Author: Brand Spot

Standard Chartered Bank has partnered with  @iBizAfrica- Strathmore University have shortlisted 10 start- ups for the Women in tech program. The Program targets women led start-ups that are looking to scale up their business through technology. Standard Chartered Women in Tech (WiT) support female-led entrepreneurial teams with business management training, mentoring and seed funding. This year’s top 10 teams were selected from a pool of over 350 start-ups that had applied for the program. The entrepreneurs will go through 12 weeks of mentorship @iBizAfrica where they will be offered expert training in the areas of business idea conceptualization, strategy formulation…

LG Electronics is now the first company in the world to receive the ISO 13849-1 certification for its safety controller module utilized in mobile service robots, this confirms its leadership in the field of Robot Safety Technology. The certification is also proof of LG’s technological capabilities and commitment to creating safe, new innovations for a better life. It applies to LG’s advanced safety controllers for robots and was issued by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), an international accredited registrar and classification body headquartered in Norway. Commenting on the certification, LG Electronics Head of the Advanced Robotics Lab Dr Baek Seung-min said “As autonomous…

Boomplay is partnering with Telkom to make it easier for Telkom subscribers to stream, and download music through the Boomplay app.  The Streaming music packages to be introduced will include daily at KSh. 49, weekly at KSh. 159 and a monthly subscription at KSh. 299, which will be charged from the subscriber’s airtime. This partnership will make music more easily accessible to Kenyans, offering subscription packages that will enable Telkom users to access the over 75 million local and international songs on Boomplay for as low as KSh. 299 a month. This package will also give Telkom subscribers access to…

Fahari Aviation, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways and EVE UAM have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for up to 40 electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles. The agreement includes joint studies through a working group to develop and scale the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market and a business model for cargo drone operations in Kenya. The project is expected to start deliveries in 2026. The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a new technology that uses electricity to hover, take off, and land vertically, making it easier to move within cities while avoiding traffic jams. “Urban…

Kenyan insurtech and digital insurance platform mTek has secured an additional investment commitment from African-focused fintech platform, Finclusion Group, to-date totaling $3 million (KSh 340 million) – through both debt and equity.  The intensified cooperation seeks to accelerate mTek’s growth into the Kenyan marketplace through continual improvements to the platform and via the expansion of its customer base.  mTek’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Bente Krogmann, stated that the investment is a milestone for the organization and an indication of Pan-African investors’ confidence in the insurtech’s purpose, business model and philosophy.  “With this investment, we will be able to commence our expansion within Kenya through 25 Finclusion Group branches where we will offer agents trainings. The investment will help us to create fully digital, market-ready insurance offerings that will be both easily accessible and affordable for the uninsured. We hope to be able to further expand into six African countries over the next two years,” said Ms. Krogmann.  Finclusion Group is an African-focused fintech platform building out a complete neobank offering for its users. Today, Finclusion Group provides among its myriad services, earned-wage access, BNPL and a direct credit offering, hosting a presence in South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia in Southern Africa, and Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa.  Finclusion Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Timothy Nuy, added that mTek’s capability to offer paperless insurance addressed a critical market pain-point, while noting that mTek’s continued growth and customer value-addition aligns perfectly with the fintech platform’s vision and expansion model.  “As a Group, we remain committed to driving financial inclusion on the African continent through innovative technology and also significant investments that can broker lasting change, identifying and addressing market needs, both present and future. mTek’s platform has allowed for greater transparency in both the insurance and telehealth industries and we are pleased to partner with such technology that delivers – for the first time – paperless insurance in Africa,” said Mr. Nuy.  “As health financing reforms in Kenya have peaked stakeholder interests from the both the public and private sector, we take a long-game approach to this investment. The ‘one stop shop’, the holistic plug and play insurance tech offering pioneered by mTek is replicable nation on nation, the continent over. We look forward to playing a lead role in that process,” Nuy added.  Since launching its platform in 2020, mTek has seen consistent and compelling growth, doubling its customer base and gross written premium every quarter to date through its revolutionary 100% paperless insurance. The insurtech has also partnered with over 35 Kenyan underwriters to consistently provide its clients with a better and transparent experience while purchasing and renewing their insurance policies.  mTek expects to reach one (1) million users through its innovative insurance offering by 2024 as it achieves its mission to provide insurance to the uninsured. Read: Digital Insurance Solutions; Key in Increasing Uptake

In honor of father’s day this year Samsung Electronics East Africa has announced amazing offers to honor and celebrate fathers in Kenya. The offers will include 50% off on the Samsung Galaxy watch 4 for any purchase of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Series as well as the Galaxy Fold3 and Galaxy Flip3.  Samsung will also be offering a Free Galaxy Fit2 for any purchase of the Galaxy S21 FE and the Galaxy A73 the superior device in the A-Series category. The offers are available at all flagship Samsung Experience stores, Safaricom stores, Phonelink stores and all Retail stores nationwide. “Fathers…

For those looking for smartphones between Ksh 35,000 and 40,000, the Infinix Note 12 VIP and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro are some of the two devices on your list. The Infinix Note 12 VIP is the most recent one to launch in Kenya and is available in stores for Ksh 41,000 for the 8GB variant with 256GB of storage. The Redmi Note 1 Pro was launched a few months back and is available starting from Ksh 35,000 for the 8GB variant with 128GB of storage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxshpZjhYkI&t=28s I have been using the Infinix Note 12 Play for a few…

Netflix has announced that its first Kenyan licensed Branded Series, Country Queen will begin streaming on the service from the 15th of July, 2022. Set in contemporary Kenya, Country Queen is a family drama series that tells the story of ordinary Kenyans fighting against a corporate power that threatens to destroy their homes and lives. The series focuses on the issues of land grabbing and exploitation, and how these factors impact the lives and relationships of the main characters, their families and communities. Filmed in Nairobi, Machakos County and Murang’a County, Country Queen stars Melissa Kiplagat as Akisa, a woman…

Over the weekend, a couple of friends and I decided to tour the Ololosokuan Nature trail. With most of us working from home, all we needed was a break away from the indoor ambience and for once embrace the beauty that nature has to offer. The atmosphere was welcoming, birds chirped and it was all fun climbing the rocks and seeing the different types of tree species. To spice our trip, we carried along the LG XBoom Go PL5 portable Bluetooth Speaker with us. Trust me, you need some music to psyche you up when climbing a rock 15 meters tall. The…

Mozilla, has today unveiled a course for SMEs and startups in Kenya to increase their awareness and capabilities on the use and management of data collected in their day-to-day business operations. The online course, Lean Data Practices (LDP), will be hosted on Udemy, an open-source online courses provider, and is designed for startups and SMEs who lack adequate knowledge about data privacy and security when handling personal information for customers/clients. Many of these startups also need to be better informed about Kenya Data Protection laws in order to protect their ideas and enterprises and to also operate within set regulations.…