Konnichiwa,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Vodacom Tanzania acquires Smile Tanzania
- Are you a happy and loyal employee?
- Ethiopia’s plan to tackle sexual violence
- Kenya in extradition talks with Nigeria over escaped Binance executive
Vodacom Tanzania acquires Smile Tanzania
Vodacom Tanzania has acquired Smile Communication Tanzania for about $27.4 million. No debt, no cash exchanged, just a straightforward acquisition.
This move will beef up Vodacom's game in the 4G and 5G scene. It’s looking to expand its network coverage and improve customer service.
Essentially, Vodacom's taking over Smile, grabbing all its shares at a price of about TZS 0.24144 per share. And guess what? It’s getting access to Smile's spectrum, which means more firepower for Vodacom's network.
This isn’t Vodacom's first rodeo in expanding its reach. It’s already a big deal in places like Pwani, Dar es Salaam, and other spots in Tanzania. With this move, it hopes to gain even more customers, although Smile did not have a huge subscriber base before this, with only about 15,000 people.
Vodacom's been on a spectrum shopping spree lately, adding Smile's frequencies to what it snagged in auctions in 2022 and 2018. It’s packing quite a punch with all those bands under their belt, especially with plans to roll out more 4G and 5G services.
And this isn’t just a one-time thing for Vodacom. It’s in it for the long haul, as seen in its Annual Integrated Report for 2023, where it talked about its spectrum strategy and plans for the future.
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Are you a happy and loyal employee?
Do you think a company's doing great as long as the money's rolling in? Without giving it another thought, you’d scream “yes,” right?
However, that's only part of the story. See, there's this whole concept called organisational health that's been gaining traction since way back in the 1900s.
Back then, management theories started popping up, focusing on stuff like treating employees right, building good relationships, and ensuring folks were happy at work.
And that's what organisational health is all about — it's not just about the cash flow, but also about things like workplace culture, how happy the employees are, and whether everyone's on the same page.
For someone like Rukayat Odebiyi, People Operations Specialist, a healthy organisation means everything's in sync — finances, operations, employee happiness, leadership, innovation, you name it. Because even if a company's making bank, if the environment's toxic, it's not a win-win.
Take, for instance, two key indicators: Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) and productivity. Oluwanifemi explained these in her story, and it’s a must-read!
So, how’d you know if your workplace is making you productive or happy? Find out in Oluwanifemi’s story here.
Kenya in extradition talks with Nigeria over escaped Binance executive
Remember that Binance bigwig who escaped detention in Nigeria?
Yeah, Nadeem Anjarwalla was found in Kenya. Talks are buzzing about dragging him back to face the music.
Anjarwalla bolted from a guesthouse in Abuja where they were holding him and his buddy over some pretty serious allegations — money laundering and dodging taxes.
The Nigerian government's been hustling with Kenya, the US, UK, and Northern Ireland to get this guy back in cuffs.
But here's the twist: It's not going to be a walk in the park. See, Anjarwalla's got some serious clout, being the son of a big shot at one of East Africa's top law firms. Well, who cares?
Plus, Kenya's got its extradition hoops to jump through. Nigeria can't just nab Anjarwalla without jumping through some legal hoops, like getting an arrest warrant from a Nigerian court.
And even if they do get all the paperwork sorted, it could still take ages for the whole process to play out. We're talking months, maybe even years. But the law's the law.
Meanwhile, back in Nigeria, the court’s gearing up to throw the book at Binance and its crew. It’s slapping them with tax evasion charges left and right, from skipping out on company taxes to helping users dodge their dues.
Anjarwalla and his buddy, Tigran Gambaryan, got a laundry list of accusations against them, including laundering $35 million.
Ethiopia’s plan to tackle sexual violence
The Ethiopian government is rolling out a new system to tackle sexual violence head-on. It’s putting together a registry to keep track of sex offenders and make sure they're held accountable, even after they've done their time.
It's a big deal because Ethiopia's been struggling to deal with gender-based violence, with a whopping 37% of women facing these issues. That's no small number.
And get this: many communities turn a blind eye to these violent acts, which just lets the perpetrators off the hook and leaves women struggling to get the support they need.
But with this new system, things are looking up. It will ensure registered sex offenders can't work in places like schools or orphanages, which is a pretty crucial step. And it’s putting about $176,000 into developing the system, with plans for it to have three different sections, including one that's open to the public.
And it's not just Ethiopia making moves on this front. South Africa's been on it since 2007, with a register for sex offenders against children and mentally disabled folks. But unlike Ethiopia's plan for a public page, South Africa's keeping it private and hush-hush. Still effective, though.
Even Nigeria's stepping up, looking to clamp down on child pornography online, and making sure folks working with kids are the right fit for the job. It's all part of a bigger push across Africa to tackle these issues, with countries like Kenya and Ghana also getting in on the action, each in their way.
Sidebar Alert: I wrote about how technology can improve your sex life here.
In case you missed it
- Seacom launches a satellite service two months after a subsea cable disruption
- New users on X may pay a fee before posting on the platform
- Starlink to disconnect subscribers in Ghana, South Africa, Botswana
- "I look back now and I think I could have built this very differently." — Sim Shagaya on lessons learnt building Konga
- MTN MoMo expands to 10 new countries at a launch fee of 4%
- Fraud and forgery cost Wema Bank $595,000 in 2023, launches anti-fraud campaign
- TikTok reaffirms safety commitment in Kenya despite proposed ban on officials
What I'm reading and watching
- Babies born this year face a $500,000 climate bill
- Daddy Issues
- A Test to Judge How Good Your Parents Were
Opportunities
- Apply for Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) by May 6, 2024, here.
- Seedstars has announced INFUSE 2024, a global invitation for innovative applications aimed at fortifying health systems against climate threats and improving immunisation delivery. Apply here.
- Explore this website to find multiple job opportunities in Data that align with your preferences.
- If you are a software engineer, creative designer, product manager, design researcher, or a techie looking for an internship role, please, check out this website.
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
