Author: Milcah Lukhanyu

Kenya will host the global Open Source Program Office (OSPO) under the Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE) project, a joint initiative by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), backed by the European Union (EU). Announced at the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025, the OSPO aims to advance open-source software development and digital capacity building across Africa, addressing the continent’s low representation in global open-source contributions, as evidenced by a 2022 study showing no African nation among GitHub’s top 30 contributors. Open-source technologies, such as Linux, Mozilla Firefox, and WordPress, provide freely accessible source code,…

Kenya intends to implement blood automation technology to improve blood transfusion services and expand access to safe blood nationwide. The Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Mr. Harry Kimtai, announced this initiative at the Africa Technology Day, hosted by Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies in Nairobi. The automation technology, supplied by Terumo, aims to expedite blood component processing, enhance quality control, and minimize blood product wastage. Upon full deployment in Kenya’s regional blood centers, this technology is expected to extend red blood cell storage from approximately six to 45 days and enable frozen platelet storage for up to two years. Addressing…

The Global Water Center (GWC), an organization dedicated to improving global water access, has secured $1.1 million in grants from the Grundfos Foundation and the Coca-Cola Foundation. This funding will support a new project aimed at enhancing access to safely managed water across East Africa, specifically targeting rural regions in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The project will concentrate on the need for skilled professionals in the rural water sector, addressing a critical gap that has repercussions for health, livelihoods, and social advancement. It also aims to create a scalable model that may be replicated in other regions facing similar…

The Kenyan government is launching a targeted textile and apparel skills enhancement program to address youth unemployment, focusing on 15 designated Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. The pilot program, scheduled to commence at the end of March, will initially be implemented in Nairobi and Mombasa, with subsequent expansion to other regions nationwide. According to the Kenya Federation of Employers, despite an overall national unemployment rate of 12.7 per cent, youth, representing 35 per cent of the population, face a disproportionately high unemployment rate of 67 per cent. Each year, over one million young individuals enter the labour…

The East African Community (EAC) has launched “Visit East Africa: Feel the Vibe,” a new regional tourism brand designed to position East Africa as a unified, premier tourist destination. This initiative aims to significantly increase regional tourism while promoting sustainable practices that safeguard the region’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. The tourism sector, a critical economic driver for the EAC, experienced a severe downturn following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, reversing a decade of consistent growth. However, recovery is underway, with the EAC reporting approximately 8.5 million international tourist arrivals in 2024, surpassing the 7.7 million…

TikTok has launched a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) feed for educational purposes for users in Sub-Saharan Africa.  With over a billion users worldwide, TikTok is a platform where many curious individuals seek to expand their knowledge on various subjects, including social issues, art, and education. This is evident in the success of TikTok’s #BookTok, which boasts 47 million video creations from a community of avid readers sharing their next reads. The #LearnOnTikTok initiative caters to intellectual users, offering interesting facts, tips on optimizing TikTok, and niche subjects. “TikTok is more than just entertainment; it’s a platform where users…