MTN trains, offers newspaper publishers digital platform to boost online sales….

This was during a masterclass organised at the Cameroon Digital Centre in Bastos. It was organised in collaboration with the Federation of Cameroon Newspaper Publishers, known by its French acronym FEDIPRESSE. 

The masterclass was marked by three key presentations on digital marketing, Artificial Intelligence, AI, and the new application, Yello Kiosk, developed by MTN Cameroon, for the sale of newspapers online. 

Going by FEDIPRESSE Executive Secretary, Parfait Siki, the hybrid event would greatly impact newsrooms and certain practices. 

“The first presentation was on digital marketing. We saw that it’s a concept, which is known widely but which has its own realities that will benefit journalists if they learn,” he said, adding that “Artificial Intelligence is a revolution in the treatment of information in different newsrooms. We have seen and tested it... it is amazing”. 

Speaking about the Yello Kiosk application, Siki said the platform “is secure and trustworthy, and will enable print media houses to sell on an equal platform corresponding to the work of their newsrooms, which is not the case at the moment. So, this masterclass was necessary, important and we had the opportunity of having a privileged partner in MTN”. 

Enter MTN Cameroon official

According to the Senior Manager of Network Operations at MTN Cameroon and Representative of MTN Cameroon CEO, Arnaud Evina, the masterclass was the first step of digitalising the print media in Cameroon. 

“MTN as a partner of choice and a tech company has decided to support the media in their strive to digitise the ecosystem. This masterclass objective was to equip them with tools on how to improve what they are doing on a daily basis,” Evina said.

He then explained that during the event, experts shared with journalists certain tips about digital marketing and Artificial Intelligence and how these tools can improve their work.

Quizzed on the reason for the development of the Yello Kiosk application, the MTN official said: “We wanted to share with them that digital platform, which we have developed for them, can sell or market their products on a daily basis to reach a mass of people”. 

Participants hail initiative

For his part, the Managing Editor of The Guardian Post daily newspaper, Doh Bertrand Nua, said the masterclass was a laudable initiative from the telecoms giant in encouraging print media organs to fully embrace digitalisation.

“The masterclass is quite wonderful because we have learned a lot as print media managers on how we can embrace and incorporate digitalisation in our practices to see how we can gain visibility to our products,” Doh said. 

He also indicated that the knowledge acquired during the masterclass will be implemented to boost readership and generate more income online. 

“The new platform created by MTN will give more visibility to the sale of print media products online because we are in a context where the sale of printed newspaper copies is increasingly dwindling,” he added. 

The event culminated in the donation of digital items by MTN Cameroon to FEDIPRESSE and other participants at the workshop. The donated items included laptops, schoolbags, T-shirts and caskets. 

The training was part of the partnership signed between MTN Cameroon and FEDIPRESSE last May 2024.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3218 of Tuesday September 03, 2024