Jio Platforms is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, one of India’s biggest multinational companies and a major provider of cellular and internet services in the country. The investment, which requires approval from competition regulators, would give Facebook a 9.99 percent stake in Jio Platforms, Jio said.

Facebook said the move indicated its commitment to India. More than 388 million people in India have been connected to the internet over the past four years through Jio, Facebook said.

“The country is in the middle of a major digital transformation, and organizations like Jio have played a big part in getting hundreds of millions of Indian people and small businesses online,” Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said in a post to his Facebook page announcing the deal. “With communities around the world in lockdown, many of these entrepreneurs need digital tools they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses.”

Facebook is moving forward with strategic investments at a fragile time in the global economy. While many businesses have been hurt by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, large technology companies are positioned to benefit in the long run as more people turn to their services while sheltering indoors. Companies such as Apple, Alphabet and Facebook all have financial muscle to ride out a difficult period.

SOURCE: NY TIMES https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/technology/facebook-jio-india.html

The launch of both the e-Learning and Smart Revision portals, which are a complete package for providing alternative and supplementary learning resources for learners comes when the Ministry of Education wants to bridge learning gaps due to the closure of schools in light of Covid-19.

The eLearning portal can be accessed at www.elearning.co.zm while Smart Revision can be accessed at www.smartrevision.co.zm and is free of charge during the current Covid-19 outbreak period.

The national e-learning portal is an electronic platform for educators and learners which has various educational resources such as e-books, links for specialised services and virtual library.

The Smart Revision portal is hosting ECZ past examination papers together with model answers and revision tips for grades sevent nine and twelve as well as General Certificate of Education (GCE) candidates.

The platform is meant to help learners in examination classes from Grade 7, 9 and 12 prepare for examinations.

General Education Minister David Mabumba launched the two online platforms in Kasama at Kasama College of Education on Monday and hailed Zambia for the innovation.

Mr Mabumba said the Ministry of General Education will endeavour to continue meeting the educational needs of the learners and continue taking quality education services as close to the learners as possible.

He said Government is elated that ECZ has leveraged the services and expertise offered by Zamtel, good example of how partnerships among government institutions can make use of public infrastructure to benefit the people of Zambia.

He commended Zamtel for zero rating the two services during the Covid-19 period describing the gesture by Zamtel as patriotic.

And Zamtel Chief Executive Officer Sydney Mupeta said the launch of e-learning and Smart Revision is part of the digital journey that Zamtel has embarked on which has seen the company roll out a number of digital products on the market.

Mr Mupeta said the e-learning Platform contains rich educational resources including learning and teaching materials, eBooks, links to specialized services and virtual library.

He said the launch of e-learning and Smart Revision is part of the digital journey that Zamtel has embarked on which has seen the company roll out a number of digital products on the market.

“The launch of the e-learning and Smart Revision Platforms comes at a time when we are facing the challenges in the health sector which have forced the authorities to order the closure of all schools as a precautionary measure following the outbreak of Convid-19. With schools closed, the pupils can take advantage of these products to continue learning from their homes by accessing content online,” he said.

“The launch of these two products also speaks to the promotion of social distancing as a way of preventing the spread of Convid-19,” Mr Mupeta said.

Meanwhile, ECZ Director Michael Chilala said the e-Learning and Smart Revision portal completes the circle of e-education services that the Council is providing to learners.

He said the two platforms are the latest innovations that the Council has implemented after the successful roll out of the SMS results release and the online registration of candidates and the most recent e-statement of results taking away the paper based exam statements.

Ayoba is a free instant messaging app, available for Android devices downloadable from the Google play store. The Ayoba App comes with the added benefit that allows customers to connect with anyone regardless of whether they have the Ayoba App or not. Ayoba will allow customers to securely send and receive text messages, voice messages, videos, images, audio and other files with any of their contacts, using their mobile device.

Commenting on the launch, MTN Zambia CEO, Mr. Bart Hofker said, “As we continue to lead the delivery of a bold, new digital world for our customers, we are introducing this Ayoba messaging App, the first of its kind in Zambia which will contribute to bridging the digital gap as well as provide our customers with a superior customer service. Ayoba is an exceptional new product that combines innovation, high end encryption security with convenience of service to ensure that we provide our customers with utmost satisfaction in terms of their digital experience.”

Mr. Hofker also noted that, “2020 has not been an easy year so far especially with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is easy for people to get discouraged in these moments and to look for relief from their anxiety. That is why we are offering our customers a chance to experience a brighter side of life during these dark times by embracing the use of our innovative products and services such as Ayoba and MusicTime to stay connected with their friends and loved ones and also stay entertained.”

MTN Zambia Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Seun Soladoye revealed that, “Our customers that download the Ayoba App will download it for free and will not be charged for data and SMS from the Ayoba App. The FREE data usage on Ayoba applies to all our customers from the moment that they install the App for the first time. After the first three (3) months free data usage on Ayoba, our customers can subscribe for Ayoba bundle as low as K1 and be able to stay connected with friends and loved ones through instant messaging and sharing of media files like pictures, music, videos and also the sharing of real time location with Ayoba contacts.

Ayoba can be downloaded from the Google play store or from the App website at www.ayoba.me.

SOURCE: TECH TRENDS ZAMBIA https://www.techtrends.co.zm/mtn-zambia-launches-ayoba-an-instant-messaging-app/