Uber Driver Partners Attacked In Johannesburg (feat. Brian Anderson)

Late last week a violent attack on two Uber partner vehicles in the Sandton Central Business District led to the injury of three police officers who attended the scene to calm things down, and also resulted in the damage of two law enforcement vehicles.

The assault on the Uber partners’ cars is said to have been carried out by a group of meter taxi drivers unhappy with Uber’s disruption of their livelihood. One man has reportedly been arrested in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, the quiet chat I had with Brian Anderson, which is featured in this week’s African Tech Round-up in place of our regular debate segment, takes on a decidedly more civil tone. Brian is the Head of Sales and Business Development for Africa at NYSE-listed banking and payments technology firm, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS)— the company that acquired financial software company SunGuard late last year.

Listen in to hear Brian talk to me about an ambitious new platform that FIS is poised to launch to help promote financial inclusion on the continent.

And of course, Happy Africa Day to you all! Let’s keep it moving!

First published on AfricanTechRoundup.com

Vodacom Admits That M-Pesa Roll-out In South Africa Flopped (feat. Dominique Collett)

So, Vodacom is finally pulling the plug on their disastrous six-year attempt to roll out M-Pesa in South Africa. (The service will be shut down on June 30th 2016.)

Funny thing is, Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub has blamed his company’s diabolical failure to meet their target of enlisting at least 10 million active users on South Africa’s relatively well-established banking industry. (By the end of 2015 they had only managed to onboard a paltry 76,000 active users.)

However, Joosub’s assertion does not sit well with our guest on this week’s episode of the African Tech Round-up— the brilliant and insightful, Dominique Collett.

Dominique knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t in terms of mobile money innovation on the continent. Following a successful exit at the incredibly successful fintech startup she co-founded– Tyme (acquired by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for a rumoured ±USD30 million), Dominique has gone on to become a financial services investor and innovation architect who is now a Senior Investment Executive at Rand Merchant Insurance Holdings (RMI), as well as the Head of Alpha Code, RMI’s nippy financial services incubator/accelerator.

Listen in to this week’s discussion to hear Tefo Mohapi, Dominique and I ponder what lies ahead for Africa’s mobile money scene.

What’s The Big Deal With WiFi? (feat. Riaan Graham)

Following last week’s media coverage of the partnership between VAST Networks and Ruckus Wireless to deliver on Africa’s largest single deployment of WiFi infrastructure at the recently opened Mall of Africa in Midrand, South Africa— we thought it might be a good idea to invite a certified WiFi-freak to help us understand why WiFi may indeed be “the next big thing” in terms of ushering in seamless connectedness on the continent.

Joining me on the African Tech Round-up this week is Riaan Graham, Ruckus Wireless’ Director for Sub-Saharan Africa. In this week’s discussion, Riaan argues that the perfect wireless ecosystem requires the harmonious interplay between fixed line telecoms operators and mobile telcos, with WiFi playing a complimentary role. However, as fixed line operators and mobile telcos continue to grapple with diminishing voice revenues, and opt to back technologies like LTE and LTE-U over WiFi, that idyllic scenario is undoubtedly a long way off.

Meanwhile, the growing demand for free internet access delivered via open public WiFi infrastructure (hat-tip to the likes of Project Isizwe) further complicates matters for legacy commercial interests who are desperately trying to work out sustainable business models to ensure they thrive in a data-driven future.

First published on AfricanTechRoundup.com.

Vodacom Eats Humble Pie Over Please-Call-Me Idea

There’s no doubt Kenneth Nkosana Makate celebrated Workers’ Day in style following a South African Constitutional Court judge ruling stating that Vodacom now owes him a big fat cheque for profiting from his Please-Call-Me idea for well over a decade. This brings to a close Nkosana’s 15-year legal battle with the mobile network. Or does it?

In this episode of the African Tech Round-up, Tefo Mohapi and I unpack this landmark case and speculate over just how much Nkosana’s legal team might gun for in terms of compensation.

We also try and determine whether the case is a good example of how “the little guy” can in fact triumph over a mighty giant, or whether Nkosana’s investor-backed victory is proof that justice might still be reserved for Africa’s well-heeled elite.

First published in AfricanTechRoundup.com

Taking On Giants With Alpesh Patel

Alpesh Patel is the outspoken Founder and CEO of Africa’s first home-grown mobile device brand, Mi-Fone. He is also formerly the Director of Sales at Motorola Mobile Devices for Africa, as well a seasoned entrepreneur who’s seen his fair share of ups and downs.

Alpesh is famous for standing his ground whenever the odds are stacked against him, and especially when faced with bullying tactics by the likes of global mobile device producer, Xiaomi. And in a week that’s seen Kenneth Nkosana Makate win his 15-year legal battle against Vodacom in South Africa, there’s no doubt that this Workers’ Day is all about celebrating the grit and determination of “The Little Guy”.

In this relaxed conversation, I was privileged to discover  the secret behind Mi-Fone’s growth from a modest mobile device brand to having a footprint in over 15 countries throughout Africa. His name is Alpesh Patel.