Author: Khusoko

Taxify, the ride-hailing company from Estonia backed by Didi and Daimler is removing “taxi” from its name and rebranding as Bolt. “We are bullish that the future is fully electric and so we wanted a name that moved us away from the combustion engine,” CEO and co-founder Markus Villig said. “Taxify launched five years ago with a mission to make urban transportation more convenient and affordable. Our first product was a taxi dispatch solution that gave the company its original name,” he added. https://twitter.com/Boltapp_za/status/1103553299586994177 “While we’ve made progress on our mission, we’ve also started to outgrow parts of our brand,…

County Governments that have adopted cashless systems have diminished leakages and boosted revenues by up to 30%. The systems have made it easier for citizens to pay dues to the county governments while simultaneously enhancing the counties’ financial management allowing them to plan, control and monitor their finances. “As part of our vision to help drive a digital-first economy, we have partnered with 43 counties to enable cashless payment systems and out of the 43 counties, 17 have integrated their systems end to end,” said Rita Okuthe, Chief Enterprise Officer, Safaricom. She was speaking at the sidelines of the Sixth…

Operations are getting back to normal at East Africa’s busiest airport after aviation worker’s strike shut down Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi Tuesday evening and early Wednesday. The aviation workers’ union agreed to suspend their strike that had left hundreds of passengers stranded at JKIA. “I am pleased to announce that the issues that we had at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport that resulted in the disruption of operations this morning have been resolved and we expect that the first flight to take off in the next hour or so,” said James Macharia. The workers went on strike Tuesday evening…

Cash-strapped East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) NSE:PORT,  has issued a profit warning for its full year earnings compared to the year ended 30th June 2018. “The expected decrease is mainly attributable to increased input prices, a sluggish market as well as production challenges arising from a tight working capital position which affected the company’s ability to effectively serve its customers,” Sheila Kariuki, Company Secretary said. This is based on on the unaudited results for the period to 31st December 2018, factoring in forecasts to the end of the year and the preliminary evaluation made by the board with reference…

Kenya’s East African Seed and Seed Co. have been ranked top for playing a pivotal role in raising smallholder farmer productivity in the 2019 Access to Seeds Index for Eastern and Southern Africa. The two were placed first and second, respectively, and they have grown their activities in the region since the first index was published in 2016. “East African Seed stands out for its broad portfolio, including local crops and a large network of extension staff across multiple countries. Seed Co, originally from Zimbabwe but now headquartered in South Africa, is the African seed company with the most extensive…

The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) has appointed NINE from Nigeria, RiseUp from Egypt, and 22 On Sloane from South Africa as the official Western, Northern, and Southern Africa regional partners, respectively. The three organizations will work closely with Nailab, the continental and Eastern Africa partner, to promote the Prize in their respective regions. The ANPI is a prize competition for African entrepreneurs, founded by the Jack Ma Foundation. The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) has appointed NINE from Nigeria, RiseUp from Egypt, and 22 On Sloane from South Africa as the official Western, Northern, and Southern Africa regional partners,…