Author: Kaluka wanjala

Safaricom is preparing to introduce Tap-to-Pay functionality for M-Pesa in Kenya, according to its CEO, Peter Ndegwa.   The feature is already live in Tanzania and will allow users to make contactless payments by simply tapping their phones. This will eliminate the need to enter a PIN for smaller transactions. The company is still testing this feature internally and roll out is expected soon. How It Will Work According to CEO Peter Ndegwa, users will be able to: For higher-value payments, users will still be required to enter their M-Pesa PIN and this helps maintain the balance between convenience and security.…

Standard Bank Group has once again been ranked as Africa’s Most Valuable Banking Brand by Brand Finance, marking the fifth consecutive year the lender has secured the top spot. Brand Finance evaluates more than 5,000 of the world’s largest brands annually. It assesses factors such as brand strength, financial performance and stakeholder perception. Standard Bank’s continued dominance reflects a combination of consistent delivery, strong brand purpose and its ability to inspire confidence and growth among clients and employees. “Five consecutive years as Africa’s Most Valuable Banking Brand is not something we take for granted,” said Sim Tshabalala. “The recognition affirms…

Nutanix has announced a new Agentic AI solution, a full-stack platform designed to help organisations build, deploy and scale AI agents in production environments. The solution is built to address a growing challenge in the AI space: while building models and agents is becoming easier, managing the infrastructure required to run thousands of them securely and efficiently is becoming significantly more complex. According to Nutanix, enterprise AI adoption is hitting a tipping point. Instead of running a few isolated AI models, companies are now looking to deploy “AI factories”—large-scale environments where multiple AI agents operate simultaneously, interact with enterprise systems,…

Samsung has announced that it has maintained its leadership in the audio-visual sector as the world’s top soundbar brand for the 12th year in a row. According to new research from Future Source, Samsung captured 21.5% of global soundbar revenue and 19.7% of unit volume in 2025, continuing its leadership streak that began in 2014. This milestone, along with two decades of global TV leadership,[1] reinforces Samsung’s position at the forefront of the home entertainment industry. Samsung’s sustained success in the soundbar market is driven by advanced audio technology, immersive sound and seamless integration with Samsung TVs. Building on this foundation,…

Old Mutual is taking a new approach to financial and digital wellness through its wellness app named Thrive. This app uses behavior-driven engagement, strategic partnerships and data-driven insights to craft solutions that help users make better financial decisions. We had a chat with Dr. Isaac Nzyoka, COO of Old Mutual Group, who explained to us the app’s strategy, growth and upcoming features. Thrive’s Strategy When asked where Thrive fits into Old Mutual’s revenue approach, Dr. Nzyoka said that the app operates on three main fronts: Dr. Nzyoka said that partnerships are carefully curated to ensure they improve user experience. Thy…

Old Mutual Holdings today reported a profit after tax of KES 856 million for the year ended December 2025.This represents a 2% growth from KES 838 million the company recorded back in 2024. The Group’s performance was supported by strong gains in its core businesses, particularly asset management and life insurance, alongside growing traction in its digital platforms. “Our performance reflects the resilience of our diversified portfolio and the discipline of our execution in a dynamic operating environment,” said Group CEO Arthur Oginga. Old Mutual’s asset management division was a key driver of growth. It recorded a profit before tax…

Kenyan internet service provider WaveX has joined the London Internet Exchange (LINX) as an official reseller partner for both LINX Nairobi and LINX Mombasa. This makes it the first company to resell services across the two internet exchange points in Kenya. The partnership enables WaveX to provide other networks with access to LINX’s peering infrastructure without requiring them to have their own physical presence at the exchanges. This means regional internet service providers, cloud platforms and digital service providers can connect to LINX through WaveX to exchange internet traffic more efficiently. Internet exchange points (IXPs) allow networks to connect directly…

Visa has announced the signing of a new agreement with Bank of Abyssinia in Ethiopia. Bank of Abyssinia plans to leverage this partnership and invest in premium financial products and also strengthen its digital banking services. The bank will also expand payment acceptance and improve cross-border transaction capabilities. “Ethiopia is an important and rapidly evolving market, and Visa remains committed to working closely with leading financial institutions to support the growth of the digital payments ecosystem,” said Yared Endale, Cluster Head for Eastern Africa at Visa. He added that the partnership aims to enable safer, faster and more convenient payment…

NTT DATA plans to deploy enterprise AI factories powered by NVIDIA. The aim of this is to help organizations move faster from AI experimentation to production-scale deployments. The company says the enterprise AI factories provide a full-stack operating model for enterprise AI, integrating data, infrastructure, workflows and governance into a unified system. The goal is to give businesses a repeatable and production-ready environment for building, deploying and managing artificial intelligence applications. According to NTT DATA, the AI factories are designed as adaptive ecosystems capable of scaling AI across the full lifecycle, from model training to inference and operational deployment. The…

Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) has announced it has officially started distributing electricity within Konza Technopolis. This is done through its own smart power distribution network. The move allows the technopolis to internally manage electricity distribution across Phase One of the development, a shift expected to improve reliability and operational efficiency for businesses, research institutions, investors and residential projects located within the city. The capability is powered by Konza Smart Energy, an intelligent energy platform designed to support digital infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and industrial activity within the technology hub often referred to as Africa’s Silicon Savannah. Konza’s new energy distribution…