Author: Leonard Sengere
‘Dubai is the financial capital of Africa?’ What is the Gold Mafia talking about?
Image Credit: David Rodrigo, Unsplash One statement in the Al Jazeera documentary on corruption and looting in Zimbabwe stuck with me. One guy said ‘Dubai is Africa’s financial capital’ or something to that order. It wasn’t the first time I had heard that, but it was the first time I cared. My little geography knowledge […]
Govt considering shutting down 3 power stations, Hwange Units 1-6 should be evaluated too
The circus that is Zimbabwe’s power generation continues. The country remains in literal and figurative darkness as electricity demand continues to outpace supply. As I write this, the Zimbabwe Power Company says we are producing 587MW against a demand that sometimes reaches 2200MW. That is why we are in darkness. We can rig and twist […]
RBZ could face sanctions following Al Jazeera documentary. That’s a big deal
Al Jazeera released the first of four parts to their explosive documentary on corruption and looting in Zimbabwe yesterday. Titled ‘Gold Mafia’ the documentary exposes the dealings of some government officials, prophets, pastors, and businesspeople profiting from the illegal movement of gold. Reactions to the docu have been mixed. Some feel Al Jazeera overpromised and […]
POSB launches dual currency Mastercard debit card and joins the prepaid USD card fight
The People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) has partnered with Mastercard to unveil new debit and prepaid cards. Okay, ‘what’s interesting about that?’ – you ask. Read on. Mastercard debit The more interesting of the two is the debit card. The Mastercard debit card allows customers to make dual currency transactions on the same card. That […]
They are 3D-printing cakes now, edible and everything. They can do chicken too
Image credit: Jonathan Blutinger / Columbia Engineering Just when you think you have seen it all, you see something like this. They are printing cakes now. Do those words mean what they traditionally meant? – you are forced to wonder. But yes, they are 3D-printing cakes that apparently taste pretty sweet. Researchers at Columbia University […]
Starlink future in danger? Scientists calling for ban on low Earth orbit satellites it uses
I know most of us are looking at Starlink as some kind of saviour. We have been disappointed enough by the current internet service providers in this country that we cling to any hope of a new player entering the fray. When Starlink said they were coming to Zimbabwe this calendar year, the excitement reached […]
You doubted them, Hwange Unit 7 now feeding electricity into national grid
We were starting to think it was never gonna happen. We had been told that the commissioning of Hwange Unit 7 was imminent too many times before. The day finally came, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) is proud to announce. Unit 7 was successfully synchronised late yesterday, Monday the 20th of March. As we speak, […]
The 1.5TB microSD card is here but your wallet can’t handle it
I am one of those people that hate losing features in devices even when it’s a feature I do not even use. An example would be the removal of the headphone jack in premium smartphones. I had moved on to Bluetooth headphones years before its death but was still mad when we lost it. I […]
Zimbabwe should jump on floating solar panels, would benefit Kariba
Three Gorges New Energy Floating Solar Farm, China. Image Credit: YSG Solar The British are known to talk about the weather, a lot. Some say it’s just an icebreaker or awkward silence filler topic but the main reason is that the weather is mostly terrible. The same applies to Zimbabwe when it comes to the […]
DStv partners Peacock to take on Netflix, does that even move you?
We just touched on the challenges that Multichoice faces in its home country of South Africa. Tough economic conditions mean more and more users are starting to look at DStv as a luxury. When you couple that with load-shedding which means most hours of the day people cannot even enjoy that luxury, it is no […]
Load-shedding and financially struggling users are negatively affecting DStv, even in SA
Running a successful business is no easy task, most companies fail. Running a successful business in Africa requires prayer and fasting. The once-beloved DStv is engaged in so many fights at once, one wonders how it’s still standing. Only a few years ago, DStv lost 230,000 Zimbabwean customers in just 6 months. They said it […]
Fully charge your phone in 4 mins 55 secs says Xiaomi with their 300W fast charging
About a month ago we talked about the Realme GT 5 Neo. Okay, we didn’t talk much about the phone itself but about its impressive charging tech. It charges at a mind-bending 240W which can charge its 4600mAh battery in just under 10 minutes. That’s a real phone that’s on sale right there. It was […]
Election season goodies galore, Zim govt to deploy 300 base stations in 2023
You gotta love election season, especially now when there is little violence. Most of what we are getting now are some last-minute efforts to appear to have done something in the last term. It can be frustrating to see some of these ministries/ departments show that they really could have done more if they put […]
Zimbabwe has 3rd most expensive fixed internet in the world says UK report, but is it?
Cable.co.uk has been analysing data packages from around the world for 6 years now and publishing the results for all to see. Over the years we have seen Zimbabwe rank as having the most expensive mobile internet in the world, although that was misleading. Cable has now released a report on fixed internet prices across […]
WhatsApp replacing numbers with usernames, introducing expiring groups and more
If you live in Zimbabwe and are reading this, you are a WhatsApp user. I can also bet all I own that you are in a number of groups on that platform. Some groups you enjoy and some you can’t leave because you’re a coward, lying to yourself that you’re trying to spare feelings. Whatever […]
Want To Be An African Venture Capitalist? Dream VC opens applications for 2023 programs
We talked about Dream VC, the investor accelerator, last year. To refresh your memory on what that means, they run intensive remote programs teaching and training professionals to work in or excel in the Venture Capital Industry in Africa. Not much has changed in the grand scheme of things when it comes to the number […]
With Harare City collecting ‘US$90m in 2 weeks’ from a clamping spree, avoid becoming a victim
You may have seen the video by now. You know the one where City Parking officials (or hired workers in City Council work suits) get into a fight with people on the streets of Harare. It is a warzone on the streets and like the Shona say, ‘hazvipere mushe’ (It won’t end well). Harare City […]
iSIMs are here to replace the eSIM you are yet to get
Econet Nicodemously introduced eSims late last year. You may have missed it because it’s not that big of a deal if we’re being honest. If you’re unfamiliar with eSims click here to learn more about them. This explains why Econet did not even make a splash about eSims hitting stores although they had made some […]
Solar for Health project has saved lives, showing that ZESA has blood on its hands for its failures
The thing I hate about Zimbabwe is how it messes with your mind to think basic services are luxuries you should not even think about. Medicine at a hospital? Come back to earth o dreamer. Water out of a tap on demand? What do you think this is, Mansa Musa’s palace? Being the good Zimbabweans […]
Are Econet and NetOne really saying US$7.50 or US$6.54 for 1GB is not economically sustainable?
I totally understand why it’s frustrating to hear mobile network operators (MNOs) constantly moan that they are charging too little. The sentiment is, ‘you can’t even provide a decent service and yet you want to charge more for it?’ MNOs of course counter with, ‘you are not paying enough to get good service.’ I think […]
You asked, here’s how you buy KFC for family back in Zim from where you are using Senditoo
You saw the Senditoo ad and were not sure how to actually go about it. You have been asking. Worry not, here are the answers you were looking for. Oh, and thank you dear Zimbo in the diaspora looking to buy a bucket of KFC chicken for your kin resident over here. You have no […]
Biden extended sanctions on Zimbabwe and revealed it’s all about safeguarding US interests
I stewed over this for many days, to be honest. I understood what it said but I didn’t understand it at the same time. That doesn’t make any sense but it is what it is. The United States extended its sanctions on Zimbabwe and it’s crazy to me. Let’s get one thing out of the […]
Android is in trouble, the iPhone is taking over, even in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is Android country. That has been the case since the beginning and is not about to change anytime soon. Or is it? Back in November 2021, we looked at the inroads that iOS is making in Zimbabwe. iOS is the software that runs on iPhones. iOS market share had risen to just over 10% […]
We seriously need to rethink our decision to keep smartphones out of schools
I just had a conversation with a mother who was in a meeting with her child’s teachers over Google Meet for a few hours last evening. Parent-teacher meetings over the air? I would have killed for this in my day, rather than having to sit next to my mother whilst my teacher revealed I was […]
[Update] Lance Mambondiani forced to step down from BancABC MD position
For some reason, I am not that surprised. If you’re honest, you will admit that you’re not that surprised too. It is being reported that Dr Lance Mambondiani, BancABC managing director, has been placed on forced leave pending investigations into alleged malpractices. It is highly unlikely that he will be returning to BancABC after that […]
Our preference for USD cash putting us at risk, Mukuru outlet robbed at gunpoint
Zimbabwe has steadily been dollarising. Now, dollarisation came with the disuse of electronic channels. That’s because of the mistrust that the general population has for official banking channels. We cannot trust that our foreign currency will remain foreign currency if banked. We have largely accepted this and are conducting ourselves accordingly. Businesses have to consider […]
Hwange Unit 7 commissioning delayed again as several current Units break down, it’s ridiculous
I knew I should not get my hopes high but I did it anyway. It was ill-advised but sometimes you just have to be an optimist. The electricity situation will not be improving any time soon, I have to accept that. Hwange Unit 7 will not save us. Mid-February we were told that Hwange Unit […]
Econet partners Ericsson to upgrade network, to improve and introduce new services like VoLTE
Econet Wireless is the largest mobile network operator in Zimbabwe. One has to do something right to get to that position and for stretches, Econet was the obvious choice for Zimbabweans. However, lately, serving their almost 10 million active customers has been a challenge. Last month, in February, Econet data services went down and Econet […]
You might not know this but you are not really good at ‘googling’, take these tips
We recently talked about how 93% of Zimbabweans use Google for their search needs. Google dominates the world over and that’s been the case since its introduction in 1997. You would think with such experience with Google we would be good at googling but we aren’t. If you’re content with the way you search today, […]
Let’s talk about how ChatGPT and friends could kill blogs and the internet as we know it
Lately, all the buzz is about how AI services like ChatGPT and Bard will change how we use the internet. This is how we are doing it right now, we go to the search bar, type in what we want to know and hit enter. It’s simple enough. Google, which over 90% of us are […]