Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

Online Taxi hailing company, Uber has increased its rates for select vehicles driven by highly-rated drivers in what the company believes will provide customers with a better experience. The new service dubbed ‘UberSELECT’ costs Sh100 instead of UberX’s Sh80 with the charge per minute and per kilometre being Sh4 and Sh43 respectively. “We believe our customers should be allowed more choice in the way they travel,” Loic Amado, Uber’s general manager for East Africa, said in a statement. Read: Safaricom and Qualcomm Launch Countrywide “3G Experiential Tour” The new price is an increase from the original Sh2.40 per minute and Sh33.60 per…

Students in their first year will have to wait a little bit longer for their education loans as Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) disbursements will not be issued after thousands did not sign loan application forms. Helb Chief Executive Officer, Charles Ringera has stated that no loans will be awarded until all the necessary application forms are signed and submitted. He added that Helb is currently processing over 104,000 online applications submitted by the September 8 deadline. 74,541 have been signed while 29 per cent are still in need of the necessary signature. “We may rush to award loans and…

October will mark the end of the subsidized Sh90 maize flour following a move by the Treasury that saw it allocate another Sh3 billion to compensate for maize import costs from August. The move now means Sh6.7 billion has been spent to help relieve customers from the high cost of flour. According to Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, the plan is set to end in a few weeks and the government is expecting that fresh maize harvests will be availed for millers. Read: Government Subsidized Maize Flour Available At Sh. 90 “We have extended subsidy programme to mid-October, therefore, requiring additional resources…

Safaricom is currently testing an alternative method for its MPESA users to reverse cash transactions through text. The service once activated will allow customers to reverse transactions to mistaken recipients. The telecommunications company is currently testing it among its employees. According to reports, the mobile network provider extended the trial to a selection of customers on Wednesday. Read:New M-Pesa Payment Processing Solution, Paygate, Launched for Kenya and Tanzania After sending money to the unintended recipient customers will have to send the transaction code via SMS to the number 456. From there the transfer will be cancelled. The process will be…

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was temporarily shut down by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and was issued with a directive to delay all flights. The airport was shut down on Thursday for an hour to allow for the military practice their drills ahead of the October 20 Mashujaa Day. https://twitter.com/KenyaAirways/status/915632141261787136 Read:Kenya Ranked Second Largest Market In Africa By Uber Kenya Airways (KQ) released a statement to its customers, apologizing and informing them of potential delays at JKIA. “We wish to advise our esteemed guests travelling through JKIA on Thursday 5th October that we expect slight flight delays due to…

Kenya’s leading mobile network operator Safaricom Limited has sacked 52 employees in a move to to put an end to fraudulent activities. This comes after the company sacked 36 employees over corruption last year as well. The employees were sacked for their involvement in asset misappropriation, fraudulent expense claims and corruption. “While the number of investigations carried out during the year was substantively the same as Financial Year 2016, the number of staff dismissed for fraudulent behavior increased to 52,” Safaricom said. “This was primarily due to an enhanced review process, which targeted a single area of concern and unearthed fraud…

Jambojet has teamed up with Safaricom to promote Lipa na M-PESA service and increase bookings. According to reports the campaign will allow customers to pay for their flights using the Safaricom service and earn discounts and redeemable points. The three week campaign has been labelled ‘Buy and Fly with Lipa Na M-PESA and Jambojet’ with the aim of increasing the airlines bookings as the company prepares for the holiday season. Jambojet revealed that it has clocked over 2,000,000 passengers since started in 2013. Read: Kenyans Can Now Book Madaraka Express Ticket Via MPESA They will also be looking to Safaricom to…

Guinness has signed a deal with Arsenal legend Theirry Henry which will see 12 consumers stand a chance to win Ksh 1 million each along with the chance to watch a football match with him. As part of the deal the French international will visit Kenya in December to help open a community pitch in Ndakaini, draw support for the program and aid the Guinness brand in building its market share in Kenya. Henry is currently the second assistant manager for the Belgium National Men’s soccer team. He is also famous for his achievements at Arsenal FC, Barcelona, New York…

Naivas Supermarket has unveiled its Digital Retail Strategy through its payment network service called ‘Naivas Pay.’ The new service will allow customers to pay directly from their Bank account via mobile, internet, and card. The service will put an end to merchants having to rely on costly point of sale devices and eliminate logistical issues of having to handle cash on a daily basis. “Naivas Pay which we are launching today is part of our larger Retail Strategy. We believe going digital is neither a project nor a phase of our strategy but rather a mindset in what we do…

After several trials over the course of four months Safaricom has announced that they will now extend their MPESA 1Tap to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nyeri. The service will be available for all Lipa Na M-PESA merchants and subscribers. The new service will ease the process of making and receiving cashless payments while also improving the accuracy and privacy of Lipa Na M-PESA. “As a trusted, easy and convenient cashless payment solution for more than 70,000 businesses in Kenya, Lipa Na M-PESA is ready to advance to become a more seamless solution. M-PESA 1Tap builds on a strong foundation built…

Nakumatt Supermarket is under pressure once again after Auditor General Edward Ouko is pushing to sue the company for blocking construction of a 39 storey building. NSSF and Nakumatt have been caught up in a court dispute over construction of what is expected to be Nairobi’s tallest building once its finished. Three years ago the the retail chain went to court to block further construction above its Nakumatt Lifestyle grounds citing disruption of the companies business. As a result NSSF contractors were blocked from carrying out further construction on the building. Read: Carrefour to Open a New Supermarket at Thika…

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is under scrutiny after failing to reply to a petition filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court by a former employee. Former security worker Daizy Cherogony is suing the KAA after sacking her from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi. According to reports, Cherogony was sacked  after ‘mistreating’ Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i. Read:KoT Want Matiang’i To explain The Meaning of ‘Public’ As a result the State body has been given up to September 29 to file its response as ordered by Justice Byram Ongaya of the Labour court in Nyeri. Cherogony’s lawyer Alex Bismana added that KAA has not brought…

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) troops are in Jordan for an in depth training on how to counter terrorism. According to reports over 100 troops have been selected from various units for the trained called ‘Swift Eagle 2017’, which will last two weeks. During their time there the officers will study tactics focusing on conventional and asymmetric war threats. They will also gain insight on alternative ways of fighting terrorism such as responding to different attacks, subduing terrorists who hijack planes and how to respond when terrorists attack villages. Read:Al Shabaab Attacks A Mandera Police Post, One Officer Dead Special Forces…

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has been selected to be part a new Team of External Advisers courtesy of the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, H.E. Miroslav Lajcak. The team will be responsible for advising him on the most effective way he can advance his priorities ahead of the General Assembly’s 72nd session. Read:Trump Announces US Withdrawal From Global Climate Deal Among the list of priorities are conflict prevention and sustaining peace, mediation, migration, implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement on climate change, human rights and human dignity, and the future and…

The latest Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2017 Ranking has seen African companies fail to feature in the top 100. According to the the latest rankings, American brands top the list with technology firm Apple, Google and Microsoft. Seven American companies featured in the top 10 with Samsung (South Korea), Toyota (Japan) and Mercedes Benz (Germany) featuring as well. Other iconic American brands featuring in the top 10 include CocaCola, Amazon, Facebook and IBM. 50 American companies managed to feature in the top 100 while remaining brands came from France, Germany, United Kingdom and Italy. Read: Office365 Launches in Africa, But Be Careful of the Fine-print…