Author: Kaluka wanjala

African healthtech startups have secured four new strategic partnerships aimed at expanding access to healthcare, strengthening pharmaceutical supply chains and improving digital pharmacy regulation across the continent. The deals were announced by Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) during its fourth annual Access to Markets (A2M) event, held alongside the Africa HealthTech Summit. Speaking at this year’s event, Oladunni Lawal, Investing in Innovation Lead, said: “African innovators are reshaping healthcare delivery across the region, with solutions designed to address local gaps and reach the communities and patients who need them most. Through Access to Markets, we are bringing regional and global…

Vertiv has announced a major expansion of its Nové Mesto nad Váhom campus in Slovakia, reinforcing the company’s commitment to supporting growing customer demand across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The investment represents another significant milestone in Vertiv’s long-term regional and global growth strategy, following recent expansion initiatives across its manufacturing facilities in Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Malaysia, Mexico, and the United States. Together, these investments are expected to strengthen Vertiv’s ability to support customers as demand for critical digital infrastructure continues to accelerate across cloud, enterprise, colocation, and AI-driven environments. Over the next 18 to 24 months, Vertiv…

Latitude59 is returning to Kenya for the fourth consecutive year, with applications now open for its 2026 Kenya Pitch Competition. The competition is open to early-stage startups from Kenya and across Africa. It offers selected founders an opportunity to pitch on the main stage of Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2026 in Nairobi. Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2026 will take place on December 3–4 in Nairobi. December 3 will focus on investor activities and side events, while the main conference will take place on December 4. Latitude59 CEO Liisi Org said the event has continued to build connections between African startups and international…

Absa Bank Kenya has launched Absa Next, a digital finance platform that brings banking, savings, investments, credit and lifestyle services together in a single ecosystem. The platform is available to both Absa customers and non-customers. The bank says it is designed to give users greater control over their finances through a digital-first experience. Among its features, Absa Next allows customers to save and invest individually or in groups, with savings rates of up to 7% and investment returns of up to 16%, according to the bank. Users can also access instant credit ranging from KSh500 to KSh1 million for personal…

Yellow Card has appointed Ross Everett as its new Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Everett brings experience across financial services, banking and technology companies. His previous roles include Group Financial Controller at digital bank Monzo, as well as positions at Deutsche Bank, Barclays and KPMG. At Yellow Card, Everett will oversee the company’s global finance function, including financial strategy, planning and performance, reporting, treasury, capital management and financial governance. “Yellow Card has built world-class infrastructure to solve a problem every cross-border business understands, moving money quickly, cheaply and reliably,” said Ross Everett. “Having spent a significant part of my career…

Kenya Airways is collaborating with Sabre and Branchspace in rebuilding how customers book, manage and experience their travel, with a new platform that brings more tailored fares and ancillary options, easier bundling of a trip’s components, a smoother mobile and digital booking journey, and faster airport check-in. Customers and members of the Asante Rewards programme can expect quicker, more intuitive self-service tools, an upgraded rewards experience, and improved real-time rebooking during disruptions when plans change. Kenya Airways has selected Sabre to replace the core reservations and ticketing platform that has run the airline’s bookings, inventory and airport check-in for more…

NETSCOUT has announced Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectivity for its Omnis™ AI Insights solution. The new capability gives AI assistants and agents on-demand access to AI-ready Smart Data, NETSCOUT’s real-time operational evidence, providing the trusted context they need to support more accurate and informed decisions. AI-ready Smart Data builds on NETSCOUT’s patented Adaptive Service Intelligence™ (ASI) technology, using granular data to provide a richer, more scalable source of contextual network intelligence. NETSCOUT performs early semantic extraction and context optimisation at source, transforming ASI data into compact, AI-ready Smart Data before it enters downstream systems. Omnis Sensor and Omnis Streamer are key components of NETSCOUT’s Omnis AI Insights solution, moving intelligence closer to the…

Verto has partnered with Visa to launch a multi-currency corporate card aimed at helping African businesses reduce foreign exchange costs and manage international spending more efficiently. The Verto Card allows businesses to spend directly from their existing Verto multi-currency wallets without first moving funds between accounts or converting currencies. Businesses can hold and spend in 11 currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF, CAD, AUD, NZD, NOK and SEK. The card provides access to more than 160 additional currencies and offers zero FX markups on 10 major currencies. The card is targeted at businesses with international operations. These include importers,…

Africa Go Green Fund (AGG), a climate-focused debt fund managed by Cygnum Capital, has increased its financing commitment to electric mobility company Spiro by $18 million. This brings its total commitment to the company to $36 million. The additional financing builds on an $18 million debt facility closed in December 2025, alongside a $7 million commitment from Nithio. Spiro says it has deployed more than 135,000 electric motorcycles and completed more than 50 million battery swaps across its markets as of September 2026. The new financing will support the deployment of additional electric motorcycles and expansion of Spiro’s battery-swapping infrastructure…

NCBA Group has introduced a fully integrated private motor insurance solution on the LOOP App, enabling customers to compare quotes, complete underwriting, purchase cover, renew policies and access policy documents within a single platform. Developed through a collaboration between NCBA Group subsidiaries LOOP DFS and NCBA Insurance, the solution reflects the Group’s commitment to simplifying financial services through technology and creating seamless customer experiences across its digital ecosystem. The launch underscores NCBA Group’s commitment to embedding additional financial services within digital channels that customers already use. Beyond enhancing convenience, the initiative supports broader efforts to increase insurance uptake in Kenya,…