Tungjatjeta,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Contactless tech meets corner shops in Kenya
- Military wife masters work-life mobility
- X goes dark in Tanzania
Interswitch partners Tuma to launch contactless payment in Kenya
Interswitch, a Nigerian fintech company, has joined forces with Elie Technologies, also known as Tuma, to introduce Tumatap — a new contactless payment solution for Kenya.
This partnership is about making payments smoother for merchants and customers, especially for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Tumatap is designed to turn any Android or iOS smartphone, or even a feature phone, into a point-of-sale (POS) system, without any extra hardware. So, MSMEs can now easily accept contactless payments using the devices they already have.
How does it work? The Tumatap system lets customers pay by simply tapping their card or device on a merchant's smartphone, making checkouts quicker.
Plus, it uses local processing to keep costs lower than international systems. The transaction data collected helps merchants better understand their customers and improve their business operations.
Interswitch, which operates under the Central Bank of Kenya's regulations, has been approved to process card transactions for Tumatap merchants. This partnership blends Tuma’s soft PoS tech with Interswitch’s solid card processing and fraud protection.
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The collaboration is set to benefit various sectors, including hotels, restaurants, bars, and cosmetics shops.
Wesley Masinde from Tuma expressed his excitement about how this partnership will empower small businesses in Kenya and push for greater financial inclusion.
Military wife masters work-life mobility
Ever wonder why people work a 9-5 and then claim it’s not for the money? I’m always curious because, honestly, since my uni days, the only reason I’ve been grinding is for that dough.
Sure, I’ve done fun stuff on the side, like blogging and volunteering with young adults, but let’s be real — work is all about the money.
Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon, but seriously, what other reasons do people have for working? If it’s not for the cash, let me know, and hey, if you don’t work for money, kindly send your salary my way at the end of the month. 😂
But on a serious note, in this week’s Work Life edition, Oluwanifemi talked to someone who, like most of us, works for the money but has faced some unique hurdles. Being married to a military man has cost her multiple job opportunities!
I won’t spoil the details, but Oluwanifemi’s piece is about Kelechi* — a woman who calls herself a nomad because her husband’s job keeps them moving around Nigeria.
This constant moving has cost her a job and several other chances, but now she’s building remote work skills and even running a community for other wives in similar situations. Check out Oluwanifemi’s latest piece here.
X goes dark in Tanzania
On Friday, NetBlocks reported that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Tanzania, including Airtel, Vodacom, Halotel, Tigo, and TTCL, blocked access to X (formerly Twitter).
This means users in the country can’t access the platform without a VPN. The block affects various parts of the platform, like the Image Content Delivery Network (CDN), Mobile API, and the ability to upload photos and videos, sparking concerns about a complete shutdown.
This move comes after the Tanzanian police issued a warning about opposition parties, particularly Chadema, allegedly planning to raid police stations holding political prisoners.
On August 30, the police warned about Chadema members using Zoom to organise protests. Earlier in the month, the government arrested Chadema’s chairman, Tundu Lissu, along with the head of the party’s youth wing, which has only fuelled the tension.
Activists, including Maria Sarungi Tsehai, have been urging people to share information online using hashtags like #FreeThemAll and #FreeDeusdedithSoka, trying to rally support for the release of those imprisoned. However, the ongoing Internet restrictions are making it difficult to spread their message.
These kinds of Internet disruptions are not new in Africa. Similar blackouts happened in Kenya after the Finance Bill 2024 protests and in Senegal after its election delay.
X, in particular, has seen a lot of disruptions, with reports indicating that it faced over 10,000 hours of intentional downtime in 2023 alone.
Sidebar Alert: On Saturday, NetBlocks reported that Brazil’s major Internet providers are now blocking X as ordered by the Supreme Court. This happened because X didn’t agree to block accounts tied to the old administration and the political right, and also didn’t appoint a representative like they were asked to.
In case you missed them
- A Nigerian startup founder's guide to equity allocation
- Ugandan boda boda riders decry costly digital number plates, threaten protests
- NALA obtains money remittance licence in Uganda following Flutterwave’s market entry
What I'm watching
- What Happens when Countries Lose Religion? | Phil Zuckerman
- What It Was Like Being Gay Throughout History
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Have a productive week!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
