About this episode
The episode discusses Starlink's impact on South Africa's ownership laws and its significance in the African market.
Starlink, SpaceX’s Satellite Internet Service is pushing for changes to South Africa’s equality rules which it says blocks the company from operating in Africa’s most industrialised economy. South Africa requires companies in some sectors to have at least 30% Black ownership. These laws were introduced after the end of apartheid and they compelled companies in industries including banking, mining and telecommunications to sell stakes to Black people who were systematically excluded from the economy during White-minority rule, but now the governing coalition is split on whether to change this law. On this week’s episode - Jennifer Zabasajja is joined by Bloomberg’s Senior Technology Reporter Loni Prinsloo and reporter Rivaldo Jantjies, on how Starlink has been growing across Africa, why South Africa is so important to the company, and how likely it is that rules could change. Read our latest reporting on Starlink and South Africa here , and for more stories from the region subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
People in this episode
Host: Jennifer Zabasajja
Guests: Loni Prinsloo, Rivaldo Jantjies
Topics covered
- Starlink
- South Africa
- satellite internet
- ownership laws
- technology
- economic equality
Keywords
- Starlink
- SpaceX
- South Africa
- internet service
- Black ownership
- economic policy
- technology reporting
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Starlink, SpaceX
Places: South Africa, Africa
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