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Kenya to help local investors raise funds to settle at Konza
by Mwendwa Kivuva 09 Oct '15

09 Oct '15

http://mobile.nation.co.ke/business/Govt-to-help-locals-invest-at-Konza-Cit… Investors interested in setting up at the Konza City have been asked to submit bids for development of 24 parcels of land, as government pledges support for locals. Speaking at the Konza investor briefing, ICT Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said interested local investors who face financial shortfalls would get government support. “Together with the National Treasury, I am working on a Public Private Partnership framework that will see government source for funds to support local investors,” said Dr Matiang’i. The Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) will rely on Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) to attract investors who will construct commercial, residential, educational and public amenities within the demarcated land. *DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS* Land will be leased out to investors for a period of 99 years. Interested companies are expected to have strong financial muscle, a well-defined construction plan with timelines to start development by April 2016 and complete it by end of the year.

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] An Indian view of zero-rating
by Barrack Otieno 09 Oct '15

09 Oct '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Hill <rhill(a)hill-a.ch> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2015 08:01:27 +0200 Subject: [Internet Policy] An Indian view of zero-rating To: internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org I found that the article referenced below gives a balanced and thoughtful account of the debate regarding zero-rating: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/access-at-the-cost-of-net-neutrality/ar ticle7735242.ece Best, Richard _______________________________________________ To manage your ISOC subscriptions or unsubscribe, please log into the ISOC Member Portal: https://portal.isoc.org/ Then choose Interests & Subscriptions from the My Account menu. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

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Kenya lags behind in setting interoperability standards in mobile money
by Ali Hussein 09 Oct '15

09 Oct '15

Listers This may be of interest. Interesting read on how Kenya continues to lag behind its East African neighbors in the development of the mobile money space and freedom to share money seamlessly through networks despite having been the outright global leader in the innovation of mobile money! Airtel, Tigo in interoperable mobile money pilot http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/airtel-tigo-interoperable-mobile-money… How Tanzania Established Mobile Money Interoperability http://www.cgap.org/blog/how-tanzania-established-mobile-money-interoperabi… 04 March 2015 Tanzania's mobile money industry is flourishing, and experts have been watching closely<http://www.cgap.org/blog/tanzania-ready-interoperability-mobile-money> to see if the possibility of interoperability could become a reality. After industry partners agreed in September 2014 on a new set of standards governing person-to-person payments across multiple networks, it's now evident that interoperability is here to stay. In general, mobile money interoperability has seen great strides in a very short time, with five markets - Tanzania, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - now offering this as an option for customers and agents. Nigeria also mandated interoperability in 2012<http://www.cenbank.org/out/2012/ccd/timeline%20for%20interoperability%20&%2…>, but this hasn't come to fruition just yet. All of these markets have followed different approaches. Indonesia's and Tanzania's initiatives were primarily industry-led, whereas Nigeria has followed a regulatory model. In Pakistan, ATM switches 1LINK and MNET, the technical infrastructure that facilitates transaction processing, were involved from the beginning. In Tanzania and Indonesia, providers have connected bilaterally through custom APIs. It is still too early to determine the success of these interventions and only time will tell if new models and standards will emerge. How did Tanzania do it? As a key entrant to the "Mobile Money Interoperability Club" it is worth discussing the Tanzania experience, as it offers some insights for markets and operators wishing to embark on similar initiatives. 1. An industry-led process The process towards interoperability in Tanzania started several years ago and has benefitted from the involvement of many partners. The latest round of negotiations that produced the payment-to-payment operating rules was facilitated by IFC and funded by the Bill & Melina Gates Foundation and FSDT. The Bank of Tanzania provided a supportive regulatory environment for engagement. Importantly however, the bulk of the content came directly from the industry. A very clear process was defined at the beginning and based on this a project plan and a team of experts from the payments and mobile industries was assembled. Through frequent meetings, debate, negotiation and eventually consensus, the industry has successfully put together a set of standards that will govern how person-to-person payments will be handled across networks. 2. Common business standards It is often thought that interoperability is a technology challenge and that a "switch" is the solution. However, a switch would merely be a technical solution that facilitates transactions based on a set of pre-agreed rules or standards. Without these rules and standards, in the card industry often referred to as a 'scheme', no transactions can be made through the technical switch. Therefore in Tanzania, the industry opted to develop the common operating standards first. Establishing these standards involved regular meetings to define and record membership and participation criteria, clearing and settlement principles, handling of disputes, principles for intra-party compensation (or interchange) and interparty risk. Now that the standards are in place, what next? There are currently no regulatory mandates in place in Tanzania forcing anyone in the market to implement the new standards. Each company can choose to opt-in to the new standards according to whether it makes business sense for them to do so. So far, four mobile money operators have opted in - Tigo, Airtel, Zantel, Vodacom - through bilateral API connections. Encouragingly, Tigo presented at the GSMA MMU meetings and believes from initial indications that it has been the right decision for its business. This is good news. Card schemes have proved that once the first players start, then the rest will follow. We believe the same holds for mobile money. Ultimately, interoperability offers great benefits to mobile money operators, regulators and customers alike, and should serve to advance financial inclusion. I'm curious. What is stopping us moving forward with interoperability? Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim Blog: www.alyhussein.com "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi Sent from my iPad

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MPs take on Matiang’i over Bill
by Grace Githaiga 08 Oct '15

08 Oct '15

MPs on Thursday accused Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i of drafting a separate Bill on access to information to replace one generated in Parliament.Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee Chairman Njoroge Baiya said the Information CS had been invited by the Energy Committee to discuss the Bill but he declined, saying the ministry was working on its own version. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/MPs-take-on-Matiangi-over-Bill/-/1064…

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CA orders fresh allowances audit as Matiang'i declines to intervene
by Grace Githaiga 08 Oct '15

08 Oct '15

The report stated that last year, staff at CA made 421 trips both local and overseas to attend conferences, field visits, training and workshops, most of which were unaccounted for.Trouble has however persisted at the CA board even as an Airtel letter to CA revealed that Mr Wilbert Choge had attempted to seek a bribe.BRIBE ALLEGATIONAirtel CEO Adil El Youssefi in the letter says that Choge openly solicited a bribe to influence the board not to push Airtel to pay Sh2.7 billion for renewal of its license.Mr Choge together with his colleagues Mr Ken Nyaundi, Ms Grace Munjuri, Prof Levi Obonyo, Ms Hellen Kinoti, Ms Beatrice Opee and Mr Peter Mutie are purportedly in office against a court order that disbanded the entire board in May.The board has been cited for contempt in a case that could see the entire board stripped off their duties again, stalling the regulator’s activities. http://www.nation.co.ke/business/Matiang-i-declines-to-intervene-in-CA-cris…

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I&M suspends online card transactions
by Mark Kipyegon 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

Is it a viable solution to suspend the service to paying customers? The risk cited in the article is not a new thing in that particular industry. -- keybase.io/kipyegonmark On 7 Oct 2015, at 09:41, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: > > > Listers > > Interesting story about the pitfalls of ECommerce payments. > > http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/I-M-Bank-suspends-online-… > > As one of the few acquirers (The others are Barclays and KCB, soon to be followed by Chase Bank) this doesn't auger well for online card payments in the country. > > Fortunately for us we have other payment gateways we can use. > > I'm curious to know what impact this will have on eCommerce in the country. Anyone can share insights? > >>

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Airtel’s Sh2.1bn licence renewal fee splits CA board
by Mwendwa Kivuva 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Airtel-Sh2-1bn-licence-re… Matters came to a head during the CA’s board meetings held on Monday and Tuesday last week after the Treasury and a number of non-executive board members insisted that Airtel must pay the Sh2.1 billion fee for the licence. Telecommunications firm Airtel’s quest to get its frequency licence renewed without paying the required Sh2.1 billion fee has split the Communication Authority Kenya (CA) board, adding a new dimension to the seven months battle to get Kenya’s second-largest operator on a firm footing in the market. Francis Wangusi, the CA director-general, sparked the controversy with a letter he wrote to the authority’s board advising withdrawal of a demand notice the authority had sent to Airtel asking for payment of the Sh2.1 billion fee. The advisory marked an about-turn by Mr Wangusi, who had previously insisted that Airtel pays Sh2.1 billion for a 10-year frequency spectrum licence following the expiry in February of the one it was awarded in 2000. Airtel paid a $55 million (Sh4.7 billion) fee for its initial 15-year licence. Matters came to a head during the CA’s board meetings held on Monday and Tuesday last week after the Treasury and a number of non-executive board members insisted that Airtel must pay the Sh2.1 billion fee for the licence. Mr Wangusi’s position is supported by CA chairman Ben Gituku and Joseph Tiampati, the principal secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication. Mr Wangusi reckons that the authority’s pursuit of the frequency spectrum fee from Airtel may expose the agency to court battles it stands a high chance of losing. This, he says, is because the authority did not include the settling of initial frequency spectrum licence fees in the conditions it set for Airtel when the telecoms operator was acquiring Essar Telecom’s properties. “Management is of the view that considering the events that have taken place thus so far based on the legal analysis, it would be more prudent to withdraw the demand for $20,025,000 from Airtel,” Mr Wangusi said in his note to the board. If adopted, Mr Wangusi’s advisory would deny the Treasury the Sh2.1 billion it was expecting from the deal at a time when the government is in dire need of cash to meet the ever rising expenditure demands. Safaricom <http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/stocks/-/1322440/1394278/-/shkse6/-/inde…> last year paid Sh2.3 billion to have its licence renewed — an amount that was pegged on the Sh2.3 billion yuMobile paid in 2003 to enter Kenya as the fourth mobile operator.

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I&M suspends online card transactions
by Ali Hussein 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

Listers Interesting story about the pitfalls of ECommerce payments. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/I-M-Bank-suspends-online-… As one of the few acquirers (The others are Barclays and KCB, soon to be followed by Chase Bank) this doesn't auger well for online card payments in the country. Fortunately for us we have other payment gateways we can use. I'm curious to know what impact this will have on eCommerce in the country. Anyone can share insights? Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim Blog: www.alyhussein.com "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi Sent from my iPad

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Re: [kictanet] I&M suspends online card transactions
by Mark Kipyegon 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

Fair enough we really can't tell what is going on without access to more information. However as a client, this would not be a vote of confidence in my service provider. -- keybase.io/kipyegonmark > > On 7 Oct 2015, at 10:44, "Bernard Kioko" <bkioko(a)bernsoft.com> wrote: > >> Mark, >> >> Although I am not defending the position I am going to try reason.... >> >> Imagine is you have a service that genates say KES5m a month....over 3 >> months that's 15m... but then on month 4 you are hit by fraud worth 20m..... >> Just as an example. I don't actually know the details around the suspension. >> >> The risk might just be too high....which is a really sad thing for Kenya's >> ecommerce space. >> >> Regards >> >> Bernard >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: kictanet >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf >> Of Mark Kipyegon via kictanet >> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2015 10:38 AM >> To: bkioko(a)bernsoft.com >> Cc: Mark Kipyegon >> Subject: [kictanet] I&M suspends online card transactions >> >> Is it a viable solution to suspend the service to paying customers? The risk >> cited in the article is not a new thing in that particular industry. >> >> -- >> keybase.io/kipyegonmark >> >> On 7 Oct 2015, at 09:41, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> Listers >>> >>> Interesting story about the pitfalls of ECommerce payments. >>> >>> >> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/I-M-Bank-suspends-online-c >> ard-payments/-/539550/2901814/-/k38ilvz/-/index.html >>> >>> As one of the few acquirers (The others are Barclays and KCB, soon to be >> followed by Chase Bank) this doesn't auger well for online card payments in >> the country. >>> >>> Fortunately for us we have other payment gateways we can use. >>> >>> I'm curious to know what impact this will have on eCommerce in the >> country. Anyone can share insights? >>> >>>>

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Public Interest Registry Appoints Dorcas Muthoni to Enset's Board of Directors
by Grace Githaiga 06 Oct '15

06 Oct '15

Public Interest Registry — the not-for-profit manager of .org, .ngo and .ong — today announced the appointment of Dorcas Muthoni to the board of directors of nonprofit domain registrar Enset, a subsidiary organization. Muthoni, a member of the Internet Hall of Fame and CEO and founder of OPENWORLD LTD, will begin a two-year term as director this month.Muthoni is an accomplished entrepreneur and computer scientist whose leadership and technology advocacy has been recognized by groups including the Anita Borg Institute for Women, Women's Forum and the World Economic Forum. In addition to serving as an Internet Society Fellow to the Internet Engineering Task Force and World Bank infoDev Global Forum, Muthoni is the founder of AfChix, a mentorship and capacity building initiative for women in computing across Africa. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/public-interest-registry-appoints-d…

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