Author: Kaluka wanjala

Kenswitch and Visa have partnered to help advance payment innovation and strengthen the country’s domestic processing and settlement ecosystem. The partnership brings together Kenswitch’s national payments infrastructure and Visa’s global expertise in digital payments to support financial institutions, merchants, businesses and consumers across Kenya. The two organisations plan to explore opportunities in payment innovation and merchant acceptance, including collaboration around Visa’s Value-Added Services. These services are designed to help financial institutions, fintechs, and businesses enhance payment security, prevent fraud, expand digital acceptance and leverage data for growth and efficiency. The collaboration will also focus on modernising payment processing, card services,…

LOOP is taking a different approach on its lifestyle commerce strategy this Easter by combining device financing, retail discounts and event access through its in-app marketplace, LOOP Discover. The core of this campaign is a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) offer that allows customers to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S26 in instalments via LOOP FLEX. This is bundled with incentives such as a free Galaxy Watch 8 or Galaxy Buds 4 through select dealers. The campaign offers a clear look into LOOP’s broader ambition of evolving from a digital banking app into a full-fledged lifestyle and commerce platform. LOOP says…

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has just published its most recent Quality-of-Service (QoS) performance report, covering the financial year 2024–2025. The report has positioned Safaricom at the top of the country’s mobile network rankings, even as the broader industry continues to experience a downward trend in overall performance. The regulator monitors mobile operators as part of its consumer protection mandate eveluating performance using a framework introduced in 2017. This framework assesses networks based on End-to-End testing (drive and walk tests), Network Performance (NP-QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) based on customer surveys. According to the report, Safaricom recorded an…

At Safaricom Decode 4.0, Safaricom previewed My OneApp, a new unified platform designed to merge the M-PESA and MySafaricom apps into a single app. According to Safaricom, the biggest friction point for users today is it’s fragmentation and notn lack of features. Customers end up switching between the M-PESA app and the MySafaricom apps to check balances, buy bundles, pay bills and manage financial services. That’s exactly what My OneApp aims to fix. “We love the apps, we love the features, but we don’t love the switch.” Safaricom is also pushing personalization powered by AI beyond convergence. The app introduces…

At Safaricom Decode 4.0, Safaricom PLC made a subtle shift in how it describes its flagship product, M-PESA. M-PESA is now being positioned as a core layer of Kenya’s digital financial infrastructure. Speaking during the fintech session, Esther Masese Waititu, Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom, said the platform is evolving beyond money transfers into a broader economic engine. “We are not just building a movement of money. We are creating a digital lifestyle and ecosystem,” she said. Since its launch, M-PESA has played a key role in expanding financial access across Kenya. Safaricom says financial inclusion has grown from…

Truecaller has crossed 500 million users worldwide. The company added more than 50 million users in 2025 alone. “This is an important milestone for us, but it also says something bigger about the world we live in,” said Rishit Jhunjhunwala, CEO of Truecaller. “More and more people need help navigating spam, scams, and unwanted communication every day. Reaching 500 million users shows the scale of that need, and the trust people place in Truecaller to help make communication safer. Our commitment remains focused on continuously strengthening Truecaller with smarter technology and new capabilities that protect users before, during, and after…

Madica has released a new insight-led guidebook aimed at one of the most challenging phases of building a startup, when raising a first round. Titled Zero to Funded: A Founder’s Guide to Pre-Seed Fundraising in Africa, the 75-page resource brings together perspectives from venture capitalists, investors and ecosystem leaders across North, West, East and Southern Africa. The guide is designed specifically for founders navigating their first raise and these usually don’t have access to strong networks, accelerators or prior fundraising experience. “Too often, global playbooks dominate the conversation while African realities remain undocumented,” the guide notes. Zero to Funded combines…

Vertiv has announced the launch of the Vertiv CoolPhase Wall, a wall-mounted cooling system designed specifically for small IT environments and edge deployments across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The new solution addresses a growing challenge in distributed computing: how to effectively cool compact IT spaces that were never designed for high-density equipment. The CoolPhase Wall is mounted directly on the wall and this helps free up valuable floor space in small IT rooms. The system is designed to deliver up to 60% greater airflow compared to standard comfort cooling solutions and this helps manage the higher heat…

Day 1 of Safaricom Decode 4.0 set the tone for what is shaping up to be one of Kenya’s most important tech gatherings of the year with artificial intelligence firmly at the center of the conversation. From hands-on AI labs to high-level keynotes and live demos, the event brought together developers, policymakers and industry leaders to explore how AI will power Kenya’s next phase of digital transformation. Opening the event, Safaricom’s Group Chief Technology and Information Officer, James Maitai, framed Decode’s evolution: “What started as a platform to showcase engineering and build talent has grown into something more transformative, not…

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming the defining force shaping the future of industries, economies and societies. Speaking at the Safaricom Decode 4.0 event, Safaricom’s Group Chief Finance and Innovation Officer, Dilip Pal, delivered a compelling message saying AI could power Kenya’s next major industrial leap, but only if organizations and institutions are ready for it. “The future has a name, Artificial Intelligence,” Pal said. “And the question is not whether AI will change Kenya, but whether we are ready for it.” Pal framed AI as the foundation of a new digital era, one that will move beyond labs and apps…