Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 08 | Page 7

NEWS Youtap launches mobile money QR code solution and apps for smartphones standard developed by Bharat, Mastercard and Visa. The new solution gives any merchant or small business owner with a smartphone the potential to download Youtap’s Merchant App, self-register, and start accepting mobile money payments. Likewise, any subscriber with a smartphone can download the Youtap Pay App and start making payments. Merchants who do not own a smartphone could be provided a printed QR code to accept mobile money. Youtap has launched a QR code solution and smartphone apps for mobile money services in Africa and Asia. Youtap’s solution enables customer-initiated or merchant- initiated QR code payments for smartphones and smart point- of-sale devices. The solution conforms to the BharatQR industry Youtap’s QR code solution enables a full range of mobile money transactions, including cash-in and cash-out transactions, airtime top-ups, bill payments and in-store payments. QR codes can also be used to give back change when a customer uses cash. Smartphone penetration across the emerging markets is increasing significantly. Recently MTN Group published statistics on the growth of smartphones across its operating companies, including South Africa (15%), Nigeria (36%), Ghana (64%) and Côte d’Ivoire (100%). According to the GSMA, an association that represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, smartphone adoption is expected to reach 50% by the end of 2018. Infoblox appoints Ashraf Sheet as MEA Regional Director Infoblox Inc. has announced that Ashraf Sheet has been promoted to the role of Regional Director, Middle East and Africa. Cherif Sleiman, Vice President, EMEA at Infoblox says, “Middle East and Africa is a core market for Infoblox and as we look to build our success in the region, having the right leader is critical to our growth strategy. Ashraf is an industry veteran with over 18 years of experience in the market.” “I’m very pleased to undertake this new challenge at such a pivotal period in the company’s growth,” says Ashraf. “I look forward to collaborating and engaging with our partners and customers to drive Infoblox’s cloud and security solutions as part of the digital transformation taking place in the market.” www.intelligentcio.com As Infoblox looks to ramp up business in the region, the main focus for Ashraf and his team will be on creating value to customers by elevating every aspect of their network availability, agility, security, and performance – on- premise, across data centres, and in the cloud. With the increasing incidents of DDoS attacks and malware and ransomware affecting regional organisations, security will be a big focal area for Infoblox. Infoblox is witnessing high-growth levels in Egypt, Turkey and Africa. Ashraf Sheet is the new MEA Regional Director for Infoblox INTELLIGENTCIO 7