Mara Online is an online and mobile eco-system that allows users to communicate, interact and collaborate with each other via social portals, while building communities that are centered around common interests and information needs.

The platform is a convergence of web and mobile technology that creates user-driven experiences spanning from educational tools for entrepreneurs to highly interactive mobile applications that provide connectivity to people across the globe.

In a official statement, Mara Group explained that the vision of the new online and mobile platform is to “become the first most inspirational choice for connecting African youth across the continent and to the world.”

This year Mara Online will launch 3 mobile applications – Mara Messenger, BuzzMe, and Mara Connect, a free mobile VoIP, will allow smartphone and tablet users across Africa to call and text for free, both domestically and internationally.

“Launching today, I am confident that Mara Connect will shake up the market and become the premier choice for connecting people in Africa and beyond, while reducing consumers’ costs for mobile communication”, Ashish said.

31 year old, Ashish J. Thakkar has a personal net worth of around $260 million (or R2.2 billion, making him a billionaire by South African Rand values). His business has operations in several countries including Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Angola and Botswana.

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VENTURES AFRICA – The Kenyan government has launched an online portal encouraging cooperative societies to fully incorporate ICT to meet Vision 2030 targets.

A developed web portal, Africoop, enables cooperatives intending to create their web page to do business and compete with others.

The Daily Nation reports Phillip Gichuki, national deputy cooperative commissioner, as saying cooperatives had not adjusted to using of information technology and urged them to develop an online presence.

“Adapting information and communication technology will assist the firms to market themselves by enhancing their visibility in the market place,” he said, adding the service will also facilitate quicker access to cooperative data among cooperatives and other users.

“We developed this portal after realising the slow uptake of technology among local cooperatives most of which do not even have a website. You have to appreciate the importance of online presence in today’s business world,” said Anthony Kabugi, the developer of the software.

The portal has recruited over 20 cooperative members since its inception last month.

It provides a link to the web which directs users to the upload address, product information and business profile.

“We believe the product will change the business of local cooperatives. Our target is to have at least 500 of them on the portal by the end of the year,” said Kabugi, adding that the plan is to create a one-stop site in which one can find information about all the cooperatives in the region.

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VENTURES AFRICA – Nigeria’s online megastore Konga.com has revealed more Nigerians use its mobile platform for e-commerce than its recently launched SMS platform, saying users were still getting used to the idea of an SMS platform.

In an exclusive interview with HumanIPO, Onyeka Akumah, vice president for marketing at Konga.com, said shoppers were still adjusting to the idea of the recently launched SMS2ORDER platform as it was the first of its kind in the market.

“With SMS2ORDER platform, people are still warming up to it because we are the first company to do it in the country, although in the first 48 hours we had close to 60 orders from SMS2ORDER but a lot of those orders were from people trying the platform to see whether it actually works or not,” he said.

“With that I’ll say SMS is still pretty new in Nigeria and people are just warming up to it.”

He however stated that the company is confident in the success of the SMS2ORDER platform.

“Gradually it [SMS2ORDER] will become a big program we unleashed; but for now, mobile web is still bigger than SMS for e-commerce in Nigeria,” he said. “Serious customers come to mobile, make orders and actually end up purchasing and having goods delivered to them.”

Stressing the need for education, he said prior exposure to mobile web helped mobile users to quickly adapt to Konga.com’s mobile platform. He said with increased customer education, SMS platform will also become successful

“What you will also not miss out is that most of the mobile shoppers are people that have already had the experience shopping online, so there is that education already compared to SMS that is just being introduced. Once the education is there, gradually the gap between mobile and SMS will decrease,” he said.

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VENTURES AFRICA – The GSMA has opened an African headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, as the organisation seeks more cooperation with the sector stakeholders in the continent.

The association says the decision to open a point of presence in the African continent was informed by the fact the region is now more vibrant than other regions and a critical market for the mobile industry.

According to the director general Anne Bouverot the sector also holds huge potential in tackling unemployment in the region and boost regional economies.

“The rapid pace of mobile adoption has delivered an explosion of innovation and huge economic benefits in the region, directly contributing US$ 32 billion to the Sub-Saharan African economy, or 4.4 per cent of GDP. With necessary spectrum allocations and transparent regulation, the mobile industry could also fuel the creation of 14.9 million new jobs in the region between 2015 and 2020,” she said in a statement.

The region has also amongst the highest growths in mobile connections, with the association’s statistics projecting a 50 per cent growth in the next five years, with connections reaching 750 million from the current 500 million mark surpassed in Q1 2013.

The GSMA warns this growth will require more harmonised spectrum for mobile or the continent risks undermining its broadband and development goals as the amounts of allocated spectrum among the lowest in the world.

It says the delivery of mobile broadband to rural populations should be a priority.

“A positive and supportive regulatory environment and sufficient spectrum allocation is critical to the further growth of mobile in Africa. I am confident that now that we have a physical presence in Africa, we will be able to work together with our members to put the conditions in place that will facilitate the expansion of mobile, bringing important connectivity and services to all in the region,” said Bouverot.

In Africa the GSMA mostly focuses on regulatory, environmental, and roaming issues, with the GSMA Africa secretariat overseeing research on taxation, spectrum and other issues of particular relevance to the African mobile industry.

The office will be located at the iHub.

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VENTURES AFRICA – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation, has assembled financial players to build further momentum for mobile financial services in Ivory Coast.

Considering mobile access to financial services a key element in the fight against poverty, the IFC held a seminar yesterday in Abidjan to discuss the eradication of poverty amongst citizens.

Though Ivory Coast has more than 90 percent mobile penetration, only 14 percent of the population have access to financial services.

Cassandra Colbert, IFC resident representative in Ivory Coast, said: “IFC and the MasterCard Foundation want to help local financial institutions realize the opportunity in Cote d’Ivoire for the development of agent banking and mobile financial services that will accelerate the reach of financial services to those currently without banking services.”

During the event the market potential for financial increases to small scale businesses in rural areas and low income households were emphasised.

Through a four year plan the collaboration will work on the improvement of the Ivorian financial situation through mobility.

“Improving access to finance is important for supporting shared prosperity in Cote d’Ivoire,” Colbert added.

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“Our desire is to flood the Nigerian and African mobile phone markets with Tecno smartphones.” Boukali Mounir is the Director, Brands and Marketing, Tecno Telecomssaid in an interview early this month.

Etisalat and Tecno had previously introduced a co-branded Dual SIM phone, the T341 alongside a 12-month free data bundle for a range of Tecno smartphones and internet phones which include the N7, Q1, P3, T756, T736 & T608.

Tecno’s partnership with Etisalat will allow consumers who buy the Tecno P3 get 100MB free data monthly for a period of twelve month. powered by Easyblaze on the Etisalat 3.75G network.

The Tecno P3 which comes with 3G internet access is an entry-level smartphone that runs on Android 2.3Gingerbread operating system, and powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7225A processor to offer users 3G smartphone experience, good battery life, and easy access to the Internet and multiple social networks.

Speaking on the partnership, Tecno Group Vice President, Arif Chowdhury, said, “We realised that Internet savvy Nigerians are in dire need of a fast, innovative and seamless Internet experience. These experiences are what Tecno P3 smartphone brings, and that also informs why we partnered with Etisalat.”

However, customers are left with the choice to choose either the Etisalat customised version available at Etisalat experience centres and its partner retailers, or buy the un-customised version from Tecno’s partner retailers nationwide, as it comes with the same data bundle offer as the customised version.

The Chief Commercial Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar, said, “The telecommunications industry has seen an increased demand for data and smartphones in recent times, and it is important for network providers and phone manufacturers to continue to collaborate and initiate products and services to satisfy these needs.

“Etisalat’s most advanced 3.75G, HSPA+ Network and its easyblaze broadband service with speed up to 42 mbps combined with these Tecno phones is yet another example of our continuous effort to bring our customers easy, affordable and reliable access to the Internet.”

Also speaking at the event, the Director of Business Development for Qualcomm West Africa, Mr. Alex Dadson, said, “Our partnership with Tecno in manufacturing smartphones according to the Qualcomm Reference Design continues to offer the Nigerian market the best 3G smartphone experience.

“QRD is the only program of its kind that brings together the value of the mobile industry leader with specific products, features and programmes for emerging markets. Tecno’s P3 leverages the power of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor to give consumers an affordable smartphone that delivers a superior user experience.”

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According to the commission’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Reuben Muoka, 269 pre-registered SIM cards were either reported to the commission or purchased in compliance to monitoring and enforcement exercises conducted by the Commission, and validated by the offending network.

“In furtherance of the ongoing enforcement of the provisions of the Telephone Subscribers Registration Regulations, 2011, the NCC has imposed fines on four mobile services operators for contravening the provisions on pre-registration of SIM cards in Nigeria. The fines imposed are based on the number of fully activated new SIM cards that were either reported to the commission or purchased in compliance with monitoring and enforcement exercises conducted by the commission, and validated by the offending network,” Muoka said in a statement.

Each pre-registered SIM discovered attracts a penalty of N200,000.

Accordingly, Airtel Nigeria Networks Limited is liable to payment of a fine in the sum of N8.6 m for the availability of 43 pre-registered SIM cards during the exercise.

Emerging Markets Telecommunications Service Limited, EMTS (Etisalat), is liable to pay a fine in the sum N5m for contravening on 25 pre-registered SIM cards, while Globacom Limited is liable to a fine in the sum of N11m on 55 pre-registered SIM cards.

MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, on the other hand, is liable to pay the sum of N29.2m for contravening on 146 pre-registered SIM cards.

Muoka said the service providers were given up to seven days to pay the fines, failure of which N500, 000 would be charged for any additional day that the contravention persisted.

According to him, the commission in the notice of sanction to the service providers signed by the Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, Josephine Amuwa, and Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Ubale Maska, said the fines were in exercise of its discretionary powers following prior warnings in April 2012 that network service providers would be liable for breaches by their registration centres carrying out pre-registration of new SIM cards for sales, since it was the providers that activated the new SIM cards.

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The Lagos-based company said in an official statement it “is set to fill the vacuum that currently exists in the country’s angel investment ($30,000 to 75,000 funding level) eco-system.”

Managing Partner of SPARK, Jason Njoku says: “In Africa, we’re witnessing an exciting metamorphosis, from a tech ‘scene’ to a tech ‘revolution’, where Lagos is very much the gateway for the entire continent. The creativity, talent, the spirit of entrepreneurship is here but Nigeria’s business eco system isn’t set up to adequately support start-ups in their earliest days. Our intention with SPARK is to act as the catalyst to a period of aggressive and exciting growth in Africa’s Internet sector.”

The move comes amidst significant disruption in the Nigerian Internet scene; fast becoming one of the country’s most prolific and exciting sectors, many entrepreneurs struggle to make the transition from idea to business, due to prohibitive start-up costs, a lack of on-the-ground angel investment opportunities, a lack of access to trusted mentorship and business bureaucracy.

SPARK-funded companies, managed by Jason Njoku, Bastian Gotter and Mary Remmy-Njoku, share the same administrative infrastructure, legal teams, mentors and marketing support, making the companies capital-efficient.

SPARK concentrates on well defined and scalable revenue models and has, to-date, seed funded or created 13 start-ups to the sum of $35-75,000 each.

These companies include a hotel room booking site, a Christian dating site and a property-letting site. Companies in the SPARK network currently employ 80 people and by the close of 2013, SPARK expects to have created or funded 20 companies in total.

Economic growth is currently 7% per annum in Nigeria. The current value of the Nigerian Internet sector today is estimated at $250m and by 2016 it will be close to $1bn. Nigeria is a seen as a ‘frontier market’ with a population keen to access new consumer items, both in stores and, increasingly, online. However there are few Internet companies that have the backing or ability to supply the ever-increasing demand.

Bastian Gotter, Managing Partner of SPARK says: “The incubation period for any start-up is critical and we found that this is where Nigeria’s business infrastructure struggles most. We fund our companies, provide them with the back room assistance they need to get started and advise them on all aspects of their business. SPARK is the financial, intellectual and pragmatic engine that will propel Nigeria’s Internet entrepreneurs from start-ups to dynamic businesses that generate jobs and income for the region.”

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VENTURES AFRICA – By breaking down the demographics and behaviour of its users, a survey by an African social network, 2go, has declared Nigerians are more social than South Africans.

Marc Herson, director at 2go, revealed this while speaking at the Focus Day at Mobile Web West Africa 2013 holding in Lagos.

Herson said in Nigeria 36 percent of respondents to the 2go survey do not have a bank account, 17 per cent spend at least four hours travelling between work or study, 39 percent watch video on their phone and around 60 per cent spend a minimum of two hours a day on their mobile.

He added that more Nigerian users of 2go (90 percent) use feature phones than South Africans (75 percent).

In terms of gender distribution, he said more males in Nigeria (65 percent) use the chat app than in South Africa where only 51 percent of its users are males.

He also disclosed that Nigerian users of 2go are more social than their counterparts from South Africa.

This he said could be deduced from the relative ease with which more Nigerian social media users share personal information such as phone numbers with people they have never seen before.

Furthermore, he added that Nigerians use colours to express themselves on the app, and they easily and freely use the slang “Naija”.

Concerning commercialisation of 2go, he said in addition to the sale of credits, it has introduced goEngage brand platforms, carries out research polls for companies, and is now offering advertisers full screen splash adverts that currently have an average engagement rate of 30 per cent.

He said brands such as Amstel Malta and Supersports are some of the popular brands that have made use of the full screen advert that is displayed for five seconds each time a 2go user opens the app.

2go is a mobile social network targeting users in emerging markets, particularly in Africa. The company has over 21 million registered users with more than 10 million active users in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. The network is also due for an Android launch later this month.

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The Turkish telecoms company filed a $4.2 billion lawsuit in the US District Court of Columbia over the awarding of Iran’s second mobile licence to MTN in 2005. It alleged that MTN Group used bribery to win a mobile phone contract in Iran that was first awarded to Turkcell.

However, in April the high court limited the ability of foreign plaintiffs to bring before the US court cases alleging corporate misconduct that took place outside the United States or without a strong U.S. connection to the conduct.

Meanwhile, the Johannesburg based company said it welcomed Turkcell’s decision to drop the suit.

“Turkcell’s decision to drop their claim was expected, however, we welcome it,” MTN Group President and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa said.

“After becoming aware of Turkcell’s claims in February last year, the MTN Board commissioned Lord Hoffmann to lead a thorough investigation into these allegations. Then in February this year, the Committee led by Lord Hoffmann determined that Turkcell’s allegations were without foundation. The Committee concluded that they found nothing in the conduct of MTN that put at question MTN’s integrity or propriety during the period that Iran’s second mobile licence was awarded.”

Dabengwa added that “Now that this case is behind us, we are forging ahead with great determination towards achieving MTN’s newly launched vision to deliver a bold new digital world to our customers. MTN is one of Africa’s success stories, a great company founded on innovation, courage and values of honesty.”

Reuters reported that MTN shares rose 3.1 percent on Thursday, a day after the suit was dropped by Turkcell.

“It is definitely good news for MTN. If the case had gone ahead in the US and MTN was found guilty, there was going to be a direct financial implication that they would probably incur. The most important thing would have been the ramifications in other regions they are operating in. That is something that would dent their reputation and impact on future prospects.” industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, Ishe Zingoni said.

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