Search
-
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.
-
An internet business working backwards: building a web start-up in Zimbabwe
We wanted to be online but the Zimbabwean public wanted to pick up the phone. What was amazing was that the reservations number on the website was just above the booking form but they would still prefer to pick up the phone and incur the cost of calling us…
-
US House of Representative passes CISPA. Here’s why we should be alarmed
On April 26 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a vote of 248 against 168 despite a presidential veto threat and global opposition. Unlike its predecessor SOPA/PIPA which was opposed and didn’t last, CISPA has the support of large establishments such as Facebook, AT&T, Verizon,…
-
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.
-
Zimbabweans losing money to internet scammers
A report carried in the Chronicle, a Zimbabwean daily newspaper, says that many Zimbabweans have fallen victim to internet fraudsters. Without revealing any figures, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) spokesperson Detective Inspector Augustine Zimbili indicated that cases of Zimbabweans falling prey to fraudsters were on the increase.
-
Zimbo Jam downed for several days during upgrade
Zimbo Jam, Zimbabwe’s most popular entertainment news and culture website is down. The site has been down since Friday due to a problem that happened during an upgrade to a new version of the website. We got in touch with Zimbo Jam founder Fungai Tichawangana today and he told us that one of the major…
-
How I created and launched a website from the internet café in Zimbabwe, Africa
After my last interview with a big mining firm, I got fed up. I had gone to many interviews with big companies, and the result was always the same. With unemployment at a staggering 80% , one can imagine the stiffness of the competition , now add corruption and your chances are next to none.
-
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…
-
The role of government in fostering an active tech startup ecosystem
One issue often mentioned in discussion about mobile and the web as platforms for technology entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe is the issue of an environment that doesn’t encourage innovation, and one that doesn’t reward on merit. It is no secret that Zimbabwe has fallen behind other top nations in Africa in harnessing the potential of these…
-
Of installing open source software and starting an internet business
Classifieds (and business directories), like Social Networking, are a favourite with local tech startups. Very much so you’d think with all this work addressing the classifieds problem, it’d be solved by now. That an ordinary person would be able to easily post an ad to platform with any device they have and within minutes be…
-
Zimpapers’ Sunday Mail website goes down on Sunday
For most of the day today, the website of the Sunday Mail, the most read weekly newspaper in Zimbabwe, was down. We first noticed the website (www.sundaymail.co.zw) wasn’t accessible at around 10AM when, on loading the it, it reported: “Database Error: Unable to connect to the database:Could not connect to MySQL”. The website was restored…
-
eTXT Apps Challenge launch: FMNA founder presents on building successful startups
Last night, ForgetMeNot Africa launched the eTXT Apps Challenge in Harare at a JumpStart event attended by developers, tech entreprenuers and journalists. While the highlight of the night was the launch of the challenge itself (read more about the challenge here) , we found the presentation by ForgetMeNot Software Founder and Director of Technology, John…
-
biNu reveals usage stats; top biNu apps in top biNu using countries
We got pointed a few days ago to some biNu usage statistics that have been released by mobile platform Australian startup. The stats show the top 10 countries by usage on biNu as well as the top 10 apps in those countries.
-
Have websites forgotten about the masses without “mobile apps”
Whatever you say can and will be used against you. A recent quote from a post on the Google Africa blog reads “[Google:] Making the world’s information universally accessible and useful means making it available to people no matter what device they use”. I suppose in a world where quad-core mobile processors are the headlines…
-
Her Zimbabwe goes live
Last week, we read on iZimbabwe that one of our favourite writers in Zimbabwe, Fungai Machirori, was going to launch a website dedicated to discussing and articulating Zimbabwean women’s issues and experiences. Being one of Zimbabwe’s most insightful writers (yes she is, read her blog), and one who’s already been already writing so much about…
-
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)