Author: Kaluka wanjala

Bonto Kenya, a licensed money remittance provider (MRP), has shut down less than 3 years after entering the market. The fintech was founded by Yoann Copreaux and officially handed back its Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) licence in August. This makes it one of the fastest closures in the sector in recent years. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. In a LinkedIn post, Copreaux explained the decision and pointed to several challenges that made the business unsustainable. These include collapsing FX margins, low remittance fees, a Tight compliance environment and an…

MediaTek has unveiled its latest processor, the Dimensity 9500. The company says this is its most advanced mobile platform yet. This processor will be a direct competitor to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The MediaTek Dimensity 9500 will be powering the OPPO Find X9 Series as well as the next flagship devices from Xiaomi and vivo. “The MediaTek Dimensity 9500 is engineered to super-charge the next wave of flagship 5G smartphones,” said MediaTek in a statement.  The MediaTek Dimensity 9500 uses a third-generation All Big Core CPU design that combines a 4.21GHz ultra core, three premium cores, and four…

Flutterwave has announced leadership changes, with Prashant Kalia joining as Chief Risk & Compliance Officer. He has decades of experience, having previously worked at Stripe, American Express, and more.  If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. Prashant Kalia replaces Mo Bammeke, who has served as Chief Compliance Officer for the past five years. Mr Bammeke will now take the role of Chief Regulatory & Data Protection Officer. “At Flutterwave, staying at the forefront of a secure and compliant digital payments ecosystem means building the right team and culture to drive success,” said…

Britam BetaLab has announced the Regional Startup Challenge 2025.  Applications will close on September 30, 2025, so time is limited. This program aims to identify and scale some of East Africa’s most promising growth-stage startups. The initiative is open to legally registered companies in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. The challenge is seeking startups in Series B funding stages or beyond. The startups should have existing products and established revenue streams. They should also have been operational for at least two years. Eligible solutions span fintech, insurtech, healthtech, agritech, consumer tech, and retail/supply chain. According to BetaLab, preference will go to…

M-KOPA has hit a major milestone by crossing 3 million active customers mark. The company is also reporting 90% improvement in the quality of life among its customers.  In Africa’s informal sector where most people earn their income daily and often without access to banks, services like M-KOPA fill an important gap. Traditional lenders typically ignore these earners, but M-KOPA has already deployed $2 billion in credit to give them access to essentials like smartphones, healthcare and even electric motorbikes. CEO Jesse Moore summed it up neatly, “When we ask customers, ‘does M-KOPA make your life better?’ 9 out of…

Airtel Africa’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Spam Alert service has flagged more than 205 million spam SMS messages across 13 markets in the last six months. Kenya has recorded the highest volume at 68 million. The service was introduced earlier this year in Kenya and other African countries to automatically label suspected spam messages with the prefix “SPAM Alert” and provides real-time updates directly to subscribers’ inboxes. Customers do not need to install any additional apps, making the service more accessible across both feature phones and smartphones. Kenya was followed by Tanzania with 47 million flagged messages and Zambia with 33…

Safaricom has unveiled Fintech 2.0, a major upgrade to M-PESA. This latest upgrade incorporates AI, improves reliability and expands cross-border payments Speaking at the media briefing, Safaricom’s Chief Financial Services Officer, Esther Waititu, said the transformation is critical to meeting the platform’s growing scale. “We have to move to technology and infrastructure that allows us to process well beyond the one billion transactions we’re handling today. We must ensure M-PESA is always on and available for our customers,” she said. Artificial intelligence (AI) will be central to Fintech 2.0. It will enable real-time fraud detection, better efficiency and personalized services…

Samsung recently introduced its new Vision AI platform. This is featured across the latest NEO QLED, OLED and The Frame TVs. You can see it in action on the 100-Inch NEO QLED AI TV that is available in Kenya. At the heart of Vision AI is Samsung’s latest generation of processors. Depending on the model, TVs come equipped with the NQ8 AI Gen3 or NQ4 AI Gen3 chipsets. These allow real-time upscaling to 4K or 8K resolution. The processors can analyse content scene by scene to enhance sharpness and color detail. It does this while adjusting brightness and sound to…

Samsung has officially unveiled one of its latest TV, the 2025 NEO QLED 100-inch AI TV, in Kenya. This TV’s model number is S-QA100QN80FUXKE. The company says this is its most advanced flagship TV yet and will be available in Kenya at Ksh 699,999.  The Samsung NEO QLED 100-inch AI TV combines cutting-edge display and audio technologies with the power of Samsung’s Vision AI platform. “Kenya deserves nothing less than the very best in television technology,” said Rahul Kochhar, Business Head, Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics East Africa. “With Vision AI, we are not just making pictures more vivid or…

Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy A17 smartphone and the Galaxy Buds Core in Kenya. The Buds Core are already available, while the Galaxy A17 will hit shelves on 22nd September 2025. “Giving more Kenyans simple, helpful technology is a priority,” said Eveline Munene, Head of Product and Marketing at Samsung Electronics East Africa. “The Galaxy A17 puts Gemini within reach through a dedicated side button for quick AI help. The Buds Core deliver clear, reliable audio and features for everyday use.” The Galaxy A17 Samsung is pushing its AI story into the budget segment with the Galaxy A17. This…