Author: Kaluka wanjala

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…

Chapa, the Ethiopian payment gateway established in 2020, has recently joined forces with Safaricom Ethiopia to integrate M-Pesa as a payment option at the Chapa checkout. Headquartered in Addis Ababa, Chapa’s mission is to empower businesses in Ethiopia to embrace digital payments. By April this year, it had processed over 1 billion ETB (Ethiopian Birr) transactions since the start of 2023. This was an impressive 500% increase over the previous year’s transaction volumes. Earlier this year, Safaricom obtained the license to introduce M-Pesa in Ethiopia. With over 1.2 million M-Pesa users in the country and a growing number, this partnership…

The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition has named Dr. Ikpeme Neto from Nigeria; Thomas Njeru from Kenya and Ayman Bazaraa from Egypt the first, second and third prize winners, respectively, of this year’s competition. The announcement took place during an AR-enabled Grand Finale held in Kigali, Rwanda, which also captivated a global audience through a live broadcast. The top three Africa’s Business Heroes for 2023 are: The top three winners were selected through multiple stages of interviews and evaluations from a staggering 27,267 applications spanning all 54 African nations. They have demonstrated exceptional ingenuity and tenacity, substantially impacting their…

OPPO has announced the availability of its latest A series smartphone, the OPPO A18, in Kenya. The phone is available in stores starting from Ksh 20,000. It is available through Jumia and most other smartphone retailers across the country. The AI8 is not the only device OPPO has launched in the last few weeks. The company launched the OPPO A58, A78 and A98 in Kenya towards the end of october. These are available at much higher prices, with the star of the show, the OPPO A78 retailing for Ksh 35,000. OPPO A18 Specifications The OPPO A18 has a 6.56 inch…