Something is really wrong with the whole local content scene in Kenya even as everyone is scrambling to build the next African Instagram and iTunes, as well as a whole slew of different mobile and desktop innovations. You could say, quite honestly, that everyone is jumping on the local digital content bandwagon hoping to make that next big thing on the scale of Ushahidi and Safaricom’s M-Pesa. However, when it comes to the basics, I think that’s where everyone could possibly be...

Press Release

… new mobile phone-based customer service platform to ease ticketing and enhance services

Nairobi, May 7, 2012… Kenya Airways, in conjunction with local IT firm Cellulant, has launched a new mobile technology platform that will enable the airline’s customers to enjoy enhanced interactive services.

In a trendsetting move, Kenya Airways now becomes one of the first airlines in Africa to deliver a mobile phone-based solution as part of its...

press release

• Permanent tariff informed by Orange Mobile customer demand and uptake of the new offer
• 24 hour bundle includes unlimited free calls and SMSs within Orange network, 20 free off-net SMSes and free 10 MB data daily
• The Holla tariff includes free access to Facebook Zero

Nairobi, April 26, 2012… Integrated telecommunications service provider Orange has today announced that its bundled offer Holla is now a permanent tariff.

“Due...

As mentioned in my latest post on this blog, mobile marketing in all its myriad forms will change marketing as a whole in Kenya and the rest of Africa in the coming years. The reason for this is simple – when mobile is used as as marketing media, it is one of the most cost-effective, ubiquitous, measurable, targeted and...

Press Release

The Lower Indian Ocean Network submarine cable (LION2) operated by Telkom Kenya, a subsidiary of the France Telecom Group, has gone live. Telkom Kenya Chief Executive Mr. Mickhael Ghossein said LION2, whose laying cost over Ksh 5.7 billion (57 million Euros), is now operational and will significantly boost Kenya’s bandwidth capacity.

The submarine cable, which is the fourth to land in Mombasa after EASSy, TEAMS and SEACOM, is a 2,700 km long...

Press Release

subscribers in sections of Nairobi will from next week access the Internet at much faster speeds of 42 Mbps after a system upgrade. Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said initial roll-out will involve subscribers in the firm’s Data Belt within the Central Business District (CBD), Kileleshwa, Kilimani and Westlands. The Data Belt forms an area which has high Internet usage. The 42 Mbps trials started after the launch of 21 Mbps last year.

Mr. Collymore...

Press Release

There have been many predictions made by journalists, analysts and research houses that the “App” will eventually replace the current Internet, as we know it today. Having said that the App Developer community on the African continent is still very much in its infancy when compared to many other parts of the World.

There are many initiatives currently underway on the continent that are driving growth in this market though, for example some of the...

 Orange Money customers will have access to a Visa prepaid account
 The service enables Orange, in partnership with financial institutions, to offer Visa prepaid account services on mobile phones to unbanked and under-banked consumers

France Telecom-Orange (NYSE:FTE) and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced that Orange Money customers will soon have access to Visa prepaid account features inside their Orange Money accounts – a significant step in bringing Visa-quality payments...