• Global tech news roundup: Lenovo buys Motorola, Hackers attempt hit on Yahoo, WeChat in aggressive global drive

    The Tech scene has been on the brim over this past week both locally and regionally. Locally, Telecel’s long awaited mobile money service Telecash was finally launched but the launch may have been overshadowed by the short lived EcoCash Droid app created by the Gedion Moyo’s  – at least here on Techzim. Internationally, Lenovo’s purchase…

  • Here’s the EcoSchool tablet… You’ll think of Mazwi, biNu, Worldreader (pictures)

    We’ve just arrived at the EcoSchool event in Harare, and fortunately got a chance to check out the EcoSchool tablet before the event. Ok, so the first thing that came to mind when we laid our eyes on the EcoSchool’s tablet is this: Mazwi. Not that they cloned it. No, you can’t clone an unlaunched…

  • Telecel’s Telecash official launch event… and the pictures

    We just attended the Telecash official launch in Harare where the company unveiled to the public their new mobile money service. We live-tweeted the event from our official Twitter handle so make sure you follow us for such updates. The launch was attended by Zimbabwe’s ICT Minister, Webster Shamu, the ministry’s perm sec Sam Kundishora,…

  • NetOne’s OneWallet in 2,000% increase in transactions since relaunch

    NetOne’s mobile money service OneWallet is said to have experienced a 2,000% increase in transaction volume since the re-launch in November 2013. These claims are contained in a FinX report which quotes the NetOne CEO, Reward Kangai. In an interview with FinX, Reward Kangai is quoted as saying. “ There has been a huge OneWallet…

  • Telecash to finally launch this week (Confirmed)

    Information we’ve received from reliable sources confirms that Telecel Zimbabwe’s mobile money service, Telecash, will finally be launched in Harare this week. The service, which we’re told will launch without fail this time, was initially scheduled to launch in the 4th quarter of 2013 but faced serious delays.   The Telecash product is a result…

  • Payment systems in Zimbabwe: The past, present and the future (Part 2)

    This article is the second part of the three part series that looks at the evolution of payment systems in Zimbabwe. In the first part, I posited that payment systems in Zimbabwe have gone through three phases, viz., the basic transition phase, the disruptive transition phase and the integrated transition phase. In this analysis, I…

  • Banks, Econet & Net Neutrality: Econet asking more for mobile money traffic

    Last week, we revealed that Econet and local banks hand reached an understanding with banks to open up its platform for full USSD functionality for the ZimSwitch mobile money transfer services. However, a headline story in today’s Herald Business has revealed the price Econet is charging the banks for each money transfer to a mobile…

  • Powertel launches $1.20 a day unlimited data… how big a deal?

    Last month, when Powertel finally implemented its billing system, they promised to release some exciting products soon. Well, that soon has come and it’s exciting. Well, the price point at least. Powertel mobile broadband subscribers will now be able to buy prepaid internet for as low as $1.20 for a day of unlimited web surfing.…

  • Startup review: Easyparts.co.zw well rounded, has all the elements to succeed

    Ecommerce is coming alive if recent activities in startup circles are anything to go by. This month alone, we have published at least three online retail startups (1, 2, and 3) looking to make an early break in this space. The heightened conversation around payments and the role they play in eCommerce is also indicating…

  • Is the warming up of the Econet-bank relationship affecting Telecash?

    A few days ago, we broke the news that Econet and the banks are finally warming to each other on the issue of banks being granted access to Econet subscribers so they also provide mobile money transfer service to them. The banks are not completely happy yet, but integration talks are on and some of…

  • Payment systems in Zimbabwe: The past, present and the future (Part 1)

    This analysis shall be in three parts. To thoroughly assess the payments landscape in Zimbabwe, I shall use three frameworks, or if you like, perspectives or concepts. These are; disruptive innovation, the long tail and open innovation. Disruptive Innovation There is adequate literature on disruptive innovation. For the benefit of the reader, I will briefly…

  • Exclusive: Econet finally opening up full USSD level mobile money to the banks

    Sources in the industry have exclusively told us that Econet has finally given in to the pressure of the banks, regulatory authorities to open up full USSD functionality for the ZimSwitch mobile money transfer services. Specifically, this means in the coming weeks and months, banks, through the ZimSwitch Shared Services platform, will be able to…

  • Needing internet payment systems before eCommerce is just an excuse!

    A recent funding development with an eCommerce startup in Nigeria got us discussing here about the chances locally for successful eCommerce startups and the conditions conducive for this. When there’s talk about eCommerce in Zimbabwe, or at least monetising web and mobile startups, there’s always the mention that we need a online payments before any…

  • Zimbo Kitchen now monetising on content

    One of the promising startups to emerge from Zimbabwe last year called Zimbo Kitchen has now added some features that appear minor, but enhance the detail and experience on Zimbokitchen.com. Most importantly, they have started monetising on their core business by selling a recipe book entitled Zimbabwe Classic Traditional and Fusion Food Recipes which is…

  • Now with games added, is WeChat getting more interesting or just bloated?

    If you have been using WeChat lately, you probably noticed that the social messaging platform has added games. For some regions and countries at least. If you are in Zimbabwe for example you will notice there are at least 3 games now:  one galactica kind of game called Pencil Pilot (which i really liked), 2Day’s…

  • Zimbogini Online Store: Partners Zimpost and has all payment options

    Local e-commerce startup Zimbogini officially launched revamped e-commerce website with new feature at an event held in Harare torwards the end of last year. Although Zimbogini has been around for a while now, the (re)launch was primarily centered around the new payment features and partners they now have on board. With regards payments, Zimbogini.com is…

  • Prices.co.zw: New online “department store”looking to make money on deliveries not products

    The online commerce landscape seems to be exploding as more startups jump into this fairly new territory by Zimbabwean standards. The most recent one is Prices.co.zw which quietly went live on New Year’s Day. Founded by Dakarai Martin Mshoperi, Prices.co.zw is an online retail store, or as Mr Mshoperi likes to put it, an “online…

  • Vpayments technical hassles gone but bureaucratic ones need to go as well

    A few days ago I noticed vPayments finally has easy to integrate plugins for e-commerce CMS like Opencart, Magento and OScommerce and I immediately downloaded for an Opencart store I was experimenting with. This is a good development considering that less tech savvy e-commerce startups would otherwise have trouble integrating vPayments using pure code. The new…

  • The year 2013: The high and low tech moments in Zimbabwe

    In just a couple of hours the year ends and 2014 rolls along with its high expectations from all of us. But before that happens we thought we’d look back at the highs and lows of 2013. Those moments got us really excited and extremely happy, as well as the other extreme. First the lows, because…

  • Some fun with USSD codes *123*4*5*6#

    USSD – short for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data – commands have been there since the first cellphone. They are the codes we have been using to top up airtime, buy bundles, check your credit balance, or even mobile money transactions (if you use EcoCash or TeleCash that is) The main issue however with a lot…

  • Zimbabwe Mobile Money Transfer service feature comparisons (mobile operators only)

    This is a comparison of the features available with the mobile money services offered by Zimbabwe’s mobile operators. While Telecash hasn’t launched yet officially, we had the opportunity to interact with the Telecash sales / marketing team and peeked at some of the features they would offer, compared with the other players. Once Telecash has…

  • Steward Bank wants to be most internet friendly bank. Our security concerns

    So we moan and complain all the time about banks not making full use of this amazing platform called the internet. Some banks have generally deliberately shied away from it and even deny their customers this convenience sometimes. Crazy yes, but the reality in these parts. Anyway, we were pointed yesterday to the new Steward Bank…

  • Telecash: Here’s the list of banks that’ll likely be integrated at launch

    As you may know, we’ve had the opportunity to check out the Telecash menu before they have made it available to the public. We posted a number of screenshots here. The one thing however that hasn’t been too clear to date, in terms of how the mobile money platform will work, is how its going…

  • Powertel’s new billing system goes live

    On Saturday 14 December Powertel announced that their new billing had gone live with immediate effect. This appears to be part of some ongoing changes at the ZESA subsidiary including a revamped website and relocating to their new offices at Joina City. Ever since the announcement of their Hoza 25-35 promotion I have found it…

  • Zimbabwean banks renew pressure on regulators to reign in Econet

    A report today in The Herald, says there’s renewed pressure from the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) to have the regulatory authorities put measures that allow for mobile network access neutrality. The issue which has been pretty much outstanding for over a year now is that banks want neutral access to Econet’s mobile network to…

  • How about an internet-less Twitter?

    One of the most popular question and answer tags on our Techzim Answers platform is Forgetmenot Africa’s internet-less Facebook, eTXT. The question “how to link facebook with my etxt on my mobile phone?” for example has been viewed some 24,000 times, more than twice the next popular question on the site which has about 11,000…

  • Telecel soft launches mobile money service, Telecash. USSD code is *888#

    We can exclusively reveal that Telecel Zimbabwe, has just done a soft (and likely partner as well) launch of its mobile money service, Telecash. Those with access can now transact on the mobile money platform using the USSD access code *888#. We tried the code on our Telecel lines and got the screenshot below. So…

  • E-commerce needs to be irresistible!

    There are those-conspiracy nuts- who have jokingly said that Valentine was invented by the corporate hegemony of card companies, gift companies as well as flower companies to sell their products. For the most part those who have dared to say that out loud have been met with derision. I cannot help but think however that…

  • Local software company CSI challenges Econet’s position on bulk SMSs

    In a response to an article published yesterday on bulk SMS blocking, Econet made a statement refuting claims that they block legitimate (not spam) bulk SMSs on their network. The software company that is making claims against Econet has however today challenged Econet’s position in a statement sent to Techzim. Firstly, CSI is challenging Econet…

  • First Mutual Life launches e-FML, a mobile based insurance product

    First Mutual Life today launched a new mobile based funeral assurance product that is called “e-FML”, which suggests an acronym for Electronic First Mutual Life. The service costs as little as $0.80 for $500 worth of funeral cover. Here’s a  general outline of the product. Firstly the service is not 100% mobile as was the…

Exit mobile version