Author: Cyrus

DSTV has confirmed plans for an entertaining OPEN WEEKEND, during which time DStv Access, Family, Compact and Compact Plus subscribers will be able to view selected DStv Premium channels, at no extra cost.  Running from Friday July 19 at 5pm until Monday July 22 at 11am, the DStv OPEN WEEKEND is the latest development in the DStv Rewards campaign, which aims to reward subscribers for their loyalty in different ways. Earlier this year, thanks to DStv Rewards, lucky subscribers from different parts of the continent walked away with wonderful cash prizes. With the OPEN WEEKEND now just days away, DStv has confirmed the…

ScanDisk has signed a distribution deal with Mitsumi which will see Mitsumi handle ScanDisk’s distribution needs in 22 countries in Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia and Namibia. Through the deal, ScanDisk hopes to strengthen its position in the African storage market according to Sreedhar Sreekumar, SanDisk Regional Sales Manager Middle East & Africa. He added; Africa is a growing emerging market and represents great potential for SanDisk. We are excited to partner with Mitsumi and to see SanDisk grow throughout the continent. Our partnership with Mitsumi reinforces our objective to expand our product reach in Africa. The…

I first read this story of a young lady who suffered mental illness during her first delivery and had her baby snatched by the supposed father on The Star. It was a story which had many loose ends. Like the father of the kid and the young mother having lived for 10 years while the story quoted the age of the mother as just 21 years. SO I asked, they started living together as boyfriend and girlfriend when the lady was 11 years? A friend later called me and told me the story without knowing that I have read it…

Two teams of budding innovators from Uganda and Egypt walked away with trophies at the just concluded Microsoft Imagine Cup, a global competition for student technologists, developers and entrepreneurs. Africa was represented in the competition by 12 teams at the final event with only the Egyptian and Ugandan teams winning awards at the finals. At the 11th annual event which was this year held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, 87 student teams from 71 countries competed at the final event after winning local and online competitions in their respective countries/regions. Team Code 8 (with a Windows phone app…

By Katharyn White, Managing Partner, Global Business Partners, Central, Eastern, Western Africa, IBM   In recent months, this blog has described aspects of IBM’s commitment to Africa. I want to focus on the importance of talent in the region.  Several years ago, I participated in an IBM initiative to bring the advantages of global integration — spanning mindset through operations — to communities, clients, and IBM employees, with a specific emphasis on Africa. We refined our view of the vital attributes of personal leadership in a global economy, expanded IBM’s Corporate Service Corps and created global teams to accelerate our understanding of, and success…

Orange has launched the third Orange African Social Venture Prize (OASVP), buoyed by the success of the first two programmes in 2011 and 2012. The prize promotes social innovations in support of development that use Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Any entrepreneur aged 21 and above, or a company that has existed for less than three years at the time of the competition, regardless of nationality, can enter the awards free of charge. The projects submitted must have plans to deploy their solution in at least one of the African countries where Orange is present and make innovative use of…

Google is looking for you if you are an adventurous person who plans to travel to some exotic locations. Google is ready to let you have the backpack mounted Street View tool, the Trekker, when you travel. The 360 degree camera is just street view on your back. You will be able to deliver the images of places where Google’s bikes and cars couldn’t access. Applications for the Google Trekker is simple as Google will only require you to deliver a project proposal which should reveal whether or not you plan to help raise money for your trip. You can…

Orange Kenya has today unveiled a 20MB mobile data bundle which will retail at Ksh 20 through the network. The 20MB bundle will be valid for 7 days. Orange has also introduced 2 other data bundles, the 50MB bundle from KSh100 to KSh50 and the 100MB bundle from KSh150 to KSh120. For the next three months, Orange will also reward its customers with a 100 percent bonus for every mobile data bundle they purchase, ranging from 20 MB to 5GB. This bonus data can only be used between 10 pm and 6 am. Orange Kenya subscribers who purchase any Internet on…

A Nigerian company, Knack International Limited, claims to have manufactured its first set of tablets and laptops. Through a media release, Knack international limited announced that they unveiled the Laptops and Tablet PCs on the 29th of June 2013 at National Centre for Technology Management NACETEM, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State in Nigeria. The Tablet Knack International Limited claims to be a “new computer and other related ICT products company that cater to the middle and low income earners around the world.” The company claims to “focus on providing quality yet affordable Tablets and Laptops and accessories, and position…

HP is ElitePad 900  tablet in the Kenyan market. Marketing it as a business tablet, HP hopes to penetrate the market which is so much dominated by the Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy range of tablets. But it will help HP’s case if they work on the marketing, pricing and packaging of the tablet for it to sell in this market. High prices to prove quality just wont work. The ElitePad 900 is designed for business, government healthcare and retail and features HP ElitePad Smart Jackets which add connectivity options and extra battery life along with specific add-ons that customize the tablet for specialized…

CCK has announced that radio and TV broadcasters with more than one frequency per broadcast spot or site will from next month pay higher fees for the spectrum for the same. Through the new pricing, CCK hopes to bridge the existing gaps in the distribution and use of broadcasting spectrum in the country. CCK also hopes to ensure fair distribution of broadcasting frequencies, and promote competition in the sub-sector through the new pricing. CCK has announced that the new charges will be based on the following formula: New frequency fee payable per site = (2n-1) x current fee.   Using this…

A Kenyan blogger and online radio host based in Maryland USA has been arrested for sending his nude pictures to a 17-year old American girl. According to reports appearing on the Lancaster Online journal and quoting police sources, Denzel “was arrested on a fugitive from justice warrant related to charges of corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor for sending sexually-graphic images of himself to a 17-year-old Penn Township girl.” Denzel Musumba used to host the Blog Talk Radio( also known as East Africa Radio USA). He also tried his hand in politics in 2013 by contesting…

Telkom Kenya, Orange, has today launched a Facebook dial service, that offers mobile access to Facebook to entry level mobile handset users who are yet to enjoy the mobile data services. This service, dubbed ‘Facebook Bila Net’ targets Orange customers who have basic non-data enabled phones, and previously relied entirely on Internet cafes, borrowed data-enabled devices or personal computers to browse and update Facebook. Chief Corporate Communications Officer Maureen Sande says this service will enhance the user experience for customers who have been limited to only voice and SMS functionality on their handsets. These Orange customers can subscribe to Facebook Bila Net by…

Find below Big Tunes Live were the promoters behind last Saturday’s Big Tunes Festival of Music 2013 held at Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC).In Kenya we pride ourselves in delivering successful and safe live music events with a major focus on reggae music and artists. We also produced last year’s Big Tunes Festival of Music featuring Tarrus Riley, Etana including Jah Cure’s ‘Call on Me’ Tour. All our events have been successful and that has been our standard.The incidents that occurred in the midst of at our festival last Saturday were unexpected and truly unrepresentative of the reggae audience we…

A group of young Kenyans have launched a web, mobile and native app solution which enable TV viewers better their viewing experience. With the TIVI Guide app, users can track their favourite shows and find what is showing on TV. TIVI is and interactive TV guide available across all devices and platforms, mobile and desktop. It’s absolutely free no subscription fee required and no forms to be filled. So now you can have something which can remind you of when your TV show is showing and in case of change of schedule, you will get alerts. TV offerings are widening in…