• Startup talk: A knack for potential

    A lot of startups simply stuck their heads into the sand and launched e-commerce sites with a credit card based checkout and no wonder they failed. Whilst at it, it needs to be mentioned that people hate writing cheques and banks hate issuing cheque books even more. www.gtel.co.zw seems to have mastered the art of…

  • Startup talk: the value of a brand

    Although it might not be apparent at first, one of the most common reasons why startups fail is because of the inability by the founders to create a recognisable, respected and indispensable brand-a cult brand. A brand is a “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as…

  • 5 tech initiatives we would love to see in Zimbabwe in 2013

    Open data would enable accountability: it is difficult to conceal something if the facts are there for all to see. Not only will it result in transparency, just Data alone in the right hands is a powerful resource for our national economic and social development. It’s also an incredible opportunity for local talent to build…

  • Telecel’s current stats: 2.5m mobile subscribers, 552k internet subscribers

    Telecel Zimbabwe, one of the 4 licensed GSM mobile operators in Zimbabwe, informed us today that the company now has 2,582,000 active mobile subscribers against a total subscriber capacity of 3.7 million. The number of active subscribers (which is as at 31 December 2012) represents a 70% increase from the 1,520,000 subscribers the company had…

  • Is Flash dead?

    As all web developers know, they do not develop for themselves. These days there are more and more things to consider when developing a website: Google rankings, target audience, mobile device compatibility etc. And now you have had to add to the list, should I use flash or HTML5?

  • As Kingdom Bank acquires its assets we ask; what went wrong at Spiritage?

    It’s not well at Brodacom. Not at all. Around this time two years ago, information in the market suggested the company was coming on the scene to change the game in Zimbabwe’s internet sector. It didn’t happen.

  • Why not use Free and Open Source Software

    I am inclined to think that VLC media player is the most popular software in Zimbabwe. Few people outside the tech circles know, however, that it is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Even fewer people know what FOSS is let alone its advantages especially to SMEs and Startups with their tight budgets. I am…

  • About Yookos, its SMS adverts, and its place in the social networking space (interview)

    Trying Yookos hasn’t been easy and I would’ve just given up had I not been on a blogging mission. See, when you sign up it says the verification email’s been sent to your mailbox, but doesn’t actually send it until you attempt to login with the unverified account and instruct it to send the email.…

  • Mobile Money: Zim banks moan about unfair competition from mobile operators

    A report today by financial news and analysis service FinX says the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe have proposed that mobile money services be included in new banking reforms for the country. This, the bankers say, would create a level playing field in an sector facing significant disruption from mobile phone operators.

  • A Zimbabwean geek’s letter to Santa

    Me and Santa have been good pals since the PTC days when life was much simpler. For all my troubles the only choices I had to make were between Surface Mail, Air Mail, Telegraph. Calling my infamous and terrible aunts was a small matter of giving their numbers six weeks in advance to, you guessed…

  • TelOne appoints Chipo Mtasa new Managing Director

    Information reaching us suggests that TelOne is about to announce the appointment of Chipo Mtasa as new managing director of the company. Mtasa will take over from acting MD, Hampton Mhlanga who, according to our sources, will resume his substantive post of Technical Director of the fixed line operator and internet provider.

  • 2012 roundup: The year in review

    The year kicked off with one of the largest ISPs in Zimbabwe ZOL, announcing that it had been acquired by Liquid Telecom, a move which resulted in the Econet Wireless Group cementing its position as Zimbabwe’s largest telecoms firm.

  • Here’s how to get Amazon and iTunes Gift Cards for Free*

    Do you know there are services out there that will pay you to try their apps? FreeMyApps is one such. Basically, how it works is an app developer comes to them and says “we’ll pay you to get your audience to download our free app”. FreeMyApps takes their money, assigns a credit value to the…

  • Holiday broadband deals: ZOL is giving it all away for FREE

    We’ve been posting over the course of the day today some holiday broadband and call deals local service providers are offering. Some quite good, and some just so so. The best so far has been a half price deal and we thought that was the lowest a provider would go.

  • Holiday broadband deals: PowerTel reduces tariffs by 30%

    The Holiday season comes with connectivity goodness! Good to the tune of 30% off the usual $50 in PowerTel’s case. The internet provider announced a few days ago that it’s slashing mobile broadband data tariffs to $40 until 31 January 2013. The price of the modems has also been reduced from $45 to $30 for…

  • Holiday broadband deals: Africom offers double data

    This deal has been on for a while actually – Since November according to Africom – and luckily for all of us, will be here for at least another month. Or let’s just pray competition forces them, to keep things low. Until January 15 next year, Africom will be giving subscribers double the data they…

  • Press Release: EcoCash now in OK Zimbabwe Limited stores

    Zimbabwe’s largest supermarket chain, OK Zimbabwe Limited, has become the first major retailer to be connected to EcoCash, Econet Wireless’ mobile money service. OK has assumed an EcoCash “Super-Agent” status, and will be performing agent services for EcoCash throughout its branches across the country. Under this partnership, every OK outlet will now register customers for…

  • biNu adds EcoCash to its credits payment options

    In a story title “More problems for regular SMS: biNu credits now available locally” that we posted here a few weeks ago, we expressed our delight that biNu credits were now available locally. The Australian based company (which now has representatives locally) had just announced that its 200,000 Zimbabwean users could now buy its platform’s…

  • Report: The Jumpstart Panel Discussion on Tech Entrepreneurship

    Last week, the final Jumpstart event of the year was held at Cresta Jameson in Harare. The event was a panel discussion where we invited some of the judges of our annualJumpstart Challenge (it’s just in the second year actually) and local telecoms executives from Econet, the largest telecoms operator in Zimbabwe. The event was…

  • Thank you. Yes, you.

    It’s been a great year for us. It has. Traffic for the site more than continues upwards. The visitor engagement on the site, one of the things we value most here, increased significantly. With the help of some selfless individuals, Techzim answers is delivering locally relevant tech answers much better than it did a year…

  • Zimbabwe’s 2012 ICT Achievers Awards: The winners

    The winners of the ICT Ministry organized ICT Achievers awards were announced last week Friday at a function held at Cresta Lodge in Harare. Now in their 3rd year the awards were presented by ICT Minister, Nelson Chamisa, and Thokozani Khuphe, Zimbabwe’s deputy prime minister.

  • Press Release: CBZ becomes first bank to connect to EcoCash

    CBZ Bank, Zimbabwe’s largest bank, has become the first bank in the country to get a direct connection to the EcoCash service from Econet Wireless. Customers of the bank who have an EcoCash ‘eWallet’ can put money into the account using their cell phones. They can also take money from their eWallets and deposit it…

  • More problems for regular SMS: biNu credits now available locally

    SMS as we know it today, or rather as mobile network operators abuse it today, needs to go away. It’s so damn expensive. US 9 cents just to send 140 characters is undoubtedly the most costly means to communicate electronically today. And thankfully it is going away.

  • Jumpstart event: Panel discussion on tech entrepreneurship

    One of main objectives when we founded the Jumpstart initiative earlier this year was to “connect startup ICT entrepreneurs to mentors that can guide them on building successful businesses.” We are therefore happy to announce that next week, we’re will host an event to that realises that specific objective of mentorship. On the evening of…

  • Vpayments may not be for everyone

    When mobile payments were introduced in Zimbabwe, I thought here is the chance for me to sell my book to Zimbabweans who do not have Visa cards, MasterCards etc. I made my first call to Big Bank in November of 2011 and asked them about accepting payments via their mobile money transfer solution. I was…

  • A brief and some pictures from the Techzim ePayments Forum

    Yesterday, we held the ePayments Forum in Harare yesterday where we had representatives from Visa, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Zimswitch, Touch Retail and Zimbabwe revenue authority presenting on some keys issues in the ePayments space in Zimbabwe.

  • Zimbabwe’s 2012 mobile broadband subscribers: 2.2 mil

    The draft policy framework document presented last week by the Ministry of ICT yesterday had some interesting stats on the state of the ICT industry in Zimbabwe. The statistics cover mobile penetration, fixed telephony, mobile broadband penetration and the amount of incoming and outgoing international bandwidth. We thought to share some of that data here,…

  • Sponsor Profile: Cardpro

    Consider all the plastic cards that you carry in your wallet. You rely on these cards to make purchases and withdraw funds, prove your identity and enter restricted facilities, place phone calls and access medical care, and the list goes on. As smart card, biometric and other new technologies evolve, the power and prevalence of…

  • Sponsor Profile: EcoCash

    The ePayments Forum is a platform of common interest that seeks to bring together stakeholders in the plastic money, mobile money, and internet banking sector (collectively known as ePayments). The inaugural event is organised by Techzim events through the valued support of sponsorship partners:

  • Sponsor profile: The Paynet and Autopay divisions of Payserv Group

    The Payserv Group is Zimbabwe’s leading provider of Payments and Business Process Outsourcing services targeted at financial and related sectors. The group’s main business units comprises of Paynet Zimbabwe and Autopay Zimbabwe.

Exit mobile version