Author: Kaluka wanjala

Lipa Later has confirmed a Ksh. 250 million investment in the e-commerce platform, SkyGarden. The acquisition of SkyGarden by Lipa Later occurred last year, but the company did not disclose the investment amount at that time. Fast forward 12 months, and the confirmation has finally arrived. With this substantial investment, SkyGarden aims to connect 100,000 merchants in the coming year. The new SkyGarden platform will offer payment solutions, logistic support, marketing tools, and business insights. Lipa Later envisions becoming Africa’s most expansive credit, payments, and shopping platform through this strategic investment. Through the new platform, merchants will gain access to…

Government and business leaders from across the world will convene in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, between 30 November and 12 December, for COP 28, the latest “Conference of the Parties” to review progress on the 2015 Paris Agreement on tackling climate change. It is significant to highlight the role business leaders from Africa, a continent at the centre of the climate emergency, will be playing at COP28 to help galvanise progress towards concrete action. I am proud to be part of the part of the African Business Leaders Coalition (ALC), a partnership of CEOs dedicated to advancing sustainable…

Visa has announced the launch of its Global AI Advisory Services Practice. The new value-added service, offered by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), the payments consulting advisory arm of Visa, focuses on providing actionable insights and recommendations to empower clients to unlock the potential of AI and utilize generative AI. Over the last three decades, Visa has led the way in using AI to enhance its services and provide secure, seamless transactions for customers. In the last 10 years alone, the company has invested more than $3 billion in AI and data infrastructure to enable safer, smarter money movement and…

Binance’s Compliance & Law Enforcement team recently conducted a successful training workshop in Nairobi, collaborating with Kenyan agencies to host a full-day seminar on Investigating Virtual Currency Crimes. Attended by over 35 law enforcement officers, analysts, and financial crimes experts, the seminar focused on digital-asset trends, investigative techniques, and preventive measures against crypto-related crimes. Led by Deputy Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Binance, Nils Andersen Röed, and Head of Law Enforcement Training, Jarek Jakubcek, this initiative aimed to effectively combat virtual asset-related crimes. This collaboration with local regulators, law enforcement, and government agencies expands cooperation with law enforcement agencies…

Spotify today launched Wrapped 2023, its annual review of how people listened to artists, albums, tracks, playlists and even podcasts. For Kenyans, there’s been the viral hits, Kenya’s foremost boy band taking a hiatus, Gengetone being recognised as a genre for Grammy consideration and Spotify partnering with COLORSxSTUDIOS to showcase Kenyan R&B to a global audience. All this to say, it’s been an interesting year musically, and Spotify Wrapped is right there, with the receipts. “The Kenyan music scene has grown exponentially since our last Wrapped, and it is refreshing to see a Kenyan artist in the top streamed list.…

I&M Group PLC increased its profit after tax by 14% to KES 8.2 billion for the 9-month period ending 30 September 2023, up from KES 7.2 billion in the same period in 2022. The operating income was supported by growth in both corporate and retail segments as the Group saw its revenue diversification strategy yield fruit. The Tier 1 banking Group recorded strong operating revenues across its markets, with regional businesses contributing 29% of its operating income. The Group continues to successfully execute its iMara strategy, which is now in its 3rd and final year, focusing on business growth, operational…

The London Internet Exchange (LINX) have announced that their interconnection hub in Nairobi, Kenya is now live and ready for business.   LINX Nairobi is the new Internet Exchange Point (IXP) for East Africa, located out of three data centre locations across Kenya’s capital. The IXP has the vision to further enhance the countries connectivity and digital ecosystem. Kenya is considered one of the leading technology powerhouses of Africa, undergoing a digital revolution since the early 2000’s the country has reported an average of 10.8% growth per year since 2016. The country is uniquely positioned to serve all of East Africa…

Endeavor Kenya, a non-profit organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs, has launched its inaugural cohort-based initiative for high-growth founders, the ScaleUp Program. The program will identify ten high-growth ventures based in East Africa and support them with the network and resources to gain clarity on their journey to scale. Over 28 months, the selected entrepreneurs will have access to the Endeavor ScaleUp methodology, which leverages expert mentors, immersive business development training, fundraising support, and a strong peer network of high-impact entrepreneurs who have built and run successful businesses. Endeavor Kenya Managing Director Ms. Maryanne Ochola said that scaling high-growth companies is…

Mpost has announced that it is relocating its headquarters from Nairobi to Kigali, Rwanda. The company says Rwanda’s favourable startup environment is what influenced it to make the move. This is good news for Rwanda but bad news for Kenya. Mpost Rwanda will be operating from Norrsken House Kigali. Mpost provides virtual addresses using mobile numbers linked to postal codes in Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi. The company started operations back in 2016 making postal services more accessible. For instance, if your phone number is 0722000000, your MPost address will be P. O. Box 2540722000000-XXXXXX. The XXXXXX here is your preferred…

The African region has witnessed a steady increase in internet penetration, growing from 26% in 2019 to 36% in 2022, according to the World Bank. In alignment with the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy, aiming to empower all Africans digitally by 2030, Kaspersky has opened its first Transparency Center in Kigali, offering a pivotal milestone in the fight against cybercrime. The Transparency Center in Kigali caters to Kaspersky’s partners, customers, and cybersecurity regulators, providing a “blue piste” review option. This option, popularized since the opening of the first Transparency Center in 2018, allows visitors to gain insights into Kaspersky’s engineering…