Author: Brand Spot

Payment gateways in Ethiopia give merchants a way to offer payment options intended for this market. For an Indian operator assessing an Ethiopian launch, three questions come first. Does the provider support the required local payment methods? Can the business pass merchant review? Does the chosen channel fit checkout and reconciliation? This article compares Cbebirr, Mpesa, and the A-Pay method labeled “etb.” Here, lowercase “etb” refers to that method label, while uppercase ETB is the Ethiopian birr currency code. The comparison covers merchant use, integration choices, settlement information, onboarding checks, and the situations in which a method may be unavailable.…

By Robert Benvenuti, Chief Information Officer for Data & Applied AI at Absa When mobile networks first started rolling out at scale, the African market was considered unviable by many of the companies assessing the continent through the assumptions of more developed markets. Fixed-line penetration was low, household incomes were constrained, and the cost of devices and data appeared to cap the addressable market. Africa not only proved those detractors wrong, but those very constraints ended up producing some of the most inventive uses of the technology to date. Mobile became one of Africa’s great multipliers because it allowed the…

Kenya’s October belongs to the league, but the season is shaped by three calendars that rarely line up: the FKF Premier League round, the CAF qualifying windows and a sevens series that has yet to publish its second-division dates. The harder question is when rather than what, since continental fixtures are listed in GMT while domestic ones are not, and one round-up page such as https://shujaasport.ke/ is faster to scan than three separate federation sites on a Saturday morning. Most of the dates are fixed already, from the November double-header to the finals in June. Kenya sport live: one clock,…

The Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy, Eng. John Kipchumba Tanui, CBS, has called for stronger partnerships between industry and academia to equip Kenya’s youth with practical, market-relevant skills that respond to the demands of a rapidly evolving economy. Eng. Tanui made the call while delivering the keynote address at the Rift Valley Technical Training Institute (RVTTI) Partners’ Breakfast Meeting, held under the theme “Sustainable Futures.” The meeting was hosted by Eng. Prof. David K. Some, Chair of the RVTTI Board of Management, and Mrs. Loice Kutoh, Chief Principal and Secretary to the Board of Management. The Principal…

Africa’s digital economy is growing at remarkable speed, opening new opportunities for people, businesses and governments across the continent. Building strong cyber resilience will be key to sustaining that momentum, according to the new Mastercard-commissioned whitepaper, Africa’s Digital Defense Race. The whitepaper highlights that between 2016 and 2025, mobile money users grew 5.9 times, digital banking users 4.7 times and the e-commerce market 5.3 times. The findings come as Africa’s digital payments economy is on track to reach USD 1.5 trillion by 2030. However, cyber threat activity grew at a similar pace over the same period, highlighting both the growing…

MNT-Halan, Egypt and MENA’s first fintech unicorn, announced the successful first closing of an investment round led by Al Ahly Capital, the investment subsidiary of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), following the completion of all necessary approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities. The transaction marks a significant milestone for both the company and Egypt’s fintech and non-bank financial services sector. A second closing is expected to follow as part of the ongoing investment round. MNT-Halan’s valuation now stands at USD 1.4 billion, further reinforcing the company’s position as one of the region’s leading fintech platforms and highlighting investor…

Binance is marking Cybersecurity Awareness Month by encouraging crypto users across Africa to take simple steps to protect themselves from online scams and cyber threats. Working to keep users safe is an ongoing commitment for Binance built on strong compliance, partnerships with law enforcement and free education. Across Africa crypto is already part of everyday financial life. People use digital assets to send money home, save, pay for goods and run businesses. As more people come online, scammers are looking for new ways to reach them. Most crypto scams aim to break into systems. They trick people through fake websites,…

By Alison Kadangwe, Project Manager at Change Logic Every business reaches a point where informal coordination is no longer enough. When a company is small, people can make decisions quickly, everybody tends to know what everybody else is doing and, when something new needs to happen, someone usually takes responsibility and gets it done. There may be no formal project structure around the work, but with a small enough team and strong enough individuals, the business can still execute successfully. The difficulty comes as the business grows and the work becomes more complex. There are more people involved, more dependencies…

Companies need protection from internal AI agents and autonomous systems, says Allan Juma, Lead Cybersecurity Engineer at ESET AI adoption is outpacing internal security governance, leaving Kenyan organisations exposed to both old and unpatched vulnerabilities alongside a new, AI-driven attack surface. Every AI agent, tool and assistant adopted by the business creates another doorway for potential access and Gartner now names agentic oversight as the single most important cybersecurity trend of 2026. The visible edge of this risk is already well known with investment scams built on deepfake videos, phishing and impersonation. The Nomani investment scam, for example, has grown…

The Fishermen Experience in Kisumu brought together three days of creativity, learning and entertainment, with engagements for young creatives on Wednesday and Thursday leading into the main concert at Mamboleo Stadium on Saturday. On Wednesday, artists and industry practitioners took part in masterclasses focused on the business of creativity. The sessions covered financial literacy, managing irregular income, tax, investment, brand building, digital music and monetising creative work. Creatives also received guidance on accessing credit and funding to grow their businesses and projects. The focus shifted to civic engagement and rights advocacy on Thursday, with discussions on constitutional rights, freedom of…