Author: David Indeje

Have you ever made cash withdrawals from incorrect agent shops as a Safaricom customer? If your answer is yes, then worry no more, as an additional feature has been introduced to ensure you do not lose your cash and the right agent serves you. Safaricom has added another verification step of inputting a ‘store number’ right after keying in the ‘agent number’. What is New? In the new M-PESA agent withdrawal process, you will be required to: Key in the Agent Number, Store Number, Amount and PIN.  Safaricom will validate the details to ensure funds you are withdrawing are from…

Search engine giant Google is introducing a chatbot service to rival Microsoft’s AI-powered ChatGPT. In a blog post on Monday, Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai introduced the chatbot, called Bard. It would be integrated into the company’s search engine. https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1622673369480204288?s=20&t=5ni-_obUTQE5Kk8ye6STyg According to Pichai, Bard will initially be available exclusively to a group of trusted testers” before being widely released later this year. “Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models. It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses. Today we’re opening Bard up…

Kenya’s current account deficit declined to 4.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, compared to 5.2 per cent recorded in 2021, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said. The CBK attributed the decline to the strong performance of the export of goods and services, especially tea and manufactured goods and significant increases in remittance inflows. “This turnaround in the current account (projection) relates to some of the exports that we saw towards the end of the year, and is a good outcome. Our sweet spot in the current account is a deficit of about five per…

Egypt’s largest private lender Commercial International Bank (CIB) has obtained the approvals of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to acquire the remaining 49% of Mayfair CIB for $40 million. Through the acquisition, CIB is the first lender with a base in Egypt to join the Kenyan market. In April 2020, CIB acquired a 51 per cent stake in Mayfair Bank, which began operations in 2017. The transaction was a component of CIB’s plan to grow in East Africa while expanding business and economic ties between Egypt and Kenya. “Kenya offers great opportunities,…

The Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Monday retained the policy rate at 8.75 per cent to ensure inflation remains within the target while supporting growth. “The (Monetary Policy) Committee noted that the impact of the further tightening of monetary policy in November 2022 to anchor inflationary pressures were still transitioning in the economy,” the CBK said in a statement. “Additionally, the MPC noted that this action will be complemented by the recently announced government measures to allow limited duty-free imports on specific food items, which are expected to moderate prices and further ease domestic inflationary pressures.”…

In Kenya, the adoption of digital technologies has seen an increase in cybersecurity threats and risks. This has been primarily due to the rapid adoption of digital systems, remote working without adequate attention being paid to the security of computer systems and devices, and increasing awareness of people on the appropriate measures to protect themselves online from cyber threats and risks. Data from the National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team found that between July – September 2021, it detected 143,040,599 cyber threat events, a 268.883% increase from the 38,776,699 threat events detected in the previous period, April – June 2021.…