Author: David Indeje

In the 2023 fiscal year, Safaricom supported over 1.2 million jobs, including 236,674 direct and 1,159,309 indirect positions, and contributed KSh 909.5 billion to the Kenyan economy. According to Safaricom’s 12th Sustainable Business Report, this contribution was equivalent to 14.6 times the Ksh62.3 billion ($419.1 million) net profit it posted during this period. It is also equal to 5.1 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP). The increase is attributed to the value created for customers, agents, and merchants through M-PESA (a 17% increase from 2022), as well as the economic impact created through Safaricom’s capital and operational expenditures.…

The Industry Digital Talent Program, a collaborative initiative in Kenya, aims to develop digital skills and innovation, targeting to upskill 1,000 participants within its first year. In a bid to transform Kenya through digital skills and innovation, technology sector players have launched the Industry Digital Talent Program. This initiative is a partnership between academia, training partners, tech hubs, government agencies, and industry players, and aims to develop digital skills in the market by taking a sustainable approach to create a healthy digital talent pipeline. The program targets to upskill 1,000 participants within its first year based on the digital skills…

Lenovo has partnered with the African Storybook to empower and support underprivileged children in Kenya. The two held their first event at the Kibera Community Library (KNLS) on October 7, 2023. The event focused on education, mentorship, and personal development, aiming to inspire and uplift 100 deserving young students. Together, they are committed to nurturing the students through technology, literacy, and soft skills education. “We are excited to partner with African Storybook for this charity event in Kenya,” said Jane Govindsamy, CSI Champion Southern Africa at Lenovo. “At Lenovo, we believe in the transformative power of education and technology. By…

Kenya’s economy expanded at its fastest pace in more than two years in the second quarter of 2023. Kenya’s Economy is estimated to have grown by 5.4% during the second quarter of 2023 compared to 5.2% in the same quarter of 2022, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Quarterly Gross Domestic Product Report. This acceleration was primarily driven by a significant turnaround in the agriculture sector, which recorded an impressive growth of 7.7%, marking its fastest pace since 2020. The quarterly GDP report reflects the overall and sectoral performance of the economy. The surge in the agriculture…

The Infrastructure Corporation of Africa LLC (ICA) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to become the new majority shareholder in Telkom Kenya. This is after the Kenyan government cancelled its 60 per cent purchase from UK private equity firm Helios Investment Partners. The government has been actively seeking an investor for a significant part of the year, and they have now confirmed that they have found a suitable match.  A competitive process to identify the new investor was initiated in January 2023, which resulted in an evaluation process that recommended ICA to be the new majority shareholder in…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved a second malaria vaccine, offering a more affordable and accessible alternative to the Mosquirix vaccine. The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine has been developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India (SII), leveraging Novavax’s adjuvant technology. The decision was based on the recommendations of two expert groups, suggesting its use in children at risk of the disease. “For far too long, malaria has threatened the lives of billions of people across the globe, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable amongst us,” Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India, in an official statement,…