Author: Kaluka wanjala

The UAE’s newly announced US$1 billion AI for Development initiative could provide Kenya with a rare opportunity to move from ambitious AI policy to real-world implementation. The initiative was unveiled during the G20 Summit by H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The announcement comes at a critical moment for Kenya. In March, the government launched its National AI Strategy 2025–2030, positioning the country as Africa’s leading AI hub for model innovation, research and applied solutions that drive economic growth and social inclusion. Crucially, the strategy acknowledges that partnerships-not isolation-will determine Africa’s AI…

MYDAWA has completed a major upgrade of its website and mobile applications, aimed at delivering a more secure, reliable and intuitive healthcare experience for customers. This was revealed by MYDAWA’s CEO, Al Theuri,on LinkedIn.  The upgrade followed more than 16 months of development and testing. There were some challenges initially that affected sign-ins, order placements and delivery timelines. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. The issues were primarily linked to the order management system and intermittent app-specific glitches according to the CEO. The MYDAWA team deployed fixes across the web platform,…

TechArena is set to break the story of a new documentary series from BeyondTheCode.ai and XRAgency.co that tells Africa’s blockchain and AI story through a cultural lens, filmed live around the Cardano Africa Tech Summit (CATS) at Africa Tech Summit Nairobi. The series will spotlight how Cardano, working with Wada.org and The Blockchain Center Nairobi, is positioning Nairobi as a key hub for decentralized innovation.​ The BeyondTheCode.ai docu‑series will follow developers, founders and creatives as they plug into blockchain and AI infrastructure supported by Cardano Catalyst and the Cardano Foundation, turning Nairobi into a live stage for Africa’s innovation story.…

Vertiv and GreenScale, a developer of hyperscale data centre campuses, have announced a strategic collaboration to deliver factory-integrated data centre platforms engineered for next-generation AI workloads in Europe. Following a competitive pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) process, GreenScale selected Vertiv as its preferred provider for standardised, prefabricated Vertiv OneCore hybrid-built data centres. While GreenScale will manage slab-down construction and site-wide infrastructure, Vertiv will provide AI-ready data centre modules engineered to support liquid-cooled deployments of NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GB200/300 graphic processing units (GPUs), including next-generation Vera Rubin GPUs. “AI workloads demand density and speed,” said Vedran Brzic, VP infrastructure solutions business EMEA, Vertiv. “By integrating the…

Safaricom has officially listed its Green Bond on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). According to the company, 2,453 individual investors accounted for 96% of all applications. This highlights the growing retail appetite for capital markets products when access barriers are lowered. Nearly six in ten applications were submitted via USSD, with payments completed through M-PESA. Safaricom received total applications worth KES 41.4 billion but will take up KES 20 billion in the first tranche of its Domestic Medium-Term Note (MTN) programme. The offer was oversubscribed by 175 percent, signalling strong market confidence in the telco’s financial position and long-term strategy.…

BasiGo has officially opened a new electric vehicle charging site at the Shell Athi River service station. The Athi River site becomes BasiGo’s third charging location hosted at a Shell service station in Kenya, following earlier launches at Shell Waiyaki Way and Shell New Gatitu in Thika. The company says the new site is strategically positioned to support electric buses operating along the Kitengela and greater Athi River corridor. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. The charging station supports CCS2 and GB/T DC charging standards. This supports charging of up to…

Airtel Money has integrated its mobile wallet with Showmax. With this integration, customers in Kenya will be able to pay for their streaming subscriptions directly from their Airtel Money wallets. The new integration enables Airtel Money users to subscribe to Showmax, renew existing plans or activate new subscriptions without leaving the platform. Customers can now pay instantly for Showmax Entertainment, Showmax Entertainment Mobile and Showmax Premier League Mobile using their mobile money balance. “Through this partnership with Showmax, we are providing a smooth and reliable payment experience that delivers a fast, safe, and convenient way for customers to stay connected…

NBA Africa has announced the five prize-winning startups from the second edition of the NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator, a program designed to support Africa’s growing technology ecosystem and the next generation of entrepreneurs. The winners were unveiled on December 5 during a Demo Day held at Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) in Kigali, Rwanda. The accelerator attracted over 700 applications from startups across 32 African countries. Out of all applicants, 10 finalists were selected to pitch their solutions to a panel of international industry leaders. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here.…

When Josh Whale talks about electric mobility in Africa, he does not sound like a CEO pushing a trend. We had a chat with Josh Whale, Ampersand’s co-founder and CEO, to hear firsthand about the journey, challenges and innovations behind Africa’s electric mobility shift. Ampersand’s story formally starts in Rwanda in 2019 when the company launched its first commercial electric motorcycle. Behind that public debut were two years of intense R&D that began around 2017. Since then, the company has grown from a handful of prototypes to a fleet of roughly 8,000 active riders across East Africa, including more than…

Visa brought together founders, investors, corporate partners and industry leaders in Cape Town on 1 December for the fourth cohort of the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator Demo Day. The showcase marked the end of a three-month program that supported 22 high-growth fintech startups working to scale digital commerce solutions across the continent. The startups represent 12 markets and operate across 31 countries. Women-led innovation featured strongly, with eight female founders in the group and most of the participating companies having women in leadership roles. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. With…