Author: Kaluka wanjala

Last year, Chumz.io, a Kenya-based fintech startup, took home a win at the Latitude59 Kenya Pitch Competition. The app, which helps users set and achieve saving and investment goals through behavioral-based prompts and mobile money deposits, has been on an exciting journey ever since. Since their Latitude59 triumph, Chumz.io has made impressive strides. “Since last year, we hit 200,000 registered users in Kenya and we are testing our solution to go live in Rwanda this year. Our next big leap is to hit 1,000,000 users in Kenya by 2026 and be operational in Uganda, Tanzania and Botswana by then as well,” said Samuel…

Qatar Airways has introduced the world’s first Starlink-equipped Boeing 777 aircraft. The flight flew from Doha to London on Monday, 22 October 2024. This makes Qatar Airways the first airline in the MENA region to operate an aircraft equipped with Starlink offering passengers ultra-high-speed and low latency-internet. If you have ever had an internet connection in any flight, then you know it can be very slow and unreliable. On Qatar Airways, Starlink is free to all passengers and operates from gate to gate. Qatar plans to equip 12 Boeing 777-300s with Starlink by the end of 2024. The airline also…

The Infinix Hot 50 Pro+ is now officially available in kenya starting from Ksh 24,500. The phone is available through a number of online retailers including Gadgets leo. You can also get it through most offline retailers and through Infinix brand shops across the country. The Hot 50 Pro+ has been on pre-order for the better part of this month. It is part of the Infinix Hot 50 family. The other notable device in this series is the Infinix Hot 50i that was launched in Kenya last month. The Hot 50i is a bit cheaper at around kSH 13,699 while…

Showmax has teamed up with Safaricom for some exciting news for football fans. It is offering a discounted rate for streaming the English Premier League (on mobile) for only Ksh 450 per month. In addition to this, users will also get 3GB of data bundled in the deal to enhance their viewing experience. This isn’t the first collaboration between these two companies. They have previously worked together to offer discounted rates and data deals for their customers. For instance, last year, Showmax provided an offer of one extra month free for subscribers who paid for one month. At Ksh 450,…

d.light has been selected to take part in the latest Kenyan Government initiative to expand the uptake of off-grid solar home systems and clean cookstoves in underserved rural counties in the country. d.light has been selected to take part in the latest round of the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), a program set up by the Government of Kenya and funded by the World Bank with the aim to close the energy access gap in Kenya by providing electricity and clean cooking solutions to remote and traditionally underserved areas of the country not covered by the national energy grid. d.light…

Summary BasiGo has announced the close of a $42 million funding round. This round consists of $24 million Series A Equity funding and $17.5 debt facilities from British International Investment (BII) and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The debt facility consists of $10 million from DFC for BasiGo Kenya and $7.5 from BII to help BasiGo scale its E-bus deployment in Rwanda.   The latest debt facility from BII will be put towards launching commercial deliveries of E-Buses in Rwanda, where BasiGo has already received over 300 reservations from bus operators. Seema Dhanani, Head of Office, Kenya and Coverage…

Sophos and Secureworks have announced a definitive agreement for Sophos to acquire Secureworks. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $859 million. Sophos is backed by Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm. Sophos’ experience and reputation as a leading provider of managed security services and end-to-end security products, combined with Secureworks’ security operations expertise transformed into the Taegis™ platform, is expected to further deliver complementary advanced MDR and XDR solutions for the benefit of their global customer bases. Together, they will help strengthen the resilience and security posture of global organizations of any size with a combination of security…

Madica has announced its investment in Earthbond, a climate tech startup serving Nigerian SMEs via an integrated clean energy marketplace. Following the investment, Earthbond will participate in Madica’s comprehensive investment program which includes 18 months of dedicated company-building support.  Launched in 2022 and affiliated with Flourish Ventures, a global Fintech venture capital firm with purpose, Madica provides investment funding of up to $200,000 and delivers support to portfolio companies through a highly personalised startup curriculum, hands-on mentorship, and fully-funded week-long founder immersion trips. Selected startups also stand to gain executive coaching opportunities, and access to Madica’s global network of investors for…

tappi has announced a nw partnership with M-Pesa that will see over 650,000 Kenyan MSMEs access innovative digital solutions to improve their online credibility and visibility. tappi is an end-to-end digital commerce SaaS solution tmade for Africa’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs), With this partnership, tappi becomes one of the first mini apps to feature on M-Pesa For Business. The startup plans to offer a subsidized package equipping M-Pesa merchants to build their online presence, capture verified reviews and strengthen engagement with their customer base. tappi will be offering its services for Ksh 1,350 giving merchants access to a…

A fake token attack is a type of cryptocurrency scam where malicious actors create counterfeit or fraudulent tokens that mimic legitimate cryptocurrencies. These fake tokens are designed to deceive investors and traders into believing they are purchasing or trading a genuine asset, often leading to financial losses or other negative consequences such as identity theft. How Scammers Use Fake Tokens Real tokens and fake ones mimicking them can exist on the same blockchain but with different smart contract addresses, or on different blockchains. Fake tokens can be used in a variety of fraudulent schemes. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Token…