As of today, Uganda has 9 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus with those 9 coming in a space of 3 days. Many businesses have come out to show support to the government and their customers during this lockdown caused by the virus. In this article, we look at Airtel Uganda’s actions and plans in light of the pandemic.

Mobile Money Transactions

Airtel Uganda has scrapped all charges on mobile money transactions from Airtel to Airtel as they aim to encourage cashless transactions as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Airtel Money Pay will also be free for all customers and all merchants for 30 days.

Free Access to the Ministry of Health Website

The Ministry of Health is the major source of information as regards to cases and anything related to COVID-19 in Uganda. For the next 30 days, Airtel Uganda customers will be able to visit the ministry of health website with no data bundle.

You will also be able to access the World Health Organization and its regional office for Africa websites with no data bundle.

Related Article: COVID-19: MTN Uganda Introduces Work From Home Data Bundle

Communication on COVID-19

Airtel Uganda has partnered with the Ministry of National Guidance to send text messages to its subscribers containing key information that can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Airtel also uses its social media platforms to pass on information to the general public.

Airtel TV

New developments on the coronavirus pandemic are being passed on to local TV stations all the time. You can use Airtel TV to catch all the press conferences and addresses on the coronavirus anytime, anywhere on your smartphone. All you need is an active Airtel data bundle.

Airtel Uganda says they are indebted to the government and other stakeholders for efforts and proactive measures aimed at ensuring the safety of Ugandans and that they will continue supporting them. It remains to be seen whether data bundles tailored to help people work smoothly throughout the lockdown period will be introduced.

How are you handling the lockdown? What do you think Airtel Uganda can do to help fight the coronavirus pandemic? Share with us in the comments section below. Otherwise, stay safe and stay home.

The post COVID-19: A Look at Airtel Uganda’s Plan for its Customers appeared first on Dignited.

In a report by Brand Finance, MTN Group has been awarded Africa’s top telecoms brand. Brand Finance is an independent brand valuation consultancy company. In the report, Brand Finance stated that MTN’s brand value was boosted by a solid overall performance for the year, despite challenging economic conditions and regulatory challenges in some markets. It also recognized MTN for its focus on customers and providing a high-quality service across all its markets.

Brand Finance acknowledged MTN’s strategy to grow revenues through data and digital, while also focusing on growing its subscriber base. MTN’s brand strength rating was also upgraded from AAA- to AAA, in recognition of an increasingly strong leadership position in telecommunication services throughout Africa, as well as increasingly resilient network investments.

“Amid these unprecedented times in fighting a global pandemic, MTN Group is humbled by the Brand Finance recognition and our progress in rising up through the ranks of this year’s Telecoms 150 report.”

MTN President and Group CEO, Rob Shuter.

Related Article: MTN Homeland lets you send money and buy airtime from Abroad to over 7 African countries

The CEO of Brand Finance, David Haigh said: “MTN is to be commended for its performance in its home market as well as further afield. They are increasingly recognized throughout Africa by their customers as providing high-quality service because their brand image is deeply rooted in more than just marketing campaigns”

The report also noted a negative global impact on the brand value of the world’s biggest telecom companies which are set to be impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak. About this, MTN Group CEO, Shuter said, “We have built a sound, robust and resilient organization that can and will weather the storm before us. As a Group, we are taking the decisive steps required to persevere in our MTN spirit of togetherness and a positive, can-do attitude.”

MTN Group was launched in 1994 and has become a leading telecoms company in Africa having outlets and branches all over the continent. In Uganda, MTN has a market share of 10.7 million customers and over 40% of the mobile subscribers in Nigeria, according to Wikipedia.

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MTN Uganda today handed over UGX 21.9 Million to Uganda Red Cross Society that was contributed by their customers. The contributions were made through a MoMoPay merchant code that MTN Uganda launched in April as one of the telecom company’s interventions in the fight against the deadly virus. Through the merchant code, *165*3*191919# MTN customers are in a position to make donations of any amount toward the efforts to combat COVID-19.

Robert Kwesiga the General Secretary Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) said at the launch of the Merchant code that the donations would be used to procure and provide essential food assistance to the most vulnerable households whose livelihoods, from their informal jobs, have been adversely affected by the partial lockdown instituted in response to COVID19 pandemic in Uganda.

Speaking after receiving the money from MTN Uganda on behalf of Red Cross, Dr. Josephine Okwera, the Director of Health and Social Services at URCS was elated that Ugandans had responded positively to the call, but said the struggle is still on and needs more generous Ugandans to come on
board.

“We would really like to thank the community for responding to our call. This money will go a long way in making the lives of some people easier during this hard time. But as you are all aware, the lockdown has been extended so we call upon more Ugandans to come on board so we can rescue those that are worst hit due to the lockdown.”

Dr. Josephine Okwera

Related Article: Top 5 Platforms to Keep Track of COVID-19 Online

MTN Uganda’s Senior Manager corporate affairs and Public Relations, Ms. Rhona Arinaitwe reiterated the company’s commitment to stand together with Ugandans by doing everything it can to reduce the impact that covid19 is having on their lives.

“MTN Uganda will continue to look at ways of supporting our communities and government, to ensure that together, we do everything feasible to get through this difficult time.”

Rhona Arinaitwe

Arinaitwe further noted that the merchant code 191919 will remain open to the public who wish to donate towards the fight against the COVID19 pandemic. The money collected from the merchant code henceforth will be channeled to the National COVID19 Task Force to support their efforts in alleviating the devastating effects of the pandemic.

MTN Uganda waived fees on MTN to MTN Mobile money transactions, it also donated shs220million to National Water to deliver water to water-stressed communities in and around Kampala. The telecom company also handed over three brand new pickup trucks to the Uganda COVID 19 task force as a response to the President’s call for cars. It also provisioned a Toll-Free number 919 for the public to call the Ministry of Health teams and get assistance related to covid19.

The telecom company also has several zero-rated learners’ websites to complement efforts to educate and keep children engaged during the quarantine period. These sites are available at www.mtn.co.ug/learnathome. The ministry of health’s and world health organization’s websites are also zero-rated to facilitate the flow of information.

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The remote working trend got a big push when the COVID 19 pandemic ravaged the world. Today, many companies are supporting their employees to work from home, in adherence to the World Health Organization’s guidelines of social distancing and quarantine to curb the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus. With the advancement in technology and digitalization, working from home in the 21 st century is possible, a few challenges notwithstanding.

With telecommunication services being the backbone of remote working, MTN Uganda, one of the country’s leading Telecommunications services provider organized a webinar to engage the public on how businesses and their employees can harness technology to stay productive while working remotely. The online workshop that was live on the MTN Facebook page saw a panel of MTN Uganda’s Enterprise Business Managers offer expert advice to business owners on how they can optimize remote working to keep their businesses afloat even during the lockdown.

Stella Yobu, MTN’s Key Account Manager for Large Enterprises noted that keeping in close contact with customers even during the lockdown and supporting their needs is important. Keeping all communication lines open including company websites and social media platforms to reach out and respond to client’s needs is critical at such a time. This, she said, can also be a way of companies getting new customers onboard and closing new business deals remotely.

“On-boarding of customers through digital vetting processes and online
documents to close new businesses is possible and I encourage companies to use these digital processes. Telecommuting is the way to go for the future and it is an option that companies should look at.”

Yobu said

She added that companies also need to have online payment solutions to facilitate seamless cash transactions. She noted that due to telecommuting, there has been a tremendous growth in data usage and incredible purchases of data and data-enabled devices as more people are working from home.

Related Article: How to subscribe to Netflix using MTN Mobile Money

Phillip Walera, the Senior Manager, Technology solutions under MTN Business noted that in order to facilitate this fundamental change, MTN Uganda has put in place a plethora of products and services to suit all their customers’ needs as they work remotely. Key among them is the MTN WakaNet which is strictly for home use. It gives users fast internet access from MTN for video calls, e-learning, surfing, gaming, and entertainment among other data-driven services. Other products that can support remote working include closed user group voice calls, Work from home bundles, SME internet packages as well as the Kazi bundles that are specifically tailored to suit the needs of SMEs.

Although there has been a spike in data demand, Sophia Mukasa, the Senior
Manager MTN Enterprise Business Unit noted that voice calls are still a very important part of working from home. As such, MTN Business has ‘closed user groups’ offers to support colleagues who are working remotely yet have to keep in touch to keep work going on.

“Closed user groups products for voice calls are ideal in this situation. Create a group and call each other for free at an affordable fixed price.”

Mukasa said.

She further noted that sponsored data for organizations that want to help their clients to adapt to the digital lifestyle is also available. Sponsored data is where an organization incurs the data cost to allow its clientele access their digital platform at no extra cost, just like the toll-free lines where customers call a service provider without paying for talk time.

“All these services are vital for companies to stay afloat in these times when face to face interactions have been limited due to the Covid19 pandemic.”

Mukasa said.

Mukasa finally encouraged employees to embrace remote working as it offers a unique opportunity to balance work and life while working close to the people that are most important to you. She, however, stressed the need for discipline and commitment to meeting work targets and deadlines even when it might be challenging since it is still a new concept to many albeit necessary for business survival and the health of the economy at large.

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MTN Uganda has had several legal encounters with the tax body, Uganda Revenue Authority, (URA) over unpaid taxes. The encounters have gone through a number of rulings with the latest from the Tax Appeals Tribunal, (TAT) asking MTN to pay UGX 24,273,771,472 (twenty-four billion two hundred seventy-three million seven hundred seventy-one thousand four hundred seventy-two) to URA.

In a statement, MTN Uganda said that it is a responsible and ethical corporate citizen committed to meeting all its lawful obligations including all taxes that are properly assessed and are due and owing. The statement further said that MTN is studying the Tax Appeals Tribunal ruling, taking advice on the implications thereof, and will make every effort to conclude this matter in a fair, legal, and ethical manner.

Related Article: The Ultimate Guide to Using MTN Momo App

In August 2016, URA issued MTN with an assessment of UGX 326,996,917,906 for unpaid taxes arising between the period 2011-2014. By Civil Suit 986 of 2016, MTN challenged the assessment in the High Court and a prolonged reexamination of the available evidence ensued, resulting in a partial consent judgment in June 2018 in favor of MTN, wherein it was agreed that the amount of the assessment was reduced to UGX 24,273,771,472. This residual amount was subject to the interpretation of a technical issue i.e. whether the taxable value of excise duty on airtime was to be charged on usage or at the point of sale, which was referred to the Tax Appeals Tribunal vide TAT Application 8 of 2019.

During the proceedings, both parties conducted further reconciliation and as of 3rd March 2020, the agreed reconciled possible tax, outstanding pending further considerations, was further significantly reduced.  On 28 May 2020, the Tax Appeals Tribunal ruled that excise duty should be charged at the point of sale and accordingly upheld the assessment against MTN. To prevent an overpayment of the reconciled amount, which is significantly lower than UGX 24,273,771,472, MTN on 29 May 2020 obtained an interim order against the enforcement of the several agency notices issued by URA. 

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With the new reality that is the Coronavirus, people and corporates are trying their level best to minimize human-to-human interactions.

While many people are forced to stay home, essential things that were previously mundane, like getting a newspaper is getting harder. In a bid to make that process easier, the print industry is adapting.

Thanks to a new partnership between Safaricom and two major media houses in Kenya —Standard Group and Nation Media Group— Kenyans can now access various e-newspapers from the two publishers for as little as KES 20 per issue.

In the new partnership, the KES 20 price per newspaper includes data usage. This means that the customer’s data bundle will not be consumed when reading through any of these e-newspapers.

How to Get Kenyan e-Newspapers

Well, there are two ways to get access to e-Newspapers from these two media houses in this new partnership. First method is through Safaricom’s website.

Safaricom Website

To get started, simply head on to www.safaricom.com and follow the steps shown in the following screenshots.

It is worth noting that this is only available to Safaricom subscribers. As such, you won’t be able to use this if you’re on WiFi or any other carrier. Any attempts to do so will result in an error message directing you to use your Safaricom line to connect.

Using USSD

For the users who aren’t as tech-savvy but still own smartphones, this method is for you. Essentially, this process simplifies the steps highligted in the previous method.

On your Safaricom line, ensure you have at least KES 20 worth of airtime and proceed to dial *550#.

Select the publication you would like to purchase and proceed to confirm your selection in the subscequent screens. You should then receive an SMS from ENEWSPAPER with a link to read your purchased papers.

The newspapers that are available in the new partnership include publications such as;

• Daily Nation
• Saturday Nation
• Sunday Nation and
• Business Daily, all publications by the Nation Media Group.

The Standard Group‘s publications that can be accessed through this partnership include titles such as;

• The Standard
• Saturday Standard,
• Sunday Standard and 
• The Nairobian.

It is also important to note that every issue purchased will be available for 7 days before it is discarded. Also, I have been trying to find a way to download the newspaper as a PDF document to little success. We have since reached out to Safaricom seeking clarification on the same and we shall update when we get feedback from the carrier.

The initiative is part of Safaricom’s contribution in the fight against COVID-19 by empowering customers to conveniently access the newspapers even as they limit their movement.

The post How to Get e-Newspapers in Kenya for Just KES 20 appeared first on Dignited.

A number of students have come out to testify about how MTN Uganda’s support for e-learning has benefitted them during the lockdown that was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MTN Uganda recently zero-rated the e-learning portals of most Universities in the country. This was due to the fact that schools had been closed and students were required to continue reading from home.

“When Universities closed in March, I thought it would be for a short time so I decided to take a break from studies and relax a bit,” says Doreen Namuli, a second-year student of Economics at Makerere University. “But when the first three weeks ended, I started feeling rusty and I knew I had to read in order not to lose grips on what I had learned and hopefully, use this time to read ahead.”

It goes without saying that most university courses are research-based and average students typically spend more time in the library than in the lecture rooms. Therefore, reading notes and handouts alone did not make much sense to Namuli as she needed to refer to the referenced material which she did not have. “Back at campus, I would easily download this material from the library or anywhere around the University with WiFi,” says Namuli “So I asked my parents to buy me data bundles.” Although the bundles were availed, Namuli knows that they were costly especially at such a time when her mother’s business remains closed due to the Covi19 prevention guidelines.

Like Namuli, Lynn Kwikiriza, a third-year Law student at Uganda Christian University admitted to the biting cost of data while studying at home; “I was used to opting for the library Wi-Fi while at the campus. Mobile data while at home is quite costly given these hard times.”

Related Article: Covid19: MTN Uganda enables free access to select educational websites

In different phone interviews with some university students, they all express the high cost of accessing learning material online. However, MTN closed that gap by zero-rating university eLearning sites, just like it did for the Primary and secondary school learners. Students from universities including Makerere, Uganda Christian University, Uganda Martyrs, Kyambogo, International University of East Africa, Mbarara, and Gulu are benefitting from this offer. By zero-rating the eLearning platforms, lecturers can upload study materials to the platforms at no data cost to enable students to study for free while at home.

“Oh my God, It’s the best offer ever. You know how lawyers read widely and heavily. I am sorted,” Kwikiriza said hysterically. “It’s amazing and very convenient. I can see their results and course work marks at any time without data worries.”

This offer has seen many learners get out of their comfort zones and study despite the pandemic and lockdown. According to Trevor Ochom, a final year student of Education at Kyambogo University this offer is an answered prayer.

“When it’s all said and done, I know we shall have quite a marathon back at university once schools reopen. So the best way to keep up is by reading ahead while at home,” says Ochom, noting that this offer makes studying while at home very easy. “You don’t even need a laptop, a simple smartphone is enough. I appeal to fellow students to use their time at home productively.”

According to Kwikiriza, the content on the website is insightful and students have no excuse whatsoever when it comes to studying: ”I would totally recommend it to my course mates and friends seeing as we need all the information we can get at the moment.”

Makerere University Vice-Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe has lauded the telecommunications giant for this gesture saying it will go a long way in enabling students to catch up on lost study time as they will now have access to the study materials at no cost.

“Our negotiations with MTN Uganda yielded a lot of fruit as the telecom company has accepted to zero-rate six of our (Makerere University) online learning platforms. We applaud them for this. I now urge our students and lecturers to take advantage of this opportunity,” Said Prof Nawangwe when MTN first announced the offer, two weeks ago.

MTN Uganda is dedicated to helping and impacting the communities positively and this is one of the ways the company is reaching out to students that may have a hard time accessing study materials on the internet because of financial constraints.

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MTN Uganda has promoted Ms. Juliet K Nsubuga to the position of General Manager Wholesale and carrier services. She will now be in charge of telecom to telecom partnerships that enable MTN customers to have a great service experience when out of the country through roaming and locally when they call to other networks; as well as managing infrastructure services to other telecom providers.

Juliet, who has spent sixteen years already at MTN Uganda, will now have the obligation to ensure that the infrastructure is right, the service is great, and channels of delivery are robust to serve the customers directly or indirectly. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience, Ms. Nsubuga is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM-UK), holds a Master’s degree in Economic Policy and Planning and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Makerere University Kampala.

Related Article: How to Fix iPhone Dropped Calls on MTN Uganda Network

Her previous roles at MTN Uganda include Senior Manager Sales Operations, Senior Manager Business Sales, and Manager Government Sales. She was also part of the team that initiated and delivered the successful electronic airtime distribution platform. This project seamlessly ushered in electronic airtime distribution when the Government issued the directive to the industry.

Ms. Nsubuga started her career in Sales and Marketing in different management and executive positions in the Petroleum, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), and Telecommunication industries for Global and Multinational organizations prior to joining MTN Uganda. Throughout her career, she consistently generated additional footfall and revenue for every company she has worked for, leaving behind a commendable legacy. She is a devoted wife and mother of three children who enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and youth outreach through her church community.

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In times like these filled with lots of uncertainty, it saves to keep some MTN MoMo to pay for products and services like airtime, voice and data bundles, Yaka, National Water, shopping, and much more. MTN Uganda has today launched a campaign aimed at sensitizing customers on why it’s important to save with MTN MoMo and the associated benefits like the convenience of paying for products and services like airtime, voice and data bundles, among others.

In the campaign that will run under the theme, “Keep some Money on MTN MoMo, It saves”, MTN Uganda is encouraging customers to keep some money with MTN MoMo on their phones, because it is convenient, safe and could come to their rescue in emergency situations. Although it is inconveniencing, some customers would rather walk to the shop to buy airtime, bundles or MBs, and even to pay for their utility bills, yet they can conveniently use MTN MoMo from wherever they are. However, customers wish they had mobile money on the phones more so in emergency situations.

Related Article: How to subscribe to Netflix using MTN Mobile Money

“This new campaign is about encouraging our customers to keep some MTN MoMo on their phones because it saves.”

Stephen Mutana, the General Manager, Mobile Financial Services at MTN Uganda.

“You don’t have to deposit all your money, keep some on MTN MoMo to use it when you need it most. For example, if you have 5,000/-, you can deposit 2,000/- on your MTN MoMo account. This 2,000/- will come in handy when you need to buy airtime or data bundles at night when the shop is closed or if your power goes off at night and you need to buy Yaka units.”

Stephen Mutana, the General Manager, Mobile Financial Services at MTN Uganda.

With MTN MoMo, you can do many things from buying airtime, voice and data bundles, and can also conveniently pay for shopping at the supermarket, pay for fuel, and much more conveniently using their phone, anytime, anywhere. Even for school fees, MTN MoMo customers no longer need to queue at the bank for hours.

You can deposit as low as 500/- on your MTN MoMo account and dial *165# or use the MTN Momo App for safe, reliable, and convenient transactions. You are also cautioned to keep your MTN MoMo PIN safe and not to share it with anyone.

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Mobile Money has revolutionized how we transact with each other in Africa. However, for the most part, these mobile money platforms only work well among users on the same platform (in the same country).

Thankfully, we now live in the digital age and international boundaries aren’t enough to stop us from conducting business across nations. In that spirit, it is getting increasingly easy to send and receive money across countries using mobile money.

We have recently covered Chipper Cash and we’ve seen how it allows users to send and receive money from Kenya to Uganda and other African countries for free. Today, we look at yet another service, Tingg.

In Kenya, most people pciture Tingg as an app used to pay bills and purchase airtime for any Kenyan carrier using M-PESA. The company has partnered with SimbaPay in a bid to diversify its services and allow international money transfer.

Send Money to Uganda Using Tingg

First off, it is worth noting that this service also allows users to send funds to India, China, and Uganda.

Users will need to dial *369# on their Kenyan number. We tried this on Safaricom and it worked flawlessly. We shall try the same using Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya update accordingly.

Follow the steps outlined below:

• Dial *369#
• Select option 6, International Funds Transfer
• Enter your full name as the Sender
• Select ‘Enter Mobile number’ and input the recipient’s mobile number.
• Confirm the country you would wish to send the money to, in this case it will be Uganda based on the phone number entered in the previous step.
• Enter the recipient’s full name
• Select the destination of your money, between Bank and Mobile Money.
• Enter the amount you wish to send.
• You will then get a summary of the transaction you’re about to make, complete with the exchange rate used.
• Confirm this and you’ll be redirected to your M-PESA mobile money account.
• Input your M-PESA PIN to authenticate this transaction.

And just like that, the money is on its way to the recipient’s mobile money wallet. In our testing, David was able to receive the funds directly into his MTN Mobile money wallet.

Also worth noting is that, like Chipper Cash, Tingg doesn’t charge any transaction fees to perform this transaction.

It is encouraging to see startups and fintech companies pushing for international money transfers and making it cheaper to do business across boarders.

The post How to Send Money from Kenya to Uganda using Tingg appeared first on Dignited.

MTN Uganda has launched the second edition of the MTN Dabolo promotion that will see MTN customers once again enjoying a 100% bonus on daily data bundles. The promotion dubbed MTN Dabolo 4G will only be available for customers using 4G SIM cards and will run for six weeks.

First introduced in 2019, MTN Dabolo which was meant to give back to MTN customers went on to become very popular among users prompting its re-introduction this year with improvements to make the customer experience even better. MTN Uganda says that the reason it has been restricted to customers using 4G SIM cards is that 4G gives customers a faster and better internet browsing experience.

With this new enhanced offer, MTN customers will get double data every time they load daily bundles on their 4G SIM cards. For example, a customer who buys 15MBs at UGX 250/- gets 30MBs, one who loads 100MBs at UGX1,000/- gets 200MBs, and those that load 1GB at UGX 5,000/- get 2GBs for the same price. Both the purchased and bonus data are valid for 24 hours from the time of activation. To activate a daily data bundle, a customer simply dials *150*10# or can use www.mtn.co.ug/mymtn to load MBs using airtime or MTN MoMo.

Related Article: MTN Uganda partners with ayoba, Africa’s own SuperApp

MTN Uganda’s Chief Marketing Officer, Somdev Sen explained that the promotion has been designed to not only give customers more MBs but also a much better Internet browsing experience using 4G.

“Using 4G to browse the Internet guarantees a much faster experience. This means better connectivity, faster uploads, and downloads of videos, faster access to and sharing of content by users among other benefits.”

Somdev explained

MTN Uganda is offering a free 4G SIM card upgrade to those customers using older SIM card types in a bid to enable more customers to access the benefits of both the promotion and the 4G experience. The free upgrades are available at any MTN Shop across the country.

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In the midst of a tough year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the internet culture and controversial tech-like digital currencies are finally getting an audience and seeing a market boom. Today, Facebook-owned platform, WhatsApp Inc is bringing one of the most-requested features of all time, the WhatsApp payment, to users in India.

There are so many reasons to be excited about this feature. From the economic significance to the near term opportunities unlocked for cryptos and all form of digital currencies. There’s also the eye-opening effect that may lead to an expected increase in activity from the traditional finance sector in the domain.

To give you some perspective, WhatsApp first started testing out the payment system in India two years ago back in 2018. But, it ran into regulatory issues soon after, raising concerns related to user data.

However, as of 5th November 2020, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an organization responsible for Unified Payment Interface (UPI) infrastructure announced that it granted WhatsApp the approval to roll out their UPI-based payment service in the country. WhatsApp subsequently announced the rollout of the service to users across the country of India.

Here’s what you need to know about WhatsApp’s payment service.

How to Set up the Whatsapp Payment Feature in India

WhatsApp payment feature in India relies on the country’s Unified Payments Interface framework to facilitate money transfer. To get started with payments on WhatsApp, a user first have to link all their bank accounts to the service.

READ ALSO: What is WhatsApp Banking and how does it work?

UPI works primarily with your phone number and the service currently works with five of the leading banks in India: ICICI, Axis, State Bank of India, HDFC, and Jio Payments Bank. Even if you don’t have a UPI account set up with your bank, you will be able to use the payment option within WhatsApp as it will automatically create a Unified Payments Interface ID for you.

With WhatsApp payment, users are required to have a bank account and a debit card to be able to send money. To simplify the transaction process, WhatsApp sends instructions to banks (payment service providers) to initiate the transfer of money between the sender and receiver bank accounts via UPI.

In terms of security, the service will require users to enter their UPI PIN for each transaction they make on the platform and the maximum transaction limit is Rs 1 lakh per day. But depending on your bank, the maximum transaction limit varies (but it should be less than Rs 1 lakh).

Do you think the WhatsApp payment feature will supercharge the adoption of digital currencies across the globe? Let us know in the comment section.

To wrap it up, NPCI says that WhatsApp payment will be available to a maximum of 20 million users in the country and will enforce a cap to ensure no payments service processes more than 30% of UPI transactions in a month.

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Amazfit officially launched the mini version—the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini— of the second iteration of its GTS smartwatch, on the 1st of December. The Amazfit GTS was launched a year ago, and Huami, the company behind the Amazfit GTS smartwatches, has since gone on to launch the second version of its flagship smartwatch.

The Amazfit GTS 2 was a pretty impressive device, but Amazfit has gone a step further and now released it in a smaller & slimmer frame. However, the GTS 2 mini retains the same features as its big brother, with the only difference being its size.

Let us examine the headline features of this new smartwatch.

Display

The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini smartwatch features a 1.55-inch AMOLED screen, down from the 1.65-inch AMOLED screen featured on the primary GTS 2. It also has a 354×306 pixel panel with a pixel density of 301 ppi. Additionally, the GTS 2 Mini’s panel supports more than 50 watch faces, and just like the Apple Watch 6, it has an always-on display.

Design

The GTS 2 Mini has a body dimension of 40.5 x 35.8 x 8.95mm and comes in a really lightweight 19.5g (without strap) frame. It comes in three colors namely Deep Pine Green, Rose Pink, and Obsidian Black. The watch is also designed to be water-resistant and can be submerged up to 50 meters deep without getting damaged.

Battery

Packing a 220mAh battery in a smaller frame with a smaller display means less power consumption, and that is why the GTS 2 Mini can deliver the power numbers that the company claims it does. The watch can deliver up to 14 days of use on a full charge when used in its regular mode. Switch to battery saving mode and you can get up to 21 days out of the watch without needing to charge it.

Sensors

The GTS 2 Mini is equipped with Huami’s own BioTracker optical sensor, which delivers 24 hours of heart rate monitoring with detailed heart data and abnormal values detection warnings. The smartwatch also has a blood oxygen sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an ambient light sensor.

Amazfit GTS 2 Mini Features at a Glance

The GTS 2 Mini features the following specifications:

• 1.55-inch AMOLED display.
• Over 70 sports modes.
• Both Android and iOS support.
• Bluetooth 5.0.
• Xiao AI Voice Assistant.
• Water Resistance (up to 50m).
• Size and weight: 40.5×35.8×8.95mm; 19.5g (without strap).
• 220mAh battery.

The GTS 2 Mini is already available for pre-order in China, and officially goes on sale on December 10. It sells at ¥699 per unit (about $106), and will be hitting retail stores worldwide in the coming weeks.

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Xiaomi has announced a new smartwatch under its sub-brand, Redmi. While Redmi has its own wireless earbuds, this is Redmi’s first-ever smartwatch, and it boasts some pretty decent features. The new Redmi Watch has a 1.4-inch rectangular touchscreen LCD display and comes in three color variants—Black, White, and Blue.

The strap, which is made from silicon, comes in Pink, Blue, Green, White, and Black. Besides the touchscreen display, the Redmi Watch also has a side button. This side button works alongside the touch display to navigate through the apps and menus and select options in the watch interface. The Redmi watch can also be operated by means of the Mi Fit app on any paired smartphone.

Other features present in the new Redmi smartwatch include water resistance (up to 50 meters), over 120 watch faces, Near Field Communication (NFC) which helps to make payment processes seamless, a heart-rate monitor that monitors your heartbeat all day long, and Bluetooth 5.0.

Redmi’s maiden smartwatch also has 7 sport modes, and at 35 grams, it has a really lightweight design. When connected to a smartphone, the watch can serve as a personal digital assistant, offering the user notifications for calls, SMS, and third-party apps.

Redmi makes some really bold claims about this smartwatch’s battery life. The Redmi Watch is said to be able to deliver up to 7 days of juice on a full charge. And if you switch to the power saving mode, you can get an extra 5 days on that 7-day battery life.

Redmi Watch Features at a Glance

The core features of the newly-announced Xiaomi smartwatch are:

• 1.4-inch 320×320 pixels LCD screen.
• Bluetooth 5.0.
• Multifunctional NFC.
• Water Resistance (up to 50 metres).
• 230mAh battery
• Size and weight: 41x35x10.9mm; 35g.

The Redmi Watch has already been launched in China on December 1 at an attractive price of 299 Yuan, which is about $45. It is expected to hit stores globally in the coming weeks.

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2020 was a rough year for most people due to the global crisis that is COVID-19. Perhaps the saving grace or silver lining throughout the whole crisis period was the cushioning offered by governments and corporations.

In Kenya, we saw the Value Added Taxes slashed down from 16% to 14% and companies such as Safaricom, Airtel Kenya and more, coming out to offer discounts on their services.

Well, things are beginning to ease up and these relief measures are getting scrapped off one after the other. In line with that, Safaricom is looking to offer it’s M-PESA customers a little reprieve moving forward.

The company recently announced its new M-PESA charges and tariffs that took effect on January 1, 2021.

M-PESA Charges for 2021

Below is a table listing how much it’ll cost you to perform a transaction on Safaricom’s Mobile money platform, M-PESA in 2021.

Additionally, Safaricom is retaining the free M-PESA to Bank transactions, a measure that was brought in to encourage cashless transactions in a bid to curb the spread of Coronavirus.

Also, being retained is the increased capacity of an M-PESA account. M-PESA users can now have up to Ksh 300,000 on their M-PESA mobile wallet accounts while the daily limit to transactions is also retained at Ksh 300,000.

Safaricom remains the biggest teleco in Kenya with a market share of a little over 60%, according to data from the Communication Authority. It’s mobile money platform, M-PESA, continues to reigns supreme in the country with a 99% market share.

The post Here Are the Updated M-Pesa Transaction Charges for 2021 appeared first on Dignited.

We live in a time where buzzword like “data is the new oil” floods the digital space and most of us can’t even seem to make sense of such statements. The best place to learn about data and how you can harness its usage is from communities like DataFest Kampala 2021 edition.

The 3rd edition of DataFest Kampala was launched last Friday with a focus on exploring the role that data plays in how we navigate our world. The event will be a hybrid physical and virtual gathering with limited slots of 200 participants to attend physically at MoTIV (Bugolobi Kampala).

Participant numbers are restricted to 20-30 per session in compliance with Covid-19 SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures).

DataFest Kampala 2021 (themed “Living with Data“), is an international community event in Africa bringing together technologists, data scientists, civil society organizations, designers, government bodies, marketers, and businesses to connect and explore opportunities for collaborations.

The Agenda/Roadmap

• Feb 2021: Datafest 2021 launch. Call for speakers and workshop proposals.
• March 1st: Announces Keynote speakers.
• March 29th: Open registration for participants.
• March 22nd: Final Agenda released to the public
• April 29th: Day One. Opening ceremony, workshops, and breakaway sessions.
• April 30th: Day Two. Workshops and remote side events, network events, and closing ceremonies.

How to Apply to Be a Speaker or Partner

Applications for interested experts or enthusiasts are online from the official DataFest Kampala website or click here to automatically apply.

Speakers are invited to give lightning talks, workshops, meetups, and tech demos under overall three major themes:

1. Pandemic and Data
2. E-Governance and Leadership
3. Work, Entertainment & Learning

Collaborators and partners can apply to join the event using this link.

Related Article: How big data can create innovation-led entrepreneurship

Final Words

Data holds the answers on how to make our lives better. From entertainment to health and education; we need a reliable source of data to make decisions.

Africa has been growing as a kernel for data collection and mining, with an ever-expanding data-dependent startup sector, especially in the fintech and transportation domains.

Speaking at the launch, Arthur Kakande, the Data Products Lead at Pollicy said;

“We have seen huge increases in downloads of communication apps like
Telegram, more subscriptions for Netflix, and more Zoom classes and meetings in the past year. For each of these, volumes of data are collected which makes DataFest important. We can make people more aware of what happens to this data” Arthur noted

Data continues to be embedded in everyone’s daily lives, having both subtle
and drastic impacts.

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While the COVID-19 pandemic hit a lot of businesses hard (forcing a couple to shut down), a few others saw significant growth. Flutterwave, for instance, reported that the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the shift towards digital mode payments in Nigeria.

This led to a surge in new users, and that eventually caught the attention of investors who have now invested in Flutterwave and helped it achieve its unicorn status.

Flutterwave, one of Africa’s biggest financial technology companies, announced that it has raised $170 million in Series C funding. This takes the company’s valuation to over a billion dollars—joining the likes of Jumia and Interswitch who have also achieved unicorn status.

According to TechCrunch, the Series C round was led by New York-based private investment firm, Avenir Growth Capital and US hedge fund and investment firm, Tiger Global.

Other investors that took part in the round include DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft Capital, Insight Ventures, PayPal, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Management, and Worldpay FIS 9yards Capital.

Flutterwave has an active presence in over 20 African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. According to reports, the fintech company has processed over 140 million transactions valued at over $9 billion for businesses including Uber, Facebook, and Booking.com since it launched in 2016.

This latest round brings Flutterwave’s total funding to $255 million. With this new fund, the company aims to become a global payment company (expanding into new markets) and speed up customer acquisition in its present markets.

It also plans to improve service delivery on its existing products like Barter (a product with over 500,000 active users) and Flutterwave Store (
a portal created to allow African merchants to create digital shops to sell products online).

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When social media and the digital economy were morphing into a force to reckon with and shaping the media industry, in our backyard, a group of 3 friends started out Addmaya–a film, design, and digital production agency that elevates ambitious brands through stunning visuals and creative storytelling.

A few years ago, we initially caught up with the founders in the early stages of building the company and they shared with us the vision and their genesis story of starting out in a garage. 6 years later as the start-up celebrates its 12th anniversary, we thought it best time to revisit this vital question: is the creative industry ripe in Uganda?

How can brands leverage the power of digital production especially in a small and competitive environment?

Humble Beginnings 

COVID acted as a catalyst that drove the adoption of digital tools. Right now, businesses are adopting digital arms to diversify their reach (to their customer base). Facebook, Twitter, delivery apps, online marketplaces, and WhatsApp Statuses have become go-to avenues for businesses to showcase and sell their products.

Digital arms have become almost mandatory for businesses to help understand their customer needs. Creative agencies are also better poised to help brands visualize and actualize concepts or ideas. These agencies achieve this through myriads of channels, primarily by crafting high-quality content tailored for each medium.

The presence of fully-fledged digital production agencies like Addmaya breeds confidence in the industry. These agencies also lay a fertile ground for creatives who are open to leverage the power of technology to add value both to brands and customers.

The creative industry in Uganda has greatly improved from 12 years ago when AddMaya started. Back then, the grounds seemed ripe for anyone starting out–digital marketing to creative designs, film, and software developers. 

The movement has seen the birth and introduction of new bespoke communities like MoTIV, a curated community for artisans, mechatronics, fabrics, media, filmmakers, food innovators dedicated to building a creative business on top of hubs and business incubation centers. 

The ultimate goal of all these emerging innovations is to amplify the creative scene, convening people to share ideas, inspiration, and experiences for a common vision and voice for the sector. 

Today, Addmaya boasts of an impressive portfolio as well as a rich catalog of clients. From Bank of Uganda to MTN Uganda to NSSF, Stanbic Bank, Bank of Africa, and Unilever. It’s however worth noting that the beginnings were no short of pitfalls.

READ ALSO: Addmaya: An Incredibly Inspiring Story Of One of Uganda’s Most Successful StartUps Begun In A Garage

More Can Be Done

Nothing excites more than technology. Lately, we all make transitions across multiple devices from smartphones, tablets, and laptops, and ever since consumers started adopting personal digital gadgets, brands were forced to adapt their marketing activities to digital spaces (display ads, search ads, social media, YouTube, and so on).

Now here is where it gets pretty much interesting for creatives and production agencies to utilize the power of tech to capture people’s attention and shape user experiences.

How can you understand the requirements of your audience and create content to help them, without expecting anything in return? With a genuine interest in helping people, not expecting a transaction in return.

Then leverage this high-quality attention to build trust which in turn can lead to a customer buying a product fully satisfied with the quality, features, benefits, and how it is going to help them.

According to Adweek, 82% of people are consuming video online daily and this provides another untapped opportunity/world for creatives to make the digital experience even more helpful for everyone.

From making short videos to more personalized experiences on websites or apps, production agencies like Addmaya can leverage new tech like AI to help people be more proactive online.

Reading success stories or watching interviews of people who succeeded gives us confidence and inspiration. It helps us believe we can also achieve such results. And that’s what this is all about. Cheers to Addmaya for the 12th anniversary and here’s to many more years of inspiring the industry.

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MTN Uganda has thrown its weight behind the local movie industry with the launch of a new video-on-demand (VOD) channel offering a premium mix of local Ugandan movies dubbed as “Kibanda Xpress.”

The new channel is a partnership between the telecom company and PearlWood, an association of local film producers. Kibanda Xpress is available on YoTV channels, a mobile app that allows one to stream local and international Radio and TV channels in real-time.

Kibanda Xpress features over 150 Ugandan movies and will live stream premiers of new movies as well other local entertainment content. The channel conveniently provides you with affordable entertainment anywhere and everywhere at the click of a button on your phone.

READ ALSO: Addmaya at 12: Is the Creative Industry Ripe in Uganda?

In 2020, globally there was unprecedented growth in online video usage with revenues estimated at $34 billion of which premium video on demand accounted for at least $630 million. Africa is gradually making its mark on the global entertainment industry with its vast talent and unique flavor of storytelling.

We recognize the potential of the movie industry to create employment, reposition the African narrative and positively contribute to the national GDP. Through Kibanda Xpress, we hope to boost the Uganda film industry to realize that potential.

MTN Uganda Chief Marketing Officer, Sen Somdev

The service launches with a promotion subscription offer of 1,000UGX per movie valid for a period of 24 hours. A customer will be charged via their MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) account.

RELATED ARTICLE: Top Video and Music Streaming Services Available in Uganda

How to Watch a Movie on Kibanda Express

Follow these steps to watch a movie on Kibanda Express:

Step 1: Download and install the YoTV app from Playstore for Android devices and Appstore for iPhones.

Step 2: Subscribe and login to the YoTV app, select VOD.

Step 3: Browse and select the movie of your choice then follow prompts to complete payment.

How to Register for YoTV and Prices in Uganda

YoTV having been backed by MTN Uganda, users need a registered MTN number to register and have access to the on-demand video app YoTV.

Step 1: Download and install the YoTV Channel app

Step 2: You will be welcomed to the login screen. Click the register button and enter your phone number to receive your PIN.

Step 3: Click login, enter your phone number, and the PIN to access all your favorite TV and radio shows online.

The biggest perks with YoTV is you get free 30 days of data and a trial to enjoy the services. Below is the different price for YoTV service in Uganda.

Paying for your YoTV when the trial period has ended is pretty much straightforward. Log in to your account, navigate to the accounts tabs in the bottom left corner, and later choose the recharge/purchase option.

Select your preferred bouquet and check out the payment using your mobile money number.

YOTVChannels is a platform for local content. There is a unique tradition of storytelling in every country; MTN and PearlWood’s “Kibanda Xpress” service will open doors for different stakeholders to support the film and creative industry at large within the country.

We are noticing new trends and frontiers opening with the introduction of NFTs and the crypto market. Maybe this is the new defacto channel to help creatives in Uganda earn and tap into a new form of reward for their talent. Lets us know in the comment section your thoughts on Kibanda Xpress and if you’re using YoTV services.

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Andela is a global talent network that helps companies build remote engineering teams.

After launching in Nigeria in 2014, Andela quickly expanded to other African countries (Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda) to aggregate, vet, and train software engineers. Afterward, the startup gets them remote employments from international companies.

Founded by Jeremy Johnson, Christina Sass, Nadayar Enegesi, Ian Carnevale, Brice Nkengsa, and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Andela raised more than $180 million in funding since it launched.

How Andela Works

Andela sources software engineers, pay a monthly salary for the first six months, and helps them improve their skills via training and mentorship. According to Techcrunch, over 100,000 software engineers have participated in the company’s learning network and community.

In September of 2019, Andela laid off 420 junior engineers across Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria, after noticing its model wasn’t sustainable. A few months later, it made the decision to also go fully remote, shutting down all of its physical offices.

Fast forward to today, Andela announces its global expansion. No doubt, the decision to shut down its physical offices was the right one.

“That went so well and we thought ‘what if we accelerated it now that we’re remote and just enable applicants from anywhere?’ because it was always the plan to become a global company. That was clear, but the timing was the question. We did that and it’s been an amazing experiment,”

According to Andela’s CEO Jeremy Johnson

Currently, Andela has a pool of engineers in over 37 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, and Europe. These engineers serve over 200 customers, including Coursera, GitHub, and Cloudflare.

According to Andela’s Head of Talent Operations, the global expansion will further increase its footprint, creating more opportunities for the company to showcase the visibility into the capabilities of engineers from the continent.

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