Author: Kaluka wanjala

The Africa Tech Summit Awards has announced the 2025 finalists, celebrating individuals and companiesimpacting the technology sector across the continent. The winners will be revealed at the awards gathering on February 13th during the seventh edition of Africa Tech Summit Nairobi. The summit, taking place on February 12th and 13th, 2025, will bring together over 2,000 industry leaders and more than 1000 companies, providing a platform for networking, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. The Africa Tech Summit Awards highlight achievements in 11 sector categories and two individual categories, celebrating the companies and leaders shaping Africa’s tech landscape and addressing critical challenges on the continent. The 55 companies were selected from a pool of over 300applications received.…

TikTok has announced new partnerships with Aleph Holdings and Wowzi in  Kenya. Through this partnership, Aleph Holdings will see TikTok’s sales and support operations seamlessly transition to Aleph’s dedicated Kenyan team. Wowzi on the other hand will take on the critical role of creator management partner.  The partnership with Aleph Holdings will give Kenyan businesses hands-on support and direct access to TikTok. “Simplifying the advertising process and optimizing the experience. At the same time, the collaboration with Wowzi will elevate local creators. This will help them to forge stronger connections with brands and agencies. Hence opening new doors for creative…

Fincart.io has announced that it has successfully closed its pre-seed funding round for an undisclosed amount. The round was led by Plus VC, the most active VC in the MENA, with participation from leading regional and international investors such as Plug and Play, Orbit Startups, Jedar Capital, and other regional investors. The newly secured funds will help improve Fincart.io’s technology platform, grow its courier network, and support the fast-growing e-commerce market in Africa and the Middle East. Fincart.io is tackling major shipping challenges in a market with huge growth potential, as e-commerce logistics is already worth billions of dollars. In…

AppsFlyer and Google have launched their 2024 “The State of App Marketing in Sub-Saharan Africa” report, analyzing overall performance of finance apps in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on a sample of 1.1 billion app downloads and 20,000 apps, the report reveals a growing trend in finance app installs, reflecting the region’s strides toward economic recovery following a general rise in inflation and macroeconomic instability.  According to data, while overall app installs continued to grow in 2024, finance apps stood out, highlighting an impressive 34% increase in downloads between Q1 and Q3, when compared to the same period in 2023. iOS emerged as…

As publicly available artificial intelligence (AI) models rapidly evolve, so do the potential security and safety implications, which calls for a greater understanding of their risks and vulnerabilities. To develop a foundation for standardised security, safety and transparency in the development and operation of AI models–as well as their open ecosystems and communities–we must change how we’re approaching current challenges, such as consistent information about models, lack of distinction between security and safety issues and deficient and non-standardised safety evaluations available and in use by model makers. While similar, AI security and AI safety are distinct aspects of managing risks…

By Stefanie Chiras, Senior Vice President of Partner Ecosystem Success at Red Hat Last year, the technology industry experienced a boom of new possibilities and remarkable advancements – from emerging opportunities around artificial intelligence (AI) to shifts in the virtualisation market, Red Hat and our partners rallied to meet these needs and pave the way for future innovation. To help Red Hat partners remain agile in this fast-paced industry, in 2024 Red Hat introduced the first phase of updates to its partner program as part of our ongoing transformation efforts, including a new modular program framework, standardised incentives and upgraded…

NjiaPay, a South African payments-as-a-service provider, has announced it has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. The investment was led by HAVAÍC, with participation of angel investors including founders of Anyfin, Banxware, and Maxidrive. In a statement, Jonatan Allback, co-founder and CEO of NjiaPay, said, “Our mission is to empower African businesses by simplifying the complexities of payments. By becoming their in-house payments experts, we enable them to focus on growth while we manage the operational and technical intricacies of their payments processing.” With the funds, NjiaPay aims to expand its team in both Amsterdam and Cape Town and to further…

The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, recently visited the Konza Technopolis and highlighted its international significance as a key component of Kenya’s Vision 2030. A statement from Konza reads, “Konza Technopolis team presented the overview of the smart city to His Excellency Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. The president who was on a familiarization tour of the Technopolis was accompanied by Cabinet Secretary for Youth, Creative Economy and Sports Salim Mvurya.” The Konza Technopolis has been referred to as Africa’s Silicon Savannah and seeks to develop smart city services, promote innovation, green energy and foster…

Insight Terra is proud to announce the successful close of its series A extension funding round of $5.7 million to rapidly scale its AI-driven greenhouse gas (GHG) and environmental risk platform. Alastair Bovim, Co-Founder and CEO of Insight Terra says the investment shows a strong commitment to tech-enabled solutions to address climate change and a significant investment into innovation, safety, and emerging climate-tech for extractive industries and beyond. Insight Terra addresses major climate change-driven challenges in both geotechnical/environmental risk management and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring. Bovim says the investment by E3 Capital, Fireball Capital, Atlantic Bridge, Globalive, and JLR Star will…

 NTT DATA has launched its next-generation Smart AI Agent. This advanced AI tool is a cornerstone of the company’s strategy to accelerate the adoption of Generative AI, with an estimated $2 billion in revenue that we aim to achieve from Smart AI Agent – related business by 2027. The Smart AI Agent autonomously extracts, organizes, and executes tasks in response to user instructions, complementing existing workforces and streamlining time-consuming processes. By enhancing efficiency across industries, the Smart AI Agent enables businesses to rapidly evaluate and deploy Generative AI applications, optimizing workflows and driving greater productivity. Yutaka Sasaki, President and CEO, NTT DATA,…