The Nigerian state of Osun has unveiled a smart ID card with biometric features for all public school students, starting with the Salvation Army School, Alekuwodo, Oshogbo, Osun State.
The card is linked back to a central database that provides the government of the State of Osun with accurate and reliable data on the identity and number students attending public schools in the state.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor, State of Osun said, “In the history of human inventions, there are not too many inventions that are as useful as technology in terms of its efficiency and effectiveness at providing solutions to human problems.
“This is the reason why the government of the State of Osun adopted and is deploying technology as the solution to the legacy of inefficiency bequeathed to the civil service by past inept leaders.
“The Osun Student Smart ID card which is embedded with biometric features is also an ingenious technology solution that we have adopted to further raise the service delivery levels in the education sector.”
Aregbesola added that with the card, each student is a unique and identifiable individual and avoids mistakes as well as manage schools programmes more effectively.
Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, deputy governor, State of Osun, who doubles as the commissioner for Education said: “This is indeed a significant milestone for the State of Osun because without accurate data, a holistic transformation of the education sector in Osun may remain elusive.
“Issuance of smart identity cards to all public school students will ensure that we have accurate data for use in updating our education strategy and sustain our pragmatic work-plan to ensure overall policy success. In no small measure, the smart identity card will also ensure accountability to government by students of public school as it makes it possible for schools to track attendance.”
Demola Aladekomo, managing director, Chams Plc said, “The Osun Smart ID card provides biographical and biometric identification of public school children from elementary schools to middle schools and high schools, equipping government reliable demographic data of the student population in the State.
“This certainly improves planning, distribution and allocation of educational resources in alignment with population size, and the unique needs of students and schools across the 30 local government areas of the state. It will also aid the judicious use of government resources and improve budgeting, while also providing accurate data that will lead to the enunciation of more transformative policies.”
Full deployment of the Osun School Smart ID Card scheme points to the government of the State of Osun’s commitment to its 2011 education policy which sought an integrative and ICT enabled approach to the education of children and youth in the State.
A survey by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), Uganda’s communications regulator, has positioned MTN Uganda as the leading network operator in Uganda.
UCC said MTN Uganda’s focus over the last year was on Network Quality, the rollout of innovative Products and Services, improvement of customer experience and wide distribution network, which have consolidated our leadership in quality service and delivery.
“This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the results of our investment program and network optimization focus over the last few months. What is particularly pleasing is that we are the clear leader in important cities like Mbale, Jinja, Kasese, Kabale, Masaka and Mbarara. This is a clear indication that MTN has not only limited our investment to Kampala but has focused on the whole of Uganda,” said MTN Uganda CEO Brian Gouldie.
In 2013 MTN investments in Uganda exceeded USh137 billion and in 2014 USh150 billion. This is part of a cumulative investment exceeding USh1.7 Trillion in Uganda since 1998. This has gone towards network rollout and upgrades as well as a number of other infrastructure developments to support our subscriber growth and the rollout of new innovative products and services.
In terms of infrastructure, for the six months ended 30 June 2014, MTN Uganda added 133 new 2G sites and 138 new 3G sites. There were also 243 existent 2G sites upgraded in various locations across the country.
MTN officially commissioned its Fibre network at Katuna Border in Kabale district last year. The Katuna project had a positive impact on Uganda’s ICT Roadmap. This landmark development was the first terrestrial link to Rwanda that was earmarked to greatly lower cost and significantly improve quality of communications services in the region.
It has since substantially improved the connectivity with neighbouring countries and the world by connecting Uganda to an additional submarine cable SAT-3 to Rwanda through the Tanzania route from Dar es Salaam
This is in addition to the other two cables already connected through the Kenya route from Mombasa which provide Uganda with unique redundancy and a backup structure for secured and reliable connectivity while providing quality voice and data services. This important development is in line with MTN Uganda’s commitment of leading innovation in the market and in the region as a whole
MTN was the first to introduce the latest technologies providing World Class Internet using 3G, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi Hotspots. Furthermore through its regional Internet Expos, MTN continues to take basic data and computer literacy to the different part of the country.
Currently more than 3 million subscribers are accessing the Internet thought MTN Network per month and this number is steadily growing.
The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has launched a mobile banking service M-Co-op that will make it possible for its clients to borrow loans based on their savings in the mobile wallet, borrowing history and number of transactions carried out via the platform.
According to the Business Daily, the mobile-based platform will offer small loans, account opening, utility payments, funds transfer, airtime top-up and cash withdrawal services through mobile phones.
The company has set its eyes on the new mobile service to grow earnings from transaction charges, as M-Co-op Cash will levy a one-off seven per cent fee for secured personal loans of between Sh100 and Sh200,000 repayable within 30 days.
M-Co-op Cash will offer a range of mobile-based credit disbursements such as business loans that will attract a similar one-off fee of seven per cent and salary advances and unsecured loans at 10 per cent, all repayable within a month.
“The mobile wallet will be a significant boost to the bank’s performance on non-funded income,” said Gideon Muriuki, Co-op Bank group managing director.
“It enables both customers and non-customers across all networks to open bank accounts, apply for loans straight from their mobile phones and also make cash and utility payments,” he added.
Co-op will offer business loans of between Sh5,000 and a ceiling of Sh50,000. For those seeking unsecured loans they can get from Sh100 up to Sh2,000.
Mr Muriuki said Co-op Bank was turning to alternative delivery channels to cut dependence on interest income and diversify earnings by generating fees.
In this quest the bank will be facing competition from the already established M-Shwari which is a product of a partnership between Safaricom and the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA).
South Africa’s TomTom has today launched the Runner Cardio GPS sport watch with cutting-edge heart rate technology. The Runner Cardio has a built-in Heart Rate Monitor. Now you will not need a separate chest strap.
The Runner Cardio makes it easy to train in the optimal heart rate zone. Runners can select one of five intensity zones to match their training goals and will receive alerts to know whether they need to speed up or slow down. Runners can see real-time heart rate, distance, pace and other essential running information at a glance, while running. Watches have come a long way since its first inception. From pocket watches than only tells you basic time and not even date, to watches that monitor heart rate and reads the distance between your runs.
“Once again, TomTom is making innovative technology accessible to everyone,” says Daan Hendrickx, Country Manager of TomTom Southern Africa. “We know that heart rate monitoring is the single most accurate way to understand how the body is responding to exercise. Now, with the launch of the Runner Cardio, all runners can easily use heart rate training to improve their performance.”
The Runner Cardio accurately measures heart rate with a Mio® optical sensor, which monitors changes in blood flow by shining light through the skin.
The TomTom Runner Cardio is available from 14 August at selected retailers and will be selling at R3799.00. There is also a Multi-Sport Cardio sport watch available from 14 August at selected retailers at R4599.00. The Multi-Sport Cardio Bundle which includes Altimeter, Cadence and HRM is available from 14 August at selected retailers will retail at R5599.00.
A collaborative union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Service Employees (AUPCTRE) in lagos, nigeria have temporarily shutdown banking operations at First Bank of Nigeria Plc headquarters over N1.8 billion outstanding arrears of emoluments the bank owed 1,100 AUPCTRE members.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Biodun Bakare, Lagos State Secretary of AUPCTRE, an affiliate of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said that the money had been paid by the Anambra Government for workers at the state’s Water Corporation and Environment Protection Agency for eight years which the bank refused to disburse.
“They have been owing our members working with Anambra State Government Water Corporation salaries and allowances for eight years. On this, our union took Anambra State Government and the bank to court and the government said they have paid the said money to First Bank for onward disbursement to the workers,” said Bakare.
He added hat the cout had ruled on July 14th this year that the money would be disbursed to the account of these employees and nothing has ever been done since then.
Bakare said that all branches of First Bank in Nigeria were barricaded by the union following the expiration of the ultimatum on Aug. 12, adding that the workers had suffered enough for the past eight years and should be paid.
The secretary said the union would not guarantee industrial peace in all the branches of the bank across the country until the workers were paid.
Reacting, Efeturi Doghudje, First Bank Corporate Communications Department, said that the management would issue a statement later to that effect.
Kenya’s popular M-pesa mobile money transfer system has migrated to Europe with its launch in Romania.
M-pesa, meaning ‘mobile money’ in Swahili, is accredited with changing the lives of millions of Africans who have limited or no access to conventional banking services. The concept, which works by customers sending and receiving money via mobile phones using an easy text messaging technology, has changed the manner in which the humanitarian community and several Africans do business.
After its introduction in Kenya seven years ago, M-pesa has since expanded to half a dozen African nations including the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vodafone, a telecommunications company that developed the technology, has also introduced the concept to Fiji and India. Presently, Vodafone has set its sights on Europe with the launch of M-pesa in Romania last month.
Claire Alexandre, leader of M-Pesa’s Commercial and Strategy team within the Vodafone group, stated: “We selected Romania because there was and still is a huge section of the population which does not have a bank account. Approximately 50 percent of Romania’s population has a bank account while the other half mostly uses cash.”
Alexandre further said Romanians who possess bank accounts mostly utilize them to withdraw their salaries. They then rely on cash transactions for the remaining part of the month.
This is however, a custom that Vodafone needs to change. According to the company, its is quite early to mention the number of M-pesa customers there though it is apparent that Africa, where cellphones are widely used, offers a lesson for Europe.
Vodafone has so far not announced any plans to expand elsewhere within Europe. According to the experts, the company might be eyeing other markets though within Central and Eastern Europe.
ISAT Zambia has launched the first commercial VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) hub in Lusaka.The VSAT, which is a small private earth station, will be used to transmit and receive data via a satellite.
ISAT Zambia is a member of the Wananchi Group, which is a $300 million investment fund with operations in six countries within Africa.
Margaret Mudenda, the director of ZICTA (Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority) congratulated ISAT for investing in a new and advanced VSAT hub in Lusaka, which is the first commercial hub. “This is essential and significant to the development of the ICT sector,” she said.
While speaking at the corporate launch, Mudenda further stated: “VSAT will remain a vital medium for the far-to-reach regions of the country. With the VSAT in place, every traffic will be routed via the hub in Lusaka therefore ensuring that traffic originating or destined in Zambia will be exchanged right here in Lusaka through the internet exchange ahead of making its way to the global internet.”
Mudenda also promised ISAT as well as other stakeholders within the ICT sector that it would do its level best to preserve a level playing field that is conducive for continuous development and greater ICT penetration in Zambia.
According to Mudenda, the acquisition of terrestrial capacity from the sub-marine fiber systems TEAMS, EaSSY and SEACOM through Tanzania had brought about a third major route for international terrestrial capacity to Zambia, others being through Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Richard Alden, the CEO of Wananchi Group stated that the company had expanded into Zambia since it offers huge potential for future growth.
Michael Pedersen, Director Uhasibu, Jerhqouelyne Lemmy, developer and Angela Nzioki, sales and marketing lead/image-Businessdaily
Most business owners treat accounts or books as the accountant’s domain. Very few if any want to be bothered about the nitty gritty of their business books. But the one thing that all business owners can agree on is that they always want to run their businesses more professionally.
They want to prevent any money leakage; they want to look more professional to their customers; they want to make it as easy as possible for their customers to make payments; they want it to be easy to calculate their employees salaries especially in the case where employees earn commissions and so on.In simple words, the most important thing all business people want to hear from anyone selling a management package is whether; you are helping them save money or helping them make more money. It is as simple as that!
This is the story that the MiniERP team ran into time after time from business people while selling their pioneer product Uhasibu, Kenya’s best accounting package. They realised that as much as accounting was very very important (and cannot be ignored), most people would rather start at solving their operational business challenges, then move on to the accounting challenges.
This has been the motivation behind launching MiniERP. MiniERP is a management package that helps business owners manage their business not just their books. It is a cloud based financial management package that also works when the internet is down. It allows you to completely make your business run digitally but with very little money spent in terms of buying digital equipment. It specifically targets small and medium companies that are facing financial management challenges, SMEs such as barbershops, pharmaceuticals, clothing stores etc.
The good news is that MiniERP is also integrated with Uhasibu. Business people can now have all the packages under one roof! On the front end, the front line staff can use MiniERP to manage the business and all this information is also automatically pushed to the back end where the accountant can easily come and finish up the books.
It has been a long journey for many business people to achieve this kind of efficiency in their businesses and the MiniERP team is glad to announce that finally that journey is coming to an end. The stand that the team is taking is that SMEs are the future of the East African economy and what better way to make this dream a reality than make the lives of these companies easier so that they can finally stop worrying about mere paperwork and finally concentrate all their energies in the actual running of their businesses, thus making the much sort out money that we are all looking for!
The United Nations Development Programme and Microsoft East Africa have signed an MOU to enhance development activities in the areas of entrepreneurship.
The two organizations have agreed for Microsoft to provide training and mentorship services to Ethiopia’s UNDP supported Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for 200 entrepreneurs.
These services form part of Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative, which looks to accelerate Africa’s economic development and improve its global competitiveness by empowering local entrepreneurs. Microsoft brings this vision, as well as its vast experience in providing ICT skills, education and curriculum for developing countries, to the deal.
As part of this agreement, senior Microsoft executive volunteers will:
Provide support, including mentoring entrepreneurs on strategy and marketing
Support the best innovators and nominate them for the 4Afrika Innovation Grant Award
Provide access to Microsoft BizSpark, a global program that provides free software to startup entrepreneurs
In future, help entrepreneurs exchange products and service and gain global recognition through the Microsoft Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) portal
UNDP’s partnership deal with Microsoft also includes a ‘Build Your Own Business’ training, which is designed to help micro and small businesses empower current and aspiring entrepreneurs. This is UNDP Ethiopia’s first private sector partnership.
The Resident Representative, Eugene Owusu, says: “The goods and services offered by Microsoft provides a unique opportunity to unleash the potential of young and budding entrepreneurs. This will help them to play a vital role in the economic growth and transformational development of Ethiopia.”
Eric Odipo, Country Manager of Microsoft East and Southern Africa, agrees: “It is critical to develop the capacity, knowledge and skills of local entrepreneurs who will stimulate local economies. We look forward to working with the UNDP in taking innovative business models to scale.”
“Entrepreneurs hold the key in driving innovation and long term competitiveness in the African economy. Microsoft’s partnership with UNDP to support 200,000 entrepreneurs in Ethiopia is the first step in driving this growth.” Concludes Amrote Abdella, Director Startup Engagement & Partnerships Africa Initiatives at Microsoft.
DTB recently concluded its rights issue and has received applications worth Kshs 16 billion.
The quantum of this year’s rights issue was Kshs. 3.6 billion, resulting in a massive subscription of 440 percent for the issue, making it a record breaker at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, as none of the past 18 rights issues undertaken at the bourse over the last 10 years have achieved such a high level of subscription.
DTB’s previous three rights issues, undertaken in 2006, 2007 and 2012 – through which a cumulative amount of Kshs 4.2 billion was raised – were also subscribed beyond their targeted cash calls i.e. at 297 percent, 178 percent and 186 percent, respectively.
Nasim Devji, DTB’s CEO, said: “The strong subscription to our rights issue is a reflection of the relentless support, unswerving loyalty and solid confidence our shareholders have in the strategic direction that DTB has chosen. The value of the applications has surpassed our target by a significant margin of Kshs 12.4 billion.”
The bank had offered some 22 million rights to shareholders at a discounted price of Kshs 165.
Devji said the bank’s board had approved the full allotment of all applications for rights entitled to shareholders, while additional shares were allotted on a pro-rata basis at a rate of 5.83 percent.
“With these new funds we will be able to continue with our expansion plans and explore additional opportunities to further strengthen our presence in Kenya and the sub- region, through our affiliates in Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi, as well as explore new investment opportunities in surrounding markets,” said Devji.
The CEO added that the additional capital will boost the bank’s core capital base to Kshs 20 billion, positioning DTB as one of Kenya’s highest capitalized banks. This significant expansion drive is in line with Diamond Trust Bank group’s long-term strategy, dubbed as Vision 2020, which is aimed at up-scaling its operations throughoutEast Africa by continuing to expand its presence in major commercial sectors across the four countries, invest in alternate delivery channels and expand to other emerging markets in the region.
Nigeria’s Anammbra State Government has been carrying out broad tests on the use of drones, however there has been quite a number of challenges in adapting this type of technology for accurate mapping of the state , general surveillance as well as generating reliable and accurate data on the ravages of gully erosion on our precious soil.
On behalf of Chief Willie Obiano, the Anambre’s governor, James Eze, his assistant explained that the drone technology is not for crime fighting.
He said: “The attention of the Anambra State Government has been drawn to the misleading reports in some segments of the media, claiming that the rescue of Mr. Pius Maduka, the elder brother of Dr. Cosmas Maduka, the Chairman of the Coscharis Group of companies, was due to the effective deployment of the drone technology in Anambra State. This report is inaccurate and misleading.
Epson is celebrating fifty years since it brought miniaturized printing to the world for the first time at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The printing timer became the first electronic recording system in the Olympics, changing the course of history.
Twenty-five years later, Epson’s 3LCD technology revolutionised the projector market, delivering vibrant and clear images to the most demanding audiences, and turning Epson into the world’s leader in projection, a position it has held since 2000.
Epson was acknowledged at the Thomson Reuters 2013 Top 100 Global Innovator Awards in Japan. Other awards include the IEEE Corporate Innovation Recognition Award, numerous EISA and TIPA awards for imaging products, and the BLI Pick of the Year 2014 for the WorkForce DS-860. In Japan, Epson holds more patents than anyone else in the categories for printers, inkjet technology, projectors, OLED and E-Paper.
Mukesh Bector, Regional Sales Manager, Epson East Africa said: “We are very proud of our heritage and reputation for leading the way in global innovation. We strive to make Epson’s products better, by investing in research and development so that we can create technologies to provide our customers with unique value.”
Epson has a proud history of firsts, that is, they had brought the three core technologies, printing, projection and sensing.
In the printing market, the printing timer was followed by the launch of the EP-101 in 1968, the world’s first and smallest digital printer that gave the company its name.
In 1994, the company introduced the first high-resolution colour inkjet printer – the Epson Stylus Colour – making high-resolution printing in the home possible for the first time.
The recent launch of Ink Tank System, the first printer with integrated high-capacity refillable ink tanks, provides a complete new printing system, eliminating the need of replacing cartridges and providing ultra low-cost printing.
For 25 years, Epson’s 3LCD technology has been used in its projectors. It delivers an equally high White and Colour Light Output (CLO) with up to three times brighter colours than 1-chip DLP projectors with similar quoted lumens. It was in 1989 when the VPJ-700, Epson’s first compact, full-colour, liquid crystal video projector brought LCD technology to life, providing brighter clearer projected images. This innovative technology helped to create ‘the presentation culture’ that has become essential in business today. Besides, Epson´s complete range of interactive projectors has proven to be ideal for education environments, allowing teachers and students to make the most of the learning experience.
With sensing as a third pillar technology, Epson launched its second edition of smart glasses, the Moverio BT-200 which has been available since June, that unlock the potential of augmented reality.
Also the new Runsense GPS sports monitors and Pulsense heart rate activity monitors aim to revolutionise activity monitoring providing a new approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle, fitness and well-being and will be launched in September in selected markets.
As for the future, President Minoru Usui said: “Our aim is to create 3D printers that can help to revolutionise the manufacturing and production site. This means creating parts using metals with micron accuracy. We want our machines to make anything.” It will take time to improve the technology and materials, and Mr. Usui expects Epson will launch its first industrial 3D printer within five years.
Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) and Save the Children are calling for applicants for their 2014 $1 million Healthcare Innovation Award. There was a lot of support and interest from a national governments for the previous winners; they want them to help improve survival rates of newborns and children under five in developing countries.
Six months after receiving a share of the 2013 Healthcare Innovation Award, five organisations based in developing countries are helping shape national health agendas and influencing approaches to healthcare for children and newborns.
One of the winners, MicroClinic Technologies Ltd., was awarded $100,000 for ‘ZiDi™, a mobile health management system, which has now been adopted by the Kenya Ministry of Health. The system is being used as part of the national e-health platform due to its ability to improve medicine supply, service quality and resource accountability for child health care. It will be rolled out across 5,000 public health facilities starting next year.
Muso, a community-led organization in Mali that helps tackle the issue of poverty-related child mortality, also received $100,000 to support its programme which aims to quickly identify women and children in need of healthcare. The award money is being used to help reach 77,000 people across the region and has inspired the Mali Ministry of Health to invite Muso to help draft its five-year strategic plan for scaling up national community-based healthcare delivery.
The top-prize winner from 2013 was a low cost Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) kit, developed by Friends of Sick Children (FOSC) in Malawi. This device helps premature and newborn babies suffering from distress breathe more easily. With funding from the Award, and backing from the Ministry of Health in Malawi, FOSC is now sharing this technology with teaching hospitals in Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa.
Organizations from across the developing world can now apply for this year’s Healthcare Innovation Award. Applications must be for innovative healthcare approaches that have resulted in tangible improvements to under-5 child survival rates, which are sustainable and have the potential to be scaled-up and replicated. This year, special interest and attention will be given to work that aims to increase the quality of, or access to, healthcare for newborns.
Microsoft East Africa and The United Nations Development Programme have partnered in a move that will see Microsoft train and mentor Ethiopia’s UNDP supported Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for 200,000 entrepreneurs. This is UNDP Ethiopia’s first private sector partnership.
Signed under the Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative, which looks to accelerate Africa’s economic development and improve its global competitiveness by empowering local entrepreneurs, senior Microsoft executive volunteers will povide support, including mentoring entrepreneurs on strategy and marketing, support the best innovators and nominate them for the 4Afrika Innovation Grant Award and providing access to Microsoft BizSpark, a global program that provides free software to startup entrepreneurs.
In future, Microsoft will also help entrepreneurs exchange products and service and gain global recognition through the Microsoft Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) portal. As part of the deal, Microsoft will also offer a ‘Build Your Own Business’ training, which is designed to help micro and small businesses empower current and aspiring entrepreneurs.
According to the Resident Representative, Eugene Owusu, says: “The goods and services offered by Microsoft provides a unique opportunity to unleash the potential of young and budding entrepreneurs. This will help them to play a vital role in the economic growth and transformational development of Ethiopia.”
Eric Odipo, Country Manager of Microsoft East and Southern Africa, agrees: “It is critical to develop the capacity, knowledge and skills of local entrepreneurs who will stimulate local economies. We look forward to working with the UNDP in taking innovative business models to scale.”
Roman Tesfaye visting women
The two firms have earlier worked together in numerous countries to promote sustainable development, eradication of poverty, advancement of women, good governance and the rule of law. This first partnership in Ethiopia will focus on addressing some of the principal challenges faced in building resilient nations, by empowering citizens and preparing them to join a dynamic and innovative 21st century workforce.
“Entrepreneurs hold the key in driving innovation and long term competitiveness in the African economy. Microsoft’s partnership with UNDP to support 200,000 entrepreneurs in Ethiopia is the first step in driving this growth.” Concludes Amrote Abdella, Director Startup Engagement & Partnerships Africa Initiatives at Microsoft.
The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) in conjunction with Intel today launched the All Africa Girls STEM Competition. The inaugural competition took place in Nairobi from 13th – 14th August 2014 and featured a team of 35 all-female finalists drawn from the 15 African countries where FAWE has presence.
Kenya managed to send 6 participants, all from Meru County. Other countries participating included Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zanzibar.
The All Africa Girls STEM Competition is aimed at enhancing girls’ interest, participation and performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and to help the girls pursue careers in these fields.
Intel’s Africa Program Director, Suraj Shah, said “The technology sector has recently faced allegations of being a male dominated sector. Partly to blame for the situation is that not many women pick a career path in technology. Intel has chosen to be at the forefront of promoting gender balance and female participation in the technology sector, especially in Africa where technology’s contribution to the economy has been growing at a fast pace.”
The collaboration between FAWE and Intel is in line with Intel’s ‘She Will Connect program’, which is an innovative combination of digital literacy training, an online peer network, and gender-relevant content. Intel create the programme as a result of the Women and the Web report in developing countries that showed 25 percent fewer women were online than men and in Sub-Saharan Africa, the gap rose to 43 percent
In addition to bringing together the girls, the event also brought together prominent women professionals and scientists, who will among others, provide mentoring and motivational talks to encourage the young girls through sharing their experiences.
Among these professionals were former FAWE beneficiaries who have made it through their education and will also act as an inspiration to the upcoming Scientist, Mathematicians Engineers and technological experts.
Martha Muhwezi, Senior Program Coordinating Officer FAWE Regional Secretariat said “FAWE has been giving incentives and encouraging girls to actively participate in STEM. Initiatives such as the regional competition are a strong incentive for girls in high school where such subjects are commonly perceived as difficult or as male domains. A balanced gender participation in STEMS eventually benefits society by uplifting the economic status of women in the society.”
Trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange has always been an offline venture, requiring traders to either visit their stock brokers anytime they want to buy a new set of shares.
However, NIC Securities customers will now be able to buy and sale their shares from the conevenience of their mobile phones with the newly revamped NIC NOW Mobile Banking app set to allow customers to access the Nairobi Securities Exchange from anywhere and can trade shares at their own convenience.
“This flexible trading platform provides extreme mobility by bringing the NOW factor to the NIC Securities clients investment experience. Customers can now trade whenever they want and wherever they are” said NIC Securities’ General Manager Catherine Karita.
Today’s launch of a revamped app will allow NIC Securities clients to have instant access to their trading accounts, funds and the securities exchange in a simple, user friendly and phone compatible environment. Trades can be placed and managed on the go through app via its simple, intuitive interface, which was designed from the ground up to function seamlessly on all mobile devices.
Presenting it to TechMoran, Samuel Gichohi said the app ensures that a client’s funds and the markets are never far from reach. It gives clients ability to view their account status, access stock prices, retrieve statements, view portfolio valuations and get instant market updates and tips. Gichohi says the app is geared towards enabling NIC Securities client’s to place informed buy and sell orders seamlessly.
The app is the first to be rolled out following the move by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) allowing the Nairobi Securities Exchange to roll out rules and structures allowing Direct Market Access (DMA) earlier this year. This allows investors to start trading without physically placing orders with brokers and make market more efficient.
The NIC NOW Mobile Banking app is available for Android, Windows, iOS or Blackberry Smartphones as a free download. Once a customer registers, they are able to download the app and using the Security credentials provided by the bank able to access the app.
WhatsApp has improved the convenience of sending or receiving messages without fussing about how much phone credit you’ll spend. However, cheating spouses, rebellious kids and unruly employees now have their days numbered as Juju app is now gaining a following in countries like Kenya, helping victims confront them unsuspectingly through phone messages.
“I suspected my daughter of substance abuse. Unfortunately I had no proof of this. So I installed JUJU on her phone and set up trigger words for her calls and SMS. These words were ‘cocaine, coke, heroine, marijuana, dealer’ and a few more. She was not only abusing drugs she was also selling them to other people,” is a testimonial that the spy agency has received of late. The parent marks one of the over 400 people who have subscribed to the app since it was launched in 2010.
Active in Kenya for the past five years, the Juju Mobile Phone spy software is directly uploaded onto a mobile phone and receives copies of all SMS, Call Logs, Emails, GPS Locations (via Google Maps) and listens to conversations within minutes of purchase. “We install the App for you or you download it on the target phone,” explains a vendor, noting that within a day, at least five people call to purchase they spyware.
Despite the app being launched in Kenya four years ago, it is now able to track down WhatsApp messages. Yet, WhatsApp hit the Kenyan market less than two years ago. Once the spyware has been uploaded on the Target phone, it gathers information on incoming and outgoing phone calls as well as SMS and sends this information through a text message to the victim and his or her web account with all the details included.
Then, after installation, the user would need to send configuration SMS commands from any phone, globally. The configuration or SMS Commands are silent and cannot be detected on the target device. With the SMS commands, one can activate, deactivate, and change the Listening phone number.
After the configuration is complete, you can call up the target phone and the microphone of the target handset will be switched on without any visual indications and you will be able to listen into the room conversations.
You will also receive SMS every time there is an incoming or an outgoing call places on the target phone. You can enable/disable this feature at any time by sending a SMS command to the target device.
JUJU is compatible with smartphones using Android, Blackberry and iPhone. It will work with all carriers as long as there is an internet connection on the phone. Some of the popular brands include Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry, iPhone to mention a few. Installing the software costs Sh15 000.
For details, contact 0722518610; 0737576390, or Email at info@juju.co.ke.
Asus has today promised awarded the winners of the first All Africa Girls science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competition hosted by the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE).
The firm said it will award the 1st prize winner a Transformer Book T100 laptop and the 2nd prize winner a Fonepad 7 tablet that will in-turn go a long way in enhancing their digital skills.
In a statement regarding this year’s fair, Mr. Chris Wen, the Country Product Manager for Asus Kenya said, ”The importance of supporting girls in the STEM subjects cannot be overstated. It is for this reason that we have decided to award the winning individuals as an indication of our support and resolve in breaking the education barriers for women and girls.”
Featuring a team of 35 all-female finalists drawn from the 15 African countries where FAWE has presence namely Kenya, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zanzibar.
The competition which will take place between the 14th -15th of August is aimed at developing creativity and innovation among girls aside from increasing the number of female students engaged in STEM projects at school, national and regional level by 40% by 2017.
Kenya has sent 6 participants. Over the years, women have generally lagged behind their male counterparts in STEM related careers. For example, according to the Institution of Engineers of Kenya 2012 records, female graduate engineers accounted for only 3.4 % against an overwhelming 96.6% for male graduate engineers.
Further statistics paint a grim picture. According to a report published by Unicef in 2006, nineteen sub-Saharan African countries have a female literacy rate below 30 percent while equivalent rates for males reflect a figure twice as high.
FAWE believes that such situations can only change through the partnership it fosters with like minded brands such as Asus who works towards achieving the overall mission it has.
“FAWE creates programs that offer girls the opportunity for hands-on activities more specifically in STEM related subjects. We believe that the collaborations we form with brands such as Asus in giving incentives to our girls will go a long way in achieving and sustaining our overall goal.” said Martha Muhwezi, FAWE Senior Programme Manager at the Regional Secretariat.
South Africa’s biggest diversified media group, Naspers is a company that needs no introduction, the company’s reputation stretches across continents, company’s, industries and people. With activity in over 130 countries worldwide, the company has continued to establish significant operations in fast growing regions including Africa, China, Brazil and the rest of Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Naspers which pressed to a fresh record on Wednesday despite a downgrade of its bonds to BB+ status by rating agency Fitch, has made new efforts to consolidate its operations in Nigeria, and we were able to get access to an interview conducted with the new head of business development of one of its ventures in Nigeria, Mr Oreoluwa Adegbite.
Oreoluwa Adegbite has more than 7 years working in the media and business development space in Nigeria, and has been at the heart of the growth of Ad dynamo, iROKOtv, and Jobberman in the country.
Naspers has been known for finding and aligning with the vision of top talent in Nigeria, and this interview highlights some of those plans and expectations Mr Adegbite has as he joins up Naspers’ Job Industry play, Careers24.
Interview with Vanguard;
Speaking to Vanguard on Naspers’s entry into the job space in Nigeria, Business Development Manager of Careers24, Adegbite Oreoluwa said the goal of the company is to build a premium platform that would help the portal aggregate responsive contents for both employers and job candidates; and ultimately to overtake Jobberman as an online job provider in Nigeria.
With several experiences with other startups in Nigeria like Jobberman, iRoko Tv and Ad Dynamo, Adegbite said he is building a team of tech experts that will guarantee innovation in the way jobs are delivered to both employers and job seekers in the country.
“Careers24 is actually a platform where employers can actually get to meet premium and quality candidates for jobs. So our platform is bringing a bridge concept where employers can meet job candidates who meet specific goals. In the past years, we noticed that a lot of job sites have sprung up but they have not been able to fill these professional roles for these employers,” Adegbite said.
“This is a role we are coming to fill,” he added.
He explained that beyond that, the company is also focusing on the opportunities available to fresh graduates and providing the necessary training they need to successfully penetrate the labour market.
“We are trying to give chances to fresh and young graduates. We are rolling out different programmes that will help these fresh graduates get into the job space,” he said.
He further explained that what they are bringing to the table differs in some significant way from what other online job portal like Jobberman, their main competition offers.
“A few things in what we are doing are quite different from what Jobberman, which is the leading job portal in Nigeria at the moment, offers. The premium services that we offer is quite different from what they have. For instance, employers are everywhere looking for qualified candidates and what we are able to do is that within a matter of few weeks we get someone that fits into the designation. Others have not been able to do that. This is because it is a matter of understanding what to look out for in curriculum vitae.
“More so, beyond the jobs, we are also trying to enhance our users. For instance there is no way you get a job without a quality CV, so we are also focusing on training job seekers. Beyond that we are also trying to build partnership with learning schools, a kind of finishing schools, where fresh graduates can learn about what the job space is all about. For now we see ourselves step ahead sites like Jobberman though we are still entering the market. And because we are funded by Naspers, we don’t see lots of challenges especially with funding,” he said.
With the labour market saturated and employers facing increased difficulties finding the right talents, online job market will continue to play prominent roles in the process. Leaders in the industry like Jobberman and Careers24 will continue to play relevant roles in this sector as well but whether any of them will remain ahead of each other will be determined by quality of content and innovation.
The independent Quality of Service (QOS) assessment carried out by the Uganda Communications Commission, the country’s telco regulator indicates that MTN Uganda is the best network operator in the country.
The assesment carried out between February 2014 to June 2014 took into account parameters such as Successful Call rate, Blocked call rate and Dropped call rate among others.
MTN emerged the best beating Airtel, Orange, UTL due to what it says a continued focus on Network Quality, rollout of innovative Products and Services, improvement of Customer Experience and wide distribution network which have consolidated our leadership in quality service and delivery.
In just two years, MTN claims to have invested over Ushs 287 billion, part of its cumulative investment exceeding Ushs 1.7 Trillion in Uganda since 1998 for network rollout and upgrades as well as a number of other infrastructure developments to support our subscriber growth and the rollout of new innovative products and services. In the six months ended 30 June 2014, MTN Uganda added 133 new 2G sites and 138 new 3G sites. There were also 243 existent 2G sites upgraded in various locations across the country.
According to MTN Uganda’s Chief Executive Officer, Brian Gouldie,”“This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the results of our investment program and network optimization focus over the last few months. What is particularly pleasing is that we are the clear leader in important cities like Mbale, Jinja, Kasese, Kabale, Masaka and Mbarara. This is a clear indication that MTN has not only limited our investment to Kampala but has focused on the whole of Uganda.”
Last year, the telco officially commissioned its Fibre network at Katuna Border in Kabale district, the first terrestrial link to Rwanda aimed at lowering cost and mproving quality of communications services in the region and the world by connecting Uganda to an additional submarine cable SAT-3 to Rwanda via the Tanzania route from Dar es Salaam.
MTN Uganda says it has also connected to two other cables through Kenya for unique redundancy and act as a backup structure for secured and reliable connectivity as well as ensure quality voice and data services. By December 2013, MTN Uganda’s total Fibre infrastructure exceeded 3,200km. An additional 350 km of fibre will be rolled out by the end of 2014 and 150 km in the first quarter of 2015. MTN has over 3 million subscribers accessing Internet through its monthly.
“It is important to highlight the fact that network downtime usually results in significant revenue losses. We have however invested heavily in network infrastructure to minimize this down time so as to ensure that customers and their Businesses are never offline. Unfortunately, these efforts are being affected by persistent network damages along our routes”, he said.
However, MTN Uganda has been hard hit by vandalism. For instance during the last 12 months, MTN Uganda recorded more than 200 incidents of infrastructure vandalism largely attributed to the theft of fiber cables by individuals and activities of road construction.
You’ve probably heard of Jack Dorsey. The co-founder of Twitter, and the founder and CEO of Square, a mobile payments company which he founded simply to allow everyone accept credit card payments. That is in the US though, and frankly; Square has zero plans for Africa than to frustrate Amazon’s Local Register.
Now welcome home.
A group of three students from Kenya’s University of Nairobi-George Ndeeri, Martin Suge and Denis Gachoki have launched their own version of Square dubbed Lipa+ (Lipa Plus). Lipa+ is a mobile POS solution designed for the Kenyan merchants to help them to accept both credit and debit card payments by just swiping the card on a device attached to an android phone.
Speaking to TechMoran, Denis Gachoki, a co-founder said, “Our sole mission is to make cashless payments easy and to have this device in every town and in every village in Kenya. All you need is our Android or iOS app plus our card reader and you can start receiving payments whether you are selling coffee, clothes, books or you a shoe shiner or just anyone. You can now accept card payments in a very secure, easy, affordable and reliable solution.”
Aiming to be the simplest and most elegant way to accept payments in Kenya now and to make life easier, merchants only download the Lipa+ Android and iOS app and then begin to accept payments immediately minus any contracts or paperwork. Merchants can use their mobile phones, tablets and at just 3.5% + 50c per transaction allow customers to swipe their debit and credit cards and make payments as simple as never seen in Kenya.
Lipa+ then deposits the cash into a merchants account within 48 hours without question.
Just so believe them. George and Martin are Mechanical engineering students. George is entering his 5th year while Martin is awaiting graduation. Denis is a Geospatial engineering in 3rd year at the same university. George had created Socialbaze, a social network which grew to almost 200,000 users which later collapsed. George went on to start Hacking Programming, and was at one time offered 10,000$ to sell but chose not to even when the money looked like a lot to a university student then. George run shiw own blog Derify.com.
“We are passionate about what we do and have a history in tech startups and businesses,” Denis tells TechMoran. “Am passionate about entrepreneurship, I founded a web solution firm while in first year called Focweb Technologies Ltd and we’ve created innovative products before like Sheriasoft which saw us featured in Business Daily and Smart Business.
The third co-founder, Martin Suge, has also in the past be involved in other tech projects like a solar power mobile charger and a device that enables mobile phone to read flash disks. Also he cofounded 254dukas.com.
In short, the guys say they are passionate about what they do and their sole mission is to make an impact through solutions that matter. Though they say it’s not easy, especially being engineering students but passion keeps them through all this insanity.
Lipa+ story is so inspiring. George and Martin, the two mechanical engineering students had an idea of creating a device which could be attached on the audio port of a phone so as to accept and process card payments in 2009 ad as any good student would do, they approached their lecturer.
“They explained their idea hoping he could help make the concept a workable prototype,” Denis says, “but the guy told them to create the prototype would be damn expensive he went on to tell them to concentrate on their engineering books and to stop working on ‘irrelevant’ projects.”
With the idea forgotten. The guys went back to their academics full-time and they thought that was the end of Lipa+ like thousands of ideas that die due on campus. But fate had it that George would meet Denis, both students at the same university but starngers to each other after Denis had advertised a job vacancy for Focweb Technologies in 2012.
“I was so impressed by his skills and we ended up being friends and finally business partners. So one day in 2013 , George finds me reading the Fortune Magazine‘s 40 UNDER 40 and the feature guy was Jack Dorsey. He literally went crazy when he saw a company formed around the time they had the same idea was doing so well,” Denis says.
Dorsey’s Square’s got George thinking. He called up his friend Martin and together they started working on the electric circuit of the card reader. Through this time Denis was motivating them to JUST DO IT. And they did work. After several days of sleepless nights they send a prototype to some manufacturer abroad and within weeks the actual devices were sent to Nairobi.
At this instant, George welcomed Denis to be part of the project and luckily that same evening, Denis was meeting his dad, (Antony Gachoki) in town. He was so proud he wanted to show his dad what him and his friends were doing so he took some photos of the devices. As if scripted by luck from day one, Denis’d dad did invest and the three got the capital to start Kenswipe Ltd.
“We spent our first days approaching almost every payment processor in Kenya (Jambopay, iPay, Lipisha, Pesapal and others). One day we went up to National Bank and the guys there were like: If you are here for an attachment/internship request drop your CVs and go but we were like ……. Dude…… we want to be your business partners,” Denis tells me laughing.
They went ahead on their chase for business partners and later met Ben Lyon, Director of Kopo Kopo, a moble money payments integrator. Denis says Lyon could become a resource to the team by offering his time and experience to help them make Lipa+ be what it is today.
Though it wwas not easy to for them to create the apps and the card readers, they have finally begn beta testing them for the last 2 weeks and are signing up stalls and malls for the trial phase.
“Our mission is to be in every town,” says Denis. “We are now pursuing security compliance certificates from global players with the guide of our mentors . We are also developing a Chip and Pin device plus in the future after successful card enrollment we plan to integrate Mobile Money. Mobile money will make Lipa+ a one-in-all solution for cashless payments.”
They have been frustrated with some payment processors who did not understand their solution, but after the little success, most of them want to work with them.
Lipa+ is giving merchants everything for free and incurring the cost of the card reader and now has 16 merchants in just a few days of their beta launch. One device costs them $20 but adding tax, the devices cost $30 but the team is working on a way to cut the costs to les than 10$ if they order for the devices in bulk.
Denis has his dad to thank for the seed money. His dad has in fact funded him for 2 years since he launched his Focweb Technologies startup. At Lipa+, Denis says his dad is more like a partner, absorbing each and every cost they incurre. He has footed the development of the app, the manufacture of the devices and all their operations.
Twitter Chairman and Square CEO, Jack Dorsey img:fortune.com
Kenya’s Gradstate.com wants to help you or your siblings to select the best university or college courses in Kenya through it’s site with listings of various universities and colleges online.
According to the team behind it, the site helps students compare the courses from different courses instead of going to every institution physically or having to log on to different websites. They say the initiative is timely now that the government has opened up its university sponsorship to even private universities and also because universities are using online systems for student placement to allow students select courses.
The site aims to be an informative and interactive online platform where students can search and compare various courses being offered by different educational institutions thus enabling them to make informed decisions about their choices of further studies. It has universities, colleges, training institutes or schools and aims to help the institutions to attract potential students to join their courses.
Gradstate lists courses by university, faculty or by region to help students easily pick up courses in universities situated in their prefered regions.
Sony has announced today it has sold over 10 million PS4 consoles globally as of August 10, 2014, demonstrating the fastest and strongest growth in PlayStation hardware history and even beating its competitor Microsoft’s Xbox One which has sold nearly half Sony’s.
The firm also announced its PS4 software remain strong with more than 30 million copies sold in retail stores globally and through digital downloads on PlayStation®Store as of August 10, 2014. Sony has promised to expand its PS4 system’s games portfolio with anticipated titles such as Destiny, DRIVECLUB™, Grand Theft Auto V®, inFAMOUS First Light™, LittleBigPlanet™ 3, and NBA 2K15, and innovative titles including Grim Fandango, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and Minecraft. The firm has also announced “Share Play,” a TV-like feature that allows players to enjoy gameplay with their friends just as if they are in the same room, such as remotely taking over a friend’s controller to help them through tricky sections of a game. The PS4 system is currently available in 100 countries and regionsworldwide.
Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said, “The responses we have received for the PS4 system’s unique gameplay experiences powered by the network, along with its vast game portfolio has been phenomenal, and I am absolutely delighted that PS4 was able to reach this commemorative milestone in less than 9 months.In November last year, Sony reported that the PS4 hit over 1 million sales 24 hours after launch and by April, it had surpased 7 million units sold.
Samsung Electronics East Africa has partnered with the Technical University of Kenya to launch an air conditioning and refrigeration engineering academy at the institution in a move geared towards improving the level of skill-sets in the country’s engineering sector.
The facility is an extension of the Samsung Engineering Academy that was set-up in 2012 at the Woodvale Centre in Westlands to address the technical and engineering skills shortage in Kenya and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Samsung’s main goal is to develop 10,000 Electronics Engineers across Africa by 2015 by exposing them to the necessary vocational training.
The academy will equip students with hands-on skills in the repair and maintenance of air conditioning and refrigeration units with the aim of offering practical training and therefore creating opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.
Speaking during the launch, Industrialization and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary, Adan Mohamed, lauded Samsung’s efforts in actively participating in skills-sharing programmes, which he said are critical to Kenya’s economic and social development.
“As we position ourselves for greater sustained economic growth, we foresee a need for specialized technical skills, which will not only ensure that we have trained labour and entrepreneurs, but also ensure that consumers who require repair and maintenance services can acquire them from professionally trained personnel,” said Mohamed.
Kenya has for years had to grapple with a worrying unemployment burden as unemployment stands at 40%. The World Bank estimates that approximately 800,000 Kenyans join the labour market each year and only 50,000 succeed in getting professional jobs. Many graduates resort to working in the informal sector or remaining unemployed, with far-reaching consequences for Kenya’s economy.
Samsung Vice President and COO for East & Central Africa Robert Ngeru says the electronics company is committed to developing technicians and engineers through innovative programmes designed to address specific needs.
“Samsung realized there was a gap in getting engineers who possess the right practical skills, hence the decision to establish the engineering academy. Our investment in this training centre is an additional initiative aimed at bridging this skills gap in the country, while at the same time giving youths a chance at entrepreneurship,” he added.
The new facility will have an initial intake of 60 students who will go through a one -year vocational training that includes three months of apprenticeship within Samsung or its service partners. The training module also includes life skills to help the students start their own enterprises.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with Samsung in the launch of this facility. We are confident that it will ensure our students benefit from the best in technical training as we strive to achieve excellence,” said Prof. Suki Mwenda, DVC Technology, Innovation and Partnerships at Technical University of Kenya.
Since its launch in Kenya, the Engineering Academy has trained over 250 students in technical fields in line with its different business segments: Internet & Mobile which covers mobile phones and tablets, and Consumer Electronics which covers home appliances such as televisions, home theatres and sound systems, microwaves, refrigerators and washing machines among others.
The Diaspora Mobile money transfer service from Rapid Communications’ is now in Uganda, Tanzania and Senegal only a month after it was unveiled in Kenya.
Brought about through a partnership with Aftab Currency Exchange in the United Kingdom and Al Ghurair Exchange in the United Arabs Emirates, the service will enable Africans remit money to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Senegal directly to their loved one’s mobile wallets in the relevant countries.
Senders will visit the agent’s outlets in the UK and UAE and provide the details of the loved ones, their full names as they appear on the National Identification Card or Passport, mobile phone number and the country. The beneficiary’s mobile phone number should be registered with the specified Mobile Telephone Operator of their country for them to be able to withdraw cash.
It is expected that with the expansion, more money will be sent r to Africa and thus improve revenue to the Governments of the affected countries.
‘’We have noted an increase in the volume of cash remitted by Africans working and living abroad. This has been a centre of focus to the telecommunication and money transfer firms that are all keen to cash-in on this growing segment of the market,’’ said Anwar Hussein, Rapid Communication’s CEO.
Image: nation.co.ke
This service will open up to more countries as the money sent to Africa continues to fund more projects and support families.
Online hotel booking site Jovago has added M-Pesa to its payment options and introduced a Resident Rate scheme with discounts for local and business travelers to encourage more Kenyans to travel around their country.
JOVAGO says it’s promoting around 1,000 Kenyan hotels of which many offer great discounts on prevailing Resident Rates. Users only need to visit the Jovago.com website, choose the hotel they want and pay with Safaricom’s M-PESA via Pay Bill number 838350.
Estelle Verdier Watine, M.D JOVAGO East Africa said, “This is a great leap not only for JOVAGO as a company but also Kenya as a whole as we join national efforts for example #TembeaKenya, whose main aim is to see more Kenyans embrace local tourism and celebrate our country’s heritage. We have plenty affordable offers and partnerships with different properties that will allow all Kenyans to go on holiday within our borders at very friendly discounts”
She carried on stating that the company’s main goal is to make JOVAGO the go-to website for anyone looking to have a good time in Kenya regardless of location, preference and budget.
Naspers’ owned Media24 eCommerce has today launched Efinity, a new e-commerce fulfillment service set to serve e-commerce merchants in the country.
Efinity will allow the e-commerce firms to send stuff to its warehouses, where Efinity will store, pack and deliver them to their customers who order online. Efinity requires neither minimum contracts, nor integration costs nor setup fees but will be priced depending on use.
Efinity is a Media24 ecommerce company, sister to Spree.co.za, and ShopGuru fast-growing deals platform. Media24 ecommerce is run by Media24, a media publishing company, and a subsidiary of Naspers. On The Dot, is a leading logistics services provider in SA, and a strategic partner in Efinity and a sister company to Spree and ShopGuru.
According to the firm, Efinity’s open API allows seamless integration with a merchant’s existing ecommerce website for a simple and effective solution for warehousing and fulfilment. The services are open for start-ups and established players with no minimum contracts, no integration costs, no setup fees. Cost of the service is only charged per use.
“We are building a world-class fulfilment service to help South African retailers do ecommerce better. With our warehouses and an express parcel delivery network, we intend to set new standards for fulfilment accuracy and shipping times. Our pay as you go pricing model makes Efinity one of the most affordable choices on the market for small and medium retailers,” the firm said.
Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta today unveilled the electronic procurement and payment system (e-procurement) in a move expected to draw openness in the management of public finances with emphasis on transparency, accountability and prudence in the use of public resources.
Kenyatta said the launch e-procurement is a step forward in the realization of Kenya’s Vision 2030 aspirations for a public service that is “citizen-focused and results-oriented” and delivers quality service to all Kenyans.
“We are committed to implementing these reforms and in particular e-government because we know very well that a modern and results-focused public service is a prerequisite for the country’s socio-economic transformation,” said Kenyatta.
The e-procurement is expected to assist in ensuring that public financial resources are used prudently and for the intended purposes to end complaints from Kenyans that the Government was being overcharged for goods and services that it purchases.
The system is expected to eliminate the abuse of the government’s procurement system and instill confidence in Kenyans that they are getting value for money and hence the reason why they should pay taxes. The Kenyan governement spends around 50 percent of its annual budget on procurement of goods and services, the system will therefore save it substantial financial resources.
The e-procurement system is also expected to strengthen the government-supplier relationship by streamlining the procurement procedures, to provide easy access to information and documents, to increase the number of bidders as the bidding process gets simplified, and to ensure cost savings for the government and all taxpayers.
According to Kenyatta, the “Procure to Pay” module of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) will automate public financial processes, interlink system for internal controls to enable clear audit trails and identification of the originator of all transactions and as well introduce a new era to government procurement by bringing to an end manual procurement challenges that the country has experienced in the past.
“This will indeed, make Kenya a more attractive destination for investment.Indeed, we take great pride in being the first African country to automate end-to-end procurement and payment processes in a devolved government system,” concluded Kenyatta.
Kenya’s National Treasury has been putting up a Government digital payments portal that will enable Kenyans to make payments to the Government electronically instead of using cash. The system will be launched in a few weeks.
Shopping can be frustrating especially on weekends when hundreds of shoppers move from mall to mall and shop to shop.
However, South Africa’s MySidekick wants to end this menace.
The new smartphone and tablet shopping app wants to do the hard work for its users by collecting all the hottest specials and promotions throughout the country as their personal shopping assistant. The app browses a users’ favourite items, specials, sales and vouchers from major retailers near them.
Apart from helping users find specials, sales and coupons, users also stand a chance to win prizes in sveral competitions from retailers and participating malls. The app also has emergency numbers and services for Ambulances, Police stations, Poison Line, AA and Petrol Stations & ATM’s nearest to them.
It also promises to help shoppers locate shops and malls with directions and the in-app map and now has over 500 Retailers and thousands of outlets with a search functionality.
According to Leonard Brewer, CEO of MySidekick, the app instantly gives users a unique and simplified shopping experience with an updated, comprehensive overview of local specials, promotions, sales, products and coupons available at major retail stores in South Africa.
Users can find and call emergency services, locate retailers and malls, find contact details and get directions to them on a map using their smartphone’s current location.
“It’s crucial for our users to have 24/7 access to emergency services’ numbers and to locate ATM’s and petrol stations when they need them most. Users save time finding the right deals and ultimately save more money when shopping. That is how the idea originated: to develop an app that not only saves time and money, but also makes shopping more enjoyable.”
The app is available FREE for download to all iPhone and iPad users, and an Android version is being worked on.The app has a clean design, is easy to navigate and enhances the overall experience and simplicity of finding the right money-saving deals, custom to the user’s location.
“Simplicity was key during the development process; the goal being to develop an app that simplifies the users’ shopping style,” says Ian Bannerman, Lead Developer at MySidekick.
Kenya’s low cost airline, Jambojethas introduced a ‘low fare finder’ tool on its website to help customers find the lowest fares on offer making it possible for travellers to see which days of the month are cheaper to travel.
The ‘low fare finder’ allows customers to see a wider range of fare options and the offer days at a glance compared to other systems that require travelers to search each day to find this information. This gives access to wider range of cheaper fares and is time saving.
“We are glad to be the first airline in Kenya to offer this valuable functionality. This service is a demonstration of our quest to always offer easy and affordable travel options to as many Kenyans as possible,” said Jambojet Chief Executive Officer Willem Hondius.
“In order to access the lowest airfares available, we encourage travellers to plan ahead. By organizing a trip early, one is able to take advantage of our affordable rates, which start at Ksh2950,” he added.
Jambojet pioneered the concept of a budget airline in Kenya four months ago and the service has already attracted good uptake. Jambojet fares include a 10 kilogram hand baggage allowance and the fares shown on the website are the actual fares that travellers pay.
Passengers who require additional services have the option of paying for these as indicated at the time of booking. Jambojet is the only airline in Kenya that gives travellers the freedom to manage their costs.
Last month, Jambojet was considered best low –cost carrier for the region during the World Airlines Awards and the fourth best in Africa, hot on the heels of such established players as Mango, Fastjet and Kulula.
