- Mary Wambui Mungai has been appointed the new board chair of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CK) effective December 2, 2022. Mary takes over from Captain Gilbert Kibe who resigned from the authority to pursue personal interests. Kibe was appointed by former president Uhuru Kenyatta to the…
- Safaricom in partnership with YouTube has kicked-off a new YouTube Shorts Challenge which will see up to 3 million customers awarded data and cash prizes worth KES 60 million when they purchase a YouTube data bundle or upload YouTube Shorts videos. Known as the #ShorterIsBetter, the 60-day…
- Former Jumia executives have joined forces to launch a new e-commerce company. Known as Kapu, the new platform is expected to be launched next week according to a press invite sent to us. The ex-Jumia executives include Sam Chappatte who was Jumia’s CEO before leaving the e-commerce firm in…
- Copia Global has partnered with pan-African payment technology company Cellulant to make it easier for its customers in the diaspora and urban areas to pay through an online platform. In the new arrangement, Copia customers can use the Cellulant network to easily buy merchandise for their loved…
- Badili Africa, a company that allows customers to trade in their old phones for new ones at friendly prices has raised $2.1 million in pre-seed funding. The funds are meant for the expansion of its operations across the continent, a market that’s touted as one of the fastest growing in the world.…
- The Hustler Fund finally went live this week. President William Ruto launched the digital financial initiative on November 30th which saw Kenyans borrow an average of Sh17 million an hour on its first day. The Hustler Fund seeks to provide loans to small businesses in the country that have always…
- Digital payments have fundamentally transformed lives across Africa by providing access to financial infrastructure and enabling innovation. More jobs have been created, leading to higher incomes that help sustain economies and millions of households. For the most part, however, that innovation has…
- Barely a week after the first batch of winners of the ‘Twende Qatar na Odibets’ promo landed in the Middle East, the betting firm has dispatched the second batch. The first winners landed in Qatar last week on Thursday while the second batch Wednesday night, November 30. The winners include; Kago…
- Pay Television Company StarTimes Media has introduced a bouquet upgrade campaign for its subscribers ahead of the festive season. The new campaign will see subscribers on both terrestrial and satellite platforms enjoy automatic access to higher bouquets at the cost of lower bouquets for the first…
- Nigerian food-tech platform Orda announced has raised a $3.4 million seed round to further digitize food businesses across the continent. Orda, which provides a cloud-based restaurant operating system was founded by Guy Futi, Fikayo Akinwale, Mark Edomwande, Kunle Ogungbamila, and Namir El-Khouri…
- Spotify today announced the arrival of Wrapped 2022, its yearly look back at what songs, artists, albums and playlists people listened to throughout the year. Drake has clinched the top spot once more as the most streamed artist on Spotify in Kenya for the second year in a row. Drake is followed by…
- VMware today announced VMware Cloud on AWS is now available in the AWS Africa (Cape Town) Region. With VMware Cloud on AWS, customers across Africa can run workloads across VMware vSphere-based hybrid cloud environments with optimised access to Amazon Web Services. VMware Cloud on AWS brings VMware…
- NopeaRide, the first fully-electric taxi company that has been in operation since 2018 is folding up its business in Kenya, after failing to raise additional funding to keep it afloat. The Kenyan company owned by Finland-based EkoRent Africa has filed for insolvency stating that it is in the…
- The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has acknowledged smartphones used by accredited journalists as professional media equipment. In a statement released on Monday 28, November 2022, the industry regulator called on the general public to accord necessary support to journalists using smartphones in…
- Epson’s smart printers and multi-function peripherals (MFPs) are revolutionizing the print environment by strengthening the Internet of Things (IoT) device security. This adoption has also led to the improvement of business efficiency, reducing operating and maintenance costs, as accurate, timely…
- Agri-tech startup Twiga Foods has launched a multi-million dollar distribution centre aimed at serving manufacturers, brand owners, and farmers across East Africa. The Fulfillment by Twiga centre located in Tatu City is world-class 200,000 sq ft facility that is automated for efficiency and speedy…
- Periculum, a data analytics firm that uses machine learning to provide real-time solutions to individuals and organizations has introduced Utambuzi, a personal finance management product aimed to help users manage their income and expenses. Utambuzi is a Swahili word that loosely translates to ‘…
- Kenyan health-tech platform M-TIBA has partnered with Sweden’s online doctors’ platform BYON8 to expand access to telehealth services for its members. The deal will allow M-TIBA members to access healthcare services online from specialists on the BYON8 platform. This gives members a wider variety…
- Autochek, the automotive technology company that is simplifying car ownership across Africa, has announced the launch of Autochek Financial Services. This new arm of the business will focus on providing a range of vehicle financing solutions for consumers and businesses across the continent. The…
- OPPO Kenya has launched a football challenge that will see Kenyan fans bring out their best football skills. The smartphone company is partnering with local football star David “Chehe” Ochieng for this campaign dubbed #OPPOGameTime Challenge. The OPPO Reno8 football challenge will see the top…
- Fintech startup Hisa has launched an application that allows Kenyans to invest in the stock market directly from their phones using mobile money. The Hisa App has been in beta version for the last 10 months and has now gone live for use by the general public. The company believes it heralds a new…
- Africa Data Centres has revealed plans to build its first data centre in Kigali, Rwanda. The data centre will have 2MW of IT load and will be purpose-built to meet growing demand in the region. “It is an exciting time for Africa Data Centres,” said Tesh Durvasula, the company’s CEO. “Our decision…
- In September, blockchain platform Polygon opened applications for its Web3 Bootcamp targeting African developers. The Polygon Bootcamp and Hackathon was the company’s first edition in Africa and sought to introduce developers in the region to the Polygon ecosystem using Xend Finance and Polygon…
- Kenyan supply chain and logistics startup Leta has secured a $3M pre-seed equity round led by 4Di Capital, Chandaria Capital, Chui Ventures, PANI, Samurai Incubate and Verdant Frontiers Fintech. The funding round also attracted angel investors Ken Njoroge, Founder of Cellulant and Charles Murito,…
- In the Finance Act 2022, the government of Kenya imposed a 10% excise duty on the importation of cellular phones and 50 Kenyan shillings (US$0.42) excise duty on every imported ready-to-use SIM card. While declaring its Half Year results earlier this month, Safaricom noted that increased taxes in…
- Cases of fraudsters illegally accessing digital loans from fintech platforms in Africa have been on the rise over the last couple of years. According to Mr. Chris Akolo, Regional Business Development Director at JuicyScore, online fraudsters are now using highly sophisticated software to access…
- Tanzanian supply chain solutions provider Ramani has raised $32M in debt and equity in a Series A round that was led by Flexcap Ventures. The software company is building a cloud network of micro-distribution centres (MDCs) across Africa, making it easier for suppliers within the consumer-packaged…
- M-Pesa Go: A number of banks in Kenya offer what they call special kids savings accounts that enable young children or teens to grow from a piggy bank under their bed and begin learning how to save or even use a bank account. Choosing an account for your child means you will have to pay …
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- Solarise Africa, a pan-African Energy-as-a-Service company that provides reliable and affordable energy solutions across Africa has raised $33.4M to expand its portfolio in Kenya and other countries. The funding round was led by Facility for Energy Inclusion(FEI) and Oikocredit, a social impact…
- The lucky winners of the ‘Twende Qatar na Odibets’ promo on Thursday, November 24, departed the country for Qatar. Kenya’s leading betting firm launched the promo in September announcing they would be taking their loyal fans to Qatar for a lifetime experience. Those who departed the country for…
- Energy producer, Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) has launched a pilot project for Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Kenya, a move it says is to support its diversification ambitions in the e-mobility sector. The company has unveiled four electric vehicles, which include two SUVs and two…
- Just a week after the Central Bank of Kenya(CBK) directed digital lenders to work with loan defaulters in helping them repair their credit scores, digital lending app Zenka has announced that it’s writing off a total of KSh 166 million in its debt books. The beneficiaries of this move are borrowers…
- The demand for premium smartphones has increased consistently over the last couple of years, courtesy of technological breakthroughs in various components. At the same time, consumers are willing to pay more for smart devices, a growing trend in emerging markets. According to Tarun Pathak, Research…
- The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is seeking to introduce taxation on cryptocurrencies and digital wallets. Through the Capital Markets (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the tax collector aims to introduce income tax for digital currencies held for a period not exceeding twelve months and capital tax for…
- ASUS 2022 Laptop: Modern laptops tend to be very powerful. This is the case for all segments as we can do more with our laptops compared to about a decade ago. Some people may see this as a bad thing hinting that performance has peaked and we cannot get any improvements year over year. Asus …
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- A new Sophos today published its 2023 Threat Report has detailed how the cyberthreat landscape has reached a new level of commercialization and convenience for would-be attackers, with nearly all barriers to entry for committing cybercrime removed through the expansion of cybercrime-as-a-service.…
- Liquid Intelligent Technologies has launched a Cyber Security Fusion Centre (CSFC) in an effort to respond better to cyber threats. Liquid, a subsidiary of pan-African IT company Cassava Technologies is among the leading internet service providers in the continent This is the second cyber security…
- Starting January 1st, 2023, Safaricom’s loyalty program popularly known as Bonga Points will be expiring if not used up, in a move aimed at making the customer-reward initiative profitable for the company. The program which has been around for more than a decade encourages customers to spend within…
- Safaricom went commercial with 5G in Kenya a couple of weeks ago officially becoming the first operator in East Africa to do so. Customers in 5G-ready zones in Kenya can access 5G Wi-Fi by purchasing a 5G router at KES 25,000 plus a setup fee of KES 5,000 and selecting from three packages on offer…
- African AI and blockchain startups are set to benefit from Modus Africa fund, an African –focused venture capital firm under the wings of New York-based venture platform, Modus. The fund is led by two General Partners – Vianney Mathonnet and Andre Jr. Ayotte, who are both veterans of the African…
- Kenyan health-tech startup MYDAWA famous for its e-pharmacy platform has launched the first Kenyan online solution for HIV prevention. The end-to-end virtual healthcare solution gives customers access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) online. The product was…
- Payments technology company Visa is piloting a Pay with Your Face payments solution at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 targeting the more than 1 million fans attending the competition. The solution will allow customers to authenticate payments using just their face, without a physical card or mobile…
- Stable Foods, a Kenyan agri-tech startup offering a host of solutions to small-scale farmers has raised $600k in funding. The startup’s services include an irrigation-as-a-Service package, where farmers pay a small fee to hire irrigation services. This package also includes inputs and regenerative…
- TECNO Mobile has won the “Most Innovative Mobile Phone Manufacturing Brand in Asia” award at the Global Brand Awards hosted by the UK Global Brands Magazine. As a heavyweight brand trophy of the media industry, TECNO says this marks its success in its global re-branding campaign to build TECNO as…
- The new regulations by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) requiring proper registration of all digital loan apps has gotten a boost after Google directed that all apps first acquire a CBK license before appearing on its Play Store open-source platform. In the Policy Updates issued on Wednesday,…
- Xiaomi has launched its Black Friday campaign running across all Xiaomi Stores, and partner retail stores in Kenya. The company has some enticing deals for both smartphones and accessories that customers will be able to take advantage of during the Black Friday 2022 sale. The campaign will run…
- OPPO Kenya is kicking off the holiday shopping season early with its Black Friday Sale, which will be running from November 4th to November 30th, 2022. During the annual Black Friday Sales, OPPO says consumers will get to enjoy Luxury design and quality at an unbeatable price. OPPO fans will enjoy…
- It’s now emerging that the collapse of American crypto platform FTX last week has had an impact on Nigeria’s Web3 startup Nestcoin, even as its effects continue to be felt across the world. Nestcoin CEO Yele Bademosi said that his startup held cash and stablecoins in the fallen crypto platform.…
- A study by Mozilla Foundation has revealed that social media platforms Facebook, TikTok and Twitter performed poorly in their efforts to stop the spread of misinformation during the Kenyan 2022 elections. “The platforms failed to recognize some very fundamental aspects about elections in…
- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has launched a $225 million venture capital subsidiary to invest in early-stage startups across Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Pakistan. The global financial institution under the World Bank said that it has already secured an additional $50…
