Emerging Markets

China could seriously use Tesla’s electric cars: here’s why

Electric car maker Tesla has started taking preorders in China and set up a Weibo page. It seems clear that someday soon, Tesla’s electric…

9 huge investments Koos Bekker could make if he cashed in his Naspers shares

Here at Memeburn we have massive respect for Naspers CEO Koos Bekker. Aside from the fact that he heads up a multi-billion dollar media…

Facebook, Tencent and why Naspers’ Koos Bekker doesn’t need a salary

I was recently asked why it was that emerging markets media giant Naspers has had such a run, why the stock price was up…

China’s internet wars: who’s sided with who?

The battle between China’s internet giants is only becoming more contentious, and the nation’s major companies seem to be making acquisitions and partnerships at…

Could MOOCs help democratise education in emerging markets?

There is no doubt that information is the power of a progressive society. Access to knowledge is the first step in a society’s journey…

Why digital natives need to leave their ivory towers: the DStv example

I recently had an interesting discussion on an email group I’m part of discussing the merits of Netflix over pay TV and Naspers‘ Africa-wide…

Smartphones on the cusp of overtaking feature phones in Thailand

Thailand has been known to be a huge feature phone market, just like Indonesia. However, a release published by GfK Retail and Technology Asia…

How Mark Zuckerberg inspired a new generation of Chinese hackers

Most people know Mark Zuckerberg as founder of Facebook. A lot fewer people know that one of his first projects prior to Facebook was…

Mobile in South Africa: more data usage, fewer voice calls and lots of BlackBerrys

Goodbye, voice calls, hello WhatsApp. Ok, so maybe we’re not quite there yet, but the latest research confirms that it’s definitely a trend to…

More ‘social television’ in China: Sina is launching a web tv service today

Chinese online media giant Sina is set to expand the amount of multimedia content on its popular micro-blogging platform today with the launch of…

Russian parliament approves controversial web censorship bill

The Russian parliament has approved a bill which will allow the government to shut down websites hosting content they deemed “harmful.” If signed into…

Sina’s MeYou looks to clone Path’s success

Chinese social networks aren’t exactly averse to copying their Western counterparts, but Sina’s Path clone is taking it to a whole new level. The…

China wants ‘inappropriate’ video content censored

China is cracking down on “inappropriate” online video content. A recent report from The People’s Daily states that two government agencies — The State…

Smartphones start to overtake feature phones in China

China has over one-billion mobile phone users and for the first time they’re buying more smartphones than feature phones. According to Tech in Asia,…

Apple becomes second biggest brand in Asia, but Samsung is number 1

Campaign Asia-Pacific and Nielsen have just published the 2012 Asia’s Top Brands report — a list of the most popular brands in Asia based…

Anonymous claims responsibility for hacking Japanese government websites

Hacking and online activist group Anonymous has been linked to attacks to Japanese government websites, which briefly brought down ministry and judiciary websites. The…

China hits 1 billion mobile phone users

Yes, there are over a billion mobile phone users in China. Considering the population of the country is around 1.3-billion, that means that more…

Zando: The Germans are here

Zando has hit the African continent. The ecommerce outfit has been building a presence in South Africa for the last three months. The local…

Chinese online dating: It’s all about narrowing choice

In contrast to online dating in the United States and Europe — where people turn to the internet to increase choice — Evan Osnos…

4 reasons big-time VCs are investing in emerging markets

With technological advancements in developing nations speeding the growth rate of high impact tech start-ups, many American venture capital firms are now looking further…

Indian mobile web set to overtake desktop usage, bucking BRICS trend

Mobile web usage looks set to overtake desktop usage in India by the end of the year. Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Mobile vs….

Meet 50 of the most influential political tweeters in emerging markets

Social media in emerging markets is poised in a delicate position. A number of governments are trying to clampdown on various platforms, all while…