MultiChoice | Ethiopia

About
MultiChoice
Ethiopia

Since 2000, MultiChoice Ethiopia has operated as a franchise run entirely by Ethiopians, for Ethiopians. While making compelling DStv satellite content available through five packages, MultiChoice Ethiopia’s 89 full-time employees are increasingly immersing themselves – and the company – in the communities they serve. This includes sports and charity sponsorships and the continuous promotion of local creative talent.

At MultiChoice Ethiopia, we believe in the potential for our content and technology to create real, meaningful value for very large numbers of our people. The power of entertainment – especially when it is delivered the MultiChoice way, with excellence, integrity and empathy – cannot be underestimated. We have only just begun to unlock this potential and to unleash this power. Together, we can do remarkable things for the good of all.

Gelila G. Michael

Managing Director, MultiChoice Ethiopia

How we create social value

The power of MultiChoice’s reach extends beyond our great entertainment and sports action, into the communities we serve. By employing dozens of Ethiopians directly and indirectly through our growing supply chain and by paying taxes and licenses fees, MultiChoice Ethiopia impacts the national economy in many ways. We employ over 80 Ethiopians directly and work with over 120 installers, retailers and agents who, in turn, employ hundreds more.

Growing Ethiopia’s creative industries

Since March 2021, Abol Tv has been showcasing amazing local Ethiopian content. Through DStv, we pride ourselves on being part Africa’s Most-Loved Storyteller and have produced over 200 hours of local content, entertaining our viewers with compelling shows.

In addition to entertaining our customers, we also have a positive impact on the Ethiopian film and TV industry, supporting more than 80 production houses through the acquisition, commissioning and production of local content. We also continue to harness the MultiChoice network to upskill production houses by giving onboarding training on production best practice, to continually improve content quality.

All this is in line with our continued efforts to add value to the communities that we serve. Entertainment is a powerful way to tell stories that open our minds, bring people together around shared passions and connect us to new realities. We understand this very well and are committed to continuously delivering value to our customers by making great entertainment more accessible through DStv.

We continue to develop our exciting slate of content to ensure our subscribers can continue to enjoy the best local content produced, acquired and curated for their viewing pleasure and to nurture Ethiopian culture, history and social values.

Enriching Ethiopian lives

MultiChoice Resource Centres (MRCs) in Addis Ababa, City Administration of Dire Dawa, Southern Nations and Nationalities region, Oromia regional state and Amhara regional state are all operated in close association with the Ministry of Education and local governments. At the state-of-the-art MRCs, learners get access to the DStv educational package and the exceptional content of the Mindset Learn platform, while their teachers receive ongoing exposure to the latest training opportunities.

Ethiopian youth have consistently responded with enthusiasm to the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards. In 2016, Leoul Mesfin, a 16-year-old student at Gibson Schools System in Addis Ababa, won the awards’ essay category, collecting prizes for himself and his school. Enriching young minds, we also sponsor the Play ‘n Learn campaign, a weekly series of fun and educational quizzes, with prizes offered to the winners.

At MultiChoice Ethiopia, we also invest extensively in skills development. To date, several dozen of our people have received intensive, value-adding training and we have also trained more than 200 satellite dish installers.

The Multichoice Talent Factory

Another value creation initiative tailored toward the youth is the MTF, which Multichoice Ethiopia is very passionate about.

The MTF Academy is a tailored 12-month training program facilitated at regional academies based in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia, headed by industry experts as Academy Directors. Working hand-in-hand with local creative organizations, regulatory and government partners across the continent, MultiChoice uses its people, facilities and network to provide young emerging filmmakers with the skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications to help MTF graduates launch a successful career within the creative industry.

One of the first Alumni of the Multichoice Talent Factory from Ethiopia is Fissehatsion Nibret. 25-year-old Fisehatsion dreams of being a cinematographer, inspired by the likes of the great Roger Deakins, Gregg Toland and Vittorio Storaro. He is well on his way, as he studied Video and Photography at the Tom Videography and Photography Training Centre in his hometown of Addis Ababa and already works as a filmmaker.

Fisehatsion is also passionate about information technology and hopes that the skills he has learned from IT will enrich the process of making a mini TV series. “We make movies to tell a story,” he says. “I want to narrate African myths through modern storytelling techniques. I am convinced that our amazing stories can make the world addicted to African stories”. He was also part of the East African film squad who have won a coveted AMVCA for their film, Promises.

Investing in sport and local production

In 2015, MultiChoice Ethiopia sponsored the DStv CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup and, the following year, we were the proud sponsor of the Great Ethiopian Run, with SuperSport bringing this massive event to the attention of audiences all over the country - and the continent.

In 2020, Multichoice Ethiopia on-boarded almost all FTA local channels and radio stations to the DStv platform to show its commitment to the Ethiopian market and to better serve its customers with local news, entertainment and music offerings.

We are also committed to promoting the development of the Ethiopian arts and creative industries. We strive to give exposure to local movies and continue to encourage local journalists to participate in the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards, to showcase their work and achievements.

We are also committed to promoting the development of the arts and creative industries of Ethiopia. Through M-Net, we strive to give exposure to local movies such as SISIT. SISIT is a kind of thriller spiced with tragedy somewhere in the middle of the story and is a film that evokes pity in the viewer and a tale of true love against all odds. Similarly, every year we encourage local journalists to participate in the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards to showcase their work and achievements.

Executive Management Team

Gelila G Michael - Managing Director

Nzola Miranda - Chief Customer Officer

Meseret Habtamu - Head of Human Resources

Mikreab Adugna - Head of Business Strategy

Metasebya Belayneh - Head of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs

Wikus Roets - Head of Finance

Haimanot Birhanu - Head of Operations

Yafet Tesfaye - Head of IT and Technical