Telecoms operators are experiencing a growth in subscriber numbers, but the same subscribers aren’t spending as much. That’s one way of looking at the statistics provided in the latest (Second Quarter of 2015) sector performance report from post and telecoms regulator, POTRAZ.
This is the main reason I don’t quite buy the “fast follower” thinking that the company has said is part of its modus operandi. The internet and the tools it provides freely to anyone, are not so we can follow fast to resell products.
This becomes the latest execution of Steward Bank’s branchless growth strategy, which was was first introduced a year ago and has been used as a cost-effective way to establish a presence in residential communities and peri-urban centres. The model has since been adopted by other local banks.
It’s not surprising that the leading provider of mobile broadband, Econet Wireless has launched its own self-care app. Called My Econet, this is meant to be Econet’s attempt at offering subscribers access to their accounts through a simplified gateway to a bouquet of services.
Steward Bank is set to launch a services partnership with Zimpost, the entity that runs the country’s postal network. Under this arrangement, Steward Bank services will be available from post offices around the country.
With all these solutions popping up, Zimpost, the state owned enterprise that owns and manages all local postal services didn’t want to be left behind and has now introduced its own online payments and e-money platform.
Unfortunately, the Telecash-Mukuru facility hadn’t been providing instant transfer of funds. Recipients had to wait for hours before the money reflected in their wallets. Now, Telecash and Mukuru have improved the system and once the money is sent it will be recieved instantly by the holder of the Telecash wallet.
In a an announcement made through a newspaper advert, the City of Harare has introduced an online bill enquiry function on its website. Residents can log on to www.hararecity.co.zw click on the Bill enquiry tab and proceed to register their accounts to be able to access the basic service.
Through the use of a digital whiteboard and Skype, the Shona Ndebele Tutor platform provides online tutoring to any learner in any part of the world. The administrators of the platform pair a teacher of the specific language with a learner who will have signed up for a minimum of a single 1 hour lesson…
There is huge investment that is constantly being harvested from Zimbabweans living abroad. Tech startups can tap into this and they should be exploring some ways to do so. This would create a scenario where venture capital is essentially imported.
If you’re keen on freebies from your mobile network, Econet has one for you. The mobile operator is running a promotion that offers subscribers 1 free minute between the hours of 5 am and 8 am everyday.
“You have been selected to be part of the pilot tests to purchase ZESA prepaid tokens using TeleCash…”
However, one other number that stood out for us related to Econet’s broadband services. According to to the analysts’ presentation which accompanied the results, Econet has 7 million broadband subscribers. Econet says this number is an improvement from the 4,7 million broadband subscribers that the operator had in the same period last year.
If you use buses frequently you’ve probably been waiting for an online bus ticketing service that works so it does away with the frustrations of booking and paying for a ticket.
The 2015 nominees list for AfricaCom Awards was recently released, and out of the thirteen categories spanning across various telecoms sub-domains, Liquid Telecom, the telecoms infrastructure company with strong Zimbabwean ties through its Econet DNA has been nominated for 5 awards.
Steward bank, the financial institution owned by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe recorded a $1,8 million profit for the half year ended August 2015. This is its first profit, and it has been attributed to cost management and a growth in interest income..
One of the first services you’ll notice as soon as you get to the Expo is called Technites. This is another startup idea from the Econet team and though the service hasn’t entered the market it is set for launch in the short term.
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has announced a 17.7% drop in revenue and 52% decline in profit in its 2015 Half Year Results.
Does Econet get the internet? Looking at the Tengai experience (it hasn’t been restored more than 2 months later), a strange EcoShopper product, and the long silence on ipidi you get a sense of how much Econet is prepared for business at this level.
One of the products unveiled at the Econet beyond The Phone Expo was the Econet ConnectedHome service. This uses standard smart home technology to offer a security system and automated domestic experience. However, Econet is looking beyond just cars and homes with these new products.
The latest news from Zimpost is that Zipcash, the remittance service is now in Nigeria and has been offering services from the West African country since September this year.
Mobile money and remittance services have managed to amplify their individual success by working together. This has managed to prove the strength of partnerships and their role in effectively extending platforms and services reach.
Mukuru, announced this week the launch of Storecard in partnership with Zimbabwean retailers Halsteds and Electrosales. Essentially, the recipient of the transfer will be able to ‘redeem’ products equal to the transfer value from these […]
POTRAZ, the local telecoms regulator is on a Quality of Service campaign and is taking in suggestions from everyone on what they should focus on. Here are 4 issues that POTRAZ should aim to fix with this QoS drive.
Earlier this week it was reported that Kenyans will now be able to open Central Bank depository accounts from their phones using their mobile money accounts without visiting a bank or broker, and proceed to buy government paper. Can this be adopted in Zimbabwe as well?
The Zimswitch fees increase is retrogressive to the slow but positive plastic money uptake in Zimbabwe in that it will deter customers from using ATMs and POS if they cannot locate one from their own bank.
Is the latest drive for e-banking from Ecobank adequate for a 2015 Zimbabwe which is a proudly informal economy? It would seem that the glaring omission from Ecobank’s strategy is an aggressive adoption of indigenous retail banking alternatives.