Author: Cyrus

M-PESA Foundation has today announced a partnership with Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation to launch a telemedicine initiative—Daktari Smart— in Lamu County. In a statement, M-Pesa Safaricom foundation has announced that the program targets over 32,000 children in Lamu, Samburu, Homabay, Baringo Counties with the aim of reducing the number of referrals of sick children by allowing county health facilities to have access to specialists. M-Pesa expect to onboard two other counties in the next phase of this program. Furthermore, the partnership will also optimize the capacity and reach of healthcare delivery systems by helping bridge the gap of access to healthcare services…

Netflix is finally ready to introduce the $3.99 or Ksh400 monthly mobile-only plan in Kenya, Nigeria South Africa and other sub-Saharan African countries. According to a Netflix spokesman who spoke to South Africa’s News24, Netflix is launching the package to be a direct competition to MultiChoice’s Showmax which offers such low packages and Royal Media’s Viusasa which is struggling to make an impact but still offers some competition to Netflix in the local content scenario. The new package is a result of the 2020 test of two mobile-only plans by Netflix In 2020 Netflix tested two mobile-only plans in Sub-Saharan…

Fighting to stay afloat as the taxman demands close to Ksh 10billion in taxes, Naivasha-based Keroche Industries has now unveiled a beer product dubbed X which they say is meant to counter the foreign domination of the premium beer market. Keroche Breweries CEO Tabitah Karanja revealed that the X beer is sugar and additive-free beer which is “truly Kenyan.” “The 8.8% v/v beer was announced in March 2021, to take a lead in the strong beer’s category in Kenya. X 8.8 is naturally brewed in keeping with our tradition of sugar-free beers with no additives,” Tabitha revealed. “The quality of…

Deputy President William Ruto is said to have secretly registered a political party which he will use as a vehicle to vie for the Presidency in 2022. According to sources, the party called Party of Democracy and Reforms (PDR) is hurriedly being prepared for a test of popularity in Matungu and Kabuchai with the IEBC deadlines almost cutting them off. The Deputy President silently tested his influence through the People’s Empowerment Party in Gaturi (Murang’a) while it won the Kahawa Wendani ward seat which fell vacant following the death of Kahawa Wendani MCA Cyrus Omondi. Apart from the parliamentary by-elections,…

Showmax Pro has partnered with mobile services provider Telkom Kenya to launch data deals for subscribers. The 30GB and 45GB data bundles from Telkom include a one-month subscription to stream Showmax Pro on mobile devices. Showmax Pro is the new service that bundles the existing Showmax entertainment offering with music channels, news and live sports streaming from SuperSport, including all Premier League, Serie A and La Liga games as well as a wide range of live sports events like athletics, professional boxing and the world’s biggest marathons. The Showmax Pro Mobile and Telkom data bundles are available to new and…

Carrefour, operated in Kenya by Majid Al Futtaim, has announced that it is going to open 3 branches in the coastal city of Mombasa. Through a press release, Carrefour has announced that the first two stores will officially open their doors and welcome customers in November 2020 with the first one being a 2,150 square metres space at the City Mall Nyali, formerly occupied by Nakumatt. The Nyali store will house a home-made bakery section alongside a wide assortment of non-food and electronic products. A second one will be a two-floored 1,800 sqm store at the Diani Centre Point Plaza…

The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has announced that it has confiscated one hundred and fifty-four (154) substandard imported portable socket outlets in Nairobi, Mombasa, Thika, and Hola. KEBS say that the seized socket outlets pose the danger of electrocution to consumers as they do not have shutters, contrary to requirements of Kenya Standard KSEAS 495-2: 2008 – Specification for switched and unswitched socket-outlets. The seized goods will be destroyed at the owners’ expense. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer/importer to ensure continued product compliance with standards. Processing, manufacturing, stocking, and/or offering for sale of substandard goods or products…

The UK is said to be thinking of bringing forward its ban on new petrol and diesel (fossil fuel) powered vehicles from 2040 to 2030 to spur the innovation on electric-powered vehicles across the British roads. Boris Johnson is expected to accelerate the shift in various policy announcements expected by the end of November. The move is part of broader policy initiatives to handle the effects of Corona Virus and climate change. According to Guardian, Boris Johnson’s government had hoped to set out the plans this week but the announcement will be delayed until later this year READ: Tougher Times For…

YouTube is gearing up for more content by encouraging its users to create more. The mobile app, which most people use for content consumption will soon feature a huge ‘create’ button to prompt people to add more content. At the top right corner, between ‘cast’ and ‘search’, there is now a video camera icon for you to go live, record or add clips from your phone gallery. The ‘create’ button will be placed at the center of the bottom bar. It is simply a plus sign in a circle, with no words or description. It is, however, more prominent than…

Low-cost carrier Jambojet has now started accepting ticket bookings for Mombasa to Eldoret and Kisumu, Eldoret and Kisumu to Mombasa routes following approval from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to operate the routes. The inaugural daily return flights from Mombasa to Kisumu and Eldoret airline will start on 2nd October 2020 with an introductory fare of Kes. 8, 900 one way for each route. “Customer satisfaction is at the core of our business. We continuously listen to our customers’ needs and are happy that we can now connect the Western region to the Coastal region with the introduction of…

Retail giant Naivas has opened a speciality food market in Syokimau. The 64th Naivas branch is located on Mombasa road opposite the Syokimau Railway station and has been positioned as a fresh food outlet to serve the population of residents and businesses in the western side of Machakos County. It is the third Naivas store to open since March after Mountain view and Kilimani branches. READ: CMA Announces 10 More Days Of Suspension For Deacons At NSE Naivas Chief Commercial Officer Willy Kimani stated that the retailer had opened the branch that spots its flagship food market interior and a modernistic…

United States sports television channel ESPN has announced that it is coming back to DSTv with two channels after 7 years absence. MultiChoice Group (MCG) and The Walt Disney Company Africa today announced that they have signed a partnership which will result in two 24-hour ESPN channels being made available to DStv customers from 29 July, where they will be able to enjoy the very best of US sports. READ: Facebook Infrastructure And Connectivity Investments In Africa To Grow Economy By $57 billion Featuring every major US sport as well as European football, fans across the continent can now look forward…

Safaricom has announced the partnership with AYUDH Kenya, an international youth movement, to distribute white canes worth over KES 30 million to 20,000 blind and visually impaired persons across the country. READ: Safaricom Foundation Partners With Kenya Red Cross To Support Families Affected By Floods Through the project, some 10,000 children and youth identified by the Kenya Union of the Blind (KUB) and Kenya Society for the Blind (KSB) will receive white canes, while the Safaricom Foundation will distribute the remaining white canes to 10,000 blind and visually impaired persons as identified by AYUDH Kenya. After the first-ever Global Disability Summit…

The Safaricom Youth Orchestra marked its 6th graduation with thirty students graduating in a virtual ceremony on Saturday. 12 students from Ghetto Classics were among the graduates. The 12 earned a spot in the Orchestra to play various instruments ranging from the Flute, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Trumpet and violin. The Orchestra’s annual calendar is divided into three terms, with the first one running from May to July, followed by August to December and finally January to April when the students who have completed high school graduate. At this time, the Orchestra carries out auditions where the most outstanding participants are…

Police in Nairobi has instituted measures to protect Kenyans who are exercising outdoors as complaints grow of muggers and robbers targeting joggers and those walking around Nairobi. According to Nairobi County Police boss Philip Ndolo, a special team of armed male and female undercover and uniformed officers has been deployed and tasked with stopping the criminals who are said to target Kenyans trying to jog as COVID-19 lockdown continues. Stop jogging in Nairobi. You will be attacked. Jog in a secure gym. I have read of too many attacks on joggers here on Twitter. I might read about you soon.…

The first lady of Burundi was this morning secretly evacuated to Nairobi for treatment after contracting the Coronavirus as President Pierre Nkurunziza ensures that nobody in the country knows the true extent of infections. The first lady Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza was flown to Nairobi, making her the second high profile Burundi official flew out of the country for treatment after getting infected with COVID-19. Mrs Denise Nkurunziza was flown aboard Amref plane registration 5Y-FDP today around 10 AM according to online flight logs. Her departure from Bujumbura was in secret as most of the airport staff were barred from accessing…