Author: Valentine Muhamba
SA fintech Ozow launches zero-rate data payment apps
South African fintech company Ozow (formerly known as i-Pay) has launched two payments apps. One payment solution is a progressive web app that won’t require data and the other is an application that simplifies bank transfers. In what the company is calling the Ozow Revolution, they seek to make digital payments available to every South […]
Joey’s Pizza now has a mobile app
Joey’s Pizza is now available through a mobile application. This development follows on the heels on Fresh in a Box’s app that came out a couple of week’s ago. Both Joey’s Pizza and Bottle Store (Fresh in a Box’s liquor property) were all said to be getting their own apps. Like the Fresh in a […]
KaiOS and Telkom Kenya partner to launch a feature phone
Affordable smartphones or phones with smart features are always a welcome development. KaiOS has been a major mover in this respect. From the partnership with Telekom Networks Malawi last month to the Smart Kambudzi venture with Econet. The company has been at the forefront of bringing affordable, internet-capable phones to the continent. This time KaiOS […]
How big can this car tracking service be for TelOne?
TelOne held a launch event for their car tracking service Teltrack. The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of ICT, Car Track and various motoring associations. The launch of this service got us thinking about how big this opportunity could be for TelOne. At the launch event, there was a lot of talk […]
Zoom to prevent meeting hacks with two-factor authentication
Zoom, in a blog post, has announced that two-factor authentication (2FA) will be made available to all accounts. This is a measure that will secure accounts from bad actors who may guess a meeting password or use someone else’s credentials. Two-factor authentication is a second layer of protection that requires the user to identify themself […]
TelOne’s car tracking service Teltrack launch event
TelOne has officially launched its vehicle tracking service Teltrack. At an event that was attended by representatives from the Ministry of ICT, Car Track, Zimoco, the Truckers Association of Zimbabwe and the press. The event shed more light on what Teltrack is about and what it does. Teltrack Teltrack is a service that is using […]
Interswitch East Africa partners with UnionPay to facilitate digital payments
Interswitch East Africa has partnered with UnionPay International (UPI) to advance the payment digitisation. The partnership means that Interswitch becomes a Third-Party Service Provider (TPSP) for UPI in East Africa. Background Interswitch Group was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Nigeria. The company is an African focused digital payments and commerce company. The firm […]
South African founded Luno acquired by global blockchain investor
South African founded Luno has been acquired by Digital Currency Group (DCG). A little bit of background on both parties, Luno is a cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in South Africa in 2013. The company is now based in London but has hubs in Cape Town, Singapore and also has a presence in 40 countries. […]
Huawei smartphones will be running HarmonyOS in 2021
Huawei smartphones will be running their in-house operating system HarmonyOS in 2021. This was announced at HDC 2020 (Huawei Developers Conference). It’s definitely a case of ready or not for HarmonyOS. Without Google Play Services and the US chip ban that is taking effect in less than a week (September 15th, 2020). Huawei has to […]
Africa Tech Summit 10th edition to be celebrated online
Africa Tech Summit Connects 2020 is like all other events this year going online. The first online event follows the success of annual events held in Kigali, Washington DC and Shanghai. Africa Tech Summit will run from the 20th to the 22nd of October via mobile app and desktop. Africa Tech Summit Connect is aiming […]
Stanbic Bank launches “tap-and-go” contactless cards. Will they catch on?
Stanbic Bank is set to launch contactless cards and POS machines that can facilitate contactless payment. This is the second Stanbic Bank contactless payment solution in the space of roughly two months. A couple of months ago they launched a QR Code based payment system in partnership with SlydePay. As we reported when that service […]
Looking for legal advice? Legal Resources Foundation chatbot Simba can help
The law and legal proceedings can be confusing. This is, in part, due to how complicated laws and legal proceedings are. Legal jargon is also something that makes the whole affair daunting. For anyone who finds themselves needing legal advice or assistance this usually means locating and contacting a lawyer. A possible solution is for […]
EcoCash blood in the water, who will take advantage?
The payments space is in for some very big changes. Some of these changes we may be able to see. Others we can speculate on and there are others that are beyond the horizon. EcoCash, which seemed almost like a utility, is about to be equalised. The levelling of the playing field hasn’t come because […]
Afrolynk 2020 conference is going virtual
Conferences, events and seminars have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This, however, hasn’t meant that event planners have been deterred. The show must go on as they say, and we have witnessed a number of events going virtual. This is no different for Afrolynk 2020. What is Afrolynk? There may be some of […]
Beware of these Whatsapp messages that will crash your app
There have been reports of WhatsApp messages that can crash the application. These messages are said to come in the form of vcards (the way we can send contacts on the platform) as well as just general messages. There was a similar issue a couple of years back when users reported on the “Black-Dot message“. […]
EcoCash sets deadline for multiple accounts for the 6th of September 2020
In adherence to the Monetary Policy Statement put out by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Individuals are no longer allowed to have multiple EcoCash accounts. In a message sent out to customers Ecocash said the following: Public Announcement If you have 2 or more EcoCash lines dial *150# option 5 to select your primary wallet […]
Pensioners to get FCA cards, govt says it will pay for them
Pensioners are a group that has been a little overlooked when it comes to how they received their US$ allowance. Civil Servants have been beneficiaries of convenient platforms as well as FCA Cards. In a report from Sunday Mail, RBZ Governor John Mangudya said that Pensioners will soon be getting FCA cards. “It was brought […]
NetOne tariffs for voice, data and SMS have been reviewed
Earlier this week POTRAZ gave mobile network operators the go-ahead to review prices for their services. The reasoning behind the price change was to do with the old pricing structure focusing more on the US$ exchange rate instead of operational costs. NetOne has increased tariffs following Econet which announced a tariff adjustment on Friday (04/09/20). […]
Ministry of Health’s Twitter account has been put under temporary restrictions
Yet another Zimbabwean government-affiliated Twitter account has been placed under temporary restrictions. This time it’s the Ministry of Health’s Twitter account. Earlier this week, the account of Information Secretary Nick Mangwana was placed under temporary restrictions. The assumption of that ban was that it may have had something to do with Twitter’s fake followers. The […]
Black Panther comics are free now on ComiXology
Amazon-owned Comixology has made some Black Panther titles free to download. The sale went unannounced and Comixology is offering single issue Black Panther comics for free. This promotion comes a week after the passing of Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played King T’Challa in the 2018 Marvel blockbuster Black Panther. Boseman battled colon cancer for […]
DFS Lab is looking to invest in founders building the future of digital commerce in Africa
We are living in unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic has brought on new problems as well as magnified existing ones in Africa. There are individuals and collectives out there working on some of these solutions but it is tough for entrepreneurs to get funding. This is where Digital Financial Services (DFS) Lab comes in. DFS […]
Instagram isn’t being subtle about wanting us to watch Reels
Since TikTok has been in all sorts of trouble, Instagram has really been pushing Reels. Instagram isn’t alone in this, YouTube has also tried its hand at the short video format popularised by TikTok. On Instagram’s end, they have really been trying to establish Reels just in case TikTok’s situation gets a lot more complicated. […]
Bored? Don’t know what to try next? Use this site
Before we begin I need to admit that I am one of those people who like things that are similar to the things I already like. There are instances when I venture off and try other things but that’s few and far between. So when browsing the internet for something to add to my many […]
NetOne suspending customers who they suspect to have hacked their internet
NetOne is suspending customers that they suspect to have hacked their internet using VPNs. Now just to clear things up, the use of a VPN isn’t illegal. They are applications that a number of people have had to use from time to time. Well, mainly when the government shut down the internet. Using a VPN […]
Econet tariffs for voice, data and SMS go up
Econet Wireless has increased prices for voice, out of bundle data, SMSes and SMS bundles. This tariff increase follows up on the 60% price hike for data bundles that Econet unveiled earlier this week. Econet increasing tariffs (for voice, out of bundle data, and SMSes) isn’t much of a surprise as POTRAZ earlier this week […]
BancABC adds 20 000 customers per month in the last 6 months
BancABC recently released their financial results for the first half of 2020. From what the figures show BankABC has a very good first half of 2020 and this is considering the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. For example, their profits for the first half of 2020 were ZWL$361 million (adjusted for inflation) for the 6 […]
TelOne internet connection has been appalling according to reports
There have been a number of reports that TelOne internet connection has been inconsistent to absolutely slow. Some reports say that there have been intermittent periods where the connection has been alright and there have been others that say that connection has been bad altogether. The service disruption has been experienced by users on TelOne […]
WhatsApp beta reveals work on “vacation mode” has resumed
WhatsApp is no stranger to introducing features to the beta program and those features for whatever reason not coming to the official app. One of those features is Vacation Mode. The earliest that this feature was known of was back in 2018. At present WhatsApp offers users the ability to archive chats. But if you […]
Govt Zoom meeting was disrupted by hackers
A govt Zoom meeting was disrupted by hackers yesterday. The meeting was being held by the Meteorological Services Department National Climate Outlook Forum. Proceedings were adjourned midway after hackers posted adult content on the platform. The permanent secretary for Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Mr Munesu Munodawafa gave an apology on behalf of the Government […]
Nick Mangwana’s Twitter account may have been restricted because of fake followers
Nick Mangwana’s Twitter account has been placed under temporary restrictions because of some “unusual activity”. This is the second time that a government-affiliated account has prompted action from Twitter. A couple of weeks ago the account for the Ministry of Information was suspended by Twitter. The Ministry’s account appeared to have been suspended because a […]