Thabiso Njoko

  By Thabiso Njoko  16 April 2025 In an era where digital innovation is reshaping the music industry, artists must evolve with the times. On 10 April 2025 , the MTN Bushfire Arts Round Table , in collaboration with ARMC , hosted a dynamic online workshop titled “How to Monetize Your Music in 2025.” The session aimed to equip artists, producers, and music entrepreneurs with insights on generating sustainable income from their music in today’s ever-changing creative economy. The workshop brought together three influential voices in the African music landscape: Melo HD , a creative strategist and digital music consultant known for empowering artists through media and tech-driven solutions. Money Badoo , a cutting-edge recording artist who’s mastered the art of building a brand and income stream across multiple platforms, from streaming to live experiences. Sizo Hlophe , a media executive and cultural entrepreneur with a deep understanding of content licensing, rights manag...

Mbabane, Eswatini —  16 April 2025 By: Thabiso Njoko  The third day of the International Trade Centre (ITC)’s specialized training on Travel Services in Eswatini brought together statisticians, trade experts, and data professionals to deepen their understanding of trade intelligence through robust data handling techniques. The session emphasized fostering African trade integration by strengthening statistical capacity in travel-related services. Kickstarting with Coffee & Concepts After a quick Q&A recap of Day 2, things got serious. The morning dove straight into sampling techniques, using real-world case studies from Spain and France to explore how countries collect data without a complete business registry. The solution? Smart sampling — think stratified methods, population frameworks, and creative workarounds. “We don’t have to count everyone. We just have to count smart,” one participant noted during the group exercise. Building Better Data: Processing & Prec...

Date:  14 April 2025 By:   Thabiso Njoko Introduction On April 9, 2025, the International Trade Centre (ITC) conducted the second day of its specialized training workshop in Eswatini, aimed at enhancing the collection and integration of travel service data. This initiative, part of a broader African trade development effort, spotlighted the importance of accurate travel statistics for compiling the Balance of Payments (BoP) and guiding effective policymaking. Understanding the Complexity of Travel Data Travel services are distinct within international trade due to their direct, on-the-ground interaction between travelers and service providers. However, capturing this data poses challenges for many developing countries, owing to its fragmented nature, high collection costs, and technical intricacies. The ITC outlined a variety of data sources used globally, including: Personal and Household Surveys Enterprise and Establishment Surveys International Transactions Rep...

By Thabiso Njoko  Mbabane, Eswatini — April 8, 2025 It’s not every day that a room full of economists, statisticians, tourism operators, government officials, and academics come together with a shared purpose: building a smarter, data-driven future for Eswatini. That’s exactly what happened on Day 1 of the African Trade Observatory (ATO) Trade in Services Workshop, hosted in Mbabane and facilitated by two powerhouse experts from the International Trade Centre (ITC) — Katerina Blanchard and Christophe Durand. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gaining momentum, countries like Eswatini are looking to strengthen their trade systems, not just in goods, but also in services . And it all begins with data—clean, clear, internationally aligned data. From Concepts to Conversations: Setting the Tone for Trade Intelligence The day began with a warm welcome and a walkthrough of the ATO project , where Blanchard and Durand laid out the bigger picture: why travel services da...