Issue no 815 - 19th February 2016
Top Story
ViRural’s “upside-down” MVNO will fill the rural gaps in Africa, starting with Nigeria
Everyone knows that there’s more voice and data business at the edge of the current coverage areas but no-one yet has either got the business model or the regulatory relationships right. ViRural is setting out to build 20,000 base stations in Nigeria to address just this need. Russell Southwood spoke to ViRural Group’s CEO Paul Talley about how they will do it. Talley comes from a finance background and spotted the rural communications opportunity whilst working in Africa:”I was working helping Governments raise capital to build infrastructure. I was struck by the lack of connectivity outside urban areas. I thought…
Telecoms
South Africa: Who MTN will reimburse for network outage
Details have emerged of how MTN intends honouring its promise to reimburse customers affected by network service outages between Sunday and Tuesday this week. The company said on Wednesday afternoon…
Telecoms
Kenya: Wananchi Group’s Zuku initiates Kshs 2.5bn network upgrade
Network connectivity firm the Wananchi Group has confirmed that its home entertainment brand Zuku has upgraded its entire cable network infrastructure to enable faster speeds, accommodate more traffic and improve…
Telecoms
Tigo Tanzania joins campaign against counterfeit devices
Tigo Tanzania has joined the sector's regulator in creating awareness over the dangers of using counterfeit devices as the deadline for automatically switching off all counterfeit mobile phones gets closer,…
Internet
Google Translate adds new languages
The new additions bring the total to 103 languages Google Translate now offers, including Pashto and Xhosa. The languages should be up in a few days. Amharic, Kurmanji Kurdish, Luxembourgish,…
Internet
South Africa: No Telkom, Broadband Infraco partnership yet
Media speculation is rife that a partnership between Telkom and Broadband Infraco is on the cards, as government explores the restructuring of state-owned enterprises (SEOs). According to a Business Day…
Internet
The rise of internet veg box schemes in sub-Saharan Africa
Online grocery startups in Kenya, Rwanda and Gambia help farmers cut out the middleman, but challenges such as low internet access may hinder profitabilityGrowing up on a farm in central…
Computing
Kenya's E-citizen portal hits 1.23 million
The e-Citizen portal has grown tremendously since it was launched in 2014. So far,1.23 million Kenyans have registered on the portal up from 400,000 Kenyans as at June 2015, while…
Computing
Ambitious Project to Teach Rural People to Code
Martha Phora matriculated with grades good enough to get her into an IT college. But like many young South Africans, her dream came to an abrupt end when she could…
Money Transfer
PayPal expects SA mobile spend to reach R12bn this year As smartphones, cross-border commerce drive online sales
Digital payments business, PayPal this week said it expects South Africans to spend more than R37 billion online in 2016 as a high penetration of smartphones and cross-border shopping drive…
Money Transfer
Gambia: Africell launches ‘free’ mobile money service
One of the leading GSM operators in The Gambia, Africell, yesterday launched a service called ‘Africell money service’ which allows subscribers to send and receive money through their mobile phone.…
Money Transfer
The TagPay Digital Banking Platform receives a Kalahari Award for Best Technology Enabler of Mobile Financial Services in Africa
LAGOS, Nigeria, February 15, 2016/ -- Tagattitude (en.TagPay.fr), the innovative French FinTech, has won a Kalahari Award for its digital banking platform, TagPay at the 6th Remittance and Mobile Money…
Money Transfer
Tigo Pesa, now the largest Mobile Financial Service eco-system in Tanzania
Tigo Tanzania (www.Tigo.co.tz) announced today that customers of its Tigo Pesa mobile money service will now be able to move funds between any of the country’s mobile money operators, as…
Money Transfer
FNB pulls plug on Windows phones
First National Bank will no longer actively develop its application for Windows-powered smartphones, it said on Thursday. It has also pulled the plug on development of its app for older…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Altech Autopage pushes back shutdown date
Altech Autopage has pushed back its planned shutdown date, which was originally scheduled for the end of this month, with the Business Day citing Autopage’s new managing director, Peter Wattrus,…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Zimbabwe: Netone Scandal Deepens
More details have emerged of possible revenue leaks at mobile operator, NetOne where the inventory reveals that the firm could have been prejudiced of millions of dollars through dubious procurement…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Maroc Telecom reports 17% increase in revenues in 2015
Maroc Telecom, the country’s leading telco in terms of subscribers, has published its financial results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2015, reporting a 17.1% annual increase in revenues,…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Mergers, Aquisitions and Financial Results - In brief
The board of commissioners of industry regulator the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) have approved the 100% takeover of domestic mobile network operator (MNO) Cellcom Liberia by French telco Orange Group.…
Digital Content
Facebook hosts first global roundtable on women's safety in Kenya
Facebook hosted a women’s safety roundtable in Kenya on Wednesday, a first that will be followed by others in Ireland, the Middle East, India and the US. The meeting focused…
Digital Content
New App Helps More School Children Fight Abuse On Buses
It's 7:45 in the morning and Zulfa Khalid, a student at Mugabe Secondary School in Dar es Salaam, is stuck at Tegeta bus terminal, sweating in the rising heat having…
Digital Content
Google launches Play Movies service in South Africa
Hot on the heels of Netflix announcing its arrival on our shores, Google has announced that Google Play Movies is now available in South Africa. According to Google, you will…
Digital Content
Nigeria may regulate use of WhatsApp, BBM, Facebook, Skype in country
The Nigerian Communications Commission is considering a framework for the regulation of over-the-top services in the Nigerian telecoms market. Over-the-top services, otherwise known as OTT, are services carried over the…
Digital Content
Ongair-designed BBC Drop now available for trial
BBC Drop, a tailored BBC news content for the smart phone and social media generation designed by Kenyan startup, Ongair is now available on BBC Taster for trial for the…
Digital Content
MTN, Sony Music sign content distribution deal
MTN, a leading telecommunication service provider in Africa, has announced the signing of a content distribution deal with Sony Music, an American music corporation. The deal will give MTN’s customers…
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Opportunities
MTN, Jumia partner to launch Entrepreneurship Challenge across Africa MTN, in partnership with the MTN Solution Space and Jumia, announced the launch of the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia.…
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People
MTN South Africa has appointed Benjamin Marais as its new Chief Information Officer, effective 01 March. Marais joins MTN from Discovery Health where he served in a similar role. Marais…
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Events
Education Innovation Summit17 March 2016 Protea Fire & Ice, Johannesburg. South Africa Education reform is essential to provide learners with what are commonly called 21st century skills — those competencies…
