It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity -Albert Einstein
ICTAUg Dissolved its 2016 -2017 Board and Elected an Interim Board
On 27th January 2016 the ICT Association of Uganda elected board members to run the association for two years, during the Annual General meeting.
The Association which is a multi-stakeholder initiative formed by private individuals to provide professional guidance and advisory services to individuals, government and organizations on policy-based issues; this week during its Members only meeting dissolved it’s board and elected an interim one that will run the association until the next annual general meeting is announced.
The dissolved board included James Makumbi of Billable Limited who was the Chairman, Evelyn Namara of !nnovate, Uganda Vice Chairperson, Joanita Nalubega was Treasurer and Finance, Colin Asiimwe was secretary general, Brian Senoga, director in charge of education and training, Boaz Shani of Ugo Uganda and Technet, director in charge of administration who had earlier resigned before this, and Joshua Twinamatsiko of PcTech Magazine, director in charge of human resources. Joseph Kaizzi of ThinVoid was director in charge of development, Dennis Kamugisha was director in charge of audit, and members’ representative was Michael Niyitegeka.
The reason for the dissolution was that the above board was not working as they had promised in the Annual General Meeting. Most of the activities of the association were left to be done by the Chairman according to a source.
The elected Interim Board now has;
- Albert Mucunguzi back as the chairman. He had earlier in January declined being elected back on the board for having served for 4 years
- Maureen Agena as the General Secretary
- Ronald Sebuhinja as Treasurer
- Simon Kaheru as Director
- Steven Kirenga as Director
- James Makumbi as Director
- Boaz Shani as Director
T-Mobile to pay a $48 million fine for throttling ‘unlimited data’ plans
T-Mobile was caught slowing down internet connections for heavy data customers by Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who announced this on Wednesday and are making the company pay for it.
In a settlement announced, T-Mobile agreed to pay $48 million to resolve an investigation into the company’s unlimited data plan. In 2015 the company had revealed that it was slowing down data for customers in the top 3 percent of data usage, typically translating to 17GB of data per month. The limitation was only revealed after numerous complaints, and came as a surprise to many users.
According to the FCC, the problem isn’t the throttling, but the way T-Mobile marketed the plan. Marketing the system as an unlimited data plan was deceptive to customers, and a violation of the 2010 Open Internet transparency rules. “Consumers should not have to guess whether so-called ‘unlimited’ data plans contain key restrictions, like speed constraints, data caps, and other material limitations,” said FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc in a statement.
Wish we had such a Bureau in Uganda, we wouldn’t have telecoms that sell capped unlimited data under investigation and paying us back for the false marketing their are doing.
Smart Business Mobile Web App Helps Build A School
Meet Bugisa Elizabeth Best, founder of Good Tidings Academy in Uganda. Bugisa used the SmartBusiness mobile web app to build her school. See video below and visit the app here.
Think About The Digital Tomorrow, Today
‘Disruption’ is a word one hears in the business context all the time these days. Being told that your business is in danger from unseen and unpredictable forces is not comforting.
The truth is that potential of something coming along and hurting or disrupting your business has always been a reality. If you were a small retailer, the equivalent of a grocery Uber is not as worrying as a serious competitor opening its doors down the road from you. The local market might shift to new demographics, customers may relocate for reasons beyond your control and a commodity crisis or natural disaster could quickly raise the cost of your staple products, thinning your margins to losses.
We are currently experiencing a technology revolution that is rewriting all the rules and doing so fast. In the past 15 years Kenya’s internet penetration has grown from less than one percent to over 70 percent. Uganda has passed the 50 percent mark for mobile user numbers and ICT is already nearly 10 percent of its GDP. Tanzania is fast growing its digital citizenry since introducing 3G, LTE and Voice-over-IP technologies.
Data is a common example. Businesses don’t like uncertainty, which is why the unknown unknowns are so bothersome. But every aspect of your enterprise – equipment, staff, customers, markets, competitors, trends, suppliers, stock, etc. – generates data and often hides terrific insights. The question that every forward-looking executive should be asking him/herself is: do I have a plan to transform my business and effectively harness that data? This should be top of mind. Most companies are okay at understanding historical structured data to glean insights as to where they may have gone wrong but very few harness real-time insights and are using these to hone daily activities and eek out more immediate advantages. It need not be said that even fewer are yet immersed in predictive analytics with a deep understanding of both their structured data and customer behaviors but also all the unstructured data that now with the relevant technology you can blend to create more comprehensive insights and far more accurate predictions and simulations.
The reality is these and many more challenges make one realize that we need to be ready to benefit from rather than be a slave to the trends that are inevitable. More importantly as this is an ever changing world we need to ask how whatever we do will fit into the longer term perspective and ensure its relevance in the longer term in terms of future-proofing your business yet providing sufficient flexibility to quickly adapt to new trends.
Twitter Moments Another Way to Storify
If you have used Storify before and now Twitter moment, you already seen the similarities in the two publishing feature and App.
Twitter Moments were created to do what Storify does for most online publishing Apps; curating, publishing for influencers, partners, brands. Moments allows one to collect and curate Tweets to tell stories while engaging on specific topics and events.
This feature is not yet on the Mobile App, you can find it on the web app just after Lists before Likes. I already have mine up there #PKTechWeekly
Uber Nigeria Partnered with First Bank to pave way for driver-partners to grow their businesses
Uber Nigeria made low-interest, used-vehicle loans available to its top-rated driver-partners as it partnered with First Bank of Nigeria Limited, as well as other smaller financiers. This move means that, for the first time, Uber driver-partners in Nigeria are be to apply for finance for used vehicles based on their driver performance records.
They are also looking at this move as away to create significant business growth opportunities for driver-partners by allowing them to access used-car finance from First Bank of Nigeria Limited at a very competitive interest rate of just 20% per annum over a 24 month repayment period. The other alternative offers for used-vehicle finance on the Uber Vehicle Solutions Programme will attract 22% per annum, with a maximum repayment term of 36 months.
In order to qualify for this preferential used-vehicle finance from First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Uber driver-partners have to demonstrate an average driver performance rating of higher than 4.5 and have earned more than N2,400,000 (Approx Ugx 26M) in the preceding 6 months.
Other innovations by Uber Nigeria include;
- Uber Marketplace, which is a one-stop national vehicle access solution designed to connect driver-partners and investors to suitable vehicles at discounted rates.
- UberMomentum Partner Rewards Programme that delivers localized discounts, preferential deals and rewards exclusively to driver-partners and small business owners.
Until next week, have a blessed day.
One thought on “#PKTechWeekly: ICTAUg Dissolves Board,Telecom to Pay for False Marketing,Uber Partners with a Bank,”