Author: Brand Spot

Last week, the Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) held its first Konza Innovation Ecosystem Forum to bring together partners and showcase some of the innovation that can come out through these partnerships. The forum brought together key partners including Safaricom, Huawei, KCB and representatives from Meru and Machakos Universities. Speaking during the launch of the forum, Eng. John Tanui, Chief Executive Officer, KoTDA said the initiative will focus on three key clusters namely ICT & Information Technology Enabled Services (ICT/ITES), Life Sciences and engineering. According to Eng. John Tanui the Konza Technopolis is one of the key projects under Vision…

Digital skills are becoming essential for the jobs of today and tomorrow. From digital literacy to computer science education, these skills can open the door to greater economic opportunity in the workplace of the future. Unfortunately, these skills are beyond the reach of too many young people in Kenya. Microsoft believes in a future where every young person has the skills, knowledge and opportunity to succeed and has made a commitment to impact digital skills to 10 million youth in the Middle East and Africa in the next three years. Its long-lasting initiative, YouthSpark, helps bring this to life by working…

Technology is progressively becoming the backbone of the hospitality sector, and the impact is significantly being felt by hoteliers in their interactions with consumers. Below are some of the trends shaping the sector, as highlighted on the 2018 Jumia Travel Hospitality Report. Internet & Mobile penetration Mobile penetration in Kenya is 90.4% of the adult population, while the internet penetration stands at 83% as of 2017, putting the country on a global map as a leader in share of mobile internet traffic. Mobile Bookings Mobile bookings are on the rise in Kenya, with Jumia Travel recording an impressive 44% in…

Five million jobs are expected to be lost to automation by 2020. That may sound like a scary figure, but as these roles disappear, new jobs are set to spring up in their place. In fact, 80 percent of the jobs we expect to see as soon as 2025 don’t even exist yet. According to research conducted by IDC and Microsoft, cloud computing will potentially generate more than 515 000 jobs across key markets in the Middle East and Africa between 2017 and 2022– and these are not confined only to the IT profession. These jobs will span across areas…

If you use Safaricom’s M-Pesa, then you should know that the telco has adjusted its rates upwards as of the 1st of July 2018. The adjusted M-Pesa rates as of July 2018 are in line with the Finance Bill, 2018 and the Provisional Collection of Taxes and Duties Act, take effect on July 1, 2018. As you will see below, there is still no transaction cost when sending less than Ksh 100 but you will be limited to three transactions per day. For the other transactions, you should be ready to pay a little bit more for each transaction. Nothing…

SEACOM has upgraded its key submarine network system from its Southern and Eastern African coastline landings into Europe at a total capacity of 1.5Tbps. The current upgrade is adding 500G of new capacity on the system, after a previous upgrade of 500G about 18 months ago. This further upgrade falls in line with SEACOM’s focus on driving the development of the African internet and opening the broadband tap for African service providers and business users. The upgrade increases available capacity in SEACOM’s key markets: Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. The solution will allow SEACOM to deliver requirements for high capacity…

In any given family setting, demands on time can be pretty overwhelming. With everyone’s busy schedules, getting everyone together at the same time is quite an uphill task.  For parents, it is difficult to carve out enough time to actually spend quality moments with the kids. In the event that everyone happens to be home at the same time, chances are, everyone will be buried deep in a gadget and left to their own devices.  Granted, technology occupies every facet of our lives today, but it doesn’t have to be all detrimental to the family ties. We must continuously find…

Global news headlines over the last 12-18 months have certainly assisted in endorsing the very real and growing threat of cybercriminal activity – in particular – ransomware. Last year’s events alone – the WannaCry and ExPetr ransomware attacks – are a reminder of just how crafty cybercriminals are becoming, and how their attention is consistently turning towards the business world. In fact, in 2017, 26.2% of those targeted by ransomware were business users. Furthermore, in Q1 of 2018, our research shows an 8.5% increase in ransomware attacks in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) region, in comparison to Q1…

Showmax and Zuku Fiber have introduced the Zuku plus Showmax service package for Zuku Fiber customers. The new service will be known as Zuku Fiber plus Showmax and is available on Zuku Fiber Triple Play bouquets. As part of the launch activity for Zuku plus Showmax, all current Zuku Fiber Triple play customers will get 90 days’ access to Showmax at no additional charge when they register for the service. The Zuku Fiber plus Showmax service commences on 2 May, 2018. How to claim your 90 days’ access to Showmax: All Zuku Fiber Triple Play customers can get their access credentials by dialing *502#, using…

Samsung has announced the launch of a new campaign aimed at rewarding consumers who purchase Galaxy smartphones and tablets, further cementing the firm’s position as the leading smartphone brand across all segments in the region. Dubbed ‘Score with Samsung’, consumers have a chance to win a 40” television for every purchase of any Samsung mobile device. To enter the draw, consumers who purchase a new Samsung mobile device within the six week-long campaign that kicks-off on May 1st, will be required to register their new devices by sending an SMS to 22585 in the format Reg*IMEI number#. Charles Kimari, Head…