Issue no 664 19th July 2013
Top Story
Flashcast’s hybrid play seeks to create both an ad medium to reach the new middle classes and a mass-based Twitter
Flashcast’s founder Jeremy Gordon wanted to solve a simple problem. There were very few low-cast advertising channels for small businesses in Kenya. He decided to create a geo-locational, wireless-run bus service in Nairobi. Russell Southwood talked to him about the potential for its new service.Sixty per cent of those who commute to work in Nairobi walk and 5% drive cars. The remaining 35% either make their commute in the rather lethal micro-buses known locally as matatus or travel in the larger coaches know by the their licensing status, as PSVs (Public Service Vehicles). The people who get on PSVs are…
Telecoms
Ghana: Policies must be investor friendly – Telecoms Chamber
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has called for policies that will motivate players in the industry to invest heavily in infrastructure in readiness for the ‘explosive demand’ for their services…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In Brief
- Cell C CEO Alan Knott-Craig has confirmed that the mobile operator has addressed talks of consolidation with Telkom Mobile. When specifically questioned on the matter of consolidation in the…
Telecoms
Telecel Negotiates for Extension of Zimbabwean Operator License
Officials from Orascom Telecom are flying to Zimbabwe this week to negotiate with the government for an extension of the mobile operator license held by its subsidiary, Telecel.The company, which…
Telecoms
South Africa: Telkom Competition Commission settlement confirmed
Telkom welcomed the formal confirmation it received today (18 July 2013) from the Competition Tribunal regarding the settlement agreement reached between it and the Competition Commission on 14 June 2013.This…
Telecoms
Experimental network connects Zambia’s most remote
Range Networks, a leading U.S.provider of commercial open-source cellular systems, announced this week that it had successfully deployed an experimental cellular network in Southern Zambia.A US provider of open-source cellular…
Telecoms
Morocco’s CDG may buy stake in Maroc Telecom deal
Morocco’s state investment arm CDG may cooperate with UAE's Etisalat in a planned purchase of a majority stake in Maroc Telecom.Morocco’s state investment vehicle Caisse de Depot et de Gestion…
Telecoms
Senegal to get MNP by September?
The introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) in Senegal moved a step closer this week with the announcement that following a public consultation, its full implementation could take place in…
Telecoms
Africell trio pass the five million subs mark; seeks two new markets for expansion
Africell Holding, itself owned by Lebanon’s Lintel Holding, has announced that its three active mobile subsidiaries – Africell Gambia, Africell Sierra Leone and Africell Republique Democratique du Congo – had…
Internet
Kenyan regulator looks to decommission domain registrar
Kenya's telecommunications regulator is set to look for a new registrar for the country's .ke Top Level Domain, essentially decommissioning the Kenya Network Information Center (KENIC).A law passed in 2009…
Internet
Nigerian Government to Ramp Up Internet Surveillance?
In April, Nigerian news site Premium Times revealed government plans to purchase equipment that would allow it to conduct online surveillance on an unprecedented scale. The government reportedly had contracted…
Internet
Anonymous protests ritual killings in Gabon, hacks presidential website
Fighting to stop ritual killings in the African nation of Gabon, where certain human body parts are prized by some for their supposed supernatural powers, hacktivists associated with the international…
Internet
Internet – In Brief
- President Robert Mugabe has reportedly offered a $300,000 reward to anyone who can unmask an anonymous whistleblower behind a string of leaks about alleged Zimbabwean government assassination plots, corruption…
Computing
Africa’s MTN Group Joins Ubuntu Touch CAG
African telecom ‘giant’ MTN Group is the latest network to join Canonical’s ‘Carrier Advisory Group’ for Ubuntu Touch.The South Africa based company operates across 21 countries. These include several African…
Computing
Computing - In Brief
- MTN Uganda contributes to the digitalization of the Kampala Public Library. With the growing trends in technology, MTN Uganda has bridged the library’s digital divide and increased the utilization…
Money Transfer
Air France, Airtel partnership lifts Gabon
Airtel has signed a partnership Agreement with Air France which will enable customers to purchase flight tickets from the French airline via Airtel Money.Charles Alexis Boukinda, the Director of Airtel…
Money Transfer
Kenya: Airtel Launches Loan Product With AFB
Airtel Kenya has signed an agreement with afb, a consumer finance company that will see Airtel subscribers have access to unsecured credit products in the coming few months.Afb Mobile Managing…
Money Transfer
Faulu loses bid to halt Safaricom’s M-Shwari
Users of the mobile phone banking service, M-Shwari, will continue using it after a court rejected an application to halt the transactions.Micro-finance company Faulu Kenya, which claims copyright to the…
Money Transfer
Barclays account shutdown raises Somali fears
Barclays bank is closing about 100 UK accounts held by cash transfer businesses, over fears they are being used for money laundering.The businesses are vital for Somali expatriates sending remittances…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa: Now Mabuza buys Telkom shares
Days after newly appointed Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko dug into his own pocket to buy up R1m of the telecommunications group’s shares, its chairman has now done likewise.Telkom revealed to…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Nigeria Makes Another Attempt At Selling State-Owned Networks
Nigeria's National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has formally appointed a liquidator to sell the assets held by the state owned landline network, Nitel and its MTel mobile network subsidiary.The company…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Naspers Sells $750 Million in Africa’s First Debt Sale Since May
Naspers Ltd. (NPN), Africa’s largest media company, sold $750 million of seven-year debt in the region’s first overseas corporate bond sale in two months as it seeks funds to pay…
Digital Content
From city streets to the savanna, high-tech system listens for gunshots
ShotSpotter is based on networks of acoustic sensors that are installed across the subscribing towns. The sensors and their associated electronics are housed in small, unassuming metal boxes that don't…
Digital Content
Mahindra Comviva Partners with Gondwana-City Productions for Mobile Content
Mahindra Comviva has announced that it has partnered with Gondwana-City Productions (GCP), one of the leading content aggregators in Africa. This tie-up with GCP will further strengthen Mahindra Comviva’s digital…
Digital Content
Match-Making Network For Co-founders, Founder2be To Launch In Africa Soon
Founder2be, which launched its skill-matching network for co-founders back in 2011, is now apparently the biggest such dedicated network. Its own co-founder, Oliver Bremer, tells TechCrunch it now has more…
Digital Content
Independent African Publishers Go Global Via App Stores
ndependent African publishers and authors face a unique set of challenges and limitations; on a continent where even school textbooks necessary for basic education do not ever reach their destination,…
Digital Content
Private Egypt initiative offers free online education
A year after its launch, the Nafham (We Understand) online educational platform continues its efforts to enhance the educational system, according to the project's organisers.The initiative, launched by a group…
Digital Content
Ma3route invited by Ugandan authorities to develop concept for Kampala
Ma3Route, a mobile, web and SMS platform providing Nairobi commuters with information about transport and traffic conditions, has been approached by the authorities in Kampala to develop a service for…
Digital Content
In Kenya, Using Tech To Put An 'Invisible' Slum On The Map
If you were to do a search for the Nairobi city slum of Mathare on , you'd find little more than gray spaces between unmarked roads.Slums by nature are unplanned,…
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Events
The Social Media Week Lagos Team is excited to announce that our official schedule is now LIVE and registration is open! At present we have 84 events scheduled and will be…
