Ozow Revolution
Digital payments company Ozow this week launched what it called the Ozow Revolution, designed to make digital payments available to everyone and create greater opportunity to participate in the digital economy – especially for historically excluded communities that rely on costly and insecure cash payments. It has introduced two new online payments solutions to its platform for the South African market, namely Ozapp and Ozow PIN.
Ozapp is a web application that enables a customer with a bank account or eWallet to transact without a card, through a QR-code enabled payment. It doesn’t require a dwnload, and used minimal memory, meaning it is also light on data use.
Ozow PIN simplifies EFT payments through an easy, four-step payment process that can be completed in seconds. The speed and convenience of Ozow PIN makes a great option for South Africans to engage in e-commerce at a time when physical retail is experiencing unprecedented disruption.
Ozow PIN will be developed in all eleven official languages by the end of the year.
Platform: Any device with an up-to-date Internet browser
Stockists: Visit Ozow here to sign up.
Expect to pay: Free to sign up, however transaction fees are charged depending on the transaction values. View the pricing structure here.
Read more on the next page about MTN MoMo’s food vouchers, help via Twitter for those feeling hopeless, a free app to learn English literacy, and an app for legal advice.
MTN MoMo’s food vouchers
MTN’s Mobile Money solution, MoMo, has been give additional functionalities aimed at assisting South Africans during challenging economic times. These include a new food vouchers functionality, and the option for users to make donations to a range of organisations that offer relief to those in need.
The food voucher service is designed to assist registered MoMo users by removing the worry of giving cash to someone to purchase essential items – it could be a family member, neighbour, someone at work or a stranger in need.
MoMo users can send food vouchers to anyone with a valid cellphone number. Recipients of the food vouchers do not need to be MoMo users. They show the voucher code, which they would have received via SMS, to the cashier at participating retailers, such as Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Boxer, Makro and Col Cacchio.
People wishing to use the service on the MoMo platform, but using other networks, can also do so by downloading the MoMo app, or they can register via USSD by dialling *120*151#
Platform: Those wanting to receive food need a phone capable of receiving SMSs. Those wanting to make donations need an up-to-date smartphone.
Stockists: Download the MoMo app by visiting MTN here.
Expect to pay: A free download but donations depend on how much a person has to spare.
Read more on the next page about help via Twitter for those feeling hopeless, a free app to learn English literacy, and an app for legal advice.
Twitter help for those feeling hopeless
When someone in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya searches Twitter for terms associated with suicide or self-harm on Twitter, the top search result is now a prompt encouraging them to reach out for help. The notification includes the contact details of a local non-profit organisation that provides critical mental health resources to people in need: The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) in South Africa, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and Amref Health Africa in Kenya.
“Many people turn to social media to share their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness,” says Cassey Chambers, operations director at SADAG. “To be able to give these people a resource to access help in a time of crisis is helpful to SADAG, so that we can help more people who feel like suicide is the only option. If more people know how to contact us we can help and support more people and prevent more suicides.”
Twitter has a dedicated reporting form for people threatening suicide or self-harm. A specialised team reviews these reports and, upon receiving them, they make direct contact to let the individual know that someone who cares about them has identified that they might be at risk. Twitter will provide online and hotline resources and encourage them to seek help. Twitter also shares information on its Help Centre both for people who may be experiencing thoughts of suicide and self-harm, and for people who are concerned about others on Twitter.
Platform: Any device running a Twitter client
Stockists: Visit the Apple App Store for Google Play store to find a client that best suits your needs.
Expect to pay: A free service
Read more on the next page about a free app to learn English literacy, and an app for legal advice.
Lyra by WGI and GE
An educational platform, Lyra, has been launched to teach users how to read and write English, and will be offered for free. The app came about due to the fact that globally over 700-million people cannot read or write. This limits their ability to gain employment, improve their career prospects, or pursue higher education
The app was co-developed by WGI
and General Electric (GE) as part of an ongoing partnership to expand literacy
in many underserved communities around the world.
Lyra uses speech recognition and touch screen analysis to teach reading and
writing. The app’s 26 modules are based on the foundation of WGI’s six years of
in-person education, and marks the start of WGI’s transition to a digital
provider of literacy learning while at the same time making it more accessible
for both adults and children.
“While there will never be enough teachers, there are enough mobile devices, and they are already in the hands of people who can benefit from literacy training,” says Chance Wilson, WGI CEO and founder.
The app teaches letters and words by presenting them on the screen, pronouncing them, and then inviting users to say the letters and words out loud. Voice recognition then analyses the response. The app also uses the phone’s touch screen to prompt learners to write the letters or words they are studying, then analyses the results to tell them whether or not the writing is correct.
Platform: Android and iOS
Stockists: Download the app for Apple here or get more information on General Electric’s site here
Expect to pay: Free to use.
Read more on the next page about an app for legal advice.
Molao365
South Africans can now access free legal advice through the Molao365 app. The advice is provided by qualified and experienced lawyers and is available in most South African languages.
Although South Africa has a great constitution, the majority of citizen are not fully benefiting from it for various reasons. These could include:
– The high legal costs in fully understanding and accessing the Constitution and its accompanying rights;
– Low literacy levels on its full benefits and accompanying rights;
– The fact that legal processes that enable constitutional benefits are cumbersome and complicated for the majority of the population.
It is against this background that Molao365 uses technology to offer free legal advice via secure online chat services, which are provided by a team of experienced legal experts 24 hours a day.
Molao365 is not an insurance that people have to sign up and pay for, which is the case with most legal products currently in the market. There are no monthly subscriptions. The application can be downloaded free of charge on devices using both Android and iOS operating systems.
According to Gugu Gumede, founding member of Molao365, the current legal business model is unfair for some: “Even if you want to make enquiries about deceased estates, wills or types of marriages, you will be charged around R5,000, and that is merely for the opening of the file and consultation. Most people just need legal literacy and not legal representation, and so shy away from using any legal advice.”
Platform: Android and iOS
Stockists: Visit the store linked to your device.
Expect to pay: A free download and service