Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Home Blog Page 46

MTN Uganda posts strong 2018 growth; a reflection of a vibrant economy

By
Davis Kawalya
-
0

Uganda’s vibrant economic activity in the last year contributed to the strong performance of MTN Uganda in 2018. MTN Uganda’s revenue in 2018 grew by 8.6% due to increased voice calls, data usage and MTN Mobile Money.

Uganda’s economy is estimated to have grown by 5.3% in 2018 driven by growth in the services sector and the industrial sector.

In the service sector specifically, there was growth in jobs as MTN contributed to the increased number of Mobile Money agents when it implemented the electronic recharge of airtime and introduced the cashless payment service, MTN MoMoPay.   

“Our growth is closely linked with the economic activity in the country and that reflects in our performance in 2018. The overall growth in revenue was due to a 46.6% rise in active data users that led to data revenue growing and a rise in the active Mobile Money users. These two market segments have added value to the economy by creating more opportunities for agents and also boosted innovation,” said Rob Shuter the MTN Group CEO, while commenting on the MTN Uganda results.

Other segments that contributed to MTN’s revenue growth include a rise in subscribers from 10.8 million at the end of 2017 to 11.2 million at the end of 2018. As a result of the growing subscriber base, MTN has increased its footprint to create job opportunities by employing over 1,200 staff directly and over 500,000 indirectly through our mobile money and distribution network.

“MTN Group operates in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East where we have significantly contributed to socio-economic transformation. We have encountered varying environments and experiences but have nonetheless been successful in most,” said Shuter.

In order to continue delivering on improved services, MTN Uganda continued to carry out capital investments with an expenditure of Shs222.4 billion. On average, MTN spends about Shs200bn (USD50m) annually in investments and cumulatively over the last 20 years, it has invested over Shs3.7trillion (USD1bn). MTN remains the biggest taxpayer in Uganda with a tax contribution of Shs3.9 trillion since 1998. MTN has also paid Shs94bn in spectrum fees and Shs121bn in support of the Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) to the Ugandan Communications Commission since inception. This has greatly supported the growth of the telecommunications sector.

Gadgets and Tech To Help Your Business Trip Be Successful

By
Brian Code
-
0

Going on business trips is a lot better than it used to be, and technology plays a major part in having improved the experience. There are many gadgets and tech breakthroughs available to boost the success of business trips. It’s no surprise, considering tech does target businesspeople more often than consumers, probably because that’s who uses tech the most.

We’re not going to sit here and bore you with what tech means for a business trip. Instead, we want to help you discover some of the best gadgets and technology to use on your business trips in order to make them as successful as they can possibly be. You never know, you might learn of new options!

Fit Yourself with a Smart Backpack: The Power Might Surprise

From being able to charge your mobile devices by plugging them into your backpack to flaunting built-in speakers, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill. Of course, it very well could be soon considering the state of tech in the world today. Either way, these backpacks can add more convenient options for you when it comes to your business trip. It does pay to think outside the box.

Listen to Your Personal Preference & Tune the World Out

It’s no secret that there comes a time when it’s more productive to put on some headphones and jam out to your favorite music. Or even an audiobook that you’re trying to get through. Either way, headphones are a must for any business trip.

You’ll also find that this also improves online audio/video communications during the trip. As you won’t have to worry about your laptop’s internal speakers bothering anyone or being drowned out by other noises. It’s like the old saying goes, kill two birds with one stone, but with headphones!

Power Is Essential: Dead Batteries Are No Longer Welcome

Thankfully they figured this out, even though it’s one of the most recent breakthroughs over the past few years in the tech world. Mobile batteries make it possible to charge your phone(s) and other compatible devices without a power source. Just make sure it gets a full charge at home before you leave and remember to get the bigger size of battery if you need a long amount of charge time.

Stay Connected While Making the Trip & Maximize Workflow

Not everywhere will you have internet access, which is where a portable hotspot can come in to save your day. Stay connected regardless of where you’re at. As long as your hotspot has a data signal, you’ll have internet that you can use with any internet-enabled devices you take with you on your trip.

You Shouldn’t Have to Get Stuck Staying at Low-Tech Hotels

All too often, many people hinder their business trip success by choosing the wrong hotels when they’re traveling to Northwest San Antonio. This is exactly why you should be planning your lodging ahead of time.

If this post caught you in time before an upcoming trip to Texas, you’ll be glad to hear that there are hotels in the area that do offer lightning-fast wi-fi and a business center for those who don’t have a laptop with them. One of the favorites among business travelers seems to be none other than Hyatt Place San Antonio-Northwest/Medical Center. Hyatt’s focus on business travelers has made it popular with the business set – for great reason.

NBA and YouTube have launched a channel dedicated to fans in Sub-Saharan Africa

By
Davis Kawalya
-
0

In a bid to bring content close to fans, and the growing development and love for watching games over the Internet, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and YouTube partnered to launch a channel dedicated to sub-Saharan Africa, the NBA Africa YouTube channel.

Launched on Wednesday, the channel will feature two live games each week in prime time, including the Playoffs, Conference Finals and The Finals.

The channel will feature original and archived programming, including a collaboration with Africa-based YouTube creators on original content, a customized weekly magazine show and NBA documentaries featuring current and former African players and legends. 

All this has been done not only to support the growing Sport in Africa but to also inspire and empower African youth.

The first two live game broadcasts on the new NBA Africa YouTube channel will take place on Sunday, March 24 and will feature the Charlotte Hornets hosting the Boston Celtics at 12:00am (CAT) followed by the L.A. Clippers visiting the New York Knicks at 6:00pm (CAT).

“The NBA Africa YouTube channel is yet another important milestone for the NBA in Africa and will allow more fans to access our games, live and on demand, across the continent,” said NBA Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, Amadou Gallo Fall.  “As we enter the home stretch of the NBA season and teams fight for playoff positioning, we look forward to bringing the excitement of the NBA to more fans in sub-Saharan Africa while celebrating the NBA’s rich history and bright future in Africa,” he added.

We believe that this is a great step in the direction of sports and inclusion of Africa on the International digital space.

Additional info from APO

You can now shop from Instagram without leaving the app

By
Davis Kawalya
-
0

Times are changing, you can now shop/checkout an item from Instagram from select brands like Nike, H&M and Adidas without being referred to a website nor leaving the app.

The new ‘Checkout’ app was announced by Instagram on Tuesday. Unfortunately, this is still in trial phase and not yet open to all retailers but only to a select few.

“The vision is to ultimately have checkout be available to any of the business on Instagram,” says Layla Amjadi, product manager on Instagram Shopping. “The whole goal here is to finally fulfill one of the biggest asks we’ve heard since the inception of Instagram Shopping,” she added.

Amjadi also says that consumers will need to use a pin number to finish checking out as an extra step of security, and also the retailers will only have access to the name and address of the shoppers in order to fulfill the orders. It’s up to consumers if they want to include loyalty program information and e-mail addresses.

“We will only share information that is absolutely necessary to get the product delivered to you,” Amjadi says.

Here’s to the new shopping age. Let’s get rolling.

Additional Info from AdAge


Here’s all you need to know about the Uber Lite app

By
Davis Kawalya
-
0

In Uganda, we must first of all agree that the number of people with Android phones is overhwelming, not forgetting the ever uncertain network in many areas of the country regardless of the advent of 4G LTE.

The good people at Uber thought it right to develop an app that’s light and easy to use. Here’s all you need to know;

It costs the same. Many people actually thought that the Uber Lite app doesn’t cost the same as the Uber app- sorry to burst your bubble. They cost the same and a person using the Uber Lite app also has access to any Uber driver in his area.

Limited data plan? Worry not. The Uber Lite app is able to run on limited data. Matter of fact it is downloaded for simply 5Mbs and it comes in handy when you are in areas with as low as 2G network strength. You basically can’t get stranded anywhere.

Storage, speed, battery are all tremendously saved. The Uber Lite app only takes 5MBs of your phone storage stage, and it has been designed to be faster than the traditional app while it’s trimming lower percentages of your battery.

Order an Uber in 4 steps. Yes, that’s right! With Uber Lite, you get to get riding in 4 easy steps

  1. Place your pickup location from close landmarks
  2. Insert your destination
  3. Choose Uber choice
  4. Request Uber.

It’s now that easy- more reason for you to get rolling lighter!

The most commonly used actions are brought right to the front. To make the app more user friendly, the most commonly used actions such as contacting your driver, and sharing your location, have been brought to the forefront. No more hustle!

Works on any Android device. “With Uber Lite, requesting a ride is easy and intuitive. Thanks to the streamlined design it works quickly on even basic Android devices.”

Download the Uber Lite app today and enjoy the awesomeness of the app as you order your rides about town.

Huawei Is Developing It’s Own Alternative Operating System To Android

By
Joel Osekeny
-
0

Global and China’s largest telecommunication giant Huawei is said to be developing or developed already it’s own version of Android and Windows to be a replacement for the operating systems.

With the ongoing onslaught by the Trump’s regime towards the company, Huawei believes a time will come when the USA will ban importation of its products to the Chinese company.

The company believes some of those products that Huawei would be banned from using includethe world’s most popular operating systems Android for smartphones and Windows for personal computers which software is created by companies from the USA.

This concern arises from the ongoing legal battles that Huawei and the USA are undergoing. In December last year, Chief Financial Officer, and the daughter for the current owner of Huawei, Meng Wangzou, was arrested in Canada on the orders of the Trump administration on allegations that she defrauded many financial institutions breaching a ban by the USA on dealing with Iran.

Currently still under detention in Canada, she is undergoing extradition proceedings to have her sent to face the USA justice system.

The company days ago filed a suit in Texas court challenging a legislation by the US banning it’s state organs from using Huawei equipement. Huawei alleges that the legislation is unconstitutional in that it is being discriminatory in it’s treatment of the company.

It is not certain how the justice system of the US would judge on the matter, however, what is certain is that the US is determined in it’s intents.

The power of Live; Africa to the World

By
Brian Code
-
0

The fact that not everyone is able to make it out to each event, a comprehensive live coverage is the solution to help you reach those people who would otherwise miss. Connecting with your target audience at a live event is a great way to leave a lasting and positive brand impression. 

When just one media house is responsible for taking care of everything at a live event, things can easily slip through the cracks especially if it’s as sensitive as one that has over 8 heads of states, but not NBS television. 

For the past 2 days, 12th and 13th March, Uganda hosted the inaugural Africa Now Summit that had over 8 heads of states,1000+ delegates and over 20 African countries represented to address the challenges of young Africans. NBS television was the strategic media partner, tasked to cover the event live for two days in a row. The event was covered to the maximum, with flawless feeds that were crispy clean and clear with perfect sound, an all day streaming for viewers across Africa and around the globe to watch, basically leaving nothing to book. 

An audience from all over Africa was able to engage in discussion about the event together, the timeliness of the picture made viewers feel like they’re at the event. As for the online audience, they all had one hashtag to follow and share opinions to stay connected with the event (#AfricaNow19). All over the web, people couldn’t help but thank NBS for bringing the event to the comfort of their phones, laptops and sitting rooms. 

In the 10 years of her existence, NBS TV has been tasked to deliver on many occasions and I must say, they are living up to that promise.

Jumia and Xiaomi partner to drive smartphone penetration in Africa

By
Boses Muhinda
-
0
Romain Christodoulou (left), Senior Vice President, Jumia Group & Wang Xiang, Senior Vice President, Xiaomi Corporation

Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, has signed an important partnership with technology leader Xiaomi at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, giving millions of users in Africa easy access to Xiaomi products.

Through the partnership, Jumia will open the Mi official store on its platform and give Xiaomi access to millions of online customers across 14 countries in the continent, while Jumia will be able to offer Redmi Go (1GB+8GB) exclusively in Africa as well as other devices later in the year. The partnership will be supported by an ambitious joint-marketing plan over the full year 2019, leveraging Jumia’s digital assets and Xiaomi marketing capabilities, including the Mi fan community. This is the promising first step to a close partnership between both companies over the years to come.

“This partnership is very important for us, as it will definitely foster the smartphone adoption in Africa as well as support e-commerce penetration. Xiaomi and Jumia have very similar internet DNA and will serve a common purpose: delivering the best in class affordable smartphones along with the best shopping experience. This will be very beneficial for both companies and above all for the consumers in Africa”, said Jumia Group’s Senior Vice President Mr Romain Christodoulou, during the signing ceremony.

“We believe in working with companies that share our values and delighted to partner with Jumia to reach more Mi fans across Africa,” said Wang Xiang, Senior Vice President of Xiaomi. “The e-commerce model is part of Xiaomi’s DNA and we believe that working with Jumia will help us bring innovation for everyone across the continent.”

Sandeep Narayanan, Director of Consumer Electronics &, Romain Christodoulou, Senior Vice President, Jumia Group – Wang Xiang, Senior V​ice President, Xiaomi Corporation Wang Lingming, Vice President, Xiaomi Corporation

The partnership will initially cover Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Morocco, and Ghana, and aim to cover all other countries where Jumia operates. Most markets will be directly supplied from China, confirming the fast expansion of intercontinental trade in Africa.

Africa has seen the rise of affordable entry-level devices from price-focused brands especially from China, which remains a key driver of smartphone adoption in the continent. Smartphone penetration in Africa stood at approximately 36% in 2018, with the number expected to reach about 66% by 2025.

Cyber Security For A Modern Small Business

By
Boses Muhinda
-
0

Every year, businesses of all sizes suffer from cyber breaches. Big names such as Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase, eBay, and Equifax get all the attention, but it can happen to any company. In the past year, hackers have attacked half of the country’s small businesses, and the number is rising. Most small business owners can’t afford an in-house IT department, so they’re especially vulnerable to phishing attacks and other scams. These attacks are impossible to predict, but most can be prevented. Below are a few ways for business owners to reduce the chances of a serious cyber attack.

Perform Regular Security Assessments

Routine security assessments are a good way to keep everyone accountable for the company’s security requirements. Working with a reliable third-party vendor is an effective way to shore up any vulnerabilities. By making it a daily, monthly, and quarterly process, you’ll catch changes that may have slipped through the oversight and approval process.

Implement Email Filtering Protections

An advanced email filter is one of the most effective threat response solutions because it prevents those threats before they reach the end user. These filters block emails, scan attachments and links, and remove embedded threats. Most malware gets in through email, and a good filter can stop it.

Give Users Strong Passwords

Weak passwords and policies are at the root of many data security problems, including ransomware. According to the 2016 State of SMB Cybersecurity Report, almost 60% of small- to medium-size businesses have no input into employees’ password practices. Furthermore, 65% of businesses with password policies don’t strictly enforce them. With a strong password implementation and hygiene policy, many attacks can be prevented.

Cybersecurity Awareness Training

How likely is the business to be phished? This is an important metric for any business, regardless of size. By 2027, the world’s spending on employee security training is expected to reach $10 billion. When new employees receive cybersecurity awareness training during the onboarding process, the likelihood of phishing attacks drops significantly.

Consider Endpoint Protection

Advanced endpoint protection is drastically different from run-of-the-mill antivirus and malware protection. It takes a multi-faceted approach to the protection of servers and computers. For instance, advanced antivirus uses behavioral heuristics and machine learning, has little effect on computer resources, and can protect against threats from a variety of sources. With endpoint protection software, you can rollback changes and restore files to their previous state.

Update the OS

Most ransomware targets machines using outdated versions of Windows and other operating systems. It’s crucial to keep software updated and to download security patches as soon as possible. Most manufacturers stop supporting OS builds after about ten years, which means that it’s important for you to take steps to secure your devices. Software vendors regularly fix product vulnerabilities, so an up-to-date system is one of the best malware protection methods.

In Closing

It’s impossible to predict how and when a cyberattack will come, but with the tips in this guide, you can greatly reduce your company’s vulnerability. Use these tips to audit your company’s current practices, and once deficiencies are found, you can use various threat response solutions.

Samsung Launches 3 S10 variants, an S10 5G and Folding Phone

By
Joel Osekeny
-
0

While launching the 10th Anniversary of the Galaxy s10 phones series, global telecommunication giant Samsung launched 3 different sets of flagships, in San Francisco on the 20th February 2019.

The 3 smartphones in variations of s10, s10 plus and the s10e, have a full screen display a.k.a the Infinity-O display, with a punch hole for a front facing camera that was first debuted on the Huawei Honor View20, last month, which is in effect being popularized, if you had known about it.

Speaking of screen, the s10 and s10 plus have an in-screen finger print sensor as opposed to the side mounted sensor on the s10e variant.

They are like the iPhone X that came in 3 variants last year with the iPhone X, XS MAX and the XR. The s10 is the main device, followed by the s10plus. The s10e just like the s10e is the cheaper of the s10 series.

The devices are powered with the Samsung Exynos 9820 and snapdragon 855, some of the first few phones to be released with the latest Qualcomm chipset which is said to be 25% faster than the previous generation 845. The same chipset is already running in the Xiaomi Mi 9 that was launched just a day after the s10 gallant launch.

With the Android 9.0 pre installed and a new customized Samsung skin, the One UI for the s10 devices, useability is superb. Samsung with these 3 has maintained 3.5mm headphone jack that seems to be phasing out in the latest flagships such as the iPhone X, the Mi A2, among others.

The s10 and s10plus come with a triple camera set up for the main camera with a 16MP and two 12MP at the back, and a 1440 x 3040 pixels resolution.

The 3 devices come with a support of the wireless charging technology, and a reverse wireless charging, with a power share ability that also appears on the Huawei Mate 20 pro, allowing the devices to wirelessly charge other phones or the Samsung Galaxy Buds. This specification will not be able to work when the phone is under 30% battery, selfishly reserving a percentage for the device itself.

They all come with an all powerful CPU, Octa-core CPU with up to 2×2.8GHz and front facing cameras with a support for slow-mo video and 4K video recording.

Special features on the devices.

The s10.

It uniquely has a 88.3% body to screen ratio, a 6.1 inch screen, a 6GB and 8GB Ram, and an internal storage of both 128GB and 512GB, and a battery of 3400 mAh bigger than the s9 with a smaller 3000 mAh.

The s10 plus

This one is the bigger for the flagships with a 6.3 inch screen display, and is also styled the limited edition. It has an 87.5% body to screen ratio, and the biggest battery of 4,100 mAh. It is also the one to come with a two camera set up for the selfie with 10MP and 8MP.

What makes this device very special is that it comes with 12GB ram and an internal storage of 1TB almost assuring you with limitless space for your files and apps installations.

S10e also called the s10 lite

This comes with a 5.8 inch screen size and is the smallest of the with 1080 x 2280 pixel. It has an internal storage of 128 GB and a RAM of 6GB. It also has the smallest battery with 3,100 mAh.

It has 2 main cameras with a 12 and 16 MP and a front facing camera of 10MP.

Price wise.

The price for the s10 is $899 around UGX. 3, 299, 000, which is without the huge shipping taxes that Uganda imposes on imports that cross the border, so expect an increase of about 20% for each of the handsets.

The s10e is said to be the cheaper one, however, it is the same scary story. At $749, it does not come cheap and the limited edition of the s10plus costs $1,000

The devices all are ready for pre-orders and shipping globally starts on the 7th March 2019.

The Samsung s10 5G and the folding will phone be launching later on.

1...454647...107Page 46 of 107

LATEST POSTS

Follow GURU8

3,734FansLike
15FollowersFollow
1,046FollowersFollow
19SubscribersSubscribe

GURU8 is a Technology website showcasing the Latest News, Event updates, reviews and rumours in the Tech world while providing a platform for everyone to interact as well as gain information in reference to technology.
Contact us: info@guru8.net
+256771681909

©Hive Digital Ltd. GURU8 is a brand of Hive Digital Ltd