Author: Tendai Mupaso
Plagiarism at the centre of clash between old media & new media publishers
Over the past year or so, stories of blatant plagiarism have become a common piece of conversation in Zimbabwean social media circles. Local bloggers have been victims to what they claim outright theft of their journalistic and creative works, with the mainstream media being the main culprit. Techzim for instance, has discovered volumes of its […]
Top Zimbabwean tech failures of 2014 we can all learn from
Back in June I had an opportunity to meet a Tel Aviv based entrepreneur whilst covering PIVOTEast in Nairobi. During his presentation at PIVOTEast he spoke a lot on the different two startup ecosystems he had been exposed to, namely Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv and the prevalence of failure seemed to dominate his insights. […]
Five things that will (some we wish won’t) happen in digital media in 2015
2015 will be important as far as digital media is concerned. This year has already set a solid foundation for digital media so 2015 will be the year that we will see more products and traction on already existing digital media products. There are some things that are due to happen like digital migration of […]
60% of the Zimbabwean population connected on mobile: POTRAZ
Despite having an “over-subscribed” mobile penetration rate of 106%, POTRAZ estimates that only 60% of the Zimbabweans are actually on mobile device or have multiple-active mobile SIM cards (Unique subscriber penetration). This was revealed by a POTRAZ official responding to a question at the recently held Enterprise Office Communication Summit in Harare. The POTRAZ official, […]
Can Aflix compete in Africa’s (now cut throat) VOD Space? Here’s what we know
Recently, Video On Demand has been making some moves across the continent and you would think it’s the next big thing in Africa after the Telecoms revolution. In just a space of two weeks, South Africa went from zero to two legal VOD competitors to MultiChoice’s Box Office. First was Vidi, a streaming VOD […]
Check out the 2014 ZOL Startup Challenge video
The ZOL Startup Challenge 2014 is getting more interesting by the week. Proceedings kicked off with a meetup held in Harare a fortnight ago. Last week, the ZOL Startup Challenge was in Bulawayo for the first time with a tech-entrepreneurship training session and a meetup to introduce the Bulawayo Tech Community to the new extended […]
NUST to host ZOL Startup Challenge Bulawayo tech entrepreneurship training & meetup
Hot on the heels of a successful ZOL Startup Challenge meetup held in Harare last week. Techzim and ZOL Zimbabwe will be descending on Bulawayo on the 4th of September for the ZOL Startup Challenge Bulawayo tech entrepreneurship training and meetup. Thanks to our partners Sky Hub, we have managed to secure NUST to host […]
The ZOL Startup Challenge 2014 to be bigger, better and much more fun
Today we are proud to announce that Zimbabwe’s most anticipated startup competition is upon us. The fourth edition of the ZOL Startup Challenge kicks off today and we have bumped up the competition format and process to make it bigger, far reaching and a whole lot more fun. Over the past few weeks, actually months […]
ZOL sponsors Startup Challenge for the 4th Year
Local internet service provider, ZOL Zimbabwe, has once again thrown its full weight behind the ZOL Startup Challenge. The tech startup showcase, now in its fourth year, has had ZOL as its title sponsor since its inception in 2011. The ZOL Startup Challenge is an annual competition for tech startups that pits participants against each […]
PIVOT East 2014: Startups in mobile finance category highlights
East Africa’s largest startup competition, PIVOT East has come to life and East African startups have started a battle of ideas and an event being held in Nairobi Kenya. The first category was on Startups in (mobile) Finance which saw five startups, three from Kenya and 2 from Uganda pitching ideas on mobile finance, payments […]
Tel•One sponsors second edition of the Zimbabwe Broadband Forum
Tel•One will this year be sponsoring the second edition of the Zimbabwe Broadband Forum which begins tomorrow (Friday, 6 June) at the Sango Conference Centre, Cresta Lodge, Harare. The country’s largest fixed line provider has chosen to be a Platinum Sponsor at this year’s Forum where the agenda will be focused on “Unpacking the Broadband […]
Is the Astro Virtual 2 just a rebranded version of the Chinese iNew V3?
On Wednesday 14 May 2014, Astro launched their new flagship smartphone called the Astro Virtual 2. After the launch, I suspect a lot of people left the venue feeling a sense of pride towards what Astro is doing. After all, the device that they presented is sleek and does look world class. But is the […]
All set for the Startup Weekend this Friday with $30,000 in prizes up for grabs
The Startup Weekend Harare to be hosted by Hypercube will come alive this Friday at Hypercube in Harare. According to event organiser and Hypercube community manager Irene Chikumbo, pretty much everything is set for the event which starts on Friday 16 May at 5pm and ends on Sunday 18 May at 6pm. Startup Weekend is […]
WhatsApp accounts for 23% of all internet traffic on Econet’s network
WhatsApp now constitutes 23% of internet traffic on Econet’s network since the introduction of WhatsApp bundles in February. This is according to a press released published by Econet’s technical partner in the implementation of the app-based bundles, Sandvine. The release says Econet has experienced tremendous success with the WhatsApp bundles thanks to “Sandvine’s Usage Management solution implemented […]
Econet selling a ZTE V795 entry level smartphone for $55. Our thoughts
Econet last month introduced a new smartphone deal targeting first time smartphone users; a ZTE V795 Android smartphone for just $55. Late last year Econet introduced the Huawei Ascend Y220 targeting the same market segment and we are guessing the Y220 has sold out and the ZTE V795 is the replacement. Chinese telecoms company ZTE released […]
Astro mobile to launch a new flagship smartphone called Astro Virtual 2
Local tech services and devices company Astro, is set to launch their new flagship smartphone called the Astro Virtual 2 tomorrow at an event to be held in Harare. Astro is keeping details of the device under wraps until the official unveiling but obviously it’s an upgrade to the current flagship, the Astro Virtual. From […]
The DNA of Zim’s “Technology” hubs part 3: Emerging Ideas
A few weeks ago we started a review of the local tech hubs as means to assess how they have hit the ground running in their first few months navigating around the Zimbabwean startup ecosystem. Muzinda-Umuzi and Hypercube were the first and second in the review and maybe tied to their formation similarities (all have […]
Telecel finally announces on net video calling
A month ago Techzim reported that Telecel was set to introduce video calling and today the MNO announced that the service is now active. Based on information gathered from sources, the service was due for launch almost a month ago but it seems to have been given less priority behind Telecel Go. Unlike the contents […]
Mvendr launches prepaid “Mobile Tuck Shop” Android app in Zimbabwe
A UK based company called Mvendr has announced the launch of a vending app that according to them allows “vendors” or micro traders to sell things like prepaid airtime, electricity tokens and DStv subs. According to the release, the Mvendr app is launching first in South Africa and Zimbabwe with other African countries coming up […]
Lamudi issues release on expansion into Zimbabwe but says very little
A few days we broke the story that Africa Internet Holdings had entered Zimbabwe’s webspace with a properties website Lamudi. Today, the company issued a release announcing their expansion into Zimbabwe but said little about why the feel Zimbabwe is a lucrative expansion avenue. In fact, from reading the brief release, you’d think they are […]
Special Edition podcast: Find out about Tech Lair and their monthly meetups
A little over two months ago we wrote about Tech Lair, a Ted Talk like initiative were local tech guys and people from other fields converge monthly to discuss everything tech in Zimbabwe. The initiative founded and currently funded by IDPR Extreme has kicked off quite well and they will be hosting their third meetup […]
Latest Techzim podcast: Econet results, smartphone penetration, iROKO TV
Here is our latest Techzim Podcast were we discussed the Econet Financial results, Steward Bank losses, iRoko TV, Rocket Internet and many more. We really got into a heated debated on the 10% smartphone penetration figures released by Econet. We generally agreed that the 10% figure is flawed but it still begged the question, what […]
Samsung Galaxy S5 to hit Econet stores in Harare tomorrow for $788
Econet Stores in Harare are tomorrow expected to start selling the Samsung Galaxy S5 for a comparatively low cash price of $788. According to a source at Econet, the Samsung Galaxy S5 only arrived at Econet late last week, almost a month after it was released globally and when other local retailers were already selling […]
Steward Bank can’t shake it off but recovers remarkably from half year loss
Econet Wireless owned “tech bank” Steward Bank has recorded a loss of $26.3 million for the operating year ended March 2014. Econet Wireless announced this in a media release and the parent company is confident that Steward Bank “would soon turn to profitability”. Although the loss indicates that Steward Bank is not out of the woods […]
Econet Results: Data and EcoCash revenues growing, overall revenue growth slows
Econet today released their financial results for the year ended February 2014. The results indicate that Econet Wireless posted $119.4 million profit which is definitely impressive, in an economy like ours. Whilst overall key indicators like revenue showed weak growth, Data and EcoCash revenues were the most impressive indicators for Econet. As expected, data revenues […]
Econet announcing results today, apparently the media is not invited
Zimbabwe’s leading mobile operator Econet Wireless is set to announce its annual results up to March 2014 but we are told the media will not be part of the announcement. A source has told Techzim that Econet Wireless is expected to announce their annual results today afternoon at Conquenar House in Eastlea in an announcement only […]
POTRAZ $60 million passive infrustructure project uncertain
Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator POTRAZ has yet again hit a snag in delivering the infrastructure due through the Universal Services Fund (USF) collected from telecom providers annually, according to a report in the Business Herald. The Universal Service Fund is money contributed to by all licensed telecom operators, part which is to be used to fund […]
Zimstocks now available for iOS devices, messaging feature coming in few weeks
Zimstocks, a mobile app that provides critical information on investing on the Zimbabwean stock exchange is now available for iOS devices.The app which is 6 to 8 months old was first introduced for Android devices and the iOS version was in development as far back as February 2014. Zimstocks founder and lead developer made the […]
Latest Techzim podcast: Steward Bank, WhatsApp, Nokia-Microsoft Deal & more
Thanks again for joining us for this Techzim podcast. This time around we engaged in lengthy conversations on the alleged retrenchments at Steward Bank, WhatsApp reaching half a billion users and the Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia. We also discussed George Chingore’s story on patenting the Protronics airtime vending machine and a host of other tech […]
Kenya has 67% smartphone penetration, way above the continent’s figures
A recent report by Human IPO has said that Kenya has 67% smartphone penetration. The report is based on figures released by Kenya’s leading mobile operator Safaricom. According to Safaricom, Kenya has 67% smartphone penetration attributed to “a growing middle class that has increased the uptake of these types of phones”. Safaricom also says 23% […]