Author: Kaluka wanjala

Kenya Airways’ revenue grew 9% to KSh81 billion for the six months to June 30, 2026. The national carrier attributed the growth to resilient passenger demand, stronger aircraft utilisation and improved commercial performance. Its cabin factor improved by four percentage points, while average coupon values remained strong. However, higher operating costs continued to weigh on the airline’s financial performance. Fuel Costs and Fleet Constraints Weigh on Performance Kenya Airways’ fuel costs costs were up 32% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. This is as a result of higher jet fuel prices driven by tensions in the Middle East. Fuel…

NCBA has partnered with electric mobility company BasiGo to finance the deployment of 1,000 electric vans, targeting public transport operators, businesses and institutions across Kenya. The partnership will provide tailored financing through asset financing and leasing, allowing BasiGo to scale production and lease electric vehicles to PSV SACCOs, established operators and individual customers. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. The deal makes NCBA the first local investor to finance BasiGo. Financing options for PSV operators Under the partnership, PSV SACCOs and established PSV companies can access financing of up to 90%…

Ventures Platform has announced the final close of its second institutional fund, Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II (VP PAF II), at $84 million, exceeding its initial $75 million target. The oversubscribed fund closed three years after the firm’s first institutional fund. Ventures Platform said the raise reflects continued institutional confidence in Africa’s technology and innovation ecosystem. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. EBRD, Norfund and new family offices join investor base The latest close brings several new institutional investors into Ventures Platform’s limited partner base, including the European Bank for Reconstruction…

Africa-focused voice technology company Intron has launched Sahara v2.5. This is an updated voice AI platform designed to better understand how Africans naturally communicate, including conversations that switch between languages. The release introduces bilingual speech recognition or code-switching, across 12 African languages, including Swahili, Zulu, Hausa and Luganda. Intron says its benchmarks show Sahara outperforming models from Gemini, ElevenLabs and Meta across the 12 languages tested. The company has also introduced what it describes as the world’s first African trilingual speech-recognition model supporting switching between Kinyarwanda, English and French. Intron says the technology is based on proprietary algorithms for which…

Kenya has opened applications for a new Kenya Artificial Intelligence Accelerator Programme, seeking artificial intelligence use cases that can improve public service delivery and support the country’s green transition. The programme is targeting public institutions, startups and innovators, as well as universities and research institutions with high-potential AI solutions that have a clear path towards real-world implementation and measurable impact. The call was highlighted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), alongside partners including the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, Konza Technopolis, the Regional Centre of Competence for Digital and AI Skilling in the Public Sector, and…

Google has announced the expansion of its AI-powered learning tools across Africa, offering eligible higher education students in 27 countries 12 months of Google AI Plus at no cost. The offer is available to students in countries including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. It will give them access to Google’s Gemini AI tools, higher usage limits and 400GB of cloud storage across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. Students can use the tools to support research, coursework, revision and other academic tasks, subject to Google’s eligibility and student verification requirements. AI tools built for learning The Google AI Plus student…

Smartphone users are more likely than PC users to regularly clean up and update their devices. With that said, both groups lag when it comes to essential cybersecurity practices, according to a new global survey by Kaspersky. The 2026 study surveyed 7,200 people across 18 countries and found that 77% of smartphone users regularly update their operating systems and apps, compared with 53% of PC users. Smartphone users were also more likely to remove unused applications. 73% say they delete rarely used apps compared with 47% of PC users. Similarly, 72% of smartphone users regularly manage or delete photos and…

 NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks have announced a multi-year strategic alliance designed to help organizations securely adopt AI, modernize cybersecurity, simplify complex technology environments and build cyber resilience for the AI era. As Palo Alto Networks first strategic alliance of this kind with a global systems integrator, the agreement, which targets $1 billion in joint business by the end of three years (2029), combines Palo Alto Networks AI-powered cybersecurity platforms with NTT DATA’s consulting, engineering and managed services. Leveraging joint engineering, co-innovation and coordinated global delivery, the alliance will help clients assess cyber risk, deploy AI securely and continuously…

Ticketmaster has entered the Kenyan market through ticketing platform Quicket. The partnership will bring fully digital ticketing to Kenyan events, with the platform integrating M-Pesa and Airtel Money to simplify ticket purchases while helping organisers reduce fraud and speed up entry. Quicket will also leverage Ticketmaster’s global event distribution network across platforms including Spotify, Google, Meta, Bandsintown and Apple Music, allowing Kenyan events to reach audiences where they already discover music and entertainment. The company is also developing WhatsApp-based ticketing and AI-powered tools aimed at making event discovery and ticket purchases easier. Quicket is already working with Kenyan entertainment and…

Visa, _able and Onafriq join forces to help grow Visa Flex Credential across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), including the African markets. The collaboration will enable financial institutions to explore offering credit alongside existing prepaid and debit credentials through a single card. Visa Flex Credential allows issuers to provide customers with multiple funding sources through one card, potentially giving existing debit and prepaid cardholders access to credit without requiring a separate card. Under the partnership, _able will provide credit enablement infrastructure, while Onafriq will support payment processing for eligible prepaid card implementations through its pan-African…