Kenyan operator Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money service has teamed up with Kenyan start-up tappi to digitise 650,000 business users in the country.

Described as a full digital commerce SaaS solution for small and medium-sized businesses, tappi helps small businesses grow by connecting them with customers and establishing online credibility through user reviews.

The partners say this alliance will deliver digital solutions to help these SMEs improve their online credibility and visibility.

The agreement also underlines M-Pesa efforts to broaden its portfolio of services for 650,000 registered businesses and over 50 million monthly active individual users in many African countries. 

As one of the first mini apps to feature on the M-Pesa for Business service, tappi will be able to deliver a subsidised package equipping merchants to build their online presence, capture verified reviews and strengthen engagement with an expanded customer base.

As Kenfield Griffith, CEO and co-founder of tappi, points out, with over 35 million subscribers, M-Pesa has long established itself as the engine through which millions of local entrepreneurs handle their transactions. He adds: “With many of these businesses constantly looking for new customers, our tools will be a crucial springboard in driving them to achieve this within an online setting.”

For a nominal sum, merchants will receive access to a free webpage and 50 SMS/WhatsApp reviews, which will be integrated into the merchant’s websites, as well as 250 bulk SMS marketing credits.

As part of the collaboration, M-Peta Ratiba, a new solution allowing M-Pesa users to automate their online payments, has also been included in the tappi mini app, enabling business owners to seamlessly pay their monthly subscriptions without disruptions.

Targeted to reach at least 300,000 M-Pesa for Business app users, the partnership has officially launched with an initial cohort of over 250 M-Pesa For Business app users across the food, fashion, health and beauty sectors throughout Kenya.

tappi’s solutions will build on the M-Pesa For Business app’s existing functionalities, which include viewing collections, statements and payments as well as transacting directly from the M-Pesa till number. 

In May 2024, tappi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry to drive digital services for 30,000 Kenyan MSMEs. The company has also partnered with MTN in Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

Some FTTx, some fixed wireless, some data center development, and some funding: … [visit site to read more]

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The data center business is not a monolithic collection of servers and power, there are many types of facilities out there making up the broader infrastructure ecosystem. One of the longest running but too often neglected in the AI era is that of the carrier hotel and interconnection hub. With us today is John Bonczek, CRO at 1547 Critical Systems Realty. Early on in 1547 CSR’s development we had the company’s CEO and Managing Director J. Todd Raymond here for a chat about their plans. Let’s find out what the company has been up to since. … [visit site to read more]

The Intelsat 33e geostationary high-throughput satellite (HTS) covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East and parts of the Asia-Pacific experienced a permanent power failure on Saturday and has since broken up.

According to a statement from Intelsat, the satellite “experienced an anomaly on October 19” that resulted in loss of power, consequently cutting service to all customers.

Intelsat said in the statement that while it was working with the satellite’s manufacturer, Boeing Space Systems, to address the problem, “we believe it is unlikely that the satellite will be recoverable.”

On Sunday, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), U.S. Space Command confirmed that Intelsat 33e had broken up, and that it was “currently tracking around 20 associated pieces.”

Intelsat 33e’s payload included C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band transponders. The C-band spot beams covered Europe, Central Africa, Middle East, Central South Asia, eastern China, part of southeast Asia and Australia. A wide C-band beam covered sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ku-band spot beams covered most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Ka-band transponder had a single beam covering those regions.

Intelsat said It is in contact with all affected customers as well as third-party providers to mitigate service interruptions while it looks for back-up connectivity options within its satellite fleet.

Intelsat 33e – which occupied the 60 degrees East orbital slot – was launched in August 2016, but didn’t enter service until January 2017 due to a problem with its primary thruster. The satellite was designed with a lifespan of 15 years, but that was reduced by 3.5 years after another propulsion problem occurred during orbit tests.

Intelsat 33e was the second of Intelsat’s EpicNG HTS satellites to be launched following Intelsat 29e, which was launched in January 2016. Intelsat 29e lasted a little over three years before developing a fuel leak, which eventually resulted in total loss of the satellite in April 2019.

Four significant infrastructure moves we will have to keep an eye on from this week’s news: … [visit site to read more]

Hormuud Telecom strengthened its EVC Plus mobile money platform by making it interoperable with MyBank and Agro Bank, with plans to onboard more banks in 2025.

Responding to questions from Developing Telecoms, Hormuud Telecom CEO Ahmed Yusef (pictured) described this deal as the first of many towards achieving full interoperability between financial platforms and institutions in Somalia.

“For full interoperability, we need to ensure that every mobile money platform and banking system allows for seamless transactions,” said Yusef.

The partnerships represent a “critical step” in building trust between citizens and financial institutions, promoting financial stability. Somalia, having suffered decades of civil war that decimated its economy, saw a rise in mistrust toward institutions.

EVC Plus customers will now be able to perform banking functions with MyBank and Agro Bank directly from their mobile devices.

The Somalian Central Bank launched the National Payment System in 2021, laying the necessary groundwork for integration between banks and mobile money providers.

According to the Central Bank, 70% of Somalians use mobile money, while only 15% have a traditional bank account. Hormuud reports that around 90% of Somalis now use mobile money platforms.

Hormuud Telecom is also working with the GSMA to extend its mobile services to remote areas in Somalia, connecting the last segment of unbanked Somalis.

Hormuud’s CEO Yusef stated that making EVC Plus compatible with formal banking services enhances financial inclusion. “Small businesses can access credit, aid beneficiaries can build financial histories, and cross-border transactions become easier for everyone. This is a significant step toward a fully interconnected financial system in Somalia,” Yusef said.

Hormuud Telecom currently has four million customers on its EVC Plus mobile money platform.

Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications (HGC) says it has officially launched data centre interconnect (DCI) clusters in key data hubs across Asia to position itself as a major regional provider of in-country and inter-country data centre connectivity.

Having launched DCI solutions in Malaysia, the Philippines and (most recently) Thailand, HGC aims to combine those DCI clusters with mature DCI hubs in Hong Kong and Singapore to offer an extensive DCI infrastructure connecting major data centres across Southeast Asia.

The DCI clusters currently comprise existing and planned six data centres in Malaysia, seven in Thailand and Singapore (each), and six in Malaysia, as well as 27 in Hong Kong.

Earlier this week, HGC beefed up its data centre PoP in the Philippines by joining PLDT Enterprise’s Vitro Partner Network (VPN), which enabled it to expand its footprint to the new Vitro Sta. Rosa data centre.

HGC plans to leverage its DCI infrastructure to enable in-country and inter-country connectivity for enterprise solutions customers from Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East looking to enter the region.

The DCI clusters will be offered to its carriers partners, who will be able to integrate them with their own networks and DCI infrastructure.

HGC said the clusters will also enable it to offer customized low-latency cross-border connectivity, ICT services, and cybersecurity solutions to its own customers. Such services include IP-related services, AMS-IX’s internet exchange solution, and HGC’s “Eyeball-as-a-Service” (a platform that leverages 5G edge computing to enable OTT players, content providers and e-commerce companies to expand their geographical footprints quickly).

“Our unique strengths in Asia, combined with our global reputation and network, position this solution to effectively address the challenges of shifting the emerging economies to modernize inclusively in the rapidly digitalising era,” said Ravindran Mahalingam, SVP of HGC’s international business in a statement.

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The western Caribbean could be getting some new subsea fiber infrastructure soon. Sparkle has joined Gold Data and Liberty Networks to construct and commercialize the MANTA regional system. … [visit site to read more]