Author: L.S.M Kabweza

  • Computer Society of Zimbabwe to hold ICT Expo in Bulawayo

    Computer Society of Zimbabwe to hold ICT Expo in Bulawayo

    We were quite pleased last week to learn that the Bulawayo chapter of the Computer Society of Zimbabwe (CSZ) is ready to hold its first ICT Expo on the 24th and 25th of November (Next week).  Pleased because this is yet another opportunity for the industry to showcase the potential of ICT tools for existing business and more importantly for new solutions to some of the social and economic problems faced in the country today.

    ICT tools, especially mobile phone connectivity and to a smaller extent (which will gradually improve as well) the internet, have drastically changed the business landscape, consequently opening opportunities for reducing costs, working more efficiently, learning faster, moving faster and even basing a business idea on the ICTs themselves. To put it loosely, these tools are an entrepreneur’s dream.

    But that dream is far from being realized. And this is why events like these, even without the perfection that critiquing Zimbabweans would like to have, are vital for the country.

    Bulawayo’s ICT Expo is something along the lines of the annual ICT Africa which was held in Harare from the 5th to 7th of October. The event will be held at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre at the Trade Fair grounds. The theme of the exhibition is “Enhancing E-Business.”

    The event is expected to attract exhibitors ranging from ICT service providers, businesses using ICTs in innovative ways, and tertiary institutions offering ICT programs. CSZ will run a conference alongside the exhibition. According to the organisers, a wide range of ideas will be discussed and it’s hoped this will help expand “knowledge frontiers for sustainable growth and development through ICTs.”

    Some key presentation topics to be discussed at the conference include ‘Integration of business and statutory bodies’ systems to achieve operational efficiency through ICTs’, ‘E-learning for a developing economy’ and ‘enhancing business development and growth’. There’s no information yet on who will be speaking at the event. We hope whoever it is, will do justice to these important issues and inspire the audience to participate in realizing the full potential of the tech tools then event is showcasing.

    There will also be some career guidance sessions where students will learn the different entry paths to the ICT industry, the full range of career options available and the qualifications or skill set required.

    One unfortunate thing is that apart from an entry of classifieds.co.zw, there’s nothing in depth online about the event. Hey CSZ, please post something about the event on your website. This is quite not acceptable for a tech event. Do a Facebook page even where you post updates about the event.

    We will make it a point to attend the event and use the opportunity to meet the tech people and entrepreneurs in Bulawayo.

  • More information on Liquid Telecom’s Zambia project

    More information on Liquid Telecom’s Zambia project

    Liquid TelecomEconet Wireless Zimbabwe just sent out a press release on the Liquid fibre project announced last week by Liquid telecoms. Here’s a summary of new information in the release:

    • That the fibre work was carried out by Huawei Technologies
    • Malawi and Mozambique have asked Liquid to expand the terrestrial fibre into the two countries
    • Construction will start in the Katanga Province of DRC within a matter of weeks
    • Liquid will eventually connect Lubumbashi to the capital Kinshasa by taking the cable on high voltage transmission lines.

    The release also gives the vague impression (probably unintentionally) that “a dedicated terrestrial cable that has been built from Durban in South Africa and running through Zimbabwe along the major highways.” What is known so far is that Liquid has no intention of doing anything South of J’burg. Liquid Telecom CEO Nic Rudnick told TechCentral just last week: “We don’t intend to reinvent the wheel where fibre already exists, so I doubt we’ll build anywhere south of Johannesburg. North of Johannesburg we see a greater need to build out capacity.”

    Here’s the full text of today’s release:

    The landlocked country of Zambia has been connected to the Seacom and Sat3 undersea cables, with a dedicated terrestrial cable that has been built from Durban in South Africa and running through Zimbabwe along the major highways.

    The cable was laid by Chinese contractor Huawei Technologies on behalf of Liquid Telecom Fibre Network, a subsidiary of global telecoms operator Econet Wireless.

    Liquid Telecom CEO Mr Nic Rudnick said the company has already begun to provide service to Zambian customers and that demand was extremely high. “We have quite a major backlog of customers who want service, including key government institutions. This is really exciting,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Mr Rudnick has acknowledged the extraordinary level of support from governments and authorities in the countries through which the fibre network has been built.

    “We have had remarkable support in all these countries, with some of them even designating it a ‘national project’, even though it is built by a private consortium.”

    He said the project had created thousands of jobs during construction, and would have the same impact as when the railway first arrived in Southern Africa.

    Mr Rudnick said several other countries, such as Malawi and Mozambique, have asked the company to also extend links into their countries.

    Liquid Telecom has meanwhile reached the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo and plans to start construction in Katanga Province within a matter of weeks. The company has already developed plans to cross the world’s second largest natural forest to connect Lubumbashi to the capital Kinshasa by taking the cable on high voltage transmission lines.

  • So, just how many Zimbabweans have mobile phones?

    So, just how many Zimbabweans have mobile phones?

    Zimbabwe Mobile PenetrationThe latest mobile subscriber stats from POTRAZ show that Zimbabwe now has a mobile penetration of about 64%. Really impressive if you consider that in 2009, the mobile penetration was just 24%.

    But every time that mobile penetration percentage is mentioned, there’s almost always need to clarify that the percentage may actually be misleading. Mobile penetration is calculated as a percentage of the total population of the country (12.5 million currently) the penetration is often incorrectly associated with actual individuals with mobile phones. Indeed misleading.

    Recently, I had the opportunity to have conversation with the Zim ICT ministry permanent secretary Samuel Kundishora. During our conversation, which was centered on mobile telephony uptake he expressed that he was worried Zimbabwe doesn’t have the data it needs on the subject.  “We don’t have reliable stats of our mobile usage locally”, he said, “these stats are extremely important for the development of our ICTs development and all sectors that use these ICTs; policy makers, entrepreneurs, marketers. They all need this data.”

    And he asked: “how many sim cards do you have?”

    I have 4. 2 Econet lines and 2 Telecel.

    My main line is an Econet one. I use the other Econet line for internet browsing so it stays in the modem. Less hassle that way. The one Telecel line is good for more affordable mobile broadband, calling Telecel numbers and making international calls. I got the second Telecel line recently when I opened a CABS Textacash mobile money account.

    Extreme case maybe. But I know a lot of people that have 2 lines. Some, 3.

    Sometime ago, I spoke to G-Tide Zimbabwe founder and CEO, Chamunorwa Shumba. G-Tide Zimbabwe sells low cost Asian mobile phones, most of them dual sim and the brand has been quite popular locally, especially with low income bracket buyers. G-Tide has been trying to break into the smartphone market locally with low cost Android devices. The problem, he said, was that the smartphones they were getting initially were single sim. He told us they had to convince their manufacturers in China to make dual sim Android phones. “We’re known for dual sim” he explained “we can’t suddenly start single sim now!”

    If the most popular low cost device in the country “can’t stop” dual sim, makes you wonder if that may mean just about everyone has at least 2 sim cards. It does suggests that the actual percentage of people that have mobile phones, out of Zimbabwe’s total population, is lower than 64%. Maybe around 40%? Maybe even lower? In the 30s?

    Econet has long been accepted as the network with the most network coverage. Wouldn’t it make sense even if they were not your primary network to just have an Econet line as backup? Would it therefore be correct to assume that subscribers that don’t primarily use an Econet line, do have an Econet line as backup?

    We would love to know your opinion on this? How many sim cards do you have? Why?

    image 2 source: g_tide_motaheda
  • Webdev launches its social network. Names it SHA

    Webdev launches its social network. Names it SHA

    Last week, Webdev opened its social network to the public. The name Social has been discarded in favour of a shorter and simpler sha.co.zw. SHA is short for the ‘Shamwari’, the Shona word for ‘friend’. There’s already some activity on the site, and I have received a few friend requests from some familiar faces.

    The site looks pretty much what it was in closed beta; warm colors and the familiar social network design with a wall (they don’t call it that though), photos section, a friend finder, groups, events and private messages. In addition to that you also get a blogging section, a Q & A, news, downloads and a link to Webdev’s flagship web property, classifieds.co.zw.

    Besides tag-lining it “Zimbabwe’s Social Network”, Webdev is not actively showing why a visitor should sign up or what they will get here that they’re not already getting on Facebook or Google Plus. Maybe the local factor alone is enough. I just expected something that says “here’s the new angle/level we’re binging to your online social interactions!” Something that makes the user feel they’re on a different social platform that’s not just a Facebook clone.

    SHA has the opportunity to define its unique identity from the onset and set itself apart with an experience users of the service can only associate with and get on the platform. I’m not feeling that identity yet. Maybe the strategy is to not box people up and just let the experience build naturally. I don’t see that working.

    But Webdev is not just sitting back and hoping you’ll sign up and start posting updates. No. They’re offering cash for it.

    “SHA is giving away a total of $150 every week” says the banner at the top of the site, “$20 for the most interesting/best filled in profile, $20 for the most friends added, $20 for the most amount of personal photos uploaded…” a total of 8 categories!

    I think this is a bad idea. Is it even sustainable as an incentive? How much cash do you budget for such an exercise? How long do you run it? I know I definitely won’t get into active posting mode just for the cash. And even if I did, I’d probably stop when the promotion ends, and go back to Facebook where everyone is. A unique experience on the hand, will keep me coming back for more.

    Cash incentives aside, the one thing that’s noticeably unlike other social networks is chat. The absence of it. It’s a cardinal sin to not have chat on a social network and for what it’s worth, we hope the team is working on it. The platform also doesn’t have something that’s fast becoming a necessary component of the social media experience; games. The addictive time wasting type that people love. Again we’ll assume it’s coming in the future.

    There’s always the question of privacy and the security of data posted on social networks. By default SHA is an open network. That means your profile and all your posts on the network are visible to anyone (including people that are not signed into the network) by default. You have the option to turn this off of course in the privacy settings and have your information viewed only by the people you befriend on the SHA.

    It’s only been a week and we imagine some features will be changed and more (chat, games) will be introduced. In the meantime, it’s still a warm place to be and one I’ll personally make a point to visit often in the coming weeks. Who knows, I might win me some Obamas. See you all Shaz there!

  • Spiritage’s 4G Brodacom launch, a game changer?

    Spiritage’s 4G Brodacom launch, a game changer?

    Yesterday, Spiritage finally came out with huge adverts in the press claiming they have a modern 4G network. The “game’s just changed” shouts the advert!

    Has it?

    Back in April, we believed this was a strong possibility. Now, we’re just hopeful. The half-hearted and ill-executed ‘launch’ four months ago did in our faith. There’s also been too much talk around town about things not well at the company, senior executives leaving, and other such disappointing stuff.

    We’re not convinced the game is changing, we’re just hopeful. Nothing we can see suggests this ‘launch’ is not like the July one.

    The adverts contain a full page listing of Brodacom’s 4G services compared to “standard services”; an attempt to show just how broader Brodacom is. It also has some huge chunks of text explaining what the Brodacom company is, stuff about watching live online videos becoming seamless and some information about the whole Spiritage group. If you’re thinking ‘information overload and confusing’, you’re not alone.

    The bold claim here though is 4G. Just a little over two months ago, Spiritage Communications managing director Kangai Maukazuva told us the company had deployed a 3.9G network. This time, in clear favour of message simplicity and of-course standing out from the 3G GSM crowd that is Econet, NetOne and Telecel, that number has been rounded off to 4G. Well, either that or some major upgrade work has happened in these two months. Who knows?

    We have not used the Brodacom internet and will not say that the company is not offering 4G services. We have asked them for a test unit to review and offer our opinion and we’re looking forward to them saying yes, so we can experience what good internet feels like!

    Our position remains that while 3G, 3.5G, 3.9G and 4G and so forth are standards, their meaning has been watered down by marketing departments that just abuse them. And it’s not Spiritage. Remember Econet’s 3G in 2009? It’s same claptrap world over. Our advice is this: don’t decide to buy just because you’ve seen a “We have 4G” advert. Ask to test the service and see if it meets your needs first before you buy.

  • Innov8 launches online bookshop. An interview with Milton Kamwendo

    Innov8 launches online bookshop. An interview with Milton Kamwendo

    Book readers in Zimbabwe can now shop for books online on Innov8’s newly launched online bookshop. The launch of the new site was announced by Innov8 founder, Milton Kamwendo, on Twitter and can be visited on the address www.innov8bookshop.biz.

    We held an interview with Milton Kamwendo to discuss Innov8’s new service, its chances of success in a country of low internet penetration and payment processing for the online bookshop. We post below the questions and answer we had with him.

    1. Tell us about the online bookshop.

    Innov8 Online Bookshop is a cutting edge and innovative channel recently launched by Zimbabwe’s fast growing Innov8 Bookshop chain. The service allows customers to shop for books, stationery and writing instruments using their cellphone or computer so long as they have internet access.

    Through Innov8’s online bookshop customers can directly purchase products using their Mastercard and Visa cards. They can also opt to effect a bank transfer. Their purchase is then delivered to their home or office. They can also choose to collect from the nearest Innov8 Bookshop.

    2. Why has Innov8 launched an online bookshop?

    Innov8 Bookshop is always striving to increase customer service and to offer its customers world class service and convenience. The need to reach customers without the restrictions of time and distance is the main reason for launching an online bookshop.

    The online bookshop provides a convenient, safe and effective channel to reach our customers. Now customers can access the store when they choose and that puts new power into the hands of the customers and changes the rules of book selling.

    As a market leader and innovator, it was natural for Innov8 bookshop to be the first bookshop in Zimbabwe to launch this service.

    3. With internet penetration in Zimbabwe still less than 20%, what is your target market and what’s its size?

    According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) internet penetration for Zimbabwe by December 2009 stood at 11.9% which meant that approximately 1,481,000 people were using the internet. The number of internet users in Zimbabwe grew by 2602% from the year 2000 to the year 2009.

    Internet penetration has since continued to increase buoyed by the increasing using of the cellular phones many more people can transact online in Zimbabwe.

    One needs to also factor in the fact that once you have an online store, your market ceases to be local but becomes global. There are many Zimbabwean books and products that can only be sourced locally. We have received inquiries for Shona, Ndebele and other local books in the past but had no channel that was easy, convenient and sure that customers could use. With the launch of Innov8 Online Bookshop, that channel is here and Internet use is growing globally by the second. This means our growth and appeal to the world is now uncapped.

    4. What are the payment methods available for customers and how convenient are they for the bulk of Zimbabweans?

    There are two payment methods currently available, online payment and offline payment. With online payment a customer pays using a MasterCard or Visa card. With offline payment, a client makes a transfer or cash deposit into our local bank account. We are also considering using SMS payment options.

    These payment options are accessible and convenient to the majority if not all of Zimbabweans as some do not even require a bank account. Innov8 Bookshop is also actively promoting the use of FBC Bank’s prepaid MasterCard which does not even require anyone to bank with the bank. A number of customers are already transacting using this payment method.

    5. What are the challenges you foresee selling books online?

    The main challenge is behavioural. Many customers have not been used to making purchases online and they may hesitate. However, as people experience our service a lot more their confidence and frequency will increase.

    The service we are offering is the way of the future. Any serious retailer who does not offer an online store is depriving customers of their right. The world is changing and shopping online will just be as ordinary for most of our customers in the next few years.

    6. How much traffic so far is the online bookshop getting?

    Since we opened the store to the public on the 1st of October 2011 the number of daily visitors has been on the increase and now averages 50 people every day. Like all things Internet the traffic is set to explode as the awareness increases and as we put into motion our marketing plan.

    7. What are the major successes milestones that have been registered by Innov8 in the bookselling business in the recent months

    Innov8 is now the clear market leader in Zimbabwe’s book selling industry. The bookshop now has 10 outlets and is continuing to grow. Innov8 has recently opened a new bookshop at 99 Robert Mugabe Road. It’s premium brand, Insignia is Zimbabwe’s first truly world-class bookshop.

  • The EMC Cloud Computing breakfast briefing (Pictures)

    The EMC Cloud Computing breakfast briefing (Pictures)

    Today, we spent the morning at the Cloud Computing breakfast briefing , which we organized together with EMC and Utande. The few hours of cloud talk was quite interesting for us and for a lot of attendees we talked to, helped demystify the technical issues to do with using cloud based services locally.

    EMC’s Grant Mufford demonstrated the equipment and services the company offers and how these can help organizations migrate to cloud computing. He also presented internet based tools to help tech managers understand and make cloud computing migration decisions.

    Utande and Realtime Bytes presentations were largely about the new cloud platforms that they have available. Like the one that won Utande an exhibition award at the recent local ICT Africa event. Utande also presented some Storage as a Service products for both enterprise businesses and small businesses, as well as home users. They actually have (or are going to soon) a service they call Atmos, which Utande’s Colin Franco said has features similar to Dropbox.

    We’ll be posting more information about the topics discussed. In the meantime here are some pictures from the event.

    Atwell Mukusha, The Computer Society of Zimbabwe President

     

    Mike Weeden, Utande Cloud Computing GM
    Aidan Keates, Realtime Bytes

     

  • ZISPA & web entrepreneurs, here’s how we can simplify domain registration

    ZISPA & web entrepreneurs, here’s how we can simplify domain registration

    We’ve spoken to the Zimbabwe Internet Service Providers Association (ZISPA) about the difficulties of registering a .co.zw domain name. In an interview, Troy Prinsloo the current ZISPA chairman explained to us that they are working to address one of the main problems with domain registration in Zimbabwe, which is that it takes too long. Two to three days, even more sometimes.

    We also had the opportunity to speak to one executive at one of the bigger ISPs locally and he told us their company is also working on a system to make domain registrations faster.

    We welcome all this and we’re glad ZISPA and the individual ISPs know we need this addressed. We’d also like to come in and throw some suggestions for web entrepreneurs, ISPs and ZISPA itself to consider.

    Why don’t we link the domains to mobile phone numbers?

    A mobile phone number is the one thing that anyone registering a domain name has. The great thing here is that, thanks to POTRAZ’s SIM registration exercise that was completed earlier this year, mobile numbers can identify individuals almost accurately. At least they can be traced to a single individual. The mobile operators already have subscriber identification documents, so ZISPA doesn’t need to collect this information all over again; they can get it from POTRAZ when they need to.

    The registration process can go something like this:

    • A customer visits domain registrars website and checks if a domain is available
    • If available, they click to buy the domain
    • Website requests the customers details including mobile phone number
    • Website sends an SMS text message to the customer with a verification code, which the customer must immediately enter on the website to verify their identity.
    • Once verified the customer makes payment (physically, or by whatever other means) and as soon as the registrar verifies payment, the domain is registered. The actual process of registering the domain can just be by a click on button by the registrar.

    As it is, it’s just the payment process that will make the domain registration process last longer than a few seconds. Now, considering companies like ZimSwitch are working on internet payment gateways for Zimbabwe, this part of the problem will most likely be dealt with in the coming months.

    We think the opportunity is more for web entrepreneurs than ZISPA. ZISPA is non-profit and doesn’t charge ISPs for domain registration, the solution needs to come from the entrepreneurs themselves and they can approach ZISPA to implement it. We’re sure ZISPA would happily accept.

    Our suggestion is not new or unique. You will probably find examples of solutions where phone numbers have loosely replaced heaps of paperwork. It also not exhaustive; there are some issues that developers of such a solution will need to look at which we don’t mention here. We just know that a huge part of the problem is this:

    … and that mobile phone numbers can help.

    If you have more suggestions on how the process can improve, please share in the comments below.

  • ZimSwitch to provide internet payment gateway for Zimbabwe

    ZimSwitch to provide internet payment gateway for Zimbabwe

    (see update at end of article for matter of fact)

    As you may already know, ZimSwitch revealed these past few weeks a mobile money platform called ZimSwitch Mobile that’s already being used by a couple of local banks. ZimSwitch has signed up a total of 12 banks to their shared services platform and the 12 make up about 85% of Zimbabwe’s banked population.

    We recently communicated with ZimSwitch business development manager, Adam Roscoe, and he disclosed some news that will no doubt excite internet entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. ZimSwitch is working to launch an internet payment gateway.

    The gateway will work atop a service called ZIPIT, short for ZimSwitch Instant Payment Interchange Technology. Roscoe explained that ZIPIT is a funds transfer or person to person payments mechanism enabling all ZimSwitch Ready financial institutions to offer their customers the ability to send funds instantly to any other ZimSwitch Ready Institution, or to any registered cell phone in Zimbabwe.

    In his communication Roscoe revealed that ATMs and “Internet based delivery channels should be available by the end of the year.”

    The platform will become Zimbabwe’s first online payment gateway to allow traditional content producers to monetize their content online. It will also allow Zimbabwean businesses to trade online in a ‘brick and click’ fashion.

    With Zimbabweans increasingly connecting to the internet, this is quite a welcome development and one set to make the internet a more useful tool in everyday business.

    It is currently very difficult for Zimbabwean internet users to transact online. While a couple of banks have introduced the means through MasterCard and Visa, payments from Zimbabwe are still not accepted by the majority of US and EU based merchants online. US based global e-commerce company PayPal, blocks connections to their system from Zimbabwe.

    update (28/10/2011): We just received information that part of the information in this article is not correct. While ZimSwitch is working on an internet payment gateway, ZIPIT has nothing to do with this platform. The Internet payment gateway is a separate service that will function in ways similar to PayPal. In the clarification ZimSwitch explained that all the new ZimSwitch services are designed around “inter-operability”, as in the ability for all banked individuals – regardless of what bank they use – to benefit from the services.

  • Zim ICT Ministry calls for ICT Achievers Award nominations

    Zim ICT Ministry calls for ICT Achievers Award nominations

    The Zim ICT Ministry will this year host the second annual ICT Achievers awards. The awards reward Zimbabweans and Zimbabwean businesses whose involvement in Zimbabwe’s ICT industry has been outstanding. The date of the event is 3 December 2011.

    Over the past week, the ICT Ministry has been calling for nominations of the ICT Achievers of the year through the local print press. While last year’s awards only had 7 categories, the categories have been increased to 15 this year.

    Here are the categories:

    1. Top ICT project of the year (private sector)
    2. Top ICT project of the year (public sector)
    3. Top NGO promoter of ICT
    4. ICT businessman of the year
    5. ICT businesswoman of the year
    6. ICT company of the year
    7. Web developer of the year (individual or company)
    8. Public sector website of the year
    9. ICT journalist of the year
    10. Young ICT innovator of the year
    11. ICT educator of the year (individual or company)
    12. Top ICT company on corporate and social responsibility
    13. ICT rural school of the year
    14. ICT personality of the year
    15. Top ICT user minister

    To nominate, one needs to download forms from two websites noted in the adverts; www.ictachieversawards.org.zw and www.ictministry.gov.zw. One can also visit the ICT Ministry offices in Harare (Bank Chambers building on the 7th floor, along Samora Machel) to get the forms, fill them and submit physically. Nominations close on 15 November.

    The sad part of all this

    Even though the adverts have been running for a while in the press, the address www.ictachieversawards.org.zw is currently not available on the internet. In fact, that domain is not even registered. And as for www.ictministry.gov.zw, the links to the nomination forms just don’t work. So, the only way to nominate a business or an individual for the awards is to visit the ministry’s offices. Quite ironic for an ICT ministry. We notified the ministry about this and they promised to attend to it

    But that’s not all, the ICT ministry is using last year’s logo for the nomination adverts. They couldn’t get someone to do a current one? There are thousands of graphics designers that can quickly update a logo with the correct year. It’s not just sad, its extremely annoying.

     

  • Why Zimbabwe needs more .co.zw domains

    Speaking to the many tech entrepreneurs we meet locally, they all tell you they prefer registering .com domains over .co.zw. It is way easier, cheaper and faster the argument goes. “Why do I need to wait a couple of days just to get a domain registered?” is the question that follows.

    We’ve tried to follow the issue to see exactly what the problem is with local domain registration. To find what makes it harder, more expensive and slower to register a local domain? We’ve had an interview with Troy Prinsloo, the current Zimbabwe Internet Service Providers Association (ZISPA) chairman. ZISPA is the organization in charge of the registration of domains in the .co.zw space. We’ve whined about the issue here a number of times.

    We do this because we believe there should be more local businesses and individuals registering .co.zw domains. There are clear advantages to having more .co.zw than .com domains registered for local businesses. We list some of them here. You can add in your ideas in the comments section.

    It’s good for search engine optimization. When a user Googles a search term from the google.co.zw website, Google prioritizes results from local .co.zw domains. This means a potential customer looking for a product will most likely find local suppliers of that product first, before they wade through a list of South African or global suppliers. Google defaults to the local Google domain when a user access the search engine from a country other than the US, so most searches done in Zimbabwe are from the local Google domain. It’s a no brainer for search engine optimization if you’re targeting the local market.

    We’re losing money to foreign domain registrars. For every .com domain registered by a Zimbabwean individual or business, the money is paid to an international domain registrar outside Zimbabwe. Now considering the Internet is fast becoming an everyday tool for more than just the elite, we are losing money each day paying for domains that we can just supply ourselves locally.

    Now some of you may say “but that’s just about $10 per domain. What difference does it make?” Well, It’s $10 per domain per year. It does make a huge difference. How many companies do we have locally, large, medium and small? How many brands? The difference continues to widen as internet penetration increases. Also add the fact that a person registering their domain internationally is likely to get their web hosting from the same international company.

    Visibility and appeal to locals. While local domains appeal to search engines, they also appeal to people directly. A .co.zw domain makes a web address stand out. People associate .co.zw with relevance and they try to check it out when they see the address. They know whoever is creating content on that domain is doing it for the local visitors. This means a company mentioning their domain in a newspaper advert, on a billboard, or any other platform is likely to get more people visiting the site if it’s a local domain.

    You can get a domain name that’s already taken on the .com space. Sometimes you want to get a specific domain name and you find it’s already taken on the international .com space. All the good ones are. Gadgets.com for example is taken already but gadgets.co.zw is not. Why not use the local one, especially when you know any Google search for gadgets locally will list your website first?

    And last and definitely not least, National Pride.

  • Webdev to launch a Facebook for Zimbabwe

    Webdev to launch a Facebook for Zimbabwe

    Webdev, the internet company behind Zimbabwe’s most successful online classifieds will be launching a social networking website in the coming weeks. So far the website is called simply Social but we’re told there may be a change of name. Visiting the website’s address on social.co.zw loads a ‘launching soon’ banner and some points about what the network will be:

    Social was first unveiled at the ZOL Startup Challenge in August this year. At the challenge the platform was pitched as Zimbabwe’s local Facebook. It’s more than a Facebook though. It has news, blogging, a question and answer platform, discussion and software downloads.

    We have had an opportunity to use Social and still have access to the testing version that’s not available to the public right now. Unfortunately we promised we wouldn’t speak much about what’s inside until it’s available to the public. The long and short of it is that it’s a social network based on some open source Joomla tools.

    The one thing that feels great about the social network is that you know the people on it are all around you somewhere close by. It’s a place you can easily find new friends that you are able to meet in person afterwards, discuss issues that are happening around you, and maybe organize group meet-ups around certain interests.

    We feel though WebDev could have used the coming soon page to invite interested users to the closed invite only version.

    So far, the website doesn’t have a mobile version, and here Webdev might be making the same mistake they are making with their classifieds website. Ignoring mobile.

    In our opinion, any internet application in Zimbabwe not only needs to have a mobile version but would do good to think mobile first. Some startups are even taking it further and thinking mobile only. Tengesa.com for example, recently launched a local classifieds site that’s mobile only. Next door in South Africa, MXit beat global social (and internet communication) networks by working mobile only. Without a mobile version, Webdev is excluding a large group of internet users, or at least making it hard for that group to use Social.

    But this may not be a fatal mistake for Webdev. The company has many only advertising platforms to push its products. Outside the widely read online versions of Zimbabwe’s daily newspapers, the Webdev classifieds site is probably the most visited local website in Zimbabwe. Add to that the fact that Webdev’s adverts for their web properties are actually on all those newspaper websites, and Webdev has a very wide platform to push Social it might be difficult to fail where other local Facebooks have come and faded.

  • 12 banks implementing ZimSwitch Mobile. Platform to be mobile network neutral

    12 banks implementing ZimSwitch Mobile. Platform to be mobile network neutral

    We met ZimSwitch business development manager Adam Roscoe this week to discuss the newly unveiled ZimSwitch Mobile platform. Roscoe disclosed in the interview that a total of 12 financial institutions are either live, performing tests, or starting implementation of ZimSwitch Mobile. The platform enables all financial institutions connected to ZimSwitch (currently 19 Institutions) to offer mobile banking services through USSD technology. Roscoe didn’t say when the 7 remaining institutions are expected to sign up.

    According to Roscoe, the 12 institutions make up about 85% of Zimbabwe’s total banked population. While Roscoe wouldn’t give the full list of the 12 banks, he did reveal that POSB is in live pilot and “Interfin is close”. The rest of the banks, he said, will be coming online in the coming weeks.

    CABS has already launched and is currently signing up customers. FBC has been advertising the new service in the press.

    Currently, ZimSwitch Mobile is only available to Telecel subscribers. This means individuals interested in using the service have to either already be on the Telecel network, migrate to it or simply buy a second phone (or just a dual SIM phone) for the mobile banking services.

    With a current total of 5.4 million subscribers, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe holds 67.5% of Zim’s mobile telephony market. Telecel and NetOne share the remainder equally with 16.25% each.

    The requirement for subscribers to get a Telecel line will either cause a significant jump in the Telecel subscriber base, or cause some customers to shun the ZimSwitch Mobile based mobile banking services. Much of this is of course dependent on convenience and cost.

    Without number portability, changing mobile networks is not at all convenient. The 12 banks, Telecel and ZimSwitch have this factor working against them.

    But Roscoe doesn’t rule out partnering other mobile network operators. Though he wouldn’t disclose which operator they are looking to partner in future, our guess is NetOne, the state owned mobile operator. Signing on NetOne would significantly improve the convenience of the mobile banking services. Subscribers would at least be able to choose between 2 networks.

    It would also be extremely convenient if ZimSwitch could partner Econet and deliver EcoCash through ZimSwitch agents in addition to the EcoCash agents. We have no idea how likely this is to happen, but our leaning is on the “highly unlikely” side. For starters, TN Bank, Econet’s EcoCash implementing partner, is not even part of the 19 local institutions using the traditional ZimSwitch. Econet Chairman Tawanda Nyambirai is the founder, group CEO and controlling shareholder of TN Holdings. Secondly, Transacting costs aside, Econet has its near-monopoly status working in its favour to rollout EcoCash successfully without needing anyone.

    There’s also one key difference between OneWallet and EcoCash on one side, and ZimSwitch Mobile on the other; it is the transparency of traditional banks. With OneWallet and EcoCash, subscribers do not interface with the traditional banks at all. There are banks in the background but the subscriber doesn’t ‘see’ the bank. ZimSwitch Mobile on the other hand requires that customers work directly with the banks.

  • Trustco & Econet to resume Ecolife pending Supreme Court determination

    On 25 July this year, the High Court of Zimbabwe handed down an interim order against Econet in response to Trustco’s application for an interdict. The order basically compelled Econet to resume Ecolife operations with Trustco. Ecolife, a mobile phone based life insurance product that the two implemented in partnership with First Mutual Life, had been suspended following termination of the agreement. You can read more about the fallout between the companies here, here, and here.

    Econet appealed the 25 July High Court order to the Supreme Court.

    Yesterday, Zimbabwe state owned daily newspaper The Herald published an article revealing that Trustco lawyers obtained an order allowing Truscto to resume Ecolife operations with Econet pending the determination of the Econet Supreme Court appeal.

    Today, we received communication from Trustco today confirming that they have been allowed to execute judgement as handed down by the High Court in July. The Trustco contact we communicated with says the court order was served to Econet today and all things [Ecolife that is, will be] back to normal shortly.

    A 17 October Johannesburg Stock Exchange SENS announcement also confirms the developments. Here’s an extract:

    Following a purported appeal by Econet in respect of an order obtained by Trustco Mobile (Pty) Ltd on 25 July 2011, the following order has been granted by the High Court of Zimbabwe on 12 October 2011:

    “First Applicant (Trustco Mobile (Pty) Ltd) and Second Applicant (Trustco Group International) are hereby allowed to execute the judgment” as “handed down in HC 6065/11 on 25 July 2011, notwithstanding First Respondent`s (Econet Wireless (Private) Ltd) appeal under S.C. 171/11”

    There have been reports in the press recently that Econet is contemplating handing over Ecolife to First Mutual Life.  According to a report in the Herald, Econet will “assess the capacity of FML to underwrite the scheme when it decides to cut all ties with EcoLife following the problems with Trustco.

  • I’m investing in Zim Agriculture, says African award winning telecoms exec

    I’m investing in Zim Agriculture, says African award winning telecoms exec

    Last week, we received a press release on the winning of a Global Telecoms Business award by Norman Moyo, an exec at Tanzanian mobile operator called Zantel. We posted the story here. Moyo has worked for Celtel in Zambia and Nigeria, Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe and Zain in Bahrain. He was recognised as one of the top 40 global executives under the age of 40 in the telecoms industry.

    For the article, we asked Moyo what he is investing in back home. His response was something we found quite interesting. Here’s an extract:

    I am investigating a number of projects in Zimbabwe but strangely not in telecom sector per se… I believe there is great value in the agricultural sector and with the knowledge we have gained working in Africa and Middle East, I believe Zimbabwe is sitting on a unique competitive advantage. The world needs food and good quality food and yes some of the most fertile soils are in Zimbabwe. In as much as Nigeria gets its vast revenues from oil, Zim has its own “oil”. We just need to shake off some our misgivings and get back to farming and extract that oil. The world is increasingly requiring more food and we can feed it. That’s what we can do better than anyone else in the world !

    The temptation is to think Moyo doesn’t believe in the potential of ICTs. If he did, he’d put his money where his mouth is right? Not quite.

    In my opinion, it is telecoms leaders like him that can best connect the dots and use ICT’s effectively in our existing economic sectors like Agriculture. Moyo (and others like him) have seen the impact of ICTs in some of the biggest mobile markets in Africa like Nigeria. The lessons learnt across the continent (and beyond) can help resolve some of the telecoms issues we face and translate our high mobile penetration and rising internet penetration to directly benefit the people of Zimbabwe and those in the region.

    ICTs are pervasively changing information management and distribution in every sector of the economy. The rate of acquiring information and using it for economic and social benefit has exponentially increased. So much it scares some people into hiding their heads in the sand. It is indeed an unfortunate situation that only a few business leaders and entrepreneurs understand and see the abundant possibilities and opportunities the spread of ICTs is bringing.

    Young Leaders like Moyo, whose primary duty has been driving the adoption of ICTs across the continent, can see things differently even in the long-established (well, recently disrupted) sectors like Agriculture. They understand and do not fear the tech tools.

  • NetOne to provide lowest priced mobile broadband. Test period ends.

    NetOne, the only mobile operator locally that has not been providing mobile broadband services commercially, is now ready to launch. We have received tips from NetOne subscribers that starting Saturday, 8 October, the operator started sending an SMS message notifying subscribers the test was over and they had to start paying for the mobile broadband.

    The SMS reads:

    Harare Internet tests end 09/10/11. Pay $40 monthly for unlimited access. SMS yes/no to 888 to indicate interest or call 123. Visit the nearest shop to sign up.

    Yes, NetOne’s mobile broadband will effectively become the lowest priced locally. Telecel Zim charges US $0.11 per megabyte while Econet, the largest mobile operator locally, charges an average of US $0.10 per megabyte depending on the bundle size purchased.

    But internet is not just about price. It is quality that matters more than anything else.

    A full 3G network is not cheap to deploy and word around suggests only a few of NetOne’s base stations are 3G. NetOne however recently announced they secured funding to help with the mobile broadband rollout, so until the NetOne data coverage map is released, there’s no telling what the 3G coverage is.

    We also haven’t tested the NetOne mobile broadband yet so we can’t say for now how stable or fast the service is. But like you, we find the price quite attractive and will have to get a NetOne line and take it through the paces.

    Just a note; unlimited and uncapped internet in these parts normally means the provider doesn’t have the billing system in place to charge subscribers for actual usage. Just wondering if that’s the case here. If it is, unlimited won’t last very long.

    We’ll be finding out more details about the service and posting updates over the next few days.

     

  • .co.zw domain registration problems. Who’s to blame? What can be done?

    Back in August this year, we wrote:

    One of the main drivers of local content is local people being able to easily register a domain in the .zw space. Being able to find information on how to do this, being able to easily contact a registrar and get a domain registered without difficulty, and being able to proceed with the task of creating and making information available. This process is not straightforward locally.

    One of the main problems is that finding a company that will register a .co.zw domain without requiring a customer to buy another service like broadband internet and web hosting.

    Naturally, the .co.zw space is the one most businesses are interested in to put their businesses online. This space is managed by the Zimbabwe Internet Service Providers Association (ZISPA). We have had opportunity to speak to the ZISPA chairman on this matter. In the interview we had with him Troy Prinsloo said:

    We’ve had to take some of the ISPs to task, where some of them have turned people away saying we’re not registering your .co.zw unless you take our broadband service. It has been an issue in the past but we’ve discussed it. It was the old ‘if you buy a loaf of bread, you have to buy a coke’. We had cases of that long back but we directed ISPs that they are not allowed to do that. They are not allowed to decline a registration based on taking up of other services. That was an issue long back but we resolved it quite quickly.

    As our earlier article suggests, the issue is far from resolved. ISPs, the largest being most conspicuous, still won’t register a domain without the buy-internet-from-us condition.

    We called both ZOL and YoAfrica (Zim’s biggest ISPs and members of ZISPA) offices this week and asked if we could register a domain. ZOL won’t let you register a domain unless you buy at least a dialup internet service. YoAfrica won’t register your domain unless you buy the hosting from them. We got the same story from AfricaOnline and iWayAfrica.

    Of the 8 ISPs we called (and we didn’t check with all of them) yesterday, only ZARnet does not tie domain registration to other services.

    We contacted the ZISPA chairman again today and told him about this. His comment was:

    As Zispa we encourage ISPs to do this but don’t force them to do so, just as we don’t stipulate pricing,types of service offered etc. This is to promote innovation and competitiveness, which benefits end users.

    Whilst ISPs will charge and administrative fee for registrations I personally don’t see the sense in turning away business. Some ISPs even waive this fee if other services are taken. While you may have found some to “require” other services before registration this is not the case across the board and I know for a fact that there are those who will register for around $10.

    This statement is in conflict with the earlier message that ISPs “are not allowed to decline a registration based on taking up of other services”, but we think it is fair nonetheless: ZISPA should not force any ISP to do business it doesn’t want to do. As custodians of the .co.zw space they should just facilitate it efficiently for those ISPs, or any other company for that matter, that wants this business.

    The point is that ZISPA can do more to make this process as easy, fast and as transparent as possible. They can surely make it easier. They can at least update the ZISPA website with current information on how a regular business or individual can register their domain and get their entity a place on the internet.

    But to be fair, we don’t think this is just ZISPA’s responsibility alone.  Any credible tech company can decide today to start registering domains, approach ZISPA and show them they are competent technically (like knowing how to configure DNS). ZISPA would let them.

    We Zimbabweans love to complain that .co.zw domain registration is difficult and we point the fingers at ZISPA. How many of us have taken it upon ourselves to make this an opportunity and persistently work with ZISPA to become the most efficient registrar of the .co.zw space? Who has done this and faced resistance from ZISPA?

    It’s not who is to blame. It’s what can be done.

  • Tengesa.com, a mobile classifieds platform, launches

    Tengesa.com, a mobile classifieds platform, launches

    Zimbabwe has no shortage of desktop based classifieds websites. There are tens upon tens of local marketplace websites all wanting to be Zim’s classifieds destination on the web. One such website, classifieds.co.zw, has managed to become the go to site in this space.

    The curious thing is that despite all this healthy participation by web entrepreneurs in web classifieds, there’s none in the mobile classifieds space. At least there’s no known destination for mobile classifieds locally. Classifieds.co.zw doesn’t even have a mobile version.

    Tengesa.com is aiming for that spot. To become Zimbabwe’s primary mobile classifieds destination.

    The Tengesa.com founders, three brothers, say they believe there isn’t an effective marketplace in Zimbabwe and that there are “many products out there that do not fully understand their users or the needs of those users.”

    The remarkable thing about Tengesa is that not only did they think mobile first, they thought mobile only. There’s no desktop version of the marketplace. You can use the site on desktop but the screens were primarily designed for mobile devices.

    We played with the application a bit here at Techzim. Just using it, you can see the team worked to make it clean and simple to use. Unfortunately there’s no application or facility to support basic mobile phones without internet connectivity and this will definitely exclude some sections of mobile users.

    Tengesa.com launched last week. The team posted some adverts in the print press and are also running a competition for the most viewed ad. The winner will get a Nokia C3 mobile phone.

    On monetization, the team says they’re not in hurry to make money:

    We would like to see the network grow, This will reaffirm our belief that it is a useful tool. This is almost like market research for us, We aim to see if we have the capability to build effective tools for African users in a mobile space. At the moment monetary success is not the highest thing on our priority list, building a product that is effective is. Our product will always remain free for people wanting to post free classified ads to a mobile market.

  • Zimbabwe ICT Africa 2011 exhibition in pictures

    ICT Africa has come and gone. For those that didn’t get a chance to visit the exhibition, we tried as much as possible to take pictures of almost every stand, the outside of the venue, visitors, the official opening, notable figures speaking and just about every other thing that caught our attention.

    We’ve posted all the photos to our Facebook Page facebook.com/techzim. The photos are free for anyone to use.

    Here are the albums:

  • Zimbabwe ICT Africa 2011’s best exhibitions

    Zimbabwe ICT Africa 2011’s best exhibitions

    Yesterday, on the second day of ICT Africa 2011, the Vice President of Zimbabwe, Joice Mujuru presented awards to the most outstanding exhibitions.

    Two awards were presented, the first for the best stand at the exhibition and the second for the most innovative product.

    The first award was won by Document Support Centre, the official representatives of Xerox in Zimbabwe.

    VP Joice Mujuru hands over award to DSC representatives while ICT Minister Chamisa & COMSA President Mukusha look on

    Here’s a picture of the Document Support Centre stand that won them the award.

    The second award went to Utande, an Internet Access Provider. The product that won the price is a cloud computing platform the company has launched to deliver Software as a Service. Utande demonstrated a live Sage ERP application running on their cloud platform.

  • Steve Jobs passes on

    The Apple founder, Steve Jobs, has died. He was 56.

    Jobs passed away on 5 October 2011 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

    The visionary leader defined a lot of aspects in the computing industry that we know today. Under his leadership Apple took the game to a whole different level. That’s true for PCs, music devices, smartphones,  tablets and the animation industry. Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO on August 24 this year due to the illness.

    Here’s Apple’s message on his death. You can read more about him on his Wikipedia entry.

  • Day 1 of Zimbabwe ICT Africa 2011 (Pictures)

    Day 1 of Zimbabwe ICT Africa 2011 (Pictures)

    We’re just from the first day of ICT Africa 2011. The first day is dedicated to business and invited guests, though really no one is prevented from attending. We spent most of the day going around the stands and speaking to people about the stuff their tech companies are doing.

    There are a few interesting things we will be posting here. Not many, just a few. Most of the exhibitions are things we already know about the companies. It’s more an opportunity to learn more about the products than to see new products.

    We would want more but we’re not complaining; the place is busier than last year and the people we’re meeting a lot livelier. It’s a refreshing break from our everyday business having so many techies and tech entrepreneurs in one place.

    As expected, both YoAfrica and ZOL, the two biggest ISPs locally that normally make a big show at this exhibition, were not there this year.  The two were conspicuous by their absence. Hey Yo & ZOL, where are you?

    There are quite a number of Internet Providers still that are exhibiting; Africom, Utande (yes, they’re here this year), TelOne, Econet, Frampol, Telecontract and Telecel.

    We took some photos of the exhibition for those that didn’t make it there today. We’ve posted them to our Facebook page (remember to like it).

    Here are a few more we selected:

  • After just a day, the Daily News website goes down again

    After just a day, the Daily News website goes down again

    The Daily News website is down. Again. Visiting it right now gives the default hosting page in the screenshot below:

    Why they pulled it down is anyone’s guess right now. SW Radio Africa reported yesterday that the editor of the paper, Stanley Gama, had told them the website had been restored online yesterday after a month of downtime. The reason for the downtime given by the editor is that they are “making further developments and modernising in line with modern websites around the world”.

    We don’t find this reason the bit plausible. You don’t need to put a website offline for a month to upgrade it, especially if you’re just going to load the same old website after the 30 days.

    And just to be clear, we don’t doubt that they’re working on a new website. What we doubt is that this is the reason their website was down for a month.

    The Daily News is one of the 2 most popular private daily newspapers in Zimbabwe. The other is NewsDay.

    Strangely, just two days ago the NewsDay website was put offline after a hacking incident. The website is still down. And yesterday, the H-Metro website too was compromised and put down for several hours.

    It’s been a bad week for these media houses and their readers. Our hope is that we all learn from this. There needs to be more deliberate attention given to the security and availability of web properties locally.

  • Our ICT Africa 2011 wish list

    Our ICT Africa 2011 wish list

    Later this week, this year’s ICT Africa exhibition and conference will take place. It’ll run from the 5th to the 7th of October. It’s Zimbabwe’s ICT industry flagship event, organized by the Computer Suppliers Association of Zimbabwe (COMSA). This year however (and last year as well actually) there’s great involvement by the Ministry of ICT in organizing the event.

    If this year’s event is going to be anything similar to last year’s or the year before that (and there’s nothing to suggest otherwise) then we expect to have the event filled with mostly stuff that’s not exciting. Companies will exhibit some HP PCs, laptops and servers they’ll selling. Maybe a few companies will bring iPads this time around.

    You’ll also have the ISPs, telling you how fast and lovely their internet is. They’ll give you flyers with details of each service they offer and how you can get it. Most of the flyers you can get at their offices or just off their website on any given day by the way.

    If you’re lucky, YoAfrica will have a free LAN gaming party and some free Wi-Fi.. ZOL does free Wi-FI too The two are Zimbabwe’s largest ISPs.  YoAfrica didn’t come to last year’s exhibition unfortunately and we hear ZOL too might not be coming this year.

    Close to the end of the 3 day event, a government minister will come give a speech about how important ICTs are to the country.

    We’ve attended this annual exhibition faithfully these past three years and this is more or less the picture.

    Exciting? Hardly.

    Do we look forward to it? Not really.

    Will we attend this year? You bet!

    Would we like to see some change?  Absolutely.

    Here are some ideas:

    • Let’s have some real innovation from the exhibitors. Launch an exciting ground breaking service. Announce significant milestones for the industry. The exhibitors should not show us stuff we already know!
    • The free internet and the gaming is great, let’s have more exciting stuff like this that keep visitors on their feet wanting more. The Ubuntu team offers a refreshing experience too. More stuff like this please.
    • Let’s have more discussion panels. Let’s have the Econet CEO, Telecel CEO, the YoAfrica CEO, the Burco CEO, the POTRAZ Director General, the ICT Minister and all these people leading companies that are bringing ICTs to the people. Let’s have them all on one stage answering questions from a smart host and us the users of the ICTs . We’d like so much to hear their view on a lot of topics.
    • Let’s have a day dedicated to tech entrepreneurs, where start-ups present, discuss, share and get advice. The future of the ICTs belongs to them.
    • The name ‘ICT Africa’ doesn’t say what the event is about. At least not anymore. Let’s find a suitable name.

    That’s us. If we see these things this year, we’ll be pleasantly surprised. If not, maybe next year. And just to be clear, we’re not discounting the efforts COMSA (and now the ICT Ministry) have made to hold this event yearly, No. We just wish for more.

    If you have any suggestions for the organizers, please share in the comments below.

  • Techzim was down this morning

    Techzim was down this morning

    Soon after we posted that Alpha Media’s Newsday website was down this morning, a friend notified us there was something wrong with our website. We checked and sure enough all the articles were gone. No story at all, like it’s a new blog.

    Thankfully, ours wasn’t a hacking problem. The problem was one of the main tables in our content database was corrupted. And fortunately, this is not a difficult problem to fix. It’s just that with our bad connectivity, it’s a nightmare to download the backup data (to be safe) and start uploading the data you need restored. It’s a slow exercise, but thankfully again, one we didn’t need to go through entirely to be back online.

    Techzim is hosted in South Africa by a company called Afrihost. The actual WordPress site is managed by us.

    There’s no evidence to suggest the database corruption was an attack by a hacker. In fact all the signs suggest the database was too busy at a certain point this morning and this contributed to the corruption. What we have learnt is that we need to change some things with the database technologies we use to make it more robust.

    We apologize for being down and we’re thankful to the friends that alerted us to the problem.