Author: Valentine Muhamba
Distributed Power Africa secures US$20 million investment
We recently covered Distributed Power Africa’s (DPA) investment with Mettle Solar to build a solar plant for Liquid Telecom’s East Africa Data Centre. Well, DPA has announced that it has secured an investment of its own. The renewable energy company will receive a US$20 million investment from Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH). Royal Bafokeng Holdings is […]
DPA & Mettle Solar invest US$1.2 million into East Africa Data Centre solar plant
Distributed Power Africa (DPA) and Mettle Solar have finalised a US$1.2 million investment to install a 1MW solar plant for Liquid Telecom’s East Africa Data Centre (EADC) in Nairobi Kenya. A brief background on the players in the deal Distributed Power Africa (DPA) We have covered DPA here on a few occasions. The company has […]
Tanzania’s govt restricts internet and social media as the country headed to the polls
The Tanzanian govt has reportedly restricted internet access in the run-up to the country’s general elections being held today (28/10/20). Efforts to suppress internet and social media access surfaced yesterday on Twitter. In a report from Quartz Africa, the most widely available and used platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are either blocked or […]
Steward Bank poor service leaving customers stranded
Things are very hard right now and we are all trying our very best to get by. The struggle isn’t helped when your bank is not providing the service that it should. We have all had an unpleasant experience with customer services before. It is anxiety-inducing when you are in a tough spot and the […]
Senditoo cuts all fees to send money to Zimbabwe
Senditoo, the international remittance service, has announced that it is cutting fees for people sending money back home. This cut means that customers who send money to Zimbabwe won’t be charged for the transaction. Even though there were projections that the remittance market would take a decline at the start of the pandemic, the need […]
Liquid Telecom raises US$307 million to expand data centre business
Liquid Telecom has raised US$307 million from its shareholders to expand upon its data centre operations. The figure rose to the final sum after a commitment of US$40 million by CDC Group, a development financial institution owned by the UK govt. This latest investment is an addition to the US$180 million equity investment made by […]
[Download] Econet trading update for the period ending 31/08/20
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has released a trading and performance update that covers the period ending August 31st 2020. Beyond giving as look into the figures, the report gives insight into the operating environment and the business’ performance. Here are some of the highlights from the report. Operating environment The first 8 months of the year […]
What you need to know to liquidate EcoCash Agent account
As we reported earlier EcoCash Agent funds that haven’t been liquidated are now subject to the 2% Tax. For any company or individual that hasn’t yet started the process, here are some of the things you’ll need to know and have to liquidate funds in your EcoCash Agent account. In a report by The Chronicle, […]
Banned EcoCash Agents lines will be subject to the 2% Tax
The RBZ’s monetary policy statement from a couple of months ago revealed that agent lines are banned because they no longer serve a purpose. This announcement wasn’t a surprise to many because it looked unlikely that agent lines would be restored. After the suspension of Agent lines, many who used them began the process of […]
Huawei debuts Mate 40 range, new Kirin chip, apps & more
Following up on the release of the P40 series earlier this year, Huawei has today announced the launch of the Mate 40 series. The new range consists of the base Mate 40, Pro and Pro Plus. The launch of the phones was accompanied by the debut of Huawei’s new flagship Kirin 9000 chip which the […]
PayPal will soon allow cryptocurrency trading & shopping
In a major move for the cryptocurrency adoption, US payment giant PayPal announced that it has joined the cryptocurrency market. Customers will, in early 2021, be able to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies directly from their PayPal account. The motivation behind this shift was the migration to digital payments that was driven by the COVID-19 […]
Electric vehicles & how their adoption in Zimbabwe could be accelerated
Electric vehicles (EVs) have been the subject of debate for the last decade or so. They are among the top contenders to dethrone Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICE vehicles) as mankind’s primary mode of transportation. As much as the old way of transportation persists we cannot deny that ICE vehicles have had a significant impact […]
3 ways Zimbabweans in South Africa can send groceries back home
Late last week Vaya and Thumela eKhaya announced a partnership that offers Zimbabweans in South Africa an avenue to send groceries back home. This service (and services like it) offer Zimbabweans abroad an alternative to the middlemen and runners who usually carry goods across the border. Besides avoiding the irregular and high fees charged by […]
MTN Group named Africa’s most valuable brand, worth US$3.3 billion
MTN Group has been named Africa’s most valuable brand by Brand Finance’s inaugural Africa 150 rankings. The valuation that MTN received was US$3.3 Billion and sets them head and shoulders above the rest of the brands in Africa. South Africa’s telecom giant got the valuation after losing 1% brand value. What has helped however is […]
Google Search will now let you hum or sing to identify the song stuck in your head
Every so often there is a melody that crosses everyone’s mind. Some people are lucky enough to be able to identify the artist or some of the lyrics. There are those, myself included, who can sit with a melody for days on end trying to identify the song title or the artist. In a situation […]
Nigerian start-up Paystack acquired by Stripe for US$200 million
Stripe, the US-based payments and software company has acquired Nigerian Startup Paystack for a fee that is reported to be in excess of US$200 million. Background Paystack is a Nigerian startup that offers offline and online API based payment services. The company currently has around 60 000 customers covering small businesses, fintech, education institutions, and […]
Nyaradzo’s chatbot Sahwi is now available on WhatsApp
In late July, Nyaradzo Group launched a Facebook chatbot called Sahwi. The motivation behind this was to enhance customer experience as well as give their customers a digital channel to interact with the business. Nyaradzo has followed up the launch of Sahwi on Facebook by making the chatbot available on WhatsApp. How to start chatting […]
Zoom launches paid live events platform called OnZoom
Zoom has announced the launch of a paid live events platform called OnZoom. This is hardly a surprise, Zoom as a platform lacked a way for professionals (or anyone for that matter) locked down to monetise their skills through the platform. This isn’t to say that weren’t companies that didn’t make it possible for users […]
WhatsApp is looking to make it easier for users to report & resolve bugs
WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature that will make it easier for users to report bugs in the app. At present users can report bugs by sending an email to “support@whatsapp.com“. I think we can all agree that this isn’t the best way to do this, especially for us in Zimbabwe where one might […]
FBC launches dedicated Foreign Currency Exchange Centre
FBC Bank has, in a statement, announced the launch of a dedicated Foreign Currency Exchange Centre. The Forex centre will be housed at FBC’s number 76 Samora Machel Avenue branch. Customers will be able to do the following at the FBC Bank Foreign Exchange Currency Center: Prepaid Mastercard deposits Prepaid Mastercard de-loads Prepaid Mastercard issuance […]
Apple unveils the iPhone 12 range
Apple has finally revealed the next generation of iPhones. This was a long wait for Apple fans, the company usually releases its next generation of devices in late September. But better late than never as the old saying goes, we at last finally got to have a look at the new line up and it […]
Sasai adds Africa CDC Travel Pass COVID-19 feature
With regional and international travel now open, travellers need to abide by the COVID-19 protocols of various destinations. Depending on the destination there are a number of other health requirements (such as vaccinations) that each country seeks to grant entry on top of a COVID-19 test. In an effort to make the process of crossing […]
POTRAZ draft Domain Name System (DNS) framework
Earlier on we went over what a Domain Name System (DNS) is. That article laid out the basic structure of what DNS and now we will look at POTRAZ’s draft DNS framework. POTRAZ issued a consultation paper in 2019 on a DNS Framework for Zimbabwe. This led to POTRAZ releasing a draft framework after the […]
What is a Domain Name System (DNS)?
At the end of August the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), presented a draft Domain Name System (DNS) framework. This framework was a culmination of consultations the Regulatory body had with the public back in 2019. Before we get into what the document says let’s break down the core elements of what […]
RBZ says it will continuously review the 35K a week mobile money limit
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) released a statement that concerned the discussions and resolutions made by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that took place on the 2nd of October 2020. One of the key aspects highlighted in the statement was the ZWL$35 000 a week mobile money limit that took effect last week. Mobile […]
Lafarge’s building supply outlet Binastore now has an online store
Lafarge, the makers and supplier of cement, aggregates and dry mortar mixes also has a retail store. The shop called Binastore is in line with LaFarge’s core business of construction. The building supply outlet now has an online store. Binastore is, of course, offering the same products that the physical store is offering. However, looking […]
EcoCash still under regulatory scrutiny according to POTRAZ boss
Yesterday we were greeted with the news that the ZWL$5000 EcoCash limit was being relaxed. Mobile money subscribers can now spend ZWL$35 000 a week which if they so choose, they can transact in a single day. There is however a caveat, transactions up to the weekly limit will be in batches of ZWL$5000. News […]
It might be time to switch from SMS 2FA codes to an authentication app
I think we have all encountered two-factor authentication (2FA) from time to time. This could have been when setting up an email or any other account online. 2FA is a measure that offers us a second layer of protection when we are logging in to Gmail or even ZOOM. After entering a password users get […]
BancABC & NashTV team up for a dancehall vs traditional live show
BancABC and NashTV have joined forces for a Dancehall vs Traditional live show. The event looks like a promotional event for BancABC’s domestic remittance service City Hopper. This I think is an interesting move by BancABC. NashTV is a good partner because of the success of its Color Vibes unfiltered artist experience that was held […]
ZB Bank now offering Civil Servants USD allowance conversion on WhatsApp
Since the announcement that Civil Servants would be getting a USD allowance, there has been a slow trickle of service improvement from banks. By this, I mean civil servants had to go to their branches in order to convert the USD they got into local currency. Banks like FBC, Stanbic and more made it easier […]