Author: Kaluka wanjala

This article has been updated to reflect the latest changes that require the M-Pesa app to withdraw from PayPal. The PayPal mobile money portal will stop working on August 16, 2025. You can ready the updated steps here. PayPal is one of the popular tools for freelancers, online business owners or anyone getting paid internationally. If you are in Kenya, getting that money into your hands or your M-PESA wallet can be challenging if you have never done it before. PayPal partnered with Safaricom a few years back to make it possible to withdraw money to M-PESA directly, safely, and…

SEACOM has announced the appointment of Kevin Kaburu as the new SEACOM Digital Infrastructure East Africa and Middle East Managing Director, effective 1 June 2025. Kevin has over 15 years of experience in the telecommunications and B2B technology sectors. He has a strong track record in infrastructure sales, strategic partnerships, and regional business expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa. He has previously held leadership roles at China Mobile International and Wananchi Telecom. These roles have equipped him with deep expertise in building high-performing teams, driving revenue growth, and delivering complex infrastructure projects across the continent. “As we continue to grow our presence…

Yellow Card has launched a comprehensive report that looks at the state of digital asset regulation in Africa. With over 54 million digital asset users across Africa, the report is the first to offer a continent-wide comparative analysis of crypto regulation. The report reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa leads the world in stablecoin adoption. Countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya have made significant legislative progress. Yellow Card’s legal and policy team also outlined Kenya’s bold new regulatory roadmap. According to the report, Nigeria ranks #1 globally for stablecoin adoption and #2 for overall crypto adoption, with 25.9 million users.…

When I first heard of Ulaa, Zoho’s new Chromium-based browser built with enterprises in mind, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After all, how different could a browser really be? I recently sat down with Veerakumar Natarajan, Regional Manager – East Africa for Zoho, to learn more about Ulaa and what it offers.  As he spoke about Ulaa it became clear that this wasn’t just another product. It was a bold attempt to redesign the web browser, a fundamental workplace tool in the digital age.  “You name them, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, they’re all built for consumers,” Veerakumar said. “No one…

LemFi has announced the acquisition of Pillar, a UK-based fintech focused on credit access for immigrants. As a result of this acquisition, LemFi will launch specialised credit cards designed especially for immigrant communities.  If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here.  In 2022, Pillar raised £13M ($16.9M) in pre-seed to develop a platform for immigrants to access credit products when they move to a new country. LemFi will inherit this tech as part of the acquisition, becoming the first major remittance platform to offer credit as a core product. The deal,…

Verto has today announced the launch of Verto Reserve. This is a new feature for businesses to earn interest on their holdings in G10 and African currencies, regardless of their country of incorporation. Verto Reserve is being offered in partnership with financial institutions that are licensed to provide deposit-taking services in Kenya and Nigeria.  Customers can now fully utilize idle funds sitting in various currency wallets and accounts, achieving interest earnings of up to 10% and offering a unique opportunity for businesses to optimize their treasury management. With Verto Reserve, customers can seamlessly open interest-earning accounts in Nigerian Naira (NGN),…

Pesapal has partnered with RACK, a local startup building tailored software for African SMEs. The two are rolling out a fully-integrated Point of Sale (POS) solution designed to digitize sales, payments, inventory, tax compliance, and customer management. This is all done in a single plug-and-play device. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here.  This solution will be available to businesses in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. It offers a much-needed alternative to the outdated, manual systems still widely used by small businesses in the region. “This partnership is about powering Africa’s…

Khazna Data Centers has partnered with NVIDIA to build AI data centers across the Middle East and Africa, with Kenya named among the key markets. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here.  As part of the partnership, NVIDIA has certified Khazna’s upcoming data center designs to support its cutting-edge Blackwell GPU architecture. These are optimised for high-performance AI workloads. Khazna’s ongoing and upcoming infrastructure developments will feature NVIDIA-ready blueprints as standard, ensuring full compatibility with the latest GPU-accelerated workloads. The company plans to design most of its future data halls…

Kenyan electric bus manufacturer BasiGo has announced it now assembles up to 20 electric buses per month. This is double its previous monthly output of 10 buses. This production upgrade comes after the company’s successful Ksh 5.4 billion funding raise last year. According to CEO Moses Nderitu, most of the funding has been allocated to capital expenditures such as purchasing assembly kits, tools, and setting up new charging depots. The remaining part has gone into hiring skilled workers to scale its production capacity. “Assembly has increased. When we first started, it was taking a very long time. Now, we deliver…

Roam has officially launched the Generation 2 Roam Air, a next-generation electric motorcycle designed with extensive input from boda boda riders. The upgraded model includes over 40 practical enhancements and has been rigorously tested across both urban and rural terrains. Designed and engineered entirely in-house by Roam, the Generation 2 Roam Air reflects a deep commitment to local innovation and manufacturing. With Kenya’s more than 3 million boda boda riders sustaining an estimated 5 million livelihoods nationwide (UN data), the new model directly addresses the economic and practical needs of this vital sector. Key Improvements Roam has increased local production…