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South African commerce startup, Clickatell, launches platform for WhatsApp mobile payments

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Foremost South African commerce and mobile messaging startup, Clickatell, has launched a Whatsapp Chat 2 Pay feature in conjunction with South Africa’s first low-cost airline, FlySafair.

During the launch of the platform on Saturday, Clickatell’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, Jeppe Dorff, said the feature will make FlySafair the first airline in the world to deploy Chat 2 Pay with a pay-by-link capability that allows its customers the convenience of effortless mobile payments via FlySafair’s WhatsApp channel.

“No one has time to stand in queues anymore, and almost every adult on the planet has a mobile phone,” Dorff said.

“There is a major opportunity for airlines across the globe to enhance their customers’ travel experience by making it possible to browse, book and pay for, as well as manage their travel bookings on their mobile phones.

“We are thrilled to work with FlySafair to transform its customers’ experience by making it possible to make payments using their mobile phones,” he added.

Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair, said the airline is delighted to have pioneered with Clickatell for the first of its kind innovation.

“We are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience and are therefore very excited that our customers can now pay for their luggage with a payment link shared to their mobile phones via WhatsApp.

“There is no need any more for our customers to go stand in a queue at the airport to pay for luggage.

“By adding Chat 2 Pay, FlySafair helps its customers to save time and safely make payments further by clicking on the Chat 2 Pay link delivered in a message in WhatsApp without requiring them to expose their personal payment information,” she explained.

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ADB signs $15m transaction guarantee facility with Zimbabwe’s NMB Bank

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The African Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $15 million Trade Finance Transaction Guarantee Facility with Zimbabwe’s NMB Bank aimed at unlocking trade finance opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as agri-business and trade distribution value chains in the country.

At the signing ceremony held at the NMB Bank Headquarters in Harare, ADB Country Manager for Zimbabwe, Moono Mupotola, signed on behalf of the Bank while NMB Bank Chief Executive Officer, Gerald Gore, signed on behalf of the bank.

Speaking shortly after the brief ceremony, Mupotola said the African Development Bank’s board had earlier approved the project in November 2023, with the facility offering up to 100% coverage to confirming banks, effectively mitigating non-payment risks linked to NMB Bank’s trade transactions on a per-transaction basis.

“It is tailored to support trade between Zimbabwe and other African countries and with overseas markets by significantly diminishing the risk for international financial institutions actively engaging in trade finance activities with Zimbabwean businesses,” Mupotola said.

“The African Development Bank is committed to supporting the development of the private sector in Zimbabwe. This is a significant step forward in supporting the growth and competitiveness of Zimbabwean businesses.

“By mitigating risk and facilitating access to trade finance, we are empowering SMEs and local corporates to participate more actively in regional and international trade,” she said.

Also speaking, Gore emphasized the agreement’s importance for Zimbabwe’s economic development.

“This facility will be instrumental in enabling NMB to provide crucial trade finance support to a wider range of Zimbabwean businesses. This will not only unlock new trade opportunities but also contribute to job creation and economic growth.

“SMEs often face challenges in accessing trade finance compared to their larger counterparts. This initiative directly addresses this gap, fostering a more vibrant and inclusive business environment in Zimbabwe,” Gore said.

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Ghana’s communications regulator predicts subsea cable repairs could take five weeks

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According to Ghana’s communications regulator, it will likely take at least five weeks to fully restore service relying on the damaged subsea cables causing internet outages throughout West and Central Africa.

Many businesses that are connected to the internet and telecommunications, such as banks, phone companies, money transfer services, and stock exchange markets, have been severely disrupted as a result of the cable break.

Equinix, a data centre operator, reported on Friday that a “external incident” caused a cut to its cable system in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa, near Cote D’Ivoire. It excluded human activity as the reason.

 

The four subsea cable landing service providers—Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), MainOne, which is owned by data centre operator Equinix (EQIX.O), opens new tab, South Atlantic 3 (SAT-3) and the West Africa Cable System (WACS)—as well as mobile network operators were present at the meeting, according to Ghana’s National Communications Authority.

“The cable landing service providers have indicated an estimated time frame of a minimum of five weeks for full service restoration from the time the vessels are dispatched to the various locations,” the regulator said.

It stated that the service providers had determined the general location of the damage and were getting ready to send out repair ships.

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