Author: Francis Muli

Social network, Meta, has launched a tool dubbed the Facebook Business Coach for small and medium sized enterprises seeking to grow their businesses. The company launched the tool in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and other non-English Speaking African countries. The Facebook Business Coach will educate entrepreneurs on how they can use Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram to grow their businesses. The tool is available on WhatsApp for free as a low-data cost educational Chatbot tool. According to Meta, users will be able to interact and converse with the bot in a simple, conversational and way. Read: Meta Adds Income-generating Features to…

Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) secretary-general Francis Atwoli has asked the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to shut down all digital lenders for allegedly exploiting Kenyans. In a statement on Tuesday, Atwoli the ‘draconian’ interest rates imposed by the mobile loan apps have impoverished Kenyans in times of economic shocks. “We would like to remind the CBK governor, who is a practising Christian, that if anything, the conduct of the digital microfinance institutions in Kenya is not only illegal but ungodly. In the name of ‘financial inclusion, the digital microfinance institutions, and by extension mobile lenders, have continued impoverishing…

Kenya’s largest telco,  Safaricom,  has evacuated a number of its employees stationed in its newest market in Ethiopia. The country has been rocked by Armed conflict and civil unrest for close to a year now. Safaricom is in the process of launching its operations in the Ethiopia after its consortium beat other contenders for a telecommunications licence. “All our staff are safe. A number have been evacuated from Ethiopia on a temporary basis whilst we assess the situation,” a top official at Safaricom who sought anonymity told Business Daily. Read: Uhuru Sings Praises For Safaricom In Ethiopia Other western nations…

Facebook is the most used medium for online based sexual exploitation of minors in Kenya. According to a report titled  ‘Disrupting harm’ by Interpol, UNICEF’s Office of Research-Innocenti and End Violence against Children, 90 percent of online child exploitation activities in the country were carried out on Facebook. The report used data collected from the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), interviews with minors, their parents, policing agencies and legal representatives.  The report also found that the perpetrators used WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube were used in the possessions, manufacture and distribution of child sex abuse imagery and…

Loan defaults have risen to Ksh441.8 billion in just eight months, according to data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). The increase in Non-performing Loans (NPLs) reverses the gains made in the post-Covid economic recovery efforts so far. As of February 2021, the NPLs stood at Ksh444.2 billion, before going down further to Ksh433.3 billion. “Repayments and recoveries were noted in the tourism, restaurants and hotels and building and construction sectors,” said CBK said in a statement. Read: CBK Suspends Listing of Borrowers with Loans Below Ksh5 Million on CRB Despite the increase in NPLs, most lenders recorded increasing profits…

The latest figures from SEACOM, a leading pan-African ICT service provider, have revealed that distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks in Africa have increased by 300 percent in 2021, compared to the same period in 2019. The continent experienced a similar spike in February 2020, coinciding with global COVID-19 related lockdowns. With the unprecedented shift toward online working, cybercriminals have had access to a larger attack surface and more vulnerable home networks. Unfortunately, this surge in attacks shows no sign of slowing down. Understanding DDoS attacks and unpacking the numbers A DDoS attack is a type of targeted cyberattack on servers and…

400 interns have been selected to join the Presidential Digital Talent Programme (PDTP) that was formed with an aim of boosting the country’s digital skilled manpower. The Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Joe Mucheru led the ICT Authority in the induction of the DigiTalent Cohort VI interns, noting that their skills will be useful in driving Kenya’s digital economy, especially within small and medium sized enterprises. “The government, through my ministry, is making tremendous efforts to increase connectivity and internet access across the country to enable uptake of technology solutions and bridge the digital divide.” Mucheru said.…

Renowned blogger Robert Alai has unveiled his manifesto even as he gears up his campaigns to become the next Nyando MP during the 2022 General Elections. The manifesto seen by this writer covers areas such as health, agriculture, arts, sports and creative economy, infrastructure, education and security. “Education will be my main agenda as accomplishing much with it will be a great honour to my father who hunted children in our village and ensured that every child who was of age went to school,” says Alai. In the education sector, Alai promises to source for bursaries and alternative funding from…

Nairobi residents and traders will start paying for county services digitally starting next month. This follows the launch of an integrated collection system dubbed the Nairobi Revenue system (NRS) The NRS was developed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services in partnership with the Kenya Revenue Authority, with plans to begin operations on December 21. The system will enable residents pay for their bus parking fees, market fees for traders, rents for county houses, land rates, public health certification among others. Read: New Bill To Do Away With Parking Fees In Hospitals “We have documented all county business processes and registered customers…

Google Doodle is today celebrating a Kenyan Professor, Okoth Okombo who was the founder of the Kenyan Sign Language Research at the University of Nairobi. Prof. Okombo passed on on November 1, 2017 and would have been 71 today. During his lifetime, he published over 30 scientific publications focusing on the structure, vocabulary and sociological aspects of the deaf in the country. Okombo’s efforts saw The implementation of the Kenyan Sign Language in schools, hospitals, churches, media houses and churches. Read: Google Celebrates Africa Day With a Doodle He also managed to implement similar projects in Uganda, Tanzania, Swaziland and South…

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) sleuths are now spending their time on social media monitoring Kenyans displaying their opulence, the taxman has revealed. According to KRA Commissioner-General Githii Mburu, the time has come for everyone to pay their fair share of taxes, including socialites and other individuals who display their opulence on social media. If found to have been lying to the taxman about their wealth, the individuals risk travel bans, collection of duty directly from their suppliers and bankers and even prosecution. Read: President Kenyatta Lauds KRA for Sustained Revenue Mobilisation The main social media sites on target list include…

GOtv has introduced a new package dubbed Supa package that offers a range of lifestyle and entertainment channels, featuring more entertainment for the kids, more drama-filled telenovelas, and more local content. The package is an upgrade with a focus on the finest entertainment for the entire family – the ultimate gift this festive season. “With the festive season fast approaching, families need affordable ways to spend time together. The launch of this entertainment-focused GOtv package will allow our subscribers to do exactly that. With more choice and greater entertainment value, the new GOtv SUPA package joins an already extensive lineup…

A 23-year-old woman and her two-year-old baby escaped death on Saturday night after her husband set their house ablaze following a domestic argument. Diana Mutiso sustained serious injuries on her face, waist and hands after she braved the raging inferno to save her son, who miraculously escaped the incident unscathed. Earlier, her husband Davis Matata, 24, had returned home drunk at around 11pm and picked a quarrel with her over an unspecified reason. Minutes later, the quarrelsome Matata reached for a bottle of Kerosene in the house and doused all household goods with the fuel before setting it ablaze. “Matata…

August 15, 2021: Lilian Ng’ang’a announces her separation from Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua. Hours later, Mutua releases a statement confirming the same, but adding something that rose curiosity; the separation was amicable and they would remain friends. In just days, Juliani was introduced as the new man in Lilian’s life. In a previous interview, Juliani said that he met Lilian in June, two months before she announced her separation from Mutua. Lilian even attended Governor Mutua’s birthday party, but something was off. She wore a long face, kept her hands folded and worst of it all, she adorned a…

Lawyer Miguna Miguna now says his life is in danger, a few days to his homecoming day set for November 16, 2021. In a tweet, Miguna who stay in Ontario, Candada, claimed that people driving a Honda CR-V registration number BYLM 576 were monitoring his home for the last two weeks. “This (below) Honda CRV, Ontario Plate Number BYLM 576 has been monitoring our house for the past 2 weeks. I don’t fear them. I don’t fear death. I’m still coming home,” he wrote. Read: Mutunga Chides CJ Koome for Politicizing Judiciary In October, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said he…