Mahala is diversifying into SMME TV - a multi-media publishing enterprise that empowers SMMEs by providing a platform for them to educate, promote, and interact among themselves and with clients, corporates, and customers in South Africa and internationally. SMME TV will be issued at first as a quarterly DVD magazine, rich with high-impact video clips ranging across profiles, news, lifestyle, events, opportunities, education, matchmaking, entertainment and other topics, all designed to equip SMMEs with the tools and voice of the bigger players.
SMME TV will also be accessible on the Internet via www.smme.tv; while the internet TV site is more powerful a tool in the long term, given South Africa's broadband penetration issues the DVD will be more effective to reach far more people now - people who want to be reached, and to reach out. The DVD will integrate with the website in development to allow interactivity for those with any net connection. The DVD will be issued in a first run of 50,000 copies with the goal for each DVD to reach 3 small businesspeople, for a total audience of 150,000. SMME TV aims to reach 1 million members by 2010.
The core market for SMME TV ranges across racial, social, and economic boundaries to a community of entrepreneurs nationwide. We're not proposing to create this community, it's being created already by some of our colleagues and partners at Women in Finance and My Genius and Blue Catalyst and even Facebook. There is a mass movement building, of SMMEs supporting the growth of SMMEs. Corporations seeking enterprise development opportunities form a second vital market. International large and small businesses looking to find partners and products in South Africa will also be well-served by SMME TV. Eventually we would like the network to extend up Africa and see the opportunity to export the model to other developing economies.
SMME TV will be available on plasma screens at varied service providers and outlets (letters of interest from SEDA Technology incubators and the International Trade Bureau at OR Tambo Airport about this setup are at the end of the plan). Users will also be able to access SMME TV eventually via cell phones, satellite, and, we hope, even commercial television.
For registered SMMEs, the basic service will cost othing. The DVDs will also be distributed for free via partnerships with various organisations that will take on the cost of delivering the DVDs to their members. Corporations will be able to join SMME TV for a fee.