Africa takes action against climate change

African representatives at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, have demanded that the G-7 of developed nations commit to the Kyoto Protocol and cut greenhouse gas emissions or face harsh penalties, reports This Day Online.

Africa is calling for developed countries to deploy technology to developing countries in order to enable them to address the challenges of climate change.

In addition, African countries are seeking for carbon emission cuts up to 40% by 2020. Developed countries have also been asked to commit to new and innovative sources of public and private sector finance, with the major source of funding coming from the public sector.

Nokia is rolling out a mobile money transfer service as it seeks to enter the market of 4 billion unbanked people, says Daily Nation.

The telco giant has introduced Nokia Money, which is expected to be gradually rolled out next year to developing countries.

Nokia Money will join Zap, Zain Kenya's money transfer platform, and M-Pesa, Safaricom's flagship mobile money transfer service.

Uganda's seventh mobile telephone operator, Smile Telecom, plans to address the low income market by offering phone services that don't require a handset, but instead require a PIN code, states IT News Africa.

Smile Telecom has invested over $30 million into the low income market. Subscribers can log onto any payphone and make calls.

Since its liberalisation in 1998, Uganda's telecom industry sees now around 10 million people with access to telecommunication, up from only 3 000 initially. Although network coverage exceeds 90%, the actual penetration is still low at 35%.