• Candid Consumerism, a Zimbabwe platform to complain.. and praise

    If you are reading this post from Zimbabwe or you have been in Zim these past 2 years then you’ve probably had your change held back at a supermarket a number of times. If you’re like me, this has happened so many times you have lost count. Typically, you’re offered a credit note or asked…

  • MXit, A Mobile Social Network For Africa

    I’ll confess that I only came to know about MXit just a few weeks ago. I should have known it earlier, like a few years back maybe. In this age of Facebook, the influence MXit has on social interaction in South Africa is nothing short of a phenomenon.

  • Of Social Networks . . . . And Work

    A visit to an internet café in town just gave me a reminder of how much Zimbabweans love social networking. I had just read an article on TechCrunch about the social web and how it might not be surprising to hear about a Facebook browser (fancy that)

  • Beyond A Gig, Africom’s Mobile Broadband Costs $100 Per Gig

    Africom has received a lot of praise since it launched its mobile broadband service a little more than a month ago. Most users of the new service love it. Some subscribers even credit Africom with bringing the first true mobile broadband experience to Zimbabwe.

  • The Econet Mobile Broadband Letdown

    To say we didn’t wait with abated breath for one year would be a lie. We waited. We naively thought Econet would use its muscle and deep pockets to roll out the most affordable mobile broadband service.

  • The Power Of Social Media For Communications

    Social Media has changed human behaviour as it reshapes all structures – family, business, society, and governance. Ignoring social media has opportunity costs that Zimbabwe cannot afford as we deliberate our US$6 billion debt.

  • Clouds of Change, Your Role in the Clouds

    Cloud computing and virtualization are bringing a paradigm shift for the classic IT function. Adapting your skills to the new technical requirements could make all the difference and ultimately increase your visibility and depending on your current situation, those clouds on the horizon bring welcome relief or are the beginning of the end to your…

  • 12 Reasons Your Zimbabwe Business Needs A Website

    The internet is exploding in Zimbabwe, and already businesses are seeing the benefits of being online – Isn’t time you joined in? If you’re wondering what the benefits of a website would be for your Zimbabwe business, here are a few good reasons to go for it!

  • The Forgotten Line of Defense: The People

    From the beginning hackers have been known for their skills of breaking into computers and networks. They applied different techniques and methodologies in order to break into corporate systems or personal computers.

  • Ecoweb Embraces Social Media With New Website

    Early this week, Ecoweb replaced their old (and kind of stale) website with a fresh, bright and actually nice looking one. It was long overdue and Ecoweb’s parent company, Econet, should consider doing something about theirs too. Besides the fresh look, what is really interesting about the new Ecoweb website is that it brings with…

  • The Story that /Malware/ Tells

    The early versions of internet based Malware popped up around the late 80s with the most common one being the Morris Worm. It caught many IT professional off guard back then.

  • When Econet’s 3G Will Open To All Subscribers

    Since Econet launched 3G on it’s network last year in August, the services has had more than a few problems. First it was that 3G itself was only limited to the greater Harare.

  • Review: Ecoweb’s 4G Mobile WiMax

    A little more than two weeks ago we got hold of an Ecoweb 4g Mobile WiMax kit. We’ve been using it since. Long enough to give a fair review. We cut the review up into separate sections so you can jump to the section you want

  • Nhava Sells Stake To Rugare Chidembo, To Push Tens Of Thousands Of Nhavas This Year

    We visited the Nhava founders yesterday at their Livingstone offices in the Harare Avenues. We had an interesting discussion with them; from how Nhava was founded, their vision, the range of laptops and expansion plans.

  • We Live-Tweeted The POTRAZ Consultative Meeting

    For the first time at Techzim today, we live tweeted an event. The result: a live update of the proceedings at a POTRAZ consultative meeting with Internet Access Providers and Internet Service Providers in Harare. Our followers were able to follow the event in realtime!

  • The Zim Ubuntu 10.04 Release Party On This Weekend

    Yes, the Zimbabwe Ubuntu LoCo Team finally said something. So all you party animals (and not-so-social geeks, seriously, here is your chance to interact with like minded dudes) make time this Saturday to celebrate freedom. The release party will take place at 335 Herbert Chitepo Street, Alliance Française in Harare and it starts at 2PM.…

  • Why Organisations Should Worry About Security: Part 2

    Due to the harsh operating environment in Zimbabwe, businesses tend to focus more on their core business areas and neglect information security. This is viewed as a non value adding activity. In order to address the security loophole, companies then invest in cheap ineffective solutions which are highly vulnerable to security threats. In most of…

  • It’s Six Months Later And Econet Still Has No 3G For New Subscribers

    On 28 August 2009, Econet launched 3G services on its network. Then, we criticized Econet for not providing enough information to subscribers about the new service. A little over a month later, Econet quietly suspended the activation of more subscribers to 3G services. No public announcement of the service suspension was made. You’d just visit…

  • When Solar Meets Wireless – A Rural Telecommunications Solution – Part 3

    Telecom Center (Phone & Internet Center) Think of a telecom center as a setup with phone, e-mail and internet services. This model is pretty common in urban setups. And this model could be used for remote centers and even some urban centers whose electricity supply is more often off than on. As such the telecom…

  • Econet Officially Opening New Large Call Center Tomorrow

    Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is officially opening its new call center in Harare tomorrow. Econet has built a new advanced call centre to handle increased traffic from its growing subscriber base now standing at more than 3.2 million. Speaking about the opening, Econet CEO, Mr Douglas Mboweni said that massive growth had increased demand for service…

  • 5 Handy Internet Apps You Can Use In Zim!

    So it’s that time again when, for your health, you’re supposed to take a break and stay away from your PC and your always-buzzing mobile phone. If you’re like me, you tried that the whole Saturday. You tried to do the other real social (not talking about Facebook here) stuff you’ve been putting off for…

  • Weekly Roundup – 20 March 2010

    PowerTel and the BTC Fibre Deal There was an article in this week’s Sunday Mail on PowerTel’s fibre deal with Botswana Telecommunications Corporation. Again no mention of the bandwidth capacity being purchased. We searched around and found this pdf on the BTC website. It says “…under the agreement with BTC will get access to direct…

  • Econet Asks: Should We Have Waited Until We Could Give Everyone 3G Or We Did The Right Thing To Launch And Sort Out Issues Later?

    Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is among the few companies in Zimbabwe to embrace online social media. The company’s 3G Facebook page has about a thousand fans and it gets updated several times a week. For subscribers, this provides an always available face of the company on the Internet. You can have conversation with an Econet techie…

  • Subscribers Using Econet Data Services To Make Free Calls And SMSes

    If you have an Econet line activated for Internet, there might be some ways to save a few extra dollars on calls and SMSes. There are some nifty tools used world over to make “free” calls and SMSes especially where the mobile network operator is kind enough to offer unlimited internet traffic for a flat…

  • Year 2009 In Review

    2009 came with a shift in ICT policy direction by the government. Customs duty on ICT equipment for example was suspended and currently ICT hardware suppliers only need to pay 15% VAT on imported equipment. Most positive change has generally been attributed to the energetic Minister of ICT, Nelson Chamisa.

  • Users Love Typing Website Addresses Into Search Engines And Google Understands That

    Last week we posted an article on Zimbabwe’s Google search trends in 2009. In the article we noted something interesting about how people use browsers and search engines. The top ‘rising searches’ in 2009 on Google for 2009 are all variations of facebook; “facebook.com”, “www.facebook.com”, “facebook login”, and just “facebook”. Shows just how much more…

  • What Zimbabweans Searched For On Google in 2009

    According to Google Insights for Search, Zimbabweans just love facebook. We love it so much it’s in the first four spots in 2009’s top ten rising searches. At number 1 as “login facebook” then 2 as “facebook.com”, 3 as “www.facebook.com” and 4 as just “facebook”!

  • Local Application Developers Should Smell the Coffee

    According to the Information Society Statistical Profiles 2009 report prepared by the International Telecommunications Union, in 2008 there were 11 internet users out of every 100 inhabitants in Zimbabwe. 2009 itself saw more Zimbabweans connecting to the Internet owing to the introduction of mobile Internet by telecoms operator Econet. Even more connections will be made…

  • About Techzim

    Techzim is an information technology and business publication that obsesses about the opportunity of tech particularly the internet for individuals and businesses in Zimbabwe and the greater African region. We […]

  • Seacom Blames African Governments And ISPs For Costly Internet

    Seacom has heaped the costly internet blame on African national governments and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for failing to pass on the benefits of high speed internet to ordinary citizens. […]