MTN Partners GTBank and Fortis for Mobile Money Scheme

Africa’s mobile network provider MTN,has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fortis mobile money, a recently licensed mobile financial services provider in Nigeria and GT Bank to deploy mobile money solutions to millions of users in Nigeria. With the partnership, fortis mobile money will be available to every subscriber across different device types on Nigeria’s largest mobile network, MTN.

The mobile network is active in 21 countries in Africa and middle east and is rated as the continent’s most deployed mobile money system on the Fundamo platform. Forts Mobile Money is part of the Fortis Microfinance PLC, a leading provider of microfinance in Nigeria.

The partnership will see Fortis Mobile Money access the network infrastructure and distribution network of Africa’s leading mobile network provider in Nigeria. Henry Nwawuba, CEO at Fortis Mobile Money, “in our desire to deliver services that meets the strong compelling needs of millions of banked and unbanked Nigerians and justify the confidence of the regulator in us as the only licensed Microfinance bank in Nigeria for mobile money services, we actively sought partnerships that will meet our visions for the Nigerian markets. It is an exciting future ahead for us, working with Africa’s leading mobile network provider”.

According to MTN’s C.E.O., Mr. Brett Goshen, “For MTN, Mobile Money represents another opportunity to bring additional added value services to our over 40 million and growing subscriber base. “The use of mobile money products will not only improve the quality of people’s lives, but will also encourage banking as opposed to storing one’s earnings in cash. “Nigeria will also benefit, as the impact of Mobile Money will flow into the other segments of the society and have a multiplier effect on the economy.”

MTN Mobile Money enables users transform their mobile phone into an e-wallet. Any MTN subscriber with a mobile money compatible SIM can create an e-wallet on their mobile phone and deposit funds in it. Once funded, the mobile money account can be used to pay for goods and services with the mobile phone at participating merchants or transfer funds to friends, family, and clients.

MTN as industry leader comes with a proven and superb understanding of mass market telecommunications services offerings while Fortis Mobile Money with background in Microfinance is an industry leader in providing low value financial services for the bottom of the pyramid. It is a perfect entry strategy and a relationship built on mutual knowledge of the world most deployed mobile money system, Fundamo.

Panasonic shows two iPAD Alternatives at CES

Panasonic believes that its ruggedized Android tablet, the 10-inch Toughpad A1, could appeal to companies that see the iPad as too flimsy for outdoor and field usage.

Despite the iPad's roaring sales success, using it in enterprise environments is problematic for a couple of reasons: Not only does iOS lack enterprise level security, the iPad also isn't designed to withstand the wear-and-day of daily use in the field, according to Thomas O'Connor, senior national business development manager at Panasonic Solutions Company, Orange, Calif.

"Enterprise environments are tough on devices. People drop them, and they use them out in the elements," O'Connor said in an interview on the CES show.

Panasonic's A1 Toughpad has a screen that's viewable in direct sunlight, and a construction that allows it to be used in temperatures ranging from minus-30 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It's also virtually dustproof, as all of the screws on the rear casing of the device are gasketed, O'Connor said. Support for Bluetooth, 3G, 4G LTE is also part of the package.

"You could take [the A1] out on a tractor in the winter in Montana, and in a squad car in Nevada in the summer," he said. "All of the things that preclude iPad being used out in the field, in direct sunlight, are fixed with this Toughpad.

Panasonic is also including enterprise grade security in the form of a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip, which provides hardware-based security for data in e-mails and on the hard drive, and prevents users from downloading unauthorized applications. TPM chips have begun appearing in ultrabooks, too, as a way to ease IT departments' fears about corporate assets falling into the wrong hands.

Coca Cola, UPS, FedEx, and other large enterprises have expressed interest in the Toughpad A1, said O'Connor. "Anyone that's driving a truck and gets people to sign things is going to want this," he said. Other potential uses include warehousing operations for supply chain logistics, and retail food services.

Like all of Panasonic's enterprise products, the A1, and its forthcoming 7-inch cousin, the B1, will be sold through distribution and resellers. "You're probably going to see it at either vertical specific resellers that specialize in supply chain logistics and distribution, because part of the value is going to be marrying the underlying application with the tablet itself," he said.

Panasonic is planning to launch an enterprise application store and is "actively recruiting" developers to build enterprise class apps for the device, O'Connor said.

The Toughpad A1 is Panasonic's first Android product, but it's not another me-too tablet. O'Connor said it could replace Panasonic Toughbooks in scenarios where they're being used primarily in convertible mode

The A1 will be generally available in April and is priced at $1,299. Panasonic is planning to release the Toughpad B1 later this year but has yet to reveal pricing.

Intel Thunderbolt to be available April...As Antitrust Case Heads to State Court

Intel has recently notified its partners that the company will fully release its Thunderbolt technology in April of 2012 with several first-tier PC players already preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs, according to sources from PC players.

To speed up the standardization of Thunderbolt, Intel is cooperating with Apple and Apple is the sole vendor currently to have PC products featuring Thunderbolt technology. As demand for the technology has seen obvious growth, Intel is ready to release the technology for public use.

Due to Thunderbolt chip costs being more than US$20 and the solution running a conflict with USB 3.0 in terms of next-generation data transmission technology, the Thunderbolt did not receive strong attention from the IT industry when announced, but as Apple has largely adopted the technology into its products such as monitor, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Mini, it has strongly boosted demand.

With the cost for adopting Thunderbolt technology expected to drop in the second half of 2012, the technology should be standardized gradually in the future, the sources noted.

Currently Sony is expected to adopt Thunderbolt technology into its product lines with players such as Asustek Computer also expected to adopt the technology into their high-end notebook products. Gigabyte Technology, which has been aggressively adopting new transmission technology into its product line, is also expected to launch Thunderbolt-featured motherboard in April of 2012 to compete against Asustek and ASRock.

Intel Corp.'s last major antitrust fight, against New York state officials, appears headed to state court after rulings by a federal judge in Delaware.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark on Friday canceled a Feb. 14 trial in the high-profile case filed by New York's attorney general, who charged Intel with monopolistic tactics in the market for microprocessor chips.

The order followed a letter to the judge from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who proposed dropping the federal case in view of recent developments that reduced the amount of damages that New York could seek. Mr. Schneiderman said his office would instead pursue damages in New York state court to address "Intel's egregious and illegal conduct."

An Intel spokesman declined comment Saturday. But the company has insisted it acted lawfully, and earlier in December said it was "gratified" that the judge had granted motions by the company that narrowed the case.

Intel, which makes chips that act as calculating engines in most personal computers, has been dogged for much of the past decade by allegations that it used illegal tactics to prevent rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. from gaining a broader foothold in the market.

In August 2010, Intel agreed to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it unlawfully stifled competition in the microprocessor market, a pact that required the company to modify some sales practices. That settlement involved no financial penalties, but Intel previously agreed to pay $1.25 billion to AMD to settle a private antitrust case. Intel also paid a $1.45 billion fine ordered by antitrust enforcers in Europe, a ruling it is appealing.

New York's case was filed in November 2009 by Andrew Cuomo, who was then the state's attorney general and is now its governor. The suit quoted liberally from emails sent by senior officials of Intel and customers, such as Dell Inc., to support allegations that Intel improperly paid billions of dollars in kickbacks to computer makers to help ensure their loyalty as customers.

The suit argued that consumers and public entities in the state wound up paying more than they should have for PCs because of Intel's actions. Intel, rejecting those arguments, asked the judge to throw out parts of the case.

Judge Stark on Dec. 7 agreed with Intel that the state was entitled to ask for financial penalties and injunctions, but not treble damages. He also ruled the case should only consider three years of computer purchases, not the four-year and six-year periods New York was seeking under different claims.

Mr. Schneiderman, noting the prospect of smaller damage awards following the judge's rulings, said the state nevertheless hopes to convince a jury that its claims against Intel have merit. "We intend to vigorously prosecute our state law claims on behalf of the people of the state of New York," a spokesman for the attorney general said Monday.

Airtel Money Set To Enhance Mobile Commerce In Ghana

Airtel Ghana has re-launched its award winning mobile money platform, under a new brand name Airtel Money, which is better positioned to provide customers with an efficient alternative to cash transactions and provide millions of Ghanaians with access to banking services for the first time.

Airtel Money includes the most comprehensive package of m-commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market and it seeks to empower its customers with access to a convenient, secure and readily available way of making payments through the mobile platform.

Airtel is already in partnership with leading international and regional banks including Ecobank, GT Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Unibank, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank, Energy Bank and Databank to provide customers with more convenient ways of conducting mobile commerce service, deposit and withdraw cash, money transfers, banking services, paying bills, contributing to investments. There are more than five hundred (500) Airtel Money dealers, ensuring the widest availability of Airtel Money throughout Ghana.

Kola Sonola, Mobile Commerce Director at Airtel Ghana explained at the official launch of Airtel Money that the service, which previously was mainly a mobile money platform, had fully evolved into an mobile commerce platform, offering four major services, namely mobile money mobile top-up, money transfer, mobile banking and financial services for micro-finance, micro insurance and B2B services. Customers, according to him, could therefore pay their utility bills, DSTV subscription fees, buy Airtel credit, pay for goods, services and loans through Airtel Money as well as make corporate batch payments and deposit or withdraw cash from a bank.

“Airtel money provides customers with a “mobile wallet” which allows them to use their mobile phones in much the same way as a bank debit card. It provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring prompt payments of bills, goods and services”, he stated.

Kola Sonola added that the uniqueness of Airtel Money also allowed customers on other networks to also enjoy the benefits of money transfer.

Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Philip Sowah explained that Airtel aimed to deliver relevant and innovative mobile solutions to help customers overcome their daily challenges, stating that the company was once again offering Ghanaians the tools to feel free and improve their lives. “Our goal as a company is to make communications, banking, payments, retail and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa”, he added.

Signal Alliance, Microsoft deliver Dynamic NAV ERP solution in Nigeria

Current Microsoft Country Partner of the Year 2011, Signal Alliance, recently held a seminar titled “Microsoft Dynamics ERP – Executive Productivity and Insight”. The seminar showcased Microsoft’s business-critical Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application. An ERP system is an integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise. It becomes a core business application that enables a company to streamline its operations to become more efficient and effective.
Microsoft’s Dynamics NAV ERP system includes software for manufacturing, order entry, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, purchasing, warehousing, transportation and human resources.

The seminar highlighted these features during the two hour seminar which was held in conjunction with Microsoft Nigeria in Lagos.

Introducing the product, Suleiman Lukman, one of Signal Alliance’s Solution Developers and leading Dynamics expert, described the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 edition as the most powerful, cost-effective, robust and flexible mid-market business management solution available.

His words: “This is one innovation that will stand the test of time. If adopted, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV will drive revenues considerably and reduce cost of operations drastically. The solution is very flexible in its adoption, allowing for it to fit the organization seamlessly. The general Microsoft office interface is retained so users immediately find it easy to adapt reducing training time.”

Lending credence to the viability of the new product, Mr. Emeka Achebe-Okosieme, Executive Director - Business Applications Division, commented that the Microsoft Dynamics NAV is the competitive edge companies are looking for to adopt.

He said “One of the strong points of the NAV is that it is IFRS compliant. This is very important because the new requirement by all companies in Nigeria is that they must submit their financial report in the IFRS format. The NAV also protects a company’s investment in Microsoft solutions by integration with Microsoft Office. Signal Alliance’s vast experience and wealth of technical expertise will serve customers very well in adopting the NAV solution.”   

According to him one of the major successful advancement of the MS NAV is the high level security of information. He also highlighted the fact that is a role tailored client solution, which means it is designed in such a way that business owners and managers, are allowed to create their own pattern of work on this platform.

“Signal Alliance is ready to provide support services for the users of the MS NAV, as part of effort in ensuring that users harness the maximum potentials of an MS NAV driven business Organizations” he said.

Immediate response was visible as several participants’ indicted willingness to test the solution.

Signal Alliance is the leading IT systems integrator in Nigeria with key partnerships with global IT technology leaders such as Cisco, CA Technologies and Microsoft. The company provides end-to-end IT services from Network Infrastructure, Unified communications to Electronic Document Management, Collaboration & ERP and Software Advisory services.
Signal Alliance is the current Microsoft Country Partner of the Year. 

Microsoft changes Xbox brand and design chief

It’s no secret that Microsoft is designing the successor to the Xbox 360, as it needs to keep pace with Nintendo, which is introducing a new console next year. But now it will evidently take on that task without the help of one of the veteran marketing and design experts.

Don Coyner will no longer lead the design and experience group for Xbox, according to Jay Greene at Cnet, which cited two unnamed Microsoft sources for its report. A former Nintendo marketer, Coyner led a methodical process that led to the final industrial design and user experience for the game console that launched in 2005. and I wrote about him in my book, “The Xbox 360 Uncloaked.”

Coyner was reportedly replaced by Emma Williams, who helped create the recently redesigned Xbox Live interface. Microsoft declined to comment on the matter to Cnet. But Coyner apparently hasn’t left the company. Coyner’s LinkedIn profile says he managed a team of 140 hardware, software and user researchers in the Interactive Entertainment Division at Microsoft.

Coyner left Nintendo and joined Microsoft in 1995. He shifted over to Xbox as work began on that console in 1999. He started as a director of marketing for the group and then moved to supervise the design and user experience for the Xbox 360. In that process, he worked under Xbox platform chief J Allard, who has since left the company. Coyner’s job was to make the whole user experience with the console more consistent and unified.

Allard had said that Coyner had been “under-utilized” on the first Xbox and he gave him more responsibility for the second console. In mid-2003, Coyner brought in the industrial designer Jonathan Hayes to oversee the look and feel of the Xbox 360, synthesizing the designs proposed by various teams. Coyner supervised the process of collecting data on gamers and feeding it to the designers so they could improve the product the second time around. He wanted the product to be as well received as a new Apple device.

The first Xbox didn’t win any design awards and it was too big for many home entertainment racks.  He started out by heading a worldwide design bake-off, asking famous industrial designers around the world to submit concepts for the new console. Hayes and the team viewed the work of seven concepts for the Xbox 360 design, but they didn’t like any of them. They invited Astro Studios of San Francisco and Hers Experimental Laboratory to work on new concepts, and their ideas led to the final industrial design.

The unified design won accolades when the console debuted in 2005, as it was more appealing to the mass market and wasn’t as intimidating as the original black Xbox with its acid-green jewel in the middle. Though it came out a year before the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 has aged well and it will be the best-selling console in the U.S. this year.

Williams will now head the design and brand strategy of the Xbox group. Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch its next console in 2013, according to Cnet and the Develop game news site.

MTN Mobile Money users in Uganda cry foul

For a telecommunications firm the size of MTN in Uganda, which since its inception 13 years ago has led the way in service innovation, the breakdown of the mobile money network in the country is an indictment on the firm’s history.

MTN cannot say it didn’t see the early warning signs. In mid July, the network was down for two days, disrupting businesses. But the gravity of the network breakdown then does not compare to current predicament, with the Mobile Money service almost down for the last two to three weeks. The agents are not amused. “I wanted to sue them (MTN) but the lawyers told me it was impossible because I did not have a copy of the contract I signed with MTN,” said Nicholas Atuhairwe, an agent based at Kikoni, a Makerere University township.

Atuhairwe says the manner in which MTN entered into an understanding with their mobile money agents makes the latter susceptible to many forms of disservices. “They did not even give us time to read the contracts; we were not even given copies. All they told us to do was to sign and then deposit Shs 1,000,000 as the initial credit.

"We were later compelled to sign an exclusive agreement stopping us from operating other telecom money services which could otherwise have saved us during this crisis,” Atuhairwe explained.

He further added that he has lost over Shs1.3 million since the service started experiencing faults. “I used to make over Shs 60,000 worth of profit in a day but since the problem started, I have not served more than six customers. What MTN is doing is criminal,” he said.

To understand how huge MTN’s mobile money service is, you have to go back to its early days when it was launched. More than Shs 5bn exchanged hands in over 180,000 transactions within the first three months of its launch in 2009.

MTN Mobile Money agents help customers carry out transactions in Kampala. Today, up to 400,000 active customers make more than 385,000 transactions a month, according to GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked 2011 annual report. More than 1,400 agents have signed up to MTN’s Mobile Money, according to the report.

Consultancy firms are expected to follow MTN mobile money’s breakdown with keen interest. GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked 2011 report, a respected publication, played down the threat of technology breakdown in MTN’s mobile services as one that could see customers fleeing. While the report agrees that a technology breakdown could lead to first-time customers abandoning the service for good, it notes that the biggest worry for the service is when agents run out of cash to meet transactions. That prediction now faces its biggest test.

Agents wonder why MTN has not come out to clearly tell them what the problem is. “It is normal for companies to experience shortcomings in their services but it is disrespectful to the customers if such companies do not communicate in time,” complained Gloria Owembabazi, a mobile money outlet owner in Makerere University.

“We are not talking about simple money to take a girlfriend out. Students keep their tuition and upkeep money worth millions of shillings on their phone accounts; it is psychologically torturing if they cannot keep daily track of that money,” she added.

However, MTN Uganda corporate affairs manager, Justina Ntabgoba-Kayemba told the media that her company sent out a statement last week informing customers about the ongoing system enhancement. “We sent those messages last week but unfortunately, some have not yet received them.”

In a copy of the statement that Ntabgoba-Kayemba sent, MTN wrote that the first phase of the upgrading process started in early November and is expected to end mid next month.

The company also warned that mobile money will not resume normal efficiency levels until the upgrading process is finished. “During this period, mobile money services, including new registrations, mobile money transactions, and airtime top-up via mobile money will be intermittent. Customers and agents attempting to transact on MTN mobile money will receive an SMS response advising them of the error or a confirmation of a successful transaction,” reads part of the statement.

However, the good news is the service is being upgraded to even offer more services than they are already serving which will include among others withdrawing western union money using the mobile money service. Of the new services that will be unveiled after the upgrade, Mobile Money customers accounts will be linked to their bank accounts so that in event of being in a place where you cannot access you bank account, you can still withdraw from one of the authorized agents using mobile money. The upgrade is expected to be completed by December 15, according to the notice from MTN.