Author: Kaluka wanjala

NCBA plans to spin M-Shwari and other products under its fintech business into a standalone entity. With this, the company aims to create a personalized and feature-rich digital banking services for its customers,  M-Shwari is owned by NCBA and Safaricom and it is one of the leading digital lending platforms in the country. The product was started as a savings product but many people tend to use it for its loans option more than its savings option.  NCBA has already started the process of forming a separate entity according to the Business Daily, “NCBA Group CEO John Gachora has said…

Samsung has updated its budget lineup with the introduction of the Galaxy A04s. This is the latest to launch in Kenya and is available for Ksh 19,999 for the 64GB variant and Ksh 22,999 for the 128GB variant. I am not sure why anyone would opt for the 64GB option as that storage space is not enough and will be filled up very fast. The GalaxyA04s is powered by the Exynos 850 processor. This is the same processor the company used on the Galaxy A13 that has been in Kenya for quite sometime and is available at around the same…

With most of us spending a significant part of our days online, we tend to share some personal information on the different platforms we spend time on. Access to our personal data is possible thanks to search engines like Google that aggregate information and data from different sources. You may not want this information to be accessible through Google for one reason or another.  The good news is that you can easily submit a request to remove your personally identifiable information (PII) from Google search results.  Some of the information that Google removes from search results might include phone numbers,…

Last month, we told you that Showmax Pro will stream all FIFA 2022 World Cup Matches on its platform. The company has announced that it will stream all these matches in 4K. This will be the first time the streaming platform will be doing this.  “We built Showmax Pro with our football-mad continent in mind,” says Yolisa Phahle, CEO of Connected Video at MultiChoice. “We became the first streaming service in Africa to make mobile downloads possible for offline viewing and created the lowest data streaming option on the continent. Now we are gearing up for the world’s greatest sports…

If you are on the market looking for a smartphone under 20,000, you do have a number of options to choose from. There are some good devices from Infinix, Tecno, Xiaomi and even Samsung. Most of these phones can get the job done and will not disappoint you.  All these phones are available in Kenya and online through ecommerce platforms like Jumia. I have included a link to purchase all these phones if you are interested in any one of them.  I have tried to include one phone for each manufacturer so as to give you different options to choose…

Airtel Money has completed the split of its mobile money business from its telecommunications business. This Journey started back in 2019 and has led to the formation of Airtel Money Kenya Limited which will effectively handle the mobile money arm. Back in July, Airtel Money Kenya Limited appointed Rose Mambo as Chair.  “The completion of this restructuring enables AMKL to ring-fence its operations and focus exclusively on its mobile money business. Significantly, this sets the foundation for AMKL to enhance governance over its mobile money business, strengthen its operations, and offer better services to its customers.CBK licensed AMKL as a…

OPPO has confirmed that the Reno 8 series will be launched in Kenya later this month. The company says that the series will be launched in the country on Tuesday, 25 October 2022. The price is yet to be revealed but we should have those details as we get closer to the launch date.  The Reno 8 was launched to a global audience back in May and it’s finally making its way to Kenya.  The Reno 8 series in Kenya will comprise the Reno8 5G and the Reno8. The OPPO Reno 8 5G features the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 5G-integrated SoC,…

After switching on its network in Ethiopia, Safaricom is getting ready to launch M-Pesa services in the country. This is big step for Safaricom into the country with more than double the population of Kenya. M-Pesa has been very successful in Kenya and the company hopes to achieve the same in Ethiopia. M-Pesa will not be the only player in Ethiopia though, it will face competition from Telebirr, a product of the state-owned firm, Ethio Telecom. This product was launched earlier this year so it is still new to the market. It currently has over 4 million users which is…

The Infinix Note 12i is one of the latest devices from the company to launch in Kenya. This phone is part of the Note 12 series devices the company launched in the country. We have already reviewed the flagship of the series, the Infinix Note 12 VIP, that you can get in Kenya for Ksh 42,000. The VIP targets a different customer base and is the company’s flagship device for 2022 and hence the higher price tag. The one thing about the Infinix Note 12i that will get your attention immediately is its price. The phone is available for Ksh…

Safaricom Ethiopia has today switched on its mobile telecommunications network and services in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital city. Back in August, we told you that the firm had started a large-scale customer pilot of its network. The company is conducting the initial tests in Dire Dawa, a city in Eastern Ethiopia.  The tests are complete and today Safaricom Ethiopia has officially started operations. Safaricom Ethiopia was granted a nationwide full-service Unified Telecommunications Service Licence and is the first company in the country to launch a competitive mobile service to Ethio Telecom, which is state-owned.  Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom…