The completion of Canal+’s takeover of MultiChoice Group has ushered in one of the most dramatic leadership transitions Africa’s broadcasting industry has seen in decades.
At the centre of this transformation are three pivotal appointments: David Mignot as Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice, Nicolas Dandoy as Chief Financial Officer, and Calvo Mawela as Chair of Canal+ Africa.
Mignot, a seasoned Canal+ executive with a deep understanding of emerging markets, assumes responsibility for steering MultiChoice into a new phase of integration with Canal+’s global strategy.
His career trajectory illustrates both breadth and depth in telecommunications and media.
A telecom engineer and economist by training, he began his career in consulting in 1996, working on operator launches in the pay-TV and telecommunications sectors.
In 1999, he co-founded a pay-TV operator in the Indian Ocean, which he led for nearly a decade before moving into telecommunications as Managing Director of Outremer Telecom, where he restored profitability and spearheaded successful mobile offers.
He joined Canal+ in 2011 as Project Director for Africa, and by 2013 was CEO Africa, growing the subscriber base from 500,000 to 8 million and overseeing the rollout of fibre-to-the-home services in a dozen countries.
His bicultural French and Mauritian background has long informed his approach to building bridges across diverse markets.
His new appointment signals Canal+’s intent to align African operations with international best practice while retaining local sensibility.
Nicolas Dandoy, whose financial expertise has been honed in global markets, steps in as CFO to strengthen corporate governance and drive financial efficiency across the enlarged group.
He brings with him a record of international financial stewardship that is expected to anchor Canal+ Africa’s complex multinational operations.
For Calvo Mawela, the long-serving CEO of MultiChoice, the shift to Chair of Canal+ Africa represents both continuity and change.
He has been the face of MultiChoice for more than a decade, guiding it through the digital disruption of global streaming, regulatory constraints on foreign ownership, and the fierce battle to retain subscribers in an increasingly crowded market.
A qualified engineer, Mawela built his career across the broadcasting and regulatory landscape before rising to the top of MultiChoice.
He previously served as group executive for policy and regulatory affairs at MultiChoice, as a professional engineer at Sentech, and as broadcasting spectrum manager at ICASA.
His expertise was sought on several ministerial advisory task teams, including the Digital Migration Working Group, Digital Dzonga and the ICT Policy Review Panel.
He also served as a commissioner on the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Academically, Mawela combines technical depth with strategic insight, holding a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Management Advancement Programme postgraduate diploma from Wits Business School, a postgraduate diploma in Economics for Competition Law from King’s College London, and a certificate in Strategic IQ from Harvard Business School.
This blend of engineering, regulatory and executive leadership uniquely positions him to serve as the bridge between Canal+’s global ambitions and Africa’s regulatory and market realities.
The boardroom has been equally reshaped. Maxime Saada, the Chief Executive of Canal+, now chairs the MultiChoice board, with Elias Masilela continuing as the Lead Independent Director.
Other members include Kgomotso Moroka, Louisa Stephens, Deborah Klein, James du Preez and Jacques du Puy.
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The new Canal+/MultiChoice group is a formidable force by any measure.
It serves more than forty million subscribers across nearly seventy countries in Africa, Europe and Asia, and employs around seventeen thousand people.
This scale positions the group as one of the few entities capable of competing with global streaming giants such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
Unlike those rivals, however, Canal+ and MultiChoice bring a distinctive model that blends satellite pay television, live sports broadcasting and a rapidly expanding streaming presence.
The regulatory journey to this point has not been straightforward. South Africa’s competition authorities and policymakers scrutinised the deal closely, concerned about foreign control of a strategic media asset.
In response, Canal+ agreed to a robust set of public interest commitments.
These include continued investment in local content, especially general entertainment and sports, and support for firms controlled by historically disadvantaged persons and small and medium-sized enterprises within the audiovisual value chain.
For audiences, the commitment means continuity in the production of the African stories that have made MultiChoice such a household brand, from high-profile drama series to live sports coverage through SuperSport.
The implications for the African media landscape are far-reaching. On the content creation side, the partnership offers African producers an unprecedented gateway to international markets, thanks to Canal+’s European distribution networks and the reach of its production arm StudioCanal.
African storytelling, already gaining global recognition through platforms like Netflix, now has the potential to expand across genres and markets under a Franco-African partnership.
In sports, MultiChoice’s SuperSport remains the jewel in the crown. With Canal+’s European clout, the combined group is expected to bid even more aggressively for premium rights, from the English Premier League to Confederation of African Football tournaments, ensuring its dominance remains intact.
Streaming is another frontier where the deal will have profound consequences. Showmax, MultiChoice’s streaming platform developed in partnership with NBCUniversal’s Peacock, is likely to be accelerated under Canal+ ownership.
With Canal+’s expertise in francophone Africa and MultiChoice’s strength in anglophone markets, Showmax is poised to challenge Netflix’s dominance across the continent.
The synergy offers a potential pan-African alternative that combines local content with international studio deals, distributed through both satellite and mobile-first strategies.
The takeover of MultiChoice by Canal+ represents a turning point in Africa’s broadcasting history.
For the first time, the continent’s largest pay-TV operator is directly under foreign ownership, but with strong commitments to preserve local influence.
With David Mignot leading operations, Nicolas Dandoy managing finances, and Calvo Mawela safeguarding African representation as Chair of Canal+ Africa, the new entity promises to be both globally ambitious and locally grounded.
With the ongoing integration, the stage is set to redefine Africa not just as a market for media consumption but as a hub of storytelling and creativity that resonates on the world stage.
