Zimbabwe is likely to have a new mobile life cover scheme, following the collapse of EcoLife last year, which left almost one million subscribers stranded.

The EcoLife mobile life cover was a joint venture partnership between Econet, insurance company Afre Corporation and Namibian firm, Trustco Mobile.

The Zimbabwean Telco, which now has 6.4 million subscribers on its network, complained at the time that its image was being tarnished by boardroom wrangles that had emerged at Afre – where some executives were accused of bad corporate governance practices.

As a result, the Telco shut down the service.

But now there is talk that another mobile life insurance product could emerge in Zimbabwe this year.

"We have traveled to India and we will soon be announcing a new product to replace EcoLife," said Ruth Ncube, managing director of First Mutual Life, the life assurance division of Afre Corporation.

Although she refused to divulge finer details, Ncube said the new product offering will run along the same lines as EcoLife, which gave mobile life cover value to Econet subscribers based on the amount of airtime they buy and use on their cell phones.

"We cannot (say) how it will operate but it will be along similar lines to that of EcoLife."

Following the termination of EcoLife, Econet started the EcoCash mobile money transfer venture, which the company says has had massive take-up since inception last year.

Trustco Mobile, the Namibian technical company dealing with mobile and cell phone platforms and software, is however not happy with the way the EcoLife mobile life cover venture was terminated by Econet. Last month, Trustco applied in the Zimbabwe high court to have three Econet directors arrested and imprisoned for three months for alleged contempt of court.

Trustco cited breach of contract by the Econet directors, saying chief executive officer, Douglas Mboweni, chairman, Tawanda Nyambirai and deputy finance director, Roy Chimanikire, refused to honor a court order barring Econet from terminating the EcoLife venture.

However, the Econet directors, in an affidavit to the high court, have denied the contempt of court charges alleged by Trustco.

“It is categorically and emphatically denied that first respondent has failed to abide by the provisional orders referred to and or unlawfully and or intentionally violated the repute of this honorable court,” said Mboweni in the affidavit.