Author: Kaluka wanjala

Village Capital has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank to launch a pioneering financing facility. The primary focus of this initiative is to invest in early-stage, impact-focused start-ups led by women founders, providing them with the much-needed catalytic capital to overcome the challenges they face in accessing investment and financing opportunities. The collaboration between Village Capital and Standard Chartered Bank aims to uplift women globally by driving more investment capital towards impact-driven women founders. “We’re extremely excited to partner with Standard Chartered Bank to support their vision to lift participation of women globally by driving more investment capital to impact-driven women…

Revolut has once again disrupted the financial landscape with the introduction of Mobile Wallets. This feature is set to redefine the remittance experience, providing a quick and seamless option for sending money abroad. For countries like Kenya, where mobile wallets play a pivotal role in daily transactions, this development holds the promise of simplifying cross-border financial transactions. Mobile Wallets from Revolut are designed to offer users a low-friction, intuitive process for international money transfers. This means that users can now send money abroad swiftly using recipient IDs such as names, phone numbers, or email addresses. This not only streamlines the…

OPPO has added yet another smartphone to its portfolio in kenya. This new series, the OPPO Reno 11, has been unveiled in Kenya today and will be available on pre-order through OPPO stores across the country and on e-commerce platforms from tomorrow (26th January 2023). The Phones will be available to purchase in retail stores from 1st February 2024 after the pre-order period. The recommended retail price is Ksh 67,999 for the Reno11 5G and Ksh 85,999 for the Reno11 Pro 5G. The OPPO Reno 11 series is made for photography enthusiasts thanks to its Ultra-Clear Portrait Camera System, spearheaded by…

AltSchool Africa, the Nigerian edtech startup founded in 2021, has announced its official entry to kenya. This will be its second country in East Africa after Rwanda. The startup provides a number of in-demand courses that seek to transition Africans into global tech roles. The Kenyan arm will be led by Tabitha Kayvu. According to its Co-founder and CEO, Adewale Yusuf, Kenya is its second biggest market just behind Nigeria. The high number of enrolments in kenya is what pushed the company to expand to the country. He did not share the specifics of each country but the company says…

Xiaomi Kenya is set to unveil the Redmi note 13 series in Kenya. The company has confirmed that it will be launching this phone next week on January 31, 2024. The confirmation statement from the company read, “Brace yourself for a groundbreaking moment as Xiaomi Kenya steals the spotlight on January 31, 2024, unveiling the much-anticipated and truly iconic Redmi Note 13 Series.” The Redmi Note 13 is the successor to the Redmi Note 12 that I reviewed last year. I did love this series as they did offer good value for money compared to what competitors had on the…

Twiga Foods has successfully resolved a longstanding issue with Incentro Africa, related to a debt dispute for Google Cloud Services that has been  boiling up for several months. Incentro Africa, a certified Google Cloud partner, has worked with Twiga Foods since 2021. Initially engaged to enhance billing and compliance management, the partnership evolved into Incentro providing engineering support to address technical challenges within Twiga’s platform, eliminating the need for hiring additional staff. Twiga and Incentro Africa Dispute The conflict arose when Twiga Foods received a demand for $261,878 (over Ksh 39 million with the current exchange rate). The matter escalated…

Showmax 2.0 will be unveiled in a few weeks and is positioned as the upgraded version of the video streaming service. Showmax 2.0 is a result of the partnership between MultiChoice, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky joined forces. This partnership gives Showmax access to NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform and its content. With Showmax 2.0, subscription packages will start at Ksh 300 per month and the Premier League package will be available for ksh 500 per month. How to Pay for Showmax in 2024 As Showmax goes live in Kenya, available payment methods will include Visa and Mastercard credit and debit…

As the crypto world continues to change, ensuring the safety of your assets is crucial—especially during Data Privacy Week. With the market’s growth comes added attention and risks, emphasising the need to prioritise user security in the Web3 space. Binance, a steadfast advocate for user safety, shares practical tips for a secure, reliable, and transparent crypto experience. “At Binance, safeguarding our users’ assets is at the core of our mission. We’re dedicated to maintaining top-notch security standards, especially during Data Privacy Week,” emphasises Hannes Wessels, General Manager of Southern and Francophone Africa at Binance. Consider the following tips to enhance…

 Onafriq, previously known as MFS Africa, has chosen Alviere to enable payments and remittances from the United States to Africa. Onafriq connects various  payment schemes with more than 500 million mobile wallets, over 200 million bank accounts, and 400 thousand small medium businesses in its network across Africa’s fast-growing yet fragmented payments ecosystem.  Cross-border payments are a critical lifeline for many African families and merchants, and Onafriq has made enabling financial access across borders a core part of the company mission. According to the World Bank, remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa alone reached $53 billion in 2022, demonstrating the persistent…

After a 3 year hiatus, SafeBoda is making a comeback in Nairobi. The motorbike (boda) hailing app is finally relaunching in Nairobi. The company has confirmed this through its official Twitter account. When exiting the Kenyan market, SafeBoda said they made the decision since the business was not sustainable at that point. Part of its statement read, “SafeBoda has made a very difficult decision to pause rides and send services…While Nairobi is seeing some economic recovery from COVID-19, boda transportation has been hit hard.” It continued operating in Uganda though and that has been its primary market. SafeBoda was a popular…