Posts tagged with ‘mobile’

69% of Africans are very or somewhat comfortable with mobile advertising. This is the highest in world with the US and Europe at only 61%.
Five key findings about the mobile advertising landscape in Africa, by Nur Bremmen for Memeburn.
Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) has introduced a fast, effective and efficient system of receiving results through SMS. Dubbed ExamSMS, this service will provide results for Primary Leaving Exams (PLE), UCE (Uganda Certificate of Education), UACE (Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education), Technical and Business College exams.
The service was developed by SMS Media, one of Uganda’s leading providers of SMS products. Read more about how it works on the Uganda National Examinations Board’s web site.
In May Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile network operator launched Kipokezi, a service which allows ANY mobile phone to send and receive emails and IMs by converting them into text messages. ForgetMeNot is the company behind the gateway software. At the moment Kenya is only the second country where the service is available (it was piloted in Lesotho), however, ForgetMeNot has signed up operators in other African markets, so expect the service to spread across the continent before the end of the year. According to Russell Southwood of CIO, “15 million mobile phone subscribers in Kenya – over a third of the country’s population - will now be able to access email and online chat regardless of the make and model of their mobile phone. The new Kipokezi service is being rolled out by Kenya’s largest telecoms operator, Safaricom, suppliers of mobile phone connectivity for almost 9 in 10 Kenyan mobile phone subscribers.” Kipokezi is just the latest in a range of innovative products introduced by Safaricom this year. In May the company finally announced the launch of both MXit in Kenya as well as the long-awaited M-Kesho service.

In May Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile network operator launched Kipokezi, a service which allows ANY mobile phone to send and receive emails and IMs by converting them into text messages. ForgetMeNot is the company behind the gateway software.

At the moment Kenya is only the second country where the service is available (it was piloted in Lesotho), however, ForgetMeNot has signed up operators in other African markets, so expect the service to spread across the continent before the end of the year. According to Russell Southwood of CIO,

“15 million mobile phone subscribers in Kenya – over a third of the country’s population - will now be able to access email and online chat regardless of the make and model of their mobile phone. The new Kipokezi service is being rolled out by Kenya’s largest telecoms operator, Safaricom, suppliers of mobile phone connectivity for almost 9 in 10 Kenyan mobile phone subscribers.”

Kipokezi is just the latest in a range of innovative products introduced by Safaricom this year. In May the company finally announced the launch of both MXit in Kenya as well as the long-awaited M-Kesho service.

Calling all East and Southern African mobile phone app developers. Chembe Ventures, a company I founded, is sponsoring a competition on Vodafone’s Betavine Social Exchange. The competition is designed to encourage innovative mobile solutions to assist low-income residents in urban communities address a specific or general security problem. One prize of US $ 5,000 will be awarded to the winning entry. * Entrants must be registered as a developer in the Betavine community * Entries need to be written in English * Entries must be designed for deployment in one of the following countries: Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa or Tanzania. Entries must provide solutions under one or more of the following headings: * early warning notifications of criminal activity, violence or other security threats * assistance for families, communities at risk of crime * reducing crime, preventing the spread of violence * location, identification and assistance of victims of violence or crime For more information on how to enter the competition and to read the full brief please visit the Betavine Social Exchange.

Calling all East and Southern African mobile phone app developers.

Chembe Ventures, a company I founded, is sponsoring a competition on Vodafone’s Betavine Social Exchange. The competition is designed to encourage innovative mobile solutions to assist low-income residents in urban communities address a specific or general security problem. One prize of US $ 5,000 will be awarded to the winning entry.

* Entrants must be registered as a developer in the Betavine community

* Entries need to be written in English

* Entries must be designed for deployment in one of the following countries: Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa or Tanzania.

Entries must provide solutions under one or more of the following headings:

* early warning notifications of criminal activity, violence or other security threats

* assistance for families, communities at risk of crime

* reducing crime, preventing the spread of violence

* location, identification and assistance of victims of violence or crime

For more information on how to enter the competition and to read the full brief please visit the Betavine Social Exchange.