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Following its new MD’s challenges in getting a work permit, Vodacom Tanzania has appointed Hisham Hendi as Acting MD. Hisham Hendi will hold the position until Sylvia Mulinge receives her work permit which she has been waiting for since April. One report says Sylvia Mulinge has not met all the requirements for a permit while also stating that it might be that authorities prefer a Tanzanian for the job.

Andela has appointed Omowale David-Ashiru as its new Country Director for Nigeria. Omowale spent over 10 years at Accenture before going on to start a fashion retail company where she’s been Director for the past 8 years. 

South Africa’s First National Bank has revealed that it saw a 41% jump in transaction volume on its eWallet platform within the last 12 months. The company processed about $1.4 billion (R21 billion) from 6.1 million active wallets with 2 million being regular users. The bank has also introduced a mobile bank account it calls eWallet eXtra which it hopes will contribute to closing the financial inclusion gap and further grow its transaction volume.

Tanzania is about to outlaw fact checking. The government is considering amendments to its Statistics Act 2015 one of which will make it illegal to counter any official statistics it puts out irrespective of whether it is correct or not. Earlier in the year, the government introduced license fees for bloggers and online content creators which has already led to the shutdown of some blogs.

Airbnb has hosted two million guests in South Africa since 2008 according to a report by the company. Hosts across South Africa have earned over $260 million and have supported more than 22,000 jobs. South Africa is home to over 35,000 guests and Cape Town is the country’s most popular city. Across Africa, 3.5 million guests have used Airbnb and Nigeria, Ghana as well as Mozambique are among the fast growing countries for Airbnb globally.

MTN Nigeria is seeking 2 billion naira in damages to its reputation by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF). The company is also seeking an additional 1 billion naira for legal costs stating that the AGF exceeded its powers. Meanwhile the Nigerian Communications Commission has said that it is trying facilitate an amicable resolution of MTN’s troubles with the Central Bank and AGF. Despite the MTN battle, the government is wooing telecoms investors with a 30% tax rebate. 

IBM South Africa and Tshimologong Precinct are organizing a six-week accelerator boot camp for start-ups. The bootcamp will provide a series of short intensive training modules to adress any skills shortages start-ups may have after which start-ups will pitch to receive an investment of up to R500,000 in services. Check out requirements and apply here before October 5. 

Ride-hailing drivers in Kenya are feeling the adverse effects of a 16% tax on petroleum products. While Taxify says it has no impact on its drivers’ earnings, it has taken steps to cushion its effect on its most vulnerable categories (Taxify Go and Taxify Boda) by providing a 15% bonus for every trip.  Uber is also offering a 10% fare boost on uberX and UberSelect trips until it completes its ongoing earnings review. Little Cabs on the other hand says it will increase drivers’ earnings without charging the customer. 

How Free WiFi Is Changing Africa by Tom Jackson

Why Venture Capitalists Ask for ‘The Nigeria discount’ by Victor Asemota

Wazihub is conducting a survey on the use-cases of IoT in Africa. Wazihub is a project funded by the European Commission under H2020 and is aimed at supporting IoT solutions development and deployment in Africa by Africans. Fill the survey here. 

The dates for SMW Lagos 2019 are out. Next year’s event will hold at Landmark Centre (as usual) from February 4 – 8. The event submissions open on September 18 by 12pm WAT. 

The Women in Tech Week, Lagos Chapter will be holding from September 18 to 22 at the Facebook NG_Hub and the Zone Tech Park. The event brings together women and girls in tech and entrepreneurship providing them a platform to share ideas and network.To find out more and to register, check here. 

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