Author: Kaluka wanjala

Vertiv will participate as an exhibitor at the International Telecoms Week (ITW) Africa 2026 event, with a strong focus on how power and cooling infrastructure can support the region’s evolving AI and digital workloads. “At ITW Africa this year, we’re showing how Vertiv continues to expand its end‑to‑end portfolio, combining high-density power solutions, liquid cooling, heat rejection, intelligent controls and lifecycle services, to help customers across Africa deploy AI-ready infrastructure faster and operate more efficiently over time,” explains Wojtek Piorko, managing director for Africa at Vertiv. Piorko will join industry peers for an ITW Africa panel discussion, titled ‘Designing Efficient and Sustainable Data Centres’. The discussion is scheduled for the…

Microsoft has appointed Angela Nganga as its Country Lead for East Africa. She will lead Microsoft’s engagement with governments, enterprises, startups and other stakeholders across Kenya and across East Africa. Nganga brings more than 20 years of experience Nganga has been part of Microsoft’s Middle East and Africa leadership team since joining the company in 2012. Most recently, she served as Regional Director of Customer Success for East and West Africa. She has also held senior roles including Director of Corporate Affairs for the Middle East and Africa and Education Industry Director for Africa, where she worked on digital transformation,…

Jambojet will resume flights between Nairobi and Entebbe, Uganda, from 1 October 2026, marking the airline’s return to the Ugandan market. The low-cost carrier says the route will strengthen connectivity between Kenya and Uganda while supporting business travel, tourism and cross-border trade. Daily Flights and Cargo Services Jambojet will operate daily flights on the Nairobi–Entebbe route, with one-way fares starting from approximately KES 22,950. The airline will also introduce cargo and parcel services. Jambojet CEO and Managing Director Karanja Ndegwa said, “Our return to Uganda is a strategic step forward in our mission to strengthen regional connectivity. We see significant…

Nairobi-based fintech startup Flowt has secured funding from Delta40 Fund I and Impacc. The startup has also secured grant support from the Argidius Foundation to scale its AI-powered lending platform for African businesses. The company has also issued its first working-capital facility to GreenBay, a Kenyan circular commerce business that sources, refurbishes and sells pre-owned household appliances and solar products. The amount and terms of the facility were not disclosed. Flowt Uses Business Data to Assess Borrowers Flowt was founded by Elana Laichena and uses artificial intelligence to assess businesses using financial data they already generate. “A lender that only…

Kenya Airways’ revenue grew 9% to KSh81 billion for the six months to June 30, 2026. The national carrier attributed the growth to resilient passenger demand, stronger aircraft utilisation and improved commercial performance. Its cabin factor improved by four percentage points, while average coupon values remained strong. However, higher operating costs continued to weigh on the airline’s financial performance. Fuel Costs and Fleet Constraints Weigh on Performance Kenya Airways’ fuel costs costs were up 32% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. This is as a result of higher jet fuel prices driven by tensions in the Middle East. Fuel…

NCBA has partnered with electric mobility company BasiGo to finance the deployment of 1,000 electric vans, targeting public transport operators, businesses and institutions across Kenya. The partnership will provide tailored financing through asset financing and leasing, allowing BasiGo to scale production and lease electric vehicles to PSV SACCOs, established operators and individual customers. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. The deal makes NCBA the first local investor to finance BasiGo. Financing options for PSV operators Under the partnership, PSV SACCOs and established PSV companies can access financing of up to 90%…

Ventures Platform has announced the final close of its second institutional fund, Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II (VP PAF II), at $84 million, exceeding its initial $75 million target. The oversubscribed fund closed three years after the firm’s first institutional fund. Ventures Platform said the raise reflects continued institutional confidence in Africa’s technology and innovation ecosystem. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. EBRD, Norfund and new family offices join investor base The latest close brings several new institutional investors into Ventures Platform’s limited partner base, including the European Bank for Reconstruction…

Africa-focused voice technology company Intron has launched Sahara v2.5. This is an updated voice AI platform designed to better understand how Africans naturally communicate, including conversations that switch between languages. The release introduces bilingual speech recognition or code-switching, across 12 African languages, including Swahili, Zulu, Hausa and Luganda. Intron says its benchmarks show Sahara outperforming models from Gemini, ElevenLabs and Meta across the 12 languages tested. The company has also introduced what it describes as the world’s first African trilingual speech-recognition model supporting switching between Kinyarwanda, English and French. Intron says the technology is based on proprietary algorithms for which…

Kenya has opened applications for a new Kenya Artificial Intelligence Accelerator Programme, seeking artificial intelligence use cases that can improve public service delivery and support the country’s green transition. The programme is targeting public institutions, startups and innovators, as well as universities and research institutions with high-potential AI solutions that have a clear path towards real-world implementation and measurable impact. The call was highlighted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), alongside partners including the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, Konza Technopolis, the Regional Centre of Competence for Digital and AI Skilling in the Public Sector, and…

Google has announced the expansion of its AI-powered learning tools across Africa, offering eligible higher education students in 27 countries 12 months of Google AI Plus at no cost. The offer is available to students in countries including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. It will give them access to Google’s Gemini AI tools, higher usage limits and 400GB of cloud storage across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. Students can use the tools to support research, coursework, revision and other academic tasks, subject to Google’s eligibility and student verification requirements. AI tools built for learning The Google AI Plus student…