In the mid-1990s, there were fewer telephone connections in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa than there were in Manhattan. What a difference two decades has made: by the end of this year, there will be more than 635m active telephone subscriptions on the sub-continent. That number is twice the population of
Browsing: M-Pesa
Vodacom published its annual results for the 2014 financial year on Monday. TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod sat down with the group’s CEO, Shameel Joosub, after the results presentation to ask him about the operator’s offer to buy Neotel as well as its plans to relaunch M-Pesa. Joosub talks about Vodacom’s view on where
Mobile money system M-Pesa, a service that originated in Kenya through Safaricom, in which Vodafone has a 40% stake, is making its way to Europe for the first time. The service is be introduced in Romania, reportedly the first time a mainstream mobile money service has made
New service Ummeli is a more than just a free mobile job board for those who might not otherwise have access to such things, says project manager Lauren Kotzé. It’s also a resource for staffing nongovernmental organisations and a platform for young South Africans to share ideas and employment opportunities
South Africa appears to be losing its status as the preferred investment destination on the continent for international technology companies. That honour, increasingly, is going to Kenya, which may be on the cusp of a technology-fuelled era of economic growth. When apartheid ended in
France’s Orange has signed a deal to allow tower operator IHS to oversee more than 2 000 of its towers in the West African markets of Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. Though Orange will continue to own the towers, IHS will manage them for the next 15 years Surplus space on
Vodacom has hired a top expert in electronic payments and financial services to head its mobile commerce division. The telecommunications operator has appointed Herman Singh, formerly head of Standard Bank’s innovation arm, Beyond Payments, as its managing executive for mobile commerce. Singh
Vodacom’s revenues in South Africa have come under pressure in the three months ended 31 December 2012, and the operator is blaming increased price competition from rivals, along with other factors, for the muted performance. South Africa is Vodacom’s most
Sales of digital set-top boxes, which went on sale last month in Kenya, have been sluggish. The boxes are required to convert digital terrestrial broadcasting signals so that that the East African country can switch off analogue broadcasts before the International Telecommunication
The continent is being hailed as a global cellphone banking and payments innovation hub, but it seems the sector will be coming under increasing regulatory scrutiny as the relationships between cellphone operators and banks are placed under the spotlight. A survey of players in the African