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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 equippi...

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 potentia...

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 ke...

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 pa...

Following a partnership announced today between Visa and MYDAWA, it is now simpler and safer to purchase medication through the online pharmacy.  The partnership is part of a drive to encourage consumers to embrace cashless payments and avoid leaving their homes where possible in support of calls by the government for citizens to observe social distancing during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the incentives, Visa customers who order medication and other essential products via the MYDAWA platform get a discounted rate on their purchase. “This partnership with Visa could not have come at a more important time for the country.  We are fighting an invisible enemy and every Kenyan must follow the Government’s guidelines of staying at home unless they have essential matters to attend to.  By using MYDAWA, people will be able to stay at home and stay safe as they order for their essentials at a discounted price. This will ease the financial burden on tho...

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech announced today that the first participants have been dosed in the U.S. in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19. The trial is part of a global development program, and the dosing of the first cohort in Germany was completed last week. The Phase 1/2 study is designed to determine the safety, immunogenicity and optimal dose level of four mRNA vaccine candidates evaluated in a single, continuous study. The dose level escalation portion (Stage 1) of the Phase 1/2 trial in the U.S. will enrol up to 360 healthy subjects into two age cohorts (18-55 and 65-85 years of age). The first subjects immunized in Stage 1 of the study will be healthy adults 18-55 years of age. Older adults will only be immunized with a given dose level of a vaccine candidate once testing of that candidate and dose level in younger adults has provided initial evidence of safety and immunogenicity.  Sites currently dosing participants in...

Visa Inc., the global leader in digital payments and Pesapal have today announced a strategic partnership to drive connected digital payments to consumers and businesses in Africa. Pesapal will become a Visa Principal Member driving small business acquiring and issuing. Pesapal has created Africa's only payments ecosystem that offers Ecommerce, Point of Sale and Consumer applications on one platform. Pesapal recruits and supports businesses to be able to digitize payment collection securely while integrating to business internal systems such as POS, ERP, Accounting and Billing systems. By integrating businesses, Pesapal is then able to drive consumer payments to the merchants on the same platform. Since its inception, Pesapal has been driving a connected payment experience for merchants and consumers. Previously, digital payments were only available to large businesses. Pesapal has changed this with Sabi - a mobile point of sale solution that enables small businesses to accept ...

Visa Inc., the world leader in digital payments, introduced Visa Secure (previously known as Verified by Visa), an updated program to help make online payments more secure. Available across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region, Visa Secure provides rules and policies merchants and issuing banks have to follow to authenticate eCommerce transactions and verify cardholder identity before a transaction can be authorized. Visa Secure uses the latest EMV 3-D Secure (3DS) specification, which is the new industry-wide messaging protocol designed to promote frictionless consumer authentication. It enables consumers to verify their identity with their issuing bank or other entity (issuer) when making card-not-present (CNP) eCommerce/online payments. The additional security layer helps prevent unauthorized CNP transactions and helps protect merchants from exposure to CNP fraud. Visa Secure has been designed to provide increased fraud protection, minimize cardh...

COVID-19: SMEs in Kenya set to benefit from KSH. 63.9M Relief Fund as Boehringer Ingelheim steps up effort with Global Support Program A Boehringer Ingelheim scientist from one of the areas of research and development (R&D) Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the largest pharmaceuticals in the world has significantly stepped up its support to the fight against COVID-19. A Global Support Program has been set up to bring more financial relief, protective materials and medicine donations to healthcare institutions and communities in need around the world. Local social enterprises are expected to receive EUR 555,000 an equivalent of KSH. 63.9M in support of their programmes in Kenya. Some of the beneficiaries of this fund include local enterprises such as Access Afya, Healthy Entrepreneurs and Jacaranda Health. “As a pharmaceuticals company, we feel a strong commitment to offering our help to patients, and to those who help them”, said Hubertus von Baumbach, Chairman of the B...

The Visa Foundation today announced a commitment of two programs totaling $210 million (Ksh 21 billion) to to address the urgent need from local communities following the spread of COVID-19, as well as to support small and micro businesses, aligning with the Foundation’s long-term focus on women’s economic advancement and inclusive economic development. The first program of $10 million (Ksh 1bn) is designated for immediate emergency relief to support charitable organizations on the frontlines responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as public health and food relief, in each of the five geographic regions in which Visa operates, including Kenya. “As COVID-19 continues to unfold, communities are feeling the effects and need our immediate support,” said Al Kelly, CEO and chairman of Visa. “As a global company that operates a very local business, we recognize this need. We’re also committed to the long-term recovery and will continue to explore ways we can accelerate economic...

Michael Armstrong (FCA) ICAEW Regional Director for Middle East Africa and South Asia The impact of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus on jobs and businesses is great and far-reaching; affecting lives and threatening the survival of various companies across the globe. Panic is spreading like wildfire over the sudden and deadly virus. The number of infections is on a high rise globally, with an average of over 3,500 new cases recorded daily making it the top most infectious disease at the moment according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).  As a result, many activities are scaling down disrupting the normal operation of people and businesses. Countries around the world are enforcing lockdowns to varying extents with some even completely closing their borders.  While all these necessary efforts are aimed at slowing down the spread of the disease, there have been consequences especially in the service industry. The tours, travel and hospitality industries are the ...