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Jumia, with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, is present in over 14 African countries, making it the largest eCommerce platform on the continent. It is, however, not surprising that Jumia is launching in another African country — South Africa. Jumia’s decision to launch during the COVID-19-induced lockdown in South Africa is strategic. The company will try to leverage the current surge in the demand for essential items (groceries, food, etc.) to its advantage....

Just weeks after Africa Internet Group rebranded to Jumia, the online marketplace has launched the 2016 edition of Mobile Week, dubbed ‘Mobile Week Reloaded’ Prices on a range of entry level, mid-range and high end phones have been slashed this week 18th-24th July, ONLY on Jumia. You can also get discounts on a number of mobile phone accessories as well. Jumia has emphasized that Mobile Week is a major opportunity for Ugandans to upgrade their phones for less....

Alan Wadi Okenga, a Kenyan university student and avid social media netizen has been sentenced to prison. The 25-year-old blogger, also known as lieutenant Wadi, was convicted of hate speech for posts he allegedly made about Uhuru Kenyatta’s ethnic group. Wadi was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of $2,200 after reportedly pleading guilty to the charges. If he does not honour paying the fine, he will face another year in jail....

Leading digital money transfer service WorldRemit and the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) have launched a major partnership to enable Kenyans living abroad to make instant transfers home. WorldRemit users can now make instant bank deposits to NBK accounts held in both Kenyan Shillings and US Dollars, as well as send funds for cash pickup in KES across NBK’s extensive branch network. NBK is one of the largest commercial banks in the country....

Uganda’s homegrown automaker Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) is stepping into the public transport sector with a new spin-off venture called E-Bus Xpress —a modern, electric-powered bus service designed to offer Ugandans a cleaner, more efficient, and tech-friendly commuting experience. The new service, which has already launched on the Jinja-Iganga route , aims to tackle some of the biggest pain points in Uganda’s public transport system: unreliable schedules, cash-based fares, and high carbon emissions....

Kuda announced, today, that it has raised a Series B round of funding to help it double down on new services for its customers in Nigeria and fuel its expansion into other African countries. This round of funding, however, was made at a valuation of $500 million. Per Techcrunch, while commenting on the new funding round, Kuda’s CEO said “ We’ve been doing a lot of resource deployment has been in our operational entity, in Nigeria....

Kwese decided to proactively refunded money to customers without them asking. I can’t think of any other company I’ve heard of that’s done that. Hell, I remember a past satellite TV provider, GTV who abandoned business and disappeared with customers’ money by morning. However, Kwese has taken the high road to refund its customers on top of free access to Kwese iflix. Free access to Kwese iflix. In the world a world covered in complaints from unsatisfied customers on social platforms, Kwese’s move is an exceptional counter to all the possible (and expected) negative PR....

Safaricom’s M-PESA is pretty much synonymous with mobile money and mobile banking in Kenya. So engrained into our culture is this platform that today, you can leave your house with just your phone, no wallet, and still be more than okay and transact everywhere. From paying for your transport, to paying for meals and shopping, you’re pretty much sorted if you have M-PESA. But then with this ubiquity comes the need for an efficient customer care service....

The Xiaomi Smart Band line of products remains one of the most desired in the fitness tracker category. This, despite largely retaining the same form factor and the low price point over the years. This year, we saw the official unveiling of the 8th generation of this band in China back in April. It was not until September that we saw the global launch of the same. In those months between, many Mi Band fans eager to get their hands on the new tracker (yours truly included) ended up getting the Chinese version of the Mi Band ....

Following the death of Bob Collymore yesterday morning , Safaricom PLC board of directors has appointed former Safaricom CEO, who also happens to be one of the board members, as the interim CEO of the giant telco. Michael Joseph had been at the helm of Safaricom for years, and it was during his tenure that Safaricom’s revolutionary mobile money platform, M-PESA was debuted. He gave up the reigns to the late Bob Collymore in 2010 as he moved on to other ventures, later ending up as the CEO of the struggling national carrier, Kenya Airways....

Voice control over devices has become a house-hold item and, in the age of the Internet of Things , it might be even more wowing. From making calendar appointments, dictating text messages and making internet searches, this new technology is a leading factor in letting devices understand us – the perfect definition of artificial intelligence – and be able to respond back with voice. Mozilla states that they want to use the application to start exploring browsing and consuming content with voice....

Customers of MTN Group and Liquid Telecom are set to benefit from a larger connectivity footprint across Africa. This follows an announcement today that the two companies have partnered to jointly offer customers access to the largest fixed and wireless footprint across the continent. The partnership, which covers wholesale, carrier-to-carrier, high speed broadband, enterprise and fixed data services, enables MTN and Liquid Telecom access to each other’s fixed and wireless networks in countries on the African continent, where one party may not currently have presence....

MTN Uganda and compeer Ericson awarded Ugandan innovators that participated in the MTN Open API challenge to develop applications that use MTN MoMo APIs, to monetize both consumer and business opportunities digitally. Between the line: MTN gave third parties access to its Mobile Money Access Programming Interface . The access gave the developers a chance to develop solutions without facing the cost of building a new API and maintaining it. Three innovators from Uganda win cash prizes and one gets a trip to the Ericson offices in Sweden....

MTN Uganda is giving you twice as much data for every daily data bundle you load this Independence, the Telecom has announced on it’s Twitter account. We wish u a Happy Independence. Get double ur data on all daily bundles bought on 9th Oct. Dial 1501# to activate. pic.twitter.com/7i5KnqNweb Advertisement - Continue reading below — MTN Uganda (@mtnug) October 8, 2014 This means if you you loaded 20MBs that goes for a price of UGX 500, you would get 40 MB or if you loaded 50 MBs that goes for UGX 1,200 you would get 100 MB....

The launch event for MTN Webphone with Webex took place today at the prestigious Fairway Hotel. It was a momentous occasion for MTN Uganda as they unveiled their innovative communication solution in collaboration with Cisco. In alignment with MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which aims to leverage digital solutions for Uganda’s progress, MTN Uganda has announced the launch of the MTN Webphone with Webex. Related: MTN Uganda: How to Reverse a Wrong Mobile Money Transfer...

One of the greatest joys of the modern day is the ability to access the internet and of course being connected for long for long without battery running out midway. With the rise of faster 4G networks, smartphone batteries experience undeniable strain and soon run out cutting off the fun. This leads to feeling a deep yearning in the user. Unfortunately, batteries are stronger than ever but still aren’t big enough to satisfy most users demands....

When MTN(Mobile Telecommunications Network) entered the Uganda telecommunications industry, it quickly picked up an local language acronym “Maama, Taata N’ange” loosely translated as mum, dad and I. It embodied a unification factor that created a sense of oneness and easy connectivity like never before, neither of the previous industry players had done such — UTL and Celtel. MTN Uganda,having realised its predecessors weaknesses, it engaged them in a contention that won masses for it through cheaper communication services and goods in tandem the cartel it signed with the government of Uganda prohibiting entry of new players in the telecommunications sector for at least 5 years....

You know your social media account has been pwned when suddenly a cacophony of weird updates have your name pinned under. Not for the president of Uganda, Museveni, his account was apparently hacked, as reported by one of his many communication secretaries. She was quick to tweet about the president’s twitter account demise and promised to work on it. Controversially, a couple of hours later, the same alleged compromised account heavily denied the allegations and promised due punishment for the claim....

Africa’s largest co-working space Nairobi Garage today announces the launch of Nairobi Garage Business Services, giving innovative young member companies unprecedented access to market leading business firms. For the first time in Kenya, Nairobi Garage Business Services makes the country’s top professional service providers accessible to startups and small businesses at affordable rates. Nairobi Garage members now have access to Accounting, Legal, and Leadership Coaching packages, offered through specially negotiated partnerships with local professional services firms....

The mid-range segment of the smartphone market is a very interesting one today. Most Kenyans looking for a decent smartphone experience on a budget, often land on this segment of the market, especially bearing in mind that the modern flagship has crept up the price range , way out of reach for most people. This mid-range section of the market has since grown to offer some of the best value for money, from players with solid brand recognition like Samsung , Huawei, and OPPO, to relatively new players in this market like Vivo ....