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PARTNER MESSAGE
Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads
Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:
After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.
The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.
“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”
Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.
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| Africa’s daily intelligence on business, policy and power—what changed, what it means and what to watch next. | ||
| OPENING SIGNAL | ||
| Ghana secures $35M dividend as local gold processing overhaul takes hold |
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Ghana secured a $35 million (GH¢391.2 million) dividend from Australian-listed Perseus Mining, a sevenfold increase from the $5 million paid last year.
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| READ THE FULL STORY → |
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BUSINESS · RETAIL & M&A
Shoprite buys coffee chain Vida e Caffè for $62M following $16.8B sales year
South African retail giant Shoprite, backed by billionaire Christo Wiese, has acquired Africa's largest coffee chain, Vida e Caffè, in a $62 million transaction. The acquisition follows Shoprite’s record $16.8 billion annual sales run, expanding its footprint in high-margin quick-service food and beverage retail.
POLICY · DIPLOMACY
Egypt and Russia advance strategic nuclear and industrial zone projects
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed plans to accelerate operations at the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant and expedite procedures to launch the Russian Industrial Zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
POWER · EDUCATION EXPORTS
Egypt launches recruitment drive targeting Nigerian university students
Egypt's higher education and investment ministries launched a week-long "Study in Egypt" trade mission across major Nigerian cities. The campaign aims to expand Egypt’s service exports and strengthen diplomatic ties by recruiting Nigerian students to Egyptian academic institutions.
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PARTNER MESSAGE
Introducing The First Agentic CRM
Get revenue agents, workflows, and automations across every stage of your motion. Access customer data in real time through Attio's web app, MCP, API, and SDK.
Then Ask Attio anything about your business and get instant answers.
It's the CRM that runs the work behind every win.
AS OF APPROX. 08:00 WAT, SEP 2, 2026 · BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA MARKETS
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Currency depreciation strains import-dependent economies
Ghana's cedi and Ethiopia's birr face continued pressure against the U.S. dollar, driving up import costs across sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia's birr has fallen 3.2% year-to-date—making it the worst-performing African currency tracked by Bloomberg in 2026—as rising energy import bills deplete foreign exchange reserves. For corporate finance teams in import-reliant markets, local currency weakness continues to elevate logistics overhead and increase dollar-debt servicing costs.
THE AFRICA ANGLE: Corporate treasuries should stress-test foreign exchange exposure and maintain hard-currency buffers against continued local currency slippage.
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PARTNER MESSAGE
Stop losing deals you should be winning.
Bad leads. Slow deals. Objections you didn't see coming.
That's not a sales problem. You're selling to the wrong people.
Most founders never stop to define exactly who their product is actually for. So they pitch everyone, convert few, and wonder why the funnel's broken.
HubSpot for Startups built a free tool that fixes the root cause in 2 minutes. Paste your URL, answer a few quick questions, and get a clear profile of your best-fit customer.
EXECUTIVE TRIVIA HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW AFRICAN BUSINESS? One quick question on African business, economics, policy or corporate history. Choose an answer below and see immediately if you are right. |
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