Mobile markets are maturing and many operators are setting themselves apart from their competitors by offering Value Added Services (VAS). (more…)
Tags: ForgetMeNot Africa’s Message Optimiser, Value Added Services
Archive for August, 2009
The rise of the mobile phone in Africa
Mobile phones are seeing a surge in popularity in Africa. Telephone landlines are slow to roll out across rural Africa, leaving difficult to access areas without fixed phone lines and internet access. Mobile towers solve the problem, by making mobile phones accessible. According to the Guardian, in the Democratic Republic of Congo there are only 10,000 fixed-line telephones, but more than 8 million mobile subscribers. (more…)
Tags: Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, mobile banking, Mobile phones
Safaricom Launches Solar-Powered Mobile Phone
Kenyan mobile network operator, Safaricom has launched a solar-powered mobile phone according to Cellular News. Branded Simu ya Solar and manufactured under a partnership with ZTE, the handset is made from recycled materials and has an in-built solar panel. (more…)
Tags: Kenya, Michael Joseph, mobile network operators, Safaricom
Internet brings educational change across Africa
For many years people have spoken about how reliable access to internet services will change the way education is delivered in Africa. While most Western schools do enjoy full use of email and the internet, a large majority of African schools still do not have the same ability due to the lack of access and a problem known widely as the digital divide. (more…)
Econet in bid to block Zain Nigeria sale
According to IT News Africa, Econet Wireless Group (EWG) of South Africa has started moves to block the sale of Kuwaiti-based Zain’s interests in Zain Nigeria until a ruling on a dispute over ownership of the company is passed. Last week media reports indicated that the Zain Group, a mobile telecoms company with operations in 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa, may agree to a deal to sell its African operations to French company Vivendi for up to USD12 billion.
Tags: African mobile networks, Econet, ForgetMeNot Africa, Nigeria, Zain, Zimbabwe
Interview with Econet boss – Strive Masiyiwa
Strive Masiyiwa
As founder and chief executive of Econet Wireless he has pursued his ambition of creating a truly African multinational business, spinning a web that spans seven countries, more than 25 million customers and generates an estimated $3bn (£1.8bn) in annual revenues. He has fought his way through Africa’s often tangled legal jungle and had the security forces on his tail – more often than not sitting outside his house.
Next week his legal team will enter a courtroom in the Netherlands to mount the next challenge: throwing a spanner in the works of what could potentially be one of the biggest deals in African history, the $10bn sale of rival mobile-phone operation Zain.
Read the rest on the Guardian website…
Source: Guardian
Tags: African mobile networks, Econet, Nigeria, Zain, Zimbabwe
