Author: Muindi

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon, has inaugurated a new African Development Centre in Kenya.  This is the second AWS hub in Africa, with the first one situated in Cape Town, South Africa. The Development Centre will serve as a base for AWS Research & Development teams, creating numerous highly skilled jobs in software development, cloud support, and software engineering.  The new Amazon Web Services African Development Centre is located at Riverside Drive in Nairobi. Uwem Ukpong, Vice President of Global Services at AWS, stated that this centre would allow the local market to access an incredible…

Seven out of ten Dalberg partners from across Africa and the Middle East are now trading as Axum, an Afrocentric impact firm. Axum’s leadership brings over 100 years of experience establishing, building, and running successful advisory organizations worldwide, including serving clients across more than 50 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Edwin Macharia, Managing Partner at Axum, said: “We firmly believe that the best way for our work to have a positive impact is to put African and Arab people, leaders, and institutions at the centre of project design, decision making, and delivery. “Axum will not seek to impose…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) maintained the interest rates at 10.5 per cent, contrary to expectations. This was attributed to an improved core inflation rate, which was recorded at 6.8 per cent in September, falling within the government’s targeted range of between 2.5 and 7.5 per cent. This is the second consecutive time that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has left the Central Bank Rate (CBR) unchanged. The CBK expects an improved food supply supported by the ongoing harvest and a tax-free import window opened by the government. CBK governor Kamau Thugge stated in the MPC statement that, “In…

Netflix, a video streaming service, will no longer offer its free subscription plan to Kenyan users, a significant change in its business model. Effective November 1, 2023. The free plan was a groundbreaking initiative by Netflix, with Kenya being the first country globally to benefit from such an offer. The free plan allowed users to access a limited range of content without requiring a paid subscription.  Users will now have to transition to one of the platform’s paid plans, with prices starting at KES 200 per month. This strategic shift aligns with Netflix’s global strategy of expanding its presence and…

Microsoft has announced a strategic partnership with M-PESA Africa, a leading fintech and payments service in Africa, to drive capacity building and digitisation for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across several African markets. The partnership aims to equip MSMEs with the necessary skills to develop stronger business models, manage their finances, and offer exceptional customer service. Microsoft will provide access to its Community and Training platform where M-PESA Africa will digitise skilling. M-PESA connects over 60 million customers and more than 900,000 businesses through M-PESA business solutions across eight countries, processing over 91 million transactions and over $1 billion…

NCBA Bancassurance Intermediary LTD, a subsidiary of NCBA Group, has launched a digital insurance portal, NCBA Go Insure, to empower customers to manage their insurance needs. The portal simplifies the insurance process by providing users with advanced data security protocols and the convenience of obtaining and comparing motor insurance quotes from multiple underwriters. The platform offers features such as comparing insurance quotes, instant access to insurance portfolios, real-time claims submission & tracking, and premium payment capabilities. NCBA Group Director Asset Finance and Business Solutions, Lennox Mugambi, emphasized that the platform is designed to simplify the insurance process and enable customers…