• Zimbabwe’s March 2012 mobile & fixed subscriber stats

    We just got the latest mobile network and fixed line operator subscriber stats from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) for March. The stats cover the year’s […]

  • The definitive start-up guide for challenging environments

    After I wrote my last article 5 Startup Lessons from Facebook IPO, I realised that in as much as there where some valuable lessons from the story of Facebook of […]

  • 5 Startup lessons from Facebook IPO

    So you are Tengesa, ForgetMeNot, Dariro, 6tm solutions, and countless other Zimbabwean and African startups that are hoping to change the world and you are looking at Facebook’s IPO; you […]

  • Zimbabwean launches Whenpages, an event discovery & sharing platform

    A little more than a week ago we received an email from a South African based Zimbabwean called Tendai Joe, whose journey to where he is now has served as a great example of striving and making a difference against all odds. Just to give you an idea, Tendai rose from adversities of living on…

  • 8 days to go before eTXT Apps Challenge deadline. Have you submitted your app yet?

    Developers in Zimbabwe have just 8 days, specifically until next week Friday the 25th, to submit their eTXT apps for the ZeTXT Apps Challenge that has been going on since March. The challenge has presented local developers with an opportunity to develop mobile based applications for the eTXT platform available on the Econet network. The…

  • Lendme Zimbabwe launches, introduces eVouchers

    Lendme, the mobile airtime credit credit startup we wrote about last month, launched officially this week. This means the platform is now available for users in Zimbabwe to borrow airtime. Before launch, users could only register accounts. Lendme works pretty much how it was featured in our first article except for one additional feature; they…

  • TelOne Internet slows down after fibre cut in Mozambique

    A fibre cable cut in Maputo, Mozambique that occurred on Wednesday 9 May has adversely affected TelOne’s internet services. The problem affected at least all TelOne ADSL users in Zimbabwe whose internet significantly slowed down, with some users not able to access the service at all. According to our sources at Zimbabwe’s sole fixed telecoms…

  • Telecel mobile broadband prices now the lowest in Zimbabwe

    Telecel this week announced a promotional slash of mobile broadband prices by some 50% in a move that may trigger other mobile operators to respond in a bid to remain competitive. The second largest mobile operator in Zimbabwe now effectively has the lowest priced mobile broadband in the country. Amoung mobile operators that is. The…

  • Why are Zimbabweans holding their breath for BlackBerry?

    I remember when I first heard about BlackBerry around 2005. It was through the prestigious “sent from my BlackBerry” signature at the bottom of an email response I got from a contact in the UK. It was a short response to my rather long email; something to just let me know he had seen the…

  • TN Holdings to launch an online shop

    We’ve received reliable information over the past couple of days that TN Holdings, one of the fastest growing of companies locally, is preparing to introduce an e-commerce platform to enable Zimbabweans to purchase its products over the internet. TN Holdings has interests in financial services, health, furniture and more recently, supermarkets and fast food outlets.

  • Developers, The eTXT Apps Challenge initial ideas deadline is nigh

    As you probably already know, the initial ideas deadline for the ForgetMeNot Africa ZeTXT Apps Challenge is near. By the end of this coming Friday, 4 May, all ideas must have been submitted via the eTXT Developer platform to be considered for the challenge.

  • Tech in Zimbabwe and the International Trade Fair (Pictures)

    The country’s premier business exhibition, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair ran last week Tuesday to Saturday, and like most business exhibitions of its kind lately, ICT companies and their products continue to be more prominent. It’s clear now more than ever before how much of a central driver to development technology is for individuals, businesses…

  • Zimpapers introduces Mobile News, an SMS & USSD based news service

    Zimpapers, the government owned and largest media house in Zimbabwe by circulation, revealed through adverts in newspapers today the introduction of its SMS and USSD news services that will be launched on the 1st of May.

  • Google+ via SMS now available in 23 African countries

    Google announced yesterday that users in 23 African countries can now post to Google+ via SMS. The move is the latest in Google’s efforts to encourage use of their relatively new social network. “We wanted to ensure that Google+ is also available at times when you are not connected to the internet” says the announcement.

  • Update:The phone is free. The $6,000 is for voice, SMS & data

    We just got some clarification from Econet. Basically their website has incomplete information on the deal. The $6,000 contract part is correct. However the deal is that you get $250 worth of voice calls, SMS and mobile broadband data every month. Effectively this does make the Samsung Galaxy I9000 free, as in free. Here’s an…

  • ZOL slashes Wi-Fi hotspot prices. Discontinues free minutes

    Zimbabwe Online (ZOL), the ISP that has the largest number of Wi-Fi hotspots in Zimbabwe, has slashed the prices of its Wi-Fi internet service. The service has effectively become one of the lowest priced internet packages in the country. But the slash is coming with some not so good news; ZOL is killing the 15…

  • SMS, USSD and the mobile web: Zimbabwe is not that country

    It was just a few months ago, sitting with the CEO who had moved back into the country after working as a successful starter-up in the US. The interview part hadn’t started and I was shaking a bit (he had come to pick me up in a classy vehicle and drove me to his classy…

  • WhatsApp says they are no threat to mobile operators

    The co-founder of US-based messaging startup WhatsApp, Brian Acton, has denied popular notion that their startup is a threat to mobile operators’ revenues. In an interview with Reuters a few days ago, Acton said that instead, they were helping operators move their customers to data packages which would prove more profitable in the long run;…

  • Setting up mobile broadband on your PC without an Internet dongle

    You can easily set up a broadband Internet connection on your PC/Laptop in the comfort of your home or while traveling without necessarily paying the price of a new Internet dongle. You might have all that you need in your home, except for one item that will only cost you US $5!

  • EcoCash adds 200,000 more subscribers in a month (Growth stats since launch)

    Less than a month ago, Econet announced that it had connected a million subscribers on its mobile money platform, Ecocash. Yesterday, a Twitter update by the CEO of Pattern Matched, Markus Schorn, revealed that Econet has since signed on an additional 200,000 subscribers to the mobile money service since the March

  • PowerTel expands mobile broadband coverage to catch up to competition

    We recently got an update from PowerTel the progress the company has been making on the mobile broadband front. The last time we wrote about the company in 2011, they had held an event where they announced they where working to expand the network to cover smaller cities and towns, and that they were preparing…

  • Start-up solves Zimbabwe’s change problem with a mobile airtime solution

    Since the adoption of the mixed hard currencies monetary regime in Zimbabwe at the end of 2009, the one problem that has refused to go away is that of change. Retailers just don’t have enough change to give shoppers. It’s the same situation with commuter bus operators, street vendors and just about anyone that sells…

  • Addressing Revenue Assurance in telecoms

    According to a market research report released by global research firm, Frost & Sullivan (May 9 2011), Zimbabwe’s mobile communications revenue will reach US $ 1.34 billion by 2016, with 20.1% compound annual growth rate. This is only achievable if these firms consider and monitor tightly the revenue assurance cycle. Let’s look at the prominent…

  • ForgetMeNot Africa brings the eTXT Apps Challenge to Zimbabwe

    Last week we posted that ForgetMeNot Africa has opened up its eTXT platform to 3rd party developers and that the company launched an Apps Challenge in Kenya in partnership with iHub and Safaricom. Well, there’s another announcement this week, more specific to Zimbabwe this time.

  • Africom too now offering unlimited calls, for $10 a month

    In what will become the lowest priced voice call deal in Zimbabwe, Africom revealed today that the company is now offering unlimited calls for just $10 a month within the network. The revelation was made on the company’s new website that came online today. Africom’s follows hot on the heels of Brodacom’s almost similar announcement…

  • Brodacom introduces unlimited calls for $15 a month

    Yesterday, we attended a Brodacom event where the company announced some new services they will be offering. One new product presented, a gadget Brodacom calls a ‘talking modem’, is primarily a wireless internet modem, which really looks like a phone and that indeed can do voice calls. The ‘talking modem’ is the basis of a…

  • Why mobile operators should consider startup funding in Africa

    Paul Graham, Founder of the Y Combinator incubation hub once spoke of the ingredients required to create Silicon Valley. He summed it up as a combination of: Rich people (angel or VC investors) + Nerds (talent)

  • Huawei holds a mobile broadband show for Zimbabwe telecoms operators

    Last week, we visited the Huawei Mobile broadband show that ran from 22nd to 29 February in Harare. The show was held for telecommunication services providers in Zimbabwe and it was meant as a neutral platform for Huawei to showcase its product, both end user consumer products and backend infrastructure products.

  • eTXT now app platform as ForgetMeNot Africa launches App Challenge

    You’ve probably used eTXT a number of times. If not you then at least someone you chat with on Facebook, on Gtalk or just someone you exchange emails with has […]

  • Overview of fraud and revenue assurance in telecoms

    In the broadest sense, fraud is “a criminal deception intended to gain money or personal advantage”. Fraud is a big problem for many businesses and can be of various types. Inaccurate credit applications, fraudulent transactions, identity thefts and false insurance claims are some examples of this problem.

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