Safaricom's CEO Collymore dies
01 July 2019
Collymore was 61
The chief executive officer (CEO) of Kenyan telecom company Safaricom, Bob Collymore, has died at the age of 61.
A British businessman born in Guyana, Collymore had been suffering from an acute form of leukemia and passed away while at home on the morning of July 1st.
He was well known in Kenya and east Africa for championing M-Pesa to Kenyans, the mobile money transfer platform that began as texting money between users, but has now evolved to cover billions of financial transactions in the country.
Find out more Nigeria starts pulling down towers
26 June 2019
A typical tower
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has started to tear down over 7,000 telecom masts belonging to Globacom which exceed restrictions on maximum height.
It went ahead after the company failed to remove the masts despite multiple warnings. The NCAA noted that it had issued an ultimatum in May followed by multiple reminders, but the 30-day deadline had passed.
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Rwandan platform-as-a-service start-up enters Uganda
14 June 2019
The kiosks offer services such as Wi-Fi, intranet solutions and phone-charging photo: ARED
Ared, the Rwanda-based platform-as-a-service start-up known for its “Smart Business in a Box” solar-powered kiosks, has made Uganda its first international market.
The kiosks, known as Shiriki Hubs, are run mostly by women and people with disabilities, using a micro-franchise business model. They offer services such as Wi-Fi, intranet solutions for offline users and phone-charging services.
The app offers additional services, including airtime, mobile money, prepaid electricity and tax payment services.
Ared has now moved into Uganda, rolling out a total of 10 kiosks in Kampala and also the refugee camps of Arua district, where citizens belonging to lower income groups can charge their mobile devices, buy airtime and access the internet.
Find out more Telecel loses half a million subscribers
16 May 2019
Telecel Zimbabwe head office, Harare, Zimbabwe
Telecel, Zimbabwe’s third largest mobile operator, has lost over half a million subscribers, according to the sector performance abridged Q4 sector report.
The company was once Zimbabwe’s second largest mobile operator, but its continued loss of subscribers and failure to match rivals’ network expansion has seen it fall to third place behind Econet Wireless and NetOne, respectively.
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