Issue no 729 17th October 2014
Top Story
TNM’s Airtime Advances service hits almost 20% of its user base in six months – another money service that will spread
TNM’s Pasavute service is offering short-term, micro loans – Airtime Advances – to a staggeringly large number of its users. The sheer scale of use indicates that users find this kind of service extremely useful. Russell Southwood spoke to Sean Pashley, Net1 Mobile Solutions whose Supa Pesa platform drives the service.Sean Pashley is quick to make the point that this kind of service is not new. Indeed, there are two or three other big players in the market. So why did they launch the service?:”We noticed that other operators didn’t have a pre-vetting system. They simply offered the loan and…
Telecoms
Alcatel-Lucent upgrading Djezzy network in Algeria with microwave solution to meet increasing demand for ultra-broadband access
Alcatel-Lucent is providing Djezzy with its industry-leading 9500 Microwave Packet Radio solution, upgrading OTA’s mobile backhaul architecture to meet demand created by expanding ownership of smartphones.OTA, a division of Vimpelcom,…
Telecoms
Ghana - Mobile Phone Dealers ask Govt to lift 20% import tax
Mobile Phones and Accessories Dealers Association has appealed to government to withdraw the 20 percent import tax on mobile handsets and accessories introduced recently.According to the Association, the implementation of…
Telecoms
Mapping Africa's Growing Tech Hubs
One of the benefits of working in the tech industry is that you can be pretty flexible when deciding where to choose an office. An Internet connection, a computer, a…
Telecoms
Vodafone Tanzania Targets Farmers with Mobile Services
About 30,000 Tanzanian farmers will benefit from a partnership that will see them receive mobile services to improve their farming practices. The programme targets coffee, cotton and cocoa smallholder farmers…
Telecoms
Guinea: MTN deploys 148 new 3G sites
MTN Guinea (Areeba), a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, has reportedly deployed 148 new 3G sites throughout the country, according to a company statement quoted by Agence Ecofin. The…
Telecoms
Alcatel-Lucent and MTN Nigeria to boost connectivity in Africa’s most populous nation with ultra-broadband 100G fibre-optic data network
Alcatel-Lucent is opening up Africa’s most populous nation to the benefits of ultra-broadband connectivity by launching a superfast, 100 gigabit-per-second fibre-optic network with MTN Nigeria, a subsidiary of Dubai-based MTN…
Telecoms
Telecom Namibia rolling out fibre for national government, education, health
Telecom Namibia is constructing a fibre-optic network to connect central government to the administrative capitals of all 14 regions in the country, its MD Frans Ndoroma told the Windhoek ‘ICT…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In Brief
Movitel, SA – a joint venture between of Viettel in Mozambiuqe – gained its second honourable international prize of the year by winning Golden Globe of “Fastest Growing of the…
Internet
Liquid Telecom Starts US$34m Rwandan Investment Plan and Network Expansion including First Fibre to the Home
The Liquid Telecom Group today announced the expansion and investment plans of its operations in Rwanda which will enable more businesses and homes to access its high-speed broadband service both…
Internet
Feature: Modems offer cybercafe in rural Kenya a lifeline
With fibre optic cables limited to urban areas, cybercafes in rural Kenya have turned to modems for internet connection.The wireless modems sold by various telecoms in the East African nation…
Internet
SES and University of Eichstätt – Ingolstadt to premiere live Germany to Africa Interactive Classroom
SES has premiered its Live Interactive Classroom application with partners from the Catholic University Eichstätt - Ingolstadt and The Permanent Centre for Education, Kampala, Uganda.The session is part of an…
Internet
Internet – In Brief
At the end of its two-month Data Festival, MTN Rwanda launched a mini Data Expo at the MTN Service Center in UTC in Kigali. The expo, which kicked off on…
Computing
French Tablet Maker Launches in Egypt, Set to Expand to Senegal & Nigeria
Top-New-PlatinumsFrench tablet and smartphone maker Archos, recently signed a deal with Uni Group for distribution in Egypt as a door to its final launch in Africa beginning from Senegal, Nigeria…
Computing
Vodacom launches SA-targeted tablet
Johannesburg - Vodacom has launched a low-cost tablet that has been designed specifically for the South African market, reported City Press on Tuesday. This was in a bid to drive…
Computing
Computing - In Brief
EOH Company and Infor Master Partner, Softworx has launched the Africa Partner Network (Softworx APN) to channel Infor software sales and consulting services throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Airtel reduces rates, offers free incoming calls while roaming in Rwanda
Bharti Airtel has announced a reduction of call rates by 60% and free incoming calls for Airtel Kenya’s postpaid and prepaid customers roaming to Rwanda. Airtel Kenya will offer affordable…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
The unsung heroes raising Ebola awareness through rap
Rappers might not be the most obvious line of defence against the growing Ebola epidemic, but as I heard at an event in London, United Kingdom, their role as positive…
Money Transfer
93% of Kenya's consumers using mobile devices for banking
Kenya remains the king of mobile banking, with 93 per cent of consumers using their mobile device to perform banking, but there is also significant usage in the Middle East…
Money Transfer
BitPesa Launches Platform to Enable NGOs in Kenya to Receive Bitcoin Donations
Launched in beta this June, bitcoin remittance service BitPesa has launched a new service that aims to help NGOs operating in Nairobi, Kenya receive donations in bicoins with ease and…
Money Transfer
Money in Mogadishu: Somali capital gets first cash machine
The first-ever cash withdrawal machine in Mogadishu has been installed by the Salaam Somali Bank in an upmarket hotel. The first-ever cash withdrawal machine in Mogadishu has been installed by…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa - Government mulls selling Vodacom stake
Johannesburg - The government is considering selling its $2.5bn stake in the local unit of Vodafone to raise funds for state power utility Eskom, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.The government…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Jordaan, Harris linked to iBurst bid
Former top bankers Michael Jordaan and Paul Harris are shareholders in a company that has made an offer to buy Wireless Business Solutions (WBS), the company that owns iBurst and…
Digital Content
AfricaCom Awards 2014 - Shortlist Announced
The digital industry’s most anticipated Awards event will take place on 12th November 2014 at The Waterfront Lookout, Cape Town. Celebrating and acknowledging leaders in digital technology, ICT, Telecommunications and…
Digital Content
Nigeria: Glo Says Every Child's Dream, Now Possible With Mobile Tutor
Second national operator, Globacom says that the dream of every Nigerian child for academic success is now a reality with the introduction of its mobile-based educational application called Glo Mobile…
Digital Content
Inbound Sound to offer crowdsourced concerts
Desperate for your favourite international band to tour South Africa? You will soon be able to do more than just wish quietly for it to happen thanks to a new…
Digital Content
Using Animation to Battle Ebola
An animation that dispels myths about how Ebola is spread and promotes preventionUnited Methodist Communications collaborated with Chocolate Moose Media and iHeed to create an animation for West Africa that…
Digital Content
think incubator selects startups from Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Egypt
Kigali-based technology incubator think has announced the selection of 4 African startups for support. The startups are Beliaa (Egypt), Cribpark (Nigeria), PollAfrique (Ghana), and TorQue (Rwanda).In a statement, think said…
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Events
CFP “IT Sourcing and Development” international workshop 20-21 October 2014The University of Manchester’s Centre for Development Informatics The workshop seeks to reflect on the changing context for IT sourcing and…
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Jobs & Opportunities
Director of Technology and Innovation1 Company: Living Goods Deadline: Friday 14th November 2014 Location: NairobiJob DescriptionLiving Goods is seeking a Director of Technology & Innovation to join our team in…
