Issue no 727 3rd October 2014
Top Story
Understanding Africa’s social media storm – Facebook experiments with how to make itself the “on-ramp” for first-time Internet users
Facebook took Africa by storm and became the social media that everyone seemed to be on. Now Facebook is experimenting (with mobile operators) to use Facebook as the way of attracting first-time users to the Internet. Russell Southwood reviews Balancing Act research on social media use in four African countries and talks to Nicola D’Elia, Head of Growth and Partnerships, EMEA, Facebook on what it’s trying to achieve.One of the things a recently published major market research study by Balancing Act (click on www.balancingact-africa.com and look in the right-hand column. It’s free to download) looks at is the state of…
Telecoms
Africa’s mobile broadband subscribers top 172mn
Africa's mobile broadband subscriptions have reached 172 million. This is according to the 2014 edition of the State of Broadband report, which has been compiled by the Broadband Commission. The…
Telecoms
CamTel handed Cameroon’s fourth mobile licence
Following the launch of Cameroon’s third wireless operator Viettel (operating as Nexttel) earlier this month, the government has decided to award a new licence for the establishment and operation of…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In Brief
Uganda - A Kampala court has halted the transfer of a majority stake in Orange Uganda until a dispute over employee benefits has been resolved, the Daily Monitor reports. The…
Telecoms
Namibia: Telecom Fights to Get Angolan Loan back
Telecom Namibia is struggling to get back about N$174 million it loaned to the Angolan company, Mundo Startel SA, in 2003. Mundo Startel SA is an Angolan telecoms company that…
Internet
Vodacom tests superfast 4G in SA
Vodacom has launched its next development in 4G technology, capable of downloading an entire 1Gb movie in less than a minute, this being the first time that this has been…
Internet
Freenom Relaunches The National Top Level Domain Of Equatorial Guinea
Freenom relaunches the .GQ top level domain - the domain extension of Equatorial Guinea - and will deploy its innovative business model to give .GQ domains away for free. Freenom…
Internet
SkyVision VPN solution chosen by Unity Bank, one of Nigeria’s Largest Retail Financial Institutions to Ensure Seamless Connectivity Between its Branches Nationwide
LAGOS, Nigeria, October 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ – SkyVision Global Networks, global communications provider, has announced its recent partnership with Unity Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading retail financial institutions.…
Internet
Internet – In Brief
Online classifieds site OLX, ICT Authority of Kenya and Consumer Federation of Kenya today announced their partnership during the launch of the 'Kaa Ridhoo' campaign aimed at enhancing the safety…
Computing
Cape Verde: CV Movel installing 14 public ICT access centres
CV Movel, the largest cellco in Cape Verde, located some 570 kilometres off the coast of west Africa, has installed its third ‘multimedia centre’, providing public internet/computing access and other…
Computing
Zimbabwe: Econet Rolls Out Digital Learning Platform
Mobile telecommunications giant, Econet Wireless has rolled out a digital educational platform that will increase access by university students and lecturers to learning materials.The platform, dubbed EcoSchool, has been on…
Computing
Intel’s Latest Campaign To Halve African Technology Gender Gap
Intel has launched a new digital literacy campaign under its “She Will Connect” initiative to reach 5 million African women and therefore halve the gender gap in technology in the…
Computing
Computing – In Brief
IT services spending in South Africa is expected to increase 10.5 per cent year on year in 2015 to total US $5.7 billion, according to the latest forecast from International…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Safaricom To Slash Rwanda- Kenya Roaming Rates
Kenya’s mobile service provider will making a 60 percent slash in the roaming calling rates between Kenya and Rwanda as from today (1st of October 2014).The rates will move from…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
New iBurst uncapped service for R299
iBurst has introduced a new Uncapped Lite service priced at R299 per monthiBurst has introduced a new Uncapped Lite service, priced at R299 per month on a 24 month contract,…
Money Transfer
University Students to Get Bursary & Loans Via M-Pesa
Vodacom South Africa has partnered with Eduloan, an education finance and bursary administration firm to deposit directly Eduloan bursary and cash allowances into their m-pesa mobile wallet, a moe that…
Money Transfer
Belgium’s SatADSL partners local companies for financial and school broadcasting services
The Belgian firm has partnered with Indigo Telecom in Kenya and Uganda’s Maisha Network to enable banks with microfinance institutions to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) as well as provide…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Blue Label in acquisition talks with unnamed suitor
JSE-listed pre-paid airtime provider Blue Label Telecoms has revealed that it had received an acquisition offer from an unnamed company. According to a Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) announcement from…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
7 African start-ups to receive Microsoft innovation grants
To fast-track their growth and provide a roadmap to highlight Africa’s ‘future growth pole’, Microsoft has revealed the 7 new African start-ups to receive funding, technical support and mentorship.According to…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
InvestNow.NG online trading platform launched in Nigeria
An online trading platform that allows real time funding of investment accounts has been launched in Nigeria by UBA Capital.At the launch of InvestNow.ng held at the Nigerian Stock Exchange…
Digital Content
What Amazon, Uber, and iTunes might look like if they were invented in Mali
The road leading up to the University of Bamako is lined with little improvements. Shacks overflow with old Xerox machines on which anything can be printed, copied or laminated for…
Digital Content
Code.rw: The website helping students to be innovative
Usually, students wait until they are at university to figure out what career they want to pursue. This means nation building and entrepreneurship is largely left in the hands of…
Digital Content
Get your Africa facts right: websites seek to stem flow of misinformation
A lack of transparency, accountability and media resources can make sorting truth from fiction especially difficult across the continent. Now, fact-checkers are seeking to change that.What do these statements about…
Digital Content
Digitising maps of malaria hotspots to save lives
[CAPE TOWN] Malaria is one of the world’s biggest killers. In 2010, an estimated 660,000 people lost their lives to the disease — most of them children in Africa, where…
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Events
The 7th edition of DCD Converged Johannesburg Monday, 13th October 2014Join us for this engaging learning opportunity and the chance to network with over 250 data center professionals.- IT &…
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People
Africa: Liquid Telecom's NIC Rudnick Listed Among 100 Powerful Global Telecoms LeadersGlobal Telecoms Business has published The GTB Power100, its annual list of the 100 most powerful and influential people…
