Author: TA Insights Hub

If you’ve been following developments in Kenya’s financial sector, you may have noticed a quiet but important change announced by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). It’s called KESONIA, and while the name might sound technical, its impact could be felt across banking, lending and capital markets. So what exactly is KESONIA, and why does it matter? KESONIA stands for the Kenya Shilling Overnight Interbank Average. It is Kenya’s newly adopted risk-free reference rate, designed to reflect the real cost of short-term money in the banking system. In simple terms, KESONIA tracks the average interest rate at which banks lend…

Rwanda-based fintech startup Kayko has raised $1.2 million in seed funding. The fresh funding will be used to expand its mission of improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through data-driven insights. The round was backed by Burrow Capital, the Luxembourg Development Agency, Hanga Ignite by BRD and develoPPP Ventures. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. Kayko was founded to address a persistent challenge across African markets where millions of small businesses operate daily, generating sales, managing inventory and paying taxes, yet remain invisible to traditional financial institutions…

Swedfund is investing USD 20 million in the Helios Climate, Energy, Adaptation and Resilience (CLEAR) Fund to support efforts that limit climate change and help communities adapt to its effects. The fund backs African companies that reduce emissions, strengthen resilience and create green jobs.  Africa contributes less than three percent of global carbon emissions but faces some of the most severe climate impacts. At the same time, the continent’s energy demand is expected to triple by 2050. Swedfund’s investment in Helios CLEAR will help channel capital to businesses that drive low-carbon growth in areas such as renewable energy, sustainable transport,…

Specs used to win. Faster chips, bigger batteries, and camera megapixels were the language of product launches. Today, those numbers are table stakes. What actually persuades people to choose, and keep, a device is how it feels: the visual calm it brings to a crowded pocket of apps, the tactile confidence in a palm, the little details that make everyday interactions effortless. Samsung’s recent work is a textbook example of this shift: the company is deliberately moving beyond raw performance and investing in minimalist aesthetics, material innovation, and rigorous ergonomics to create devices that look premium and behave as if…

BasiGo has expanded its electric bus infrastructure in Nairobi with the launch of three new charging depots and a dedicated service centre.  The new depots are located in Komarock, Taj Mall (Pipeline) and Riruta. A fourth facility is expected to open in Juja before the end of the year. Each depot has high-capacity DC fast chargers with GB/T and CCS2 connectors. These can charge up to 100 buses daily through sequential charging. The new depots are designed to keep buses on the road longer by minimizing downtime during charging and ensuring more efficient operations. “We are building the essential infrastructure…

As the results are analysed from the release of the latest global threat intelligence report from NETSCOUT, we find that Kenya is once more the East African country with the most Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks during the first half of 2025, ranked third in across the continent overall following South Africa and Morocco. “When we look at Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Djibouti and South Sudan, it becomes apparent that as the digital landscape evolves across the region, so too do the top targeted sectors across each country,” explains Bryan Hamman, regional director for Africa at NETSCOUT. “This shows the adaptability and focus of…

Tether has announced a strategic investment in Kenya’s Kotani Pay. Kotani Pay is a Kenyan-based fintech building Web3 on-ramp and off-ramp infrastructure across Africa. This partnership will help expand access to digital assets, enhance financial inclusion and lower barriers to participation in the global economy. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. Kotani Pay has quickly emerged as a leading player in Africa’s blockchain ecosystem. It provides the technological rails that connect Web3 users to traditional financial systems. Its infrastructure allows individuals and businesses to easily convert between local currencies and digital…

Wireless earbuds have become essential everyday gadgets from listening to music, calls,or content on the go. The good news is that you no longer have to spend a fortune to get quality sound, decent battery life, and useful features like noise cancellation or water resistance. If your budget is not more than KSh 10,000, there are solid choices from established brands that won’t feel like a compromise. We have rounded up five earbuds, each from a different brand, released in 2024 and 2025 and available in Kenya today. Redmi Buds 6 Pro – Great ANC for the Price Xiaomi has…

Cairo-based artificial intelligence startup Nanovate has raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round. The raise comes just nine months after the company officially began operations. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. Nanovate was founded by Nancy Madbouly and Ahmed Gamal, and is building Arabic-native voice and chat AI systems that help businesses automate customer engagement and internal workflows. The company’s technology supports 22 Arabic dialects. This makes it one of the few startups in the region developing end-to-end Arabic AI models. Nanovate’s work has already attracted backing from MINT Incubator…

Kenya has launched the drafting process for a National Data Governance Policy. The initiative is led by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, in partnership with the European Union (EU) and Germany’s GIZ Digital Transformation Centre. The drafting process was officially launched by Dr. Boniface Makokha, Principal Secretary for Economic Planning, alongside Eng. John Tanui, Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy. In his keynote, Dr. Makokha said that data is the “lifeblood of modern planning and decision making.” He stressed how data flows across ministries, counties and both the public and private sectors. Eng. Tanui…