Good evening, Briefing reader!
Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the SautiTech rundown of the top stories in the tech and startup world in Uganda
Uber raises rates for UberX
Ride-hailing firm UberUganda has raised the rates for UberX, the car-sharing service to, according to reports, cater to demands of the driver partners that are facing increased costs to maintain their vehicles.
The development was effected on Monday and it will see drivers charge between Shs4000 and Shs5,000 as the minimum rate. The cost per kilometer, however, remains at Shs600 within Kampala.
Read the full report here
Afriqloud launches in Uganda
Afriqloud Uganda has been launched by BringCom, in partnership with science and technology investor, Imprimatur Capital, and European edge cloud software company, GIG Technology to provide on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies, and governments in Africa.
The aim of afriQloud is to have the Edge Cloud installed in cities and tech hub ecosystems which host a high number of startups and developers, officials said, adding that it will be spreading its services further into the different regions of Africa this year.
Read the full report here
TV, radios to get a maximum of 10 minutes
Uganda Communications Commission wants to introduce a policy that will stop radios and television stations from running adverts that are more than 10 minutes long.
The policy also wants the ad-broadcasting segment of the media industry to give special treatment to issues like sex, supernatural trends, and HIV/Aids.
Read the full report here
Police unveil ePenalty system
Traffic police have introduced an electronic system that will be used to monitor and detect drivers who default on paying penalty fees.
The system has functionalities which include identifying the offender, tracking vehicles with pending penalties, reading vehicle number plates and driving permit details and outstanding penalties as well as a payment system, reports The Observer.
Read the full report here
Funding opportunities
There are two opportunities for agritech startups. One is from the Grow-NY business competition and the best African agritech startup will win up to $1-million in funding. Read details here and apply
The other is from Village Capital. Applications are open till June 28 and you can apply here.
Temporary suspension of Airtel to MTN mobile money transfers
Airtel Uganda announced Monday evening that the interoperability service that allows an Airtel money user to send money to an MTN Mobile Money user had been suspended until further notice.
This also affects people who want to send money from MTN to Airtel.
NOTICE TO AIRTEL UGANDA CUSTOMERS:
Dear esteemed customers, we have temporarily suspended interoperability between Airtel/MTN and vice versa. Our technical teams are currently working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
We apologize for any inconveniences caused. pic.twitter.com/q8opBDdJJb— Airtel Uganda (@Airtel_Ug) June 24, 2019
Bemanya to lose UTL gig
Bemanya Twebaze, the executive director of Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) who was appointed to oversee the operations of Uganda Telecom (UTL) after the telco suffered a severe financial and management crisis, could lose the job, ChimpReports reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, Minister of Investment Evelyn Anite has said that she is going to use the courts of law to force Twebaze to leave the office to pave way for an extensive audit into the telco, following recent reports that he had blocked the audit.
Read the full report here
