When this blog just got started, Johan Pretorius tipped us about the rocking South African 2.0 community. Well, this industry just got more mature since Afrigator – a social media search engine – has launched the first ad network for African bloggers.

The network – called Adgator – is still in testing phase which is limited to a small group of South African bloggers. Kenya and Nigeria are next in 2009. The “early days” should prove whether it’s possible to make some money out of blogs aimed specifically at the continent of Africa.

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What are the reactions in the South African blogosphere like? Well, pretty positive. Here’s the most triumphant one: “Adgator takes on Adsense in Africa,” writes Appfrica:

The South African social media aggregator Afrigator is taking on Google’s Adsense by offering a platform for Advertisers and bloggers interesting serving their local audience. Afrigator has a reach of 1.7 million African bloggers. Platforms like Adsense often fail in foreign markets because of their size; a significant portion of the ads they place aren’t relevant to local audiences at all. By focusing on South Africa specifically, Adgator can make sure that the ROI for advertisers remains pretty high.

[Via Global Voices Online]