Author: Susan Mwenesi

The government of Tanzania has procured a gadget that will control the misuse of mobile phones with plans being in motion to install it after completion of some procedures. Called Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), the device will be linked to mobile phone companies and will not be used immediately until all companies buy and installed their devices. “The equipment is highly sophisticated, it can track conversations and switch off a mobile phone without the knowledge of the users,” explained Deputy Minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Mr. January Makamba to the National assembley. Dialy News Tanzania reports that the Deputy…

Just when things were starting to look up for you mobile after its sale to Safaricom and Airtel, now the Telcom finds itself right smack in the middle of a lawsuit pitting Onfon Media against Dubai’s Imimobile with the former accusing the latter of plagiarism. The Business Daily reports that Onfon media had won a Ks. 100m contract that would see it supply a ring back tone that explained callers’ names, only to have it revoked and given to Imimobile. The Dubai-based firm  said to have colluded with Vasonomics Kenya to plagiarise its software program thus robbing it of a…

WhatsApp Android users can now invite others to try WhatsApp voice calling after the new invitations were launched on March 25. The Android Police reports that this is the third time as the popular messaging services has invited users to try voice calling two other times on February 2015 and on 11 March. Users might have to download the latest version of WhatsApp and to try it out one will have to go to  download WhatsApp for Android 2.12.14. While this might be good news to users it should be noted there are security risks involved and users housl be on the…

After three months interview, 12 entrepreneurs have been chosen for the Unreasonable East Africa class of 2015 in July elbowing out 168 others out of the total 180 that had applied from across the region. To qualify as an Unreasonable entrepreneur, each entrepreneur had to show that they were leveraging the power of business to solve massive social and environmental problems such as poverty, inequality, global warming, lack of access to health care and education and many others. These entrepreneurs have demonstrated that they have financially sustainable ventures that are innovating new technologies, transforming systems and pioneering new ways of…

Artists across the country have partnered classifieds site, OLX  in a campaign dubbed, Sell-to-Bless which aims to see people sell their unused goods on OLX and use the proceedings to buy dry food stuff from Tuskys supermarkets and donate to needy children’s homes. Some of the artists in the Sell to Bless Campaign are Citizen TV’s Willis Raburu, Abel Mutua of Hapa Kule, Njugush of real househelps of kawangware, Dk Kwenye beat, Size 8, Willy Paul, Bahati, Djs Mo, Johnie Celeb, Sanch, Krowbar, Touch, Soxxy, Gee gee, Njugush, Kambua and many others Jackson Kamau aka DJ Soxxy who heads the…

 After MTN subscribers, Etisalat Nigeria subscribers are the latest to be able to rent movies and pay with airtime among other services Dobox is now on the Etisalat network and could be seen on their website. “Get access thousands on music videos, trailers, and TV shows on www.dobox.tv, straight onto your phone or tablet. Etisalat is partnering with dobox.tv to give you access to a vast library of music videos, TV shows and short films. What’s more, the videos are downloadable; yours to keep and enjoy over and over again,” read the Dobox message on the Etisalat website. While the…

The Kenyan headqautered, African focussed support services and logistics company Atlas Development has been engaged to provide civil engineering supervisory, advanced life support, security and risk advisory services to a European and North African focussed oil and gas company operating in Western Sahara. The agreement is in line with the Company’s strategy of leveraging its existing profitable operating platform and experience supplying international companies with critical support services and logistics in East Africa, to expand its geographic exposure and profile. Atlas Development is continuing to pursue its objective of building a leading multi-divisional African support services business.  In this regard,…

In an effort to fight backlog,  Makerere university  has instituted a computer system to track the performance of graduate students and their respective supervisors. Christened graduate tracking system, the system will not only reveal the number of students supervised by a lecturer but will also reveal the research that is being conducted by students. The New Vision Uganda reports that the system is also expected to reveal sluggish students and supervisors especially at PHD level. Dr Vincent Ssembatya, the Makerere University director for quality assurance said the says the system will also spontaneously alert lecturers about the venue and time…

Equatorial Commercial Bank (ECB) has announced a partnership with the Kenya Revenue Authority to roll out the online tax remittance/collection system aimed at facilitating electronic collection of domestic taxes. ECB Acting Managing Director Shamira Dostmohamed said the move was aimed at enhancing efficiency that comes with integrating its core banking system with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to enable corporate clients pay their taxes electronically through iTax. “We are leveraging technology integration and sustained innovation to deliver an unrivalled customer experience. We believe that our customers and prospects deserve to benefit from the convenience that electronic banking platforms can provide,” said Ms. Shamira. She added…

After carrying out investigations on various allegations leveled against the Kenya Airports Authority Managing Director and three senior officers, the Board of Directors has recalled them back to work. MD Lucy Mbugua, general manager Finance, John Thumbi, the corporation’s Secretary, Catherine Kisila, and Procurement manager Obadia Orora had been sent on a 30-day compulsory leave on 19 February to pave way for investigations on the matter of the agreement for development and management of duty free master licence at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) between KAA and a global travel retailer company, Durfy International AG. According to Chairman David Kimaiyo, the board…

Long queues that characterize passport application at the Immigration Department in Kenya will soon be a thing of the past as by 15 April passport application will be done online. In a tweet, the Immigration department said application forms otherwise known as Form 19 will now be found on www.ecitizen.go.ke from where the applications will be made. A new edition for Forms is now available. All previous versions will be rejected. check them here; here; http://www.immigration.go.ke/Resources.html Similarly, applicants have been directed to the same site to ensure that their application is not rejected. “Effective Next month, we will ONLY accept…

As usual betting is a game of chances and while some have bet numerous times on the mobile and online betting platform Sportpesa, Paul Wainaina, trounced them all to become the game’s second jackpot winner in his fourth attempt. The game that would change his life was between Spanish league leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday night. The vendor had made 10 correct picks and three remained when he decided to seek for divine intervention. “I tried praying, but I was weak. I woke my wife up to help me pray. I don’t know even what…

Kenyan startups drawn from the manufacturing, transportation, commercial, ICT, healthcare, Education, etc are among the 1000 startups chosen for the $100 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), and have propelled the country to among the five top countries represented in the programme. The initiative seeks to discover and support 10,000 African entrepreneurs over the next decade, with a target of creating 1 million new jobs and $10 billion in additional revenues in the process. The winners represent 52 African countries and territories, and the top five countries in terms of numbers of winners are Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Ghana.  All…

Africa Online’s parent company Gondwana International Networks is set to launch a managed infrastructure and services solution called iManage as well as expand VSAT services in Tanzania. Africa Online was acquired by GIN in December 2013 and remains one of the leading African ISPs. “With the iManage suite of value-added services, Africa Online has packaged an excellent combination of software and infrastructure as a service, which compliments its connectivity solutions as well as serving customers on other access networks. This means that customers don’t procure hardware, and as a result have no upfront cost. This gives customers the best of the cloud with essential…

Hot on the heels of Tanzania which is moving to enforce cyber security laws especially in the field of e-payment is Rwanda whose cabinet has just approved its National Cyber Security Law. According to New Times Rwanda the new law is meant to protect public and private infrastructure, personal information of web users, financial/banking information as well as sovereign data from cyber attack. Included in the policy is strengthening the regulatory framework; promotion of research and development in cyber security; human resource development; creating cyber security awareness; and information sharing and cooperation. With the policy government will also set up…

 Easy Taxi has unveiled an in-app cashless payment option, Easy Taxi Pay that will enable customers to add their credit/debit card details and pay for a ride by simply tapping their smart phone screen. The application also provides a detailed summary of the payment information after each ride via email. With this new payment method, customers using Easy Taxi will now have the widest range of payment options available to them from cash, to M-pesa paid directly to the driver, and now credit card / debit cards. “Easy Taxi is excited to provide customers with the option of paying for…

This week is all about the customer at Airtel Kenya with the company setting aside the 23rd to 27th of March 2015 for its customer centricity week, an initiative which seeks to embed a culture of service excellence among staff members to ensure that the company continues to deliver superior customer experience. The staff-driven initiative themed “Say yes to customer centricity” focuses on staff awareness on customer centricity, highlighting the ever-changing customers’ needs in the market and the need for the business to integrate customer experience as a core part of strategy to meet organizational goals. According to Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi,…

Telcos through their association the Telecommunications Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) want more transparency for the Universal Service fund and have now asked the Communications Authority to set up an audit and update them on its status. Collectively, the companies have contributed Ksh. 3.4 billion which is in excess of the CA’s target of sh. 2.5 billion. Apart from the audit, the operators also want to be included in the management of the fund and have also put forward that the last access gap study was outdated and should not be used I determining the areas needing ICT. The daily…

Last year it was reported that Ghana looses $40 million through the sim box menace in the country with the director incharge of Engineering at Ghana’s National Communication Authority, Henry Kanora admitting it was problem in the country. Telcos in the country are individually taking measures to curb the menace with MTN proposing the 19 cents minimum per minute of inbound international traffic to be removed as their solution after reporting reduction in revenue losses to simboxing. Ghana Web reports that the MTN CEO revealed the reduction was significant having come from $800,000 to just about $100,000 a month which…

A research by Schneider Electric has revealed that counterfeiting of most common electrical products is widely spread in all African countries, representing 40% to 80% of their markets. Cables, breakers, sockets, switches and extension cords, are the five most counterfeit electrical products (in that order). China remains the main source of electrical counterfeit goods entering the continent (75% of the answers) followed by the rest of Asian countries. Locally manufactured counterfeits originate mostly from Tanzania, Nigeria and Ivory Coast. The survey took place in eleven African countries: Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast,…

On Sunday night a shocked nation  received news of how the member of parliament for Imenti South Mr Gideon Mwiti allegedly raped his 29-year old  communications consultant in his office in Westlands prompting varied reactions from people who watched the story on various news channels. According to the reports the lady had gone for a business meeting that neevr took place as the MP allegedly forced her to have a HIV test then proceeded to tear up her clothes and raped her repeatedly. “He beat me up and tore my clothes. He also told me to stop behaving as if I did…

Plans to move from the analogue to digital  mode of transmission are are now in full gear although the country lags behind other African countries who have already started or completed all their phases of digital migration albeit amid controversies. So far, the SA Department of Communications has Gazetted the amendm ents to the Broadcast Digital Migration Policy that seeks to clarify  the use of a control system in Set Top Boxes (STBs) that will enable households to switch from analogue to digital broadcast signals. “The Department of Communications has gazetted the Amendment of the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy issued under…

Tigo Tanzania plans to spend $120 million (Sh11.04b) to expand kits network in the country this year. According to Reuters, the money will be channeled towards the expansion and maintenance of the telecom’s of Tigo’s network coverage through rolling out 843 new mobile telephone network transmission sites all over the country. “The company plans to spend $120 million, which is 20 per cent higher than $100 million in 2014 on its network expansion, fibre and opening additional customer service shops across the country,” Tigo Tanzania Spokesman John Wanyancha . “The growth of the mobile phone sector is a result of……

 The electronic payment system in Tanzania is has been facing various challenges which have led to businesses making financial losses in transactions. This has in turn created the need for the government to come up with proper laws to govern and control this mode of payment thus it has committed itself to establishing best practices, regulations and efficient, effective payment, clearing and settlement systems. This is according to Finance Minister, Ms Saada Mkuya Salum, who was speaking at a seminar to Members of Parliament on the National Payment System, whose Bill is expected to be tabled in the National Assembly…

Customers of the popular M-PESA service from Safaricom will be unable to access services such as New customer registrations, personal identification number (PIN) changes and account activations for nine hours this weekend. This is following a routine maintenance of the service as explained by the company. “All M-Pesa services will not be available from 11pm Saturday March 21, 2015, and will resume at 8am Sunday March 22, 2015,” said the company in advertisement on social media and in local dailies.

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bob Collymore has announced the exit of two top executives at the firm; Mr. Peter Arina, general manager consumer business and Ms Pauline Warui, director of customer management citing the Telco’s disconnection from customers. Arina worked at the company for 11 years and is credited with building its distribution network while Warui has seven years behind her at the firm. “These changes have been necessitated by an appreciation that we as a business have become disconnected from our customers’ needs at various levels. “We therefore have to repurpose ourselves towards delivering a truly differentiated value…

The Kenya government, businesses, conservation groups and utilities have launched Africa’s first Water Fund designed to provide a sustained water supply to a system that delivers water to over 9.3 million people and to generateUS$21.5 million in long term benefits to Kenyan citizens including farmers and businesses. This landmark initiative will cut costs for hydropower and clean water while addressing water flow and soil erosion issues in the Upper Tana River basin.The Nairobi Water Fund will expand on a successful, global Water Fund model – bringing public-private partnership and innovative financing for watershed conservation into Africa, where water is one…

Safaricom has been busy; just a few weeks after launching a loan facilty service for its customers with the Kenya Commercial Bank, the company has now branched out and joined the set-top boxes bandwagon expected to be unveiled next month. The Daily Nation reports that the company has already received the necessary approval from the Communications Authority of Kenya and is in the processof shipping in the first consignment. The focus for Telco will be offering internet connectivity to all homes with TV sets as the set-top box will operate as a hot spot that viewers can use to connect…

Stakeholders and Investors  of the British-American Investments Company (Britam) today learnt that the company has recorded a 19.5% pretax profit in its 2014 Full Year results which translates into Ksh.3.7 billion up from Ksh 3.1 billion posted in 2013. Britam had a strategy that mainly focused on regionalization, diversification of product portfolio and operational efficiencies and that has buoyed the company into now posting a comprehensive income of Ksh. 6.4 billion up from Ksh. 3.7 billion in 2013 representing a 74.3% growth. While speaking in Nairobi the Managing Director of the company Mr. Benson  billion Wairegi said that the insurance…

Last week President Uhuru Kenyatta issued an ultimatum to government agencies who are yet to embrace e-procurement in their agencies to do so or risk losing their jobs. Launched in August last year, IFMIS e-procurement is expected to  significantly change the tendering process by speeding up process as well as enhance accountability and transparency. And in a move that is seen to prepare the corporations for the roll out of the IFMIS e-procurement platform, treasury has so far trained 600 officials from various state corporations. The Standard reports that the first session started on Wednesday and the training will run…