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Zimbabwe to become first cashless society in Africa

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Econet Wireless, a mobile banking service and Telecommunications company, has predicted that in less than 12 months Zimbabwe will become Africa’s first cashless society.

Econet

Douglas Mboweni, the company’s CEO, stated: “In a year’s time, we do not expect anyone to still use paper money. It will resemble America or Europe where you no longer find people carrying cash bundles.”

According to Strive Masiyiwa, Econet Wireless founder, Hyperinflation had ruined people’s confidence in financial institutions though Econet Wireless establishment will bring many positive changes.

Initially, Econet Wireless developed mobile payments to assist NGOs transfer cash to refugees after the war ended in 2005 in Burundi. This was a way of helping humanitarians get money to individuals in rural areas who wanted to re-establish their lives.

“Providing people the ability to save is even more essential than credit. We are attempting to build a savings culture where people are urged to save, even if they merely have a dollar for transport, school fees and the doctor. A savings and credit infrastructure builds resilience,” stated Masiyiwa.

Masiyiwa further added that in order to reach the telecommunications companies and the unbanked, financial institutions, it is essential to design services that are affordable, easy and practicable.

Econet Wireless’s mobile payment system came into existence after the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy in 2002. It was established in 1998 though with a lot of struggle. The company currently operates in 17 countries including Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, New Zealand and Nigeria.

 

Facebook unveils a new feature

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Social media Facebook is trying out a new feature that warns users of sites such as the Onion, which posts satirical content.

Onion feature

According to Facebook, satirical stories have aroused angry comments and confusion from some social media users thus; their feedback has emphasized the need for the feature.

“We are doing a small test which demonstrates the text ‘Satire’ ahead of links to satirical articles within the related articles unit in News Feed. This is since we got feedback that several people needed a clearer way to differentiate satirical articles from others within these units,” said Facebook’s representative.

Sites such as the Daily Mash and Onion in the UK and US publish news that are satirical, which often reflect the current news agenda as well as mimic mainstream media. However, they are frequently mistaken by professional news organizations and social network users as genuine news stories.

Recently, Facebook has faced criticism of how its news feed feature is being managed.

It is still not apparent whether the trial will be permanently rolled out throughout the site or the number of satirical sites that will have their content tagged in this manner.

Navigidi Enters the Hotels Booking Race After a Pact with Jovago

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navagidiToday, Navagidi, Nigeria’s social metro network helping users to get around town, flights and taxis partnered with Jovago.com, for a white label hotel booking solution for users on the Navigidi site. This puts Navigidi in the hotels business in a way after a similar deal with TravelStart for flights and a taxi hire deal with Metro Taxi.

Fisayo Oludare, Founder of Navigidi said, “We are proud to be teaming up with Jovago.com, the leading online hotel booking company in Nigeria, to provide affordable experiences for everybody.”

The deal will see Navigidi users find and book any hotel found on Jovago.com, a deal both partners see as strategic and convenient for their users. Jovago has over 200,000 hotels worldwide and 5000 hotels in Nigeria. This will be an added advantage to both local and international tourists coming into Nigeria or leaving Nigeria for other parts of the world.

“Today is about putting the customer first,” said Marek Zmyslowski, Managing Director of Jovago.com Nigeria. “Together with Navigidi, we are creating avenues for the average Lagos citizen to easily find hotels across Nigeria.”

Apart from Jovago.com, other sister sites run by Africa Internet Holding have been doubling down on local partnerships to attract locals as users and as well have the same standing as their competition, especially from local founded companies who see the pan African Rocket Internet-affiliated group as an elephant to beat. AIH’s partnership with MTN was a killer move as MTN Group is in major African markets as top mobile network operator.

Booking online is convenient and ends the pain and inconvinience associated with hotel hunting especially on a foreign trip.

MVNO Evolution in Nigeria leading to outsourcing models

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Nigeria mobile network operators (MNO)s are evolving as far as their business models are concerned and are now increasingly scoping outsourcing models in collaboration with third-party infrastructure providers rather than deploying and owning their entire network infrastructure themselves.

According to global consulting and advisory services firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the new evolution has been spurred by the pressing need to optimize or even reduce costs relating to network operations and maintenance fees.

This quest to sustain profitability is not unique to Nigerian operators, with the trend proving popular globally. But there are distinct forces at play within the Nigerian market that are making profitability ever more challenging for operators in the country.

Legacy voice revenues are steadily declining, competition is forcing down tariffs, and, in general terms, the average revenue per user is falling and is expected to continue doing so.

To combat this, attention is been diverted to boosting the provision of data services as operators strive to generate additional revenue streams, but such efforts bring with them additional capital and operation expenditure requirements for new and improved data network infrastructure.

Such costs are already impacting negatively on the profitably of MNOs in the country, and generally relate to factors like the acquisition of land, power generation, security and generator maintenance.

So far, MTN, Airtel, and Etisalat have all signed some form of outsourcing contract with a telecom equipment vendor or telecom infrastructure provider. Etisalat has even gone a step further by forming a strategic IT outsourcing partnership with Huawei that will see the Chinese company take over responsibility for the operations and management of Etisalat Nigeria’s IT network. This increasingly popular approach is expected to enable MNOs to focus more on their core business — providing improved customer experience through excellent network service.

“IDC believes the evolution in business models employed by Nigerian MNOs is a step in the right direction,” says Oluwole Babatope a telecommunications and networking research analyst with IDC West Africa.

“In the long term, we expect this trend to lead to a notable improvement in the quality of service on the networks provided by these MNOs. There will also be a dynamic shift from cost reduction efforts to efficiency enhancements on the part of third-party infrastructure providers. As the market matures, competition will force a need for differentiation among third-party infrastructure providers and this will ultimately lead to an improved value proposition. Finally, as more successful outsourcing case studies emerge, there will be a quest for increased efficiency in terms of capacity management, network planning, and end-to-end performance management. IDC predicts that this will eventually lead to one or two MNOs outsourcing their entire core network infrastructures,” he added.Telecom

Equity Bank’s investment arm to collaborate with Exotix Partners

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James Mwangi Equity Bank CEOEquity Investment Bank, a subsidiary of Equity Bank Group’s has penned an agreement   with global investment services firm, Exotix Partners LLP, as part of its market development strategies.

The partnership will allow the two Investment Banking players to collaborate closely on their respective research, sales and trading platforms.

Under the arrangement,  EIB will execute Kenya and East Africa fixed income and equity trades for Exotix’ international and regional institutional clients.  EIB’s Equity and Fixed Income sales team will be integrated within Exotix’ Global Frontier sales teams.

The EIB research team will follow a sector specialist research approach across East Africa, and will be integrated into the wider research team of Exotix. The parties have agreed to co-brand all research published under the collaboration, including all current East African research published by Exotix.  EIB will leverage Exotix’s international distribution capability on East Africa research, giving EIB global reach and visibility.  Over time, the scope of the collaboration may extend to the provision of capital market advisory services in the East Africa region.

Based in London and featuring regional offices in Dubai and New York, Exotix is a boutique investment bank specializing in illiquid bonds and loans, equities, structured finance and capital raising. On the other end, Equity Investment Bank is a member of the Nairobi Stock Exchange and is locally licensed to provide investment banking services including stock brokerage.

Speaking when he confirmed the development, Equity Bank Group, Managing Director and CEO, Dr James Mwangi, described the collaborative agreement with Exotix as one of the key efforts to revitalize Equity Investment Bank’s capacity as a key player in the local and regional investment banking market.

Said Dr Mwangi,”This collaboration is testament to Equity Bank Group’s desire to leverage world class partnerships for the best interests of its customers and clients. It will drive Equity Investment Bank’s ambitious agenda to become a leading brokerage and investment banking firm in Kenya and East Africa serving local and international institutional investors alongside local retail investors.”

On his part, Exotix CEO Mr. Phillip Southwell described the partnership with Equity Investment bank as a “logical step” geared at deepening the two firms’ delivery capacity.

“This collaboration is very exciting for Exotix and its clients.  Partnering with a leading East African bank, with such a strong position in Kenya, is a logical next step in our growth strategy.  This move will build on Exotix’ existing African capability, and make the most of our existing offering,” Southwell said. Ali Khalpey, Global Head of Equities of Exotix added: “I am delighted to announce this collaboration with Equity Bank, and look forward to meeting the demand for our compelling offering in East Africa.  This is a strong signal of our intent to grow in Africa and Frontier Markets, following the recent expansion of our equities team across research, sales and trading.”

The collaboration, which is subject to local regulatory approvals, will leverage the strengths and networks of Equity Investment Bank and Exotix to provide a broad spectrum of East African fixed income and equity research to institutional investors whilst also providing access to capital markets in the East Africa region.

 

 

 

Nomanini mobile POS reaches a million transactions

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Zambia

Just 14 days after raising $450 million for international expansion, Nomanini, the South African-based mobile Point of Sale platform announced that informal vendors and micro-entrepreneurs across Africa have made a million cash transactions using its tough terminal.

Nomanini enables cash transactions in emerging markets and is widely used for the distribution of mobile prepaid airtime and electricity utility payments, collection of insurance premiums among others using it’s mobile point of sale terminals.

Nomanini’s terminals are highly scalable, have a cloud-based backend enable enterprises to efficiently distribute prepaid vouchers and facilitate micropayments, while creating a sustainable income for entrepreneurs in informal markets.

In a statement, Vahid Monadjem, CEO and co-founder of Nomanini said, “We’re incredibly proud of the work we’re doing in these markets. We could not have achieved this milestone without our vendors in South Africa and partners across the rest of the continent.”

Nomanini was founded in 2010 and has has signed partnerships in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Mozambique with active terminals processing close over one million transactions in those regions, including South Africa. It has received investments from Esther Dyson , Rockbridge Investments and two rounds of funding from the IDC.

Impress Me Aims to Revolutionise the Face of Recruitment in South Africa

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gobi_kalahari_promotionThe sad thing is most people are looking for jobs but because they are scarce, every job seeker or employer has to be smart enought to get hired or hire the right team.

A new app in South Africa wants to make it both easy for both job seekers and recruiters. The wonderful app promises job seekers to get hired even before they draft their résumé.The  new mobile application aims to revolutionise the face of recruitment totally.

Dubbed Impress Me, the app is a video based mobile application that aims to help job seekers to visually impress potential employers, and tell them why they are the right for the job, by just submitting an unique video clip of themselves. The app, developed by Byte Orbit, a bespoke software development company based in Cape Town, currently allows firms to publish any five positions at any one time minus any charges.

“Employers can now get  to form an impression of potential candidates, and determine who would be most suitable for the job before setting up  interviews,” the firm says. “Since the a soft launch of Impress Me, the likes of Kalahari, Price Check, RunwaySale, Groupon & RSA Web have joined to try out the platform.”

Impress Me says it has partnered with Kalahari to allow its users to stand a chance to win 1 of 3 Gobii 4.5” Smartphones as long the users download the app and apply for any of the positions available with a video selfie till the 15 September 2014.

Now availbale for web,  Android Version  and iOS Version, the app is simple to use.

A user simply downloads the app to search for their new job. They then apply via the app by taking a 60 second video selfie to make their first impression with more than just text ad wait for the company to respond. For firms to find the perfect candidate, someone will have to create a job ad on the mobile app or the website. Wait for email notifications for each application, watch the candidate videos whenever they are submitted on any device and then only see the candidates that impress them.

One will need to be a registered user to apply for a job listing and their videos are not publicly available but only the owner of the listing that you applied for can see them. A user is also only allowed to send one video resume per job listing but they can apply for as many job listings as they like.

“Impress Me is all about your first impression to the potential employer. If the employer is impressed by your video, then they will contact you via email, which from there they can request your CV and continue with correspondence,” the firm writes. “You will only get an email notification if an employer wishes to contact you. If you dont get any reply, it probably means that your video didn’t impress too much.”

The video has a short reflection of a job seekers’ skills and the reason they think they are a good candidate for the job. The 1 minute video limit aims to make the process simple.

US$526M worth of used items sold on MoboFree.com in Nigeria alone

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mobofreeTop African social marketplace MoboFree.com has revealed the total volume of items currently for sale in its marketplace is worth US$526 million, and is expected to surpass US$1.5 billion by 2015.

Boasting of over 3.3 million registered users, including 2 million in Nigeria and a strong footprint in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ghana, MoboFree.com, MoboFree.com is among the largest and most successful mobile social and trusted classifieds platforms in Africa.

MoboFree said members upload thousands of new classifieds every day, generating an average of 60 million page impressions monthly.

“The best-selling items on MoboFree.com are phones, tablets and mobile devices, followed by clothes, fashion and beauty and electronic devices,” MoboFree revealed in a statement.

The MoboFree technological platform makes buying and selling online easy for any African user with any device, not only for PCs and smartphones but also for old phones with small screens (so called “feature” phones).

“Africa is home to six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world. Our strong performance once again confirms the success of our model and is indicative of the high level of activity in all markets in which we operate. We are now looking for new partners with which to share our exciting expansion plans as we see enormous opportunities arising in Africa,” said MoboFree CEO and co-founder Neringa Kudarauskiene.

MoboFree is a social marketplace with a unique user-centric approach rather than the traditional item-centric approach. MoboFree allows its buyers and sellers to obtain a large amount of personal information about one other – ranging from photos and mutual friends to ratings or other data that enables identification of whether or not a person is trustworthy.

Negotiation and communication during the buying/selling process is a very important part of African culture. MoboFree allows its members to communicate and negotiate conveniently without leaving the platform. They can do this via private messages or via chat. MoboFree members send over 8 million private messages per month.

 

SES To Deliver DTH Broadcast Services Across French Speaking Countries In West Africa

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dth

 

SES (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) has announced that it will be delivering direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast television across French-speaking countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for the Lomé-based consortium of West African broadcasters led by Africable and Media Plus.

The multi-year contract for two transponders will allow the new platform to deliver direct-tohome (DTH) television from its Bamako Teleport to member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (also known by its French acronym UEMOA). The roll-out begins on 1 October 2014 across Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Niger.

SES will provide the satellite capacity on its SES-4 satellite located at 22 degrees West, the company’s prime orbital slot for Francophone sub-Saharan Africa, providing 100 percent audience reach from urban to non-urban areas.

The service will offer a bouquet of 80 channels, free-to-air (FTA) and encrypted, and will allow member countries to meet the global digital migration deadline of June 2015. Audiences will be able to connect to the existing national Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) networks and to receive content via satellite using a Dual Tuner receiver (MPEG4 and DVBS2/T2) included in the offer.

“As a global satellite operator, SES is well positioned to facilitate digital migration, particularly in Africa where geographic challenges loom large for broadcasters,” said Ibrahima Guimba- Saidou, Senior Vice President, Africa for SES.

“With over 50 satellites globally, SES has nine satellites which cover Africa. As such, we are well positioned to increase the choice of broadcast channels for local communities,” said Ismaila Sidibe, Africable’s CEO. “It is our goal to deliver quality television to the wider population at an affordable cost, and we believe DTH technology can help us achieve this.”

Kaspersky Unveils The ‘Fake ID Scanner’ For Android Security

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security

 

Kaspersky Lab has unveiled a free mobile application for the security of Android gadgets, called the Kaspersky Fake ID Scanner. It scans all Android devices for vulnerabilities that put users’ valuable data, privacy and even money at risk.

The Bluebox labs have identified such vulnerability, it enables attackers to disguise any applications, including malicious, as legitimate programmes developed by well-known vendors. The vulnerability was named Fake ID.

Heartbleed is yet vulnerability; it can be exploited to read memory on systems that use certain versions of the OpenSSL protocol. This means that attackers can get access to sensitive user data by sending specially crafted requests. This flaw affected many companies.

The Master Key vulnerability, yet another, enables cybercriminals to access any Android device with administrator privileges. This means that an attacker can launch any software on a device without the owner’s knowledge.

Google, however is very quick to close such applications but it is wise for Android users to take precaution, because it often takes device manufacturers a long time to update firmware. Malware can use such vulnerabilities to make its way onto smartphones and tablets, often disguised as popular applications, in order to steal personal data stored on the devices, hijack user accounts on social networks, steal online banking credentials, etc.

Kaspersky’s Free Fake ID Scanner will be of great use as it enables Android device owners to scan their devices for all of these vulnerabilities and ascertain that no applications that exploit them are installed on their devices.

The application does not close the vulnerabilities detected, but it prompts the user to install a free version of Kaspersky Internet Security for Android if any threats are detected. That product will protect the device against malicious code regardless of the vulnerabilities exploited by the malware.

The application, which is compatible with Android 2.3 and later versions, is available in Google Play in two languages – English and Russian.

Movitel Wins The Mobile Innovations Awards For Enterprises

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movitel

Movitel, a joint venture between Vietnam’s telecommunication Viettel Group and Mozambique’s SPI, has won the Mobile Innovations Awards for enterprises in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, the third time, in a row.

This category presented to Movitel is not open for individual entries but considered by the Judges based on all the shortlisted entries in the awards. Movitel has outpaced many other strong telecom and electronic commerce companies to win the award thanks to its unique mobile operating solution in Mozambique initiating from the concept that telecom service is a kind of commodity that everyone needs.

The solution is to popularize telecom services to every population, regardless of their locations or income conditions. This investment strategy has been successfully applied by Viettel in many telecommunications projects in different countries.

Movitel has endorsed an initiative focused on offering full telecom services in rural and underserved areas in Mozambique, including mobile, fixed phone and Internet.

The company has built up a great network infrastructure of 2,800 towers – accounting for 50 percent nationwide, 25,000km fiber optic cable – accounting for 70 percent nationwide. It has a widespread supplying chain to every village with 153 shops, 12,600 agents and points of sales and nearly 4,000 direct sales staffs. Movitel has applied a door-to-door model. With Movitel, local people can be served and cared at their house instead of walking far away to reach the shop or agent.

The company has organized many social programs including free Internet broadband to schools, subsidizing handset cost for rural users, offering special packages designed to support low-income users such as farmers or students.

By deploying a mobile network infrastructure in rural and remote areas; providing free Internet to 2,500 schools; and generating nearly 20,000 jobs in rural areas. After 2 years, Movitel’s initiative has helped increase the telecommunications coverage in Mozambique from 60 percent to 85 percent nationwide and from 35 percent to 70percent population. Mozambique is now among the top three nations in terms of fiber optical cabling infrastructure in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Movitel’s initiative is leading in increasing their subscriber base thus raising their market share. Customers are benefitting from a strong and reliable network available countrywide, majority of who will be loyal to Movitel’s brand due to their strategy and effort to reach them. For these reasons, the switching rate from Movitel’s competitors to become its customers can be expected. This can be proved by the number of 5 million subscribers (making up 32 percent of market share) it has achieved since its inception in May 15, 2012 and it is poised to take the lead in the market in the coming time. Total revenue in 2013 is $154.5 million, bringing the company $8.8 million profit.

Personal & Payroll Information System Saves Nigeria N160 Billion

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PAY

The Nigerian federal government have launched the integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System in the public sector. This development will save the government the sum of N160Billion in personnel costs.

The IPPIS scheme is one of the Federal Government’s reform initiatives that facilitates planning, aid budgeting, monitoring monthly payments of staff emoluments against what was provided for the budget; updating and retrieval of personnel records for administrative and pension process.

According to the accountant general of the Nigerian Federal, Jonah Otunla, the figure was the total amount saved as at the end of December 2013.

The event, which is a bi-monthly training programme designed for ANAN members’ continued professional relevance in skills acquisition had as its theme “Trends in professional practice and regulation.”

Otunla added that the N160bn in personnel costs was saved through the elimination of ghosts workers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.This, he said, was made possible owing to some of the reforms which the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation had embarked upon in recent times.

The accountant general listed some of workers as the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System which had helped to link all government accounts thus ensuring better management of government budget, and the introduction of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards which had helped to ensure uniformity in government accounting records.

Alhaji Sakirudeen Labode, president of ANAN, also urged members of the association to abide by the ethics of the profession by familiarizing themselves with the new code of ethics for professional accountants.

He said the code of ethics which is in line with international best practices is also in conformity with the requirements of the International Federation of Accountants and would be strictly implemented by the association

Safaricom & Onfon Media Unveil Name Tunes on Skiza Platform

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safaricom-logoVAS provider, Onfon Media has partnered with Safaricom to launch a ring back tone service offering pre-recorded vocal definition of names, with a musical background tune to the subscribers.

Dubbed Name Tunes, the service targets to inform, inspire and entertain callers while their call is on queue to be picked up by their intended recipient and is available to all subscribers.

The subscriber is able to select as many names as they can from a database that has rich content of over 50,000 well researched on names, both local and international.

It works by way of customer subscribing to the Name Tune through the Skiza platform. Once a caller calls e.g. Peter, they will be entertained by a tune that accompanies the name and meaning of Mary as they wait for Mary’s response.

This service is an enrichment from the audio sound that a caller hears once the call has gone through which is a typical ring back tone that has been used in the past. It is more personalized, self expressing, interesting, entertaining and unique as it is the recipient’s name that is used.

To access the service, a subscriber simply dials *811#. A menu is presented in text and the subscriber should select the option for My Name Tunes where they get the que ‘enter your name’. The subscriber gets a confirmation message for successful subscription. Subscribers can also gift the name tunes to a friend as the platform provides the option making it an awareness tool even to other potential subscribers.

This Year’s Big Summit Brings,Discussions On Developments, strategies and opportunities in Africa’s gaming sector

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GAMING

This year on the Big Summit and Exhibition, they will be talking about the updates on the development of online gambling regulations, gaming opportunities as well as strategies to enter and operate in the gaming market. The summit is set to take place on the 6 – 8 October 2014, at The Emperors Palace Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Summit is proudly sponsored by Betconstruct and Goldbet. It is organized by Eventus International.

This conference is looking to bring forth forward thinking debates and presentations focusing on sports betting, online lottery and iGaming. Fresh ideas from the real influencers will be shared and attendees will hear from a diverse, high level speaker line up. Attending the conference will give delegates the opportunity to connect with leaders and captains of the industry for networking opportunities.

This conference will be attended by representatives from some of the leading gaming companies across the globe. Keynote presentations will be delivered by the Hon. Geordin Hill-Lewis, Shadow Minister, Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa; Prof Linda de Vries, Chairperson, National Gambling Board & School of Business and Finance, University of the Western Cape; Prof Brian Kantor, Chief Economist & Investment Strategist, Investec Wealth and Investment and MacDonald Netshitenzhe, Chief Director: Policy and Legislation, Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa.

Yudi Soetjiptadi, Eventus International’s project director says the summit will highlight the Department of Trade and Industry’s action plan for remote gaming regulation in South Africa and it will explore the future development of legal remote gaming and betting in Africa.

Says Soetjiptadi: “This conference is particularly important as it will bring together industry players from all over the globe to provide insights on how land-based casinos can prepare themselves for remote gaming. Furthermore, it will assess the opportunities and challenges in South Africa’s/Africa’s sports betting industry. It is necessary to incorporate future technology in mobile gaming.”

Entry to the exhibition is complimentary. Pre-registration is required by completing an online registration form. For more information visit www.bigafricasummit.com

Airtel Uganda, Grameen Foundation and Plan Uganda Launch a Mobile Money Savings Platform for Rural Areas

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photo credit: Livemint.com
photo credit:
Livemint.com

Airtel Uganda, Grameen Foundation and Plan Uganda have unveilled a mobile money savings platform in Kamuli, Jinja to serve rural communities.

The Airtel group savings solution is a mobile solution that will reduce the groups’ reliance on cash and introduce the benefits of mobile technology. The service has a group wallet to support safe storage of group funds as mobile money, has record management (mini statement) for regular mobile reports, allows mobile banking to be used by the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and other forms of savings groups, such as Chamas or investment clubs.

“Savings groups resoundingly request a better way to store and deposit funds,” said Stephen Waiswa, Corporate Sales Manager for Airtel Uganda.  “At Airtel, we strive toward providing a safer and more convenient experience for our customers, including these savings groups.”

The project was made possible by a grant received from the GSMA mWomen Programme, which works with the mobile industry to increase women’s access to and use of mobiles. Plan Uganda has over the years supported the formation of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) leading to the formation of close to 3000 savings groups with the aim of promoting financial inclusion.  To date, these groups are using manual systems of transaction and record keeping.  This new service will be rolled out across the country.

Savings groups are an especially important alternative for the vast number of women who are unlikely to be served by brick-and-mortar financial institutions due to the lack of a savings culture. With all the successes and benefits of savings groups and mobile phone technology, combining the two creates the potential to improve each. A mobile phone has ceased to be merely a communication device. Instead, it has rapidly evolved into a safe and secure money transfer tool. It is also increasingly being used to conduct more complex transactions like settling utility and expense bills.

The 2013 Finscope survey on financial services needs and uses revealed that two-thirds adults in Uganda save money through informal groups. While some institutions have offered savings accounts to groups to provide a safe place to store cash and earn interest, most groups still face the challenge of distance, as few bank branches are located in rural communities where groups meet.  Members carrying large sums long distances face the risk of theft and must account for the additional cost of transportation.

“Plan Uganda is currently supporting 400 youth led saving groups with funding from Swedish Development Agency, under a project known as A Working Future.  This project has Village Savings and Loan Associations as the entry point.  The new innovation of group mobile product will digitalize the transactions of the VSLAs, enhance possible linkages with formal financial institutions that can lead to employment creation.” Mr. Abebe Fikru; Country Director; Plan Uganda said.

Grameen Foundation’s Director of Mobile Financial Services Lisa Kienzle said the product has been specifically designed to help rural savings groups overcome the challenges associated with physical cash storage and transportation and will help groups store funds safely and combat the risks associated with carrying cash.”

Savings groups are structured to prevent just one person from having access to group funds. These groups store money in a box protected by three locks. The group’s treasurer keeps the box and there are three additional key holders. These four individuals only come together with the box and keys during group meetings and group funds can only be access during those times.

The mobile product has been designed to replicate this system.  The group wallet involves one individual who holds the group SIM, and three additional mobile users and PIN holders who are like the key holders.  These three people will be notified when the SIM-keeper initiates a cash-in or cash-out transaction.  The SIM Keeper can request a transaction, but all three must approve it before cash can be withdrawn. These individuals will receive a text message with an identification number indicating they need to approve the transaction before any money is moved.

South Africa’s Click n Compare Launches to Make Price Comparison Simple

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10393819_732589483430610_122822856105205137_nPrice comparison is a must for most shoppers across the world as most people want the best deals of their products or services. A new price comparison site Click n Compare, has launched with plans to give users transparency and independence and the best and most affordable comparisons of Mobile, Broadband, Insurance, Loans, Banking products, and Travel.

The South African startup aims to take on Naspers’ Price Check by simplifying the process and swiftly eliminating the hassle of narrowing down options by creating tailored comparisons and quotes so you save time and money. The site offers price coparison for Credit Card,Mobile Contract or a Broadband provider, Click n Compare aims to bridge the gap by creating a one-stop-portal for all consumer needs.

According to Click n Compare CEO and Founder, Ryan Marx, “We saw a definite need for this kind of independent platform in SA, which services all South African’s needs in one easy-to-use portal. Truly SA’s first completely unbiased platform that allows the consumer to judge what is important for them using easy-to-use comparison engines. Click n Compare caters for everyone, whether it’s a simple upgrade of your mobile contract, sourcing an affordable alternative to your current insurance plan or even generating passive income by trading binary options and forex. We have simplified these historically hard to navigate categories, allowing every South African the opportunity to gain access to these products.”

With a focus on improving the consumer experience so you save more money, Click n Compare sources the lowest home loan quotes, enables you to grow your bank account with easy-to-use Binary Options investments and can even help you master your SARS tax returns. Additional services include helping you out when you’re short of cash by comparing payday loans. Click n Compare makes it easy to save by simply comparing flights on any airline to anywhere in the world. Jetting off with extra cash in your pocket has never felt so good.

Click n Compare empowers you with as much relevant information as possible so you can make the best informed decision. Unparalleled convenient service aimed at making the your choice easier while saving you cash, the site’s comparison service and subscription is free of charge allowing anyone to find the best and most affordable non-partisan deal. Click n Compare also aims to educate, engage, and enlighten with up-to-the-minute industry insights, tips and advice.

Airtel customers can now buy bundles through Airtel money

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Kenyan mobile operator Airtel Kenya has launched a new mobile service that enables prepaid customers to buy Airtel bundles through their Airtel Money account.

The new service enables Airtel Money registered-prepaid customers to buy a choice of GSM bundles and pay directly from their Airtel Money wallet, as opposed to their Airtime account.

Airtel said the bundles purchasable through the channel include internet, SMS, Tosha, Data and prepaid international packs.

“Customers will dial the normal short codes to buy bundles (e.g. *767# for Tosha and *544# for Data). After dialing the short code customers will first select their preferred payment option (Either Airtime Account or Airtel Money Account) and proceed to pick the bundles of their choice. If they select the Airtel Money Account, a debit will be made directly from the customers Airtel Money wallet,” Airtel said in statement.

Commenting on the new service, Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi said his company is delighted to unveil the new service and that that the new innovative service offers more freedom and convenience for customers using Airtel Money wherever they are on the Airtel network in Kenya.

Airtel money has increases the number of convenient services on Airtel money, which include online payments, online banking, and utility bill payments for electricity, DSTV, ZUKU, and water.

Customers will also be able to withdraw money in all VISA- and Kenswitch-enabled ATMs nationwide as well as pay for goods at VISA merchants.

Airtel said the services are available in some 10, 000 agents countywide, including banks, bank agents, supermarket chains, Posta outlets and Total Service stations.

 

Kenyan M-Pesa introduced in Europe

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Mobile money transfer system M-Pesa, which is a Kenyan brainchild,  has been launched in Romania, signalling the imminent migration of African technology to Europe.

Mobile money transfer systems have caused a paradigm shift in Africa causing many businesses and humanitarian agencies to change ways in which they conduct business. It has also transformed the lives of millions of Africans who have limited access to traditional banking services. It however remains to be seen whether M-Pesa will enjoy the same success in Europe.

The concept of M-Pesa is simple. Customers receive and send money through their mobile phones through a text messaging technology.

Following its launch in Kenya some seven years ago, M-Pesa has since expanded to several African countries, including South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mobile telecommunications operator Vodafone, which developed the technology, has recently introduced it to Fiji and India. The company noew set its sights on Europe following the rollout of M-Pesa last month in Romania.

“We chose Romania because there was, and there is still, a large part of the population which doesn’t have a bank account,” said Claire Alexandre, who leads M-Pesa’s Commercial and Strategy team within the Vodafone group. “Only about 50 percent of the population of Romania has a bank account. And the other half is mostly still using cash.”

VOA cited Alexandre saying that even Romanians who have bank accounts mostly use them to withdraw their salaries. They then depend on cash transactions for the rest of the month.

That’s a habit Vodafone wants to change. The company said: “it’s too early to talk about the number of M-Pesa customers there, but it’s clear that Africa — where mobile phone use has exploded — offers a lesson for Europe.’

“Looking at how people communicate with each other, how they interact with each other, we realized that people talk to each other, but often they need to send or to receive money from each other,” said Alexandre, as cited by VOA. “So we’ve expanded that further. So if you look at those basic needs, then there are other markets where those needs haven’t been met either. And we saw that was actually the case in Romania.”

According to VOA, thus far, Vodafone hasn’t announced any plans to expand elsewhere in Europe. Experts suggest it might be eyeing other markets, though, in eastern and central Europe.

Alexandre was adamant that markets appear to cherish the brand name. “So wherever it next travels, M-Pesa will keep its moniker and its Swahili roots.”

 

Jehovah Witness publicizes World’s Most Translated Website, Jw.org

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Jehovah’s Witnesses started a one-month worldwide distribution of a new tract entitled ‘Where Can We Find Answers to Life’s Big Questions?’

The campaign is expected to raise awareness of their official website called Jw.org, which is accessible in some 500 languages, with publications available for download in up to 700 languages.

Jw.org becomes the world’s most translated website. Some 1 million unique visitors are said go to Jw.org each day.

The website features articles and videos offering practical advice to people of all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances. One of these videos, entitled “Why Study the Bible?” will be linked to a QR code found on the new tract. This video merges live-action elements and animation that demonstrate the benefits of studying the Bible. Currently, it is available in some 450 languages and has been downloaded nearly 4 million times since it initial release in November last year.

J. R. Brown, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said: “We are excited about this campaign. There are some eight million of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world, and all of us will be speaking to our neighbors about this website.

“This may be the most extensive campaign that we have ever organized.”

Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, stated: “Since its launch two years ago, people all over the world have found Jw.org to be an invaluable resource.

“On this site, you can watch videos that can help your children, consult articles that can help your family, and even read the Bible online. We want as many as possible to benefit from jw.org, and that’s why we initiated this special campaign.”

 

Zambian communications regulator urges telcos to issue scratchcards in Braille

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Zambian communications authority Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has warned mobile service providers against excluding persons with disabilities in their service provision.
ZICTA consumer protection officer Edgar Mlauzi said Zambia was party to the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities hence the country must uphold their rights in all sectors, including the ICT sector.

The objective of the UN Convention is to ‘promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities.” It also promotes respect for their inherent dignity.

Mlauzi added that mobile phone service providers look to print scratch cards in Braille, while other ICT providers must also make their centres accessible to persons with disabilities.

“We need to get to a level where all post offices and internet cafes countrywide should be accessible to people with disabilities by way of accessible wheelchair ways and other means,” he said, as cited by Times of Zambia.

Mlauzi emphasised that service providers are obligated respect the UN charter on universal design of products, environments, and services to be usable looking to exclude assistive devices for certain groups of persons with disabilities.

The authority enforces the law to see to it that service providers comply with the set up regulations in the ICT sector, he said, adding that service providers must promote protection of rights of children.

A ZICTA team toured Zambia;s Northern Province to conduct consumer awareness programmes. Similar exercises were carried out in Muchinga Province last week.

 

Samsung Acquires SmartThings to Connect All Your Home Appliances

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samsung-blog-post-1The future of the house is nigh, so close that it would be easier to log into your fridge or oven and cook or just switch off all your terrace lights from work or vacation.

Samsung has acquired SmartThings, an open platform for the smart home and the consumer Internet of Things used by developers connecting devices and apps in the cloud.

The 2012-founded company supports more than 1,000 devices and 8,000 apps created by its community of device makers, inventors, and developers.

SmartThings allows users to monitor, control, and automate their homes from wherever they are through a single mobile app. By joining Samsung, independently under the Samsung Open Innovation Center (OIC), the two firms will revolutionize how Samsung fridges, cookers, washing machines, TV’s and phones among others.

The deal remains undisclosed but reports claim the acquisition cost Samsung some $200 million. SmartThings will remain under the leadership of founder and CEO Alex Hawkinson.

Hawkinson says, “As an open, standards-agnostic platform for the Internet of Things, our vision has always been to innovate, build, and make the world smarter, together.With Samsung behind us, we will be able to attract more device makers and developers to unlock the limitless possibilities of the consumer Internet of Things. We are thrilled to become part of the Samsung family and continue our goal in making every home a smart home.”

Samsung develops TVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors, and LED solutions and has annual sales of US$216.7 billion. Its Samsung Open Innovation Center runs Samsung consumer electronics and mobile business units.

Physical Graph Corporation, the company behind SmartThings supports an open and growing ecosystem of over 5,000 inventors and developers. It has raised $15.5M in venture capital to date from Greylock Partners, Highland Capital Partners, First Round Capital, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures, Max Levchin, Start Fund by Yuri Milner, A-Grade, David Tisch, CrunchFund, and others.

According to David Eun, Head of the OIC, “SmartThings has created a remarkable universe of partners and developers and now has the most engagement of any smart home platform in the world. Connected devices have long been strategically important to Samsung and, like Alex and his team, we want to improve the convenience and services in people’s lives by giving their devices and appliances a voice so they can interact more easily with them. We are committed to maintaining SmartThings’ open platform, fostering more explosive growth, and becoming its newest strategic partner.”

Heels.com.ng Wants to be the Largest Retailer of Female Designer Shoes in Nigeria

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1009772_401597076616494_1392389978_nFounded in August 2013 by Ikenna Okonkwo, a Nigerian with an MBA from West Virginia University, Heels.com.ng aims to be biggest online retailer for female designer shoes plus a a hand-picked selection of trendy shoes for the fashion forward female in Nigeria.

The online female shoe megastore has collections of shoes from top designers in the world such as Enzo Angiolini, to collections from sites such JustFab among others.  Okonkwo, had gigs at Zenith Securities and CBO Capital Partners before quiting to start Heel.com.ng,to fulfill his entreprenural dream.

He told CPAFrica that before the launch of Heels, they had access to over 50 top designers in the world and also secured deals to have the collections at manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP). Heels also allows Nigerian customers to have trending fashion heels in just in one to three days after launch, just as their counterparts shopping in  UK or US online retail stores.

Heels at the moment delivers to all states in Nigeria and offers cash on delivery (COD) services in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The firm recently launched a ‘BUY ONE GET ONE FREE’ (BOGOF) section to allow users buy any 2 pairs of shoes at the price of one. The firm currently works with Tunde Kehinde’s Apost to run its logistics to allow it to focus on its core business. Apost run sits Lagos delivery while Fedex and Redstar Air do the rest.

The bootstrapped startup aims to be the number one place to go to for female shoes in Nigeria to help shoppers save time and money looking for great shoes for just any event, office, party, weddings among others.

Rocket Internet Sells 10.7% Stake to United Internet for $582 Million

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rocket-internet-logo

Seems like dream come true for 2007 founded Internet company builder Rocket Internet which has sold a 10.7% stake for $582 million to United Internet .

United Internet’s investment consists of €333 million in cash and €102 million represented by United Internet’s equity participation in the portfolio of Global Founders Capital funds (“Global Founders Capital”).

The $582 or €435 million for a 10.7% stake in Rocket Internet comes just days after the firm raised $445 million from the Philippines Long Distance Telephone (PLDT ) which saw the firm worth $4.45 billion. This round will increase the Berlin based company’s value by $1 Billion to $5.7 billion.
According to Oliver Samwer, co-founder and CEO of Rocket Internet,“Rocket and United Internet share a long-term approach to value creation from the growth of Internet services. We are very pleased to receive this vote of confidence in our ability to generate value from one of Europe’s most successful Internet entrepreneurs and companies. We look forward to deploying the fresh capital to grow our platform and businesses around the world, and are pleased to be gaining stakes in certain businesses that are well aligned with our focus sectors and geographies.

Global Founders Fund and United Internet have been partners for seven years and have led joint investments in consumer Internet and technology businesses through Global Founders Capital. The latest deal brings the total funds raised and the Global Founders Capital portfolio to €588 million, implying a €4.3 billion post-transaction valuation for Rocket.

United Internet’s investment will be in newly issued shares by Rocket, of the same class and bearing the same rights as shares held by current Rocket investors and Ralph Dommermuth, founder and CEO of United Internet, will become a member of Rocket’s nine-person Supervisory Board.Dommermuth said,“We’ve partnered with Oliver Samwer for several years and jointly made a number of highly successful early stage investments in consumer internet and technology businesses in Germany and internationally. I have been very impressed by the quality and scale of Rocket and its network of companies and we are excited to support the further development of the group with additional growth capital. Our investment is strategic and long-term in nature and we look forward to working with the Rocket team and the other shareholders going forward.”

Following this investment, in addition to United Internet (10.7%), shares in Rocket will be held by Investment AB Kinnevik (18.5%), Access Industries (8.5%), Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (8.6%) and the Global Founders Fund (53.7%).

United Internet runs internet services compnanies such as 1&1, GMX, WEB.DE, united-domains, Fasthosts, arsys, InterNetX, Sedo and affilinet and has over 6,700 employees.

Rocket Internet’s, MTN’s and Millcom’s Africa Internet Holding (AIH) runs Jumia, Lamudi, EasyTaxi, Kaymu, Hellofood, Lendo, Jovago among others in Africa.

 

LIVE Inspect, an Insurance App Wins SA MTN App competition

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MTN_Logo_onlyThe annual MTN Business App of the Year awards took place in Johannesburg, celebrating local talent and highlighting the innovation of South African developers.

The winning app was LIVE Inspect – an app designed to help speed up and improve the accuracy and ease of performing inspections on behalf of insurers.

“This year’s awards showed that the mobile developer talent pool in South Africa is increasing every year and the country can compete with the best in the world,” said Kanagaratnam Lambotharan, MTN SA Chief Enterprise Business Officer.

The 2014 MTN Business App of the Year award winners were:

  • App of the year – LIVE Inspect
  • Best iOS App (Consumer) – SuperSport
  • Best iOS App (Enterprise) – SyncMobile
  • Best Android App (Consumer) – My Belongings
  • Best Android App (Enterprise) – LIVE Inspect
  • Best App use of Microsoft Cloud Services – Vigo
  • Best App for the Microsoft Platform – Zapper
  • Best Garage Developer App – Rea Vaya
  • Most Innovative App – Wildlife tracker

Commenting on the new app, Lambotharan said, “The App is designed to help insurance underwriters perform fast accurate vehicle inspections from the comfort of their smartphone. Details can be logged quickly in the straightforward interface and details like tax disc bar codes, drivers’ licences and photos of car damage can be captured using the phone’s camera.”

hyperWALLET Launches payment services in Nigeria

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 10270286_10152430087374096_1415032838238533005_nThe Nigerian payments sector is heating up with the launch of hyperWALLET Systems Inc., a global payments provider which offers advanced payment solutions for corporations with global payment needs.
Launching a low-cost payment services to Nigeria, enabling companies to pay individuals in-country via direct-to-bank money transfers and reloadable prepaid debit cards in a move it says will change the way payments are made inNigeria.
According to the firm, making payments to Nigeria can be an expensive and challenging process for businesses and their payees due to certain restrictions in cross-border currency movements. Now, by leveraging hyperWALLET corporates can make fully-compliant electronic payments to Nigerian bank accounts in NGN currency, typically within 1-2 business days. Additionally, corporates can pay Nigerians instantly using reloadable prepaid debit cards in USD, EUR or GBP currencies.“As a mixed economy and emerging market, Nigeria’s continued growth presents global corporates with new business and payment opportunities”, states Mike Monty, SVP of Sales & Financial Networks at hyperWALLET. ”We’re pleased to be able to offer organizations a fast, compliant and seamless way to pay individuals in Nigeria via both bank deposit and reloadable prepaid debit cards, enabling payees to receive their earned funds quickly and conveniently.”

With the addition of payments to Nigeria, hyperWALLET continues to expand their global financial network and support the diverse payment needs of corporate customers and their payees worldwide. hyperWALLET’s global payment platform enables organizations to quickly send mass payments and payees to self-manage their funds using a variety of options including online e-wallets, bank deposit, prepaid cards, cash pickup, via mobile phone and more.

Companies interested in making payments to Nigeria can contact hyperWALLET at 1 (855) 449-3737 or 1 (604) 482-0090, email solutions@hyperwallet.com or request a demo to learn more.

Huawei offers specialized hands-on ICT training to graduate students in Uganda

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File photo of a Huawei logo seen above the company's pavilion during the CommunicAsia trade show in Singapore Huawei has climaxed a three month graduate and internship training to 31 students from various learning institutions of Uganda.

 

The three month activity that began in June this year was climaxed today with students presenting research findings for a survey known as ‘Telecom in my eye’. The survey regarding telecom service requirements in Uganda has been part and parcel of the students training.

Mr. Radoslaw Kedzia the managing director congratulated the students upon a successful completion of the training. ‘Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding with Makerere University in 2012; to partner and collaborate in the areas of specialized ICT training, sponsorships and skills development; this justifies the reason we are gathered here today’, he added.

The Managing Director further noted that Huawei has not only trained but also offered employment to the excelling trainees since 2012.

‘I commend Huawei Technologies Uganda for extending special ICT training and hands-on experience to the Students in various ICT disciplines’, said Mr. Balyomu Grace; the head of innovation and internship Makerere University College of computing and information science.

The 31 students have received hands-on training in areas like; application and software, transmission, datacom, core network, wireless, radio frequency, Device business and Public Relations.

 

 

 

 

 

Tackling insecurity will have Kenyans lose privacy of phone communication

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mobile opsKenya has been facing insecurity challenges that have led to loss of life and seen some sectors such as tourism get crippled prompting the country to come up with means to counter them the latest being getting an American company to monitor information exchanged between citizens.

The Business Daily reports that over the next two months there will be a roll out of digital personal identification cards and a telecoms surveillance network to remotely intercept voice and text messages between people.

Yesterday Interior secretary Joseph ole Lenku said Kenya is negotiating with American firm Richmar and Associates for the supply of Biometric Identification Cards as well as portable data centre technology that will hold a person’s biometrics including voice.

“The technology has the ability to strategically and tactically track all forms of communication (cellphones, SMS, satellite and Web, helping security agencies to pursue criminals,” Mr. Lenku said during a briefing on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s recent trip to the US.

It is however unclear how this will be carried out without contravening the rights of privacy of citizens and if the matter is not addressed it could have telecoms being exposed to legal suits as the constitution provides for right to privacy in  Article 31 that also includes  “the right not to have the privacy of their communications infringed.”

Yesterday the government set the stage for the issuance of digital IDs and everyone is expected to acquire the cards within a year of its roll out failure of which they will not be able to transact in banks, make utility payments or travel out of the country.

 

 

CEO Weekends: Innovative Gadget Shows Potential in Killing Ebola Virus In Patients

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Ebola has affected at least 1,800 people with numbers on the rise in recent months. Doctors resorting to saving lives through treatment, have not been spared either. Nevertheless, a device invented by a Canadian born scientist is showing potential in not only killing parasites, bacteria, molds and fungi electrically, but viruses regardless of species.

The battery-operated positive offset zapper invented by Canadian born scientist Dr. Hulda Clark, has been discovered to kill viruses and bacteria in three minutes; tapeworm stages, flukes, roundworms in five; and mites in seven.

The deadly Ebola virus has become West Africa’s biggest challenge in recent history. It has not only claimed lives of more than 1,000 people, since its latest outbreak in February 2014, but has led to the World Health Organisation declare its spread an international health emergency. However, Dr. Clarks gadget that has previously been used on terminally ill cancer and even HIV/AIDS patients, has been found to have some effect on any form viral species.

In terms of how Ebola affects humans, the virus is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. Ebola then spreads in the community through contact through broken skin or mucous membranes with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids notes the World Health Organisation.

The immediate viral illness symptoms include: the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings include low white blood cell and platelet counts and elevated liver enzymes.

Nevertheless, using a 9 volt battery, a positive offset with frequency of about 30,000 hertz, is sufficient for Dr. Clark’s zapper to work efficiently in treating a wide range of parasitic cum viral health conditions, concur researchers. With that amount of voltage, it kills all forms of viruses, parasites and bacteria wherever the electric current reaches them in a human body including blood, bodily fluids or even in water specimens.

More so, using electromagnetic waves, the gadget has been found to have some effect on individuals with health conditions including blood or liver conditions, of which, is common with people diagnosed by Ebola. In a journal published in PubMed, the treatment with similar effects to the zapper was tested on terminally ill cancer patients. Some patients were known to have tough cancers like lung, breast and liver cancer.

“We examined a total of 163 patients with a diagnosis of cancer and identified a total of 1,524 frequencies ranging from 0.1 Hz to 114 kHz” explains the report, noting that tumor-specific frequencies was offered to 28 patients. One patient with breast cancer to the adrenal gland and bones had a complete response lasting 11 months. One patient with breast cancer that spread to liver and bones had a partial response lasting for at least a year. It also stabilized other cancer conditions for at least four months. Thus, the researchers concluded that treatment with tumor-specific frequencies is feasible, well tolerated and may have biological efficacy in patients with advanced cancer.

When it comes to the zapper’s effect on viral conditions, Dr. Hulda Clark researchers have found some benefits of which, have been subject to controversy. A ParaZapper™ model was tested at a US university. The study found that at least 25 men with HIV infection that used the zapper with signs of a cold or flu, had almost immediate response within 24 hours. Symptoms seemed to stop and cold/flu symptoms reduced.

And in a simple experiment in which microbes were placed in a jar, the zapper seemed to show some effects within one hour, two days in a row. Two jars were used. The jar which was apparently “zapped” did not have cloudiness of which indicated that the microbes were killed. However, the jar which was not “zapped”, showed some cloudiness indicating that the microbes were alive.

And for further research, the living organisms were observed under a microscope as the zapper’s electrical current was passed through in this video. 

“If it can do this with water, why could it not do the same with other water based systems such as the human body?”  posed a researcher carrying out the simple research poses the rhetoric question.

However, despite the zapper’s amazing possibilities, the electric current has been found to not pass uniformly through the body. For instance, it does not reach the eyes, the appendix, the testes, the inner ear bones but has been found to travel along the stomach or intestinal wall, but not through its content, note researchers. More so, it does not reach into the gallstones in the liver or into the living cells.

But with regular zapping, the current passes mainly through our bodily fluids, such as lymphatic and vascular system, while a small fraction reaches each organ and tissue of our body, Dr. Clark’s researchers say, adding that blood and lymph are the most important locations to zap.

In all, despite the gadget not being widely tested on Ebola patients yet showing 61 per cent improvement in patients with viral infections, perhaps, in future, this futuristic health gadget would help defeat the new scourge currently spreading in West Africa and other states.

CEO WEEKENDS: Africa Tech Challenge announces its finalists

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Preliminaries of the Africa Tech Challenge (ATC) competition took place on Tuesday at the Technical University of Kenya with six teams out of the 18 making it through.

Teams in ATC

The six teams include Kenyatta University, Nyeri Technical Training Institute, Kabete Technical Training Institute, Kabete Technical Training Institute, Rift Valley Technical Training Institute and Kenya Technical Teachers College. The 18 teams taking part in this contest represent various technical training institutes and universities in Kenya and they were chosen following an intensive worldwide recruitment process.

The contest, which started on July 28, is mainly about participants producing a spare part of the lathe machine, which is an essential machine in engineering. Marks are awarded on the amount of raw materials used, accuracy, skill and cost of production. The remaining groups afterwards undergo intensive two-week training from Chinese experts on how to utilize the raw materials and machines in addition to the best techniques to use during the contest.

The finals will be held and the winner crowned in a colorful ceremony.A cash prize of $100,000 in addition to a manufacturing contract by a Chinese company will be awarded to the winning team after the competition.

Besides gaining priceless experience and sharpening their skills, the students will also have the chance to interact with business leaders during the ATC talks, which are meant to mentor and guide the participants. The talks will feature various financial advisors, business leaders entrepreneurs and CEO’s.

NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY IN COMPANY BOARDS

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After discovering that most companies in Kenya do not have adequate female representation on their board membership, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) will coordinate a series of forums targeted at creating more diversity in company boardrooms.

A recent survey of 57 of the 61 companies listed on the NSE indicates that of a total of 467 directors, only 43 are women out of which only four occupy the position of chairperson.

This is also in the spirit of fostering best practices in corporate governance spearheaded by NSE and they will take place during the course of 2014 and 2015.

The forums, which will focus on aspects of diversity and firm performance, will be structured as roundtable events targeting the Chairpersons, Chief Executive Officers, Company Secretaries and senior directors.

The first two events will take place in October 2014 and are sponsored by Barclays Bank of Kenya Ltd. Providing technical support and content guidance for the series is New Face New Voices (NFNV) – Kenya Chapter, a Pan African advocacy group.

“The Leadership and Diversity agenda is one that resonates with the Exchange and many of the listed firms and we believe by providing this platform, the NSE will enable the companies to define commonalities among the various aspects of diversity and determine where the NSE can create frameworks for information and best practice sharing, as well as support capacity building,” said NSE Vice Chairman, Mr. Bob Karina.

“We are glad to be partnering with New Faces New Voices on this initiative and thank Barclays for coming on board to sponsor the events. In addition, the forum will give us an opportunity to sensitize the firms about the new Corporate Governance Code that has been developed by the Capital Markets Authority and also incorporates elements of the role diversity plays in good governance,” added Mr. Karina.

Noting that the forums will put the NSE in a leadership position in terms of promoting sustainability practices, including the principles of diversity and inclusion, Ms. Andia Chakava, Director of NFNV – Kenya Chapter observed that the program was timely as several countries are responding to recommendations raised from research on board diversity, including the dimensions of ethnicity, gender, age and profession.

“The objective is to determine if there is scope for NSE to play a role in bridging the gaps that exist,” said Ms. Chakava.  “Companies listed on the NSE will benefit from this structured engagement with the view to determine the issues faced in advancing the ‘Leadership and Diversity’ agenda. As New Faces New Voices, we are very proud to help steer this initiative.”

Barclays Bank of Kenya recently announced the appointment of three women to their Board of Directors. The appointment brings to five, the total number of women in the 10 member board. The 50% gender representation makes Barclays board the most gender diverse of any listed firm in Kenya.

“We have put in place a deliberate strategy to promote diversity at all levels of our business so as to ensure we maintain our relevance with the demographics we serve. Diversity creates a melting pot of ideas, which if properly harnessed, is very important to any business,” said Mr. Francis Okomo-Okello, Board Chairman, Barclays Bank of Kenya. “We are therefore pleased to be sharing how Barclays is promoting the diversity and inclusion agenda in our governance structures, human resources and business practices as well as our commercial strategy both at the local and global levels.”

 

(from Left) Barclays Bank Kenya Chairman Mr. Francis Okomo Okello, New Faces New Voices Network Kenya Director Ms. Andia Chakava and Nairobi Securities Exchange Vice Chairman Mr. Bob Karina shake hands after signing the MOU that signaled the launch of a series of forums targeting the Chairpersons, Chief Executive Officers, Company Secretaries and senior directors which will focus on aspects of diversity and firm performance. Barclays supported the forums to a tune of Ksh1 million. A recent survey of 57 of the 61 companies listed on the NSE indicates that of a total of 467 directors, only 43 are women out of which only four occupy the position of chairperson.
(from Left) Barclays Bank Kenya Chairman Mr. Francis Okomo Okello, New Faces New Voices Network Kenya Director Ms. Andia Chakava and Nairobi Securities Exchange Vice Chairman Mr. Bob Karina shake hands after signing the MOU that signaled the launch of a series of forums targeting the Chairpersons, Chief Executive Officers, Company Secretaries and senior directors which will focus on aspects of diversity and firm performance. Barclays supported the forums to a tune of Ksh1 million. A recent survey of 57 of the 61 companies listed on the NSE indicates that of a total of 467 directors, only 43 are women out of which only four occupy the position of chairperson.

The Barclays sponsorship of Ksh. 1,000,000.00 (one million) will cover the event costs for two dialogues, namely the Chairpersons Roundtable and the Company Secretaries Forum.