Ousmane Bah, a New York teen has sued Apple for USD 1 Billion after a case of mistaken identity courtesy of Apple’s facial recognition software. The lawsuit, filed this Monday, claims that Mr. Bah’s driver’s permit (which did not have a photo of his face), was stolen, and was then…
Author: Charity Mbaka
It’s a wrap. Global eCommerce giant, Amazon has announced its plans to exit the Chinese eCommerce marketplacem Amazon.cn. According to several media reports, online shoppers in the country will not be able to purchase items from Chinese vendors via the platform. In a statement, the company said, “We are notifying sellers…
Telkom Kenya has in the recent past embarked on making drastic changes to its operations and management, in a bid to better compete in Kenya’s highly competitive telecomms space. The company most recently restructured its workforce, a move that saw 500 employees exit the company. Then Telkom Kenya CEO Aldo…
Microsoft has launched the white paper for its Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa program in Kenya. When coupled with other applications, AI brings with it the potential for better streamlined processes in several sectors, among them agriculture, financial services, healthcare and public services. Microsoft launched its AI for Good series…
NIC Bank subsidiary, NIC Ventures has partnered with Masterpiece Fusion to unveil BeeDee, an online platform designed to offer NIC Bank customers and non-customers an easier, quicker and more efficient self-service process for requesting and receiving bid bonds. Bid bonds are are debt secured by firms from banks, and are a…
Kenyan health financing tech company, CarePay, has announced a partnership with Aga Khan Health Services(AKHS) where it would extend its M-TIBA platform panel, conduct software integration and develop more programmes promoting healthcare inclusion in the country. The M-TIBA panel will now under the deal be extended to the outreach centers of…
KCB Bank Kenya in partnership with Union Pay, one of the world’s leading payment service providers have yet again enhanced the payment options for their local and international mutual customers. Customers can now make payments from the UnionPay App as well as Apple Pay on KCB Point of Sale (POS) terminals regionally…
Singapore-based C2C marketplace Carousell joins other companies in the investment portfolio of South Africa’s Naspers. Naspers’ OLX Group has invested $56m in Carousell in a deal that will see the company’s valuation rocket to US $550 million. Carousell will acquire OLX Phillipines to better serve Filipino community. The two will merge…
Snapchat has announced the rolling out of the freshly rebuilt Snapchat app for Android which will reportedly be faster and include several bug fixes. The rebuild has been in the mills since early last year (2018), aiming to bring the app’s Android version up to par with its iOS counterpart…
Standard Chartered Bank yesterday launched Africa eXellerator, an innovation hub geared towards driving fintech innovation in Africa. The hub, located at the bank’s head office in Westlands, Nairobi, is powered by SC Ventures, and complements similar hubs in San Francisco, Singapore, London, and Hong Kong. Standard Chartered Kenya’s CEO, Kariuki Ngari said,“We…
Kenya based fintech firm Jambo Pay has agreed to extend its revenue collection contract with Nairobi County by 30 more days after its expiry on April 7th. Acting County Secretary Pauline Kahiga said this extension will enable City Hall to migrate to its internal revenue collection system. “We have agreed to extend…
Netflix users in the US have been receiving emails from the streaming service provider informing them of an impending price hike. Netflix is no longer the single largest player in the streaming business, with the rise of Apple TV, Hulu, Disney TV and the likes Netflix will have to find…
Nairobi City Hall is staring a potential financial crisis in the face after JamboPay has refused to renew its contract to collect revenues for the county. County residents will thus be left without a platform to pay levies. The firm is set to disable all payment services to the County come…
Kigali-based Westerwelle Startup Haus has accepted 10 Rwandan Startups to participate in its entrepreneurship program. Startup Haus was launched in October of 2018 by the Westerwelle Foundation and Evonik, both of which are German-based. In partnership with the Make-IT in Africa initiative, it provides startups in Rwanda with access to infrastructure…
Nigerian-based logistics firm Kobo360 has announced its plans for expansion into East Africa, beginning with Kenya. Kobo360 co-founder Ife Oyedele said at the past Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, “Kenya is the hub of East Africa, it is the most innovative market in Technology, and if we win here, we have succeeded…
Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Solar Company Azuri Technologies is the 2019 winner of the Global Sustainable Development Goals Award. This is owing to its innovative use of technology to provide clean and affordable energy to rural off-grid areas in Africa. Azuri Technologies brings together solar and mobile payment technologies in order to distribute solar…
Kenya-based Twiga Foods has announced the appointment of its new CEO, Peter Njonjo, who previously headed Coca-Cola’s West and Central African business units for 21 years. Twiga Foods is a mobile-based, cashless, business-to-business (B2B) supply platform that links farmers with food vendors. The start-up sources fruits and vegetables from some…
Nigerian startup Sendbox has secured funding from early-stage fund Microtraction. The startup provides its customers with an array of services including delivery, escrow payments and authentic reviews for those who use social media platforms for e-commerce. The startup founded by Emotu Balogun and Olusegun Afolahan, provides a means for its users…
West Africa-based pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar company, PEG Africa, has raised a US$25 million Series C funding round, bumping up its total funding to US$50 million so far, which allows it a firmer grip on the pioneer and market leader in the region with regard to PAYG solar energy. The firm…
Safaricom has announced the sealed deal with Aliexpress to use M-Pesa to make payments for purchases made on China-based site, Aliexpress. Aliexpress is run by Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group. M-Pesa which launched in 2007has promoted financial inclusivity by being the go-to cash transfer and savings platform for low income Kenyans…