Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

Econet Launches Community Solar Programme In Rural Matabeleland

The Founder and Executive Chairman of the Econet Group, Strive Masiyiwa, noted via Facebook that his friend, Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), used to tell him that “Agriculture is not a development activity, but an industry.” That is not far from the truth because the importance of…

Walmart and Google-backed Deliv have ended their same-day grocery delivery pilot.

Debt-ridden Zifa has sunk into deeper financial problems, as the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) pursues the $1,2 million they loaned out to the football governing body. Zifa board member finance, Philemon Machana once mentioned that they were pinning their hopes on the government settling the Potraz…

The standalone VPN app was discontinued last April.

Airtel and Telkom are merging to create a stronger challenger to the market leader, Safaricom.

Jumia is planning an initial public offering in New York this year that could value the business at about $1.5 billion.

Mobile World Congress 2019 #MWC’19 is right around the corner, set to start on February 25-28. It’s the world’s biggest show on smartphones and mobile technology, and we’re expecting a ton of news. Leaks and rumors are rampant in the days leading up to the event, so there’s a lot…

Matabeleland provinces will receive 25 percent ($25 million) of the $100m Econet Challenge Fund announced this week by Econet Wireless founder and executive chairman Mr Strive Masiyiwa and his wife Tsitsi to support rural entrepreneurs. The fund is part of the couple’s extensive philanthropic work in Zimbabwe and across Africa.…

The Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa Family Foundation and has availed $60 million towards the cholera response in Zimbabwe. Cholera claimed more than 70 lives last year. The commitment from the Econet founders comes on the back of an initial $10 million investment by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe at the onset of…

It seems like Uber has enabled a new feature that allows users to make free calls to the designated driver with the help of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). Uber has also enabled VoIP-based calling for its driver partners so that the driver too would be able to make free calls to…

NetOne has sent on forced leave its top two executives who are Sibusiso Ndlovu, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) as well as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) Brian Mutandiro. “One of the two executives was force-marched off the building while resisting the suspension and suspected to be concealing evidence. The two…

Kenneth Nkosana Makate has opened a fraud case against his former funders, Raining Men Trade.

Safaricom-backed Little has added Shuttles to its cab hailing service just days after Egypt’s Swvl announced its entry into Nairobi, Kenya. Little will be second company to show interest into Swvl’s model after Uber began trials in Egypt and announced plans to launch the service in East Africa as well.…

After it was confirmed that the Government of Zimbabwe ordered mobile network operators (MNOs) to shut down the internet and social media communication platforms, including WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, which are widely used by Zimbabweans, the Zimbabwe’s High Court then ordered internet operators to restore service to people in the country…

According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 375.4 million units during the fourth quarter of 2018 (4Q18), down 4.9% year over year and the fifth consecutive quarter of decline. The challenging holiday quarter closes out the worst…

Who really invented Please Call Me? The long-running saga is in the news again, but will the true story ever come out? It has all the makings of a grand story of a rags-to-riches story: a resourceful man who had a great idea that took off. It gets better, that…

Former MTN Consultant Ari Kahn remains adamant that he was the inventor of the “Please Call Me” idea.

Vodacom has shut down its headquarters and Vodacom World mall ahead of protest action around the Please Call Me debacle.

The legal battle between Vodacom and Kenneth Makate over the invention of the Please Call Me has been going for over 10 years. Much has happened in this time, and despite Vodacom recently claiming to have reached a settlement with Makate, his denial of this implies that the battle is far from over.…