By Irene Gaitirira
Published July 28, 2017
China is set on providing training and jobs for African youth, setting up television programme production and dubbing centres in African countries and bringing satellite television programmes to villages across the continent.
Pang Xinxing, President of Chinese firm StarTimes, has announced more jobs for the more than 226 million African youth aged 15-24 years through the China-Africa Cooperation announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the South African commercial capital, Johannesburg, in 2015.
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“Since StarTimes entered the African market in 2002, it has grown rapidly in creating opportunities for Africans, especially young people,” Pang said during an event known as YouthConnekt Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
He said StarTimes, that serves an estimated 10 million subscribers with a signal covering the continent, has employed 4000 Africans in more than 30 countries, with more jobs are being created through a dealer network in urban Africa.
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Moreover, Pang said StarTimes is empowering young Africans with professional training to make them more competitive. For instance, he said, his organisation had held the first Star TV Drama Dubbing Contest in Tanzania and taken 10 contestants to StarTimes Headquarters in Beijing where they underwent professional dubbing training.
Pang said StarTimes would undertake a 10000 African Village Satellite television project under the China-Africa cooperation that would give rural area-based people with what he called a better understanding of the world through information.
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Meanwhile Rwanda’s digital broadcasting and production infrastructure has received a shot in the arm with US$7 million grant from the Government of China through StarTimes.
“The dabbing and production house will facilitate both private and public television houses in the country to produce quality content that meets international standards,” Arthur Asiimwe, Director General of Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), says. “This project is part of Rwanda-China cooperation to support digitalisation of broadcasting industry and boost film production and content development in Rwanda.”
