The Kenyan government continues to automate its working processes and the latest entity is the National Treasury that ha stepped up efforts to enhance the adoption of its online public finance management training users in both national and county governments. The Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), which was developed to automate and streamline government financial processes and procedures, has been rolled out to all public offices, inluding ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs) and counties. Through the IFMIS Academy based at the Kenya School of Government, treasury has trained more than 5,000 users both at the national and county levels. IMFIS…
Author: Susan Mwenesi
Susan Mwenesi
Interested in business, technology and all things startups in Africa!
The GSMA has unveiled a new cross-ecosystem partnership through its Mobile for Development mHealth programme that will provide a range of mHealth services to women and children, with a particular focus on nutrition, across Sub-Saharan Africa. The initial launch partners for the initiative include Gemalto, Hello Doctor, Lifesaver, Mobenzi, Mobilium, MTN, Omega Diagnostics and Samsung. This programme could have far-reaching impact; according to GSMA Intelligence, there is a total annual, addressable market of 15.5 million pregnant women and mothers with children under five years of age “This new mobile ecosystem partnership, developed by the GSMA, is committed to connecting the…
The Central bank of Kenya has automated Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading for Treasury bills which previously was transacted using physical forms. In a press statement, the forex trading activity was restricted to commercial banks with only the 364 day Treasury bills allowed to trade. “The Bank wishes to inform all investors that it is now possible to buy or sell Treasury bills of all tenors (i.e. 91, 182 and 364 days) electronically by transmitting trade instructions through use of SWIFT messages MT541 and MT543,” said Mwenda K. Marete Asst. Director , Financial markets department. “All commercial banks can immediately access this…
Social marketplace MoboFree has lauched its affiliate program (http://affiliate.mobofree.com/signup.php) promising affiliates who join up to 50 Nigerian Naira commission for each new user joining MoboFree. In addition, the top affiliate each month will receive free advertising by MoboFree worth over 150,000 Nigerian Naira. “Most affiliate programs currently offer commissions based on Sales, that restricts the audience that our affiliates can reach to only those who have disposable income and are willing to spend it on offered products. We are happy to offer commissions based on Registrations which are completely free to users. Our affiliates will be able to gain revenue…
Ten more Huduma centres are set to be opened to the public from 1st of July this year to provide government services under one roof for residents of Kakamega, Kisumu, Nyeri, Nakuru Mombasa Embu, Kisii, Eldoret, Kajiado and Eastliegh. According to Planning Principal Secretary Eng Peter Mang’iti who was speaking in Kakamega, the centres will offer services provided by both the national government and county governments. While inspecting the on- going preparations ahead of the official launch of the huduma centre at Kakamega posta premises together with Wycliffe Oparanya he said: “The huduma centre is like a supermarket of…
Kenya’s National Carrier Kenya Airways has unveiled its new onflight television service that will revamp its inflight entertainment experience in addition to allowing passengers to watch live News and Sports channels while onboard. Christened KQ TV, the broadcast service will also set the carrier apart from its competitors. “With the ongoing introduction of new and modern fleet of aircraft, we aim to complement the experience with an inflight entertainment service that will give our passengers an innovative new way to enjoy live entertainment content while on board,” said Kenya Airways Group Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Dr. Titus Naikuni.…
Kenya’s money transfer service M-pesa is now in the UAE courtesy to a partnership between Xpress Money and M-pesa that will also rope in residents in the UK for a safe, fast and inexpensive platform of sending money. With the partnership, residents of the UAEwill send money to Kenya at a fee of at Kshs. 350 while those living in the UK will send money at a fee of Kshs 440. Betty Mwangi-Thuo, GM for Financial Services, Safaricom said: “Kenya received over Kshs 100 billion in diaspora remittances in 2013 making it Kenya’s fourth largest source of foreign exchange. Safaricom seeks…
African startups and Small and Medium Enterprises are fast adopting automated HR and payroll solutions so as to improve productivity, streamline processes and promote sharing of information. Gerhard Hartman, Head of Department at Sage HR Africa said HR departments says they are the biggest spenders on technology in African enterprises because they are looking for ways to automate HR and payroll processes. He added that today’s HR department faces various complex issues among them talent development, performance management and growing regulatory and legislative requirements meaning that the solutions are need for accurate, real-time information for the purposes of statutory reporting…
Safaricom has come to out to clear the air as pertaining to the implementation cost for the public safety security project awarded to the firm by the government. In a statement, the telecom says The Public Safety Security Project is a Government-owned initiative using the latest information communication technology to enhance national security in Kenya. Essentially, the project is geared at improving communication between various State agencies that oversee and provide security to Kenya and to this end, Safaricom’s role is to design, construct and support a robust communications network, managed centrally by the National Police Service. “The estimated total cost…
All 47 counties in Kenya are set to get assistance in developing their ICT roadmaps after the ICT Authority recently received funding of USD 30 million to support County Governments ICT projects for the next 3 years. The project is meant to address efficiency, service delivery, and transparency issues in County Governments. According to the ICT Authority, the road maps will be implemented according to the National ICT Master plan and County development plans. “The project, to be implemented in phases, will also equip County headquarters (and sub-counties) with basic equipment (including office software applications, email and training); while some…
Vodafone subscribers in Ghana can now make voice and data payments electronically using the eTranzact e-payment platform thanks to a partnership between Vodafone and eTranzact. With the platform, subscribers can pay for both postpaid and broadband subscriptions at any branch nationwide online and via mobile in real time. “We provide the technology platform in partnership with Vodafone to change the face of collection, not just in their industry but in Ghana,” eTranzact chief operating officer (COO) George Babafemi said. “Payment is a major activity in the value chain of any service industry. Payment is a dilemma for both service providers…
Five subscribers have sued four telecommunication companies at the High Court Kampala for poor service that includes network failure and disruptions. The four, MTN Uganda, Airtel Uganda, Orange Uganda and Uganda Telecom were sued alongside the communications’ regulator, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) who have been accused for allegedly failing to supervise and ensure that the telecom operators provide quality services to Ugandans. The petitioners, who include Mr Abel Balemesa, Mr Tito Barugahara, Mr Abdulwahab Mukuye, Mr Aloysius Lubowa and Mr Brian Businge Bruno, filed their complaint against the companies last Thursday. According to the Daily Monitor, other complaints are…
The struggling laptop project in Kenya has now received additionally funding of Ksh. 17bn from the Kenyan budget whose fiscal year is from June 2014-June2015. The money will also cater for building capacity of teachers and rolling out computer laboratory for class 4 to class 8 in all schools throughout the whole country. “Improving quality and making our educational system accessible to all school going children through a comprehensive e-learning program remains a priority to this Administration,” said Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich while reading the budget in parliament. This was his second budget reading since the current Jubilee government…
Business leaders and CEOs were today hosted at a powebreakfast by Airtel Kenya one of the leading telecoms in Kenya. Airtel management led by Airtel Africa CEO Christian de Faria, Airtel executive operations director SBU2 Christophe Soulet and Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi shared their thoughts with the business executives on how the they will work together with the leaders to enhance business engagement and improved service delivery. In attendance were managing Kenya Airways Chief Operating officer Mr. Mbuvi Ngunze, director Old Mutual Mr. Dumo Mbethe, United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) managing director Tamim Mumtaz, Sarova Hotel managing…
55 students graduated today from the Safaricom Academy after completing a two year course that will develop their leadership and entrepreneurial skills to meet the growing demand for innovative IT solutions. The curriculum for The Master’s Degree in Mobile Telecommunications and Innovation was developed jointly developed by Safaricom and Strathmore University with the objective of bridging the gap between theindustry requirements and training offered by institutions of higherlearning. The 30 full time and 25 part time students of 2012 intake are set to graduate in the University graduation that will take place on 27th June 2014. Last year 89 students…
SAP in conjunction with the German Football association have launched the SAP Match Insights solution that will facilitate the analysis of training, preparation and tournaments as well as enable coaches and scouts to process vast amounts of data to find an assess key situations in each match to improve player and team performance. The solution is running on the SAP HANA platform and its main goal was to build an innovative solution that enhanced the on-field performance leading up to the World Cup. SAP Match Insights is envisioned to feature a simple user interface that can be used by players…
Online food delivery marketplace Hellofood is “The Europas 2014” best e-commerce startup which took place in London yesterday and they were awarded for its huge global expansion in the last year.” So far, the startup has expanded its ervice to over 40 countries since launching less than two years ago and its affiliated partner foodpanda boasts a partnership with over 25000 restaurants all overt the world. The company managed to win after they went through a public vote and a vote of confidence by a panel of expert judges. Joe Falter, CEO of Hellofood Africa commented: “The Hellofood team is…
The Kenya cyber crime report 2014 was launched today in Nairobi with all speakers calling for the private sector and government to come together to make a formidable team and to make it more effective. The theme , Rethinking cyber security: An integrated Approach –processes, Intelligence and monitoring. The main objectives of the report whose scope is between January to December 2013 is to share insights, trends and developments on Kenya’s cyber security threat landscape and to also provide a 360 view as well as create awareness. According to the report, the top threats to cyber security are insider threats,…
The Kenyan market will see the entrance of a new bank as the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has granted authority to Rabobank Nederland to open a representative office in Kenya. Other African countries where Rabobank has invested through local banks are Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Mozambique. Licensed and supervised by the Central Bank of Netherlands (De Nederlandsche Bank), Rabobank has presence in 43 countries across Europe, Asia, South America and Africa The authority was granted pursuant to Section 43 of the Banking Act. Rabobank Nederland is a cooperative bank that is owned by local cooperatives in Netherlands and offers…
There is a new player in the electronic payments market in Kenya, the Emerging Markets Payments Company which will be offering consumers card schemes, cards, mobile and e-commerce not to mention e-government services and different channels of operations. “The opening of the EMP office in Kenya is a key strategic initiative for EMP,” said Paul Edwards, Executive Chairman of the EMP Group, during the company’s official launch yesterday. “We already serve over 130 banks and 30,000 merchants in 35 countries in the region.” Edwards also said that there is a strong correlation between access to financial services and growth in…
This Friday 13 June the newly launched Nairobi Startup garage will host the Intel code for Good Hackathon an event that will pit teams of coders against each other in an effort to solve problems through software. Registration for the event should be done in teams consisting of four individuals. The team will then be required to come up with an Android or HTML5 application that tackles a predefined challenge faced by various NGOs. Prizes to be won include devices (laptops and phones) with Intel software which will be awarded to each individual member of the winning team (a maximum…
Two days to the FIFA World cup Brazil 2014 DSTV SuperSport has joined in the largest football extravaganza promising viewers Augmented reality. Real-time social engagement. Live Streaming. Behind-the-scenes pictures and videos of DStv’s SuperSport’s expert panel, including Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs. These are just some of the digital elements SuperSport has lined up for viewers during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, starting on Thursday. Viewers will also have engaging, interactive content across multiple platforms and not just be limited to the live broadcast on the DStv set-top box. “SuperSport will be placing a major emphasis on its digital platforms…