News About Congo

Airtel Money making impact in DRC

What does Mobile Money mean in Congo? First, you are getting paid. And second, you are getting your full pay. Finally third, you have to stand up for hours at the Mobile Carrier's office to get money.

To date, Congo remains a cash society.

‘Airtel Money’, the company’s mobile money platform, is already making a revolutionary mark in the country with the government embracing it to make seamless large-scale salary payments from December last year. Now, civil servants including the military, the police force, pensioners and other civil servants can receive payments on their mobile phones.

Louis Luballa, the Managing Director of Airtel DRC said: “In May 2013, about 66,000 civil servants in DRC received their salaries via Airtel Money, a demonstration of how technology can make things easy. With Airtel Money, Airtel DRC is paving the way to a new era of financial transactions at the tap of a mobile phone, helping to save time going to the banking halls. The introduction of this revolutionary service in the DRC market clearly demonstrates the key role Airtel is playing in empowering local communities in DRC and across Sub-Saharan Africa.”

DRC remains one of the countries with the limited banking facilities in Africa but rapid development in ICT sector, particularly mobile telephony is sending a strong message about the continent’s potential to innovate. Africa is now considered as the fastest emergent continent in the ICT sector growth after Asia.

via www.itnewsafrica.com

Another ICC Asked To Help Congo

This time the ICC refers to the International Chamber of Commerce.  In the past, ICC has referred to the International Criminal Court.

Vodacom is one of the few cell phone service providers.  They are the best cell service especially in the rural areas of Congo.  Most people in rural village of Bulape use Vodacom.  They provide both voice and data service.

Vodacom Asks ICC for Administrator for Congo Division (Update1) - BusinessWeek.

Vodacom Group Ltd., which is 65 percent held by Vodafone Group Plc, is seeking an “interim award” from the International Chamber of Commerce to appoint an ”ad-hoc administrator” for its business in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Vodacom wants an administrator to reorganize Vodacom Congo’s balance sheet and convert the unit to a public company so it complies with its license conditions, Bob Collymore, head of corporate affairs at Johannesburg-based Vodacom, said in a telephone interview today.

Vodacom Congo Sprl, which is 51 percent held by Vodacom with the rest held by Kinshasa-based Congo Wireless Network, decided on April 9 to apply for arbitration proceedings after shareholders could not agree at an extraordinary meeting on a $484 million recapitalization and conversion of the unit to a public company.

Before the meeting, CWN accused Vodacom of usury, fraud, forgery, the use of false documents and abuse of trust, mainly over a loan that allegedly resulted in CWN incurring inflated interest and fees. Vodacom denies the claim.

Lack of Telecommunication Will Hinder Development

Prior to networks, WiFi, and the internet, you had to carry disk from person-to-person, office-to-office, or even mail it.  Without telecommunication in the Congo, it is worst.  There is no roads, couriers, or mail service.

Research and Markets: Democratic Republic of Congo - Telecoms, Mobile & Broadband.

Following a 30-year dictatorship between 1967 and 1997, the DRC (formerly Zaire) has been through two wars and is still seeing violent conflicts in the eastern part of the country.

The economy of this third largest country in Africa relies heavily on mining. However, much economic activity occurs in the informal sector and is not reflected in GDP data. An uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of transparency in government policy are continuing long-term problems. The country has been hit hard by the global economic crisis in 2008 and 2009.

As a result of the political instability since the mid-1990s, the national telecom system is one of the least developed in the region. Rural areas, where almost 70% of the population resides, are virtually devoid of telephone or Internet service. The national operator, OCPT theoretically has a monopoly on the sector under 1970 legislation, but it has been unable to provide a modern telecom network and unsuccessful in finding major investors for privatisation. Recognising the need for telecommunications infrastructure, the government is only loosely regulating the sector.