Technikari - a Techzim podcast: Recent Episodes
Techzim
Discussions about the internet opportunity in Africa, technology and business news in Zimbabwe, Africa and beyond
Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, I was joined by Norman Moyo the CEO of the Econet Group subsidiary that Strive Masiyiwa said would be bigger than Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Econet Wireless - Distributed Power Africa (DPA). We discussed the state of power generation in Africa with a particular focus on the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and the shortfalls in power production that have been a feature of the last two decades and how that relates to Independent Power Producers (IPPs). We also covered:
- Why Independent Power Producers, like DPA, are only installing solar at mines and factories.
- The equity deal DPA has with France's national power company EDF.
- ZESA's strength is the transmission infrastructure it has, they should leverage that and let private players generate electricity.
- The legacy debt and other problems plaguing ZESA and its African counterparts.
- ZESA is importing expensive electricity and selling it to customers at a discount. This is unsustainable...
- The US$100 Billion for renewable energy fund that Zimbabwe and Africa are missing out on.
- Will DPA meet the ambition that Strive Masiyiwa has for it?
- Nuclear power is too far off for Africa. We have the sun, let's use it.
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Episode Notes The recent policy measures that were put in place by the government left many scratching their heads as to what is going on in Zimbabwe. The most confusing one of them all was the banning of credit which was overturned, but not as loudly as loans were banned. To get stuck into the immediate and future effects of new policies (those that remain), we were joined on this episode of Technikari by a peerless economic mind, a man who needs no introduction, the one and only King Kandoro.
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Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, I was joined by one of the best sportscasting duos out there, Barry Manandi and Mike Madoda. I am sure all of you have heard their voices over the radio or seen them on TV and I had the pleasure of picking their brains about what football was as a young fan before the advent of social media. It was a different world back then and they shared their experiences from those days that I can only imagine were in black and white.
"Dynamos would play Highlanders on a Sunday and if you were from our background, I come from a rural background, you would be getting the Parade Magazine that would come out a month later and you'd still be keen on the story. Even though the game was played three weeks ago it will have the pictures and the centre spread of the winning team" - Mike
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Episode Notes I was joined by Sherman Baloyi who is the Creative Director at OnaDsgn, a local brand strategy firm to go over why international companies spend thousands to even millions of dollars on their brand/branding or unique identity. The conversation covers how logos have become more than just "we do this" to an embodiment of the greater ideal or goal an organisation strives for. The easiest example that comes to mind is how cleverly the Amazon logo was designed to show that they will take anything from A to Z.
It's subtleties like this that are sometimes lacking in Zimbabwe and Sherman gave me the lay of the land locally. On top of that, he shed light on which startups/companies have excelled at creating a distinct brand and those that have fallen short of the mark.
TECHZIM'S MARKET APP HAS BEEN ZERO-RATED, NOW YOU DON'T NEED DATA TO BUY NETONE, TELECEL AIRTIME WITH MONEY IN YOUR ECOCASH. YOU CAN ALSO BUY NYARADZO POLICIES, TELONE PACKAGES AND MORE. CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE APP - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.techzim.marketplace&hl=en&gl=US
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Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, I was joined by Privilege Nyauta, the founder and CEO of a local web hosting service called PnrHost which has a subsidiary called Resellme, a platform that allows anyone to sell domains and web hosting to businesses and individuals.
The latter is the more interesting product, in my opinion, because it fits with the digital migration we have seen over the last couple of pandemic hit years. Everyone wants to go online and set up a store, or a virtual presence for their business.
According to Privilege, Resellme already has over 1000 agents who are selling domains to their clients. So to find out more about it we went over the benefits and drawbacks of the platform, how someone can get onboard as well as what lies in the future.
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Episode Notes Takudzwa Nhongo in 2017, went about trying to find the problem with education in Zimbabwe. In the year prior the ZIMSEC pass rate was 29.96%. To find out what was going wrong, Takudzwa applied to write 18 subjects for his O-Levels and came out of that with 16 A's and 2 B's. This was quite a remarkable feat and to achieve it he developed study techniques/models that he has implemented in the e-learning app he co-founded called Kytte.
Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, we were joined by Dream VC cofounder Mark Kleyner. We talked about venture capital, angel investing and all things funding. Mark and Dream VC are not your typical VC outfit. Unlike those you know, their focus is on Africa, just like Transsion.
Mark shares his view on the good, the bad and the ugly of the venture capital industry in Africa. For example, you have heard that in the last decade, over 75% of the African startups that received funding had no black cofounder. We discuss what's going on there and more.
What Mark and Dream VC are doing in this space is unique. Dream VC is an investor accelerator, meaning they are producing venture capitalists and Mark explains exactly what that means and how you, yes you, could be a part of this. Why should foreign investors enjoy all the benefits when African startups like Flutterwave succeed? Dream VC seeks to produce African investors who invest in African startups to change that.
Episode Notes On this episode, I was joined by Peter Kaunda the Patron of the Arts at Artillery Gallery in Harare. He shared his experiences in the art scene in Zimbabwe on the business side, the art subscription services Artillery recently launched as well as the struggles of authentication, verification and insurance of art in Zimbabwe.
You can visit the Artillery Gallery at 72 Second Street Extension, Golden Stairs Nursery, Harare, Zimbabwe and you can also check out their Instagram @artillerytheartgallery
TECHZIM'S MARKET APP HAS BEEN ZERO-RATED, NOW YOU DON'T NEED DATA TO BUY NETONE, TELECEL AIRTIME WITH MONEY IN YOUR ECOCASH. YOU CAN ALSO BUY NYARADZO POLICIES, TELONE PACKAGES AND MORE. CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE APP - techzim.co.zw/download-techzim-app/
Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, we were joined by @Magamba TV co-founder Comrade Fatso to talk about the Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) Bill that seeks to regulate Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Zimbabwe. Magamba has been one of the few content companies that have come to strongly oppose the PVO bill and for good reason because the organisation is an NGO or as they are calling them these days Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
We explored:
- What the PVO Bill is
- Why Magamba and others are dead set on pushing back on the bill and how it affects their operations
- How this will affect startups in Magamba's sphere and the programmes the organization holds in journalism and other fields
- The wider impact of the PVO bills on other NGOs and the work that they do.
TECHZIM'S MARKET APP HAS BEEN ZERO-RATED, NOW YOU DON'T NEED DATA TO BUY NETONE, TELECEL AIRTIME WITH MONEY IN YOUR ECOCASH. YOU CAN ALSO BUY NYARADZO POLICIES, TELONE PACKAGES AND MORE. CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE APP - techzim.co.zw/download-techzim-app/
You can download the PVO Bill with the link here...
Find out more at http://www.techzim.co.zw
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Episode Notes Last week NetOne announced a price adjustment for its OneFi packages that would have seen 80GB going for ZWL$99,000 which was US$800 at the auction rate. After a day-long public outcry, the state-owned mobile network operator saw the light and reduced the prices to a more realistic range.
It was one of the rare instances where social media pressure, forced a state-run company to recant and put things right.
TECHZIM'S MARKET APP HAS BEEN ZERO-RATED, NOW YOU DON'T NEED DATA TO BUY NETONE, TELECEL AIRTIME WITH MONEY IN YOUR ECOCASH. YOU CAN ALSO BUY NYARADZO POLICIES, TELONE PACKAGES AND MORE. CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE APP - https://www.techzim.co.zw/download-techzim-app/
$99,000 for 80 GB?! NetOne’s new data prices (February 2022) - https://www.techzim.co.zw/2022/02/99000-for-80-gb-netones-new-data-prices-february-2022/
US$800 for 80GB, NetOne’s new One Fi prices are killing its MiFi use case - https://www.techzim.co.zw/2022/02/us800-for-80gb-netones-new-one-fi-prices-are-killing-its-mifi-use-case/
Netone reverses price hikes after public outcry. How much should they charge? - https://www.techzim.co.zw/2022/02/netone-reverses-price-hikes-after-public-outcry-what-should-they-charge/
Find out more at http://www.techzim.co.zw
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Episode Notes Brand identity/branding has long since been a cornerstone of any company or collective. If your potential customer can't distinguish you from a competitor or make you out at all, then sustainability is going to be difficult. This not only speaks to your logo or commercials but also of your internal branding as well as your products and services. To get a picture of what it takes to stand out as a brand or company I was joined by John and Elizabeth Murinye who are the founders of Zarura, a local brand strategy firm.
They have worked with companies like Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Irish fintech firm Billout, Gomba Educare and many others. We explored the concepts of brand strategy, visual design and aesthetics as well as what makes a brand memorable.
You can check out some of Zarura's work with the link below:
- Branding your startup
- Zarura Rebranding Zimbabwe
- TelOne Branding Rethink
- Rethinking ZTN
Techzim's market app has been zero-rated meaning you don't need data to buy NetOne airtime and data bundles with money from your EcoCash wallet, or pay for DStv via ZIPIT and many other services. Download the Techzim Market App with the links below:
- https://techzim.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/techzim-market-1.9.6.apk…
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.techzim.marketplace&hl=en≷=US
Find out more at http://www.techzim.co.zw
Episode Notes This evening (14/02/2022) we held a Twitter Space to talk about the 10% Excise Duty or Tax that will be levied on internet packages and VOIP services. The news was communicated by ZOL Zimbabwe in an email to customers and we were joined by our community on Twitter to go over it.
Find out more at http://www.techzim.co.zw
Episode Notes Takudzwa Shamhu is a local developer who works for Pleo, a Danish fintech firm that creates solutions to manage business expenses. We recently had a chat with him about his very interesting journey from working at Telco after graduating to ending up in Europe. Oh... and how he built Wa-Faya's app in just six months.
He shared also shared some of the lessons he learned from his journey and how Zimbabwean developers can take advantage of international opportunities.
Find out more at http://www.techzim.co.zw
Episode Notes Zimbabwean inventor Maxwell Chikumbutso has reportedly created a radio-frequency powered television. This means that there is no power cable and the TV is powered purely by radio waves similar to WiFi and Bluetooth.
Maxwell Chikumbutso via The Herald "With an RF-powered generator embedded on a TV set, it is now possible for many people to enjoy watching TV whilst they are off-grid. For me, this started off as a dream in 2003, but today it's now a reality. We have successfully developed a solution that powers televisions, smartphones, laptop computers, fridges just to name a few. "Goodbye to electric wired home appliances. Welcome to the future with the world's first Free Energy powered 55" UHD Samsung TV. The dawn of wireless self-powered gadgets is here!" The concept isn't new because Samsung debuted a radio-frequency powered TV remote at CES 2022 which also has a small solar panel on the back. However, what Maxwell Chikumbutso has done, if true, could mean that conventional electrical infrastructure is a thing of the past because it will all be antenna arrays. TVs, smartphones and all other devices will be radio frequency powered
But is this even possible?
Maxwell Chikumbutso of Saith Technologies is back – Claims generator powers 10 houses at once
Cover Image Credit: The Herald
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Episode Notes I was joined Uk-based comedian Mukudzei "King" Kandoro Majoni to talk about his recently concluded stand up tour the Prodigal Son. We also talked about, the rigours of life in Zimbabwe, how his diaspora experience is going, stealing twenty-five dollars that were meant for school fees and more.
Intro Track: Bensound The site is Bensound.com
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Episode Notes The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) recently released its sector performance report for Q3 2021 and yet again data is king in the country with usage continuing on the up because of the pandemic. However in saying that, the quality of data has been iffy for a very long time because there are more of us who are using base stations that might be at capacity. We talked about the state of data in Zimbabwe and how the government can make it easier for mobile network operators, who are suffering losses, to be able to meet the demand for mobile internet services.
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Episode Notes Buying a second-hand car in Zimbabwe is a game of Russian roulette because good looking cars are sometimes on their last legs and the bad ones... well... We took a dive into the second-hand car market on Facebook, car sales and imports, and the different buying habits of the various tax brackets. Additionally, we looked at preserving value for your safety and to sell on as well as how ZUPCO pretty much forced us all to need a car.
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Episode Notes Today I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Michael Sibanda or I am sure most of you would know him by his TikTok handle @PabloZW1. He is one of the funniest guys online and it's no surprise that he has garnered 23.5K followers on TikTok since his first post in August.
Check out his social media with handles below: TikTok: @pablozw1 Instagram: @Pablo_zw1 Twitter: @Pablozw1 YouTube: youtu.be/dmTylzcjnNk
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Episode Notes The e-passport rollout is so confusing. When should we start applying for them? What about those who got regular passports recently? Why should we have to pay at CBZ and then at the Passport office? Is this another one of those things that is only being done because we are getting into election season? If the government was struggling with conventional passports do we have the materials and suppliers to meet the tsunami applications for these new and complicated e-passports?
We tried to make sense of these questions and more...
You should also check out:
https://www.techzim.co.zw/2021/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-zims-new-e-passport/ https://www.techzim.co.zw/2021/12/why-does-cbz-have-a-monopoly-on-e-passport-application-fees/
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Episode Notes Owning a car in Zim is a bit of an extreme sport. There are no easy breaks because importing one can be a nightmare and getting one locally comes at a ridiculous premium. After getting your car you'll have to contend with the cost of that first service. This can be a pleasurable experience if the previous owner met all the service intervals or a money pit if they treated the car like a disposable asset.
Once on the road, you'll have to contend with mushikashikas and Honda Fit drivers who think the road belongs to them. These specimens usually create lanes where none exist as if everyone who is in the traffic jam is somehow stupid. The only reason traffic is backed up is because road infrastructure was not developed to remain in step with the influx of vehicles. Furthermore, we have a near non-existent public transport system meaning that the only way to consistently get from A to B is by saving up and getting an Ex-Jap.
On top of all of that, the roads themselves are so poorly maintained that everyone looks like they are warming their tires readying themselves for the F1 safety car to go back into the pits.
We had a conversation about these topics and more with some prices and the likes on buying a "new to you" car, the cost to maintain it and even more pain points about owning a car in Zim.
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Episode Notes Early last week we reviewed a US-based local startup called Imets. The company moved into the diaspora grocery remittance space and is akin to Instacart which basically means that you can shop through the isles of OK Zimbabwe, Spar and other local stores, in the diaspora, for your loved ones back home. Or if you are local looking to save time you can shop through the stores you know from the comfort of your home In either case, the groceries will be delivered.
I had the pleasure of talking to Milton Shonai, the co-founder of Imets to know more about the startup as well as ask about:
- Business model comparisons with Instacart and how they are fitting that into the Zimbabwean context
- The growth that Imets has experienced since its launch
- Is Imets following the Instacart route of prioritising growth over profitability?
- Partnerships with local retail stores and their partner logistics firm, as well as the difficulties of that process
- The US$20/hr that drivers would get if the app went mainstream that the Techzim community were curious about.
- Driver and employee benefits as the company grows
- Plans for 2022
You can download Imets for yourself with the links below: iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/imets/id1567736471 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imets
Also, check out our review of the app and service with the link below:
https://www.techzim.co.zw/2021/11/imets-is-zimbabwes-version-of-instacart-and-more/
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Episode Notes Remittances or money transfers are big business these days, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were projections in early 2020 that forecasted a dip in remittances but the opposite was the case as saw last year Zimbabweans in the diaspora sent back US$1 billion which was a record sum.
2021 looks to be picking up where 2020 left off because according to the Mid Term Monetary Policy Statement remittances or money transfers to Zimbabwe were up 73% from the figure recorded during the same period in 2020. To find out more about the space we are joined by Matt Coquillon the founder of Mama Money.
We discussed the origins and motivations of the company as well as Mama Money's longstanding relationship with Zimbabweans in the diaspora.
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Episode Notes We held a Twitter Space breaking down a study that was done by The Zimbabwe Blockchain Technology Think Tank called "Towards Virtual Asset Regulation and Adoption of Blockchain Technology in Zimbabwe's Context".
The think tank itself comprised of
- Hon Advocate Fortune Chasi, MP
- Dr Solomon Guramatunhu, MBChB, Opththamology
- Dr Immaculate Motsi-Omoijiade, PHD (she/her) Cryptocurrency
- Prosper Mwedzi, M.Law (Hons), Solicitor (England and Wales) Twitter (@prosmoon)
- Kudzai Mubaiwa, B.Commerce Hons (Banking), Masters (Development Finance)
- Osmas Chiurunge, Software Engineer, B.Computing
- Norman Chimuka (Partner), Chimuka Mafunga Commercial Attorneys
- Tonderai Sena (Associate), Chimuka Mafunga Commercial Attorneys
We were joined on the Space by members of The Zimbabwe Blockchain Technology Think Tank to discuss the study as well as go over the regulatory landscape, pain points for value preservation and entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe. Here is a recording of the space for all those who weren't able to be part of it as it happened.
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Episode Notes Shelter or accommodation is one of those things that bring about anxiety. This could be in an existing property or if you are looking at moving to a new one. We have spoken at length about the local financial system, highlighting the quirks and deficiencies that are presently plaguing Zimbabweans. However, it's often easy to forget that the property market, be it residential or commercial, gets caught up in the ripples emanating from Zimbabwe's economic situation. To know about the changes and trends that have affected the local property market we were joined by Mark Conway from Propertybook. On top of that, we also discussed how Propertybook has been evolving and innovating to overcome the changes that it has felt in the market.
https://www.propertybook.co.zw/ https://www.hararerentals.co.zw/ https://www.stands.co.zw/ https://www.otm.co.zw/ https://www.onshow.co.zw/
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Episode Notes Earlier this year Shumba Money, a local remittance or money transfer startup, announced that it would be slashing fees for transactions to Zimbabwe. This wasn't something out of the ordinary because we had seen something similar from Senditoo last year. However, Shumba Money is a relatively young player in the game and we were curious about why/how they were able to do this.
To answer this question and to get to know more about the business, we spoke to Shumba Money's founder, Andrew Dauramanzi.
If you are looking to buy ZESA Tokens, airtime, NetOne data bundles with money in your EcoCash wallet and more. Dail *405#.
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Episode Notes Gwinyai Nyatsoka is a Zimbabwean developer who made it big on Udemy a few years back. When he shared his earnings, the total came to around US$20K, since that time he has become the Chief Technical Officer at Cobbles, a US-based software development firm.
I recently had a conversation with Gwinyai Nyastoka about his work even before he started teaching on Udemy. And he revealed that he has started a new course that will better equip local developers on how they can make the most of the increasing worldwide demand for coders.
Links: https://gwinyai.com/course-detail https://github.com/Gwinyai https://medium.com/@gwinyai
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Episode Notes Wadiwa Wepamoyo Season 2 dropped today on Gateway Streams, the same platform that Jah Prayzah dropped his album exclusively a little while ago. And it looks like the problems that plagued the latter's rollout affected Wadiwa Wepamoyo but with the added dimension of video.
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Episode Notes Yesterday, Zimbabwe's Drone expert Tawanda Chihambakwe pitched his ideas to ZESA and a delegation from Rwanda Energy. After the presentation, I had an opportunity to talk to Tawanda about the plans that he had going forward like manufacturing drones locally. We also talked about the problems that local startups have had in navigating Zimbabwe's very complicated operating environment.
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Episode Notes Today I was joined by Simon Nyamuda, Managing Director of Compulink Systems. His, is an interesting journey of taking the reigns of a business at the tender age of 22 and leading the company forward. His remarkable work has not gone unnoticed as he was named IODz Young Director of the Year for 2019 and Outstanding Entrepreneurial Sales Executive at the Zimbabwe CEO Awards
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Episode Notes Last week we reported on EduXpert, a local e-learning startup that offers lessons for pre-primary all the way to trade schools and tertiary education. The platform does this by offering anyone with the skills and qualifications an avenue to monetise their knowledge and experience.
On the students' side of things, they get to pick and rate the teachers on the platform. This means that tutors who have more effective teaching styles (for a given course) will rise to the top. In turn, forcing every other teacher and tutor to improve their own teaching and communication skills. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Panashe Mashungupa from EduXpert to know more about the site's current and future plans.
EduXpert also launched a mobile application on the Google Play Store and you can check it out with the link here.
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Episode Notes Sometimes the price of a product, service or experience is high because it's taken a lot of time to develop and perfect. This, of course, doesn't mean that there aren't a few crafty flea market vendors out there who'll rip you off. It's a mess but we tried to make sense of it through our experiences.
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Episode Notes This is a little belated because we are well past the halfway point of the year but the Technikari crew (Edwin, Rufaro and Valentine) went over their device and gadget acquisitions for 2021 thus far. You will also get a preview of the devices that Edwin will be reviewing soon and what he has made of them in the early phases of testing.
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Episode Notes Chad Chawanda is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur who has a vested interest in a number of fields. He started out his business journey as a dropout, went into a panel beating business and then quickly pivoted to sales (local and regional) and digital marketing. Chad has a number of companies he is affiliated with namely ADvocado a digital marketing company that has worked with Chicken Hut, Coffee Republik, Last Mile and more.
He is also involved in intra-Africa trade where he has traded in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). I recently got the opportunity to have a conversation with Chad to talk about the work that he has been doing in the tech and digital space where ADvocado is concerned.
Chad Chawanda also has a podcast called SCIX Africa Trade Talks which you can check out with the link here.
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Episode Notes Christopher Tsamba is a local animator who, through his company Mbasta Animation, got an animated show on ZBC TV. I recently had the pleasure of talking to him about the struggles of trying to make it as a content creator in Zimbabwe. As well as how he got his show on ZBC.
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Episode Notes I was joined yet again by Economist and former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Monetary Policy Committee Eddie Cross to talk about financing a nation, tax collection and administration as well as electronic transactions
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Episode Notes In 2012 and at the very young age of 14, Maud Chifamba became the youngest ever University of Zimbabwe student and tertiary education student in Southern Africa. I recently got the opportunity to have a chat with her to talk about her journey and experiences.
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Episode Notes Last week we reported on a docuseries that would delve into the journey of Africa's first Karate World Champion Shihan Samson Muripo. The production was done by a local content platform called Yakontent with the backing of First Mutual Holdings Limited. To get more about the production I spoke to Tafadzwa Munyaradzi from Yakontent, Farayi Mangwende from First Mutual and the man himself Shihan Samson Muripo.
You can watch the first episode of the Samson Muripo Docuseries with the link here.
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Episode Notes Part two of our discussion on the benefits of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is a more focused one. In this episode, we look at the use cases for the blockchain and cryptos that go beyond financial services. And I was joined yet again by Financial Services Lawyer and Blockchain Technology Analyst, Prosper Mwedzi.
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Episode Notes Thumeza, is a local startup that offers financing to small scale logistics operators. It was recently named as one of the 10 finalists for the Telecel Group under its Africa Startup Initiative Program (ASIP) and Startupbootcamp Afritech US$750K accelerator along with another Zimbabwean startup called Dawa Health. I got the opportunity to "virtually" sit down with Thumeza's CEO and founder Gugulethu Siso to talk about the company, what it has been doing as well as its participation in the Telecel Group (ASIP) and Startupbootcamp Afritech Accelerator.
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Episode Notes Today I was joined by the former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Monetary Policy Committee, Eddie Cross. We explored the recently launched ZWL $50 note, the contrast in policy and environment from Rhodesia to present-day Zimbabwe. The forex auction system and if it has been a success, his current capacity in financial policymaking and the general outlook going forward.
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Episode Notes Who remembers the days when you had to use a pen or pencil to rewind a cassette tape? They seem like a lifetime ago, and for good reason. The production and distribution of music in Zimbabwe (and the world over) has been liberalized to the point that anyone with a laptop can be a producer and artists.
The shift has also seen the downfall of the power that record labels like Gramma Records and radio stations held over artists. In most cases, local radio stations are sourcing their music on WhatsApp and online, like everyone else. To talk more about the industry and how it has changed over the years I was joined by Plot Mhako a man who has deep roots in the local music industry. He is also the journalist who broke the NashTv contract leak that we reported on earlier this year.
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Episode Notes Bitcoin and altcoin price fluctuation is a complex topic to get to the bottom of. There are a number of factors that influence their price. Some factors are apparent while others are in the realm of speculation. To shed light on what causes the dips and peaks in the price of Bitcoin we were joined by Financial Services Lawyer Prosper Mwedzi who if you remember is pushing a private cryptocurrency bill to get Zimbabwe legislation that supports alternative currencies. We also talked about how crypto adoption in Zimbabwe is being held back by the lack of interest from financial authorities like the RBZ. Blockchain Technology isn't only useful when it comes to money but has brought forth innovations like smart contracts and insurance that would be very useful in Zimbabwe.
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Episode Notes If you own a second-hand car imported from Japan (ex-Jap) then you know that you can't access certain radio frequencies in Zimbabwe. At best you can get two maybe three (depending on where you are) because the FM frequency in Japan is between 76 - 95 MHz.
This led us down a rabbit hole of what decisions like the adoption of vehicles and other goods could have on the local ecosystem. We figured that the issue with ex-Jap cars has affected the listenership of certain radio stations that fall outside of the preset range. Also what it could mean for those stations when it comes to ad revenue because there are a lot of Ex-Jap cars on the road and many listeners will be bottlenecked into certain stations.
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Episode Notes Late last week the Telecel Group and Startupbootcamp Afritech announced the finalists for its Africa wide accelerator. Among the chosen few is a Zimbabwean startup called Dawa Health, which offers antenatal care to expecting parents. Their field of interest is especially important because pregnancy-related deaths are caused by insufficient antenatal care. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), two-thirds of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable and antenatal care is a primary component. Furthermore, Sub-Saharan Africa and Sothern Asia accounted for 86% of maternal deaths worldwide in 2017. Dawa Health is stepping in by offering information through a chatbot, antenatal care kits, and has established a network of Community Health Agents to assist expecting mothers in remote areas. The was co-founded by Tafadzwa Munzwa and is operating in Zambia and we got a chance to speak to him.
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Episode Notes The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) has reemerged from its long slumber. The last time ZUPCO had a presence anywhere near to what it has today was back in the late 90s early 2000s. And even though it is still working at a fraction of its capacity, the company still moves tens of thousands of people a day. Its slow rise has also been accompanied by innovations, a little while ago ZUPCO in conjunction with NMB and CBZ launched the tap card which was meant to ease the need for cash and change. ZUPCO recently followed that up with a partnership with Vaya which allows users to buy intercity bus tickets through the former's app. All this being said, its potential has not been reached, this is also considering the fact that the government killed the kombi industry just to facilitate its public transport arm. We thought we would take a dive into what ZUPCO has been up to and what opportunities it has missed, taken and ones that it is unaware of.
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Episode Notes Yesterday we reported on the lack of coverage for USD deposits by the Deposit Protection Corporation _(DPC)_. And a lot of people weren't too surprised that this provision was not set by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and Ministry of Finance. While this gap exists in the banking sector, the Reserve Bank announced interest rates for savings deposits including USD. Yeah... if you were to tell anyone who isn't familiar with Zimbabwe that this is the way we exist they wouldn't believe you.
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Episode Notes Microsoft is launching the next generation of Windows (11) operating system, tomorrow the 24th of June 2021. We browsed the internet to see what was being said about it and here are our thoughts...
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Episode Notes Itel has been the butt of many jokes for the longest time in Zimbabwe. Most of them have been all in good fun but others are a little malicious. It's good to remember that Transsion, the company that owns Itel, Tecno and Infinix, commands 37% of the smartphone market in Africa according to Counterpoint's research. The lion's share of that is Tecno with 18%, which places it in first place on the continent ahead of Samsung. Itel is in third place with 12% and Transsion's last property Infinix, is in fifth place with 7%. Now, that's three brands owned by one company in the top 10 of the African market. So how was Transsion able to achieve this and how did it design products to capture more than a third of a market?
For reviews on Itel, Tecno and other smartphones brands, you can check out our YouTube channel with the link here.
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Episode Notes So earlier this week a German company called Amaetheon Agri was given a licence to grow Marijuana/Cannabis for scientific and medical use. This sparked an internal debate about the whole cannabis licence system in Zimbabwe.
The fee is exclusionary by design and this is a bad thing because the govt and economy could be making a lot more money if there were tiered licences ranging from recreational and small scale growers all the way to commercial operations. Cannabis is after all a billion-dollar industry, valued at around US$20 billion and it is projected to grow to US$70.6 billion by the end of the decade.
And another thing, why is there no growers licence for tobacco which is undoubtedly more harmful but there is one for cannabis which by comparison is not.
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Episode Notes Earlier this week, Minister for Finance Mthuli Ncube said that Zimbabwe had a budget surplus of ZWL$9.8 billion in Q1 of 2021. A budget surplus is essentially the government making more money from income like taxes and the likes than it is spending. Now there are many ways to interpret this especially with COVID-19 being an inescapable reality both on its impact on business and how it should influence government spending.
Link to ZIMRA's Q1 2021 report is in the link here
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Episode Notes Huawei's Harmony OS has been in the works for some time. Murmurs of the iOS and Android competitor date back to the mid-2010s and its imminent arrival will be a welcome addition to the smartphone and appliance market.
However with Huawei's app gallery light on apps and it being outside the well known Android and iOS duopoly does it stand a chance outside the Chinese market?
You should also check out:
Our resident Huawei fanboy Edwin recently did a review of the Chinese device maker's G2 smartwatch you can check that out in the link here. If you want to hear what Edwin thinks of the Harmony OS outside our interrogation you can check out his latest video with the link here.
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Episode Notes The City of Harare earlier this week went on a bit of a rant on Twitter where it issued a number of orders like dog licences, civilians not being allowed to control traffic at intersections with dead signal lights and many more.
We couldn't resist adding our own commentary on it after seeing some of the replies retweets and comments left by Hararians on The City Of Harare's tweets.
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Episode Notes This time last week we got the news that the government had issued Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021. In SI 127 are a raft of new measures that govern the rules of forex in the country not only for those participating in RBZ's Forex Auction but for the nation at large. And as I am sure you are aware, there was massive backlash from all corners of Zimbabwe. Pundits, experts and armchair economists alike said that this will increase prices, increase the scarcity of USD in formal channels, inconvenience businesses and encourage black market forex deals.
Here's our take of one week under SI 127 of 2021 and what we have seen since it was announced.
Recommended reading:
- Businesses to face Z$50K fine for not accepting ZWL$ equivalent of US$ goods & services
- Did SI 127 affect Econet’s buy USD airtime for bonuses promotion?
- OK Zimbabwe has stopped accepting USD payments because of SI 127
- RBZ “SI 127 is not designed to harm business”
- The authors of chaos, the RBZ says otherwise but SI 127 will harm businesses
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Episode Notes So... yesterday the Ministry of Commerce and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) released a joint statement that extended the grace period for the ban on imports of second-hand cars that are 10 years or older till June 30th 2021. Now, this isn't too surprising because the reasons for the ban didn't make a lick of sense. Here's a quick one about how this move by ZIMRA and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is all about the money and nothing else. And if things don't get better in terms of cash flow for ZIMRA and the govt, we might see the ban on second-hand cars 10 years or older being lifted sometime in the future.
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Episode Notes Yesterday the government announced SI 127 of 2021 which put new rules and penalties of forex use. The Statutory Instrument looks like it was designed to stop businesses from pricing goods and services above the auction-rate more than anything else... The response by businesses as we saw in a tweet by journalist Hopewell Chin'ono is to increase local currency prices so that they don't lose out to the prevailing 1:85 official rate as mandated by SI 127 of 2021.
In light of this, we decided to go over some of the other potential consequences that may come up because of SI 127 of 2021 for consumers and businesses.
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Episode Notes It looks like YouTube Music is working in Zim after Google Play Music was discontinued. I say working because the streaming function is working on my device but not on Rufaro and Ed's phones. Maybe it's a slow-release because I tried it earlier this month and I got the "not available in your country" error that Rufaro and Ed are getting now.
Is YouTube Music working for you? Or are you only able to use it to play local music files?
You can read the article on Techzim with the link here
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Episode Notes A couple of days ago, a trailer dropped for a remake of the Zimbabwean classic Neria directed by Godwin Mawuru and written by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Now, remakes and reboots are things that we are accustomed to when it comes to Hollywood but for Zimbabwean cinema which still has a lot of stories to tell we decided to have a conversation on this new rendition of Neria to see if it's a welcome update for the modern age or unnecessary.
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Episode Notes Jabu's Homecoming is set to be Zim's first WhatsApp exclusive drama which will use voice notes, text, pictures and videos to tell a week-long story. The series which is the work of renowned filmmaker Ben Mahaka is set to hit phones tomorrow and I was curious to know what we are in for. The production's public relations manager, Tinashe Nyaruwangu said that it is going to be like being part of a family WhatsApp group.
If you watch check out Zim's first WhatsApp exclusive drama send hi to +263 719 900 790. Alternatively, you visit the show's website with the link here.
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Episode Notes The question might sound strange because EcoCash is pretty an institution when it comes to payments in Zimbabwe. However, when it comes to issues like the cost of transactions, OneMoney and Telecash are far more reasonable than EcoCash.
Furthermore, interoperability ushering in a new age in Zimbabwe. We thought that the public would dabble with the other mobile money operators. However, from POTRAZ's reports, it looks like OneMoney (we will say nothing of Telecash) is not gaining ground on EcoCash as fast as we thought.
Maybe that's because many are now transacting out of their bank accounts to go around the ZWL$35 000 a month limit. Or that people are just content with EcoCash as a service and prefer the devil they know...
This among many other things is something that we though we should have a conversation about to gauge our stance on this new era of payments in Zimbabwe.
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Episode Notes Zimswitch has gained an ever more important role in the national economy over the last 11 months. It started with the company being designated as the National Switch which meant that EcoCash, which existed outside the payments establishment, was brought into the fold.
The folks at Zimswitch then doubled down on that announcement with two partnerships. The first was with Mastercard, the intended purpose of this was to expand digital payments in Zimbabwe. Visa was the next payments service to join forces with Zimswitch and from what we learned this was to support e-commerce in the country.
However, the two partnerships have been geared more towards foreign currency payments online. Now, this doesn't make sense because there are far more local currency holders than those with a prepaid USD card or a NOSTRO account.
Granted the value of USD transactions is worth more but what of the local who wants to trade in both seamlessly. In this episode of Technikari, we talk about what Zimswitch is and what problem it is trying to solve in this era of interoperability and e-commerce.
We also talked about:
- What is e-commerce in the Zimbabwean context?
- Who does Zimswitch actually serve?
- Should Zimswitch rethink its business model and become more customer-facing?
- How Vpayments failed to capture the massive local e-commerce market.
- Are the banks an impediment to Zimswitch meeting merchant needs?
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Episode Notes Earlier today, we found out that you can receive money via PayPal in Zim if you open a merchant wallet. Now, there has been no confirmation from PayPal that this is a thing but it's up and running so those who can make use of it probably will.
In light of this we decided to go over PayPal's history in Zimbabwe, what this could mean if PayPal comes out and says that this official. And what this could do for Zimbabwean businesses in the dollarisation 2.0 era.
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Episode Notes Technology has been a "godsend" when it comes to making our lives easier and more comfortable. Over the years it has allowed us to more than we could before at an exponential rate. You can order goods and services online, complete complex tasks with a device in your pocket and much more. With all this innovation there has been one group that I think has been left behind in the tech boom in Zimbabwe. People with disabilities haven't had a fair go of it when it comes to joining in on all technology has to offer.
This has been made all the more worse in the country by the rapid acceleration of the digital age due to the pandemic. To understand exactly what needs to be done and what has been accomplished in this respect we spoke to Aidan Gamble from Inclusive Access Zimbabwe which is an organisation that seeks to reduce the technology divide in the country through workshops and more recently a device donation drive that the company will load the appropriate soft to aid people with disabilities in Zimbabwe gain greater access to technology and all it has to offer.
Inclusive Access Zimbabwe is currently running a donation drive for devices that ends on the 7th of May 2021. The startup is also looking for anyone who might want to help them build a website that meets global inclusive standards. You can contact Inclusive Access Zimbabwe through the following details.
- e-mail inclusiveaccesszim@gmail.com
- WhatsApp text or call +263782492797.
- Also check out their twitter page @zimbabweaccess.
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Episode Notes "Locally produced"is a term that has become few and far between these days. The main cause is of course the sorry state of the economy making avenues for local production of anything difficult. This is more so for locally produced content. We have seen a lot of creators take to social media like Tiktok and Instagram as well as YouTube. However, there has been a lull in terms of locally produced movies and series at least from my experience. This is of course because of the cost of creating a production. It isn't the easiest thing to gather actors and production crew in order to get a project off the ground. To get a clearer picture of what it's like in Zimbabwe's film industry, we got the chance to have a chat with British I.T. Madzivanyika a local filmmaker and actor.
British has been part of local productions like Mamhepo, Sins of my Father, My Pain My love and more. You can check out British's work and other local productions on Igniteflix with the link here.
Episode Notes Bitcoin (BTC) is having a hell of a year in 2021, we have seen the cryptocurrency jump in value, breaking record after record (currently at 58 219.79). With this rise, there are many people who have taken to Bitcoin trading in Zimbabwe.
As good as the interest in cryptos is, there are a lot of people who go into trading Bitcoin in Zimbabwe blind. Most often individuals are preyed upon by scammers who offer unrealistic returns while making off with the people's money.
Zimbabwe is an interesting case because there are no sanctioned cryptocurrency exchanges. This lack of an "official" pathway has led to an explosion of scams. To understand the ins and outs of cryptocurrency trading, we are joined on this episode by Bitcoin enthusiast William Chui.
In this episode we talk about:
- The types of cryptocurrencies that are out there aside from Bitcoin.
- Which crypto is the 'best" bet to invest in?
- How to trade cryptocurrencies in Zimbabwe as a beginner.
- What kind of trades there are out there.
- The payment pathways for Bitcoin and alt coin trading.
- How much you stand to make by trading Cryptocurrencies.
- How you can spot scams.
- The role the govt should or can play in fostering interest in cryptos.
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Episode Notes Yesterday we attended a roundtable organised by Facebook Southern Africa on how the social media giant is trying to make the platform safe for people in Zim. The talk revolved around Facebook's community standards, how the platform is fighting misinformation and Facebook's role in protecting the integrity of elections.
What struck us most from this event was that Facebook is now keenly aware of its role in elections not just in Europe and America but in Africa as well. The company was acutely aware of the elections happening in Zambia next year. Facebook representatives even said that they were engaging with stakeholders in Zambia concerning its elections.
Facebook was also aware that Zim will be heading into elections in 2023. All of this is strange because big tech has never paid too much attention to what was happening politically in Africa.
But then we realised that Facebook was at the centre of an election scandal in the United States. If you remember back in 2016 the company was embroiled in the whole Cambridge Analytica affair. It also went on to be a big part of the US elections that were held last year.
From what we were able to make out, Facebook now knows how its platform can be used and now wants to preempt anything in Africa with the lessons it has learned from abroad.
In this episode we talk about:
- What is misinformation?
- How users can report things that they see on the platform as misinformation.
- The power that social media companies like Facebook have in the modern political arena especially regarding elections.
- Being private entities what gives them the right to deem this or that misinformation.
- Why Facebook hasn't crafted a bespoke approach to dealing with issues in each individual African country.
- Content creators and publications play a big role in information dissemination. Is Facebook, and its family of apps (mainly WhatsApp), addressing the problems content creators in Zim have with its policies.
- And lastly shouldn't Sasai be positioning itself to play a bigger role so we aren't so reliant on Big Tech?
Useful links
After the roundtable, Facebook was kind enough to offer us links to resources that you can use to stop the spread of misinformation in all its forms. The information includes how you can report something that you feel is fake news/misinformation and resource centres to fact check anything that you deem suspicious.
- How do I mark a Facebook post as false news?
- Reaching Billions of People With COVID-19 Vaccine Information
- How Facebook's Fact-Checking Program Works
- Safety tips for Journalists
- Government Requests for User Data
You should also check out
Google shares 5 ways you can spot fake news: https://www.techzim.co.zw/2021/04/google-shares-5-ways-you-can-spot-fake-news/
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Episode Notes Last week we reported on a local agritech startup called FarmHut that had received backing to the tune of US$100K from the Hult Prize Foundation. FarmHut, which is primarily an e-commerce and consultancy operation, is looking to bring the estimated 70% of people in Zimbabwe who rely on subsistence farming closer to buyers and markets. In this episode, we were joined by the CEO of FarmHut, Ryan Katayi to talk more about how the startup started and what the future has in store.
On top of Ryan Katayi and FarmHut's journey we also discussed:
- FarmHut's subscription based business model.
- How smallholder farmers sign on to the service.
- The proportion of urban based vs rural based smallholder farmers FarmHut has onboard.
- Issues FarmHut has had with farmer verification for the platform.
- Businesses and organisations that use FarmHut's pool of farmers to access produce.
- Other services that the agritech startup has beyond offering a market place.
- The complicated issue of e-commerce in farming and logistics.
- How FarmHut is addressing the connectivity issues of its rural client base.
- The plans FarmHut has for the US$100K funding they recieved from the Hult Prize Foundation.
You can check out FarmHut for yourself with the link here
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Episode Notes Bhala is an African language keyboard that is looking to give Africans a more authentic and less friction-filled typing experience. Most often African languages seem like an afterthought for the big smartphone makers and app developers. Languages like Shona, Ndebele, Xhosa and others are often there, but features like predictive text and comprehensive dictionary are lacklustre.
These are the problems that Bhala founder Sabelo Mhlambi (a research fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society) was trying to solve when he started out the project.
It's safe to say Sabelo and his team have achieved their goal. I have been using the keyboard for a while and the AI-infused keyboard is really good especially predictive text in my native Shona. It has really improved my writing of the language and my understanding of how compound words work in Shona.
To learn more about what Bhala is and what languages and features are coming in future updates, we were joined by Njabulo Sandawana Bhala's country director for Zimbabwe.
You can check out Bhala on Android with the link below: Bhala Keyboard Google Play Store
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Episode Notes DeutschConnect is an intermediary of sorts that connects Sub-Saharan Startups with startups, hubs and businesses in Germany and in Europe. The company works in tandem with Afrolynk which is the largest Afrocentric startup conference in Europe to bring together African startups with potential investors and other startups to collaborate with. We were joined by the CEO and founder of DeutschConnect Kumbirai Chipadza to discuss:
- The founding of DeutschConnect
- What it does to prepare startups from ideation all the way to investor readiness.
- The things German and European investors look for when selecting a Zim or African startup.
- The organisations, hubs and partners that DeutschConnect works with.
- Opportunities beyond funding like registering a startup in Germany and how to study in Germany.
DeutschConnect Partners - German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), AG Career Hub, Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, and Make it in Germany
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Episode Notes A couple of weeks ago we reported on an e-commerce builder called Otarkie. The platform offers anyone who wants to launch their business online the tools to do so. You can start off on a 14-day free trial and if their services are to your liking you can then shell out the US$180 a year for Otarkie. For that money you get a bespoke website, payments and most importantly Otarkie's logistics partners. To learn more about the service we are joined by the co-founders of the startup Brandon Musa and Tafadzwa Chamisa.
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Episode Notes Professional gaming is one of those things that is still fringe in Zimbabwe, in 2021, and the digital age to boot. Some at this point might say there are bigger voids to be filled, but (true as that might be) we don't think that should be the case. A number of industries can be developed at the same time and if we have learned anything from history it is that it only seems like there are very few options because some industries are shunned without having been given a fair shot. To take this conversation further we were joined by Farai Mudzingwa, one half of Babyboy gaming. We explored a number of issues not only about gaming as a profession in Zimbabwe but content creation within the gaming industry and other forms of content creation.
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Episode Notes Last November we reported on Sun Exchange, a South African peer-to-peer solar startup that launched its African expansion in Zimbabwe. The company allows anyone from anywhere in the world to buy solar cells in large projects it has commissioned and the upside is that you will earn money from the power generated.
Nhimbe Fresh is a local fresh produce exporter and is the first beneficiary of this expansion. The proposed plant is going to total up to 1.9 MW and will be launched in three phases.
The Sun Exchange Nhimbe Fresh crowd sale has garnered some serious attention and is set to be the largest solar crowd sale on the continent to date. To learn more about this we were joined by the CEO and founder of Sun Exchange Abe Cambridge as well as the CEO of Nhimbe Fresh Edwin Moyo.
You can check out the crowd sale for Nhimbe Fresh with the link here. The sale is set to close on the 10th of March but might be extended because the goal is close to completion.
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Episode Notes Utande, a subsidiary of Dandemutande recently launched an LTE service to rival Telone's Blaze and ZOL Wibroniks service. Utande LTE is launching with uncapped packages only, which puts it more in line with ZOL's Business Packages. To find out more about the service, and to ask if there were capped packages in the near future. We were joined by Dandemutande's CEO Never Ncube. On top of Utande's LTE service we discussed:
- The changes that Dandemutande has seen in the internet services market since its inception. (Afterall the internet has gone from being a luxury to a necessity.)
- Why Utande went the LTE services route.
- If/When Utande LTE will be launching capped or pay-as-you go style packages.
- What the pandemic has done for Dandemutande/Utande's business in terms of customer uptake and data consumption.
- Residents in areas old and new have had issues with getting internet services. Was Utande LTE a way of improving access to the sprawling neighbourhoods as well as service existing ones?
- Dandemutande has a number of services in its product catalogue, vehicle tracking, cloud services and e-learning. Is the company going to add on to these services in future?
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Episode Notes Fresh Ideas, the parent company of Fresh In A Box, Joey's Pizza and Surprise In A Box recently launched an e-commerce business builder. The solution is a cheat code for entering online commerce. When I say cheat code I mean that you don't have to find a developer to build a site and apps for you. Fresh Ideas make all those tools available including payments facilities with names like Paynow for local currency transactions. VISA, Mastercard & Paypal for forex payments with the backing of Stripe, Contipay and DPO. All of this tech isn't free however, Fresh Ideas is charging US$99.00 a month for the basic packages with US$49.99 add-ons for stuff like iOS apps. To get more information about this platform we were joined by the founder of the company Kuda Musasiwa to go over it all in greater detail.
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Episode Notes With e-commerce on the rise, there has been a significantly underreported part of the industry which is logistics. It's all well and good to have your products online, but how do you send them to and fro? This is a massive headache for many e-commerce businesses, however, there are startups in the space with some interesting solutions. One of those startups is Yaita. Yaita is a logistics or order fulfilment business that has its offices in Harare and Bulawayo. The company offers a range of services including, of course, parcel delivery but they also do payments and a soon-to-be launched service called the fulfilment centre. The centre is basically a warehouse where an e-commerce business stores its products and Yaita will manage and deliver them as per order. To find out more about the fulfilment centre and Yaita since the article we wrote last year we were joined by the company's co-founder and CEO Tendai Mupaso.
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Episode Notes Yesterday we were greeted with the news that Spotify is coming to Zimbabwe as part of its 85 country expansion. This means that those VPN warriors will now be able to listen to music on the popular streaming service without the cloak and dagger.
We have a couple of Spotify diehards among us, and we thought we would talk about what Spotify coming to Zimbabwe might do.
- What is so good about Spotify anyway?
- For hardcore fans and people who like nice things it's a victory. But what does it mean for those who have never experienced it?
- What will this mean for local artists and rights holders?
- Data is a big concern for anyone approaching music streaming for the first time. Could Econet, Telecel and NetOne create a streaming bundle much like they should have created a unified messaging bundle for WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal?
- If MNOs do make a streaming bundle, will that reduce piracy?
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Episode Notes Late last month we reported on ZimboFit, Zim's newest fitness app. The application has some peculiarities in that its a PWA (Progressive Web Application). Why this is strange is because many of us are accustomed to having a downloadable app that we can use on our phones.
A PWA is the same, but you access it through your web browser. After that initial report, we thought it would be great to have the creator of the application Takunda Mujuru on to tell us more about it.
- [04:00] The inspiration behind ZimboFit, the market the application is targetting and partnerships with trainers and nutritionists.
- The effects a PWA has on sharability since ShareIt is huge in Zimbabwe [12:09]
- [16:00] Why they chose a PWA instead of a conventional app, any plans for an Android or iOS app
- [17:58] What the initial reception was like as well as the things they over designed and maybe underperformed on. How they are learning from those experiences going forward.
- [22:06] Types of workouts and exercises as well as personalization on ZimboFit.
- [28:02] A beginner's guide to making the most out of ZimboFit
- [35:37] The business model, prices and how the trainers and nutritionists are paid
- [39:43] Aspirations for the app going forward. Is it ever going to move from a one-time payment for the exercises to a monthly subscription model?
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Episode Notes The conversations roll on and on this episode of Technikari, we are joined by Wisdom James Murombo and Pardon Mukoyi the team behind the Chest X-Ray COVID-19 Diagnostic system we reported on in late 2020. Pardon and Wisdom claimed second place at the ICAT Hackathon for their system and they are now working with the Ministry of Health to deploy it nationwide.
On this episode we talked about:
- The development of the system with Kaggle's chest X-Ray datasets
- Challenges associated with deploying the system nationwide
- Investment and govt support
- Integrating other forms of imagining (MRI and CT) as well as configuring the system to help with Cancer, TB and other diseases.
Episode Notes Last week we had a network interrupted conversation with Simbarashe Mangena who is a Nuclear Engineer from the Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe (RPAZ). Thankfully this week we were able to have the conversation in its entirety and on this second edition of the Technikari Nuclear Special we learned even more about:
- The use cases of Nuclear Science and Technology in Zimbabwe
- Specific use cases for the different types of radiation
- Africa not leveraging the 18% uranium supply it gives to the rest of the world for nuclear technology and infrastructure development
- Challenges that affect Zimbabwe in adopting nuclear technology for power generation.
- Is nuclear power generation in Africa and Zimbabwe even viable what with the rise of alternative and green energy like solar?
- Management of nuclear waste
Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, we were joined by Takwana Tyaranini the co-founder of the popular remittance service Senditoo. Senditoo has been blazing a trail especially in 2020. The company slashed all fees for money transfers to Zimbabwe and it also launched a referral program where people get US$10 for referring someone to the service. On this episode we talked about:
- Back in March 2020, the World Bank said that remittances to Sub Saharan Africa would fall by plus or minus 20% but for Zim it has been different. Remittances to Zimbabwe grew by 42%. Since Takwana Tyaranini is in the space, we asked what his take or insights are on the massive upswing.
- Senditoo as mentioned before slashed all fees for money transfers to Zimbabwe, add that to the referral program and that's quite a lot of money. How is Senditoo able to manage this?
- We have seen the remittance space shift from just money transfers to include services as well. Senditoo recently launched their ZESA token purchases, so is this where the industry as a whole is headed?
- Lastly what we should expect from Senditoo in 2021.
Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, we are joined by Simbarashe Mangena from the Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe (RPAZ). He is a nuclear engineer, and he gave us a walkthrough of Nuclear Technology and Science applications in Zimbabwe.
We talk about:
- What the Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe (RPAZ) is and what it does?
- Nuclear science and technology applications in general
- Applications of Nuclear Tech in Zimbabwe
- Is there a conducive regulatory and financial environment for Nuclear adoption in Zimbabwe.
- How far or close Zimbabwe is from adopting Nuclear for power generation
Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, we are joined by Eugene Ramirez Mapondera the co-founder of Comexposed. Eugene is a comic book artist, animator and businessman. He is one of the luminaries in the Zimbabwean and African comic book and animation spheres. On this episode we talked about:
- Growing up wanting to be a creative in Zimbabwe
- Getting visual arts to be taken as a serious career path.
- The founding of Comexposed
- How the industry has changed in Zimbabwe and Africa
- Managing collaborations with international players.
- The impact of the pandemic on creatives.
- What Eugene is looking forward in 2021.
Episode Notes Technikari conversations roll on and on this one we are joined by Norman Moyo, Chief Executive Officer of Econet Subsidiary, Distributed Power Africa (DPA).
DPA “Distributed Power Africa (DPA) is a market leader in Africa, in innovative renewable energy solutions. We have operations across Africa including in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. DPA’s mission is to increase the continent’s uptake of renewable solar energy as a comprehensive and reliable source of power by eliminating the barrier of initial capital outlay, optimizing power usage, and reducing costs. The company supplies commercial & industrial businesses and individuals with efficient green solar energy without an initial capital outlay.” On this episode we talked about:
- Distributed Power Africa's business model.
- DPA's projects across Africa.
- Commercial & Industrial, Residential and Rural installations
- DPA in Zimbabwe: Relationships with the government and its regulating bodies as well as corporates and private entities.
- DPA's Electric Vehicle charging stations in Zimbabwe
- Crowdsource solar projects
If you want to read more about DPA you can check out their blog with the link here.
Episode Notes On this episode of Technikari, we are joined by Tawanda Chihambakwe, a professional drone pilot and a man who is all about Unmanned Aerial Systems. He is also the Managing Director and Chief Drone Pilot at Flying Labs Zimbabwe which is a platform that seeks to use drones for the common good. On top of all that he co-authored a book called Drone Professional 1 which looks at all the applications and use cases for drones in Africa and abroad. The second edition of the book is dropping this Friday (5/02/2021) so be on the look-out for it on Amazon and book stores in the near future.
We discuss:
- What a drone or unmanned aerial system is.
- The applications and use cases for drones.
- Licencing in Zimbabwe and pilot responsibility.
- Flying Labs Zimbabwe and #dronesforgood
- Drone Professional 1 and the upcoming Drone Professional 2
You can purchase a copy of the bestselling Drone Professional 1 on Amazon with the link here and you can also check out Flying Labs Zimbabwe with the link here.
Episode Notes On this special Technikari episode we are joined by Trust Nhokovedzo founder of Afrodigital Pan-University. He is a digital marketing expert who runs courses on how businesses and individuals can increase their presence online and improve their business in general.
Digital marketing tools:
- Improve your Digital Marketing game with the 10 for 10 Challenge running from the 1st February to 12th February. Apply for free with the link here.
- Google's Free Digital Skills Courses with the link here.
Episode Notes On this Episode we chat about the food delivery apps we have been using over time and more importantly during the lockdown. The contestants are Dial'a'Delivery, Munch and Tazine Eats.
- Range of restaurants
- Delivery prices
- Delivery times
- Areas they service and those they don't (Ed and Rufaro decided to live far)
- Features of the respective apps.
Episode Notes On this episode we are joined by Tanaka Kutama from ZImtorque. He is a former petrol head who has dedicated his life to spreading the gospel of electric vehicles and is part of the team drafting the EV framework for Zimbabwe.
Episode Notes On this Episode we are joined by Prosper Mwedzi who is a Financial Services Lawyer in the United Kingdom. Prosper is pushing a Bill that will create the framework for Blockchain Technology and Digital Assets in Zimbabwe.
The link to the bill is here.
Episode Notes AfriBlocks is a Zimbabwean startup that was co-founded by Tongayi Choto and Roger Roman. The company is a freelance and networking platform that is looking to address the new tomorrow of remote and freelance work. AfriBlocks was selected to participate in Terchstars' Seattle Cohort which makes it the first Zimbabwean startup to be selected and one of a handful in Africa.
Techstars has a stellar record. They have raised over US$11 billion in funding for over 2000 startups, 85% of which are either active or acquired.
On this episode we are honoured to be joined by the company's CEO and co-founder Tongayi Choto to talk all about the business and this amazing opportunity AfriBlocks has with Techstars.
If you want to check out AfriBlocks you can do so with the links below:
https://afriblocks.com/
AfriBlocks also has a series on YouTube where they walk those who want to work as freelancers through the skills and resources they will need in order to succeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS4DjoqOaLw
Episode Notes On this episode, we talk about the two big ISPs in the country ZOL and TelOne.
- Which one_(s)_ do we use of the two?
- The differences in installation requirements.
- How do they compare price-wise vs coverage (for mobile packages)?
- Which ISP has a better spread of packages and prices?
- Which ISP is best for low-end to high data users
- Customer services hiccups
You can check out the prices for the ISPs with the links below:
- ZOL broadband prices
- TelOne broadband Prices
Episode Notes On this episode, we talk about data and social media bundles across the three MNOs (Econet, NetOne & Telecel).
- Which one_(s)_ do we use of the three?
- How do they compare price-wise vs coverage?
- Which MNO has a better spread of data bundle packages?
- Would we try one we have never used going just by the prices?
- Should we even have bundles at all?
You can check out Econet, NetOne and Telecel bundle price comparison with the link here.
Articles related to the epsiode you should check out:
- Cool your jets Telegram and Signal, Zimbos are never leaving WhatsApp
- Telegram and Signal downloads surge worldwide
- Econet holds the key to Zim getting a Telegram bundle
- Why can’t we convert airtime to money in an EcoCash wallet?
Episode Notes Technikari Episode 9: On this episode, we talk about DPA's announcement that is installing electric vehicle charging stations.
- What will this do for electric vehicle adoption in Zim?
- Since Zimbabwe's car imports are predominantly 2nd hand where will we service the EVs?
- Which fully or partially electric vehicle would we buy?
Episode Notes On this episode, we take a trip down memory lane with buying second-hand devices be it games, smartphones or anything else. We also go into what to look out for when you are buying a second-hand phone and some places where you can get one.
Episode Notes Episode 7 of Technikari: we talk about ZIPIT Smart and the potential battle it will have with EcoCash. However, we chat a bit about ZimSwitch's role as the nation switch and then a look at what ZIPIT Smart actually is and all the benefits it has. Lastly we pivot to EcoCash and how it can innovate to stay relevant if ZIPIT Smart takes off in a big way.
Episode Notes On this episode, we talk about the horrible mess that is Cyberpunk 2077. The much-anticipated game debuted with a litany of bugs. This isn't a good look for CD Projekt Red (CDPR) because the bugs and issues are so numerous that Sony and Microsoft are offering refunds. To go deeper into this we are joined by one half of Babyboy Gaming Farai Mudzingwa who has played the game and gives his take on the whole affair.
Episode Notes On this episode, we talk about Sasai's new YouTube competitor Sasai Watch. The African super app now wants to become a content creation platform on top of all the other things it offers. What does Sasai Watch have going for it and will it be successful on the continent?
Episode Notes Zim Unstartup is a look into why Zimbabwe as well as many African countries are not building native software and what innovators on the continent can do to overcome the challenges that are keeping them from getting Africa its own "technological" identity.
Episode Notes With all the developers we have in Zimbabwe, why don't we have apps that are specific to the needs in the country. Which is the best prepaid USD card and why? The best local online stores.
Episode Notes * The best old flagship smartphone to buy in Zimbabwe. * We haven't had the opportunity to game in a while, but we went over the game genres out there and some of our favourite game on PC, console and mobile. * Since the second-hand market for vehicles is big in Zimbabwe, we shared some of our picks for the best car to buy 2nd hand in Zimbabwe.
Episode Notes Notes go hereWelcome to the pilot episode of Technikari (Episode 1), a podcast where the Techzim Geeks talk about all things tech. On this episode we talk about:
- Oppo's Rollable Smartphone Concept X 2021, is it just a flash in the pan or is this where smartphones are headed
- Apple's new chips for the MacBooks
- Apple cutting the App Store commission for small businesses from 30% to 15%
- Black Friday Wish lists
Here's where you can find the tools mentioned in the podcast:
Rescue time Trello Gsuite Zoom
Apologies for the bad audio quality from 41:55.
Episode Notes Here are links to the car makers mentioned in this episode:
Mureza Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Kantanka Mobius Wallyscar