The excitement of getting the dotAfrica domain seems to have disappeared because so far less than 20 countries have participated; leading to the postponement of the deadline to March this year.
According to South Africa’s ZA Central Registry, the deadline was set for the first week of February for African governments to submit lists of important names of sovereign interest and national significance for inclusion in the dotAfrica ‘Reserved Names List’ (RNL) process.
It appears that out of all the African nations only 17 countries have been involved in the process. This countries include Benin, Niger, Senegal, Mauritius, Ghana, Burundi, Algeria, Tanzania, Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia, Uganda, South Africa, South Sudan, Egypt, Gabon and Liberia. The African Union (AU) has also engaged in the RNL process as an entity, say ZACR representatives.
However, the ZACR does say that over 600 reserved names have been approved, with 26 names pending approval and no rejections thus far.
“As the envisaged May 2014 launch date for the new dotAfrica domain draws closer, it is now critical that all other African countries who desire a dotAfrica presence place their important names on the RNL,” said Alice Munyua of the African Union Commission (AUC) and ZACR dotAfrica initiative.
Munyua’s reference to the May sunrise launch date of dotAfrica comes after the ZACR originally planned for this process to start in March this year. This in turn has resulted in general availability of the domain being pushed forward to later in 2014.
According to ZACR reasons for the sunrise delay included dealing with South African exchange controls and its name change from UniForum SA: a process that is under review by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Nevertheless, the ZACR has been endorsed as the official operator of the dotAfrica registry and its dotAfrica ICANN application passed the initial evaluation phase.
SkyVision Global Networks Ltd, a leading global communications provider has successfully implemented its project with SAPETRO (South Atlantic Petroleum), one of Nigeria’s major oil and gas upstream companies with new operations in Benin, which had included the installation of a full suite of SkyVision connectivity solutions in Benin and the ongoing management of the project.
The 5-year contract consists of an end-to-end voice and data managed solution, based on multiple technologies, integration and professional services, creating unique value to customer operations. The project includes mesh VSAT and wireless point to multipoint connections for Sapetro’s offices and operational sites, mobile terrestrial units and vessels, coupled with the integration of SkyVision services, including Voice and Telephony over IP, two-way radios, mobile satellite phones, managed firewall and WiFi.
As a leading oil and gas upstream company with operations in Benin, SAPETRO is recognized for its activities in sub-Saharan Africa underlined by its strong platform in Nigeria, the Republic of Benin and offshore East Africa.
SkyVision’s tailored solutions for the oil and gas industry are backed by the company’s strong local presence through its local offices and partners across Africa. Its global infrastructure and 24/7 Technical Assistance Centers and NOCs, provide SkyVision customers with the reliable connectivity and support they need.
“As a leading oil and gas company with projects and interests throughout Africa, SAPETRO required a highly experienced and reliable partner that would deliver comprehensive services to meet its specific needs,” said Jean-Daniel Tragus, SkyVision Oil & Gas Sales Director.
Martin Trachsel SAPETRO’s CEO said: “We are thrilled to have engaged the services of SkyVision for this important project which is geared towards providing robust high-tech turnkey communication infrastructure to support our operations in the Sèmè Field. We found SkyVision’s comprehensive suite of services, technological expertise and pricing, a compelling offer and one which met our expectations”.
“We greatly value this joint partnership with SAPETRO, a true leader in Africa’s oil and gas production industry. This important project win marks SkyVision’s far-reaching commitment to oil and gas customers throughout Africa, as we further our commitment to delivering quality voice and data communications where they are needed most,” stated SkyVision COO, Golan Madar.
SkyVision recently received Frost & Sullivan’s Market Leadership Award – ICT in Oil and Gas.
Kenya’s Shield Services Ltd, is a new online small businesses lender that has gone live to support business in Kenya to get loans quick with approvals of less than 24 hours and their loans in less than 5 working days and from as low as Ksh 5000 to Ksh 500,000.
Shield.co.ke says are not loan sharks, but fund business by banking on their future sales and potential growth. They take risks on business that no bank would and add that their clients are those not able to walk into any local bank and get a business or personal loan.
Founded by Kennedy Rohara Mwangi, a Bsc. International Business Administration, United States International University with previous work experience at Rural Asset Ltd, a growing microfinance in Central Kenya, the platform target’s quick service businesses such as Restaurants, Bars, Nightclubs, Ice Cream Shops, Coffee Shops, Bakeries among others, retail businesses such as Gift stores, General Stores, Clothing Stores, Accessory Stores, Auto Parts & Accessories, Hardware Stores, Liquor Stores and service businesses such as Auto Repair & Service, Hair & Nail Salons, Dry Cleaners, Hotels & Motels, Medical Practices, Barber Shops among others.
According to Mwangi 90% of Shield’s processes are automated and they don’t handle cash.The platform works simply. A business has to hand in its applications, file all its documentation and await approval which in for their case, 24 hours. If a business qualifies, funds are disbursed through money transfer. Loan repayments are also though mobile money.
“Venture capital and angel funding are after tech startups in Africa to help grow their businesses. But there are a lot of mom-and-dad shops out there — businesses that are equally important to the success of the economy, whether they be restaurants or small brick-and-mortar retailers — that don’t qualify for venture funding from top firms,” says Mwangi. “Instead, the country’s small businesses typically to turn to negotiating with banks for loans, which can be a headache to secure. We give these SME’s loans and charge a factor rate on all loans we disburse. Good repayments attract loan discounting for future borrowing.”
One of the greatest challenges Shield faces is funding SMEs, as the business is still new in Kenya and people still think there are hidden charges on the loans. They also face competition mainly from commercial banks targeting SMEs and Micro-finance institutions and NGO’s that work with women and the youth and SMEs and Saccos or SME-focused banks.
Mwangi is however opportumistic that he will beat the micro-finance and Saccos as they give loans based on members savings and have long approval process. One has to be a member for at least 6 months to qualify for a loan. His other competition comes from banks. Mwangi says banks have stringent application process, require huge collateral, and take long to process loans, hence his startup has an upper-hand.
Thou loaning looks tricky with all the regulations required in Kenya, Shield is working with the Credit Reference Bureau and mobile money providers to make the system efficient. Shield at the moment has a team of five and aims to launch physical bramches to serve more SME’s.
Nomanini, a firm that combines physical vouchers with direct, electronic delivery to informal retailers has secured series-B funding from Seychelles-based investment company Rockbridge Investments Limited. The latest financing brings the startup’s total raised capital to over ZAR 20million.
“Rockbridge has been looking for some time for the right investment in the mobile space in Africa. In Nomanini we found a company with the ideal mix of strong technology, robust business processes, and speed of delivery,” said Vandy Massey, Rockbridge Investments’ key adviser on the South African market.
Nomanini CEO Vahid Monadjem started the company to bring the power of the mobile revolution to the communities that have the most to gain from it. Nomanini partners with local enterprises in each market who create a locally relevant product on Nomanini’s prepaid platform. Launched in 2011, Nomanini is now active in South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique and currently expanding to Nigeria, Guinea and Somalia. “At the moment we are at a very exciting inflection point, having proven our underlying technology and business model in multiple counties. We are growing fast,” said Monadjem.
Nomanini says the funding round will help it scale operations internationally, helping to streamline the fulfillment process, recruit talent needed to keep up with the necessary growth and develop the next generation of payment processing tools for informal retailers. Monadjem says “Our investment from Rockbridge provides the rocket fuel for Nomanini to scale our business across Africa and beyond. In addition, Nomanini will benefit from the enterprise B2B business development knowledge that Vandy brings to the table.”
“The decision to invest was based on Nomanini’s impressive track record of delivering an effective, customer-friendly solution for mobile top-up in Africa. On a personal level, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such a dynamic, forward-thinking team,” said Massey.
Kenya’s largest privately owned bank, Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), has partnered with Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing SAP and IZAZI Solutions, SAP’s gold business partner for the African region to build an Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP), a data warehouse, and a real-time management information system powered by SAP Business Analytics.
Set to take over 12 months and undertaken in four phases, the software system will help the bank use improve data security and ease the ability to generate reports leading to informed and timely decision making. The data will give the bank ability to derive insights and intelligence for its daily operations.
“The ERP software would help us understand its customers and improve the way we make decisions,” said about the deal, CBA’s Group MD, Isaac Awuondo. “SAP was chosen because of its leading position as a software provider with a global footprint. SAP is also keen on understanding CBA’s customer needs and it was price competitive.”
The software will enable CBA mine huge volumes of data in real time and convert the data into information that provides insights and intelligence to the business and operations teams at a lower cost. SAP ERP seamlessly collects and combines data from the separate systems and provides the company or organisation with enterprise resource planning.
The new system will fully integrate with CBA’s core banking platform and therefore improve CBA’s financial management processes. A multi-currency environment will be supported, as well as the ability to perform consolidations across multiple entities. SAP’s innovative, efficient and stable business systems provide integrated solutions that support key business functions of an organization by managing their flow of information.
Ghana has introduced an online service delivery system; the body responsible for this is Ghana’s Driving and Vehicle licensing Authority (DVLA). This DVLA believes will help in reducing fraud and improve service delivery.
Well, this will not stop the manual system from functioning as DVLA plans keep it running until the end of September this year which they believe will be faced out.
The Acting CEO of DVLA, Rudolph Beckley, said applicants for driver licensing and new vehicle registration would be able to use the new platform from their homes and internet cafes.
The new platform has been installed in DVLA’s offices located in Accra, Tema, Weija and Kumasi and that the rest of the offices would be connected by the end of March.
Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) is in the verge of purchasing South African-based Conduct, the process is expected to be complete by March this year.
They are doing this to overcome the factors affecting as well as give enterprises across South Africa access to fibre connectivity.
“The Conduct acquisition gives us an overnight presence as a last-mile provider and, importantly, puts into motion our strategy to connect as many customers to our fibre network as possible in a cost-effective way,” said Reshaad Sha, chief strategy officer of DFA.
He added that DFA has seen the need to have cost effective fibre connectivity into the market to initiate customers.
“The cost of building out the last mile from an existing network into the building has been a barrier to entry to fibre connectivity for many enterprises,” he said. “Our customers, being Internet Service Providers and telecoms operators, therefore require an underlying solution that accelerates business connectivity more economically, DFA has focused its efforts on building a product set to lower or remove, this barrier to entry.”
Johan Pretorius, CEO of Conduct, noted: “Conduct’s last-mile network enables enterprises to get access to fibre very rapidly. Combining this last-mile infrastructure with DFA’s metro network provides ISPs instant access to new customers whilst businesses benefit from fibre. Suddenly there are fast, reliable, competitive services at their fingertips.”
DFA expects its last-mile strategy to be significantly enhanced with the acquisition of Conduct, allowing it to further speed up the delivery of last-mile fibre connectivity to its customers while maintaining the successful recipe that Conduct has developed over the last two years. DFA, through its ISP partner network, aims to connect up to 10 000 business customers to its fibre network by March 2015.
DFA will make all the capital investments required to build out this last-mile fibre network where it currently has a metro network presence across South Africa.
Yet another product of Mobile World Congress, WhatsApp will soon have free voice calls by the middle of this year, thanks to the $19 billion takeover by Facebook.
WhatsApp will still remain independent even though it is owned by Facebook, well, this is according to Jan Koum, WhatsApp CEO.
The introduction of free calls would match rival application Viber’s similar offering.
“We are going to introduce voice on WhatsApp in the second quarter of this year,” WhatsApp founder Jan Koum said.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was the star speaker on the opening day of the industry fair, announced a stock and cash purchase of WhatsApp last week.
“Five years ago we had no users, no product,” said Koum.”Today we have 465m active users,” he said, adding that the company still had no marketing, relying mostly on word of mouth to prosper.
Japanese online shopping group Rakuten announced this month it would buy Viber’s Cyprus-based developer, Viber Media, for $900 million.
Viber, one of WhatsApp’s key rivals, offers free voice calls and messaging services.
MTN is considering legal action for an advertising campaign from Cell C which criticizes MTN for taking the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa ( ICASA), to court over its recently released ” call terminations regulations 2014.
The campaign did not sit well with MTN and the company is now considering legal action. The campaign from Cell C creates the impression that MTN is fighting against lowering call rates, and that MTN are funding the legal action through using the company’s network.
Cell C has also been active on social media, twitter and facebook, making statements such as “are the giant cellular networks to greedy?” and “Do you feel that big cellular networks are making obscene profits?”
Zunaid Bulbulia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) MTN said the new MTR regulations hinder South Africa’s economic development and constitute “regulatory attack”.
Bulbulia added that the case was “regrettable” and legal action was the only open option in regards to the regulations, as attempted discussions with the regulator (ICASA) was unsuccessful.
Cell C on the other hand through its chief legal officer, Graham Mackinnon said they do not believe that there is a basis for any legal action, but they are prepared to meet any claim that MTN may bring.
Fusi Mokoena, general manager for commercial legal at MTN South Africa said yesterday that they are exploring their options.
MTN formerly M-cell, is a South African based multinational mobile telecommunications company, with its head quarters in Johannesburg, it operates in most parts of Africa Europe and Middle East.
Cell C founded in November 2001, is owned by 3C Telecommunications, it is South Africa’s third cell network after Vodacom and MTN, the company also has its headquarters in South Africa.
This new move which was initiated by Rwanda Development Board through the office of the registrar general came as a way to ease the RDB’S registration process.
The business registration system which was first introduced in 2011, is currently a must have in Rwanda; the move was effected this week.
Louise kanyonga, the registrar general said the transition to online business registration came as part of other reforms aimed at making it easier to do business such as improving access to credit, making it easier to pay taxes and acquiring construction permits.
She added that the new reform will make it easier, cheaper, quicker and more convenient to register one’s business.
In addition to that, for 12 months; free online help and free work spaces will be offered at the RDB head office. Users, who may encounter difficulties, will be able to ask questions and get responses via email.
According to RDB site, Rwanda Development board which reports directly to the president of Rwanda, was set up by bringing together all government agencies responsible for the all investors in Rwanda, under one roof, these include key agencies responsible for business registration, investment promotion, environmental clearances, privatisation and specialist agencies which support ICT and tourism as well as SMEs and human capacity development in the private sector.
Equity Bank’s shares have started rising steadily after it applied for a licence from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) for a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), which will guarantee it rights to share infrastructure with any operator to launch its own mobile telephone services. Equity is likely to use yuMobile’s infrastructure according to some industry sources.
Though today’s 0.79 increase from 31.75 to 32.0 doesn’t mean much, analysts say the firms shares are set to plummet and even more if Equity Bank is granted the license. Equity Bank’s application is still with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) undergoing for scrutiny before the CCK decides whether to award the bank a telco licence or not.
Former President Mwai Kibaki (centre) Equity CEO James Mwangi and Safaricom’s CEO Michael Joseph at the launch M-Kesho in 2010
Before Safaricom’s popularity, Equity Bank used to be the king of financial services in the country and was the most innovative institution in the land. It had a branch in almost every shopping center. Then the launch of M-Pesa in 2007 just made things worse as instead of going to the bank, people began going to M-Pesa agents.
In 2010, Equity Bank decided to join hands with Safaricom to launch M-Kesho, a bank to M-Pesa money transfer service. This was brilliant. However, according to a new book, Money Real Quick, by Dr. Tonny Omwasa and Nicholas Sullivan, the service did not work long as rivalry between the two firms heated up. After the dead of M-Kesho Equity Bank has been left behind the mobile banking revolution and therefore it likely use this chance to power its own mobile banking services and if true pay back its old rivalry for mistreatment. It’s so likely that the bank believes that this new move will restore its lost glory.
The bank has branches and agents allover and the country and would easily turn them into its mobile money agents for both money transfer and saving and loans and insurance services just like its perceived rivalry Safaricom with its M-Pesa agens. It’s loyal customer base of over 8 million might be its first customers if the bank succeeds in rolling out its mobile services. The move might also be another to end Safaricom’s monopoly on both telco services and mobile money services in the country.
The move will also break the cord of Safaricom’s Lipa na M-Pesa which is taking over payments in almost every sector, from bus payments to restaurants and supermarkets which has a heating effect on Equity Banks BebaPay, which was initially launched as a transport payments card but with plans to be rolled-out to power transactions everywhere.
ICT analysts have emphasised how 2014 will see the execution of data management strategies, including analytics, volume control and application. The prediction is that businesses will aggressively begin to extract data on a completely new level … a level that will involve data streams sourced from various machines, processes, procedures and systems. Welcome to the Internet of Things.
As a fast-growing trend The Internet of Things is defined by the expanded combination of networks and the Internet to facilitate a scenario in which all things/ objects are connected and have unique identifiers that enable them to transfer data.
It will force decision makers to review their data management and application strategies. Today, in order to remain relevant and enhance the ability to compete, it is vital that businesses are able to not only effectively and securely store and manipulate structured data, but also extract the value of readily available unstructured data.
The fact is that this type of data is everywhere and, if successfully tapped into, can add enormous value in terms of consumer behaviour, buying patterns and insight into developing trends.
Analytics of big data will remain relevant, however, there will be a new dimension to this facet of technology – brought about by the awareness of businesses to execute data management strategies to gain these benefits.
Data analytics, management and strategy application are areas that international technology vendors are highly aware of- and intend to tap into going forward. They are faced with the reality of not only being able to help extract and collate streams of data, but be positioned at the network to ensure seamless connectivity – a prerequisite for the Internet of Things.
One such vendor, Cisco, has put the situation in perspective and says that from the Internet of Things where we are today, we are just beginning to enter a new realm: the Internet of Everything (IoE), where things will gain context awareness, increased processing power, and greater sensing abilities. Add people and information into the mix and you get a network of networks where billions or even trillions of connections create unprecedented opportunities and give things that were silent a voice. Cisco defines IoE as bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before—turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.
In order for businesses to better position themselves to take advantage of this trend and utilise both structured and unstructured data to the benefit of operations, they will need to be strategic in the acquisition and implementation of technology. This is where partnerships, alliances and consolidation will play a major in the industry this year.
For service providers, there is a clear opportunity to expand services and extend the reach to new clients in a rapidly growing market.
BlackBerry today announced the BlackBerry® Z3 smartphone, a new all-touch BlackBerry® 10 smartphone custom designed for Indonesian customers in mind.
Available in Indonesia stores this April, the BlackBerry Z3 smartphone or Jarkata has a 5” display, long lasting battery and comes with BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2.1 and apps for the local market.
Launched in partnership with Foxconn, John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO at BlackBerry said, “The BlackBerry Z3 embodies all that BlackBerry 10 offers, with its exceptional productivity features and reliable communications, in a stylish, all-touch design made affordable for customers in Indonesia.”
The new BlackBerry Z3 smartphone is customized with access to local apps and Indonesian content and comes with the latest BlackBerry 10 OS, version 10.2.1, that will make the things you do every day faster and easier.
The phone has the BlackBerry® Hub for work and personal email, BBM™, text messages, social media updates and notifications in one place and an FM Radio.
BlackBerry has also revived the QWERTY with the new BlackBerry® Q20 smartphone which has 3.5” touchscreen.
Kenyan-born and bred Dee Shah, quit BlackRock in mid 2013 to come back home after 14 years in the UK. Dee was not struggling for food or doing odd jobs as some do after finishing college. She left her career as a Product Structurer at BlackRock, a preeminent Asset Managers in the world to return back home to Kenya.
But leaving the UK to settle in Africa was not as easy as she thought at first. She underwent frustrations and experienced difficulties especially in identifying reputable companies providing basic products and services.
Being a go-getter, she undertook extensive research since 2010 and identified a growing need and a gap in the market which connected businesses and customers. After a long time searching the market, she realized the huge advertising costs in the country and in December 2013 launched OffersAfrica.com, with a belief that Kenyans are amazingly entrepreneurial and businesses should not be held back simply because of the high cost of traditional advertising.
“A lot of businesses offer great products and services that they simply cannot get to the market owing to the significant costs of advertising which are unaffordable for most businesses,’ Dee told TechMoran. ” Similarly, the consumer market in Kenya is getting more sophisticated by the day and consumers want quality and choice, they deserve to know about all the businesses that provide products/services they require, thus allowing them to make informed choices.”
According to her, the technology sector in Kenya is growing at an incredible pace, OffersAfrica.com is well positioned to take advantage of this growth and is also in prime position to ensure businesses are able to take advantage of this growth whilst retaining their traditional brick and mortar concepts.
“In this day and age, people want information on the go, therefore it is incredibly important for businesses to embrace this advancement without compromising their traditional business structures,” she says.
OffersAfrica.com aims to give retailers brand awareness and direct footfall to their businesses, whilst enjoying the benefits of gaining target based advertising online. Reputation is key for OffersAfrica.com, therefore only verified businesses are permitted to advertise on the platform. Businesses are also able to gain exposure alongside established brands in the country, thereby gaining credibility as a result of being on the OffersAfrica.com platform.
She adds that businesses are also able to gain exposure owing to the ‘one stop platform’ for all consumer needs. OffersAfrica website has businesses across all categories and can thereby provide convenience to customers to identify businesses that meet all their needs on one single platform. In this fast paced time, consumers want quick solutions, OffersAfrica.com provides these solutions.
Set to be a revolutionary way of shopping, after a lot of research into the Kenyan market, OffersAfrica identified three main things that it aims to address.
“Firstly, in Kenya, it is very difficult to find verified businesses that provide items or services you require, the choice is often limited. Secondly, it is very very expensive for businesses to continually advertise their businesses and thirdly, everyone always loves a deal. OffersAfrica.com was born to address the above, thereby, providing an effective and dynamic platform for both businesses and customers,” says Dee.
The platform allows customers to search for products/services on the platform and identify verified businesses that provide these products/services. They are also able to refine their search to the particular area they wish to visit and are also able to identify which businesses are providing specific offers for the products/services they require.
An offer can be claimed by simply collecting the offer code from the website, visiting the business and redeeming the offer thereby providing customer with great offers without the worries associated with shopping online where they often need to provide addresses and payment details. Customers are able to view the map location, description and contact details of the business enabling them to contact the business directly.
Apart from deals for buyers, businesses gain a web presence and benefit from a mini website on the platform, where all their details are listed. Businesses also benefit from target based advertising, by immediately gaining visibility on OffersAfrica.com each and every single time a customer searches the platform for a product/service they provide, thereby increasing revenue from sale conversions.
For just $1.157 (Ksh100) a day Dee says businesses gain footfall directly to their stores resulting in increased sales and visibility, thus establishing brand recognition and awareness apart from dynamic management of their portal. This also kills firms redundant phone numbers and dead email addresses.
The site does not sell any product. It’s just an online billboard with redeemable coupons/offers online and only drive footfall directly to the verified businesses. This also ensures that unlike other online shopping portals, customers always know which business they are dealing with and if they are happy with these businesses, the businesses can benefit from direct recommendations.
“Our belief is that whilst Kenya is moving in the right direction, there are currently no security measures which actively target fraudsters and the illegal sale of goods online. Therefore, OffersAfrica.com only advertises verified businesses, thereby providing customers with assurance and a level of security. The platform also does not require any addresses or payment details, we want to ensure customers are able to transact in the most secure environment possible,” Dee emphasizes.
With a team of ten, and over 200 offers served, OffersAfrica.com claims no direct competition in Kenya as most players are purely web-based e-commerce and deals sites. Since OffersAfrica.com does not sell items/services, but instead identifies verified businesses providing these items/services, who in turn provide great, mostly exclusive offers to their consumers, which are redeemable in store, Dee believes the ability for customers to visit physical stores and to see and touch a product before purchasing it is incomparable.
The firm has also started providing strategic solutions for their clients, from web development to consultancy services at affordable prices.
To those who are still in the diaspora, and fear coming back home to startup, Dee says Kenya is definitely a very interesting and a very exciting place to be in at the moment. Kenyans are dynamic individuals, the opportunities presented by technology advancements in Kenya are huge both from a consumer and business perspective. She is extremely excited about the opportunities available and are constantly on the lookout for how she can make life easier for both businesses and customers.
Intel has launched its 64-bit Intel Atom processor at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Spain targeted for smartphones and tablets in a move to offer fast, smart performance and long battery life for the said devices.
The new 64-bit Atom processor will be adapted with smartphones producers to produce smartphones that run at 2.13GHz thereby allowing for faster processing. Based on the Intel’s 22 nanometer, the chip is the first-according to Intel-that features new “Intel Integrated Sensor Solution”
The company also hinted about its next–generation 64-bit processor codenamed Moorefield. The chip is aimed at devices expected in the second half of the year. It carries on Merrifield by adding two additional cores for up to 2.3 GHz of computing performance.
“With this, we prepare the world for an even faster, even richer application processor experience,” said Hermann Eul, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Mobile communications group. “That’s what we mean when we talk about ‘look inside.”
Speaking during the launch, Renee James Intel Corporation president said: “The continued growth of the mobile ecosystem depends on solving tough computing challenges–unlocking data’s potential while securely and reliably connecting billions of devices with leading edge computing and communications technologies.”
Intel also released an Android-based MacAfee mobile security comprising of a web filtering, app protection antivirus, anti theft features, data backup and call/SMS features.
Speaking about the advancing Internet of things ecosystem, James highlighted that Intel is developing a range of network infrastructure transformation, and is creating regular platforms for both hardware and software development. Intel also signed deals with Asus, Lenovo and Foxconn to develop mobile devices that run on Intel chips.
Rocket Internet-backed real estate ad site Lamudi has launched in Ethiopia and Zambia in Africa making the platform available in eleven African markets as it moves towards global expansion.
Away from Africa, Rocket has also launched in the Philippines, Peru, and Indonesia, countries the firm says are associated with increasingly flourishing economies and booming real estate industries and have rapidly growing online communities.
According to Jeremy Hodara, Co-CEO African Internet Holding, “Expanding Lamudi in both Zambia and Ethiopia is a fantastic step forward for the company. Currently our services are available in nine countries throughout Africa, and with the new addition of these two it will strengthen further plans for expansion. We have seen huge interest in classifieds within Africa, which only highlights how important a continent it is to fully penetrate.”
Founded in 2013, Lamudi is currently available in Algeria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and in Zambia. The platform offers a paid for agents/ brokers real estate marketplace for homes, land and commercial properties online.
Lamudi is backed by Rocket Internet, MTN and Millicom.
Launched with a mission to give entrepreneurs world-class mentorship from over 50 mentors, capital, and forge networks, Unreasonable East Africa has launched its Unreasonable Marketplace , a crowdfunding platform through which the public can make donations to support ventures at the Institute.
The marketplace is expected to help lobby for public support to give the institute’s inaugural class of 14 fellows chance to afford mentors, meet impact funders, get 5 weeks of food and lodging, and build an ever-growing network of fellow Unreasonable entrepreneurs for the rest of their lives without having to pay a dime themselves.
“These entrepreneurs go to bed everyday thinking about how they could make the world a better place and are hungry to expand their current reach in East Africa,” said Joachim Ewechu, CEO and Co-Founder of Unreasonable East Africa. “We are honored and excited to work with these ventures over this year to grow their businesses ten times what they are now thereby creating jobs, improving access to basic services and thereby building the region’s economy.”
The fellows, chosen after a two months search from over 160 companies from the region had to present a financially self‐sustaining venture with a great understanding of their target market and the ability to scale to meet the needs of at least 1 million people. The selected 14 ventures, 8 from Uganda, 5 from Kenya and 1 from Tanzania will attend a 5 weeks boot camp will run from June 25, 2014 to July 31, 2014 in Kampala, Uganda.
The marketplace will help the 14 finalists include get all their basic needs minus having to pay for them. The finalists include;
The GSMA and Facebook via its Internet.org, have agreed to work together to make the mobile phones affordable in developing markets in a move to increase Internet access to all.
Aimed at connecting the billions of men and women globally without access to Internet, the joint deal focuses on reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of mobile as mobile is the enabling technology for the vast majority of people in developing markets.
“While there are nearly 7 billion mobile connections worldwide, there are only 3.4 billion people that currently have mobile phones,” said Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA. “Mobile will offer many around the world, particularly in emerging markets, their only access to the Internet and the information and communications services it enables. Connecting the next billion is a major goal of the GSMA and we are pleased to be working with Facebook and internet.org to make this a reality.”
GSMA and Facebook will work with policy makers and governments in developing markets to address affordability and availability and incentivise mobile infrastructure investment and usage, as well as eliminate or reduce existing mobile-specific taxation or refraining from imposing new such tax regimes. The GSMA and Facebook recently issued reports elaborating on these issues.
A GSMA study dubbed “Mobile Taxes and Fees: A Toolkit of Principles and Evidence” show that the current taxation burden on mobile in 19 countries in developing markets has a negative impact on mobile phone affordability while Facebook’s report “Value of Connectivity” looks at the impact of extending Internet access to the billions of individuals that are currently unconnected.
The will firms also address a range of other issues that will improve affordability and help to connect the world’s population to the Internet, such as: maximising the availability of harmonised spectrum to drive mobile broadband adoption; evaluating the establishment of local Internet Exchange Points (IXPs); fostering the development of local Internet content; and examining the effectiveness of Universal Service Funds.
Rocket Internet’s Lamudi has said that social media generates up to 50 per cent of its Nigerian website’s traffic, showing that social media and mobile internet plays an increasingly important role in the future development of the country’s real estate market.
According to Allie Morse, the Lamudi CEO of West and Central Africa, speaking at the Social Media Week in Lagos, Nigeria already had 56 million internet users in 2012 with an average time of three hours spent on the internet. However, 61% of Nigerians access internet through mobile devices, which is the highest mobile internet penetration rate in Africa. When taking a closer look at their favorite activities during their online time, it becomes apparent that social networking is what engages Nigerians most of the time. Morse points out that media such as Facebook and Twitter are used for both, social and business purposes.
She commented that: “With the growing impact of social media here in Nigeria, we are offered a broad range of new opportunities. We can reach a lot more people with the aid of social media’s communication channels and methods. Nevertheless, we are focusing on targeted communication, as we believe that it is not about being everywhere, but about being in the right places with the right partners.”
However, I am convinced that in future, social media will be the key element to reduce the distance between our platform and its users. It helps us to identify the needs of our audience and to provide them with high quality content, which is by far the most important aspect to us.”
Whether looking for properties for rent or for sale, the internet platform www.lamudi.com enables customers to easily find or sell their house, apartment, commercial property or land online. At the same time, property providers and agents get a trusted online presence through a personalized webpage.
Lamudi is aiming at having professional photos, updated listings, detailed descriptions, reports and rankings for 100% of its properties in each market to help brokers to manage their inventory fast, easy and stress-free.
Botswana has been honored by GSMA for its significant achievements in driving the growth and socio-economic impact of its mobile industry. Lebanon, Spain and the United Arab Emirates also received the prestigious Government Mobile Excellence Awards.
Expanded to include four categories: Government Leadership, Spectrum for Mobile Broadband, Economic Policy for Sustainable Mobile Growth and Connected Government, the awards acknowledge government policies and regulation that encourage investment and support transparency, competition and regulatory independence.
“The governments of Botswana, Lebanon, Spain and the United Arab Emirates have demonstrated a clear commitment to putting mobile at the top of their digital agendas,” said Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA. “We encourage administrations from around the globe to be inspired by their achievements and adopt similar best practice measures in order to encourage greater mobile industry investment, support innovation and increase the provision of mobile services for their citizens.”
Government Leadership Award – Government of Botswana
The 2014 Government Leadership Award was presented to the Government of Botswana and the Honourable Minister of Communications, Mr. Nonofo Molefhi. The Minister and his Government’s leadership and vision for a digital Southern Africa were the catalyst for a regional collaboration at the “Encouraging Digital Inclusion in Southern Africa” Ministerial Summit held in Kasane, Botswana in September 2013. This summit culminated in the signing of a joint communiqué by six countries, supported by a commitment from the GSMA to expand capacity-building efforts in the region. The agreement serves as a framework for enhanced regional policy coordination.
UAE received the Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Award its Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has been at the forefront of the international drive to increase the spectrum available for mobile broadband. The government of Spain received that Economic Policy for Sustainable Mobile Growth Award for its Digital Agenda which aims to develop Spain’s digital economy and society with a €2.3 billion budget while the Government of Lebanon received the Connected Government Award – for its “Open Your Tomorrow” project which seeks to provide every student with an affordable 3G tablet, purpose-built with academic content and robust security.
The governments received the awards at the GSMA’s annual Ministerial Programme at Mobile World Congress which has attracted over 1,200 key government and regulatory representatives from around the world and mobile industry leaders to discuss its development.
In order to seriously compete in today’s commercial environment decision makers have to put into practice a carefully refined mobile strategy. Any credible strategy will inevitably cover cloud-based service delivery, most notably Microsoft’s Office365, which is an example of ‘Software as Service’ (SaaS).
This is the view of technical experts at Network Alliance, an established national ICT service provider with a track record of almost two decades of proactive, value-add service to the market.
The company believes Microsoft’s Office365 represents a seismic shift in how businesses acquire, deploy and use software. The value of this technology to a mobile strategy is summarised in three key points:
• Microsoft’s data centres are secure, highly-resilient and provide guaranteed uptime backed-up by a money-back guarantee. This is especially important to SMMEs, who typically do not have the in-house resources, skills or expertise to address hardware or system failure, and simply cannot afford the cost associated with downtime and lost productivity.
• End-users are empowered to access email and other business critical data from virtually any device with an internet connection, as such data is housed in the cloud. In the event of hardware/system failure, or disruption to fixed-line infrastructure, mobile and other users can thus either work from home (telecommute) or from locations equipped with WiFi, thus negating the impact of such disruptions.
• An Office 365 Subscription reduces software licensing cost, as, depending on the type of Office 365 subscription, users are allowed to install up to five copies of Office 365 ProPlus per user on multiple devices. Thus, one subscription allows the deployment on desktop workstations, laptop computers, Surface tablets and the like, thus facilitating productivity regardless of a user’s location or the device used.
The solution offers clear advantages to the both the consumer and the business user says André Fourie, Operations Manager at Network Alliance.
“Specific advantages to the enterprise include lower cost of ownership and compliance with corporate governance guidelines because data is stored in secure, highly-resilient data centres with guaranteed uptime. This mitigates risk associated with data loss, loss of productivity and downtime,” says Fourie.
When considering the potential adoption of cloud computing, CTO’s, IT Directors and IT Managers have to pay attention to the extent to which they want to (or are forced to, in many instances) exercise control over their environments. Thus, it is prudent to consider a hybrid model that includes both on-premise infrastructure and SaaS elements, as well as the ability to further reduce cost by subscribing to different product suites per end-user role/ function.
Taking it to the Cloud
Network Alliance endorses the message that cloud computing is complementary to any mobile strategy today.
“Until a couple of years ago, the vast majority of corporate computer users typically used desktop workstations and/or laptop computers, which typically featured both Windows and the Office productivity suite. However, the release of the iPad in April 2010, coupled with the emergence of BYOD revolutionised the IT landscape by significantly changing both consumer and enterprise behaviour; smartphones and/or tablets replaced pc’s and the era of standardisation effectively ended when network administrators started allowing devices running iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7/8 to connect to corporate networks. Corporate enterprises and IT departments have had no choice but to adapt to the demands of its end-users and the market direction” Fourie continues.
The Company’s message to the market is that cloud computing exists because of the need to facilitate ‘anywhere access’, while businesses adopt mobile strategies in order take advantage of the benefits – cost and otherwise – of cloud computing.
“While a well-designed on-premise or hosted data centre can facilitate so-called ‘in-house mobility – think of VPN and/or RDP access, Outlook Anywhere, Outlook Web Access and a published instance of SharePoint – these all require a high-level of technical expertise to implement/maintain and can be expensive. Cloud computing is here to stay and will no doubt become more ubiquitous once ‘Platform as a Service’ (“PaaS) and ‘Infrastructure as a Services’ (“IaaS”) become more mature and are embraced by more and more enterprises. However, I envisage that many corporate enterprise will be loath to cede all control to cloud service providers, and will thus defer to a hybrid solution that encompasses both cloud and on-premise solution elements,” Fourie adds.
It is finally here, The Samsung S5 has been unveiled at the Mobile World Congress with the newest feature –waterproof.
The newest flagship smartphone is the crème of Samsung smartphones as it has increased technical performance.
The Galaxy S5 has a 16MP built in camera that has the world’s fastest auto-focus speed of up to 0.3 seconds. The front camera is 2.1 MP.
When it comes to browsing power this gadget has 2.5 GHz quad-core processor and supports the fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MIMO. That’s not just about it; this smart gadget also supports the LTE frequency as well as the LTE Category 4 standard and can also download through Wi-Fi and LTE at the same time.
It runs on Android 4.4.2. and the battery is 2,800mAh, that has a power saving mode that turns the display black and white, as well as shutting down all unnecessary features to minimize the battery consumption. It has a (battery) stand by time of 390hrs and talk time of 21 hours.
In icing the cake, the Galaxy S5 is dust roof, water resistant and offers a finger Scanner which provides a biometric screen locking feature.
The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1 inch Full HD Super Amoled screen and 2 GB RAM and 16 or 32 GB internal storage.
Mobility solutions firm Mahindra Comviva, has launched La Vida, a restaurant ordering and payment mobile application expected to allow over 72,000 MWC attendees to order and pay for food and beverages of their choice, via their mobile phones.
The app is preloaded with menu and price details of the eateries which Mahindra Comviva has partnered with at the MWC. The customers will receive an alert once their order is ready for collection.
Speaking on the occasion, Zunder Lekshmanan, Chief Technology Officer, Mahindra Comviva said “The consumer needs are constantly evolving and we are proud to provide yet another mobility solution that enrich and add value to their daily lives.“La Vida” stands for “The Life” and therefore the product has been built to add convenience and save time of both consumers as well as merchants.”
As a one stop shop solution, La Vida also offers access to music tracks which consumers can listen and download via the app. At the Mahindra Comviva booth Hall 5, Stand 5G51 visitors can play around with a novel way of discovering content by simply using their phone camera and scanning the posters of singers. The app is being used by some of the best restaurants in Bakersfield.
Reflecting the true MWC spirit, La Vida’s “Capture Contest” adds a lighter moment in the hustle-bustle of the event. Users can win some exciting prizes daily by capturing their favorite MWC moment and garnering the most ‘likes’.
La Vida is Android and IoS compatible and can be downloaded either through the enclosed QR code or here on their phone browser.
At the Mobile World Congress, one of the leading electronics manufacturers, Samsung Electronics introduced two new smart-watches running the Tizen operating system.
Its first devices on the Linux-based OS, the Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo come just over six months after its first smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear unveiled in September 2013.
The watches feature a 1.63-inch Amoled screen and choice of five different colored straps and a faster 1.0 GHz dual-core processor. The Neo weighs less between the two devices while the Gear 2 comes with a 2.0 megapixel camera, fitted to the body of the device this time rather than the strap.
You can be able to manage incoming calls as well as messages on a Samsung phone from the watch and set response notifications. This is how cool it gets, you can also control other consumer electronics like your set boxes as well as the TV through the WatchON Remote application and IrLED sensor.
Samsung also has your health at its interest as the watch will also help you manage your fitness routine with applications like a heart rate monitor. The watches also add a music player with Bluetooth headset.
The Samsung Apps store will offer a range of additional applications for the watches based on the Tizen wearable platform.
The Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will be available around the world starting from April.
Sony has unveiled another water proof gadget (by now it is the best feature one could have on a mobile device), no it’s not another phone but a tablet.
This Android based tablet is the slimmest and the lightest of its kind, the Zperia Z2. It comes with a 10.1-inch display screen and is just 6.4mm thick and weighs 426 grams for the Wi-Fi only model, and slightly more for the cellular version.
This beauty comes with built-in 8.1MP model and a 2.2 MP front-facing camera for video calls, and has the fully integrated Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 2.3 GHz processor quad-core Krait CPU.
Xperia Z2 can also spend less time charging with the integrated Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 technology, which enables devices to charge up to 75 percent faster than devices without the fast charging technology.
The large 6000mAh lithium polymer battery, together with Sony’s Battery Stamina Mode, provides up to 10 hours of uninterrupted multimedia usage and more than 100 hours music playback without having to recharge the battery.
The Xperia Z2 Tablet will launch globally from March 2014.
Looks like the Windows is slowly becoming a favorite of many as Microsoft has announced that nine more handset manufacturers have committed to launching Windows Phone based handsets
In addition to existing partners, Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Huawei, Microsoft has announced it is now working with Foxconn, Gionee, Lava (Xolo), Lenovo, LG, Longcheer, JSR, Karbonn and ZTE.
Microsoft is now working with seven of the top 10 smartphone manufacturers in the world in addition to leading brands in Mainland China, India and Taiwan, representing more than 56 percent of the addressable market globally.
The company is also looking to push down the price of its handsets in order to target the developing markets.
Microsoft is also adding support for Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 and 400 processors, and will also support soft keys and dual SIM, critical requirements particularly in Asian markets.
To help enable smartphone device manufacturers, Microsoft and Qualcomm are collaborating to give OEMs and ODMs that are working with the various Qualcomm Reference Designs for Snapdragon 200 and 400 processors direct access to Microsoft tools, content and adaptation kits to build devices on the Windows Phone platform.
The company was however silent on when it expects new smartphones to be launched by the expanded partners.
Mobile World Congress is truly a pace setter, so many things have been unveiled in the tech market; MasterCard was not left out as it announced MasterPass™ in-app payments.
This will enable consumers to make secure purchases within a mobile app. MasterPass in-app payments eliminate the need to store payment card credentials across numerous mobile apps, providing consumers with a fast and simple payment experience. Forbes Digital Commerce, Fat Zebra, MLB Advanced Media, NoQ, Starbucks Australia and Shaw Theatres Singapore are among the first app providers that will power their in-app purchasing capabilities with MasterPass.
According to ABI Research, overall revenues from mobile applications, including in-app purchases, will reach $46 billion by 2016, more than five times greater than the $8.5 billion earned in 2011. With the average global smart device user having downloaded 26 apps, consumers are storing payment card and other sensitive information with numerous app providers to set up accounts and make purchases.
MasterPass in-app payments extend the capabilities of the current browser-based MasterPass digital service into the mobile app environment, and provide consumers with one secure direct relationship with their bank.
Apps with MasterPass embedded in them enable consumers to complete a purchase with as few as one click or touch on their favorite connected device without leaving the app environment. The optimized checkout process creates a seamless shopping experience, supported by the highest levels of security and cryptology.
“MasterPass in-app payments is the latest offering from MasterCard to address the specific needs of the digital ecosystem. We’re creating great experiences for consumers across all channels and all devices, and enabling merchants to reach new consumers in ways not possible in the pre-digital world,” said Ed McLaughlin, Chief Emerging Payments Officer at MasterCard. “We’re also developing a framework to make all payments using MasterPass as or more secure than anything we can do on cards today, ensuring that consumers can benefit from the highest possible levels of security.”
MasterPass in-app payments will be made available to developers and merchants beginning in Q2 of this year.
Paynet has merged its PesaPoint agent network with Pep Intermedius to expand the services offered on the PesaPoint network.
This partnership has placed the PesaPoint network among the largest mobile money and agent banking networks in Kenya with more than 1500 agent outlets, positioning it for strong multi-institutions partnership with banks, financial service providers and mobile money providers.
Currently, PesaPoint runs a multi-stakeholder ATM network that serves about 13 million customers from 32 financial institutions and two mobile money networks (M-PESA and Airtel Money). It also has 1350 existing PesaPoint Agent locations which vend airtime and card cash-out services.
Paynet Group CEO, Bernard Matthewman, said the merged agents network would take advantage of the huge growth and demand for financial services touch points and deliver to Kenyans ‘multiple products and services’ through a single agent network.
“We have the technology to power innovations in POS, mobile and mPOS based agent services for banks, financial services providers and mobile money providers whilst Pep Intermedius manages one of the most advanced agency networks. Our merger with them will bring the right combination of expertise to build and manage the most successful multi-stakeholder agent network for PesaPoint in the country. There is significant potential for this business to grow rapidly both in terms of the number of locations as well as the range of financial service providers it serves,” said Matthewman.
Bernard Matthewman is still Paynet Group CEO and Frederik Eijkman, CEO of Pep Intermedius becomes the PesaPoint CEO to be in charge of the PesaPoint agent network and brand.
“PesaPoint has achieved a number of ‘firsts’ in the market. This is the spirit we continue with in the agent network where we see more innovations coming to the market in partnership with mobile money providers and banks,” said Eijkman.
One of the major players in consumer and insight business in Africa, TNS RMS, has unveiled a new data collection method called Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI).
The Regional Operations Director, Africa and Middle East, Tyson Mckeown said the new approach is focused on driving the electronic digital agenda which has become a new language in today’s market.
Adeola Tejumola, the Managing Director, TNS RMS,, said: “the adoption of the new approach to gathering data was not intended to abandon existing methods but to complement them, with a view to providing range of options for numerous clients.”
According to him, being a pioneer in market research industry, it was imperative for the organization to key into a strategy that is bound to revolutionize the data collection landscape. He added that the huge penetration of mobile phone users has necessitated clients to adopt a non-conventional approach to data gathering. He, however, disclosed that a total of 26 call centres have been established within the Lagos metropolis.
“Today many researchers utilize mobile phones and tablet devices in over 75 per cent of their face to face fieldwork and now have added telephonic interviewing to its capability, extending the ability to reach over 100million Nigerian consumers and those in neighboring West African markets,” said the company’s operations director, Dharmendra Jain. “with telephonic interviewing the execution time is much quicker due to the ability to reach to reach a large number consumers quickly just by making a phone call.”
Nigeria’s MOBicure, a mhealth startup committed to using mobile technology to solve health care issues in Nigeria and Africa has released ỌMỌMI, an android-based mobile application expected to help Nigerian mothers keep their young children healthy.
According to MOBIcure’s Stanley Onduru, “The easy to use application makes it easier for parents and caregivers to cater for the health needs of their children by providing a platform for them to monitor their children’s growth and nutritional status, remember and schedule routine immunization visits, provide a repository of very vital health information and as well as help them handle some common childhood ailments like diarrhea and give useful tips on breast feeding and family planning.”
Onduru added that the app also has a Mothers Community section that will provide a safe and secure platform for mothers to interact and that it’s the very first app worldwide that focuses on fulfilling all of the WHO Childhood Survival Strategies – which were developed to help reduce child mortality and promote maternal health.
Designed with the baby in mind, ỌMỌMI developers say the app will ensure that parents easily monitor their children’s growth, remember routine immunization visits, as well as handle some common childhood ailments like diarrhea. With its GPS locator, mothers can visit the nearest hospital or health facility during emergencies with ease.
The app also has a repository of child health information plus vital tips on breast feeding. It also syncs with a users phone calendar to provide reminders and alarms for getting their baby vaccinated, tracks one’s child’s immunization schedule, store a child’s health records and monitors baby growth via parameters such as OFC, Height, Weight, MAC, Oedema to check for malnutrition among others.
It also has SMS Alerts for all the activities just in case the mother forgets and can help check a baby’s levels of dehydration and steps to its cure and search for the nearest hospitals and clinics among others.
