2017 Review: Editor’s Top 20 Events News Coverage
How we covered events that happened in the year 2017.
20: MTN Uganda Unveiled its Unlimited Internet Packages
MTN Uganda on June 5th, 2017 announced a long-awaited product to its Internet offering; allowing customers to purchase monthly Unlimited Internet packages. The move was significant as it offered customers a chance to enjoy high speed Internet with no data caps and no MBs to recharge (goo.gl/b7q4gE).
19: Kenya’s Logistics Platform ‘Lori Systems’ Emerged Overall Winners at the 2017 Startup Battlefield Africa
US-based online publisher of tech industry news; TechCrunch on October 12th, 2017 announced Lori Systems from Kenya as the overall winners of the Startup Battlefield Africa, and were also given a cash prize of USD$25,000 in no-equity cash plus and an all-expense paid trip for two to San Francisco to compete in the Battlefield at TechCrunch’s flagship event Disrupt SF 2018 (goo.gl/ix4E3w).
18: Rwandan Startup ‘EarthEnable’ Emerged Overall Winner in the 2017 Postcode Lottery Green Challenge
On September 14th, 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands – EarthEnable (from Rwanda); a startup that offers a sustainable and affordable alternative for cement to replace dirt floors which are a major cause of disease, discomfort and indignity – emerged as the overall winner – becoming the first African startup to win the challenge in 10 years (goo.gl/cNBAVd).
17: The itel S32 Launches in Uganda – Celebrated 10th Year Anniversary
Few days after Tecno Mobile Uganda launched the Phantom 8, Itel Mobile Uganda also unveiled its advanced dubbed; dual- selfie camera Itel S32 in the itel S-series – and successor to the itel S31 – as they also celebrated their 10th anniversary in the country (goo.gl/9VUzYg).
16: The Tecno Phantom 8 Launches in Uganda
Tecno the premier mobile phone brand under the Transsion Holdings officially unveilled the Phantom 8 in the Ugandan market. The launch happened at The Sqaure a.k.a City Sqaure, Kampala which was guest by some of Uganda’s great musical icons, the media, Tecno dealers, Tecno handset holders (lovers), and the Ugandan people at large (goo.gl/Gx4rUS).
15: GOTv Uganda Launched ‘Gotv Max’ a New Package Option For its Gogetters
Pay Television; GOTv Uganda on October 11th, 2017 launched a new GOTv package dubbed GOTv MAX which further unlocked GOTv’s world of entertainment to more quality content at great value – and was packed with four (4) additional channels; FOX, CBS Reality, SuperSport 4, and Sony Max – and was said to become GOgetters’ most economical way to get access to the latest entertainment globally (goo.gl/i6Buq6).
14: The 2017 MTN Innovation Award Winners
At a glamorous award gala hosted by the Kampala Serena Hotel, Uganda’s biggest telecom firm; MTN Uganda laid it to rest as they officially announced its winners of the 2nd annual MTN Innovation Awards – a platform through which MTN recognizes some of the most outstanding locally developed mobile and desktop applications, as well as individuals and organisations that have been at the forefront of enabling the innovation ecosystem in the country (goo.gl/HmXZ9C).
13: UCC And Sponsors Announced Winners of the 2017 ACIA Awards
At an evening of Friday 27th, May 2017, one of Uganda’s leading hotels; the Kampala Serena Hotel hosted the awards gala where at the climax winners and runners-up were recognized for their outstanding innovations under the categories – Young ICT Innovators Award, Digital Content, ICT for Development (ICT4D), Service Excellence, ICT Innovation Start-Up, and Business Excellence by UCC alongside its other sponsors (goo.gl/3suu1c).
12: Hon. John Muyingo Flagged Off Winners of the Huawei Seed For Future Program 2017
On May 29th, 2017, during an event that was graced by the Chinese Ambassador in Uganda, Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Managing Director at Huawei Uganda, held at Makerere University, saw Hon. Muyingo flag off 10 students to China for the two (2) weeks training in Beijing and at the Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen by the Minister of State at High Education; Hon. John Muyingo – urging them to be disciplined because they carry the country’s flag (goo.gl/bsvKaU).
11: Unveiling Nominees of the 2017 Young Achievers Awards
During a press media cocktail that was held at the Kampala Serena hotel, Reach a Hand Uganda, in partnership with its sponsors led by JUMP by Vodafone Uganda together with NBS Television, Segal Family Foundation, officially unveiled the 2017 nominees of the Young Achievers Awards; awards that reward Innovation and Excellence, and Inspiring the next generation of world leaders (goo.gl/dzKYSv).
10: Infinix Celebrated its 1st Anniversary in Uganda
Infinix held a re-launch of the infinix Zero 5 and Zero 5+ as they also celebrated their first anniversary in Uganda. Its customers in the presence of various media houses were invited to share their experience with the various Infinix smartphones (goo.gl/RmsKqp).
9: SWARM SUMMIT 2017
The 2nd annual Swarm Summit once again gathered Uganda’s most innovative startup CEOs, hackers, and tech enthusiasts for a deep dive into Uganda’s emerging digital economies – which also featured a one-on-one on-stage interviews, topical panels, and finally an engaging after-party for all.
8: Excitement, Anticipation as ICTAU LAN Event Returned
There was a lot of excitement and anticipation amongst Uganda’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders as the biggest networking event, LAN returned after a period of 6 months. Organised by the ICT Association of Uganda (ICTAU), LAN is a platform for industry stakeholders and enthusiasts to meet for business networking purposes (goo.gl/h8PiH8).
7: Global Internet Stakeholders Convened in Johannesburg for ICANN’s 59th Public Meeting
The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers held its 59th Public Meeting in the Johannesburg Sandton Convention Center from 26th to 29th June, 2017 becoming the the 10th time an ICANN meeting was being held in Africa, a continent of great online potential (goo.gl/B6CxJL).
6: Winnie Byanyima to Co-Chaired at the 2017 WEF Search For Africa’s Top Tech Women in Innovation
World Economic Forum (WEF) started the process to select the top female tech innovators in Africa, who were invited to share their experience and engage with leaders at the Forum’s regional meeting this spring. The search was open to any female entrepreneur whose business was less than three years old, uses innovative technology or business models, and had at least one year of revenue generation (goo.gl/BKByXz).
5: Uganda Hosted the ‘Internet for All’ World Economic Forum
The Uganda Communications Commission in conjunction with the Ministry of Information Communication Technology and National guidance hosted one-day forum of the Internet for all World Economic Forum – which attracted at least 60 participants from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), industry players and the private sector on Tuesday March 28th,2017 at the UCC Conference Hall in Bugolobi (goo.gl/9tessM).
4: The GSMA MWC 2017
The GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a combination of the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the global. The 9th annual MWC event took place in Barcelona from February 27th to 2nd March, 2017, then headed to Shanghai, China between June 28th to 1st July, 2017, this came after GSMA in 2014 announced that their annual summer event in China would be rebranded under the Mobile World Congress banner as Mobile World Congress Shanghai. The event saw smartphone giants all over the world launching their newest flagship expect Apple (goo.gl/0f2f8z).
3: The CES 2017
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES, and formerly known officially as International CES) is a global consumer electronics and consumer technology trade-show that takes place every January of every year at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. The annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry, from thousands of companies all over the world. Check out all the stories we covered (goo.gl/BPNV7N).
2: The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus Official Launch
South Korean-based Electronics firm, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on March 29th, 2017 unveiled the successors of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Plus flagships at an the Unpacked Galaxy 2017 event that was held in New York, U.S. (goo.gl/mgLuRS).
1: The iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus Official Launch
Cupertino-based tech firm, Apple Inc. on September 12th, 2017 launched their most anticipated flagship models; the iPhone 8 and 8+. But alongside the model was the iPhone X which took most of the spotlight at the event that was held at the Steve Jobs Theater – the company’s new campus. According to reports, the iPhone X was placed above the successors of the iPhone 7 and 7+, and had several features that the other two models do not (goo.gl/u3V8G3).
Happy Holidays !!!!
