Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and National Social Security Fund (NSSF) had a difference in opinion, digitally, when a pilot programme to collect NSSF contributions to the tax man kitty failed.

According to the Business Daily, the new system was aimed to ease the collection of the contributions and was to have a pilot for 6 months.

“KRA has its own data bank that needs to be matched with that of the NSSF and NSSF has its own data bank which as well has to be matched with the one at KRA to enable smooth take off of the process,” KRA senior deputy commissioner Kennedy Onyonyi told Business Daily.

But this setback will be seen to question some of the government bodies to inculcate digital solutions in their processes.

For 13 years in a row, Coca-Cola has been the world most valuable brand and has lost the title to Apple, taking the third position after Google taking the second position.

This is the first time in Interbrand’s 14 year old “Best Global Brands ” report not having coke as the No. brand.

according to the Omnicom Group-owned branding firm, Apple’s name increased in worth by about 30 percent in 2012 to $98.3 billion, while Google’s brand worth is $93.2 billion and coke charts at $79.2 billion. The top 10 according to Interbrand are:-

Apple  – $98.3 billion

Google – $93.2 billion

Coca-Cola – $79.2 billion

 IBM – $78.8 billion

Microsoft -$59.5 billion

General Electric – $46.9 billion

 McDonalds’s – $41.9 billion

 Samsung – $39.6 billion

 Intel – $37.2 billion

 Toyota – $35.3 billion

It seems as though Nokia is set to plunge into the tablet market as there are details of such a device emerging on a regulatory statement in the USA.

Nokia has not given any hints on the  gadget but a document appears to be seeking handset approval form the telecoms regulator, the FCC. The regulator has revealed hints of such a tablet although the document seems o have been hidden of almost everything other than the minimum secure approvals.

 The Broadband Commission for Digital Development, in collaboration with Ericsson has issued a report titled: “Transformational solutions for 2015 and Beyond.” The report looks at several aspects of broadband and its positive effects on people, environment and society while analyzing national broadband plans for 138 countries.

The report identifies best government practices and urges the private sector to include broadband in their national development agenda. It further states that mobile broadband connections are expected to increase almost four times from 2012 to 2016 to over 160 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that mobile broadband has been driving financial inclusion through mobile banking and mobile money across the continent while supporting new ways of delivering healthcare in many countries.

The Broadband Commission for Digital Development is a joint initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The task force which delivered the report was led by Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.

According to Hans Vestberg, “As the post-2015 sustainable development agenda process evolved, we felt an urgent need to see action. We see so many opportunities for broadband to transform all aspects of society.  Technology evolves faster than policy, and we wanted to make a concerted effort to do everything we could to raise awareness of the potential.”

Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary General of the ITU, says: “Through this work the Broadband Commission would like to encourage the international community to recognize the need for transformative solutions in the post-2015 development agenda; and this report makes the case. The report presents for the first time new research showing how countries around the world use their national broadband plans as key policy instruments to leverage the full potential of broadband as an enabling infrastructure to accelerate sustainable development; yet there are also many missed opportunities, not least within poverty reduction and food security.”

Among the ten recommendations are “make broadband affordable for all,” and “deploy national development policies and plans to actively drive cross-sector integration of economic and social outcomes deliverable and scalable through ICT and broadband.”

The report cites Japan, Mexico, the Philippines Rwanda, and Sweden to have successfully integrated a wide range of development goals into their national broadband plans. The task force credits a spirit of collaborating across all sectors of governments and including the private sector to realize shared aims.

Follow Ericsson during the week at @ericssonsustain on Twitter and technologyforgood on Facebook, as well as on Google+ and LinkedIn.

Do you think your country is doing much to make this possible?

Rocket Internet’s  JUMIA has today launched the independence day store, launched Jumia express for same-day-delivery and is now the first distributor to bring Samsung Galaxy Note 3 exclusively to the Nigerian market as it celebrates independence with its Nigerian customers.

The Indepence Online Store will offer discounts and free delivery on all JUMIA products until October 1^st as well as free delivery.

Tunde Kehinde, Managing Director of JUMIA Nigeria said, “Independence Day is a huge local event with high importance for all of us. That’s why we’ve decided to celebrate this with our customers and to give something back to reward their loyalty. JUMIA is the first provider bringing the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to the Nigerians and will also give huge discounts and free delivery to celebrate this great date”

. “The satisfaction of our customers is our main focus. We are trying to improve ourselves every day to offer an even better shopping experience. With JUMIA Express we are the only provider in Nigeria who delivers items within a few hours. That’s a huge step forward”, he added.

JUMIA Express
JUMIA now offers its customers same-day-delivery within a few hours being the first and only provider in Nigeria offering this kind of service for special product releases.

Exclusive: Samsung Galaxy Note 3
JUMIA Nigeria is the first provider offering the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to customers in Nigeria. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is a cross between a phone and a tablet called “phablet”, and is the third version of the device. It comes with a 5.7-inch screen, a 13-megapixel camera and will run on 4G. One of the main innovations is the Air Command function which gives users easy access to the Note 3’s main features when using the S Pen.

The computerized irrigation systems, also known as the Automated Irrigation System, are controlled by a computerized controller which targets water resources for irrigation and fertigation (spraying the fertilizers) to the plant.

If a famer is planning to buy Amiran’s computerized irrigation system, all the farmer needs is to have is a convenient source of water and land.

Amiran irrigation experts will then study the topographic map provided by the farmers and later go through the processes of conceptualizing and mapping out a landscape design plan. This determines the amount of water each lawn section or particular greenhouse will need.

How it works

The water is pumped from the source through pipes and is then taken directly to the control room in the farm.

The Amiran control room is the ‘life’ of the computerized irrigation system, it is the link between the water source and the growing plants so most of the important things are found there.

Water quality varies from time to time so it is analysed regularly, so when the reaches the control room it is passed through filters with nutrients well adjusted.

The filters are especially suited with a backwash control system that enables the filter to clean itself while still filtering dirt out of the water.

Water then moves to the Nutrigation machine, which offers farmers the ability to have precise control over the delivery of nutrients and irrigation timing according to the changing needs of the plant. It mixes water with the fertilizer needed by the plant.

The pressure is then regulated before being released, systematically measured quantity, into the plantation. The machine is connected to the electric cables that control the opening and closing of valves which allow fertigation to take place.

The computerized irrigation is programmed to release water though valves at specific time increments, hence saving on water usage as opposed to the traditional watering with a hose pipe which in many cases leads to over watering of plants.

What are the advantages?

The biggest advantage of this technology is the ability to administer fertilizer while irrigating, saves on time, labour, accuracy as well as curbing resource wastage to ensure proper growth.

Amiran’s computerized irrigation systems help farmers to balance out their crops and ensure plants are of the same size since they get the same amount of water and nutrients.

With Amiran’s top quality drippers from Netafim, which are resistant to the effects of regular chemicals and fertilizers.

For this reasons and many more, farmers are now turning to Amiran’s Drip irrigation and have enjoyed improved profitability.

Amiran, has for several decades now partnered with Netafim, that invented drip irrigation, to set up more than 80 percent of irrigation computer system used in Kenyan flower farms and for large-scale horticultural growers.

The company has for so long be the spearhead of modern and very efficient agricultural technologies that are sustainable, high productivity guarantee and are environmentally friendly.

 After achieving a revenue of $245 million in 2012, leading IT and consumer electronics distributor – Mitsumi Distribution has moved its headquarters to Dubai and forecasts to double its revenues end of 2013.

The firm, founded in Kenya 17 years ago believes the new HQ’s will be strategic for its MEA expansion and growth. Mitsumi will be showcasing its technologies at GITEX technology week as a launchpad in the region.

According to Mitesh Shah, Managing Director, Mitsumi Distribution,“Mitsumi has 17 years strong presence in Africa and we aim to replicate this success in the Middle East, We understand the needs of companies and how important it is for resellers to have resilient distributor for a more sustainable operation in a competitive market.

GITEX 2013 from 20-24^th October, 2013; Mitsumi will use the exhibition to reinforce its presence and showcase products / solutions from 19 global technology vendors such as HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Riverbed, Tripplite, Dell, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Western Digital, Sandisk, Dell SonicWallandMicrosoft amongst others. Having 15 warehouses, 9 service centres and over 3,500 resellers across the MEA region, the distributor is bullish about its future growth.

“Attracting a large number of visitors and decision makers, Gitex has facilitated in meeting new customers and building strong partnership with the channel community. We hope to achieve the same success this year,” added Shah.

At the exhibition, Mitsumi will take the opportunity to highlight the need of buying genuine products from authorised resellers. In addition, to prevent grey market abuse the company will offer intensive training and other innovative sales incentive programs for resellers to help them operate in a competitive market.

At Gitex, MITSUMI Distribution will be located at Consumer Technology – Hall 8, Stand number A8.

Do you think moving HQ’s from Nairobi to Dubai will affect the firm’s reach into Africa? Does the firm’s move mean Kenya is an unfavorable place for business?