Raxio Data Centre Limited, the first privately owned co-location, Tier III, carrier-neutral data centre in Uganda, has appointed Abdul-Rahman Baguma Ahmed as Vice President of Technology and Operations. Mr. Ahmed is a Ugandan national with 15 years’ experience in large IT projects focused on data centre infrastructure planning, architecture, designing, implementing and management.

Since 2006, Mr. Ahmed has worked at MTN Uganda, the largest telco operator in Uganda. Most recently, since 2013, Abdul was the Infrastructure Manager in MTN’s Shared Services Division, covering Uganda, Zambia, Swaziland and Rwanda.

In his role, he oversaw and managed all the hardware infrastructure, network  infrastructure, provisioning and maintenance practices, security practices, disaster
recovery planning and execution, as well as general oversight of daily operations of
MTN’s data centres in those countries. Previously, as Data Centre Facilities Manager,
he also oversaw the design and development of new data centres for MTN and
modifications to existing ones.

Speaking on the appointment, the Raxio General Manager- James Byaruhanga said,
“Abdul’s appointment is timely as we prepare for the groundbreaking of the data centre
in Namanve before year-end. We believe his experience, expertise and skillset are
ideally suited to lead the technical implementation and management of such a unique
and state-of-the-art facility, that is expected to have a transformational impact on the
Ugandan economy.”

In acceptance of his appointment, Mr. Ahmed said, “I am more than excited to join
Raxio and be part of this iconic project that will set a new standard for IT infrastructure
in the country definitely change the way we do business, especially with regard to
business continuity and disaster recovery.”

This is a Press Release from Raxio Data Centre Limited

In order to maintain its position as a leader in broadcasting innovation in Africa, Econet Media has reviewed its business strategy and service offerings, to align them to changes in the global digital and satellite broadcasting sector, and growth in access to mobile and fixed broadband on the continent.

The strategy review will see Africa’s leading multiplatform broadcast network focus on three core services; Kwesé Free Sports (KFS), Kwesé iflix and Kwesé Play. KFS is Africa’s largest free-to-air TV service, Kwesé iflix is Africa’s leading mobile video-on-demand sports and entertainment platform while Kwesé Play is a leading-edge video streaming service with more than 200 sports, entertainment, kids and news channels including Red Bull TV, NBA, YouTube, TED and Bloomberg.

With increased focus on these three services, Econet Media will streamline its direct-to-home satellite television service with a reduction of third party channels available on the Kwese TV Bouquet, and the removal of Kwesé branded sports (excluding KFS) and general entertainment channels. The new bouquet will carry FTA, religious, and free news channels which will be available to viewers for a minimal administrative fee, in lieu of the monthly subscription fees. Kwesé subscribers who have already paid their subscriptions for November 2018, or in advance, will receive refunds.

The rationale for the changes is that Kwesé was launched at a time when the global pay television industry was in transition. Business models were evolving from traditional content rights linked to linear broadcast channels, to premium content rights moving towards digital media platforms.

During the transition, Kwesé has successfully built a satellite TV business with presence in 11 markets, a free-to-air business across 27 countries, delivered the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ across Africa to a network of 115 sub-license broadcasters across 37 countries – reaching over 200 million households, acquired a controlling stake in a leading mobile video-on-demand service, and launched its own OTT service Kwesé Play.

The business has also managed to secure leading sports rights and general entertainment channels to build a compelling content offering across its platforms, making a significant shift in the continent’s complex and competitive media industry.

Having recognized the importance of carrying original local content, Econet Media will also establish its own content creation hub, Kwesé Studios. Through Kwesé Studios, Econet Media will invest in developing its own original programming and provide a platform for African producers, scriptwriters, actors and directors to tell authentic African stories on a pan-African broadcast network. These changes are in keeping with Kwesé’s commitment to providing affordable premium content, maintaining an innovative approach to content delivery and being attuned to audience viewing and purchasing habits.

As a consequence of the revised business model, Econet Media is also reviewing its operational structures across all markets where Kwesé TV has a presence which may result in changes to the company’s various business units. Joe Hundah, Group President and Chief Executive of Econet Media, says the business’ repositioning is perfectly timed in response to market trends.

“We believe these changes will safeguard the future success of our business as we continue to make an indelible impact on Africa’s media industry. The revised business strategy will also ensure that Kwesé TV continues to remain competitive within the industry. Refocusing our business offering across markets is a strategic move which aligns our business to OTT and video-on-demand trends which present significant growth opportunities for Kwesé. This renewed focus on digital services will see us provide new compelling offers for our customer’s enjoyment.”

“Additionally, through the development of the Kwesé Studios content hub, Econet Media will now have a legitimate claim to being the home of African content, as we will now create a place where Africans can tell their own stories and shape their own narrative.”

“Kwesé’s entry into the market had a game-changing impact on the media industry. With these

changes, we believe Kwesé will continue to positively disrupt the industry for the benefit of African consumers, as we continue to provide affordable premium content through digital media services.”

Following its unveiling yesterday, the OnePlus 6T is OnePlus’ newest flagship this year after the OnePlus 6 that was released on 16 May 2018. The new machine from OnePlus is slightly thicker and heavier than the OnePlus 6, but otherwise, the design remains largely unchanged; the 6T comes crafted almost entirely from glass and it will be available in Mirror Black and Midnight Black colour options.

However, OnePlus has made the controversial decision to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack, opting instead for audio over USB-C. There’s now a slimmed-down teardrop notch at the top of the display that houses the handsets’ 16MP front-facing camera, giving the handset an 86 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

The OnePlus 6T has the same 16MP + 20MP dual-lens setup as on the OnePlus 6. There have been some improvements on the software side, though, with OnePlus equipping the handset with souped-up AI features, an enhanced Portrait Mode and better low-light shooting capabilities.

Underneath, you’ll find Qualcomm’s 10nm Snapdragon 845 processor, paired with either 6GB or 8GB RAM. There’s also a bigger 3,700mAh battery under the hood, 20 per cent larger than the 3,300mAh battery inside the OnePlus 6. It will also ship with Google’s Android Pie OS out of the box, which will come with the firm’s barely-there OxygenOS skin on top.

Interestingly, the OnePlus 6T packs an in-display fingerprint scanner, imaginatively dubbed ‘Screen Unlock’. The optical scanner, which sits towards the bottom of the handset’s 6.4in FHD+ AMOLED scanner, lets users unlock the 6T by pressing their digits on the screen.

The OnePlus 6T will be available in three variations; 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB which in UGX shall cost, OnePlus 6T Mirror Black 8GB+128GB = UGX 2,534,365, OnePlus 6T Midnight Black 8GB+128GB = UGX 2,534,365, OnePlus 6T Midnight Black 8GB+256GB = UGX 2,773,908

Image: Via T3

Credits: The Inquirer

The biggest online shop in Africa, Jumia has today announced that Ron Kawamara will take over as new CEO for Uganda.

Ron has previously served as the Regional Managing Director of Jumia Food, East Africa, and brings his wealth of experience in the African eCommerce industry.

Massimiliano Spalazzi, Jumia’s co-CEO stated at a press conference, “After a thorough and thoughtful search process, we are thrilled to have Ron take on the CEO role. Ron brings a stellar leadership reputation, a wealth of consumer experience, and a lifelong passion for eCommerce to Jumia – all of which are critical ingredients in the continued evolution of our company. We are absolutely confident that Ron is the right leader for Jumia who can create value for customers and vendors by marrying Jumia’s numerous assets with the opportunities ahead.”

Kawamara has extensive experience leading, innovating and scaling technology businesses globally, including having guided Jumia Food through critical transformation periods. Through his startup experience, Ron has frequently worked with SMEs to effect business models that embrace technological changes.

“I cannot imagine a more important and exciting time to join Jumia,” said Kawamara. “With a massive, diverse and highly engaged audience, a market-leading online business, a best-in-class product portfolio and an extremely passionate and talented group of people, Jumia is well-positioned to capture an even greater market opportunity. As a lifelong entrepreneur and exuberant technology enthusiast, this is the perfect opportunity to combine my industry experience with my love for business. I look forward to working with this great team, having a lot of fun, and leading Jumia through its next exciting phase.”

Upcoming plans

Jumia also announced the launch of the Black Friday campaign, a massive sales event that will run from November 16th to December 7th, 2018.

Visitors to the site www.jumia.ug and to the Jumia mobile app will have an opportunity to claim some of biggest discounts on thousands of items.

The month-long season is normally characterized by a buzz of activities at Jumia as online shoppers enjoy the best deals. “This year, for a whole month, every Friday is Black Friday.” said Jumia Chief Executive Officer Ron Kawamara.” We shall feature discounts of up to 70% on over 5000 products and shoppers are set to enjoy free delivery for purchases over 200,000 UGX.” he added.

This year’s Jumia Black Friday is expected to be the largest yet and to inject UGX 17.5B in Uganda’s economic activity.

The hashtags #Google4Kenya and #TwatembeaPamoja are particularly trending in our neighboring sister country Kenya where the internet giant Google has updated google maps with its latest product, a street view of a few select locations in Kenya.

The street view update has been made for about 7 locations including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, Nyeri and Malindi, covering up to ,500 km of the East African country.

Video Source: Youtube (Google Africa).

Google made the launch today in Kenya during an event Google for Kenya, an event to “make Google work for everyone in #Kenya” reads one of the tweets from the event from Google.

“With Street View, Kenyans and tourists alike will now get a more immersive experience as they navigate and explore cities and destinations around the country,” reads a post on the Google for Africa blog.

Among other activities that took place at are a motorbike mode on google maps, a new travel mode for motorcycles which will help in providing directions and voice navigation. Google also awarded 5 Kenyan Youtube channels that passed 100K subscribers mark with a Youtube Silver Buttons and a training for about 100,000 smallholder farmers among activities.

Google Africa office has been in Kenya for 11 years now, and the event Google for Africa is also a celebration for the years it has been transforming the digital age of Kenya.