Category: Press Release

MultiChoice partners with global environmental initiative The Earthshot Prize to find and spotlight ground-breaking solutions across Africa with the potential to repair the planet

Nairobi, Oct. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MultiChoice today announced its media broadcast partnership with The Earthshot Prize to help accelerate and spotlight the ingenuity and ambition of innovators, activists and scientists across Africa who are working to address the climate crisis on the African continent and around the world.

The Earthshot Prize aims to find scalable solutions to address the world’s biggest environmental problems and repair the planet over the next 10 years. The Prize is awarded to winners in five categories, with each winner receiving £1 million grant to scale their work.

The partnership aims to raise awareness and understanding of The Earthshot Prize across Africa, supporting local finalists and highlighting their innovative solutions and mobilizing communities to address sustainability challenges.

“As the leading entertainment company in Africa, we have an extensive footprint on the continent – we reach 21.8 million households across 50 countries. We are well positioned to make a meaningful contribution to create a sustainable future in Africa. This partnership will enable us not only to educate communities on climate change, but to also encourage innovators to pitch their solutions, inspire other corporates to join the fight against climate change and to motivate governments to prioritize climate change as part of their national agendas”, said Imtiaz Patel, MultiChoice Group Executive Chairman.

MultiChoice is a Member of The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance, a global network of non-profit and international organizations committed to the environment and sustainable development. The collective power of the Global Alliance gives the winners and finalists of the Prize access to resources across numerous professions and sectors including manufacturing, retail, supply chains, legal advice, digital technology, business strategy and government relations.

“There are thousands of game changers and entrepreneurs committing their lives to solving our generations’ biggest challenges; investment and support is critical for each of them to fulfil their vision,” said Hannah Jones, CEO of The Earthshot Prize. “MultiChoice is a deeply impactful partner and we are inspired by their incredible investment into The Earthshot Prize, one which will shine a spotlight on a multitude of solutions that might otherwise go unseen, pull hundreds of others into focus across the continent, and inspire a new generation of innovators.”

For the next eight years, The Earthshot Prize will launch a global search every year for ground[1]breaking solutions to five Earthshot goals – Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.

The Earthshot Prize was first launched in 2021 with three African organizations selected as finalists – Sanergy (from Kenya), Reeddi Capsules (from Nigeria) and Pole Pole Foundation (from the Democratic Republic of Congo).

By spotlighting these innovators and their solutions, the Prize aims to spark the world’s collective imagination to drive a collective mindset of urgent action on the issues surrounding the climate crisis.

MultiChoice recognizes the importance of collaboration and partnerships to address socio[1]economic challenges. In the last 30 years, it has consistently partnered with non-profit organizations, civil society and governments to drive social change.

For more information about The Earthshot Prize click here: https://earthshotprize.org/

ENDS

About The Earthshot Prize

Founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize to discover, accelerate, and scale ground-breaking solutions to repair and regenerate the planet. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon, The Earthshot Prize aims to catalyse an Earthshot challenge to urgently encourage and scale innovative solutions that can help put the world firmly on a trajectory towards a stable climate, where communities, oceans, and biodiversity thrive in harmony by 2030. The five Earthshot challenges are: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World; and Fix Our Climate.

The Prize aims to turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism, by championing inspiring leadership and helping to scale incredible cutting-edge solutions. More than a Prize, it works in partnership with a Global Alliance of Partners to support the scaling of the solutions discovered and selected each year.

The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance is an unprecedented network of organizations worldwide which share the ambition of the Prize. The Global Alliance Founding Partners are a group of leading global organizations and philanthropists which act as strategic funding partners to the Prize, including Aga Khan Development Network, Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Breakthrough Energy Foundation, Coleman Family Ventures, DP World in partnership with Dubai EXPO 2020, Eleven Eleven Foundation, Holch Povlsen Foundation, Jack Ma Foundation, Legado Para A Juventude, Marc and Lynne Benioff, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and Rob & Melani Walton Foundation.

About MultiChoice Group

MultiChoice Group (MCG), which listed in the Main Board of the JSE on 27 February 2019, is one of the fastest-growing video entertainment providers globally, delivering entertainment products and services to 21.8m households across 50 countries on the African continent. Its track record of more than 30 years is reflective of a commitment to provide audiences with only the best local, sport and international content.

MCG’s strong partnerships with distributors, installers and telecommunication companies, along with its well-established payment solutions, competitive pricing and choice of viewership packages continue to secure its place in the global market, while also providing solutions unique to the African market. Its direct-to-home (DTH), digital terrestrial television (DTT) and over-the-top (OTT) solutions enable the business to stay relevant and aligned to changing consumer habits while capturing new markets.

Content is at the very core of the business. MCG aims to deliver quality content anywhere, anytime and on any device through a comprehensive video entertainment offering at different price points. As pioneers in African video entertainment, MCG plays an important role in making information and entertainment easily accessible to Africans.

MCG aims to secure content rights in a manner that is cost-effective and reflective of the diversity of its audiences. Its substantial portfolio includes award-winning local content (a key differentiator in its service offering), a leading sport offering (including production capabilities) and access to international content, which is all shared on the group’s platforms: DStv, GOtv, Showmax, M-Net and SuperSport.

MCG has superior technology capability through the security solutions that Irdeto, its technology company, brings to the group. These solutions enable MultiChoice to protect its investment, create new offerings and combat cybercrime. With 50 years’ expertise in software security, Irdeto’s software security solutions and cyber services protect over 5bn devices and applications for some of the world’s best brands. 

Litlhare Moteetee
MultiChoice Group Ltd
Litlhare.Moteetee@multichoice.co.za