Posted inConnectivity Startups
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 Thursday, 6 December 2012, we will have 4 entrepreneurs and technical executives from some of the largest companies locally as panellists in a discussion on tech entrepreneurship challenges faced locally and strategies to overcome them.
Posted inConnectivity Mobile Money Startups
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 told it was Ok.
Posted inBroadband Connectivity
TelOne ADSL subscribers angry over abrupt disconnections
Irate ADSL subscribers around the country have been contacting us to express their anger with TelOne over ADSL internet disconnections that started about 3 weeks ago. The disconnections are part of the TelOne’s migration to a prepaid platform that we first wrote about here on 2 November.
Posted inConnectivity
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.
Posted inConnectivity
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, especially the mobile broadband subscribers. These statistics were provided by Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz).
Posted inConnectivity
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 plastic cards will grow. No matter what industry you’re in finance, retail, banking, education, health care, government, insurance or telecommunications these changes present new opportunities for your organisation.
Posted inConnectivity Startups
Why most Zimbabwean start-ups AREN’T failing. That is the question.
Yes, that’s right. You didn't miss anything. Zimbabwean startups ARE NOT failing. They aren't failing enough. That’s because they are not many start-ups in the first place. The better question to ask is: Why there are not a lot of Zimbabwean start-ups.
Posted inConnectivity
Are you using WhatsApp to communicate with customers
Once only used as a person to person (well, small groups as well), communication tool, WhatsApp is clearly becoming more. We’ve heard from a number of companies locally that they are adding WhatsApp to their options of communication with customers. It’s an interesting business use of the tool which we’re sure WhatsApp never planned or predicted.
Posted inConnectivity
Redefining biNu, a mobile content platform with a social framework
Everything is the opposite in emerging markets, there are not many screens in the average person’s life, and the one screen that is there is the mobile and they use it as a primary means of internet access not a secondary or the third level. This is the internet for many consumers, and they are very price sensitive. They are lucky to have a computer with a broadband connection but the desire to have internet and to communicate is huge. If you have never had it it’s a really fantastic thing to have for many reasons.
Posted inMobile Money
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:
Posted inConnectivity
Press Release: Virtual Learning Centre on MDGs to Launch in Zimbabwe
Development Reality Institute (DRI) in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Planning and Implementation Programme, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will today launch Zimbabwe’s first ever virtual learning platform on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for the country.
Posted inConnectivity
ICT Ministry holds validation workshop for National ICT policy framework
Today we attended the validation workshop of the National ICT Policy Framework conducted by the Ministry of ICT at a hotel in Harare. You will remember that Zimbabwe’s ICT policy is under review and in June & July review workshops were carried out around the country by the ministry.
Posted inMobile Money
Econet subsidizes kombi fares for EcoCash users
In an apparent move to attract subscribers to use its EcoCash mobile payment service, Econet announced this week that for a week they’ll subsidize the kombi* fare by US 25 cents for people paying via EcoCash. For some users of EcoCash this means as much as half of the fare will be paid by Econet just for using their platform.
Posted inConnectivity
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.
Posted inConnectivity Mobile Money
Everything you need to know about Zimswitch’s Vpayments gateway
Zimswitch, a national switching company recently introduced an internet payment gateway service called Vpayments. Being a financial switch basically means they provider interconnection between their member banks. Zimswitch member banks account for about 95% of the 1.5 million banked population in Zimbabwe. After hyperinflation and dollarisation, many Zimbabweans moved away from the banks, but now they are moving back, with the number of banked individuals holding a bank account expected to exceed 3 million by the end of 2013.
Posted inStartups
List of Zimbabwean web start-ups formed in the last 4 years
This is a follow-up article to my post Why most Zimbabwean Start-ups fail. After reading some of the comments and discussions, I felt the need to share with everyone the list of Start-ups I compiled during my research for the first article. Below is the list, I hope it will help you in whatever way you want.
Posted inConnectivity
PowerTel launches a CDMA voice network without interconnection
The print Financial Gazette this week had a supplement with an announcement by PowerTel that the company is unveiling a voice network. It’s the voice network we first heard of more than a year ago when PowerTel said they were all set to launch and that interconnection agreements were complete. This week’s announcement confirms they over-promised both on the “set to launch” and the interconnection front.
Posted inConnectivity Startups
Why most Zimbabwean start-ups fail
Building a successful Start-up is every entrepreneur's dream, but recent world statistics show only 1 in 12 succeeds. Why do start-ups fail? Why are Zimbabwean start-ups failing? Why are all those brilliant ideas going down the drain?
Posted inBroadband
Here are some details about TelOne’s new billing system #AfricaCom
About 2 weeks ago, we wrote about TelOne’s switching from the uncapped but throttled model of billing to a prepaid capped one for the ADSL product. The previous model was not something of their choosing; the circumstance that forced it on them was the lack of a proper billing system to measure data allocation and capping.
Posted inConnectivity
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