Author: Kaluka wanjala

The KCB Group PLC Board has today appointed Paul Russo as the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) effective May 25, 2022. He replaces Mr Joshua Oigara who has been the GCEO for the last nine and a half years. Joshua will be available for a period of time to support a smooth transition. The appointment follows a competitively run selection process that kicked off in March 2022.  Paul brings a wealth of experience in banking, operational management, people management, strategy, and a sharp business acumen. He is currently the Managing Director National Bank of Kenya and the KCB Group…

realme has had a good start in 2022 even as global supply chain shortage affected other brands. The company has revealed that it made it to the top 5 smartphone makers with record shipments in Africa. realme says it recorded booming sales in Kenya and other markets in the continent even as the annual global smartphone shipments fell by 11% to 311.2 million units during Q1 of 2022. We have not seen the actual numbers from the company but given the fact that it is still a new brand that unveiled quite a number of devices during Q4 of 2021…

As we embrace the digital economy, demand for data centres will be on the rise, especially in Africa. We have seen a number of players set up their operations in Africa and even Kenya over the last few years. This has been strategic as it aims to meet the demand of businesses and individuals across the continent. We had a conversation with Dan Kwach who is the Managing Director (East Africa) of Africa Data Centres on the state of this sector and what the future holds. Can you start by telling us about Africa Data centres, what you do and…

WhatsApp’s popularity means that the messaging platform is used by a significant number of people across the globe. According to Statista, WhatsApp currently has over 2 billion monthly active users across the globe. With such numbers, there are people still using older smartphones to access WhatsApp. The company has done a good job in supporting these older devices but it will be dropping support for some of them in the coming months. WhatsApp has started notifying users using older iPhones that it will no longer support their devices from 24 October 2022. The company has also updated its help centre…

The latest addition to the Infinix Hot series is the Hot 12. I have been using the Infinix Hot 12 Play for a few weeks and have a good idea as to what it has to offer. The phone is available locally for Ksh 16,500. This is not the only device in the series as there is the Infinix Hot 12i that you can also get in Kenya for Ksh 13,000. The Infinix Hot 12 Play has quite a number of upgrades to offer when compared to its predecessor, the Hot 11. Have a look at its main specifications below.…

Safaricom has announced that its Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Kris Senanu, will be exiting the telco later this month. He will be leaving the firm after about a year. Before joining Safaricom, Senanu was the Head of Enterprise Business at Telkom Kenya. At Safaricom, he re-established and enhanced Safaricom as a leader in the Enterprise space, grown the mobility business, and initiated digital transformation initiatives to enable SME DIY platforms. He also worked to reduce the Enterprise Fixed churn. At this point, it is still not clear where he is heading to from Safaricom. At Safaricom, he will be replaced by…

Xiaomi has unveiled yet another smartphone in the Kenyan market. This new phone, the Redmi 10 2022 is the latest variant in the Redmi 10 series. It does come with a few upgrades over its predecessor. According to the company, the device has “a powerful chipset and a sleek design, making exceptional performance available to more and more people.” The Redmi 10 2022 is available in Kenya starting from Ksh 19,500. The phone is available in three variants at the following prices: 4GB + 64GB at Ksh. 19,499/- 4GB + 128GB at Ksh.21,499/- 6GB + 128GB at Ksh. 22,799/- The…

The Huawei nova 9 SE was recently launched in Kenya as the company’s mid-range giant meant to take on the likes of the OPPO Reno 7, Samsung Galaxy A53 among others. The phone is available in stores for Ksh 39,999. This makes it cheaper than both the Galaxy A53 and the Reno 7. Some of the key selling points of the Huawei nova 9 SE include: The display with very narrow bezels Thin profile 66W Huawei SuperCharge 108MP Camera I will be focusing on these key selling points in this review and highlight if Huawei has managed to deliver on…

Safaricom is set to launch commercial operations in Ethiopia within the year as part of the company’s regional expansion efforts to provide world-class telecommunication services to over 112 million Ethiopians. In readiness for the commercial launch, Safaricom Ethiopia has recruited a team of over 300 staff, of which 50% is local talent, with plans of reaching 1,000 in the next financial year. The business also has onboarded distributors, secured four retail shop locations and set up the first outsourced call centre in Addis Ababa. Safaricom Ethiopia has secured approvals for towers development, built two data centres, made the first test…

M-Pesa is no doubt one of the key services that helped Safaricom record billions in revenue over the years. M-Pesa has had a near-monopolistic existence with no real competition to slow down its growth. For the 2021/2022 financial year ending March 2022, M-Pesa accounted for over 38% of Safaricom’s total revenue before tax. In total, M-Pesa revenue stood at Ksh 107.69 billion which represents 30.3% growth from the same period last year. The growth can be attributed to favorable economic environments as the economy opened up and even the introduction of transaction fees for M-Pesa transfers of below Ksh 1,000.…