Author: Kaluka wanjala

If you’ve ever bought traditional stocks before, you’re familiar with the practical side of owning shares in a publicly listed company. Open a brokerage account, place an order during market hours, and shares sit in that account until it’s time to sell. The system works well, but it can be rigid for some investors: the benefits of owning shares – dividends, voting rights, lending – stay within the brokerage environment, while trading is capped by market hours. A new format is now emerging, one that takes the familiar idea of stock ownership onto the blockchain. Tokenized securities, which are now…

Airtel Kenya has appointed Djibril Tobe as its new Managing Director. He is succeeding Ashish Malhotra, who is taking up a new role as Chief Executive Officer for Africa at Indus Towers. Tobe brings more than two decades of experience across the telecommunications, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and consulting sectors, having worked in multiple African markets. Before his appointment, he was the Managing Director of Airtel Congo B. Before that, he held several leadership positions within the Airtel Group, including Managing Director of Airtel Chad and Commercial Director at Airtel Burkina Faso. His career also includes leadership roles at Expresso…

Open Startup has unveiled The Science Road, a new strategic direction aimed at accelerating science, deep technology and research-led innovation across Africa by helping promising ventures transition from research into globally competitive businesses. The announcement marks the organization’s 10th anniversary since its founding in Tunisia in 2016 and signals a shift toward supporting startups developing solutions in healthcare, climate technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and related sectors. According to Open Startup, The Science Road consolidates its existing programs into a unified acceleration platform designed to connect African scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and industry partners. The initiative also introduces Openers First, a new…

Safaricom’s fixed internet market share has grown to 35.5% and its fibre subscriber base has reached 941,501 customers, according to the latest sector statistics released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). The telco added more than 83,000 new fixed broadband subscribers between December 2025 and March 2026, according to the regulator’s Third Quarter Sector Statistics Report for the 2025/26 financial year. This pushed its market share up from 34.9% recorded in the previous quarter. According to the CA, Jamii Telecommunications Limited (Faiba) remains the second-largest provider with a 20.1% market share, followed by Wananchi Group (Zuku) at 11.1%, while…

Deloitte, IBM and Red Hat have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at helping enterprises strengthen the security of their software supply chains. The partnership brings Deloitte on board as an integration collaborator for Lightwell, an enterprise open source security initiative developed by IBM and Red Hat. The collaboration combines software engineering, cyber risk management and automation to help organisations identify, prioritise and remediate vulnerabilities faster without disrupting business operations. The announcement comes as enterprises continue to rely on a growing mix of internally developed applications, open source software and third-party commercial software. This interconnected software ecosystem has expanded the attack…

Absa Bank Kenya Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Abdi Mohamed will step down from the role effective 30 June 2026. The bank’s Board announced Monday that Mohamed is leaving to pursue other career opportunities after serving as CEO for the past three years. He previously held several senior leadership positions within the Absa Group, including Managing Director of Absa Bank Tanzania. The Board has appointed Chief Financial Officer Yusuf Omari as Interim Managing Director and CEO from 1 July 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The executive transition comes at a significant time for the lender. Absa Group is currently…

Kenya is exploring potential collaboration with Anthropic to examine how frontier AI can be applied to address key national development priorities. These include education, healthcare, agriculture and language diversity. The discussions were revealed by Ambassador Philip Thigo, Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology, following a series of meetings with Elizabeth Kelly, Anthropic’s Head of Beneficial Deployments and members of her team. “Discussions centered on identifying practical use cases of AI that could help solve real-world challenges facing Kenya, stressing the importance of responsible and locally relevant AI deployments,” said Thigo. “I had a series of productive calls with Elizabeth Kelly, Head…

4G Capital has surpassed US$1 billion in working capital loans disbursed to small businesses across Kenya and Uganda. Since its launch in 2013, the company says it has supported around 800,000 entrepreneurs through more than 7.6 million working capital loans. 4G Capital combines working capital financing with business skills training and a technology-driven lending platform designed specifically for small businesses. The company says its proprietary AI-powered lending system enables relationship officers to assess businesses based on their trading cycles. This allowes for more tailored loan sizes while maintaining responsible lending practices. The fintech currently operates through a network of more…

Mastercard has expanded its global lifestyle platform, Priceless.com, to Africa, giving cardholders access to curated travel experiences across nine destinations as the company looks to tap into growing demand for experiential tourism on the continent. The new Priceless Africa offering covers South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Mastercard cardholders can now book experiences spanning culture, food, wildlife and adventure while also accessing the company’s travel-related benefits. “Africa is one of the most culturally diverse and creatively inspiring destinations in the world, and today’s travellers are seeking moments that are deeply human and rooted in local…

Little has integrated the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) into its platform. The development was announced at the launch of the Little x KRA eTIMS Tax Compliance Awareness Campaign.  The initiative seeks to promote tax compliance among businesses and individuals through digital solutions. This will make it easier for corporate customers to get KRA-compliant invoices for ride-hailing transactions. Speaking on this, Little Cab Corporate Affairs Manager Nyawira Maina, said, “Businesses today require seamless and transparent systems that support both operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. By integrating with eTIMS, we are making it easier for our…