<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



The Met Gala, an arts fundraiser more commonly known to fans as an extravagant, star-studded night for fashion, will honor fashion pioneered by Black men throughout history Monday night, with celebrities including A$AP Rocky and Colman Domingo set to host.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



The Met Gala will take place May 5 in New York as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, celebrating the opening of the museum’s spring exhibition: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”



The dress code for the evening is “Tailored for You,” which the Met said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">press release</a>&nbsp;is a “nod to the exhibition’s focus on suiting and menswear.”



Co-chairs for this year’s event include Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, rapper A$AP Rocky, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and producer Pharrell Williams, alongside Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.



LeBron James will participate as the gala’s honorary chair this year.



This year’s gala is funded by a few billionaire celebrities—Tyler Perry’s Perry Foundation and George Lucas’s Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation—as well as Instagram and Africa Fashion International.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is This Year’s Met Gala Theme?</h2>



<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Met</a>&nbsp;has defined this year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” as an “exploration of the concept of dandyism,” a term that originally referred to aristocratic style as far back as the 18th century, which Vogue now defines as an “exuberant attention to dress.” The showcase and this year’s gala are based on the 2009 book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” by Monica Miller, chair of the Barnard College Africana Studies department. Miller told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/superfine-tailoring-black-style-costume-institute-spring-2025-exhibition" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Vogue</a>&nbsp;this year’s exhibition will “illustrate how Black people transformed from being enslaved and stylized as luxury items, acquired like any other signifier of wealth and status, to autonomous self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetters.” The Met’s exhibition is divided into twelve sections, each representing a characteristic defining the Black dandy style: Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Jook, Heritage, Beauty, Cool, and Cosmopolitanism, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Met’s website</a>. Miller told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/apr/30/an-incredibly-political-moment-why-fashion-and-the-met-gala-are-celebrating-black-dandyism" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">the Guardian</a>&nbsp;the exhibition examines the idea of “ownership,” particularly the contrast between “being owned and ‘owning it.’’ This year’s exhibition was designed by artist Torkwase Dyson, and artist Iké Udé served as a special consultant.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Who’s Attending This Year’s Met Gala?</h2>



This year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">host committee</a>&nbsp;members are André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens, Grace Wales Bonner, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha&#8217;Carri Richardson, Olivier Rousteing, Tyla, Usher and Kara Walker, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Met</a>. Zendaya, a Met Gala favorite for her extravagant looks conceived of by her stylist, Law Roach, will attend, Roach told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1415897/zendaya-will-attend-met-gala-2025-law-roach-confirms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">E! News</a>&nbsp;earlier this month. Rihanna, another Met Gala regular, has not confirmed whether she will attend, though speculation has grown since her longtime partner, A$AP Rocky, is a co-chair. Actress Blake Lively, also known a regular attendee, has not confirmed whether she will attend amid her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/01/13/the-entire-justin-baldoni-vs-blake-lively-feud-explained-former-publicist-reportedly-subpoenaing-tech-companies/">legal battle</a>&nbsp;with “It Ends With Us” director Justin Baldoni, though&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/03/21/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-skipping-met-gala/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">TMZ</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://people.com/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-will-not-attend-2025-met-gala-exclusive-source-11701488" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">People</a>&nbsp;both cited sources claiming she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, will skip this year’s gala. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/style/met-gala-2025-black-dandy-politics.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported various billionaires will skip this year’s event, including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk, while billionaire Michael Bloomberg will attend.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



$75,000. That’s how much a single Met Gala ticket costs, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/met-gala-2025-theme-hosts-watch.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported, while tables of 10 sell for $350,000. Celebrities are typically sponsored by brands who purchase tickets for them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Surprising Fact</h2>



LeBron James, this year’s honorary co-chair, is playing in the NBA playoffs for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead the series 3-1, though if the Lakers keep winning, James could have a game the night before the gala, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2025-nba-playoffs-schedule" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NBA’s schedule</a>—and if the Lakers win, it’s unclear whether James will attend.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Can Viewers Watch The Met Gala?</h2>



The Met Gala will be broadcast on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/where-to-watch-the-2025-met-gala-livestream" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Vogue’s</a>&nbsp;digital platforms and on its YouTube channel beginning May 5 at 6 p.m. EST. Singer and actress Teyana Taylor, actress La La Anthony, and comedian Ego Nwodim will host the broadcast, and social media star Emma Chamberlain will return as Vogue’s special correspondent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



The Met Gala has had a decades-long&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/6972918/met-gala-history/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">history</a>&nbsp;as a fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute before transforming into an extravagant fashion showcase. The first gala was held in 1948 as a midnight dinner party, though it did not begin to transform until then-Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland joined as a consultant in the 1970s. Last year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/05/06/what-we-know-about-tonights-met-gala-backed-by-tiktok-with-zendaya-and-more-co-chairing-garden-of-time-themed-event/">exhibition</a>&nbsp;was titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and the dress code for attendees was “Garden of Time.” Other recent themes include “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in 2023 and “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” in 2022.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/superfine-suiting-portfolio-may-2025" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">“Superfine” and Dandy: Iconic Creatives Celebrate the Costume Institute’s New Exhibition</a>&nbsp;(Vogue)



<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/where-to-watch-the-2025-met-gala-livestream" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Where to Watch the 2025 Met Gala Livestream</a>&nbsp;(Vogue)

The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” – Street Sightings

What To Know About Tonight’s Met Gala: Who’s Attending And The ‘Tailoring Black Style’ Theme Explained

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creeping into every walk of life these days and the world of sport is no different, with data and the use of science behind the numbers becoming more prevalent. But that is not just at the elite level.



Could AI help uncover the next superstars in South Africa’s talent-rich Gauteng province by analyzing and exposing the most promising players in the region?



Swiss tech company Talnets AG have partnered with the Gauteng Development League (GDL) to implement their technology to provide young players with the opportunity not only to be seen by local clubs but also win a contract overseas.



It follows a successful one-year trial period where the technology features the youth teams of Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, the three biggest clubs in South Africa.



Talnets AG’s technology uses AI to analyze a match based on over 60 different data points from video of GDL matches and turn this into useable numbers to create a detailed profile for each player over time.



This ‘player card’ becomes a CV for the player which lives online and is publicly shareable to scouts, coaches and clubs around the world.



But numbers never tell the whole story and the platform also creates short video highlights of the player that is assigned to their card and gives scouts the opportunity to visually see their actions as well as read their numbers.



Fungai Mapondera, originally from Zimbabwe but now based in Switzerland as CMO with Talnets AG, explains the concept to FORBES AFRICA.



“It is about extracting the data from the match video and assigning the different data points based on what the player is doing in the game,” Mapondera says. “In essence, you end up having a digital player card with all your data from all your games, plus the highlights from all those games, in one place.



“It makes it easy for you as the player to share that profile with anybody that may be scouting you.”



There have already been successes. One player was scouted using the system and has had trials in Spain. And there are many others who are set to have their talent exposed to the world through the platform.



Behind it all is a meeting between technology and sport, something that has been rapidly accelerating in recent years, and is set to develop even further into the future as the cost of such platforms come down and therefore become more widely available.



Pin-pointing exactly what makes for useable and readable data has been important.



“There are so many things you can analyze in a game,” says Talnets’ Chief Executive Officer Darko Stanoevski. “Our focus is on individual performance analysis, which requires a bit more of a specific approach.



“That framework could be simple things like goals and goalkeeper saves, to more intricate detail like the different kinds of passes, passive passes, passes that break the (defensive) line and so on.



“Grounded on the FIFA Football Language Model and built with top football experts, we have developed our framework with over 60 different data points to help us spot and identify young talents in an efficient, transparent and scalable way. Analyzing a full game based on this framework would give us around 600 data points for one team, and then it will be, on average, around 15-20 data points per player.”



This data collection used to be done manually by an analyst, taking days or even weeks. But that has been now cut down to a few hours.



“The AI is an enabler to lower time dramatically, to automate this entire analysis process and make it more scalable and more efficient,” Stanoevski says.



“It gets players visibility and access to clubs, to scouts and coaches that have access to the platform, and even more importantly, enabling the players themselves to share their profiles with anyone, so they can build a ‘CV’ and pursue their dream.”

Photo supplied by GDL

Could AI Help Uncover The Next Football Stars In South Africa? This Tech Firm May Have The Answer

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



The most valuable&nbsp;pure entertainment company in the world got a little less valuable Monday, as shares of California-based streaming giant Netflix fell following President Donald Trump’s announcement he’d slap a high penalty on films produced abroad.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



Netflix stock fell 4% to $1,113, tracking toward its worst daily loss since April 4.



The slide followed Trump’s Sunday evening&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114452117143235155" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">proclamation</a>&nbsp;he’d slap a 100% tariff on “any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands,” declaring films produced outside the U.S. are a “National Security threat.”



Also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/05/05/trump-says-films-shot-outside-us-will-face-100-tariff-hollywood-stocks-drop-in-premarket/">struggling</a>&nbsp;were shares of Disney (-2%), Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery (-3%), Paramount Global (-2%) and Universal Pictures parent Comcast (-1%), all outpacing the less than 1% loss for the S&amp;P 500 baseline stock index.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



$20.4 billion. That’s how much market capitalization Netflix lost Monday. That’s almost exactly the same as Warner Bros. Discovery’s $20.5 billion total valuation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What We Don’t Know: How Trump’s Movie Tariffs Would Work</h2>



Unlike goods on which officials collect duties when entering U.S. ports, movies are services with a more complicated tariff structure. “Is it just movies, or also streaming series? Is it visual effects, co-productions, international film financing? There’s a huge degree of uncertainty,” Henning Molfenter, the former head of the German Babelsberg Studio with producer credits on “The Pianist” and “Captain America: Civil War,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/can-trumps-movie-tariff-actually-work-1236207053/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;The Hollywood Reporter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



Just more than half, or 51%, of Netflix’s 2024 content spending went to content from outside of North America,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ampereanalysis.com/insight/more-than-half-of-netflixs-content-spending-now-outside-of-north-america#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20of%20Netflix's%20content%20budget%20is%20now%20allocated,directed%20towards%20internationally%2Dsourced%20content." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to market research firm Ampere Analysis. About 70% of the streamers’ paid subscriptions come from outside the U.S. and Canada. Some of Netflix’s most popular recent programs among American audiences include shows filmed outside the U.S., including the British period series “Bridgerton” and the South Korean “Squid Game.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contra</h2>



Prior to Trump’s Sunday announcement, Netflix stock was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/17/netflix-earnings-record-profits-and-sales-send-stock-to-nearly-1000/">hailed</a>&nbsp;by many as a relative safe haven compared to other stocks in the crosshairs of tariff choppiness. Bank of America analysts’ note following Netflix’s earnings report was titled “Predictable in an unpredictable world.” Through Friday trading, Netflix stock returned 30% in 2025, far outperforming the returns of Facebook parent Meta (2%), Amazon (-13%), Apple (-18%) and Google parent Alphabet (-13%), the other members of the “FAANG” grouping of high-growth technology stocks.

Netflix Shares Jump On Strong Subscriber Report

Netflix Suffers $20 Billion Loss As Trump Wields 100% Movie Tariffs

The tiny Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius is known for its beautiful beaches, sandy shores and tropical charm… but not yet for its football prowess.



Soccer remains hugely popular on the island, but with around 1.25-million people calling it home, it is the size of a modest city elsewhere on the continent.



That makes creating a competitive team on the international stage a challenge, but there are plans afoot to develop the game in Mauritius, especially for girls, to help the country punch above its weight.



Mauritius are among the lowest-ranked teams globally in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, but with a new generation of starlets coming through, Mauritius Football Association (MFA) Women’s football development officer and Under-17 national team coach Anielle Collet can see a brighter future.



She has worked in football for the last 23 years, having been drawn to the game as a young girl herself, and has seen many positive changes.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="906" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-906x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65449" style="width:530px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-906x1024.jpg 906w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-265x300.jpg 265w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-768x868.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-1359x1536.jpg 1359w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-1812x2048.jpg 1812w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Marie Elsa Oscar of Mauritius (© Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)</figcaption></figure></div>


She believes football is not just a sport in Mauritius, but an important part of the social fabric of the island.



“It&#8217;s part of our culture,” Collet tells FORBES AFRICA. “You can see everyone eager every weekend to watch the games. From where I come from, a small island, football is like a community base; everyone involved in the game is part of this community.”



Collet has been at the forefront of football development in Mauritius for the past few years, and is proud of the progress made by the MFA with the professionalization and promotion of the women’s game.



“We can see that the level of competition is increasing more and more,” she says. “Also, we now have players that are playing abroad in France, the United States and Canada. We can see there is improvement and at the football association we are putting much effort into the promotion of women&#8217;s football.



“To market it and commercialize it, we have a social platform where it is visible everywhere. We can see this change now.



“Before, it was stagnant. But now there is an increase because we have academies and a league that is running. We started to have female coaches and the game generally has become more visible.”



The MFA has been following a strategic plan, starting at youth and grassroots level, to develop a clear player pathway to the senior national side and the professional level, according to Collet. This involves the improvement of not only players, but staff as well.



The impact of these initiatives has been positive, with the impact measurable and easy to see in certain areas of development.



“We can see now that there are more girls that are keen to play football because there are special programmes put in place by FIFA and football academies, and we can see that schools are starting to do inter-college matches (for girls),” Collet says.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="889" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-889x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65448" style="width:606px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-889x1024.jpg 889w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-260x300.jpg 260w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-768x885.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-1334x1536.jpg 1334w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-1778x2048.jpg 1778w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642.jpg 1851w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 889px) 100vw, 889px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Marie Chlotarina Clair of Mauritius (© Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)</figcaption></figure></div>


Mauritius’ progress can be followed further when they compete in the COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championship in Windhoek, Namibia, from May 10-17.



“This will contribute to the development of a clear player pathway as they get the opportunity to showcase their talent at youth level on the COSAFA stage. This furthermore gives the players the opportunity to emerge at senior level,” Collet adds.

Football – 2024 COSAFA U17 Girls Championship – Zimbabwe v Mauritius – UJ Soweto B Stadium – Johannesburg

Football In Mauritius? How The Island Is Working Towards Its Goals For The Women’s Game

The modern workplace is built on principles of communication, fairness and trust–or so the promise goes.



The reality is work has become a carousel of contradictions, spinning employees between the promise of work-life balance and an expectation of round-the-clock availability, the push for collaboration and pull of cut-throat competition, and the drive for efficiency amid endless layers of bureaucracy.



Mixed messages have never been more present in our workplaces.



At the heart of these contradictions is the tension between modern workplace ideals and entrenched corporate habits. Organizations want to appear progressive while maintaining control, leading to policies that sound good in theory but fail in practice. Employees are left navigating ever-shifting expectations, unsure whether to follow what is being preached or what is being practiced.



Companies boast about valuing employees though job security is treated as an outdated luxury. They roll out mental health initiatives while simultaneously increasing workloads. They encourage innovation yet the moment someone suggests a bold new idea, they are met with a polite but firm “that’s not how we do things here”.



Flexibility has lost all of its original meaning. For years, employees were told their jobs could not be done remotely. Today, the pressure to return to your desk station is stronger than ever, with hybrid work dangled like a carrot–with an unspoken condition of “work from anywhere but be available everywhere, all the time”.



Job ads promote diversity but hiring still prioritizes those who mirror the status quo, or who “fit the culture”. Promotions are supposedly based on merit but networking and office politics still carry more weight than actual performance.



And then there is the expectation of bringing your “whole self” to work–with fine print attached. Employees are encouraged to be authentic yet only within the limits of what is deemed acceptable in the workplace. Sharing personal struggles is applauded but only when they align with carefully curated company values.



Contradictions extend into workplace culture, where employees are told honesty is a core value. Yet those who expose wrongdoing or challenge poor leadership decisions often find themselves sidelined.



Transparency is encouraged in theory though speaking up about ethical breaches or workplace dysfunction is a fast-track to being labelled “difficult” or “not a team player”.



Meanwhile, the same organizations that promote work-life balance and wellbeing initiatives subtly reward overwork. Employees are encouraged to take breaks for their health yet those who power through lunch or answer emails late into the night are the ones seen as the most dedicated.



Mental health days are encouraged yet those who take them are quietly judged as “not committed”.



Workplaces love to remind employees they are a “family” yet those same employees are often the first to be cut when profits take a hit.



Let us make our workplaces great again.



The only way forward is to cut the contradictions and replace spin with substance. Trust needs to be more than a corporate buzzword. Productivity should be measured by outcomes and not time spent at a desk or the speed of an email reply. Recognition should be meaningful, not just a scripted gesture.



If employees are truly the greatest asset of a company, then their value should be reflected in fair pay, real career progression and leadership that listens rather than lectures.



Inclusivity should be more than a metric. Hiring for diversity is only one step–ensuring those employees are heard, supported and given opportunities to advance is what makes a workplace genuinely inclusive.



Making workplaces great again is not about nostalgia. It is about creating workplaces that function in practice, not just in mission statements.



Work should not be a puzzle of mixed messages. The place of work should be a place where employees want to stay, not one that they endure while scrolling job ads during their lunch break.

gettyimages-641970904-170667a

Expert-Speak: Let’s Make Workplaces Great Again

In a world where there are 25 minutes of previews before every movie, here&#8217;s why studios pay millions to secure a spot in front of summer&#8217;s biggest blockbusters.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<abbr>A</abbr>nyone going to see&nbsp;Marvel Studios’&nbsp;Thunderbolts*&nbsp;this weekend can expect to watch eight—perhaps even 10—movie trailers before the feature begins. Throw in an ad for popcorn and Nicole Kidman waxing poetic about the power of cinema, and the pre-show lineup can stretch to nearly a half-hour.



Even if that can seem like a drag to an audience, those are highly valuable minutes to both the movie studios and the theater chains. In an era when theatrical attendance continues to decline—the domestic box office grossed $8.7 billion last year, a dip of more than 3% from 2023, and ticket sales dropped 7%—trailers remain the top driver of awareness and decision-making for most moviegoers. According to National Research Group’s biannual survey, 36% of those between the ages 12-74 say they first heard about the most recent movie they saw in theaters through a trailer, more than any other source.



Because&nbsp;Thunderbolts*&nbsp;is the first anticipated blockbuster of the summer movie season—the 18-week period between the first of May and Labor Day that accounts for 40% of the annual box office total in the U.S. and Canada—its preview space is one of the most important marketing opportunities for the biggest releases, including Paramount’s&nbsp;Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Universal’s&nbsp;Jurassic World: Rebirth, and Warner Bros.’&nbsp;Superman.



With fierce competition for these theoretically finite slots, there’s another reason for the increased number of trailers—theater chains are selling preview time to the highest bidder. “The most valuable real estate this industry has is trailer play. That&#8217;s where we cross-pollinate success,” Neon CEO Tom Quinn said last month at Cinemacon in Las Vegas. “But I, as an independent, don&#8217;t always get trailer play. I have to go buy that trailer play with every other studio. And we play a big game, but it&#8217;s very expensive.”



The particulars of this pay-to-play system are whispered about with a level of secrecy that Ethan Hunt’s Impossible Missions Force would appreciate. Despite the symbiotic relationship between studios and theaters—or mutually assured destruction, depending on who you ask—the two sides often operate on a need-to-know, no-paper-trail basis. For fear of upsetting the delicate system, neither side is eager to speak on the record.



According to Hollywood lore, it was Sony executive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-may-24-fi-1822-story.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Jeff Blake who first began paying for trailer placement</a>&nbsp;in 2001. Back then, theaters averaged four previews per movie. The two slots closest to the actual feature were guaranteed to the company distributing the movie, and the others were chosen by the theater operator. That is until Blake shelled out an estimated $100,000, split among four theater chains, to ensure that a 60-second preview for the Rob Schneider comedy&nbsp;The Animal&nbsp;played in front of that summer’s big May release,&nbsp;The Mummy Returns.



Today, Hollywood’s major studios routinely strike year-long marketing agreements with major theater chains including AMC, Regal and Cinemark to guarantee trailer play in front of the biggest releases. Those deals range from $2 million to $5 million each, proportionate to the size of the chain, and can include other in-theater marketing opportunities such as ads on concession stands or theater marquees.



What exactly that money buys, however, is not always clear. Most moviegoers would assume the trailer system would be similar to any other advertising expenditure, but in practice studio executives say it can often feel closer to a bribe. Studios typically select “target” preferences for which trailers to put with which movies, and exhibitors reply with a certain percentage of screenings it can offer for each title, usually between 50% and 100%.



The tradition of reserving the two final previews for free for the studio that produced the movie continues to hold, but the value of the other four to six slots is constantly in flux. Six-figure transactions for additional trailer play can often materialize at a moment’s notice. This dynamic marketplace is driven by a movie’s predicted popularity, the amount of money paid, and above all, the fear of competition.



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Further complicating the marketplace, each studio has no idea what the others are paying a particular chain, and chains don’t know what each studio is paying the competition. Beyond that, studios don’t know whether the preview screenings they receive will be in the best auditoriums or the best showtimes.



To help strategize, some studios have hired third-party trailer auditing companies, who send people to physically sit in theaters across the country and write down the order of all the trailers played before a given movie.



“It’s always been sensitive and back room,” says one distribution executive, who believes there should be more transparency but declines to be identified by name. “It’s coming from this place of we’re going to maximize our leverage against you. A lot of theatrical distribution is rooted in that tradition.”



Until the pandemic, Disney was known for never having to pay for trailer placement because of its dominant position in the marketplace. The mere threat of withholding a film or increasing its rental fee (the percentage split of box office gross) was enough to ensure good trailer placement from theater chains. Rival studios also relied on Disney’s new releases so they could advertise their biggest movies ahead of them.



However, Disney has only held the largest market share of the domestic box office once in the five years since the pandemic, and in recent years Hollywood insiders believe the company has started to participate in the pay-for-play trailer system like everyone else. (Disney declined to comment for this story.)



The trailer strategy gets even more complicated after that. Any preview slots not reserved by these annual guarantees are sold on a one-off basis or in mini-packages to independent distributors such as A24 and Neon, who in some cases pay up to $1 million across all the chains to secure a percentage of trailer play in front of a particular movie.



The irony of this high-pressure environment is that it is relatively low stakes. A presumed blockbuster like&nbsp;Thunderbolts*&nbsp;has a marketing budget of well over $100 million, and the amount of money spent on TV advertisements for one movie alone can be more than a studio might spend on trailer placement for the entire year.



Still, studio executives say that reaching people who have already bought movie tickets and then getting their undivided attention for a trailer can often the moment when they decide whether they want to see an upcoming movie. Meanwhile, TV commercials, digital ads and billboards serve primarily to remind viewers of a movie’s release date.



That’s why studios can spend as much as $200,000 to produce a two-and-a-half minute trailer—or, in the case of&nbsp;Thunderbolts*,&nbsp;even three full-length trailers across a seven-month marketing campaign.



This combination of the increased length of trailers and the increased inventory over the years has seemingly pushed some moviegoers to the edge of their patience. In Connecticut, a state senator introduced a bill in January that would require theaters to post the movie’s actual start time as opposed to the time when the previews begin.. And at CinemaCon, the national gathering of theater owners, there were multiple conversations around reviving the effort to cap trailers at two minutes (a&nbsp;<a href="https://theatreowners.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NATO-In-Theater-Marketing-Guidelines-1.7.14.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">guideline</a>&nbsp;sent out in 2014 by the National Association of Theater Owners was mostly ignored by studios).



“People love trailers,” says Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at ComScore, a leading box office data provider. “But [theaters] have to walk that fine line—you don&#8217;t want to overdo it because then you burn people out before the curtains even open on the feature.&#8221;



For studios, a good trailer often doubles as the most impactful piece of digital marketing in a movie’s campaign, once it is posted on YouTube and other social media platforms. According to the same NRG survey, Gen-Z moviegoers said that social media and word of mouth outrank trailers in influence, but when asked what type of social media content drives their choices, trailers once again reigned supreme.



Daniel Loria, a senior vice president of content strategy at Los Angeles-based Boxoffice Pro, says that online trailer views are a strong indicator of box office performance. “That’s a big data point that we use here internally in our forecasting,” Loria says. “Having trailers available online is a real game changer for movie marketing.”



There is, however, one other marketing force that in recent years has proven even more powerful and unpredictable—online virality. When a movie catches on organically—whether it’s an army of teen “Gentleminions” in suits going to see&nbsp;Minions: The Rise of Gru, the&nbsp;M3gan&nbsp;dance trend, or the recent “chicken jockey” mania around&nbsp;A Minecraft Movie—it can cause a movie to vastly overperform the predicted box office results.



But attempts by distributors to create those viral moments have proven largely futile, so for now, the focus remains on trailers.



“I think what everyone in this industry has learned is that viral moments of the movies have to be organic. You can’t will a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/07/23/barbie-living-up-to-box-office-hype-with-155-million-us-opening-weekend-biggest-of-the-year/">Barbenheimer</a> into existence,” says Loria. “But in a theater, you know you&#8217;ve got their attention. And you&#8217;ve got two to three minutes to sell the movie. That is so valuable.”

cinema

Inside The Secretive, Pay-For-Play World Of Movie Trailers

Former Swiss-South African Tennis player ROGER FEDERER is as passionate about education as he is about sport. He talks about his eponymous foundation and the milestones that have made his philanthropic work worthwhile on the continent.&nbsp;



Roger Federer began playing tennis at the age of three and went on to win 20 Grand Slam titles and 103 career Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) titles throughout his career. What we probably don’t know is that through the Roger Federer Foundation that he launched in 2003, he is serving children so they have the best start in their educational journey. On a recent visit to South Africa, Federer, along with South African rugby captain, Siya Kolisi, relayed and emphasized the importance of access to quality early childhood education. We asked him:&nbsp;



Q. How important would you say sport is as a catalyst for social change and why?&nbsp;



A. It all starts with early motor skills. From a young age, children need to develop their social and cognitive skills, which help them to communicate and learn. Movement also plays an important role here. Strong motor skills aren’t just important for physical development; movement also has a social aspect to it. The development of the brain and body are linked.&nbsp;



If a child’s early motor skills are well-developed, they are more likely to succeed in sports later on, but it’s more than that. The importance of motor skills development, and the impact on an individual as a whole, can’t be understated.&nbsp;



Q. What is the Roger Federer Foundation doing in terms of skills development for educators and support staff?&nbsp;



A. Working though our implementing partner organizations, we provide educators with tablets containing knowledge and tools that help them improve their teaching. These tools include a course on play-based learning and resources on mobilizing parents to build playgrounds and be more involved in their children’s learning. Another app allows educators to track each child’s development using specially-designed activities. We also distribute sets of booklets that contain toy- making and learning activities that parents can use with their children. This allows parents to make an important contribution to their child’s education at home.&nbsp;



In South Africa, we have started involving government officials at circuit and district levels, with the aim of getting them to digitally track important data at pre-primary schools. This includes data on attendance and enrolment as well as data that continuously tracks if children are reaching their milestones, also ensuring that support is provided right away to children who are falling behind.&nbsp;



Q. Has there been a defining or standout moment for you that you use as motivation to continue the work that you do?&nbsp;



A. Small things, like seeing children enjoying a newly-built playground that their community has built with our guidance, already inspire me to keep going. We also know that children who get a quality pre-primary education are more likely to succeed in school and less likely to repeat grades or drop out. Studies have shown that success in education has a vital impact on economic performance later on. The massive impact of quality early childhood education (ECD) on not just people, but communities and even countries, motivates me a great deal.&nbsp;



In terms of funding, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has matched millions in funding in Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe, which was thrilling for us. Recently, President [Cyril] Ramaphosa also emphasized that South Africa has prioritized ECD, stating that a strong foundation is vital for children’s later success. More and more, governments are beginning to put ECD on the agenda. It’s a very exciting time for my foundation and all the fantastic organizations that have been working tirelessly in this space for decades.&nbsp;



Q. As an accomplished athlete, how do you continuously cultivate a winning mentality not just in sport but in life?&nbsp;



A. From tennis, I learned early on that success isn’t just about talent; it’s about consistency, resilience, and always being open to learning. That same approach applies to life beyond the sport. I try to stay curious, embrace new challenges, and keep things in perspective. Surrounding yourself with great people who you can learn from and push you to improve is extremely important.&nbsp;

Roger Federer Visits Ethiopia

Advantage Africa: Roger Federer’s Deciding Points Serving Early Childhood Education On The Continent

As the head of one of the world’s biggest tech giants, celebrating its golden anniversary, CEO, Satya Nadella shares his vision on reinvention, AI, and why relevance trumps longevity. Read on for the facts changing our world now.



At 50, Microsoft stands as one of tech’s most enduring success stories. But Satya Nadella, only the third CEO in the company’s history, isn’t interested in looking back. His focus remains squarely on what’s next for the $3-trillion giant. “What got us here is not being obsessed about longevity, but being more obsessed about relevance,” Nadella says. “We are a consequential company. We’re here not because we somehow achieved something in the past. It’s more because we are willing to push ourselves to be relevant again in a different context.” This mindset has driven Microsoft since day one, when Paul Allen rushed into Bill Gates’ Harvard dorm room with a copy of Popular Electronics magazine, sparking what would become the world’s most influential software company. Now, half a century later, that same hunger for relevance is propelling Microsoft into the era of artificial intelligence (AI).



Betting big on AI



Since taking the helm in 2014, Nadella has navigated Microsoft through perhaps its most successful reinvention yet. The India-born executive, who earned his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Mangalore University before completing master’s degrees in computer science and business from American universities, has transformed Microsoft from a Windows-dependent business into a cloud computing powerhouse. Nadella’s connection to Microsoft runs deep. He joined in 1992 during what he calls “the beginning of the client-server era” when Windows 3 had just launched and Windows NT (a completely new, 32-bit operating system) was yet to be named. And during his tenure, Microsoft’s market value has soared past $3 trillion – a testament to his vision of cloud-first, mobile-first computing that has since evolved to embrace AI at every level. “We’re in the very early stages of reconceptualizing what the web looks like for the agentic web,” Nadella explains. “In some sense, you can think of these AI agents or assistants as the new browsers.”



Windows, reimagined



For all the talk of cloud and AI, Windows remains central to Microsoft’s identity. “One of the dreams I have for Windows going forward is what’s the way both the function and the form, or what is a Windows computer in this agentic web?” he says. “Windows is being built for what is going to be the future of agents.” He envisions interactions that transcend traditional mouse and keyboard inputs. “It’s pretty surreal to be able to switch on Copilot and have a full duplex conversation with an agent that also knows the context of what I’m operating on. Copilot is the first app,” Nadella adds, suggesting this AI assistant represents just the beginning of a fundamental shift in how we interact with computers. The transformation of Windows epitomizes this forward-looking approach. Nadella shares how, for example, he recently used GitHub Copilot to build an Altair emulator and BASIC interpreter (the first product Gates created) in just one hour. “Look at it. We’ve come 50 years to be able to do what Bill may have done in a couple of all-nighters. Now anybody can ‘white code’ their way to building,” he says. Even more importantly, this democratization extends to entrepreneurship. “For the entrepreneur, you have unbelievable tools to realize that dream,” he explains. “You now have the ability to change the aperture, the scope and the scale of your ambition.”



Democratizing technology globally



“Our mission is to democratize access to tech,” Nadella emphasizes. “Microsoft has always been that technology company that allowed me to build technology or feel good about creation.”



The company recently announced plans to invest R5.4 billion ($297 million) to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in South Africa by 2027, building on its existing R20.4 billion ($1.12 billion) investment that established the nation’s first, enterprise-grade datacenters. This investment aims to enable organizations of all sizes to access cloud and AI solutions, driving innovation across the South African economy. The company has also committed to skilling one million South Africans by 2026 and will pay for 50,000 young people to become ‘Microsoft Certified’ in high-demand skills like AI, data science and cybersecurity analysis. This investment in infrastructure and skills training represents Nadella’s vision of AI as a truly global technology that benefits both developed and developing nations equally. “Having grown up in the Global South, I feel every day that there might be a general-purpose technology that won’t have this distinction between the Global North and Global South,” he reflects. “AI, interestingly enough, probably, is that technology that will help a rural Indian farmer and an entrepreneur on the West Coast of the United States to the same degree.”



What’s next



“As we enter our 51st year, I care a lot more about whether we’re doing relevant things now, versus talking about our last 50 or the next 50,” he insists. “The essence of this industry is it’s pretty harsh for anybody who rests on their laurels or projects way too much into the future,” Nadella says. This is why he is so focussed on the present while building for the future. This is what defines Microsoft at 50 but his enthusiasm for AI’s potential to bridge global divides comes from personal experience. “When I look back, I’m as excited about what we want to work on as I was in ‘92 in terms of the opportunity,” he says with characteristic optimism. The company that revolutionized personal computing is once again at technology’s frontier. “That abundance, that ability to democratize access to tech,” Nadella reflects, “is what we are again, yet again, having a chance to live and build.”

Nadella at work

CEO Strategies: Satya Nadella On Reconceptualizing What The Web Looks Like

Once a rare sight, gyms have muscled their way into every neighborhood, piling up like sweaty towels after a high-intensity workout.



First thing in the morning, or at the end of a busy workday, they flex their presence with round-the-clock access, shiny equipment and talk of a total body makeover, selling the dream of a fitter and stronger self.



But no number of reps can prepare one for the unspoken challenges of gym etiquette.



The unofficial gym etiquette rulebook is ignored at will and enforced at random serving up a never-ending source of gym drama.



The gym is a shared space – where sweat and sacrifice pave the path to fitness. It is where grunters and grafters rub shoulders and the cardio kings and iron queens unite in pursuit of personal bests. But for all the camaraderie, the unspoken code of conduct is often overlooked to trigger clashes as awkward as doing a squat in skinny jeans.



Take the equipment hoarder who believes possession is nine-tenths of the law, draping a towel over multiple machines in an act of territorial tyranny. Then there is the dumbbell deserter, who scatters weights around the floor like breadcrumbs and expects others to clean up their mess. And what about the selfie specialist–who is more focused on finding the perfect lighting than perfecting their form. They treat the entire gym floor like a photo studio rather than a place to break a decent sweat.



At every gym, respecting personal space is key though often the last thing on many gym-goers’ minds.



There is nothing quite like claiming a bench for a set of chest presses, only to find someone standing mere centimeters away, curling dumbbells with the intensity of an overcaffeinated barista. No one wants to feel like they are engaged in a reluctant waltz with a stranger while attempting a deadlift.



Gym-goers need breathing room, not a close encounter of the sweaty kind.



While we’re on the topic of sweat, we should mention gym-goers who leave a trail behind them almost like they’re marking territory. The fact is no one signed up to their gym to dodge puddles like it’s an obstacle course.



Then there’s the noise.



A little grunt here and there is totally fine. But when every rep comes with its own horrid soundtrack, it ends up being less about fitness and more about theatrics. While enthusiasm is admirable, dropping weights with the force of a meteor strike is not a necessity.



As for the cardio crowd, the treadmills are meant for running–not running commentary. But some treat it like a live podcast, chatting on the phone so loudly you’d think they were trying to reach someone on another planet.



And then there’s the advice brigade. Nothing throws off a workout like the self-declared gym expert. They pop up mid-set with a well-meaning but uninvited “just trying to help” style of correction. Yes, the intentions might be good, but unless someone’s about to seriously hurt themselves, advice is



best left to qualified trainers.



Chatting at the gym requires special consideration. Some people are all for a quick chat between sets. Others prefer to stay in their own bubble, focused and tuned out. Misread the vibe, and it can lead to a pretty awkward moment.



Sure, there’s always time for a chat but mid-squat, red-faced and wobbling under a barbell, is definitely not the time to approach your gym buddy to exchange weekend plans or thoughts on protein powders.



At the end of the day, the gym’s a shared space &#8211; a place where people of all shapes, sizes and goals show up to stretch, get stronger and feel a bit better. Having a membership gets you through the door, but it’s basic courtesy that earns respect.



After all, the real gains are not just in muscle and endurance but in being a considerate part of the fitness community.

Beautiful athletic woman workout at indoor gym and weight training fitness. Fitness concept.

Expert-Speak: Why We Shouldn’t Have To Gym And Bear It

After a turbulent period involving economic and geopolitical headwinds, investors are gradually rediscovering the country as a promising destination.



While challenges remain, fund managers from across the venture capital, private equity, and infrastructure spheres indicate that Nigeria is again ripe for strategic capital deployment.



“We’ve come at the right time,” Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, CEO of the African Private Capital Association (AVCA), told the media on Monday, upon the annual conference’s return to Lagos—its first time back in Nigeria’s commercial capital in 11 years.



“If we look, over the past three years, at our data, we had depressed deal activity in Nigeria over the past two for many reasons–macroeconomic pressures and other geopolitical factors that affected a lot of countries in Africa, not least Nigeria. But what’s very important now is the tide is turning,” Mustapha-Maduakor added.



It reflects a cautious but growing sentiment among investors that Nigeria—previously Africa’s largest economy by GDP and population—may be entering a new investment cycle. The naira, which reportedly lost over 60% of its value in the last year alone, has seen relative stability in recent months.



“Lagos is the heart of the African startup ecosystem,” said Kola Aina, Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, a pan-African early-stage venture capital (VC) firm, at the conference.



“It’s home to [several of] the continent’s unicorns and has attracted the most capital since we started tracking.”



According to a March 2024 report by AVCA, West Africa attracted the largest proportion of VC deal volume on the continent, at 26%, driven by Nigeria–the most active country by volume at 19%.



It further indicates that the market size for venture capital in Africa is estimated to be $4.5 billion across 603 deals, which including $0.9 billion of venture debt.



Beyond fintech and ecommerce, Aina noted that artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a new focal point for venture capital in Africa.



“We’re seeing investors not just backing AI-enabled startups but also adopting AI tools internally to improve sourcing, due diligence, and overall fund operations,” he said.



Aina pointed to Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program, launched in 2023, as a critical factor in training young Africans in AI and machine learning. As Africa races to close its digital divide, such initiatives are helping prepare the continent’s youth for participation in a global tech economy.



“Cloud computing, data centers, broadband, and digital ID systems are prerequisites for scaling AI,” Aina later notes to FORBES AFRICA.



Still, the continent’s private capital ecosystem faces a long-standing concern: exits. “Where are the exits?” Aina asked rhetorically—a question echoed across the industry. While secondary sales have increased,



enabling early-stage investors to show distributions to paid-in capital (DPI), many still await large-scale IPOs or strategic acquisitions.



“Secondary transactions are useful for recycling capital,” Aina said. “But if terminal exits like IPOs don’t open up in the next five to seven years, we could see a bottleneck.”



Genevieve Sangudi, Managing Partner at Alterra Capital Partners, cites similar concerns. “Africa must deliver more liquidity to attract global investors. We also need to develop our own domestic capital pools.”



Despite the volatility, Sangudi remained bullish on Nigeria. “This is still the giant of Africa,” she said. “But we must focus on micro over macro, pick the right partners, sectors, and market leaders that are resilient through cycles.”



Olusola Lawson, Co-Managing Director of Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), sees untapped opportunities in energy, logistics, and telecom infrastructure.



AIIM is also looking at Africa’s potential as a destination for AI training infrastructure. “If you think about what you need for AI data centers—cheap land, power, and connectivity—these are becoming scarce in the U.S. and Europe. But parts of Africa, like Morocco, have them in abundance,” he said.



Lawson also noted that latency is less of an issue for model training centers, making Africa a viable hub for this niche. “That could be an opportunity for us, going forward.”



Aina stressed that Africa’s long-term fundamentals remain intact: a youthful, rapidly growing population, along with urbanization, and increasing mobile penetration.



“The continent is the world’s last frontier for market creation,” said Aina. “With over one billion people projected to be added by 2050, Africa offers a vast total addressable market—if we can convert non-consumers into consumers.”



Referencing innovation expert Efosa Ojomo on venture capital designed to de-risk an economy–or at least, a sector, Aina said it must “go beyond funding” and help build the scaffolding that enables market-creating innovations.



Danladi Verheijen, CEO of Verod Capital Management, quoting Baron Rothschild, put it succinctly: “Buy when there’s blood on the streets—even if it’s your own.” Verod, founded in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, sees parallels between that moment and Nigeria today.



“Now is the time to invest,” said Verheijen. “Prosperity will follow.”

Nigeria’s Dying ATMs Leave a Cash-Shaped Hole Filled by Agents

The Tide Is Turning’: Private Capital Looks To Nigeria Again As Economy Rekindles Investor Interest

Slap fighting is a raw, visceral, little-known combat sport gaining momentum across South Africa. It’s not for the faint-hearted, underscoring the need for greater regulation, even as proponents are trying hard to formalize the sport.



In the pantheon of African sports, where football reigns supreme, rugby commands fierce loyalty, and athletics showcases raw talent, a new contender is emerging from the shadows – slap fighting, a visceral, no-frills combat sport where opponents take turns delivering open-handed blows to each other’s faces.



It’s fast carving out a space in Africa’s diverse sporting landscape. What began as a niche spectacle, propelled by viral videos and grassroots enthusiasm, is now gaining traction with South Africa leading the charge and whispers of interest echoing from Nigeria to Kenya.



The sport’s introduction to Africa coincided with a post-Covid pandemic hunger for powerful entertainment, and local organizers seized the moment.



Founder and CEO of Ultimate Slap Fight South Africa, Bobby ‘The Punisher’ Krisch, discovered the sport while scrolling online.



“In 2020, when we had the first lockdown, my son introduced me to YouTube, and I started looking at all these slap fights. I just fell in love with the sport. I had a bag at the back of my house and every day I would walk past it and slap it. The first time,&nbsp;I hurt myself, so I left it for two weeks. But there was nothing to do and when I went back to the bag and started hitting it again, I thought, ‘flip man, I can do this’.”



Slap fighting’s origins are often traced to Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, where videos of burly men slapping each other senseless went viral a decade before Krisch discovered&nbsp;the sport. It&nbsp;gained further prominence in the United States through promotions like Power Slap, led by Ultimate Fighting Championship president, Dana White, and Slap FIGHT Championship, which formalized rules and attracted millions of online viewers. By 2022, the sport had crossed oceans, and the South African Slap Fighting Association (SASFA) emerged as a pioneer, hosting its first events that year, while independent organizers like Krisch launched Punisher Slap Fighting.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="758" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-758x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65411" style="width:520px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-758x1024.jpg 758w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-222x300.jpg 222w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-768x1038.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-1136x1536.jpg 1136w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-1515x2048.jpg 1515w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-scaled.jpg 1894w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bobby ‘The Punisher’ Krisch versus The Block; (Image supplied)</figcaption></figure></div>


“I’m a normal guy, maybe a little crazy in the head,” chuckles Krisch.



The sport’s simplicity is its strength: two competitors face off, often across a table or barrel, exchanging slaps until one flinches, falls, or is knocked out. Rules are minimal but strict–strikes must land on the cheek, delivered from shoulder height, with no defence allowed. Matches typically span three rounds, though knockouts can end them sooner. This raw format, paired with its accessibility, has fueled slap fighting’s appeal in Africa, where sports often thrive on passion rather than infrastructure.



Danie ‘Pitbull’ van Heerden, a former boxer and wrestler from Pretoria, South Africa, became&nbsp;the&nbsp;poster child after a 2022 TikTok video of him competing amassed over 17 million views. His subsequent invitation to Power Slap in Las Vegas, where he won by technical knockout, put South Africa on the global slap fighting map. In 2024, van Heerden reached the Power Slap 8 finals, facing off against super heavyweight champion Koa ‘Da Crazy Hawaiian’ Viernes, cementing his status as a trailblazer.



Across South Africa, local events are flourishing, creating a raucous atmosphere reminiscent of&nbsp;the country&#8217;s&nbsp;love for communal celebration. The Afrikaans term snotklap (a hard slap) is ingrained in local slang&nbsp;and&nbsp;tied to&nbsp;it are&nbsp;notions of toughness and settling scores.&nbsp;The sport showcases&nbsp;this and its&nbsp;inclusivity–requiring no gloves, pads, or extensive training–mirroring the accessibility of township football or stick-fighting, traditions that have long thrived without formal support.



With South Africa as its heart beat, the sport is spreading its tendrils across the continent.&nbsp;In Nigeria, a country with a rich boxing heritage and a burgeoning interest in combat sports, social media clips of informal slap contests have begun circulating. Lagos, with its vibrant street culture and appetite for spectacle, is a natural hub. In Kenya, where athletics dominates but wrestling enjoys a following, grassroots interest is emerging, spurred by online exposure to Power Slap and Slap FIGHT Championship. Ghana, too, with its history of physical contests like Dambe, a traditional Hausa boxing style, offers fertile ground for slap fighting’s raw energy.



The sport’s digital footprint is key to its continental growth. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where slap-fighting videos rack up millions of views, are widely accessible in Africa, even in rural areas with limited sports infrastructure. Van Heerden’s viral moment is a case in point; his 17 million views transcended borders, inspiring imitators from Johannesburg to Nairobi. As internet penetration grows, slap fighting’s low barrier to entry and high shareability positions it for a broader takeover.



In Africa, slap fighting’s rise&nbsp;also&nbsp;taps into the continent’s deep-rooted appreciation for physicality and spectacle. From Senegal’s Laamb wrestling to Ethiopia’s Donga stick fights, the continent has a history of combat sports that celebrate strength and endurance. Slap fighting, with its unadorned brutality and immediate outcomes, fits this mold.&nbsp;



Yet,&nbsp;the sport&#8217;s&nbsp;ascent is not without hurdles. Medical experts decry its safety, citing risks of concussions and brain injuries from undefended blows.



In 2021, Polish slap fighter, Artur Walczak, suffered a brain bleed. Krisch counters that of 107 fighters in his events, only two have suffered broken jaws, and medical personnel are always present. Still, scepticism persists, with critics calling it barbaric.



Regulation is another sticky point.&nbsp;Krisch is trying hard to legalize the sport in South Africa.



“It’s a process. It’s been two years and I pray we will be recognized and taken seriously. We are ordinary guys; many of us never had the opportunity to do boxing and mixed martial arts and wrestling.&nbsp;This is a sport for the normal working guy.&#8221;



Van Heerden has called for South African authorities to formalize slap fighting with a rulebook, arguing it would enhance safety and legitimacy. A 2019 draft amendment to the National Sport and Recreation Act could provide a framework, but progress is slow. Elsewhere in Africa, where sports governance is often underdeveloped, establishing oversight will be trickier. Without it, the sport risks remaining an underground novelty rather than a sanctioned discipline.



The sport’s future hinges on its ability to evolve. If it can marry Africa’s love of raw competition with a sustainable model, slap fighting might not just be a fad but a fixture–a slap heard from Cape Town will&nbsp;reverberate&nbsp;across the continent&nbsp;and be heard&nbsp;in Cairo.&nbsp;

Bobby ‘The Punisher’ Krisch getting ready for a fight’ Image supplied

The Hands-On Sport: Is Africa Game For Slap Fighting?

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Earnings for two of the U.S.’ handful of trillion-dollar companies came out Wednesday afternoon as Meta and Microsoft will update investors, kicking off a crucial week for on-edge big technology stocks as tariffs complicated investor appetite for artificial intelligence-driven growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Microsoft generated $70.1 billion in revenue and $3.46 EPS ($25.8 billion net income), compared to consensus forecasts calling for $68.4 billion in revenue and $3.22 earnings per share ($24.1 billion net income) for Microsoft, according to FactSet data, scoring a 13% year-over-year increase in sales and 18% jump in profit.



Those are the best-ever quarterly revenue and profit totals in Microsoft’s history.



Shares of Microsoft shot up 6% following the earnings release, trading at about $420 after hours.



Fellow big tech firm Meta, the parent of Facebook, also exceeded Wall Street expectations, as its $42.3 billion in revenue and $6.43 EPS smashed forecasts of $41.4 billion in revenue and $5.23 EPS.



Meta said it expects second-quarter revenue to come in between $42.5 billion and $45.5 billion, well above consensus projections of $41.3 billion.



Meta stock gained about 5% to more than $570.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



Microsoft is the U.S.’ second most valuable company with a $2.9 trillion market capitalization, and Meta is the sixth-largest firm with a $1.4 trillion market cap. Meta and Microsoft are two of the so-called “magnificent seven” big tech companies, joining Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia and Tesla. The septet comprises a third of the S&amp;P 500’s total market capitalization thanks to their outsized influence in the artificial intelligence bonanza. Microsoft makes its AI hay via its Azure enterprise cloud computing unit and its stake in ChatGPT parent OpenAI, while Meta just launched a competitor app to the generative AI dominator ChatGPT,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/04/29/heres-what-to-know-about-metas-standalone-ai-app-to-rival-chatgpt/">Meta AI</a>. Meta and Microsoft shares have both slumped this year amid the broader stock market pullback as investors’ risk profile weakened. Meta and Microsoft stocks declined 5% year-to-date apiece through Wednesday, excluding dividends, though that’s stronger than the 15% or more losses from Amazon, Apple and Nvidia, all of which have far heavier exposure to China than Meta and Microsoft.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer were among the 10 billionaires whose net worth fell the most during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, losing a combined $30 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/04/29/the-biggest-billionaire-winners-and-losers-of-trumps-first-100-days/">according</a>&nbsp;to Forbes’ calculations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



Thursday will be another magnificent seven earnings doubleheader, as retail titan Amazon and iPhone maker Apple will share quarterly results.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



“This is a key few days ahead for the markets and tech world,” remarked Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. The trade war is a “key X variable for tech stocks,” noted Ives, adding this week’s reports should provide a glimpse into how demand has held up among businesses and consumers amid the economic uncertainty.

Views Of London England’s Capital City

Meta And Microsoft Stocks Soar On Robust Earnings Reports

The digital horizon for Africa can be bright, especially if the <a href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/44004-doc-EN-_Continental_AI_Strategy_July_2024.pdf">Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy</a> and the <a href="https://au.int/en/documents/20240809/african-digital-compact-adc">Africa Digital Compact</a> are implemented.



We are witnessing the rapid rise of technologies like Edge and Cloud AI that have the potential to reshape everything, from healthcare in remote clinics and more innovative farming tools for smallholder farmers, to more efficient urban planning and greater financial inclusion for underserved communities.



These are not abstract promises. They are real possibilities for a continent rich in talent and innovation. However, no matter how powerful the AI or how sophisticated the algorithm, true progress will not materialize unless we invest in something more tangible—local data centers.



Edge and Cloud AI: Better Together



Let’s begin with the basics.



<a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/edge-ai">Edge AI</a> processes data close to the source, in the hospital, on the farm, in the phone, allowing for real-time decision-making–think of it as having a mini brain where the action is happening.



<a href="https://research.google/teams/cloud-ai/">Cloud AI</a>, by contrast, handles heavy lifting, analyzing vast datasets, training large-scale models, and powering services seamlessly across platforms.



These are not competing technologies; they complement each other. However, both need reliable, secure, and close-to-home infrastructure. This is where data centers come in.



The Digital Detour Problem



Much of Africa’s digital traffic still makes a long and unnecessary journey. Data often travels to servers in Europe or the U.S. and then back again. This round trip creates delays, inflates costs, and puts sensitive data, health records, and financial transactions under the control of foreign jurisdictions. That is not just inefficient, it is risky.



Africa must shorten the distance between data sources and AI decision-making to build an inclusive digital economy. That starts with creating more data centers in Africa.



Why Local Data Centers Matter



Investing in homegrown infrastructure comes with serious upside:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Speed that saves lives–Local processing slashes latency. That means faster telemedicine, smoother mobile payments, more intelligent irrigation, and emergency services that can respond in real time.</li>



<li>Digital sovereignty and security–Maintaining data within national borders places control appropriately at home, reinforcing privacy protections, supporting compliance with local laws, and fostering greater public trust in digital systems.</li>



<li>Lower costs, wider access–Sending data across the globe is expensive. Local data centers cut those costs, making digital services more affordable for everyone, from entrepreneurs and educators to everyday users.</li>



<li>Resilience against global shocks–International connectivity is not always reliable. Local data centers help keep systems running even when external networks falter, whether due to cable cuts, power outages, or geopolitical tensions.</li>



<li>Jobs and innovation: The construction and operation of data centers generate jobs for highly skilled individuals across the engineering, construction, and information technology sectors. They also lay the groundwork for a thriving startup ecosystem, where homegrown companies can use locally hosted AI to build solutions for local problems.</li>
</ul>



Progress Is Happening—But We Need More



The momentum is unmistakable. Countries such as <a href="https://datacentremagazine.com/top10/top-10-data-centre-leaders-in-africa">South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt</a> are emerging as hubs for investment in hyperscale and edge data centers. Policymakers increasingly recognize digital infrastructure as a critical priority, on par with roads, railways, and energy systems.



What is even more exciting is Africa’s renewable energy potential. With abundant solar, wind, and hydro resources, Africa has a unique opportunity to power its digital future sustainably. Green data centers are a future goal and a present-day strategic imperative.



The Way Forward: Collaboration Is Key



To scale this vision, we need public-private collaboration. Governments must create the right regulatory environments, invest in connectivity and clean energy, and de-risk infrastructure projects through innovative policies. The private sector must contribute capital, technical know-how, and a long-term commitment to building Africa’s digital backbone.



The Bottom Line



Africa cannot rely on borrowed infrastructure to lead in AI. It needs to build infrastructure, locally, sustainably, and strategically. That means investing in data centers, not as a nice-to-have but as a non-negotiable foundation for everything we want digital technology to achieve.



This is about more than technology. It is about sovereignty, resilience, and giving African innovations the infrastructure they need to flourish, on African soil, for African realities, and with African leadership.



The opportunity is now. The need is urgent. Let us build the future from the ground up.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) concept. Electronic circuit. Communication network.

Africa’s Artificial Intelligence Future Needs Local Roots

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



President Donald Trump discussed his first 100 days in office in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday that at times became tense, where he defended his handling of the economy, high tariffs on China and his administration’s immigration crackdown.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Trump had several tense exchanges with ABC News anchor Terry Moran during&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-defends-100-days-historic-presidency-exclusive-abc/story?id=121295023" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">the interview</a>, where he described the network as “one of the worst.”



The president defended his decision to hit China with steep tariffs, but said he expected this to have no impact on U.S. consumers, as he believes China will “eat those tariffs.”



The president claimed China was “ripping us off like nobody has ever ripped us off,” and while he acknowledged a 145% tariff amounted to a trade embargo, he thought it was “good” and “they deserve it.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65400" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) meets with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during Pope Francis&#8217;s funeral at St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica at the Vatican. (Photo by Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


The comments on the China tariffs are a shift in tone from last week, where Trump suggested that trade negotiations with Beijing were around the corner and the 145% tariff rate would soon “come down substantially.”



The president also dismissed a question about voters feeling economic anxiety, saying that prices had come down under him: “Since I came in, gasoline is down, groceries are down, egg prices are down — many things are down, just about everything.”



Trump also suggested tourism to the U.S. was “way up,” despite&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/04/29/us-travel-boycott-60-of-canadians-staying-away-because-of-trump-survey-says/">data showing</a>&nbsp;otherwise, and told Moran, “Wait till you see the numbers.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-trump-say-about-his-administration-s-deportation-actions">What Did Trump Say About His Administration’s Deportation Actions?</h2>



Moran asked Trump about his administration’s sweeping deportation efforts and whether proper due process was being followed. The president said: “If people come into our country illegally, there&#8217;s a different standard. These are illegal. They came in illegally.” When pressed again about due process, Trump said: “Well, they get a process where we have to get &#8217;em out, yeah.” Trump said his administration has to “act fast” in removing undocumented migrants and claimed there were “21 million people” in the U.S. illegally—a number Trump has repeatedly used despite the actual&nbsp;<a href="https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2024/how-many-million-immigrants-america-illegal/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">estimated number</a>&nbsp;being lower. The president then asked, “Do you think we can give 21 million trials?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-trump-say-about-kilmar-abrego-garcia">What Did Trump Say About Kilmar Abrego Garcia?</h2>



The president was also asked about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador. Despite earlier denials by his administration, Trump acknowledged he “could” secure the deported man’s return to the U.S., but indicated he will not do so, despite a Supreme Court order instructing the government to facilitate his return. Trump said the Justice Department lawyer who said Abrego Garcia’s deportation was carried out erroneously was “not appointed by us” and “should not have said that.” Trump also claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, despite his lawyers repeatedly denying this accusation. Trump even showed Moran an image of the text “MS-13” tattooed on his hands, but when the ABC anchor pointed out the image was “photoshopped,” the president appeared agitated and told Moran: “Terry, you can’t do that. They’ve given you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview.” Trump then insisted that Moran should: “go look at his hand,” and the photo claiming “He had MS-13.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-trump-say-about-putin-and-the-ukraine-peace-talks">What Did Trump Say About Putin And The Ukraine Peace Talks?</h2>



Trump said he believes Putin wanted to annex the whole of Ukraine and: “If I didn&#8217;t win the election, he would have gotten all of Ukraine.” When asked if he thought that the Russian president may not actually want to stop the war and was simply “tapping” him along, Trump acknowledged that this was possible: “He could be tapping me along a little bit.” However, Trump said he believes Putin would “like to stop the war.” When asked if he trusted Putin, Trump shot back: “ I don’t trust you, I don’t trust – I don’t trust a lot of people.” After another testy exchange with the interviewer, Trump said, “I think that he — let&#8217;s say he respects me.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-defends-100-days-historic-presidency-exclusive-abc/story?id=121295023" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Trump discusses first 100 days of historic presidency in exclusive ABC interview</a>&nbsp;(ABC News)

President Trump Delivers Speech In Michigan To Mark 100 Days Of His Presidency

What Trump Said In 100 Days Interview: China Tariffs, Deportations And Putin

Africa’s agricultural landscape, often vulnerable to the harsh elements and varied weather patterns, is seemingly evolving into a hub of innovation that reaches far beyond its traditional roots.



It was not long ago that farmers on the continent had to rely on birds like the Red-billed Quelea and African Cuckoo for rain predictions. Now, various types of technology are taking their place, equipping agricultural stakeholders with the tools they need to weather the proverbial storms.



For example, thousands of people in West Africa, in particular, are able to receive hyperlocal weather forecasts, via SMS, from sources like Ignitia, to combat the changing climate.



“Extreme weather is becoming more frequent and intense across Africa, and unfortunately, conventional forecasting weather models—optimized for temperate regions like Europe—struggle to capture heat-driven rainfall dynamics and extremes such as heavy thunderstorms,” explains Andrew Lala, CEO at Ignitia, a company specializing in weather and climate intelligence across Africa, Latin-America and South-East Asia.



“You need to get rainfall forecasting correct at different time horizons, if you’re going to help farmers understand how good or bad the upcoming rainy season will be and how to mitigate any in-season rainfall challenges like a delayed rainy season onset or erratic dry spells.”



Staying alert to problematic weather patterns has profound ramifications.



The floods in Senegal towards the end of 2024 were severe, reportedly submerging 16,000 hectares of crops, including rice, corn, and okra. A report from the Senegal River Delta, stated, at the time, that around 250,000 people were left facing food insecurity.



Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Humanitarian Situation Report from October 2024 indicated that a drought in Zambia has caused food shortages for around 4.95 million people.



The need enrich farmers with information to adapt—while minimizing the risk of yield collapse—and to identify optimal conditions for planting and harvesting is crucial.



“By equipping farmers with six-month rainy season insights, you can help them identify planting windows, and identify drought or flood conditions and pest pressures early so that they can build resilience either through planting shorter cycle crops, investing in drought tolerant seed, or connecting them with crop insurance products in the case of extremes,” Lala tells FORBES AFRICA.



Africa has a history of food insecurity. According to Professor David Luke in How Africa Eats: Trade, Food Security, and Climate Risks, over 340 million people are suffering from this.



UNICEF also reports that one in three children in Africa, under the age of five, lives in food poverty.



This challenge has plagued the continent, with climate change, a lack of resources, and conflict as the main protagonists, highlighting the need for modern tools and predictive technology to counteract potential calamities.



South African-based Aerobotics combines thermal-imagery drones and satellites with artificial intelligence (AI) to identify areas of underperformance caused by irrigation issues, nutrient



deficiencies, pests, and diseases. This provides farms with precision data focused on economically maximizing yield.



Producers can target specific areas of concern through per-plant analyses, resulting in more efficient use of fertilizers and pesticides, while optimizing irrigation, and enabling strategic labor deployment.



“Thermal-imagery drones and satellite analytics are reshaping the future of farming across Africa. By turning invisible stress into actionable data, this technology allows farmers to detect issues like water stress, disease, and nutrient deficiencies earlier than ever before,” says Aerobotics Chief Commercial Officer, Vic van den Berg.



Also among the latest in agritech is smart sensors. Able to measure soil moisture, temperature and pH levels, farmers need no longer play the guessing game as they are supported by real-time data to make informed decisions.



For agricultural stakeholders, knowledge is priceless—spotting disease, optimizing growing conditions, and preparing for harsh weather could even mean the difference between widespread food shortages and national stability.



However, a challenge to the use of tech in Africa is digital literacy and limited access to power and smartphones in rural regions, which can then hinder the potential of smart farming, particularly at the smallholder level.



Without the necessary education and infrastructure, farmers may struggle to adopt modern techniques aimed at boosting productivity and resilience. This digital divide leaves rural communities more vulnerable than ever.



“Millions of farmers can benefit from technology,” notes Lala.



While the revolutionary capabilities of smart farming won’t materialize overnight, the growing trend of equipping farms of all sizes with yield-boosting technologies signifies a noteworthy shift in agricultural practice across Africa.



The seed has been planted; now is the time to support its growth.

Tag: News Letter

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA