Browsing: Safaricom

Kenya’s National Cereals and Produce Board has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Safaricom’s DigiFarm Kenya Ltd to help small-scale farmers in Kenya access post-harvest management services through the digital platform. 

The MoU comes at a time when a new survey has indicated that African farmers are missing out on agritech innovations that could supercharge the sector with opportunities for youth.

The board said it shall offer post-harvest management services to farmers present on the platform, while DigiFarm will connect NCPB to small-scale farmers, who will in turn, access NCPB services at prevailing rates.

DifiFarm bypasses middlemen, giving small-holder farmers direct access to low-cost seeds and fertiliser, credit providers, and bulk purchasers of their produce.

NCPB Managing Director J. Kimote said the MoU is aligned to the agriculture hub model that the board is required to establish under the Reforms.

“The hub shall provide a one-stop shop for farmers …

Africa’s healthcare sector is on the verge of digital transformation.

This is according to a policy paper that indicates that while governments are accelerating formal digital health strategies, 41 out of 54 African countries have a digital health strategy in place.

Vodacom’s e-health policy paper also finds that consumers are dramatically increasing their engagement with digital health services via their smartphones. Official data forecasts that by 2025, smartphone reach in sub-Saharan Africa will increase by almost 70 percent.

The policy paper indicates that as a result of increased smartphone reach, informal use of digital healthcare solutions has increased, with 41 percent of internet users across Africa regularly using their mobile phones to search for health information.

Overall, the policy paper notes that there has been an exponential rise in the number of people engaging with digital health services through their smartphones, creating vast potential for countries to deliver access to …

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, …

The dawn of 5G in Africa is here with us and what was once seen as a dream has turned to reality, albeit with revised expectations. South Africa became the first country in Africa to offer commercial 5G services with Rain, Vodacom and MTN piloting it in various cities and using different methods to reach their clients.  

Rain launched the country’s first commercial 5G network in partnership with China’s Huawei Technologies in 2019 in Johannesburg and Tshwane, offering subscribers unlimited data at speeds of up to 700Mbps for R1,000 per month. Since launch Rain has doubled its 5G coverage,  achieving it by adding more sites and providing a new 5G router to users. 

Vodacom’s launch to the mobile market covered three cities: Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. It was able to fast track the launch by using a temporary spectrum assigned by the South African telecommunications regulator …

It has never occurred in Africa for people to remain indoors, work from home and limit human interactions as much as possible to curb the spread of disease.  

Nearly 42 nations enacted partial or full lockdowns to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), hence—this ushered rolling drums for other aspects of life to take form, particularly digitization of life. 

Africa, a continent of more than 1.3 billion people, experienced the horror of the virus as massive volumes of trade and goods ceased to interact within the economy pool, forcing some communities to adopt other means of life, including being well versed with virtual meetings, online shopping, online learning and online working. 

As Rwandan President Paul Kagame says, “…the pandemic is a test for us. The way we address it shows our level of preparedness against anything that attempts to disrupt our lives and …

There has been a rapid uptake of mobile technologies in the region with strong economic growth in the past 2 decades.…

Many companies are thus rushing to claim a share of this market as the global banking industry earnings shrink.…

As the initial cases of Coronavirus were bubbling under in China, a special event was happening in a Nairobi hotel. Safaricom, the biggest telco is the East African region was signing a deal that would allow South Korean telco Korean Telcom (KT) to introduce an epidemiological tracing technology in Kenya.

The two entities joined together with the Ministry of Health to launch disease surveillance and awareness project that will enhance the country’s epidemic preparedness and control.  Safiri Smart is part of Korea Telecom’s Global Epidemic Prevention Project and is aimed at helping the Ministry of Health prevent the transmission of infectious diseases such as Ebola from entering Kenya.

“This solution will see Safaricom subscribers who opt into the service receive important information about any epidemics that have broken out at their travel destination including prevention, measures, and symptoms. Such partnerships that help keep our communities safe are crucial in our …

At least 27 African states have so far been affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus with nearly 350 people diagnosed with the virus across the continent.

As the virus continues on its upward trajectory in Africa, concerted efforts are seeking to arrest its spread with support coming from different entities. The latest announcement of support is by Alibaba Founder Jack Ma who has pledged to donate medical supplies including masks, testing kits and medical use protective suits and face shields to all the 54 African countries.

In the statement posted on his Twitter account, Ma said that Africa can be one step ahead of the coronavirus which has already been classified a pandemic by the WHO.

Read: Coronavirus shakes economies, world forced to change perspective on Africa

Through his Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation, Ma has already donated medical supplies to other countries hardest hit by the virus, including Japan, …

The company’s media spend was Ksh63.3 billion which was on different means and platforms to keep it in people’s consciences…