According to research by Cable (www.cable.co.uk) the East African nation of Kenya has been ranked 21st in countries with the cheapest mobile data in 2021 for Sub Saharan Africa out of a total of 47 countries. Based on the research, Kenya is ranked behind Sudan, Somalia, Ghana, Tanzania, and Mauritius, which are currently the Top 5 countries with the cheapest cost of mobile data in Sub Sahara Africa. In the world stage, Kenya is 118th on the list of countries with the cheapest mobile data which has a total of 230 countries. The research by Cable (www.cable.co.uk) revealed that the…
Author: Tobey
American technology company has began placing a 16 percent Value Added Tax(VAT) on all Google Play Store purchases carried out in Kenya. The decision by Google is as a result of the introduction of the Digital Tax Law in Kenya which was implemented in January of 2021. Since the 8th of April 2021 Google which deals primarily in services and products related to the Internet has been charging, determining, and remitting a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 16 percent for all paid application and in application purchases carried out on Play Store, in Kenya. Analysts believe that the costs of…
Fintech Startup Tala has entered into a partnership with global payments technology company; Visa. The partnership is intended to help introduce Cryptocurrencies into markets that are emerging. Both companies when announcing the partnership, revealed that the concept behind the partnership is to ensure that access to cryptocurrencies is made much easier for consumers who are unbanked. Starting with the stablecoin; USD Coin. USD Coin is governed by the Centre Consortium and backed by the United States Dollar. The USD Coin (more commonly known as USDC) is supported by the Ethereum blockchain, the Stellar blockchain, the Solana blockchain, and the Algorand…
American technology company; Uber Technologies, has announced its unveiling of electric BodaBodas and bicycles in Kenya, for its numerous earners on Uber Eats, Uber Connect, and UberBoda. The launch of said electric BodaBodas is aimed at offering more affordable and reliable means transportation within Kenya. It is also the first of its kind in Africa. All riders of Uber Technologies’ electric BodaBodas will be able to choose zero emission rides which will in turn help speed up the journey towards green recovery. Making use of the electric vehicles by Uber Technologies, will also incur the same charges and rates that…
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has prohibited 624 digital loan providers and credit-only providers from sharing any and all information on loan payments and defaults from last year, with any of the Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs). The decision is seen as a direct result of numerous complaints made by users. According to recent Data the East African nation of Kenya had 1,994 3rd data providers who were allowed to share the loan payments and loan defaults of borrowers, with the Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs). This is a 23.8 percent decline from the 2,618 companies which were licensed in the…
MultiChoice Kenya has made it known that SuperSport which is the South Africa based Pan-African group of television channels aired on the DStv satellite & GOtv terrestrial platforms and also Africa’s top aggregator of sporting content will be broadcasting the Euro 2021 games LIVE. SuperSport will also be providing premium access for all DSTV customers and GOTV customers to all of the 51 matches for the Euro 2021 that will be broadcast from 12 cities up until the finale which will take place at the Wembley stadium on the 11th of July 2021. MultiChoice also made it known that it…
AZA Finance which is a Kenyan fintech startup has been able to secure a 20 Million United States Dollar funding over the past 18 months. The startup has in addition, been able to expand to South Africa via its acquisition of the cross border payments expert; Exchange4Free. Exchange4Free is a payments technology, money transfer, and foreign exchange provider that caters to more than 50,000 private clients and corporate clients all over the world. It is officially AZA Finance’s second acquisition and is coming after it acquired TransferZero, an online money transfer platform based in Spain. Its acquisition of TransferZero took…
The East African nation of Kenya, has made public its suspension of all cargo flights as well as commercial flight to and from Somalia. The suspension first took effect on the 11th of May 2021 and will continue until the 9th of August 2021. The decision to suspend said flights will affect all scheduled flights and chartered flights to and from Somalia. The decision by Kenya will however exempt all flights from Somalia that are only passing through the Kenyan airspace to go to other destinations. All military flights which are not within the jurisdiction of the Kenya Civil Aviation…
According to news reports Fashion Tycoon; Bernard Arnault is now the Richest Person in the world. The Frenchman achieved this feat on Monday the 24th of May 2021 with a net worth (estimated of course), of 186.3 billion United States Dollars and effectively dethroned Elon Musk who is worth 147.3 billion United States Dollars. Bernard Arnault fortune increased from 76 billion United States Dollars in March of 2020 to 186.3 billion United States Dollars in May 2021 (the 24th to be precise). This represents an enormous increase of more than 110 billion United States Dollars over a period of 14…
The Kenya Railways Corporation has launched a brand new train service for all residents in Limuru and areas around it. The new services will began operations on Monday the 17th of May 2021, will be operational in the morning and evening hours, granting its commuters access to the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) and also providing convenience. The new train service will carry out stops at Dagoretti, Kibera, and Kikuyu, with the first train taking off from Limuru Town at 5:30am with an expected arrival time of 7:52am. The evening train will be leaving the Nairobi Central station at 5:50pm…
American multinational financial services company; MasterCard has acquired Ekata which is an identity verification company for 850 Million United States Dollars. The decision was executed as a result of the swift digital transformations going on in the online commerce space as a result of the still ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The move is also MasterCard’s step into strengthening its online identity management capability. With Ekata which is a software company based in Seattle, Washington, MasterCard essentially has a solution that will make it possible to verify an individual’s online identity when carrying out transactions in real-time. The software company; Ekata provides…
American technology company; Uber Technologies Inc. has made it known that it has increased its prices in Kenya and Nigeria. The decision is in response to demands by drivers in both countries for a higher percentage split of the commissions in order to properly cushion their operation costs which have significantly increased. The ride hailing service provider has added a 15 percent increase in its prices for delivery service and motorcycle ride service. Its low cost ChapChap will now pay an extra 3 Kenyan Shillings per kilometre. The spokesperson for East and West Africa; Lorraine Onduru made it known in…
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla; Elon Musk made it known yesterday the 12th of May 2021 via the social networking platform; Twitter that the American electric vehicle and clean energy company; Tesla has “suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin.” The decision is reportedly as a result of concerns over “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining.” Following the news, the price of Bitcoin experienced a significant drop and got as low as 47,000 United States Dollars per BTC. As at the time of putting this article together, its price stood at 50,979.31 United States Dollars. In a…
According to recent reports the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is gearing up to toughen its overseeing of mobile money in Kenya. This is coming at a time when the Kenyan government is also moving to further protect the billions of Kenyan Shillings that are paid through the still expanding digital service platforms. The Cabinet Secretary; Ukur Yatani made it known that the growth of numerous State services on digital platforms, has come with an increase in risks of cybercrime or fraud which could also potentially result in a sizeable loss of government revenue. In the words of the Cabinet…
