Author: Batsirai Chikadaya
Rumour: TelOne to introduce $5 internet package
Techzim was recently alerted of TelOne’s plans to introduce a $5 ADSL package to its line-up of ADSL products. We did a bit of digging and ended up being informed (unofficially) that TelOne will be introducing a $5 for 5GB ADSL package that will be valid for a period of 7 days (one week). This will […]
RBZ not happy with how Zimbabweans use their VISA/Mastercards
According to a report published in the Newsday earlier today, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has in the past five months (August 2016-December 2016) utilised more than $300 million in current transactions through Visa and MasterCard. Speaking at the inaugural Gold Sector Awards, the RBZ Governor, Dr John Mangudya stated it was the public’s perception that the […]
NSSA restructures ZARNET-Telecel deal
In November 2016, Telecel and the Minister of ICT announced the completion of ZARNET’s 100% acquisition of Telecel International which owned 60% of Telecel Zimbabwe successfully making the Government owned entity Telecel Zimbabwe’s majority shareholder. ZARNET’s acquisition of Telecel International was financially backed by NSSA who provided mezzanine capital valued at $30 million (USD). NSSA has now […]
Russian hackers took down CAF website in protest over AFCON being hosted in Gabon
A group of Russian hackers under the name of “New World Hackers” claim to have taken down the CAF (Confederation of African Football) official website on Saturday in protest over Gabon’s Government led by “dictator” President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon is currently hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament. The hackers claim to have […]
Samsung finally explains why its Galaxy Note 7 exploded
2016 was a bit of a tough year for Samsung mainly due to its flagship device the Galaxy Note 7 “exploding” and the resultant global recall of all the devices with even our own local airline Air Zimbabwe banning the device from its planes. The news of Samsung Note 7s catching fire/exploding spread across the world […]
Econet Zimbabwe share price falls by 10%
Econet Zimbabwe share price took a hit last week falling by 10% to trade at $0.27 by end of day Thursday, 19 January 2017, after the country’s largest mobile operator issued a controversial $130 million rights issue to help raise funds to pay off its foreign debt. The mobile operator did not trade on Friday, […]
VISA to introduce local payment service
According to a report by The Standard, VISA, the global payments service is setting up a local payment settlement service which will see all local VISA transactions settled by a local authority. VISA will be introducing a National Net Settlement Service next month meant to process, clear, report, and settle all domestic transactions allowing Zimbabwean […]
Mobile Operators also want your ADSL, Fiber and WiMax pricing to go up
According to leaked minutes of a Telecommunications Operators Association of Zimbabwe meeting held in October 2016, Econet, Telecel and NetOne all met to discuss the issue of floor pricing for both data and voice as per their invitation by POTRAZ to make submissions on the issue. By the end of the meeting, all mobile operators had […]
EcoCash integrates with global mobile payment network, TransferTo
EcoCash has tied up yet another remittance partnership deal with TransferTo, a “business-to-business mobile payment network interconnecting financial institutions and mobile operators globally”, which will allow South African based remittance service Mama Money a direct link to make payments to EcoCash Wallets. Techzim’s understanding of the deal is that TransferTo will provide the bridge linking the two […]
#Datamustfall trending on Zimbabwean Twitter, and how to join its online petition
#Datamustfall is the top trending conversation on Zimbabwean Twitter today after Twimbos spent the day expressing their discontent with Econet’s new data tariffs. The #Datamustfall tagline was first used in South Africa and Techzim had previously suggested Zimbabwe develop its own campaign after finding out Zimbabwe had the third most expensive data in Africa, that […]
EcoCash requests all its agents to deposit RANDS to activate their RAND wallets
According to a Techzim source, EcoCash has instructed all its mobile money agents to deposit R500 into either a Steward Bank, Stanbic or CBZ account to activate their RAND wallets for transactions. The EcoCash RAND wallet, which is now the only way to pay your DSTV using EcoCash, was launched in December 2016 and requires EcoCash […]
Econet blocks WhatsApp and Facebook calls with new social media bundles
According to an update to its terms and conditions, Econet’s social media bundles will no longer allow subscribers to make voice and video calls on either WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. The extract from its revised Terms and Conditions reads: The social bundles will not be able to initiate OTT Video and Voice calls. This comes […]
Here is the RBZ forex priority list which ranks University payments and Car purchases pretty low
In the second half of 2016, the RBZ and the Business Council of Zimbabwe (represented by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, and the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe) instituted a Foreign Exchange Priority List which is meant to: …promote efficient utilisation of foreign exchange and to re-orient import demand towards productive […]
Price Comparison: DStv EcoCash RANDS vs Local Bank Payment vs DStv Agent vs SA Payment
After EcoCash announced their new DStv payment feature via EcoCash RAND wallet quite a few Techzim readers were left confused as to what this really means and whether to be excited or indifferent about it. So in brief this is what Techzim thinks about it: If you do not have access to RANDS in CASH […]
EcoCash introduces DSTv payments in RANDS
EcoCash has re-introduced DSTV payments via its RANDS wallet feature. This comes days after EcoCash suspended all DSTV payments through its normal “USD/Bond Note” wallet effective on 1 January 2017. The Rand wallet will allow you to pay ALL your DSTV bouquets in RANDS at the following rates: DSTv Access: R159.50 DSTv Box Office: R36.35 DSTv Family Boquet: R246.50 DSTv Compact […]
January disease is Zimbabwe’s version of Black Friday
Black Friday has become the symbol for discount shopping across the world but due to most Zimbabweans lack of interest in online shopping, annoyance with unreasonable ZIMRA duty charges and fear of whether goods would actually reach the end destination (Zimbabwe) we have largely missed most of the fire sale shopping online. The last big […]
My one month experience on NetOne and OneFusion
The Techzim team (except for one die-hard Econet loyalist) has been on Net One and subscribed to its One Fusion product for more than a month now. Some team members had long since acquired Net One lines and subscribed for One Fusion but it took a bit more convincing for me to try it out. […]
This is how much your Bank charges for a bank-to-EcoCash wallet transfer
Banks integrated with EcoCash offer their clients a transfer facility to move money between their bank account and Ecocash mobile wallet with each bank charging its own set transaction fees for bank-to-wallet transfers whilst EcoCash charges a flat fee of $0.50 for wallet-to-bank transfers. If you have ever wondered how much it costs to make a bank-to-wallet […]
How to check if your WhatsApp will work on your phone in 2017
Just to set the record clear, there are some devices that will no longer be supported by WhatsApp at the beginning of 2017 (1 January) and some that have had their support extended until 30 June 2017. The devices no longer supported from 2017 onwards are: Android 2.1 Android 2.2 Windows Phone 7 iPhone 3GS/ iOS […]
Reports surface of WhatsApp not working on older phones
Techzim has received reports that WhatsApp is no longer working on some older devices namely Nokia’s running on Symbian S40 and S60 as well as Blackberry’s running on Blackberry OS. The reports were being circulated via images on TechZim’s WhatsApp groups which show devices refusing to enter the application with the device owners greeted with […]
No new prepaid electricity meters anytime soon- forex constraints
Over 100k households are still waiting for the installation of ZESA prepaid electricity metres with affected areas in Harare being Glen Norah, Mufakose, Mbare, Mabvuku and Dzivarasekwa. The second stage of the prepaid metre project was meant to see ZESA install up to 130k units for households and businesses in the areas mentioned above, however, […]
CBZ to suspend local use of VISA cards, sets new limits for international payments
As of 5 January 2017, all CBZ issued VISA cards will cease to work locally (within Zimbabwe) but will continue to work outside of Zimbabwe for at ATMs, POS machines and any internet related transaction. Not only will CBZ stop the use of VISA cards locally but it is also set to review the VISA […]
OneFusion had little impact on NetOne’s mobile data usage
NetOne’s mobile data usage increased by 4,4% from 249,182,965MB in the second quarter of 2016 (April, May and June) to 260,167,834MB in the 3rd quarter of 2016 (July, August and September). NetOne’s OneFusion product which gives subscribers access to WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and stand alone mobile data was launched in the last month of Q2, […]
TelOne renews MD Chipo Mutasa’s contract
TelOne has renewed its Managing Director, Chipo Mutasa‘s, contract days before her current four-year renewable deal was set to expire on 31 December 2016. The late announcement of its decision to renew the MDs contract had brought much speculation over the future of the MD post as well as the fate of parastatal as she […]
EcoCash suspends DSTV payment option
As of 1 January 2017, you will no longer be able to pay your DSTV subscription via EcoCash. According to a public notice posted in today’s Herald, the reason behind this suspension is EcoCash’s failure to sustain the service in the current operating environment in Zimbabwe. With this information, Techzim can assume that EcoCash is […]
How to rent a POS swipe machine for the day for any event, function or fund raiser
If you are a local business, organisation, entrepreneur or individual there are now a few options to rent out a POS swiping machine for the day for any kind of event, function, business or organisational activity that requires transactions or sales to be made. Techzim knows of two local banks offering a daily swipe machine […]
From WhatsApp to Instagram, here is a list of interesting tech we didnt have 10 years ago
In the last decade, 2006-2016, tech has developed at a phenomenally rapid pace. Even in 3rd world countries like Zimbabwe, it has become slightly easier for people to access smartphones, computers and the internet. TechZim recently came across a list of technologies we didn’t have a decade ago and thought it would be interesting to share some […]
We’re giving away a Brand New Tablet!
NB: WE have disabled comments and entered you all into the raffle, winner to be announced tommorow Techzim was recently awarded the most consistent online publication prize at the recent YATA awards (Young Achievers in Technology Awards) and as part of the award, we were handed a brand new GTel Tablet we would like to […]
Getting cash from the bank is now cheaper than EcoCash, Telecash or OneWallet cash-outs
On Monday 12 December 2016, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe decreased all local banks cash withdrawal charges with immediate effect to 1% for ATM withdrawals and 1.25% for Over-the-Counter withdrawals. According to the RBZ, the new charges are part of its financial inclusion drive which allows previously disadvantaged and low-income segments of society access to affordable financial services. So with […]
Tanzanian website owner arrested for not disclosing online members personal details
Co-founder of popular Tanzanian website Jamii Forums has been arrested under their Cyber Crime Law for not disclosing members personal data following requests from the police. Their offices were raided on the 14 of December 2016 where the co-founder, Maxence Melo, was picked up by police while other staff members were questioned. Jamil Forums is one […]