living room. The Roku player is the easiest way to access online content on TV. Roku's affordable price points, ease of use, and reliability make it a perfect match for our customers."

With an HDTV now in 40% of U.S. households, and affordable HD camcorder sales driving the consumer electronics market, the Motionbox channel on Roku answers consumer demand to be able to watch their videos on TV, rather than huddled around a computer. Available in three models, starting at $79.99, the Roku player gives customers instant access to content from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Video on Demand and MLB.TV.

"Motionbox is a leader in the personal video space, creating a secure, personalized and easy way to share video with friends and family," said Jim Funk, vice president of business development for Roku, Inc., "We're extremely pleased to offer our customers a way to enhance and personalize the Roku experience by watching and sharing their own video memories on the 'big screen."
The partnership comes at a time of strong growth for Motionbox, which recently acquired Viddyou, Inc., expanded its partnership with Shutterfly, and added Motionbox PRO, a professional hosting solution, to its suite of offerings.

About Motionbox:
Motionbox enables individuals and families to upload, edit, store, and share their personal video memories, including those that have been captured in High Definition. In addition to free membership options on Motionbox.com and via partners such as Bebo, AOL Video, and Shutterfly, Motionbox provides a subscription-based Premium service featuring HD playback and sharing, unlimited storage, and download capabilities. Motionbox also offers hard-good products that allow consumers to enjoy personal videos beyond devices and computers.  Visit http://www.motionbox.com/ for more information.

About Roku, Inc:
Roku is a market leader in innovative applications for digital media, opening up a new world of entertainment to the TV. Through its work in both software and hardware, the company develops and sells consumer products that give customers the ability to take charge over their entertainment choices, combining high-value content and PRWeb eBooks - Another online visibility tool from PRWeb immediate access to that content at a low price. Its products include: The family of Roku players and the SoundBridge Internet radio line. Roku is privately held and based in Saratoga, Calif. For more information on the company and its products, visit: http://www.roku.com.

Contact Information

Dan Krueger
Abraham & Harrison LLC
646-442-8743

Stephanie Mello
646-442-8743

Press Release for Internation Medical Corps Members Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - WASHINGTON, DC, October 14 -- Online public relations firm Abraham Harrison LLC rallied the online community on behalf of International Medical Corps (IMC) during a crucial period of the voting for the American Express Members Project, earning the charity a place in the final voting round and exposure to over 2 million blog readers. When voting ended October 13th, IMC had finished 4th out of the 1190 projects originally submitted to the Amex competition and had earned $100,000.

"Abraham Harrison has been a tremendous asset to International Medical Corps during our American Express Members Project campaign.  They bring a unique approach to online public relations," said Rebecca Milner, Vice President, Institutional Advancement, at International Medical Corps.  "The worldwide web is a vast space, yet Abraham Harrison has found a formula to reach out to target audiences, effectively raise awareness and get online readers and activists to take action."

IMC was essentially out of the running for the award money when Abraham Harrison LLC was hired on September 16th. Up until now, IMC has been effectively unknown amongst the general public.  IMC needed lots of attention, fast, to get votes for its project in the AmEx Members Project $2.5 million giveaway competition. After three weeks of intensive online promotion, the Abraham Harrison LLC team secured over 190 blog postings on behalf of IMC. Even using the most conservative measurements, over 2 million people - and more likely upwards of 6 million - read the posts about IMC.

Abraham Harrison LLC contacted thousands of bloggers on behalf of International Medical Corps, alerting them to the charity's mission, encouraging bloggers to spread the word to secure votes in the Members Project, and providing a helpful, blogger-friendly Social Media News Release to make blogging as easy as possible: http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us/

The team at Abraham Harrison LLC also turned to its strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, and several other social networks, building groups and messaging followers. To drive SEO and further traffic, every one of the blog posts was promoted on Digg and several other social bookmarking platforms.

ABOUT ABRAHAM HARRISON LLC
Using its extensive knowledge and relationships in the online community, Abraham Harrison LLC brings its clients' messages to relevant online communities and delivers brand exposure to the millions of people worldwide who are increasingly turning away from print and television media and relying more every day on information received online. Abraham Harrison LLC is a geographically-dispersed company, with team members working on 4 continents.

CONTACT:
Mark Harrison, CEO
info@abrahamharrison.com
+1 (202) 657-4769
+1 (202) 330-5724 Fax
http://www.abrahamharrison.com

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