Author: Kaluka wanjala

Africa’s fintech sector may be one of the most dynamic globally, but according to M-PESA’s Head of Product – Digital, Jason Masai, much of that innovation is missing the mark where it matters most, the everyday user. Speaking during a panel discussion at Africa Fintech Live, Masai pointed to a growing disconnect between the industry’s rapid technological advancement and the real-world needs of consumers. “There’s a lot of exciting technology that doesn’t work for the ordinary user,” he said, highlighting what he sees as one of the sector’s biggest challenges. Despite years of innovation in digital payments, Masai noted that…

Microsoft has released new insights showing that organizations across the world, including in Africa, are fundamentally redesigning how they operate in response to artificial intelligence (AI). This gives rise to a new category of businesses it calls Frontier Firms. The findings have been published in the latest 2026 Work Trend Index report. They point to a significant shift in how work is structured, managed and executed as AI adoption accelerates across industries. According to Microsoft, this transformation is about rethinking entire operating models. Frontier Firms. “AI is rapidly reshaping how organizations operate at a fundamental level, evolving far beyond its…

Mastercard has partnered with Yellow Card in a move that aims to acccelerate the adoption of stablecoin-powered payment solutions across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EEMEA). The partnership will explore new use cases for stablecoins in four areas including cross-border remittances, B2B payments, digital loyalty programs and treasury management. As part of the partnership, both companies will partner with banks, financial institutions and regulators to test out safe and compliant stablecoin solutions. Initial rollout markets include Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. “Emerging markets represent the greatest opportunity for payment innovation, but success requires…

Cloud9 has announced the acquisition of Mtickets. With this acquisition, Cloud9 and Mtickets are positioning themselves to build a more integrated ecosystem that combines ticketing, payments and access to financing for both consumers and event organisers. The companies say the long-term vision extends beyond events into travel and entertainment ticketing, including air travel, buses, rail, pay-per-view content and cinema, with early pilots already in motion. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. For consumers, the integration is expected to reshape how people discover and attend events. Through the Cloud9 Money app, users…

Absa Bank has just unveiled a new asset financing proposition in Kenya. It aims to deploy KES 100 billion over the next three years. Dubbed ABF 2.0, this enhanced offering is targeted at key sectors of the Kenyan economy including manufacturing, trade and logistics, infrastructure, healthcare and education. At the core of the new proposition is a shift toward faster, simpler and more predictable financing. Absa says it has restructured its financing parameters to better align with how assets are actually used and how different sectors generate cash flow. This is expected to reduce friction in the financing process and…

dLocal and inDrive have announced a new partnership to roll out card payments and local driver payouts in South Africa. The integration allows inDrive to support local card payments, real-time payment splitting and domestic disbursements all through a single connection powered by dLocal’s infrastructure. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. Cards account for 63% of all digital payments Iin South Africa, while eWallet adoption continues to rise and cash usage declines. Enabling a fully cashless system in emerging markets presents unique challenges. Platforms must split each fare between drivers and the…

Vertiv has announced Frieda He has joined the company as Chief Procurement Officer (CPO). She will lead Vertiv’s global procurement organisation, with a focus on further strengthening supply chain resilience, enabling growth, optimising cost and value, and driving supplier quality across the company’s portfolio, including end‑to‑end power and thermal management solutions for data centres, communications networks, and commercial & industrial applications. Frieda brings nearly two decades of global procurement and supply chain leadership experience across the automotive and electrification businesses. In her most recent role, from December 2023 to March 2026, Frieda served as Chief Procurement Officer and a member…

iXAfrica Data Centers has announced the onboarding of Gewape Cloud Group at its NBOX1 data center. The partnership brings together iXAfrica’s hyperscale, carrier-neutral infrastructure with Gewape Cloud’s sovereign cloud model. This approach increasingly in demand among enterprises handling sensitive and regulated workloads. Gewape Cloud operates across Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas and provides locally compliant cloud environments designed to give enterprises greater control over their data. It is currently operational in Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Singapore and Brazil. It plans to expand to Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana. By establishing operations at…

Novastar Ventures has announced the final close of its third fund, the Africa People and Planet Fund III (NVIII), at $147 million, positioning it among the largest venture capital funds focused on Africa. The fund brings together a mix of international investors, including backing from Proparco and adopts a pan-African investment approach targeting startups that combine economic growth with measurable environmental impact. With more than a decade of experience investing across the continent, Novastar has built a reputation as one of Africa’s early venture capital players, with over $350 million in assets under management. The firm focuses on supporting founders…

Vertiv has announced it has acquired Strategic Thermal Labs, a specialist in advanced liquid-cooling technologies. The acquisition extends Vertiv’s thermal-chain strategy by strengthening engineering capability at the interface between server-side liquid cooling and supporting infrastructure—an increasingly critical factor in high-density, liquid-cooled environments supporting AI and high-performance computing workloads. As compute requirements continue to intensify, the interaction between server-side liquid cooling and supporting infrastructure increasingly influences broader system performance, including flow, balance, controls behavior, serviceability, and lifecycle reliability. Strategic Thermal Labs adds proven cold-plate design, server-side liquid cooling, and high-density thermal validation expertise that is expected to strengthen Vertiv’s ability to…