Thursday, November 21

Tag: Zambia

WhatsApp and other social media platforms restricted in Zambia amidst ongoing elections
16Aug By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments
East Africa, Social Networks, Telecommunications

WhatsApp and other social media platforms restricted in Zambia amidst ongoing elections

Several users from Zambia have taken to Twitter informing the general public that WhatsApp has been restricted in the country amidst ongoing general elections today. The president and parliamentary elections culminate in a face-off between current President Edgar Lungu and opposition Hakainde Hichilema. Internet monitoring organization Netblocks further corroborated these reports, adding that multiple internet providers in Zambia had restricted access to the American social messaging platform. Some of these networks include Zambian government-owned Zamtel, Airtel Zambia, Liquid Telecom and MTN. Continue reading (Image Credits: Unsplash)
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Union54, A Zambian Startup, Is Developing Africa’s First Card-Issuing API
14Aug By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments
East Africa, Start-ups

Union54, A Zambian Startup, Is Developing Africa’s First Card-Issuing API

Zambian startup Union54, which specializes in fintech, has announced that it’s developing Africa’s first card-issuing API. According to TechCrunch, the company founded by Perseus Mlambo and Alessandra Martini claims to be Africa’s first card-issuing API — and while, technically, they’re correct, they initially thought of the idea when they were part of Zazu, their previous startup. Back then, Zazu — which was launched in 2015 — was considered a “challenger bank,” and had to rely on outside vendors to issue debit cards to customers. According to Mlambo, some customers waited as long as 18 months to get a debit card issued in their name. “We just realized that either the processor or the bank was not necessarily well equipped to be able to answer our qu...
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