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Xoom, PayPal’s money transfer service, announced that the company’s customers in the US, UK, Canada and Europe can now send secure and convenient money transfers directly to mobile wallets in key markets across Africa with a focus on the underbanked segment This new service expands the company’s offering to send money to mobile wallets in Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—with plans to include more markets in 2021.  Mobile money services are being deployed rapidly across emerging markets as a key tool to further the goal of financial inclusion. Financial inclusion is instrumental in lifting the undeserved population out of poverty—and for driving economic growth. In 2019, the number of globally registered mobile money accounts surpassed the one billion mark . In Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, over 60 percent of adults have mobile money accounts. This new service expands Xoom’s offerings in Africa as the current service al

Global Voice Group (GVG), a leading regulatory technology developer and Big Data Analytics organisation, and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD) have announced a partnership that will see GVG share their expertise in the analysis of big data with national statistical offices across Africa, to support sustainable development initiatives. This collaboration will help to promote the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and strengthen GPSDD and the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) capacity building programme: COVID-19: Data for a Resilient Africa. "Sustainable development is integral, and even more so on the African continent. All governments are looking to grow their countries’ economies and ensuring better lives for all, but they remain cognizant that it must be done in a systematic manner. We are looking to support this by sharing our expertise in data analytics that will make their data actionable and support decision making while en

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, has released a report detailing how the use of e-commerce has taken an upward trajectory as the festive season approaches. The report, drafted by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) and titled Accelerating the shift to eCommerce, stated that most small businesses surveyed (60%), have taken steps to prepare for the seasonal sales activity that kicks-off with Black Friday. The preparations include changing their infrastructure and digitizing their business.   Additionally, according to the survey, 81% of customers surveyed indicated they are willing to pay more for a good customer experience when they shop online. This indicates a growing willingness by customers to conduct their purchases using eCommerce. Speaking during the launch of the report, Eva Ngigi-Sarwari, Country Leader for Visa in Kenya, said that this move presents a great opportunity for small businesses to benefit from eCommerce during the festive period. “Small and Medium-si

The Hyundai Sante Fe at a showroom in Nairobi Portuguese multinational Salvador Caetano Group has given a boost to this year’s Captain’s Prize at The Muthaiga Golf club, sponsoring the exclusive first Hole-In-One winner with a brand new Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel Premium (complete with a 5 Year  / 100,000kms Warranty) on Hole # 13. The brand new Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) is a 2019 model and is packed with innovative features and advanced technologies. The vehicle currently Retails @ Ksh. 8,200,000/=, but is currently on a Black Friday offer of Ksh 6,700,000/= “We are very excited to be a part of this exciting tournament, and happy to support Captain Snehal Patel (better known as Munna). I would like to wish all the players the very best – and hope that someone gets a Hole-In-One on hole # ‘13’… enabling them to Drive Off with a brand new Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel Premium! All he or she has to do… Drive off the tee box with some luck or really good aim, and Drive Off with the new Hyundai

The COVID-19 pandemic has created major financial challenges for businesses and consumers alike. As money management becomes increasingly digital, fintechs play a pivotal role in helping to restore and rebuild the global economy. To provide increased support for the ecosystem, Visa (NYSE: V) today announced two new components of its fintech Fast Track program: 1. A rich Partner Toolkit to help fintechs accelerate their growth and better serve their customers. 2. A certification program called Visa Ready for Fintech Enablers, which makes it easier for fintechs to quickly connect with certified partners for digital issuance and other key services.  Fintech leaders around the world are increasingly choosing to work with Visa across key categories including digital wallets, digital banking, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’, B2B payments, cross-border remittance, bill payments, payments infrastructure, and person-to-person payments. Recent examples of fintechs partnering with Visa include Affirm, BillG

Visa, the world leader in digital payments, has today launched a contactless payments campaign in Kenya dubbed “Maisha ni Kutap”. “Maisha ni Kutap” enables a safe and secure contactless experience for consumers. The campaign is targeting the growing base of consumers looking for safer payment solutions, both physically and technologically. In addition to the advantages of speed and ease, contactless payments are safe because they use protocols similar to encoding (replacing sensitive and private information such as the 16-digit account numbers with a unique digital identifier called the code). The EMV chip generates a one-time encryption code, and thus prevents fraud and counterfeiting attempts.  Moreover, Visa has several resources in place to familiarize consumers with the security features provided by contactless payment technologies and e-commerce to keep them safe while paying with their cards. “Across the globe, we’re settling into a new normal, an immediate acceleration of digit

Flourish, a mission-oriented global venture capital firm with portfolio investments throughout Africa, today unveiled a  survey in its global research series —The Digital Hustle: Gig Worker Financial Lives Under Pressure. The report tracks the experiences of gig workers, those who use digital platforms such as e-hailing or delivery apps, to learn more about how they are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kenya’s gig economy has been growing steadily over the years with entrance of many local and international players offering ride hailing and online delivery services. However the Covid 19 pandemic affected operations in the sector making most players to effect a raft of measures in order to remain afloat in business. Surveying more than 600 South African gig workers, Flourish found that 76% experienced a large decrease in income since March 2020. The report also summarizes how gig workers are coping with economic dislocation. “Digital platforms have made it possible for workers aroun

Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, announced the results of its access to healthcare programs part of the “In reach Africa” program namely Kuza Afya and Tiba Yako in Nairobi and Western Kenya.   Kuza Afya is a diabetes and hypertension care programme designed to work with communities and healthcare workers through comprehensive education, screening and care. It was unveiled in January 2019 and rolled out in Bungoma County, Western Kenya until December 2019. During this period, over 70,000 community members were screened for hypertension and 40,000 for diabetes. “Hypertension and diabetes prevalence rates are still very high in Nairobi and Western Kenya regions. However, through Kuza Afya and Tiba Yako we were able to identify the key challenges on the ground being lack of awareness on the diseases and access to healthcare services especially in the grassroots and low income areas. The two programmes helped bridge this gap by equipping m

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, has launched its new “Where You Shop Matters’ initiative that aims to champion and enable entrepreneurs in Kenya, while encouraging consumers to support small businesses. Alongside a new SMB resource hub, Visa has published the COVID-19 CEMEA Impact Tracker highlighting the recent effect the novel coronavirus pandemic has had on commerce for consumers and small merchants in Kenya. The findings of the report highlight increased anxiety with consumers staying away from all but essential retail. 65% of consumers polled reported going grocery shopping less often, while 49% reported taking public transportation less often. The impact of the pandemic still hasn’t made a big impact on transactions on public transport as nearly a third of the surveyed consumers saying that they still pay with cash when using public transport. During the pandemic, many consumers in Kenya have started shopping online for the first time for essentials. 39% of co

Health start-ups in Kenya and Uganda have been selected as winners in the VivaTech 2020 Global Challenge This follows an online final challenge organized by Sanofi following the cancellation of the 2020 edition of VivaTech that was to be held in Paris, France due to the global CoViD-19 pandemic.  Kenya’s MamaPrime and Uganda’s Teheca emerged winners at the AfricaTech challenges and are set to receive partnership opportunities with Sanofi in the realization of the projects and innovation in their local markets. The f ive start-ups were announced winners during the final of the Sanofi AfricaTech challenges (the African lab of Viva Technology) which was conducted online. They were selected from a pool of 11 start-ups who pitched at the finals of the challenge.  This year, Sanofi received a total of 268 application from 34 countries across the continent. The selection process was based on 5 criteria: project maturity, early results, the relevance of their solution, market potential and bus

Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies has unveiled a global training and awareness programme on albinism in an effort to safeguard persons with albinism from discrimination and raise awareness in their environment. The programme will educate people with albinism, their families, friends and health care providers on the importance of protecting those affected by the condition. It will be implemented in close collaboration with key partners - Ampath, Golden Age Albinism Support Group (GAASP) and Positive Exposure, all based in Kenya. The training which will be rolled out in Western Kenya will also focus on health and safety conditions for people living with albinism in the region while emphasizing on the importance of the community to embrace and protect those with the condition in their environment. Jane Waithera, the founder of Positive Exposure says a comprehensive programme has been designed in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim and the

Livestock farmers in Kenya can now access essential extension services from their mobile phones following the unveiling of the the ‘Last Mile’ app. The “LastMile” initiative is an integrated, solutions-driven program seeking to address crucial animal health challenges by making animal medical resources available in hard-to-reach areas. The initiative targets ruminants, such as sheep, goats along with cattle, and poultry.   Established by Boehringer Ingelheim, with support from the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) and funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “LastMile” aims to bridge current gaps in access, availability, and awareness of animal healthcare solutions for smallholder farmers in Africa. The program’s mission is to create long-lasting partnerships with the local farming community in an effort to establish and drive sustainable businesses that are integrated into the wider national economy. It was initially launched in Kenya, and other key ma

Fintechs are a central part of the global payments ecosystem, and amidst COVID-19 have launched further into the spotlight, reporting sizable upticks in the usage of their apps, as more people manage their money from their personal devices. Visa today is proud to announce its continued support of the global Fintech community, having grown the Fast Track Program to over 140 Fintechs . Since expanding globally in mid-2019, the Fast Track program has grown 280%, highlighting the surge in demand for digital payments worldwide. Fast Track allows both new and established businesses to leverage the speed, security, reliability and scale of the Visa network to get up and running quickly, taking the process from months to weeks . The program provides turnkey access to Visa’s ecosystem partners, online licensing, Visa’s APIs as well as extensive go-to-market toolkits, online education and expert advice to help Fintechs scale their business. With new members from Africa, Asia Pacific, E

Following the cancellation of the 2020 edition of VivaTech that was to be held in Paris, Sanofi will on June 11 th  organise an online pitch session as part of its AfricaTech Challenge. The objective is to ensure that Sanofi is continually committed to encouraging innovation in Africa, improving access to healthcare and transforming the health ecosystem throughout the continent. For this 3 rd  edition, Sanofi received 268 applications from 34 countries across the continent registering a 20.7% increase in applications as compared to 222 applications last year. 11 finalists were selected based on their project maturity, early results, the relevance of their solution, market potential, business model and the skills and expertise of their team. This year, a total of 22 applications were made from East Africa with 18 applications received just from Kenya, three from Uganda and one from Tanzania. Mama Prime, a Kenyan health fintech company has been selected to take part in the fina