M-Kazi Closes Shop

M-Kazi Closes Shop

Trending stories online on Technology in Kenya indicate that M-Kazi is closing shop.

Kenya’s M-Kazi is an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) job application service connecting job seekers to employers. The start-up had a team that included the co-founders Nancy Tingze Wang, Lino Carcoforo and Mem Maina seen in the photo below.


M-Kazi "had negotiated key contracts and service level agreements with major telecoms in Kenya, conducted in depth market research and acquired 30,000 users, leveraging grass roots marketing campaigns to generate viral customer acquisition." according to a story carried by Techmoran.

Initial discussions seemed to imply that the organization closed due to embezzlement of funds by one of the founders. However, Lino Carcoforo wrote a clarification later indicating that the startup closed for the following reasons, in his words:

"1. Billing issues with Safaricom - Having negotiated rates through craft silicon to ensure better margins on SMS and USSD, mkazi was not able to bill safaricom directly due to a lack of a tripartite agreement.

2. Lack of cash flow due to not being able to bill

3. Discrepancy between mkazi system sms sent and safaricom delivery reports.

4. Failure to close subsequent funding as a result of not showing adequate growth in user acquisition -again, directly tied to lack of marketing spend."

Indeed, M-Kazi stood a chance to succeed in a place where m-everything seems to succeed. With millions of job-seekers on the market fueled by availability of mobile phones.

This means BrighterMonday and a host of other smaller similar ventures will continue to dominate the market.

Tracing the roots of M-PESA -- CIO

There is a book out there that traces the roots of M-PESA. Read on on this article found in CIO Magazine.

"
Tracing the roots of M-PESA 

By Lilian Mutegi

February 05, 2014

With 18.2 million customers and currently contributing up to 43% of Kenya’s GDP, M-PESA has been seen as a disruptive innovation that threatens incumbent businesses as well as sparking new businesses and entrepreneurship.

This has seen two researchers - Nicholas P.Sullivan, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Emerging Market Enterprises and Tony K. Omwansa, a lecturer at the university of Nairobi – come together to trace the roots of M-Pesa from 2003 up to date in a book that was launched yesterday at the Michael Joseph Centre.

The book tittled “Money Real Quick-The story of M-PESA” is the first that documents the profound impact that Safaricom’s mobile money transfer services M-PESA has had on the lives of users in Kenya.

According to the book, M-PESA platform moves Kshs 77.3 billion a month in peer to peer transactions. A further Kshs 9.9 billion is moved in person to business transactions while person to business transactions account for Kshs 7.6 billion a month.

Using case studies, the book chronicles the evolution of M-PESA from its original concept as a micro finance tool to a complex financial transactions platform that is leading Kenya’s cash-lite agenda. The book features the accounts of those who worked on the service and how it grew to become the most successful mobile money solution in the world.

The 192-volume has 9 chapters beginning with the Introduction, The Innovation, Human Network, Banks Disrupted, Impact at the Base of the Pyramid, Inching towards “Financial Inclusion”, Swahili Silicon Valley, Change is Not Easy, Kenya on Stage and the final chapter - Cash is the Enemy.

It is a journalistic narrative-driven story about the birth and development of M-Pesa and its impact on the lives of Kenyans. A secondary mandate is also to show the ubiquity of mobile money that allows the potential for financial innovation in developing countries especially those at the base of the pyramid.

At some point in the book, the authors mention Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya. “Even in Kibera slum, on the outskirts of Nairobi, where over 250,000 people live cheek by jowl in highly unsanitary conditions and makeshift housing is a beehive of M-Pesa activity. There are very few bank branches but M-Pesa agents line in the dirt streets: People queue up to fill their phones with e-money or even collect cash. Savings group once a high touch face to face phenomenon much like money lending, have in many cases adopted M-Pesa as a means of mobilizing lump sums to lend amongst themselves,” state the authors.

The book was initiated by Wiebe Boer, former director Rockerfeller Donation in 2010 and took 4 years to complete using funds provided by the same foundation. It is published by Guardian Books.

“Money Real Quick-The Story of M-Pesa”, will be available to the public via Amazon. It can also be bought from local bookshops at a price of €9.99 which is equivalent to  Kshs. 1,165.63.

"

CCTV to replace traffic police in Nairobi from March 2014 -- CIO

We are soon to see no police at the roundabouts and Nairobi roads  as has been the case over the years following the installation of CCTV cameras on traffic lights that will monitor and control traffic.

Read this article found in CIO magazine.

"CCTV to replace traffic police in Nairobi from March 2014 

by Kamau Mbote
February 05, 2014 

CCTV cameras were installed by Chinese firm Ms Nanjing Les Information Technology at a cost of Kshs 430 million.



Nairobi roads and roundabouts will no longer be manned by traffic police as has been the case over the years following the installation of CCTV cameras on traffic lights that will monitor and control traffic.

The plan that is set to rollout starting March 1, 2014 is the result of months of upgrades of traffic lights and installation of CCTV to monitor major roads in Nairobi.

According to Nairobi governor Dr Evans Kidero, the machines are more than capable of controlling traffic meaning the police can be redeployed to handle security.

“Where there is electronic traffic control system there is no need to add human’s intervention,” he said.

The governor who was speaking after receiving recommendations from a committee tasked with decongesting Nairobi also noted that a number of cameras installed along University Way in the past few weeks had already been destroyed by rioting students.

As a result the governor says the University of Nairobi now has to pay for repairs worth 5 million shillings.

“We are going to claim repairs of the university way from the University of Nairobi and the ones from Nyayo stadium from the contractor who interfered with the cables,” he added.

The current CCTV cameras were installed by Chinese firm Ms Nanjing Les Information Technology at a cost of 430 million shillings part of an initiative to install CCTV cameras in major cities in the country at a cost of 8.5 billion shillings.

In phase 1 51 cameras were to be installed to help curb insecurity and in traffic management and would cover Kirinyaga Road, Gikomba, Kenyatta National Hospital, Machakos Country Bus Station, Muthurwa Market among others areas.

Plans are also in place to have building owners install CCTV cameras that will be linked with the city’s backbone.

The committee also says plans are under to decongest Nairobi ensuring that people don’t dump vehicles in Nairobi that has led to fewer parking available."

Sony Cut to Junk by Moody’s as Mobile Devices Lure Buyers -- Bloomberg

An interesting read indeed. Will we have TVs in 2016? Read on...

"

Sony Cut to Junk by Moody’s as Mobile Devices Lure Buyers

By Mariko Yasu and Grace Huang
January 28, 2014 2:43 AM EST 23 Comments

Sony Corp. (6758) had its credit rating cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service as Japan’s biggest television maker struggles to capture consumer demand for smartphones and tablet computers.

The rating was lowered to Ba1, one level below investment grade, from Baa3 and the outlook is stable, Moody’s said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The company is also rated junk at Fitch Ratings, while Standard & Poor’s has Sony on the second-lowest investment grade. The stock fell to the lowest in more than two months.

Sony, which posted a surprise loss in the September quarter, is battling shrinking demand for TVs and personal computers as consumers switch to mobile devices produced by Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai is trying to turn around earnings at the Tokyo-based company by wringing benefits out of holdings from consumer electronics to mobile phones and entertainment.

“Sony’s profitability is likely to remain weak and volatile,” Moody’s said in the statement. “We expect the majority of its core consumer electronics businesses -- such as TVs, mobile, digital cameras and personal computers -- to continue to face significant downward earnings pressure.”

The PC industry had its worst year in 2013, with shipments dropping 10 percent amid the shift to mobile devices. Sony in October cut its annual sales forecast for Vaio computers to 5.8 million units from 6.2 million and said the business needed fundamental reform.
Slumping Televisions

“We’ll continue explaining to the rating company the situations related to our businesses and financials,” Yumi Takahashi, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for Sony, said by phone yesterday.

Sony fell 2.7 percent to 1,665 yen at the close of trade in Tokyo. Sony is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Feb. 6.

The cost to insure Sony debt climbed 60 basis points this year to 200 basis points on Jan. 24, headed for the biggest increase since the 118 jump 17 months ago, according to data provider CMA.

The Markit iTraxx Japan index has risen 17 to 85 so far this year, while the gauge for North American corporate bond risk added 10 to 73.
Forecast Cut

“Moody’s downgrading Sony before its earnings result at this timing makes investors more worried about Sony,” said Mana Nakazora, the chief credit analyst in Tokyo at BNP Paribas SA. “Investors have thought Sony was moving toward recovery but the downgrade by Moody’s will make people think Sony is still struggling.”

Sony in October cut its sales outlook for Bravia models by 6.7 percent and said it expected to sell 14 million liquid-crystal display sets instead of its previous projection for 15 million.

Sony’s share of global TV sales fell to 7.5 percent in the third quarter last year from 8.1 percent the previous quarter, according to NPD DisplaySearch. Sony trails Samsung and LG Electronics Inc.

The value of global TV shipments dropped 11 percent to $98.4 billion last year, the third consecutive annual decline, according to an estimate from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Sony’s TV business has lost money for nine straight years.
Sliding Share

Yesterday’s cut “probably reflects the rating company’s view that the year-end shopping season might have been tough,” said Junya Ayada, a Tokyo-based analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Hirai has committed to making TVs, and Sony is introducing ultra high definition sets that cost as much as $25,000. Hirai also is focusing on the new PlayStation 4 game console released last year and Xperia smartphone shipments.

While the PS4 has posted record sales, Japan’s biggest electronics exporter is also being hit in its camera and camcorder businesses, as mobile devices from Samsung and Apple with more sophisticated lenses and sensors eat into demand.

Sony’s Hollywood film studio began cutting jobs, including its head of technology, as the unit moves forward with $250 million in expense reductions pledged by Hirai, the company said in a statement on Jan. 22.
"

Read more at http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-27/sony-cut-to-junk-at-moody-s-on-tvs-personal-computer-units.html

Full statement of South African president Jacob Zuma

Full statement of South African president Jacob Zuma

"My Fellow South Africans,

Our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation has departed.

He passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20h50 on the 5th of December 2013.

He is now resting. He is now at peace.

Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.

Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.

His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world.

His humility, his compassion, and his humanity earned him their love. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mandela family. To them we owe a debt of gratitude.

They have sacrificed much and endured much so that our people could be free.

Our thoughts are with his wife Mrs Graca Machel, his former wife Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, with his children, his grand-children, his great grand-children and the entire family.

Our thoughts are with his friends, comrades and colleagues who fought alongside Madiba over the course of a lifetime of struggle.

Our thoughts are with the South African people who today mourn the loss of the one person who, more than any other, came to embody their sense of a common nationhood.

Our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced Madiba as their own, and who saw his cause as their cause.

This is the moment of our deepest sorrow.

Our nation has lost its greatest son.

Yet, what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.

And in him we saw so much of ourselves.

Fellow South Africans,

Nelson Mandela brought us together, and it is together that we will bid him farewell.

Our beloved Madiba will be accorded a State Funeral.

I have ordered that all flags of the Republic of South Africa be lowered to half-mast from tomorrow, 6 December, and to remain at half-mast until after the funeral.

As we gather to pay our last respects, let us conduct ourselves with the dignity and respect that Madiba personified.

Let us be mindful of his wishes and the wishes of his family.

As we gather, wherever we are in the country and wherever we are in the world, let us recall the values for which Madiba fought.

Let us reaffirm his vision of a society in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another.

Let us commit ourselves to strive together - sparing neither strength nor courage - to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

Let us express, each in our own way, the deep gratitude we feel for a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity.

This is indeed the moment of our deepest sorrow.

Yet it must also be the moment of our greatest determination.

A determination to live as Madiba has lived, to strive as Madiba has strived and to not rest until we have realised his vision of a truly united South Africa, a peaceful and prosperous Africa, and a better world.

We will always love you Madiba!

May your soul rest in peace.

God Bless Africa."

Govt declares Dec 13 a public holiday -- Daily Nation

The Daily Nation carries a story that indicates that the President is set to declare 13 December a Public Holiday. Read it here:

__________

Govt declares Dec 13 a public holiday

By PETER OBUYA More by this Author


The government is set to declare December 13 a public holiday for extended celebrations of Kenya at 50.


Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Arts and Culture Hassan Wario Tuesday announced that President Uhuru Kenyatta will declare December 13, a public holiday in order to allow Kenyans more time to celebrate.


“His Excellency the President will declare December 13, 2013 a public holiday so that Kenyans get enough time to celebrate this important anniversary,” Dr Wario who is also the chairman of the Kenya@50 celebrations national steering committee told the press at Kasarani during a briefing on the preparations for the fete.


The celebrations are expected to begin on the 11th with the hoisting of the national flag at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi where President Kenyatta is also expected to plant a tree next to the one his father planted at the same venue.


At least ten presidents have confirmed their attendance for the celebrations and Dr Wario said some 20 heads of states are expected to grace the ceremony.

_____

CCK pushes firms to host websites locally in new rules -- Business Daily

The Business Daily carried this article recently. CCK's main aim on proposing local hosting is to contain the cyber criminals. Read on:

"The Communications Commission of Kenya has proposed a licensing condition that may compel Internet service providers (ISPs) to bring websites hosted offshore back to the country in the fight against cyber crime.

The regulator says it will license a new body next year to issue and manage local Internet addresses and make it mandatory for firms to host their websites in Kenya.

Most ISPs prefer to host their data outside the country to benefit from economies of scale from international firms that have bulk clients compared to local data centres as well enjoy enhanced documents protection laws abroad.

CCK says hosting of websites outside Kenya has made it difficult to trace cyber criminals, exposing the country to losses.

“In order to keep our local traffic within the country and make it easy for us to trace cyber criminals, we are proposing in future that all ISPs be compelled to have their clients websites hosted locally,” Francis Wangusi, CCK director said on Monday at a cyber security conference in Nairobi.

The absence of local data protection laws has made firms jittery to host their data locally. Article 31 of the Constitution grants citizens the right to privacy, including a clause preventing infringement of “the privacy of their communication,” but Parliament is yet to debate and pass the Data Protection Bill 2013.

CCK is also working on new licensing conditions that will see all gadgets connected to the Internet — like computers, tablets and mobile handsets —offered a unique address by the ISPs to identify the users of the gadgets. This is aimed at curbing the growing incidence of cyber-crime and hate speech.

ICT Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i noted that Kenya is losing nearly Sh2 billion annually to cyber crime thus the need for the country to enact appropriate laws that strike a balance between rights to privacy and the country’s security."

Read more at http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/CCK-pushes-firms-to-host-websites-locally-in-new-rules/-/539550/2089412/-/15ly5o1z/-/index.html