Category: TECH

The Internet and Mobile taking over the delivery space

Dianne Jacobs
Food

For the longest time, restaurants held takeaways as an afterthought. Well, not anymore. The food catering business has gone past the takeout era and has evolved so much that delivery has become the hot trend in Kenya. The great digital revolution, burgeoning e-commerce and the convenience of mobile money which allows buyers to pay for their deliveries right off their phones, has spurred a whole new industry that is today the food delivery market. And Kenyans, enticed by the convenience of ordering online from their favorite local restaurants and having…

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High Tech Solar pumps for underground freshwater

Dianne Jacobs
pump

High-tech solar pumps mapping underground freshwater reservoirs across Africa are collecting data that can help prevent them running dry, the project’s developers said on Tuesday. Manufactured by British social enterprise Futurepump, the solar pumps are being used by thousands of small-scale farmers in 15 African nations, including Kenya and Uganda, as a cleaner, cheaper option to diesel and gasoline-powered ones. The pumps’ sensors record real-time data such as energy usage and pump speed in each location, which is shared with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to calculate groundwater extraction…

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How Technology can be used to ensure safety

Dianne Jacobs
AI

The role of technology in addressing some of the most pressing challenges in the world cannot be understated. Public-private cooperation will play a pivotal role in creating an enabling environment for this to come to fruition. Uber hosted the Tech for Safety summit in Nairobi to deliberate with entrepreneurs, businesses, the government and the private sector on how to tap technology to address challenging personal safety concerns, including safety within communities, road safety, or the safety of individuals using online platforms. During the summit, keynote speaker Philip Thigo, a tech,…

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Drivers and travelers connected via app

MTN Rwanda

After completing their university studies in computer science, classmates Ngugi Waithima and Denis Kiprono looked for jobs in vain. In June, the two former students of computer science at Mount Kenya University met in a Nairobi office in a job-hunting mission. Later over a cup of tea, they discussed their challenges in search of non-existent jobs. Their talk shifted to escalating traffic jams in Nairobi and the problems people face when travelling over the festive season. It’s from their traffic discussion that they hit some sort of Eureka moment. They…

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UTU Technologies raised $500k bridge funding

Dianne Jacobs
UTU Technologies innovation

UTU Technologies, a Kenyan Block chain & AI startup building on the Aeternity block chain, has raised $500, 000 bridge funding. UTU Technologies was among the companies that graduated from the Aeternity Ventures StarFleet Accelerator program that saw the company initial funding. According to Jason Eisen, CEO, UTU, the total funding raised now is $1.3 million. UTU Technologies is the company behind the ride-hailing app, Maramoja. The app uses a Trust Engine to recommend ‘a social favorite driver’ or rides as opposed to existing apps like Uber and Taxify. Speaking to…

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Innovation that will help with the provision of clean water

Dianne Jacobs
DPA

Kenya’s quest to fulfill the need for clean water mainly in rural areas could be finally met after five university students invented a solar-powered water desalinator. The group calling itself, The Greatest of All Time (Goat), which comprises students from Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi and Strathmore University was unveiled at this year’s IBM Digital-Nation Africa: Smart Water Challenge. Goat’s innovation also uses Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to prevent water pipes from bursting by keeping the piping system fully functional. The team which won a paid internships with IBM…

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Emotion detecting Tech should be restricted

Dianne Jacobs
emotion

A leading research centre has called for new laws to restrict the use of emotion-detecting tech. The AI Now Institute says the field is “built on markedly shaky foundations”. Despite this, systems are on sale to help vet job seekers, test criminal suspects for signs of deception, and set insurance prices. It wants such software to be banned from use in important decisions that affect people’s lives and/or determine their access to opportunities. The US-based body has found support in the UK from the founder of a company developing its…

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The rise of the anti-drone technology

Dianne Jacobs
Drone

One of the first drone deliveries was operated not by a tech giant from Silicon Valley but by small-time criminals who saw potential in the new technology. In late 2013, days before Amazon announced its futuristic plan to operate a fleet of automated vehicles, four people were arrested for attempting to smuggle contraband into a Georgia state prison using a drone. Guards had noticed a remote-controlled helicopter hovering above Calhoun prison. Later, they found the six-rotor drone in a nearby car alongside what appeared to be its cargo: pouches of tobacco and…

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Samsung TV owners face glitch to be fixed in 2020

Dianne Jacobs
Samsung

A number of Samsung TV owners have been hit by an irritating issue which leaves them unable to access BBC iPlayer. If you own a Samsung TV you may find you are suddenly being blocked from watching content on iPlayer. Some of these hugely popular TV sets have been hit by an annoying software glitch which has blocked access to the BBC’s streaming service. Samsung has issued a statement, explaining that the problem has been caused by security certificates that expired. The Korean firm has pushed out an update to some of…

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Coding centers launched in Africa

Dianne Jacobs
Coding

The African Development Bank has launched a digital tool to help African youth learn coding.The goal is to scale up the program to 130 centers of excellence across the African continent over a 10-year period. The African Development Bank and technology firm Microsoft launched the ‘Coding for Employment’ digital training platform, an online tool to provide digital skills to African youth, wherever they are across the continent. The platform, launched at the 2019 African Economic Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, aims to promote a continuous learning culture among young…

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