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By Bongiwe Zwane-Maseko
Eswatini will be joining 53 countries in the continent to compete for highly contested prizes in the inaugural ‘Africa’s Got Talent’ competition to be held next year.
The initiative will be launched at the end of this month at the continental level and then followed by country activations in all 54 countries. This was confirmed by the Founder and Executive Producer of Africa’s Got Talent N!xau KG Mogapi.
Mogapi said Africa’s Got Talent is one long overdue project that has what it takes to unite Africa in many ways. Africa’s Got Talent (AGT) is a television talent show billed to officially launch its Inaugural Live Television Show through AGT TV on the big screen and social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook Live, TikTok, etc.
Mogapi said the initiative draws clear distinctions and differences between what he has put together for the 54 African Countries, something different, new, and refreshing, compared to the likes of America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent and many other ‘Got Talent’ projects well known the world over.
“Ours is a sustainable Pan-African socio-economic development model that ensures and guarantees the establishment, enhancement, and sustenance of authentic African talent to be showcased and availed to the world, with immediate, medium, and long-term benefits not only to the winners but also to their loved ones, their communities, and respective countries,” he said.
Mogapi said all winners will be paid in a single, unifying currency to ensure fairness across the board.
“After conducting detailed research on how to make this project work and equally benefit Africans in all 54 Countries, it is clear to me that, creating a single AGT currency to pay winners is the fairest decision I can make. Africa is not just fragmented and divided; the economies are also just as bad. Some economies are way too advanced than others and as such, the difference in the value of currencies is just inconceivable. I have decided that we will use Africa’s Got Talent Currency called Gold Africa (GA) to pay AGT winners across the continent. Whoever wins will be paid in their own native country’s currency. The value will be One Million calculated and matched with the best-performing African Currency at the time of payment, calculated in line with Gold as our preferred commodity to benchmark with.”
“This simply means that, should a winner be from the weakest currency like São Tomé, payment will be done in Dobra but this will be an equivalent of the best performing currency as per the exchange rate at that time, like now, at the time of writing this article, the Tunisian Dinar is the continental strongest currency,” Mogapi said.
Categories include African Culture and Traditions, African Languages and Literature, African Farming, African Business, and Technology Innovation, African Science and Medicine, African Beauty, Hair and Fashion, African Arts and Craft, African Spoken Word, African media, African Comedy, African Sports, African Dance, African Music, African Acting and African Film.
He said the competition was open to people of all ages across Africa and more details would be unveiled at the launch. The Country Coordinator of the competition is award-winning Creative Director Mangaliso Dlamini of Sibuko Sesive creative agency. Dlamini has over 25 years of experience in building brands. He honed his skills and plied his trade at South Africa’s top Advertising Agencies, including TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Herdbouys McCann Erickson.
