Author: Kaluka wanjala

Google, in partnership with leading African universities and community organizations, today unveiled WAXAL, a large-scale speech dataset aimed at bringing over 100 million Africans into the AI-powered digital future. Voice technologies have largely bypassed Africa due to the scarcity of high-quality speech data. WAXAL addresses this gap with 1,250 hours of transcribed, natural speech and over 20 hours of high-fidelity studio recordings across 21 Sub-Saharan languages, including Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Luganda, and Acholi. “The ultimate impact of WAXAL is the empowerment of people in Africa,” said Aisha Walcott-Bryantt, Head of Google Research Africa. “This dataset provides the critical foundation for…

Vertiv today announced the launch of Vertiv Next Predict, an AI-powered managed service that fundamentally transforms data centre maintenance. Moving beyond traditional time-based and reactive models, the service industrialises operations by analysing asset behaviour before risks materialise. Vertiv Next Predict is the latest advancement in Vertiv’s integrated AI infrastructure portfolio, designed to deliver predictive intelligence across power, cooling, and IT systems—creating a unified, resilient foundation for AI-driven data centres. As AI workloads reshape the data centre landscape, facilities require improved visibility and control across critical infrastructure to maintain operational continuity and performance at scale. Implementing advanced analytics and predictive maintenance strategies…

Airtel Africa has reported strong financial and operational performance for the period ended December 31, 2025. The company has also reported that its total customer base growing by 10% to reach 179.4 million users across its African markets. The telco group says the growth is being driven by a customer-centric strategy focused on network investment, digitisation and new partnerships. These efforts are translating into higher data usage, rising smartphone adoption and rapid expansion of its mobile money ecosystem. Airtel Africa’s revenues rose to $4.67 billion, representing 24.6% growth in constant currency and 28.3% in reported currency. Profit after tax jumped…

Kenyan hardware and construction suppliers are getting a major upgrade in how small businesses access working capital. tabb, a trade credit infrastructure company, has announced a strategic partnership with Doshi, one of Kenya’s leading providers of steel, electrical, water, and hardware solutions. The move brings Doshi into Tabb’s growing supplier network, allowing SMEs to buy stock using bank-issued, interest-free revolving credit lines. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. SMEs make up about 90% of businesses in Africa and account for roughly 60% of employment. Even with this, they face an estimated…

Moroccan and French mobility startup Enakl has raised $2.3 million in seed funding to expand its shared transport services and launch a new Software as a Service (SaaS) platform for transport operators and policymakers. The round was finalised in December 2025, following a $1.4 million pre-seed raise in December 2024. The seed round brings in three new Moroccan investors, Azur Innovation Fund, Witamax, and MFounders, alongside returning backers Catalyst Fund and Digital Africa. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. Enakl says the new capital will be used to strengthen its commercial…

Abci-Nexus, the technology-enabled holding company behind Bboxx, has announced the launch of Asopo Technologies, a new software-focused business that will take the group’s proprietary Pulse platform to market as a standalone B2B SaaS product. The move marks a major structural evolution for Abci-Nexus and reflects a broader shift: separating its retail and consumer operations from its software and infrastructure layer, so each can scale faster and more efficiently. Pulse was originally built to power Bboxx’s distributed, asset-financed business model across Africa. It integrates mobile money, credit operations, device and asset tracking into a single AI-powered system. Pulse will be offered…

Binance has launched a new community-focused initiative in Kenya that seeks to promote both physical and digital safety. Dubbed the “Safety Campaign,” the initiative was unveiled in Nairobi during Data Privacy Week and connects common safety habits like wearing a helmet or double-checking your fare, with the practices users need to protect their digital assets. At the heart of the activation was an outreach program for boda boda riders, one of Kenya’s most visible and vulnerable working communities. Binance distributed safety helmets and reflective gear while also educating riders on road safety and digital financial protection. “Wearing a helmet is…

Huawei today officially kicked off the Huawei ICT Competition 2025/2026 Regional Final Bootcamp Training, bringing together 21 exceptional students selected from nearly 3,000 applicants from universities and TVET institutions across Kenya. The rigorous national selection process identified top-performing students from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), University of Nairobi (UoN), Africa Nazarene University (ANU), Multimedia University (MMU), Technical University of Kenya (TUK), Moi University, Machakos University, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, and for the first time ever, a team from PC Kinyanjui Technical Training Institute a significant milestone for TVET participation in advanced ICT competitions.…

Oracle is set to launch its first public cloud region in Kenya. The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) region will be hosted at iXAfrica Data Centre in Nairobi, making it the first in East Africa to offer Oracle’s full public cloud services locally. A local OCI region means Kenyan companies, startups, and government institutions will be able to run cloud workloads inside the country instead of relying on servers in Europe or South Africa. That translates into: In practical terms, banks, telcos, e-commerce firms, health platforms, and AI startups can now build and scale on Oracle’s cloud without pushing sensitive data…

Nigeria’s Zenith Bank Plc is officially entering the Kenyan banking market after receiving regulatory approval to acquire 100 percent of Paramount Bank Limited according to the Business Daily. The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) approved the transaction on the condition that Zenith Bank retains Paramount Bank’s current staff for at least 12 months after the deal is completed. According to the regulator, the acquisition will not harm competition in the banking sector or raise public interest concerns. “The Authority approved the proposed acquisition of 100 percent shareholding of Paramount Bank Limited by Zenith Bank Plc, on condition that the acquirer…