Author: Francis Muli

TikTok is rolling out the pilot of its Stories feature which has been in testing for a while now. The feature mimics the already existing Stories feature in a some social media platforms such as Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The Stories will last 24 hours before they are deleted automatically and can be viewed by visiting a user’s profile and clicking on their profile picture. Creators will be able to see how many people have viewed the Stories, but not their identities. Viewers can however like the stories and leave a public comment. To share a story, tap the…

Kenya-based fintech firm 4G Capital has raised $18.5 million (Sh2.1 billion) in a Series C funding from global private equity firm Lightrock. The company which provides unsecured lending to micro businesses will use the funds to expand its market and grow profits by rolling out new products and services including an increased credit limit of $1000 with a longer repayment period from the current one month limit. Lightrock’s partner Shakir Merali also joins the 4G Capital Board of Directors. “Often used to justify the backing of many African companies, ‘financial inclusion’ has not always translated into positive outcomes for customers.…

Nigerian Instagram celebrity Hushpuppi is facing fresh charges after prosecutors revealed that he had committed additional crimes while behind bars. According to court documents shared on social media, the celebrity whose real name is Ramon Abbas was involved in committing internet fraud after he was granted internet access. Hushpuppi reportedly requested for a dedicated computer where he proceeded to commit the offences between March 7 and March 13 2022. The detectives monitoring his activities established that Hushpuppi was purchasing debit cards from an underground cyber criminal marketplace that sells stimulus cards. The site which has since been taken down, stimuluscard.com,…

Instagram is rolling out parental controls for under-age users on the platform. The company CEO Adam Mosseri said this was the first set of parental supervision tools that will allow guardians and parents to monitor teens using the app. Mosseri said parents and guardians will be able to view and set limits on the amount of time the teens are spending on the Instagram, get updates on accounts the teens are following, who is following them and the accounts they are reporting. Read: Religious Leaders Urge Zuckerberg to Discontinue Development of Instagram for Kids Last year, Meta attracted backlash…

Netflix is testing a new feature that could finally end password-sharing among members from different households. The streaming company said it will start prompting users to pay extra fees to add members from a different household. “While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.” Netflix Director of Product innovation Chengyi Long said. Read: Tsavo National Park Featured in Netflix Documentary Created and Narrated by…

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has proposed a set of regulations to oversee the country’s online pharmacy services. Onesmus Kilonzo, the board’s Head of Western Region, stated that present laws do not apply to health services provided online and that it is important to improve the rules’ requirements to match those of the international market. Kilonzo said that a large population of consumers now preferred online services and health services such as consultation, selling of medicines and drugs, prescription, counselling and therapeutic management had become digitized. “With the advancement in technology, we saw it necessary to come-up with new…

The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), has announced the recruitment of the first cohort of twenty-five businesses in the Kenya-US Small and Medium Enterprises Trade Initiative. The twenty-five local SMEs, looking to either scale up globally or grow exports to the US market, will be provided with sector specific information on business opportunities in the US markets. This is in addition to imports and exports business exchanges among other initiatives aimed at improving market access and linkages between SMES in the two countries. Speaking during the virtual launch Florie Liser, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Corporate Council on Africa…

Kenyan Universities will soon be able to access electric bikes and scooter services from ride-hailing app, Little Cab. The company is piloting the services at the University of Nairobi and Nairobi estates first as it seeks to diversify its offering beyond ride and delivery services. Little will roll out the first 200 e-scooters and electric bikes to the Universities including Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Kenyatta University (KU). According to CEO of Little, Mr Kamal Budhabhatti, the company will partner with the universities to allow students manage the bikes and ensure that they are charged. Read:…

Web developers will soon be able to register domains through Google. The tech giant is finally rolling out its Google Domains service after seven years of it being stuck in the beta stage. The service has been rolled out in 26 countries and Google says it already has millions of active registrations. Currently, Google Domains allows users in the 26 countries to pick from about 300 domain endings such as .com, .net, .org among others. The company says it is using its own infrastructure meaning users will have a high performance DNS with access to around-the-clock customer support from real…

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has warned Kenyans that if their Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards are not registered by the end of April, they will lose their lines and telecoms services will be halted. According to CA’s Telecom Compliance, Licensing and Standards Director Julius Lenaseiyan, the agency is enforcing the rules after a large number of unregistered SIM cards were sold to people in the country by unlicensed operators and agents. “A person who intends to register a SIM-card shall provide verifiable registration particulars which include a national ID for citizens and passports for refugees and other outsiders,”…

Telegram has rolled out new visual and functional changes in its latest update. The new download manager features redesigned attachment menus that display the download status as well as the download priority controls. Telegram Channels can now broadcast live streams using tools like OBS Studio and XSplit Broadcaster thanks to the new Live Streaming with Other Apps capability. Read also: Telegram Rolls Out Video Stickers, Extra Emoji and Better Reactions in Latest Update New updates for iOS users also include a new attachment menu that allows users to select multiple photos or files to share with contacts. Android users are…

Russia has banned Instagram, effectively locking out a majority of the country’s population from the photo sharing platform. The country has already banned a number of social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter in an effort to control the flow of information regarding the war with neighbouring Ukraine. Last week, Meta announced that it would relax its hate speech policy to allow Facebook and Instagram users from other countries to call for violence against Russian soldiers and President Vladimir Putin. In a retaliatory move, the country decided to ban the platforms, cutting off communication between Russia and the rest of…

Kenyan Film Extended Reality (XR) creator, Michelle Angawa is among six finalists of the Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds’ program by Facebook and Non-profit organization, Africa No Filter. Winners of the programme focused on harnessing and investing in the next generation of XR creators in Africa were selected from Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius and Cameroon. Each creative will receive up to Sh3.4 million in financing as part of the ‘Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds’ program, as well as opportunities to attend XR-industry events to develop their creativity and drive interest in their projects. Electric South and Imisi3D…

Two years ago, WhatsApp announced that it would start labelling messages that had been forwarded many times as a way to curb misinformation. The company is now working on limiting the number of times the messages can be forwarded as a way to boost its efforts against misinformation. A new update on WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.22.7.2 now indicates that messages marked as ‘forwarded’ can only be forwarded to one group chat at a time. From the screenshot below, once  message has been forwarded once, it is not possible to forward it to another group chat again. Read: Google…

Instagram will henceforth allow users to pick moderators when they are live. The moderators will be able to report comments, remove viewers from the stream and turn off comments for specific viewers. During a Live, Instagram users can assign a moderator by tapping the three dots in the comment area. They can then choose a moderator from a list of suggested accounts or search for a specific account on the search bar. Although Live has been around for more than five years, moderation was limited to the creator. However, since it has become such an integral feature on Instagram, moderation…