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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 386 SMS – Africa’s coming media generates millions of responses and revenuesMobile SMS messages are Africa’s coming media. The Ethiopian Government banned them because they were used to organise opposition protests but found it impossible to let them stay banned. They featured as a medium for spreading insidious rumours about candidates in the recent Kenyan election and more tragically, as the means for organising post-election violence. But beyond these high profile political campaigns, SMS messages are one of the developing service businesses in the mobile sector. Before Kenya’s recent election, Russell Southwood spoke to Kenya’s Karanja Macharia, CEO of Mobile Planet about the potential of this new business. Q: What’s Mobile Planet’s business and where are you operating? A: We provide promotions for FMCG products using SMS for companies like Kenya Breweries, Coca Cola and Unilever. All their promotions are now SMS based. They used to have people send in paper coupons or bottle caps but it’s cheaper to do them on SMS. For example, now when a soft drinks company runs a competition, those responding can simply send the unique number on the bottle cap by SMS to the company. We also support Safaricom’s existing SMS products and are developing new products with them. Finally, we provide SMS voting services for broadcasters like MTV. At present we’re only in Kenya but we have done some work for a brewery across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda where we’ve used other service providers in those countries outside Kenya. We have plans to move into Tanzania and Uganda. We want either to try and replicate what we’re already doing here in Kenya or sell services directly to subscribers. We’re trying to have a two year product cycle where we offer a new product once every two years. Q: So how does it work financially? We split the SMS revenue 50/50 with Safaricom and in turn split our 50%, around 50/50 with the client, depending on the client. We used to have an exclusive deal with Safaricom but that’s no longer the case. There are 21 licensed premium rate service providers, of which there are 18 who are actually connected to networks. Four of these companies do ringtones and the others offer infotainment or directory services. Celtel may soon follow in offering our service. We’ve had our platform in place since 2002 but Celtel bought its own system. The advantage for the client is that there is no cost for media advertising. It is entirely paid for by the consumer. The business used to be split between SMS and IVR business but it is now mainly SMS because the revenues are much higher. Some FMCG companies want to have free calls for those responding but we have always pushed our clients away from this because it could be open to abuse. Q: So what level of responses are your clients getting? The brewery client has had 2-3 million SMS messages per promotion. The lowest response for a client was 600,000 and the highest was 4-4.5 million over a 6-8 week period. So for example, if the client puts out 10 million products with a unique number to enter for a competition, we would expect a 5-10% response rate. Anything below 5% is considered a bad response rate. The highest was 15% with an FMCG product. Q: Is it just FMCG products? No, recently we’ve been doing a lot of media promotions. It’s the same approach as with FMCG products except no purchase is required. Both TV and radio companies have been using SMS as a way of encouraging viewing or listening. So for example, the host of a show asks viewers or listeners to call in or there is a programme response number at the end of a show or programme. These often generate 4-5 million SMS messages over a six week period. It’s an interactive activity for users and it helps reinforce the station’s brand. We also run the voting for competitions like Idols for local TV stations across East Africa and this is sponsored by East African Breweries. In this case users phone in a code to indicate their rating of contestants. It was the first major reality TV event focused on East Africa. Q: So what are the products you work with Safaricom on? There’s its infotainment service which users can get by dialling 411. That’s their oldest service and it can get up to 15 million requests but it fluctuates. Then there’s SMS to e-mail which has had about 1 million users. The infotainment service is about 40% news use and around 20% religious texts which can be verses from the bible or from the Koran. Everything else, including sport, horoscopes and events is below this. Q: Will you be doing MMS message services? We have tested MMS messages (sending out to over 1 million users) on the Safaricom network and are awaiting agreement of the revenue share structure. The MMS content will be offered on 411 and so for example, it will be video clips of breaking news from NTV. We’re not currently doing anything on the mobile TV front.
Nigeria’s Senate is probing N59 Billion Rural Telephony ProjectNigeria’s Senate’s Committee on Communications is conducting an investigation into why the last administration’s N59 billion rural telephony project has not yet been implemented. Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sylvester Anyanwu, said in an interview at the weekend, that the probe was not targeted at any individual, but at the project which was under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications. He said, "what we are doing is essentially focused on the rural telephony project which from our preliminary observation, was a project run by the Ministry of Communications. We are interested in what happened that after so much money running into billions of naira was expended, the project is yet to take off, so we are interested in the immediate take off of the project." Anyanwu said the expenditure was made before President Umaru Yar' Adua's administration came into being, adding that contrary to a newspaper report, former president Olusegun Obasanjo was not the target of the probe. Anyanwu said, "we have no reason to believe that Obasanjo has direct or indirect involvement in the project, so suggestions that Obasanjo is under probe does not really arise." (Source: This Day) Egypt's Raya says it might bid for fixed-line licenceEgypt's Raya Technology and Communication said that it is thinking of bidding for the second fixed-line licence in the country through an alliance with an international operator. Company Chairman Medhat Khalil told Reuters Raya was waiting for the announcement of the licence conditions. "Many elements will determine if we are really going to take that step, for example if the licence will include international calls or not," he said. Khalil denied press reports that his company had already agreed to an alliance with British Telecom. "We are talking to several international players but we have not concluded any agreements yet," he said. Minister of Communications Tarek Kamel said in late June Egypt would offer a licence to operate a second fixed-line network during 2008, ending years of monopoly by state-dominated Telecom Egypt. Orascom Telecom, Etisalat Egypt, a unit of UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications and the Egyptian Post have all said they would bid for the licence. The second fixed-line network, which would compete with that of Telecom Egypt, would start operating in early 2009. Raya, which operates in the mobile phone distribution, IT services and call centres businesses, posted a 13 percent rise in net profit in the first nine months of 2007 to 75.2 million Egyptian pounds (US$13.57 million). (Source: Reuters) TCRA sets January end deadline for mobile carriers in TanzaniaThe Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has given all mobile phone service providers in the country until January 31, next year, to confirm their compliance with the new international charges announced last week. In the previous announcement, the authority announced that effective January 1, next year, all mobile phone companies would be required to use the new interconnection determination charges of USD 7.83 cents per minute. TCRA CEO John Nkoma said that the charges would cover a period of five years up to 2012 with a decrease in each year. He said that the country has currently a total of 7,727,291 mobile phone customers from seven operating mobile phone companies. The companies with their customers in bracket are Vodacom (3,693,062), Celtel (2,250,828), MIC Tanzania Ltd-TIGO (992,036), Zantel (553,975), TTCL (233,890) and Benson Informatics Ltd (3,500). The TCRA boss said the reductions for cost-based interconnection rates (US$ Cents) with effect from January 2008 to December 31, 2012 were as follows (in US cents): January 2008 (7.83), January 2009 (7.65), January 2010 (7.49), January 2011 (7.32) and January 2012 (7.16). (Source: Guardian) MTN Moves to Prevent SIM Card Swap Fraud in South AfricaThe MTN cellphone network says it is taking firm action to prevent a repeat of a fraud incident in which an online syndicate hacked into the bank account of a city charity and stole thousands through a SIM swap. The Novalis Ubuntu Institute lost almost R100, 000 when a Johannesburg-based syndicate hacked into its bank account. Crucial to the crime was the syndicate's success in discovering the bank's highest online security measure - the one-time password necessary for carrying out the transaction. It did this by persuading MTN to swap a SIM card so that the one-time password was sent to them, and not to Ubuntu's chief financial officer, Anne-Lise Bure. A total of R90,460 was taken from her Standard Bank Internet banking account. A SIM swap allows a cellphone user to replace a SIM card, whether through the damage, or loss of a cellphone, while keeping the same cellphone number. By cloning Bure's SIM card the fraudsters were able to hack into the account, create a new beneficiary - which can be done only when the bank sends a client the one-time password via SMS - and transfer the money into several accounts. In this case the syndicate, armed with a fraudulent ID book in Bure's name, persuaded MTN to swap the simcard in Bure's absence. The Ubuntu project looks after orphaned and vulnerable children. Bure said from what she could establish, a man had gone into an MTN provider store in the Johannesburg city centre pretending to be her driver. He told a sales consultant that he had been sent by Bure to do a SIM card swap. He had a fake identity document that had Bure's husband's surname, Shepherd, misspelt, as well as Bure's maiden surname, which she uses. The identity number in the ID book was Bure's but the picture was that of another woman. The MTN consultant told the fraudster he couldn't do the SIM swap without Bure being present, but the "driver" said she was "very busy". He asked the dealer to phone her and gave him a number. The woman who answered claimed to be Bure and asked him to do the SIM swap, which he did. Four days later Bure was shocked to find the bank account empty. Ntombi Mhangwani, MTN's spokesperson, said the matter was still being investigated by the network's fraud department together with the National Prosecuting Authority. She said in this case the fraudsters already had enough information on Bure to defraud her, without the MTN details. "The perception exists that this fraud is as a result of MTN's processes failing, when in fact the victim is partially to blame for not protecting sensitive information such as bank account numbers and passwords. "The incident happened at a dealer store where it seems the personal authentication process broke down. We are implementing an auto SMS function to inform the subscriber that a SIM swap has been requested on his or her account prior to proceeding with the SIM swap transaction. This will allow the subscriber time to contact MTN in the event that they did not request the SIM swap." The Standard Bank made an ex gratia payment of R40,000 to help make up the loss, but MTN has not followed suit. (Source: Cape Argus)
In brief:- In Kenya, the main mobile services provider Safaricom has moved to improve its services after several days of interruptions. Michael Joseph, Safaricom’s CEO said that it was very unfortunate that airtime ran out last week in some parts of the country. This was mainly due to the fact that it was very difficult for our dealers to gain access due to the current security situation. There have been reports that the Safaricom CEO was being pressured by the current Government to cut off SMS services after midnight because of its use for post-election violence. - Zimbabwe’s mobile telecommunications provider NetOne has withdrawn close to one million invalid EasyCall recharge cards in the Z$500 000 denomination from the market. No information has been disclosed about the nature of the problem. In a separate announcement NetOne also said that it is targeting to increase its mobile telephone subscriber base from the current 330,000 to at least two million by the end of 2008. - The Zambia Telecommunications Company (ZAMTEL) announced an investment of 5 billion Kwacha (US$1.2 million) in an optic fibre cable for metropolitan Lusaka, the capital. The programme to upgrade telecommunication services in Lusaka to the optic fibre cables was expected to be completed before the end of January. - Liberia's government has started giving away specially programmed mobile phones to villages so that they can report crimes to the local police. The government project aims to give up to 10 phones to prominent people in each of 400 neighbourhoods in and around the capital city, Monrovia. - Morocco has put up over US$160 to set up communication installations in 9,263 rural localities. The Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) said that the four-year programme will cover two million people, accounting for 1.7 percent of the Moroccan rural population. A total of 311 rural localities will benefit from community access projects for the year 2008 - Algeria’s telecoms regulator the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPT), has announced plans to replace the existing nine-digit number system with ten digits, effective from 22 February 2008. The upgrade will take place in two phases: phase one will involve mobile telephones and so-called ‘short numbers’, while the second phase (scheduled for 5 July 2009) will affect fixed telephones. - South Africa based, Psitek has launched Kazang - a solution that takes electronic prepaid services to previously under-serviced communities in the country. Kazang is being built on the back of the existing Psitek payphone solutions, which operate using cellular technology. - The open source PBX system, Asterisk, has just had a new update. The Asterisk.org development team announced the release of Asterisk version 1.4.17. This release contains a fix for a SIP security issue, as well as a number of other bug fixes. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage- The construction of a telecommunications building complex in Eritrea’s Afabet at a cost of over 10 million Nakfa has been finalized, according to the Eritrean Telecommunication Service Corporation (ERI-TEL). The construction of a second similar building in Nacfa is also 90% complete. - In Botswana, mobile phone company, Orange has announced the introduction of Orange World, a bouquet of mobile data and Internet services. Orange World delivers a mobile broadband Enhanced Data for GSM Environment (EDGE) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology. Customers can stay connected for as long as they like and only pay for the information that they send and receive. - France Telecom has set up an Orange Lab in Egypt. The creation of the Cairo Orange Labs allows France Telecom Group to expand its presence in Egypt, a country where France Telecom is present since 1998 through Mobinil and Orange Business Services. - The people of Mauritius have sent some 8 million Short Message Services (SMS) for the New Year 2008, according to figures released by Emtel, one of the two mobile telephone operators on the island. Emtel said between 23.55 hrs Monday night and 1.30 hrs Tuesday morning, some 3.5 million SMS messages were exchanged. Cellplus, the other operator on the other hand gives the figure of around 4.5 million SMS users who used its facilities. - In South Africa, mobile operator Vodacom has introduced a reverse charge service available to all its customers. It allows customers to phone a Vodacom contract customer even without airtime.
Nigeria’s National Internet Gateway of ControversyObi Thompson who claims he was given an exclusive contract to operate an Internet gateway continues to make waves in the Nigerian media. An interview in This Day last week laid out his case. It is hard to see how an exclusive licence for a country as large as Nigeria makes sense but it appears that is what Obi Thompson was granted. The case is now in the Courts. Obi Thompson bid for and won the NiGate-the Nigerian national internet gateway contract. A section of the contract stipulated that his company Interstellar would be the sole operator of the portal in line with the practices in other parts of the world. However, Thompson is now accusing Nigerian regulator NCC of allowing another parallel company to encroach on part of the contract agreement. Thompson said the establishment of a parallel company to operate the country's internet gateway contradicts some sections of the contract and is against the best practices all over the world. He said the internet gateway all over the world is like the telephone code +234 that cannot be operated by two different companies for the sake of country's security and other issues. Though he took NCC to court to challenge this breach of the contract and the questioning of the location of the base station in Umuahia, Abia State, Thompson said he wants Nigerians and the world at large to know how NCC is sending wrong signals to potential foreign investors. He said "NCC copied a license from international best practice standards which provides that national Internet gateways are by nature a service that can only be rendered by one entity in a jurisdiction. Somewhere along the line, the Pentascope team that was running NITEL at the time wanted to foray into the venture and we resisted it”. "NCC immediately turned around to claim that the exclusivity clause was inserted in error. We all know who made the appointments in the NCC at the time and who was behind the Pentascope. The NCC knows that once exclusivity is removed, the license is worthless. Its intention was to indirectly kill our license by permitting NITEL to use its massive infrastructures to asphyxiate us and thereafter be the sole operator of the gateway. "NCC is aware of the fact that only one entity should operate the gateway before it established IXPN to spite us, as a retribution for having the temerity to challenge its arrogance," said while denying having anything against Galaxy Backbone Plc as long as it does nothing that infringes on his company's interest or operations. "He explained that before Galaxy Backbone Plc came into existence, his company had signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Federal Government through NITDA, to the effect that his company should incur the cost and build requisite VPN (Virtual Private Network) portals for carrying all data traffic of the Federal Government, as well as connecting all Nigerian foreign missions in an intercom mode, such that all calls between them and with Nigeria are un-metered free calls. "As a matter of fact, the MoU itself only formalised a pledge made to Interstellar at the behest of President Olusegun Obasanjo who reasoned that since we are the first indigenous company venturing into building critical national infrastructures as Internet Exchanges and high-speed data networks, federal government should support our effort through such patronage. "Nobody will or can get away with hijacking this project and undertaking. The problem is that some people believe that once they are, or can be called government agent, they can do anything. Sorry, it is not so," Obi stressed. As a result he decided to sue NCC and NIXP after the regulator volunteered to testify against Interstellar in favour of NITEL. "Our lawsuit which was filed at Federal high Court, Abuja in 2005 over exclusivity never included NCC. Indeed, we have copies of our several letters in which we tried to reason with the NCC and point out that a mistake was being made. "In the same vein, we never sued NIXP, as long as it remained a local peering point for ISPs. But when the NCC encouraged it to stray beyond that, and thereby explored the prospect of encroaching on our territory, we had to discourage it by dragging it into the same boat that the NCC led itself into. We believe in the rule of law. All we have done is go to the courts and have them pronounce on the merit or otherwise of our position”. However, the claim for exclusivity by Interstellar has been repudiated by the Nigeria Internet Exchange Point (NIXP). Its Chairman, Mr. Chima Onyekwere recently described the suit as ridiculous. He said it was not in the best interest of the country for one company to monopolise the nation's Internet gateway, adding that "it is uncalled-for for a Nigerian company to become greedy and try to stall the development of ICT in the country by trying to lure the regulatory body into getting an exclusive license for the unlicensed”. (Source: This Day) Subscribers disappointed with broadband service in South Africa, says surveyOnly 13 percent of SA broadband subscribers rated their service as better than expected. South African broadband subscribers are generally not very impressed with their broadband service. According to feedback from the recent broadband survey a mere 13% of subscribers indicated that their broadband service is better than expected. 46% of respondents said that the service performs exactly as expected while 38% of users said that their service performed worse than expected. 35% of subscribers indicated that they are actively looking for a new broadband service, driving home the fact that there is a large portion of the broadband community who are looking elsewhere for something better. The service, where most of the surveyed users indicated that the service performed better than expected or exactly as expected, was Telkom’s ADSL 384 offering. Just over half of the ADSL 384 users were happy with their service performance – a significantly higher satisfaction rate than the other broadband offerings on the market. The service where users were most unhappy with the performance is Sentech’s MyWireless offerings. A massive 61% of MyWireless subscribers indicated that the service performed worse than expected while only 6% of respondents indicated that the service exceeded expectations. (Source: MyBroadband) Yahoo Enters Nigeria with the appointment of Seed Media as Local PartnerYahoo, a leading internet service firm has appointed Seed Media Limited as its exclusive media Sales representative in Sub Saharan Africa. This was made known by the Partner Manager of Seed Media Limited, Cathy Sanni recently in a statement. According to her, this opportunity affords Nigerian brands to advertise on the platform as well as building strategic business partnership in Nigeria. This partnership, she said, starts with Nigeria and will gradually move into other key Yahoo markets within the continent. In Nigeria, the Yahoo user community has an estimated online community of over 5million unique users monthly. This number generates over 250 million impressions monthly. Nigeria ranks second after Egypt with over a billion impressions created monthly. Marvin Liao the Director, Global Sales Development, noted that "this was an opportunity to peep into the African continent and support the growth of Yahoo which has witnessed tremendous follow ship in Africa". He further noted that the Nigerian market was very important to Yahoo as they begin to drive the growth of strategic business partnership in Africa and also create local domains. According to him, Seed Media was a like-minded company with the resources to support the partnership". (Source: Vanguard) In brief:- The Government of Mauritius has put online 48 application processes at www.gov.mu. From January 2008, people will be able for example to book an appointment online with the National Transport Authority for a car’s MOT or register online as a job seeker. Further enhancements to Mauritius’ e-governance policy include an online payment process which will be introduced in the second part of the year. - Algerian Internet users are spoiled for choice between ADSL, ADSL2, WIFI, WLL, WIMAX. They cannot make up their minds because of the numerous offers and acronyms which are confusing, while they see Internet connection prices as rather “high” compared to the speed offered. The main Internet providers, namely the Distance Vocational Learning Establishment (EEPAD) and three telephony operators: Algerie-Telecom, Orascom Telecom and Watanya Telecom, among others, are proposing diverse options. - A Moroccan programme costing 1.1 billion dirham which aims at equipping Morocco’s 8,600 schools with multimedia rooms having Internet connections by 2009 has so far covered 1,900 schools, 2,050 multimedia classrooms and 31 training centres. The second phase, which was launched in July, concerns 4,000 schools, with 2000 located in rural areas. - The Cedesurk and Celtel Congo have signed a partnership contract for US$494,881 to launch " eb@le " a project to interconnect Congolese universities. This open and scalable network will provide applications and communication services, access to scientific and technical information, as well as online education and distance learning facilities
Rwanda’s Mayors Promise ICT for All in 2008All Rwandans at the cell level could have access to ICT facilities by the end of next year if plans presented by district mayors yesterday are implemented. A cell is the second lowest administrative level. While presenting their development plans, most mayors promised President Paul Kagame that by the end of next year, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) facilities would have been extended to the cell level. The mayors pledged to extend to grassroots such ICT facilities as computers and their accessories, internet in offices, mobile phones and telecentres. They thereafter signed performance contracts (Imihigo) committing themselves to the plan, and other development programmes. Kagame presided over the session during which mayors of all the 30 districts in the country presented their achievements in 2007 and the plans of action for next year for their respective districts. (Source: The New Times) E-Ticketing to be launched soon in NigeriaAn electronic system of ticketing, an initiative of National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), supported by Zenith Bank, will soon hit the Nigeria airline market. Christened BSP e-Ticketing, it will provide central location between stakeholders and customers and is designed to supply ticketing reporting, refunds and remittance of International Airline Travel Agencies (IATA) accredited agent on behalf of BSP airlines, by resending services to agents and airlines. The BSP e- Ticketing, according to Fatima Gabatti, has been a struggle that started two decades ago. A seminar paper presented by the President/CEO Sabre Network Inc, Gbenga Olowo, at a press briefing in Lagos, stated that agents need to have assess to an IATA approved ticketing system such as Global Distribution System (GDS), through which clients will be encouraged to remit payment electronically. Olowo said agents are to open banking relationship with banks that can provide e-banking facilities and are reliable in the discharge of their duties. (Source: This Day) Angola’s IT Sector recorded significant growth in 2007In 2007 Angola recorded significant growth in the sector of information and communication technologies. Available data indicate that about 3 million citizens are connected to Internet and are cell phone users. Angola is now better prepared to become an information society, due to the advances in the use of mobile phones and governmental projects. Today, the urban centres are seen as more included, because the advances in mobile phones has enabled many people to have access to Internet, which did not happen before. Currently, for example, in almost all the quarters of Luanda City there is a cyber café, and this has led to an increase in the number of Internet users, although the number of citizens that have personal computers is still low. The Portal do Governo (Government Portal) project, inaugurated in 2006, has also developed in terms of the governmental services made available for citizens, as well as in contents and information, as the result of a continuous training programme for the staff of the Angolan Executive. Due to a high demand of its services from the citizens, the portal has evolved into an information site that has available 132 governmental services, 65 useful forms, a lengthy list of public interest services, 109 legislations in force in the country, among other things. Furthermore, all the governmental departments (ministries and state departments), as well as the provincial executives, have a portal with specific information and respective activities, including the Cabinet Council. As a result of the various projects in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa awarded the Angolan Government the Tiiga Prize in 2007. To accelerate the development of the ICT sector and turn the country into an information society, the Angolan Government is installing networks of optical fibre, so that there can be Internet available in the whole country and at a low cost. (Source: AGOP) In brief:- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is consolidating its presence in sub-Saharan Africa, and has shown quarter-on-quarter growth of about 30% in the region. AMD has had a local presence since the middle of last year. South Africa is the base for the company's African operations. - The Western Cape has become the latest province in South Africa to adopt the electronic national traffic information system's (eNatis's) licence appointment booking facility.
Ghana Renews Search For Ghana Telecom Stake BuyerA Ghanaian government official said Thursday that the process of finding a buyer for a majority stake in Ghana Telecom has been renewed after bids from European telecom operators were rejected. Ghana's deputy minister for information and national orientation, Frank Agyekum, told Dow Jones Newswires that "the (sale) process is still on." His comments follow a statement Tuesday by minister of information and national orientation, Oboshe Sai-Cofie, who said the privatization of Ghana Telecom remained "on course" because "offers received so far have not met the expectation of the government." France Telecom SA (FTE) and Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT) were among several companies that had offered to purchase the majority stake in Ghana Telecom. However, all bids have so far been rejected by the Ghanaian government. (Source: Dow Jones Wires) The Uphill Task of Selling Safaricom in KenyaHandling the biggest Initial Public Offer in the country ever is no small task for the joint managing director and co-CEO of Dyer & Blair Investment Bank, Hassan Mohammed. Perhaps nothing has stretched the limits of Mohammed's energies more than to bring together a team to prepare the prospectus for the Safaricom sale to the public. In fact, the prospectus itself has turned out to be rather controversial even before it was officially published. The controversies have come not only from the politicians, but also from analysts and stock brokers - some of whom think that the IPO is being rushed. Indeed, the Association of Kenya Stockbrokers thinks that the IPO is best suited for the next calendar year and they have even written to the Treasury on the issue. The vice-chair of the Nairobi Stock Exchange, James Wangunyu, has appeared to contradict the Government and even Dyer and Blair's chief executive who is also the NSE chair, Mr Jimnah Mbaru, over when the IPO should be done. As the person squarely in charge of the company's day-to-day operations such as preparing IPO documents and representing Mr Mbaru in many forums, Mr Mohammed cannot but follow the public (and some not quite public) pronouncements closely. Constantly engaged in meetings, you cannot easily find him for a one-to-one interview on the IPO, not to mention the fact that he is not supposed to be seen to be commenting on an issue he is yet to conclude. Throughout the IPO period he maintained a "no comment" stance except when a representative of public relations firm Gina Din Communications - who are the PR consultant for the IPO- was present. The only thing he would say was that he was proud to be associated with the largest IPO in sub-Saharan Africa. "This will definitely go into my memoirs," he said of the sale. Indeed, Mr Mohammed may have done his work quietly behind closed doors as expected with a public share sale but has no choice but to hear the noises and sometimes constructive suggestions made by his peers as well as rivals in the market place. For example, Wangunyu has proposed that the IPO should actually be priced at below five shillings a share - a view that can only be ignored at the risk of being accused of making the IPO a rich-man's affair. This may surely be out of perception as there are more factors at play including the minimum number of shares and therefore the required value of shares purchased. But incidentally, perceptions in a controversial and emotional issue like Safaricom's IPO do matter for more than objective analysts would hope for. Mohammed rose to nearly the top of the investment bank's hierarchy last year when he was made the co-CEO at the relatively youthful age of 36. He holds a Bcom (Hons) from the University of Nairobi, MSc Finance from Strathclyde University in Glasgow and is pursuing chartered financial analyst's (CFA) qualifications. He is no stranger to making deals. Indeed, he has been involved in deals worth over one billion dollars (over Sh63 billion) in the past decade having been the team leader on the Equity Bank listing, the Sony Sugar restructuring, among others. He was the KenGen IPO broker supervisor and steered the IPO to regulatory compliance as well as the IPO marketing strategy. The investment bank itself describes Mr Mohammed as "an innovative investment banker who has established new investment frontiers in East Africa." The bank credits him with originating and executing the 2003 take-over of East African Cables by the Trans-Century Group. He also designed and structured the East African Cables convertible debt, which enabled the company acquire a Tanzanian subsidiary more than a year ago. (Source: Business Daily) ICT Attracts Sh590b Projects in UgandaInformation Communication Technology (ICT) has attracted investment projects worth $350m (sh590b) in the last six years. According to a report issued by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) the ICT sector attracted more than $350m worth of investment since 2001 and generated revenue estimated at sh1.22 trillion within the same period. "In the financial year 2006/07, the combined sector contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 9 percent up from 8.2% in the previous year, this represents a 4.2% growth contribution to GDP by the sector for the period 2001-2005," revealed the report issued on Monday. The report adds that this gives an average annual investment estimated at $70m (sh118b). Because of its cross- cutting nature, the sector plays a big role in employment, job creation and quality in service delivery, according to the report. "A dynamic ICT sector contributes to the national economy and development. This contribution gives an indicative measure of its size," the report adds. UIA executive director Dr. Maggie Kigozi said for decades, the ICT sector in Uganda has been revolving around the telecommunications, postal and broadcasting services. "This has been mainly voice, very limited data handling and mail deliveries," she told The New Vision in an interview on Monday. She said the 1996 policy framework that liberalised the telecommunication sector resulted in radical changes that have given birth to an ICT service sector. "The sector has been growing at a phenomenal rate over the last decade, especially in the areas of mobile devices, computer applications, information processing, storage and dissemination that include broadcasting and Internet Points of Presence at district levels," Kigozi explained. She said the changes have had a profound impact on the Ugandan economy and the ICT sector has become an important part of the economy. (Source: New Vision) South Africa’s Vodacom black economic empowerment deal set to be controversialSparks are set to fly as mobile phone network operator Vodacom moves closer to finalising its R7.5bn black economic empowerment (BEE) deal. Under normal circumstances a R7.5bn socially friendly initiative by a private entity should be celebrated. But Vodacom is set to draw controversy on this deal. Vodacom recommitted itself to the BEE deal despite the collapse of the grand shareholder restructuring proposal to which the deal was attached. Centred on Telkom, which owns 50% of Vodacom, the plan could have seen the latter fall into the outright majority control of UK-based group Vodafone. The UK group holds the other 50% of Vodacom. The collapsed initiative is thought to have included a bartered sale of Telkom's fixed-line assets to rival mobile network operator MTN, while relinquishing control of Vodacom to Vodafone, which in turn would bring in a BEE shareholder. Though the talks between Telkom and MTN are off and with that the Vodafone leg of the transaction, Vodacom has said the BEE plan will go ahead. That is hard to believe, given that Telkom and Vodacom have been unable to co-operate at operational level. How will they hatch a BEE equity transfer plan which requires one of them to yield control? Vodacom communications officer Dot Field notes that Vodacom announced in 2006 that it was contemplating a R7.5bn BEE transaction. She says the identified participants of the transaction will include all SA employees (with 25%) as well as certain strategic and broad-based BEE candidates. The suggested split of proposed beneficiaries reflects some careful consideration by Vodacom. It comes close to matching the split preferred by the department of trade & industry, which administers the supreme empowerment guide in form of the BEE codes. But the deal would see transfer of about 5% of equity to black hands, which is far below the target stipulated in the codes. Vodacom seems to have been guided by the default ownership target carried in the telecommunications charter, in coming up with the R7,5bn figure. Taking into consideration the challenge of funding BEE deals for major companies, the charter stipulates an ownership target of 25% - but also allows for maximum points-scoring for deals with a minimum value of R7,5bn, irrespective of ownership level. But this charter has yet to be given official recognition. Until this happens, the Vodacom BEE transaction will be judged against the codes, which have set a minimum ownership target of 25%. There is also the Electronic Communications Act (ECA), which demands a minimum of 30% black ownership. The ECA is a new law which seeks to modernise the sector and will see revision of operating licences, including Vodacom's. While it is not clear how the ECA will relate to the codes and the charter, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) suggests the ECA will reign supreme. That means Vodacom's BEE credentials will come under close scrutiny. Icasa licensing councillor Marcia Socikwa says the organisation is fine-tuning the BEE aspects within the ECA. This process will be finished in time to have a bearing on the conversion process. There were about 60 bidders for the Vodacom empowerment stake when the process was opened last year. The list included heavyweights like Andile Ngcaba, Saki Macozoma, Nkenke Kekana and Bulelani Ngcuka. Speculation is that Kekana's Mowana Five Mile Communications consortium is the front runner. (Source: Financial Mail) In brief:- Côte d’Ivoire Telecom (CIT) has raised 7.5 billion CFA francs (US$15 million) funding through an international bond issuance organised by City Bank in five countries member of the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union. The money will be used to modernise CIT network and improve service delivery. - Botswana’s Chief Executive Officer of Public Enterprise Evaluation and Privatisation Agency (PEEPA), Joshua Galeforolwe has announced that the privatisation of Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. He went on to indicate that privatisation of BTC involve sale of shares to strategic equity partner; allotment of small proportion of shares to citizen employees of BTC on deferred payment terms; warehousing of shares in privatisation Trust Fund for sale to Botswana at a later date and retention of shares for sale to public through the stock market listing. - Itsalat International Company (i2), the largest mobile phone distribution company in the Middle East and Africa with operations in as many as 23 countries, plans to come out with an initial public offering towards the end of 2008.
Angry South Africa’s Teens Plan Mass Kissing Online ProtestTeenagers are planning to defy the government's ban on under-16 kissing, touching and rubbing up against each other in public, hatching a "kissing protest" on Facebook. The new law, passed two weeks ago under the Sexual Offences Act, sparked a huge uproar on the popular website. About five groups have been created, some of which have thousands of members. The act, signed into law by President Thabo Mbeki two weeks ago, makes it illegal for teenagers to kiss, touch or rub up against each other in public. Teenagers could be criminally charged if found guilty of infringing the law. One of the biggest groups, Everyone Against the New Kissing Law, already boasts more than 6,000 members. When the group was created just over a week ago, it attracted 166 members on the first day alone. There are also plans for a national event on Facebook called Kiss In Protest. On the group for the protest, a call is made for all teenagers to kiss in public places around the country, starting on January 5 and continuing throughout the month. The event's planner said on the site: "The SA moral police have gone too far. Let's stand together and stop this. It's taking away our freedom of choice and it's against our human rights." "Kissathons" have already been diarised on Facebook in the Centurion, Sandton and Menlyn areas in Gauteng. Other groups set up to discuss the law include: "I disagree with the new law that you can't kiss under the age of 18"; "Petition against the illegalisation of the kissing/ touching under the age of 16"; "For people who find the new law stupid"; and "To anyone who has been turned into a criminal It's illegal to kiss under 16". Nearly every Facebooker disagrees with the new law, with some users from the US and other countries signing up to show their support for the teenagers. A group member from a Gauteng private school network alleged that her friend, 15, had been fined R250 when she was caught kissing a boy in front of her house. Local police spokesperson Billy Jones said he was not aware of anyone being arrested for breaking the new law. He added that the SAPS legal services in the province were still preparing guidelines for police with regard to its enforcement. (Source: Cape Argus) A Bank in Every African Pocket?Ann Wanjiku walks up to a green-and-white booth with an "M-Pesa agent" sign on it. There she shows the agent her identity card and her cell phone, which displays a PIN number provided by a client. Using the PIN number, the M-Pesa agent takes just a minute to verify that the client has transferred payment for 1,000 traditional carvings into Ms. Wanjiku's mobile money account. Ms. Wanjiku then withdraws the amount in cash. Like 90 per cent of Kenyans, Ms. Wanjiku does not have an account in a regular bank. Across Africa, only 20 per cent of families have formal bank accounts, according to a World Bank survey. In Tanzania the percentage is as low as 5 per cent, and in Liberia 15 per cent. But the proliferation of mobile telephone services around the continent has opened a new way to extend financial services to people like Ms. Wanjiku. In the few countries where they have emerged, companies such as M-Pesa can use any phone or phone card to provide affordable services to customers wherever there is a mobile phone signal. Expanding such innovations in the use of modern information and communications technologies (ICT) more widely was a central topic at a Connect Africa Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda, in October. More than 1,000 private-sector, government and donor representatives discussed how such technologies can help in finding solutions to Africa's development problems. Most banks in Africa have branches only in urban areas. Brian Richardson, the chief executive officer of Wizzit South Africa, a cell phone banking facility, notes that expanding access to rural areas has traditionally involved opening new branch offices. "As long as you have that mind-set," he says, "it becomes incredibly expensive to bring banking to the mass market." As a result, regular bank services are often simply unavailable. Ethiopia has just one bank branch for every 100,000 people, compared with Spain, which has 96 branches for every 100,000 people. Moreover, requirements to maintain relatively high account balances make such services too costly for most Africans. Even in South Africa, which has a more extensive banking system, it is estimated that people keep about R12 bn (US$1.8 bn) "under mattresses," says Mr. Richardson. "If we could take just a small portion of that into the formal banking system, the impact on the economy would be enormous." Established in 2004, Wizzit has signed up 50,000 South African customers. It hopes to reach 16 million others, in a country where some 60 per cent of the population has no bank account. Holders of Wizzit accounts can use any cell phone, even the cheap, old models popular in low-income communities. Users can deposit cash into their cell-based accounts through any post office or any branch of Amalgamated Banks of South Africa or the South African Bank of Athens. Salaries can be paid electronically into a Wizzit account. Account holders also receive Maestro debit cards accepted at ATMs and by retailers. There is no minimum balance or annual fee, but users pay the equivalent of US$0.15-0.78 per transaction. According to Mohsen Khalil, the World Bank's director of global ICT, Wizzit's operation is one of the most innovative approaches to mobile banking, since it specifically targets the poor. If this model works in South Africa, he says, the World Bank will help the company expand coverage within and beyond the country. "We may be looking here at . . . the most effective way to provide social and economic services to the poor." Some counterparts to Wizzit have emerged elsewhere in Africa. Like Ms. Wanjiku, about 1 million Kenyans use M-Pesa, a joint product of the Vodafone/Safaricom mobile phone company, the Commercial Bank of Africa and Faulu Kenya, a microfinance organization. M-Pesa customers deposit money with a registered agent or phone vendor. The agent then credits the phone account. Users can send between 100 Kenyan shillings ($1.5) and 35,000 shillings ($530) via a text message to a desired recipient - even someone using a different mobile network. The recipient then can obtain the cash from a Safaricom agent by entering a secret code and showing personal identification. Similar services are now available in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. In Zambia, Celpay, a product of First National Bank of South Africa, allows businesses to pay for services and receive payments via mobile phone accounts. Celpay currently processes up to $10 mn in payments per month. In South Africa, First National Bank also partners with cell phone provider Mobile Telephone Networks (MTN), which provides services for South Africans who already have a bank account but also want to send and receive money over cell phones. Between them, MTN and Wizzit enable 500,000 South Africans who do not have accounts to send and receive money to relatives, pay for goods and services, check balances and settle utility bills. Until the advent of the two services, South Africans often paid couriers the equivalent of $30-50 to deliver cash to relatives. Now such transactions cost only $0.50 through mobile bank networks. The greatest impact is in rural areas, says Beyers Coetzee, a rural community officer for Wizzit. "Eighty per cent of all farmers do not have bank accounts." Moreover, he adds, a Wizzit account, unlike a regular bank account, is not closed if the customer does not use it regularly. That is "very useful for seasonal workers" in particular. Rob Conway, head of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, an international group of mobile phone service providers, says that such innovations have "changed the lives of millions of Africans, catalyzing economic development and strengthening social ties." Lauri Kivinen, head of corporate affairs for the Nokia Siemens network, agrees that this development is significant. "It means unprecedented, substantial change for ordinary people," he told Africa Renewal. Through mobile phone banking, people can "extend their social and business networks, boost their productivity and so much more, all at the touch of a few buttons on a cell phone." (Source: Rwanda News Agency)
People* Mouloud Djaziri has been appointed as the new CEO of Algerie Telecom. At the same time Lounis Belharrat has been appointed a the head of its mobile arm “Mobilis” and Ahmed Kehili at the forefront its internet subsidiary “Djaweb" * The Minister for Information and Communications has appointed three board members to the Board of the Communications Commission of Kenya. Hon. Mutahi Kagwe has appointed Joe Kamau, Eunice Maranya-Ombati and Patrick Musimba for a three-year term. * The former General Administrator of Gabon Telecom, Hervé Fulgence Ossamy, has been arrested following an investigation about missing money initially allocated to the purchase of IT equipment. * France Telecom has named Dominic Saint Jean, as the new chief executive officer at Telkom Kenya. He will be assisted by Peter Reinarte as deputy chief executive. Events- 3RD ANNUAL DIGITAL BROADCASTING SWITCHOVER FORUM 29 Jan – 1 Feb 2008, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa Covering National Switchover Frameworks and Planning, the Digital Dividend, the Results of WRC 07, Dual Illumination, the Broadcasting Skills Shortage, African Content Production as well as a host of other critical issues that were raised in the 2007 event. For more information please contact Mr Matthew Dawes through m.dawes@cto.int or visit the website at www.cto.int. - E-TISSAL EXPO 2008 6-8 February 2008, International Congress and Expo Center of the Exchange Office of Casablanca, Morocco. e-Tissal is organized by the media and communication professionals for every professional that creates, uses, delivers or services media and communication in the Mediterranean, African and Middle East Region, the third most active media market in the world. For further information visit http://www.e-tissal.com/ - ICT AFRICA 13-15 February 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ICT Africa 2008 offers: A Plenary session featuring policy makers, Business leaders and key ICT research leaders High quality, peer reviewed technical presentations Technical tutorials on emerging ICT technologies Workshops on ongoing projects Industry exhibition For further information contact visit http://ictafrica.nepadcouncil.org/ - THE AFRICAN BANKING TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE 19 -21 February 2008, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya The conference theme is “sharing knowledge and best practices in banking across Africa”. For further information click on www.aitecafrica.com - 2nd ANNUAL CALL CENTRE CONFERENCE 20-21 February 2008, Birchwood Executive Hotel & Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa This annual conference twill give you the ideas and insights you need to achieve outstanding service in South Africa’s most challenging work environment. For more info contact Neliswa Duma on +27 11 880 8540 or by email at neliswa@knowres.co.za Jobs and Opportunities* Director of Operations, Postal/Telecom A well-known incumbent telecom operator in the Southern Africa region, requires a highly experienced individual to assist with the implementation of major strategic changes within the company. You will have at 15 years of experience in the design and maintenance of fixed and mobile switching, transmission and access systems, and a solid experience of strategic telecom business management to help increase the financial performance of the business and build synergies between the telecom and postal divisions within the company. Salary: Negotiable, to include attractive relocation package Term: 12 months Start: As soon as possible How to apply: By e-mail to include a detailed CV and cover letter to programmes@cto.int For further information, contact Marcel Belingue at +44 20 8834 1568 or m.belingue@cto.int * Senior Programme Management Officer at the CTO Interested in international development and looking for the next challenge? This is a fantastic opportunity to join the capacity-building team of this fast-moving London-based intergovernmental oganisation. We are looking for an experienced project manager with knowledge of the telecoms sector and the ability to work in a multi-project environment to help deliver its programmes around the world. If you think you fit the description and would like to know more, then download the full job description at: http://www.cto.int/Portals/0/docs/recruitment/JD_ProgramManagementOfficer.doc How to apply: By e-mail to include a detailed CV, cover letter and salary expectations to recruitment@cto.int For further information, contact Everlyn Oswald on +44 20 8834 1572 or e.oswald@cto.int Contracts* Starcomms and Etranzact - Nigeria Starcomms has partnered with Etranzact for a new, faster, and secure payment platform that ensures convenience and a cost effective way of paying electronically for Nigerians that do business with Starcomms.
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