Author: Kaluka wanjala

Jiji has been awarded “Best Online Car Marketplace” at the 7th Annual Kenya E-Commerce Awards. This award has raised eyebrows among sections of the public, given the platform’s longstanding association with fraudulent car listings. While Jiji remains a dominant player in Kenya’s digital classifieds space, especially in vehicles, property, and electronics, its reputation has often been tainted by recurring complaints of scams, particularly in the used car segment. For years, buyers have been cautioned to approach vehicle listings on Jiji with skepticism, and online forums regularly flag the platform as risky for major purchases like cars. What Jiji has over…

Visa and Kenya Airways (KQ) have announced a strategic co-brand agreement aimed at enhancing the travel experience for customers and promoting the adoption of digital payments in the aviation industry. According to the agreement, Visa and KQ will work together to provide a variety of exclusive benefits and incentives to travelers, including the launch of co-branded credit and debit cards. These cards will offer customers a seamless and rewarding travel experience, featuring benefits such as: “We are excited to partner with Kenya Airways to bring innovative payment solutions to travelers in Kenya and beyond,” said Chad Pollock, Vice President and…

Kenya recently hosted a high-level roundtable themed “Unlocking Kenya’s Startup Potential: Opportunities & Challenges.” The event was organized by UNDP Kenya in partnership with 500 Global, brought together key players from Kenya’s and Egypt’s innovation ecosystems. These include government officials and investors to startup enablers and policy experts. The dialogue forms part of the “Bridging Cairo to Nairobi” initiative, a larger effort aimed at encouraging cross-border partnerships that can power Africa’s next wave of startup growth. Eng. John Kipchumba Tanui, Principal Secretary at the State Department of ICT and the Digital Economy, was among those who spoke at the session.…

216 Capital has announced a new strategic investment in Talenteo, an HRTech startup founded in Algeria. Talenteo offers a complete SaaS platform for human resources and payroll management, specifically designed to meet the needs of African SMEs and mid-sized companies. It helps ensure HR operations are reliable, automates repetitive tasks, and strengthens HR departments’ ability to anticipate and adapt. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. Talenteo has over 10,000 active users and its SaaS platform combines artificial intelligence, local legal frameworks, and automation of key HR processes: “We believe business…

Egyptian agri-fintech startup AgriCash has announced the close of a seed funding round led by Alex Angels. The startup has not disclosed the amount raised but said it will be used to scale operations across Egypt and beyond. The startup will also use the funding to further develop its digital and AI-driven infrastructure.  AgriCash’s platform provides financing as well as offering AI-powered agronomic insights, zero-cost crop insurance, and digital tools to help farmers access local and global markets. AgriCash was founded by Dr. Diaa Youssef and Dr. Mostafa El-Sehli. It seeks to solve the funding gap problem faced by millions…

TikTok hosted its inaugural Digital Well-being Summit in Johannesburg, bringing together policymakers, mental health experts, NGOs, and industry leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa. Delegates from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and beyond gathered to further strengthen efforts to support and protect community well-being on the platform. The summit provided a platform for open dialogue on enhancing online safety tools, promoting digital literacy and access to experts, fostering a balanced online environment. A comprehensive suite of new tools and partnerships were introduced, including the expansion of TikTok’s global $2.3 million mental health fund to Sub-Saharan Africa, expanded local in- app…

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has released the latest Sector Statistics Report for Q1 2025 (January–March). Total mobile (SIM) subscriptions reached a record 76.16 million. This is a 6.7% rise from the previous quarter. This brings the mobile penetration rate to 145.3%. This shows the prevalence of multiple SIM ownership across the country. Machine-to-machine (M2M) subscriptions, vital for Internet of Things (IoT) solutions such as smart meters and vehicle tracking, also saw a healthy rise of 3.5%, reaching nearly 2 million. The number of mobile money subscriptions grew by 7.2% to 45.36 million. At the same time, the number…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and Mercury Payment Services (MPS) have announced the launch of PAPSSCARD, the continent’s first Pan-African card scheme.  This new card represents a major leap in Africa’s efforts to achieve financial sovereignty by building independent payment systems, easing people’s travel and boosting trade integration. “For too long, Africa’s reliance on external payment systems has impeded trade, increased costs, and compromised control over our financial data. PAPSSCARD changes that. It empowers us to move money swiftly, securely, and affordably across our borders. It is a transformative step towards strengthening intra-African…

Pesalink has signed an MOU with the Fintech Alliance to enhance collaboration between Kenya’s banking and fintech sectors. The aim of this is to accelerate fast payments and foster network interoperability. The MoU outlines joint efforts to ease fintech-bank integrations, promote the adoption of instant account-to-account payments, and support a more inclusive, interoperable digital payments ecosystem. “Pesalink has always believed in the power of ecosystem partnerships,” said Gituku Kirika, CEO of IPSL. Some of the key initiative will include awareness campaigns focused on efficient payment systems, fraud prevention, and security standards, as well as the development of an online collaboration…

Intron’s Sahara suite is setting a new global standard in voice AI technology. This voice platform is reshaping how African institutions capture, process, and respond to voice data. Unlike global tools that stumble over local accents, Sahara is tuned for Africa. Originally launched to serve hospitals in 2022, Intron’s Sahara platform has since expanded into legal, customer service, and government use cases. Built on over 3.5 million audio clips from 18,000+ speakers in more than 30 African countries, Sahara’s models outperform global giants like OpenAI, Google, AWS, and Azure when it comes to understanding African voices. “Africa building for itself,…