Pesapal starts Payment processing for low cost Kenyan Airlines

Pesapal has this year started processing payments for low cost carriers in Kenya. Jetways Airlines, Silverstone Air and Skyward Express will from now on use Pesapal’s integrated payment system to process Mpesa, Visa, mVisa, MasterCard and American Express payments on their respective websites. This not only gives travellers the freedom to pay conveniently for their flights but also makes it easier for airlines to track payments and traveller flight information. These airlines join African Express Airways in Kenya and Eagle Air in Uganda showing Pesapal’s growth as a payment processor…

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How AI could bring a difference in 2019

In 2019, artificial intelligence (AI) will increasingly become a mainstream presence in our work and personal lives, inspiring our purchase decisions and digging deeper into business outcomes and events. At the same time, expectations surrounding AI will also grow, as calls for transparency and fair play become too loud for businesses to ignore. Here are four ways we see AI making a difference in our lives in the new year: AI gets warm and fuzzy. Conversational AI is fast becoming a fact of life; already, 20% of U.S. adults have access to smart speakers in their homes. Google…

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Vodacom to pay ex-worker who invented the ‘Please Call Me’ idea after gridlock

1Gbps

Nkosana Makate,  the former employee behind the Please Call Me service, says he is exploring his options after Vodacom decided on a “ridiculous and insulting” sum of money to settle a long-standing dispute between them. Vodacom said over the weekend it considered the matter  “finally settled and closed” after its CEO, Shameel Joosub, had decided on a “reasonable” payment for Makate, the former employee who came up with the idea in late 2000. The mobile operator did not disclose the amount, citing a confidentiality agreement. This comes nearly three years…

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Apple suffers biggest single-day loss in 6 years

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 660 points as Apple stock dropped nearly 10 percent – the biggest single day decline for the company since 2013 – just one day after it slashed its revenue forecast. Shortly after spooking Asian and European investors, CEO Tim Cook’s bombshell announcement rocked Wall Street on Thursday. The drop marked the worst start to a year for both the S&P 500 and the Dow since 2000, while for the Nasdaq it was the weakest start since 2005, according to Market Watch.  The…

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The gift that keeps on taking, Bitcoin sinks again… below $4,000

banking security

The blood letting is not stopping soon as Bitcoin plunges once again over the weekend and is now trading for less than $4,000 for the first time since September 2017. The cryptocurrency fell to as low as $US3,519.94($4,874) on the Bitstamp platform, after earlier falling to a 14-month low of $3,462,57. It has lost 74 percent of its value so far this year, after hitting nearly $20,000 in December last year. Most other cryptocurrencies are faring just as poorly or worse, and in total, more than $700 billion in market…

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Disruptive technology emerging markets in Africa could leverage to transform utilities

The entire installed generation capacity of Africa’s 48 Sub-Saharan countries is just 68 gigawatts, no more than Spain; this is according to the Africa’s Infrastructure report conducted by the World Bank. Up to one-quarter of that capacity is unavailable because of aging plants and poor maintenance. In Sub-Saharan Africa, just one person in five has access to electricity. If current trends continue, fewer than 40% of Sub-Saharan African countries will reach universal access to electricity by 2050. Per capita consumption of electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) averages only…

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Founding DG of Kenya’s Vision 2030 secretariat Mugo Kibati, takes over at Telkom Kenya

artificial intelligence

Telecommunications company Telkom Kenya has appointed Mugo Kibati as its new chief executive officer, taking over from Mr Aldo Mareuse. Announcing the change, Telkom Kenya board chair Eddy Njoroge said the firm was grateful to Mr Mareuse for his successful leadership for the period he has been with the company. “Notable milestones achieved during his tenure include the expansion of the company’s network by over 50 per cent, successful rebranding of the company to Telkom and rolling out of a 4G network, resulting in the company becoming the data operator…

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Econet’s Kwesé is shutting down its operations to refocus on video-on-demand

Pay-TV Company Kwesé is shutting down its operations barely two years after launch as Econet, the parent firm, shifts its attention to latest digital and satellite broadcasting trends. Subscribers of Kwese satellite TV will access free-to-air (FTA) stations only after the firm did away with third-party channels according to a report by Business Daily Africa (BD) “We believe these changes will safeguard the future success of our business as we continue to make an indelible impact on Africa’s media industry. The revised business strategy will also ensure that Kwesé TV…

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Apple to stop reporting how many iPhones, iPads and Macs it sells each quarter

Apple

Apple said Thursday it plans to stop reporting how many iPhones, iPads and Macs it sells each quarter, in what could be a nod to flatlining growth in some of these product lines. Apple will continue to report revenue for these categories. The move was just one of the concerning announcements Apple made Thursday. The company also said it expects sales in the all-important holiday quarter to be between $89 billion and $93 billion, skewing short of analyst estimates. At the low end of that range, Apple’s holiday sales would…

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IBM reveals plans to acquire Red Hat for a record $34 billion

IBM is acquiring Red Hat, a major distributor of open-source software and technology, in a deal valued around $34 billion, the companies announced on Sunday. According to a joint statement, IBM will pay cash to buy all shares in Red Hat at $190 each. Shares in Red Hat closed at $116.68 on Friday before the deal was announced. The open source, enterprise software maker will become a unit of IBM’s Hybrid Cloud division, with Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst joining IBM’s senior management team and reporting to CEO Ginni Rometty.…

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