Author: Kaluka wanjala

Four young Kenyan women have emerged as the overall winners of the third edition of the GirlCode Kenya Hackathon, held at Konza Technopolis. Mary Wangui, Linet Mugwanja, Aisha Barasa and Cynthia Chepkorir won the two-day competition with Naulisako. This is an AI-powered digital fare collection platform designed to streamline public transport payments. The platform also automates reconciliation for vehicle owners and generates sales records to improve financial tracking and transparency. The hackathon was organised by Absa Bank Kenya, GirlCode and the Technopolis Development Authority. It brought together 44 young women, including students, graduates, developers and aspiring entrepreneurs. Moses Okundi, Chief…

Eric Muriuki has joined Absa Group as Managing Executive for Pan-African Growth Strategy, Platforms & Digital Ventures. This comes after his departure from NCBA Group. At NCBA, he led the LOOP digital financial services business. Muriuki was involved in the development of a number of products that have shaped mobile payments, savings and digital lending in Kenya. His helped design the trust-account architecture behind Safaricom’s M-Pesa electronic value issuance in 2007. He also spearheaded the development of M-Shwari, the mobile savings and micro-credit service that was launched in 2012. Muriuki was also involved with the creation of Fuliza back in…

Dan Kwach has returned to Cassava Technologies. He will be taking up a new role as Executive for AI Data Centres under Africa Data Centres. Kwach announced the move on LinkedIn. This announcement comes less than a year after he announced his departure from Africa Data Centres after a 19-year career with the organisation. We reported on this back in December 2025.  Kwach previously served as Managing Director for the East Africa region. He was involved in the growth of Africa Data Centres and the wider digital infrastructure ecosystem in the region. Kwach said his return comes as artificial intelligence…

Vertiv has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cybastion, focused on accelerating digital transformation across Africa. The agreement establishes a framework for collaboration within Northwest Africa, with a focus on markets including Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Gabon, where both companies have active engagement and strategic alignment in place. This collaboration is expected to help Vertiv to engage earlier in large-scale digital infrastructure initiatives, by combining its data centre expertise with Cybastion’s existing relationships and experience in government-led digital transformation programmes. “As AI, cloud and sovereign digital infrastructure investments accelerate across Africa, customers are increasingly seeking end-to-end ecosystems rather than…

Jambojet has officially resumed daily flights between Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. The revived route offers fares starting from KSh 22,950 (USD 170) one-way. The total flight time is approximately 65 minutes. Jambojet first launched the Nairobi–Entebbe route in 2018 and operated it for nearly two years. The airline says its return comes as it has expanded its fleet, strengthened its network and increased its operational capacity. “We are returning to Entebbe with the experience we gained from our first chapter on the route, a densified network and a clear ambition to make…

Google’s Regional Director for Government Affairs and Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa says Africa has an opportunity to leapfrog legacy technology systems, but skills, infrastructure and access to AI tools will determine how much of that opportunity the continent captures. I recently had a chat with Charles Murito, Google’s Regional Director for Government Affairs and Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, who said the continent’s relatively limited legacy infrastructure could become an advantage as African developers and businesses increasingly build AI-first solutions in areas such as healthcare, education and agriculture. “We are uniquely positioned to leapfrog legacy infrastructure,” Murito said. He…

Safaricom and Pesapal have announced new payment experiences to make checkout faster and simpler for businesses and customers across Kenya. The partnership expands Safaricom’s M-PESA payment capabilities through Pesapal’s merchant payment infrastructure, introducing Dynamic Scan-to-Pay and Tap-to-Pay on Pesapal point-of-sale (POS) devices. Dynamic Scan-to-Pay allows customers to scan a QR code displayed on a Pesapal POS using M-PESA. The merchant details and payment amount are automatically populated. This allows customers to verify the information before completing the transaction. The new Tap-to-Pay feature allows customers with NFC-enabled smartphones to tap their device on a Pesapal POS, verify the transaction details and…

Safaricom’s digital commerce platform Masoko has been named the Best Mobile & Consumer Electronics E-Commerce Website 2026 at the Kenya E-Commerce Awards. Safaricom says this award is a reflection of its focus on using technology to simplify and improve the shopping experience of its customers. Masoko offers smartphones, laptops, gaming devices, smart accessories and other consumer electronics. “Every visit, every order and every choice to shop with Masoko is a reminder of the trust placed in us to keep creating experiences that make a difference,” Safaricom said in a LinkedIn post announcing the recognition. Safaricom also said that is focused…

Seven women-led startups have received a combined KES 9 million in grant funding through the Women in Tech Kenya Accelerator programme. Each startup will receive approximately KES 1.29 million to support product development, business growth and expansion. The grants were announced during the Women in Tech Kenya Cohort 9 Award Ceremony and Graduation held at Standard Chartered in Nairobi. The programme is run by the Standard Chartered Foundation in partnership with Village Capital and iBizAfrica at Strathmore University. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Vincent Ogutu, Vice-Chancellor, Strathmore University, said: “Our goal is to support entrepreneurs to identify real problems, develop…

African healthtech startups have secured four new strategic partnerships aimed at expanding access to healthcare, strengthening pharmaceutical supply chains and improving digital pharmacy regulation across the continent. The deals were announced by Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) during its fourth annual Access to Markets (A2M) event, held alongside the Africa HealthTech Summit. Speaking at this year’s event, Oladunni Lawal, Investing in Innovation Lead, said: “African innovators are reshaping healthcare delivery across the region, with solutions designed to address local gaps and reach the communities and patients who need them most. Through Access to Markets, we are bringing regional and global…