Browsing: Travel-tech

A few weeks ago, I was positively surprised to see a sign in a sports shop in Karen, stating that they no longer accepted cash, only cards and mobile money.  Until that time, “no-cash” policies in shops was something I had only seen in the Scandinavian countries, and even there, it is still rare. Since the start of the pandemic, however, digital-only payment policies have proliferated in Kenya, and are starting to become commonplace.

Cash as a payment method has been in a slow, terminal decline in Kenya for many years, but it has managed to survive, until now.

Kenya has long been a forerunner in terms of digital payments in Africa. Even as far back as in the Moi era, many shops and supermarkets, most upscale restaurants, and virtually every hotel accepted Visa and Mastercard.  This was at a time when Ethiopia had one single bank branch in the …

Cloud9xp, leading online marketplace, booking service and distributor for leisure experiences with a Kenyan base has announced that they have joined forces with one of the fastest growing and tech-enabled tours and travel companies in the region, Heartbeat Adventures.

The deal finally came to a positive conclusion after several weeks of negotiations. The two companies will continue with operations under the Cloud9xp brand, with HeartBeat Adventures’s Founder, Winnie Kimathi, being appointed as the new Managing Director to oversee day to day operations of the company, open new doors for revenue generation through curated travel packages and lead the next phase of the company’s’ growth.

Following a recent round of undisclosed investment and launching their new mobile applications earlier in the year, Cloud9xp has been on an upward trend.

The merger will allow a better customer experience and bigger product basket size. This includes in-destination management, flight and accommodation bookings …