Browsing: Mpesa

• Telco giant Safaricom has reported a 2.1% increase in net profit, reaching $225 million (KES34.2 billion) for the six months ending on September 30.
• Company CEO says there was heightened pressure on consumers’ finances due to both global influences and domestic inflation. 
• Money transfer service M-PESA was the firm’s biggest source of revenue at 42% in the period.

Kenya’s telecommunications giant, Safaricom, has reported a 2.1 percent increase in net profit, reaching $225 million (KES34.2 billion) for the six months ending on September 30. During this period, earnings from the cash transfer service, M-PESA, which constitutes approximately 42 per cent of the total service revenue, saw a 16 per cent surge compared to the same period in the previous year.

Safaricom CEO, Peter Ndegwa, pointed out that during the six months, there was heightened pressure on consumers’ finances due to both international influences and domestic factors such as inflation. Furthermore, …

Currently, financial inclusion is a target that all African countries must achieve. Boosting Africa’s financial inclusion will have a positive impact on economic growth and the prosperity of society. Through financial inclusion, everyone has access to a variety of quality, effective, and efficient financial services. Increasing public accessibility to financial service products will further reduce the level of economic and social inequality which in turn will improve the welfare of the community.

One of the efforts to achieve this financial inclusion target is through technology in the form of digital finance. When financial products and services use internet technology, it makes it easier for people to directly access various kinds of payments, shopping, savings, and investments, including loan and credit facilities. Among these digital financial elements, the payment facility is the service that is experiencing the fastest development and contributes greatly to the achievement of Africa’s financial inclusion targets.…

Airtel Kenya has announced the launch of its fifth-generation network (5G) to take advantage of the increasing adoption of 5G devices. Last month, Airtel Kenya announced its intention to expand its network coverage to meet the growing demand for data services in East Africa. With this move, Airtel Kenya joins Safaricom among the network providers that have introduced 5G in the country.…

• Bharti Mittal is the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s foremost first-generation corporations.
• It has interests in telecom, space communications, digital solutions, insurance, foods, real estate and hospitality.
• Bharti Airtel, the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises, has operations in 17 countries. It ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, an Indian business magnate and philanthropist, was in Kenya last week managing a significant announcement by Airtel Kenya, a division of Airtel Africa.

During his visit, Airtel Kenya announced plans to expand its network coverage to meet the growing demand for data services in the country. The new expansion will add 349 sites into its infrastructure network by December.

What’s more, an additional 300 sites are in the pipeline, the management added. The new investment represents the company’s commitment to enhancing connectivity and improving service quality.

We aim to bridge digital divide—Bharti Mittal

The …

• Mobile money is growing fast in East Africa
• Despite of the pandemic, still mobile money regulators enabled its performance
• Financial technologies are changing the way unbanked populations access finance services 

Mobile money is still king in Africa and will be so for long. With more than 548 million (up 12 per cent) registered accounts attached to a 27.4 billion transaction volume worth $490 billion, Africa stands to draw billions from mobile money and transform its economies significantly (GSMA 2021). 

Thanks to financial technology (fintech) which has accelerated financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa, now more than ever, the unbanked population in rural areas of Africa can access financial services seamlessly, even during the coronavirus pandemic’s harsh times. 

Today fintech technologies are challenging traditional financial services, particularly banks in Africa. This has forced banks to adapt to the new game brought by fintech aggregators, including fusing their services to mobile services and …

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 9 – East and Central Africa’s most profitable company Safaricom will help transform Ethiopia by positively impacting most sectors of the 112 million population economy.

This is according to Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta who says the Kenyan telco’s entry into Ethiopia will help the economy make even greater strides in its areas of strength.

These include digital presence, mobile money, telephony, data and fibre connectivity, and business solutions among others.

Kenyatta spoke on Tuesday in Addis Ababa during the issuance of an operation license to the Safaricom led Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium which won a Sh91.8 billion bid to operate in the country.

The licences are expected to bring an infusion of cash, jobs and infrastructure investment.

The consortium won a 15-year license in a competitive bidding process making it the first private telecoms player in the country.

It brings together Kenya’s Safaricom, South Africa’s Vodacom, …

Uganda Revenue Authority assistant commissioner IT James Kizza is the winner of the East Africa CIO of the Year Award 2019.

He has been recognized for his “crucial role” in the trail-blazing digital development of the URA.

READ ALSO:Uganda Revenue Authority(URA) disagrees with importers over payment method

According to the judges, the role of the chief information officer (CIO) continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, and only those executives who advance in lockstep will enjoy prolonged success and better the enterprises that they dedicate their energies to serve.

The 2019 East Africa CIO100 jury led by Professor Louis Fourie, former VC at the Western Cape Peninsula University of Technology, flanked by Alex Ntale CEO – Rwanda ICT Chamber, Bill Sangiwa, Digital Transformation Expert in Tanzania, Charles Musisi, a senior ICT expert in Uganda and Elizabeth Ochieng, ICT director- Deloitte appreciated the high level of submissions for the 2019 …

SBM Bank has partnered with leading global payment network UnionPay International to roll out its UnionPay Prepaid Card in Kenya.

The partnership with SBM Bank enables cardholders of UnionPay prepaid card to leverage on UnionPay’s global footprint to make both online and real-time purchases.

UnionPay cards are accepted in 174 countries and regions with 55 million merchants and over 2.9 million ATMs making it ideal for travelers and tourists.

According to SBM Group Chairman Kee Chong Li, this UnionPay card is especially ideal for SMEs looking to trade with China which is one of the leading markets for African produce and also acts as a key source market for various goods.

READ ALSO:SBM bank further shakes Kenya’s banking industry with more branches

Mr. Kee Chong Li says that the pre-paid card will also offer additional security for travelers and online buyers shielding them from online fraud and the erosion …

Even as mobile penetration continue to grow, the East Africa region is still sluggish in technology innovations especially in the insurance sector.

The region is considered as Africa’s Silicon Savannah with a high mobile penetration, home grown digital financial innovations like M-PESA that is now being exported in other countries and a fast growing tech start –up ecosystem.

Statistics indicate that about $63.6 billion is transacted in aggregate in a single year on mobile money platforms in the East African Community (EAC) countries. This corresponds to 46 percent of the total GDP of the EAC in the most recent statistics.

Mobile is a key factor in the region’s start-up ecosystem where many tech start-ups now use the technology as the primary platform to create solutions that address various socioeconomic challenges.

According to the GSM Association, a trade body that represents the interests of mobile network operators globally, over half of …

The digital divide in Africa is real: Three-quarters of the people on the continent do not have sufficient access to the internet – or have no access at all.

This has an impact on everyone and in every component of society, from health to economic well-being to education. The priority solution requires a combination of continent-wide high-speed access combined with low prices, available through the surety of satellite connectivity.

On June 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th, 2019 the East African Communications Organizations* (EACO) is gathering in Dar Es Salaam. Regional experts, national ICT regulators, operators, services providers (in the telecommunication, broadcasting and postal sub-sectors) ICT training institutions, and other stakeholders in the communication sector from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will iron out a common agenda in preparation of the 2019 World Radio Communication Conference. Necessary revisions to Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the …