Kenya – Africa Tech Digest

Airtel Money users in Kenya to receive funds from 129 countries, free of charge

2Oct

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Mobile Transfers

Airtel Money users in Kenya to receive funds from 129 countries, free of charge

Airtel Money has partnered with WorldRemit to allow Airtel customers to receive money from 129 countries, without a charge. World Remit, which in August rebranded as Zepz after raising $292 million at a $5 billion valuation, is a UK-based cross-border mobile payments firm that enables people to move money across multiple locations. Airtel Money is a Mobile Commerce service powered by Airtel, one of Africa’s largest telecommunication companies, that allows customers to use their mobile number as a digital wallet (e-wallet). Airtel Money e-wallets can be funded and used to make and receive payments. Through this partnership, Airtel Money customers in Kenya will be able to receive money directly into their Airtel Money wallets from 129 countries. In addition to rece...

Yabx Expands its Operations and Service Offerings as Digital Lending Gains Momentum in Africa Region

23Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Telecommunications

Yabx Expands its Operations and Service Offerings as Digital Lending Gains Momentum in Africa Region

NAIROBI, Kenya, September 22, 2021/APO Group/ -- Appoints Telecom Industry Expert Eunice R. Gatama as Director for Africa Business; aims for continued growth as digital lending services are projected to grow rapidly in Africa. Yabx (Yabx.co), a fintech venture offering credit products across 12 countries in Africa, today announced the appointment of Eunice R. Gatama as Director for Africa Business. This comes as a strategic decision by the company which is aggressively expanding its market share in the digital lending space in Africa. Delivering some of the best performing portfolio returns for its partner banks, Yabx has witnessed significant momentum in its existing lending portfolios. With partnership agreements signed with leading Banks and Wallet Operators in several East, West ...

Netflix launches free plan in Kenya to boost growth

21Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Apps, Mobile

Netflix launches free plan in Kenya to boost growth

Netflix said on Monday it is launching a free mobile plan in Kenya as the global streaming giant looks to tap the East African nation that is home to over 20 million internet users. The free plan, which will be rolled out to all users in Kenya in the coming weeks, won’t require them to provide any payment information during the sign-up, the company said. The new plan is available to any user aged 18 or above with an Android phone, the company said. It will also not include ads. Netflix, available in over 190 countries, has experimented with a range of plans in recent years to lure customers in developing markets. For instance, it began testing a $3 mobile-only plan in India in 2018 — before expanding it to users in several other countries. Continue reading Image: Krisztian Bocsi /...

Jumuisha – A startup helping Kenyan churches receive donations secures funding to scale

19Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Start-ups

Jumuisha – A startup helping Kenyan churches receive donations secures funding to scale

Jumuisha, a Kenya-based fintech startup that helps churches and non-profit organisations receive donations through multiple payment channels, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding for product development and team expansion. The investment in Jumuisha came from SprintX, a venture studio for early-stage startups based in the United States. In addition to the funding, Sprint will also provide the startup with business strategy, marketing, and technology expertise. Using Jumuisha, churches and NGOs can receive donations via USSD, bank transfer, mobile money, online payment, or credit cards, and also make payments to contractors, suppliers, and employees. The platform provides a real-time overview of and generates financial reports for all transactions. Continue reading ...

Safaricom to Bank $481-Million from Kenya Power Meter Deal

18Sep

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Africa, Telecommunications

Safaricom to Bank $481-Million from Kenya Power Meter Deal

Kenya’s top telecom is set to make $481-million (Ksh53.5-billion) for installing smart electricity meters to Kenya Power’s largest consumers in a new deal meant to curb power theft, and electricity leakages while also fixing significant weaknesses on the utility firm’s transmission network, reports Business Daily. Safaricom is planning on spending $281-million to install an intelligent system that will connect 333,300 electricity meters to a central location and track electricity use, power outages and load on transformers. The system will allow the reading of the meters remotely, as well. The system will help bring down the share of electricity bought from generator firms like KenGen that does not reach homes and businesses, known as system losses, from 23.93% to around 8%, which wi...

CM.com recognised as an official provider of electronic signatures in Kenya

30Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Trends

CM.com recognised as an official provider of electronic signatures in Kenya

This means that the company is licenced to issue digital certificates – a record that supports a digital signature – and can authenticate signatories NAIROBI, Kenya, August 30, 2021/APO Group/ -- It’s been just over a year since CM.com, a global leader in cloud software for Conversational Commerce, opened its doors in Kenya with a mission to transform the local conversational commerce landscape, driving seamless communication between businesses and customers across Africa. We are delighted to finally be acknowledged as an official E-CSP in Kenya During this time, the pandemic restructured traditional working environments, with remote and hybrid working becoming the norm for many organisations. As such, electronic or digital signatures have become a key part of business systems ...

Survey of Kenyans shows digital devices and services are improving their lives and livelihoods – Highlights Opportunities for Deeper Participation in the Digital Economy

11Aug

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East Africa

Survey of Kenyans shows digital devices and services are improving their lives and livelihoods – Highlights Opportunities for Deeper Participation in the Digital Economy

The survey highlights uptake in areas beyond mobile money including usage of digital services for supporting livelihoods, e-commerce and e-governance NAIROBI, Kenya, August 10, 2021/APO Group/ -- Digital devices and services have improved the daily lives of 84% of Kenyans – while nearly one third said that it had boosted their incomes. These are among the key findings of a unique cross-country survey that provides a comprehensive and timely assessment of how Kenya’s aggressive investments in core digital infrastructure are having an impact at the level of individual Kenyans. “With Kenya now embracing its digital economy as the foundation for creating an empowered society, it’s critical to capture how that is currently playing out in the everyday digital experience of Ke...

5Jun

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Cybersecurity, East Africa

Kenyan Government Website Hacked

A group of hackers known as the Kurd Electronic Team defaced Kenya's government related websites earlier on 1 June 2019. At the time of publishing some of the websites, like that of the National Youth Service, had been restored while others were still displaying the hacking group's message stating that they were responsible for the defacement. In some cases, Kenya's ICT Authority seemed to have regained control and put up a message that they are under maintenance. "Sorry for the inconvenience but we're performing some maintenance at the moment. If you need to you can always contact us. Otherwise we'll be back online shortly! - GoK Cyber Security Team" Hacktivisim or just mischief? So far, it is not clear what was the motive for the defacements. However,...

Kenya Parliament Approves Progressive Draft Data Protection Policy and Bill

26Apr

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East Africa, Tech Policy

Kenya Parliament Approves Progressive Draft Data Protection Policy and Bill

Amidst the hue and cry from Kenyans who have since faulted the Government’s plan to create a universal database for citizens under the NIIMs program that is popularly known as Huduma Namba, the State through its Twitter handle @StateHouseKenya revealed that Parliament had approved a progressive draft Data Protection Policy and Bill. The announcement was made by President Kenyatta. I assure Kenyans and all people residing in our beautiful country that we are taking additional measures to ensure the information they give is safe. Yesterday, the Cabinet approved a progressive draft Data Protection Policy and Bill ~President Uhuru Kenyatta | #HappyEaster— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) April 19, 2019 The declaration was necessary because the Huduma Namba registration exercise had a...

African tech startups raised $1.163B in equity in 2018

9Apr

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Start-ups

African tech startups raised $1.163B in equity in 2018

African tech startups raised $1.163B in 2018 according to Partech Africa’s 2018 annual report on the financing on the continent confirming the attractiveness of African entrepreneurs and their ability to transform the continent into a global powerhouse. The report covers equity deals in tech and digital spaces, and funding rounds higher than US$200K and lower than US$100 Million. Deals covered are includes African startups only i.e. companies with their primary market in Africa itself. In 2018, 146 African startups raised a total of US$1.163 Billion in equity through 164 rounds, this is a +108% growth YoY, compared to +33% in 2016 and +53% in 2017. This represents x4.2 growth multiple over the last 36 months. “It’s quite simply astonishing. When we started our journey to create th...