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Telkom Kenya now offers more data for same price

January 9, 2020 Dianne Jacobs

Telkom Kenya has revised their daily, weekly and monthly bundles where you now get more data for the same price. This is good news for the millions of Telkom users out there who use their network everyday Some of the data bundle offerings have received a 100% hike at the same price point which is nice to see. At the low end, you can get a healthy 70MB for only KES 10 and you can get as much as 50GB of data for KES 3,000 a month up from 36GB.…

Voice App makes life easy for throat cancer patients

January 8, 2020 Dianne Jacobs

Vlastimil Gular’s life took an unwelcome turn a year ago: minor surgery on his vocal cords revealed throat cancer, which led to the loss of his larynx and with it, his voice. But the 51-year-old father of four is still chatting away using his own voice rather than the tinny timbre of a robot, thanks to an innovative app developed by two Czech universities. “I find this very useful,” Gular told AFP, using the app to type in what he wanted to say, in his own voice, via a mobile phone.…

Korba launched an all inclusive shortcode

January 7, 2020 Dianne Jacobs

Korba, a leading Ghanaian Fintech brand owned and operated by Halges Financial Technologies Ltd, has launched an all inclusive and innovative shortcode that allows users to transfer funds, pay bills, purchase airtime, data bundles among others. The newly introduced *365# promises to be a game-changer in Ghana’s financial services ecosystem providing users with utmost convenience and security. Speaking at the launch, Nelson Da Seglah, CEO of Halges Financial Technologies said the introduction of the shortcode is in line with the company’s commitment to continuously evolve to serve customers better. He…

Afri Ride mobile app launches in South Africa

January 6, 2020 Dianne Jacobs

Afri Ride, a secure ride sharing mobile app with tailor-made solutions for the African traveling community, is now available in South Africa, and will be expanding into other African markets in the near future. Joe Moyo, managing director at the ride sharing app, describes the app as incredibly simple to use. “All that users have to do is, to upload their travel details such as the start and end location, travel date and the number of empty seats that are available, this then allows travelers heading in the same direction…

Vivo partners with OPPO and Xiaomi in new innovation

January 6, 2020 Dianne Jacobs

Smartphone giant Vivo has partnered with OPPO and Xiaomi to bring an innovative new wireless file transfer system to consumers around the world. An initiative of the newly formed “Peer-to-Peer Transmission Alliance”, the new system enables seamless cross-brand file transfer with just one click. The new wireless file transfer system will allow consumers of these three brands to easily transfer files between their mobile devices without the need for any third-party applications or network data, supporting a wide range of files, including photos, videos, music, documents and more. The move…

Airtel Malawi plc intends to apply for admission to the stock exchange

December 31, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Airtel Malawi plc intends to apply for admission of its ordinary shares to trading on the main market of Malawi Stock Exchange

Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, has announced the intention to undertake an initial public offering of its local business, Airtel Malawi plc. Airtel Malawi plc intends to apply for admission of its ordinary shares to trading on the main market of Malawi Stock Exchange. The indicative price range in respect of the Offer, as well as the exact number of Shares to be sold in the Offer, will be determined in due course. The Subsidiary will…

Increased access pushes for mobile penetration

December 27, 2019December 31, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Increased access to mobile network signals and exciting product offers by operators continue to drive consumers to own more than one SIM card to take advantage of the diverse services, a report by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows. The Sector Statistics Report covering July-September 2019 shows mobile subscriptions are on the upward trajectory standing at 53.2 million, and in effect, pushing the mobile penetration in the country to 11.2 per cent. In the recent years, the Authority has also continued to put in place interventions to enhance access…

The Internet and Mobile taking over the delivery space

December 18, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

For the longest time, restaurants held takeaways as an afterthought. Well, not anymore. The food catering business has gone past the takeout era and has evolved so much that delivery has become the hot trend in Kenya. The great digital revolution, burgeoning e-commerce and the convenience of mobile money which allows buyers to pay for their deliveries right off their phones, has spurred a whole new industry that is today the food delivery market. And Kenyans, enticed by the convenience of ordering online from their favorite local restaurants and having…

Mali based insurtech startup OKO Finance helps rural farmers access crop insurance

December 17, 2019

Malian insurtech startup OKO Finance has helped many rural farmers to access crop insurance for the first time ever. Founded in 2017, OKO develops affordable mobile-based crop insurance products to provide smallholder farmers with the financial security they need, regardless of unstable climate trends. CEO Simon Schwall, spoke to ITBusinessDirect about their plans and activites, here is the conversation What is the story behind OKO Finance? Before starting OKO I worked for a very successful micro-insurance provider called BIMA. I was their local CEO in Papua New Guinea and Fiji…

How Technology can be used to ensure safety

December 17, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The role of technology in addressing some of the most pressing challenges in the world cannot be understated. Public-private cooperation will play a pivotal role in creating an enabling environment for this to come to fruition. Uber hosted the Tech for Safety summit in Nairobi to deliberate with entrepreneurs, businesses, the government and the private sector on how to tap technology to address challenging personal safety concerns, including safety within communities, road safety, or the safety of individuals using online platforms. During the summit, keynote speaker Philip Thigo, a tech,…