Leading international system integrator and multiscreen platform provider Visual Unity has entered into a joint venture with Telemedia Africa to establish Visual Unity Africa. The company, based in Nairobi, Kenya, offers system integration and professional services to the local broadcast, IT and telecommunications industries, along with specialist R&D capabilities to develop innovative Mobile Applications for the triple play space.
Visual Unity Africa is headed by partners Baiju Shah, Ali Hussein and Ken Kariuki, all of whom have extensive management experience in the broadcast and technology sectors. Hussein and Kariuki will be permanently based at Visual Unity Africa’s Nairobi offices from where they will initially develop the East and Central African market, with a view to expanding into other areas in the future.
With a population of 200 million plus, a growing middle class and a rise in GDP from $400 million to $800 million in the last decade, it is clear that the African market offers enormous potential for growth. The region is already being recognized as a hub of innovation in the broadcast and mobile application space thanks to a very high penetration of mobile devices and the advent of cheap tablets coming onto the market. Many areas are now making the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting and it is anticipated that a price war between main providers will result in a drop in the cost of internet bandwidth.
Tomas Petru, Managing Director of Visual Unity, says: “In terms of broadcast and content delivery, Africa is an area that is ripe for expansion and there have already been significant changes with a proliferation of new TV stations coming on line to quench demand for local content. However, one thing the market lacks are specialist systems integration and professional services organizations that can assist broadcasters with their equipment choices as they make the switch to digital television and enable them to monetizing content as they embrace the burgeoning multiscreen environment. With our rich set of video and broadcast products, our extensive R&D expertise and our knowledge of the linear and multiscreen systems integration, Visual Unity Africa is ideally placed to bridge this gap by providing high quality services and products to the emerging triple market.”
Ali Hussein adds that Visual Unity Africa’s combination of local connections and business development expertise will give the company an enviable lead in the market.
“Visual Unity Africa’s 360˚ view of integration, along with its acquired mobile applications capability, will enable us to sell products and services to media, Telco and broadcaster organizations. Visual Unity Africa also has an important role to play in influencing regulatory issues and setting new regional standards. It is our intention to be a hub of best practice that will serve as a benchmark for the rest of Africa.”
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About Visual Unity
Visual Unity is an international Systems Integrator bridging the gap between broadcast, IT and IPTV to help clients reach and engage audiences – wherever they are. Since 1991, the team has been designing and delivering turnkey broadcast systems and multiscreen solutions worldwide – from HD Outside Broadcast vehicles and major playout facilities to automated Direct-to-Web platforms.
Visual Unity’s vuMediaTM platform helps broadcasters and content owners enter the challenging world of multiscreen media, providing complete control over the management and monetisation of brand and assets. Through four highly scalable and flexible modules, the vuMediaTM platform delivers a cutting-edge web-based and mobile viewing experience, comprehensive Video on Demand services and secure robust content distribution – all of which can be deployed into existing workflows.
Visual Unity is based in Prague, London, Dubai and Belgrade.
For further information, please visit www.visualunity.com
