Zimbabwe in top 10 African ICT hubs of the future list
Posted inBroadband Connectivity Startups

Zimbabwe in top 10 African ICT hubs of the future list

According to a survey conducted by African Business Panel and echoing the sentiments of 800 business professionals across Africa, Zimbabwe is expected to be among the continent’s top 10 ICT hubs out of a total 53 states in the next five years. The report was released in Amsterdam last month and pinpoints South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya at the top of the rankings. South Africa has traditionally been a gateway to Africa for most international ICT firms and has of late been losing its glow to Kenya which among other things is Africa’s first nation to have an open data policy.
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Posted inConnectivity

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange website hacking

We just got more information about the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange website hacking that happened 3 days ago. A source close to the issue says so far it has been established that the hacking happened at the application level of the website architecture. The nature of the hacking itself is not clear as the website has been shut down and the url (www.zse.co.zw) is` redirecting to the hosting company’s website.
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Posted inConnectivity

Controversy as local VAS provider sues Makandiwa

As indicated in the last article we posted on the new “spiritual recharge cards” by a church leader in Harare, there’s some controversy building behind the service. The day after the launch was made, we were contacted by 3 individuals; a team comprising of a developer (James Ndukwane), a motivational speaker (Pascal Nyasha), and an investor (Hillary Chindodo), who basically claimed Makandiwa had stolen their concept.
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Posted inBroadband Connectivity Startups

BarCamp: Thoughts and contributions on building scalable startups & products

Wow! Wednesday was a great day to reflect on for us here at Techzim. BarCamp Zimbabwe; the country’s first grassroots ICT event finally came together. The event was made possible through the support of ZOL and other sponsors like Byers Design, Matamba Anonaka Technology Holdings, Webdev and Zimbojam. It was also the work of great individuals in the organizing team, notably; Joseph Manzungu, Lennex Zinyando, Christine Dube, Chengetai Chikwanha, Richwell Phinias, Richard Mberi, Larry Kwirirayi and many other people who helped leading to the event.
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Posted inConnectivity

Econet appeals to Supreme Court. Trustco fires journo over Econet article

When judgment was handed down last week against Econet in the Econet Vs Trustco case, the Namibian mobile firm was quick to announce to the market that it would be business as usual in Zimbabwe. It appears Trustco was keen to assure shareholders the mess in Zim had cleared up, or maybe they just believed Econet would give up the fight this early.
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Posted inStartups

Startup Challenge: 2 startups through to the finals, 3 slots remaining

Yesterday, a total of 15 startups pitched at the Startup Challenge, held alongside BarCamp Zimbabwe. It was quite an experience seeing the 15 teams, one after the other present their ideas and solutions. We have quite some talent and ingenuity among us. This was the first tech pitching event for a lot of people present and, there was a lot to learn for everyone; organisers, startups and we’re sure, even the judges.
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Posted inStartups

Pictures: BarCamp Zimbabwe and the Startup Challenge

Yesterday, we spent the day at BarCamp Zimbabwe. It was busy day and we had a blast. We loved every minute. The Startup Challenge went well too. Unfortunately we couldn't fill the 5 finalists slots we had. Only two were taken and the rest will have to be at another event. Here are a couple of photos from the event.
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Posted inMiscellaneous

Zimbabwe paper’s questionable attack on Trustco

As Techzim we are obliged to promote debate and dialogue. We were surprised to read an article in this morning’s Daily News (A Zimbabwe daily) that we believe was not generous with facts. The article’s opening shot begins by describing Trustco as “a company that appears to talk very big about itself”, and proceeds to stage a series of assaults on the company, most of it factually incorrect and misleading.
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Posted inMiscellaneous

Of prophets, spiritual airtime, VAS and POTRAZ

We too saw last week’s story on spiritual recharge cards by a Zim church leader, Emmanuel Makandiwa. We too found the story somewhat confusing and were eager to find out more so we could write a short ‘explanation’ of how it works, technically. Yes, just the technical side of things; it’s not our place to try to understand and explain the spiritual side.
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Posted inConnectivity

Preparations begin for ICT AFRICA 2011

Preparations for ICT Africa 2011 have begun. The event is organized by the Computer Suppliers Association Zimbabwe (COMSA), and invites ICT businesses to exhibit their latest tech services and products.
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Posted inConnectivity Startups

Startup Challenge: What Applicants need to know about pitching

A lot of startup applications have been coming in for the US$ 25, 000 Startup Challenge which is being run alongside BarCamp Zimbabwe 2011. Since an event of this nature has not happened in Zimbabwe before, the following practical pointers can bring applicants and prospective entrepreneurs up to speed on the elements found in a good pitch:
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Posted inConnectivity Startups

Zimride: Silicon Valley Startup scouting for Zim talent

It’s not everyday that a startup based in Silicon Valley; the home of Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and just about every significant technology platform-eagerly looks to hire local talent. Well this is not just any startup, its Zimride! According to Logan Green; the startup’s co-founder and CEO, they are currently seeking to hire talent from around the world and Zimbabweans would be a great addition to the team…
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Posted inConnectivity

Trustco vs Econet: Econet to appeal order to re-engage Trustco

Earlier today, we posted news of yesterday’s Zim high court judgment ordering Econet to restore the Ecolife relationship with Trustco and to “refrain from undertaking and implementing a competing, infringing service” to Trustco’s. So far, Trustco has announced that it’s business as usual in Zimbabwe for Trustco Mobile. This may not be the case. It’s more of court battles in Zimbabwe it appears.
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Posted inConnectivity

It’s business as usual in Zimbabwe, says Trustco

No sooner had we posted the news about the interim order the high court issued against Econet yesterday, than we got a press release from Trustco on the issue. The press release has a celebratory tone and seeks to assure shareholders that the mess in Zim has cleared up.
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Posted inConnectivity

Econet vs Trustco: High Court hands down interim order against Econet

We’ve just received news that the High Court of Zimbabwe handed down an interim order against Econet in response to Trustco’s application for an interdict last month. The interdict sought to enforce Econet's compliance with the Ecolife contractual obligations and to prohibit the company from infringing on Trustco’s intellectual property apparently by deploying the same concept. Econet itself had indicated they were working on their own Ecolife system to replace Trustco’s.
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Posted inConnectivity

SEACOM invests US14.7 million in terrestrial fibre in SA

Yesterday, the undersea fibre cable system operator, SEACOM, announced it has invested some US$14.7 million in terrestrial fibre infrastructure in South Africa. The investment is mainly in equipment and fibre links connecting SEACOM’s landing station in Kwazulu Natal and some Point of Presence in Gauteng. The fibre links have been purchased from Dark Fibre Africa, a South African dark fibre provider owning a network of carrier neutral, dark fibre infrastructure for the transmission of metro and long haul telecommunications traffic.
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Posted inConnectivity

Dzikwa Trust: Finland’s contribution towards grassroots ICT

Techzim recently visited the Dzikwa Community Centre in Dzivarasekwa, where an orphanage and ICT development initiative has been setup. At the time of our visit, the centre did not have an internet connection, however we believe something is being done about this. After the tour, we were able to get in touch with Anu Ala-Rantala - the program officer responsible for the project under the Finland Fund for Local Cooperation. Anu and Eki Enkenberg were able to answer the following questions for us: