Uganda today woke up to horrible news of the shocking death of top Youtuber, Comedian and MC, Hassan Lumu alias King Kong. King Kong was pronounced dead on Sunday Morning at a clinic in Kisansa, Kanyanya where he had been admitted with malaria since Friday.

According to those close to the deceased, it was confirmed that Mr Hassan Lumu had developed a fever on Eid (Friday) and was rushed to the clinic where he was checked in and admitted. It was also reported that he had Malaria.

King Kong rose to Fame because of the comedy videos that he always uploaded on his YouTube Channel and his numerous short clips that went Viral on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

He started his Youtube Channel on Feb 10, 2015, and before his death, King Kong had 

garnered over 161,776 subscribers and about 41,508,805 views and had gone ahead to be one of Uganda’s Number one Youtuber. May His Soul Rest in Peace

Kwesé iflix, the Joint Venture of Econet Media, Africa’s leading pan-regional media company and broadcast network and iflix, the leading entertainment service for emerging markets, today announced the launch of its premier digital entertainment platform in Uganda with industry leader MTN.

The all new Kwesé iflix service offers users the ultimate entertainment experience, featuring Kwesé’s extraordinary content offering including live coverage of the world’s most elite sporting competitions, includingthe upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – and much more on Kwesé iflix’s world class platform with the best international, regional and local content programs curated especially for African audiences, to stream or download.

With thousands of programs available, Kwesé iflix’s vast library includes international first-run exclusive shows, award-winning TV series and blockbuster movies such as ICE, The Royals, Family Time, Love and Hip Hop,Chasing Life, as well as popular local and regional content – Telenovelas such as El Fantasma De Elena, Passion and Power and La Vuida Negra – children’s programs and lifestyle content. The service also offers Ugandans quality content they can watch for free, including short-form drama series, first episodes of TV shows, and local free-to-air TV stations, such as NTV Uganda and Bukedde TV.

Announcing the launch of the service, Kwesé iflix CEO,Mayur Patel, said, “Africa’s leading entertainment service, Kwesé iflix app, offers customers the best in entertainment, anytime and anywhere. Designed for the mobile generation, the Ugandan consumer now hasunlimited access to all their favourite sports and shows in a way which suits their lifestyle – satisfying their need to be in the know, on-the-go and on their terms. We are excited to be working with MTN to deliver our content into the hands of even more Ugandans”

“Leveraging MTN’s Mobile Money for payment and its3G& 4G network, subscribers will be able to stream Kwesé iflix’s world-class programming on their connected devices through innovative data bundles.When it comes to entertainment consumers are better able to associate it with time; we have therefore created time bundles dedicated to Kwese Iflix ranging from 2 hours of unlimited consumption at only UGX 1,600.These bundles are much cheaper than the normal data bundles making it more affordable for our customers to enjoy the great Entertainment on Mobile”, said Olivier Prentout, MTN Chief Marketing officer.

To subscribe for Kwese iflix and activate a Kwese data bundle, MTN customers simply dial *165*4*7#.

“As the leading Tech brand on the continent, we want tolead the revolution for digital innovation especially through services that enrich what our customers can do on a smartphone. Rich media content such as Video is one such service. Our partnership with Kwese iflix will enable us to deliver some of the best international and local sports and entertainment to our customers,” Olivier added.  

iflix Co-Founder and Group CEO, Mark Britt, added, “This is a monumental milestone for iflix. Together with Econet Media, Africa’s top Pan-regional media company, we have created a platform specifically for African users, which makes every match of the World Cup available to users across the country on any mobile device of their choice. Our Kwesé iflix service now offers users the largest library of the world’s best entertainment, all unscheduled and on demand, unlike ever before.”

”We cannot ignore the growth of streaming services across the African continent especially with the spike inmobile and internet penetration numbers. We do not only have to stay ahead of the trends but ensure we become the best provider of these services in the market. Kwesé iflix brings young people a combination of premium sports and entertainment content and we are excited to be at the forefront of this,” said Joseph Hundah, President and CEO Econet Media.

Kwese iflix customers can choose between a variety of flexible VIP passes to access the Kwesé iflix premium content, including 1-Day, 3-Day, 7-Day and 30-Day VIP passes.

Note: This is a Press Release From Kwese.

Google has announced that applications for Class 2 of the Launchpad Accelerator Africa program are open. Google also announced it is extending the program to include startups from a further 12 African countries. Launchpad Accelerator Africa now accepts applications from startups located in Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote D’ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Applications for Class 2 will close on 8 July. To qualify, startups have to be a technology startup, based in Sub-Saharan Africa, targeting the African market, and have raised seed funding. Google additionally considers the problem the startup is trying to solve, how it creates value for users, and how it addresses a real challenge for its home city, country or Africa broadly.

Interested startups can apply here

Launchpad Accelerator Africa was announced less than a year ago by Google CEO Sundar Pichai at Google for Nigeria on 27 July. In terms of his announcement, the Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa programme will provide African startups with over $3 million in equity-free support, working space, and access to expert advisers from Google, Silicon Valley, and Africa over the next three years. Participants receive travel and PR support during each three-month program.

National Aviation Services (NAS), the fastest growing aviation services provider in the emerging markets, announced a joint venture agreement with Rwanda’s national flag carrier, RwandAir. The JV titled NAS RwandAir Limited will be the exclusive lounge management company at Kigali International Airport (KIA).

NASRwandAir is tasked with the construction and development of two new lounges at KIA, the RwandAir Dream Lounge dedicated to the airline’s premium passengers and an arrivals lounge. The JV will also take over management of the existing NAS Pearl Lounge in the departures area which caters to other airline passengers as well.

“The NASRwandAir JV is part of many initiatives RwandAir is putting in place to upgrade its business class service across its value chain, from dedicated areas at its town offices to fast track and quality services at airports, upgraded amenities and full-flat bed seats in our wide-bodied aircraft.” said Yvonne Manzi Makolo, CEO of RwandAir.” She added, “Business class passengers are extremely important to us and we have chosen to partner with NAS due to their track record in delivering results to premier customers.”

The different lounges at KIA offer arriving and departing passengers an opportunity to relax, refresh and enjoy a meal before heading out of the airport or onwards to other destinations. For those wishing to catch up on work, the lounges are also fully equipped with Wi-Fi and business services. NASRwandAir will also extend meet and assist services to passengers at the airport allowing for smoother passage through check-in and immigration processes.

Hassan El Houry, Group CEO of NAS said “By partnering with RwandAir, one of Africa’s fastest growing airline, we have reaffirmed our commitment to the aviation sector in Rwanda. Rwanda, as a country has demonstrated remarkable development and is an important geography for NAS in Africa. As we grow our footprint in the region, we continue to drive efforts to bring high-quality international services into the country and further contribute to its growth.”

Yesterday, When the all country engaged on the state of the nation address Uganda Communications commision (UCC) issued a new licensing price for the pay-TV providers in the country from shs22m annually to shs95m. Earlier at the beginning of the year, the commission had asked the pay-TV providers to pay shs550m in-license a proposal that sparked controversies eventually leading to another negotiation that harmonized the license fee to shs95m ($25,000).

The new licensing regime could impact a high-end users subscription rates despite the fact the country moved to digital broadcasting about 3 years ago two years after the international dateline. The list of pay-TV providers increased significantly over the past couple years following the government decision to go digital which saw the end users (citizens) benefits a lot from the fight for clients which entailed favourable prices and more channels to view. The drastic increase in the license could see an overhaul change in the subscription fee which makes the life of an average citizen unbearable to enjoy the pay TV services.

Here are some of the requirements for the new licensing regime. Agreements between pay TV and UCC.

1. UCC agreed with the submission by pay-TV operators that operators without the physical infrastructure in Uganda shall not be allowed to obtain public infrastructure provider (PIP) licenses.
2. Only operators providing services through Terrestrial, cable and other transmission infrastructure shall be required to obtain PIP licenses.
3. All broadcasters providing services to the final consumers shall be required to obtain a public service provider (PSP) license.
4. PIP license shall be for a period of 15 years, renewable upon satisfactory performance of the license terms and conditions.
5. PSP license shall be for a period of 5 years, renewable upon satisfactory performance of the license terms and conditions.
6. Existing pay-TV operators in Uganda not be required to pay initial entry fees for any of the license applied for.
7. Pay TV operators shall pay an annual license fee of $25,000 or 0.65% of the operators gross annual revenue. Every pay TV operators shall be required to submit audited books in accordance with the reporting requirement.
8. Pay Tv shall carry a minimum of 20% local content on their broadcasting platforms.
9. Where, for whatever reason, a pay TV operator failed to meet the 20% local content threshold, the commission shall determine the amount of monetary contribution to be made by the respective operators towards the content development fund.

Source: Daily Monitor

Itel a company that has positioned itself to release a budget-friendly smartphone has released yet another banger, the Itel A32F and is already a banger even before it fully solidified. Fronted with “fingerprint for everyone”, slogan, the Itel A32F is of indeed a major upgrade and a clear sign that itel has indeed come of age and have revolutionized the business.

Most Importantly, the Itel A32F will be going for only UGX 255,000 in stores across the country.

In a quick view….

The whole new itel A32F that comes with a fingerprint scanner also flaunts The A32F Android 8.1 Oreo Go edition out of the box, Which works seamlessly with Go apps. There’s 8GB storage and 1GB RAM onboard as well.

The A32F design comes in a metallic back cover, curved edges and sides that gives a comfortable grip. Although the highlight of the device is the rear fingerprint scanner security feature, there is more to enjoy from this new release.

On the inside…….

The Itel A32F has a MediaTek MT6737 and with Quad-core processor and 64-bit CPU architecture. The 4-Cores of processor here clocks at a standard speed of 1.3GHz with 28nm process technology. The ARM Mali-T720 MP2 graphics processor handles graphics and clocks at 600MHz.

Multitasking of light and Go apps shouldn’t be a problem with just 1GB RAM space available here, it has a memory speed of 533MHz. It packs a standard 8GB storage space, with a remaining storage space of 4.6GB. Nonetheless, you can upgrade up to 32GB with a memory card. The A32F runs on Android 8.1 Oreo Go Edition out of the best.

Camera

It has a 5MP rear camera for all your photography needs, the camera has f/2.4 aperture and a dedicated LED flash for night shots. While the 2MP selfie camera has a front LED flash as well, for night selfies and video calls.

There is more to look out for this smartphone and here is a full list of the Specs.

Bloomberg has reported that Microsoft has acquired GitHub. GitHub is an online service that allows developers to host their code in the cloud using the popular Git source management system, invented by Linux founder Linus Torvalds in 2005.

Github has been the home to the overwhelming majority of open source projects, it’s also used by developers within companies to privately collaborate on software. It’s not inaccurate or hyperbole to call GitHub the epicenter of the software development universe.

The code sharing platform was last valued at $2 billion in 2015, and it’s not yet known how much Microsoft paid for the site. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s vastly north of that figure. Despite the company’s money woes and lack of a CEO, Github holds a privileged position in the development world.

Bloomberg reports that GitHub’s leadership chose to allow Microsoft to acquire it, based on the performance and leadership of Redmond CEO Satya Nadella, who has moved Microsoft beyond its “embrace, extend, and extinguish” days.

Under Nadella’s rule, Microsoft has enthusiastically embraced open source, with several of its projects released on Github under permissive licenses.

It’s worked hard (and spent a fair bit of cash) on bringing Ubuntu and BASH to Windows, and has ported several of its popular applications to Linux and macOS, like SQL Server and Visual Studio.

Credit: TNW

As the World Cup beckons, Uganda’s leading online retailer, Jumia has not been left out of the festivities, with the Jumia Cup, a football tournament organised by Jumia.

Dubbed “The battle of the brands”, the football event saw teams from Simba Telecom, Adidas, Jumia, Kwese, Syinix, Blue Flame and Euroflex meet head in a series of friendly matches to be crowned the Jumia Cup champions.

While speaking at the event on Saturday, Jumia Country Manager , Ham Namakajjo said “We have already been celebrating the World Cup with great deals on our website and wanted to transfer some of that energy offline, which is why we invited some of our vendor partners to participate in the Jumia cup.”

Simba Telecom Retail Supervisor Francis Balya said, “It is important for organisations to interact outside of the business environment and even more so with customers.”

A total of 8 teams participated in the mini 5-Aside tournament, which culminated with the Adidas team being crowned champions of the 1st edition of the Jumia Cup after beating Euro flex 4-2 in an exhilarating final.

In addition to the Jumia Cup, Jumia as part of the world cup campaign has been offering customers free pay TV subscriptions on Kwese and StarTimes to watch the World Cup in the World Cup sale running until 10th June 2018. This has been complimented by discounts on various items like televisions from top brands like Samsung, LG and Sony.