Singapore based Credit scoring fintech company, CredoLab, launches in Kenya

credit scoring fintech company, CredoLab, launched in Kenya

Alternative credit scoring fintech company, CredoLab, launched in Kenya recently is lined to drive financial inclusion by credit scoring more people, especially those who are new to bank and credit. CredoLab announced that it is in negotiations with the large financial institutions, digital banks, credit bureaus, consumer lenders and retail operations in Kenya. Michel Massain, Sales for Europe and Africa at CredoLab says, “With the trend in Kenya of banks shifting from traditional banking halls to digital platforms, our alternative credit scoring technology is perfectly timed to help lenders provide…

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Andela to lay off 400 staff across Africa, confirms $50M in revenue

Andela

Africa-focused tech talent accelerator Andela will cut 400 junior engineers across Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, Chief executive and co-founder Jeremy Johnson said the move will impact junior engineers as the company focuses on boosting its senior talent. “This shift in demand also means that we now have more junior talent than we are able to place,” he said in a statement. “This is a challenge for the business, and for these junior engineers who want and deserve authentic work experiences that we are not able to provide.” Approximately 250 junior…

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Kenya based Direct Pay Online (DPO) acquires SA’s PayFast, a payment firm

Nairobi-based online payment service provider Direct Pay Online (DPO) has acquired PayFast, a payment processor based in South Africa. A statement said the transaction by the DPO Group was executed through a mix of shares and cash, with the PayFast management team remaining key shareholders in the Group. Following the transaction, DPO Group said it will be providing services to over 100,000 merchants across 18 African markets. “The integration of PayFast into DPO’s services will increase the range of payment options available to DPO’s business customers, whilst providing a Pan-African…

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Koko Energy firm Launches ethanol burners to be refuelled using Smart ATMs

Koko Energy firm Launches ethanol burners to be refuelled using Smart ATMs

Energy solutions firm Koko Networks has unveiled a two-burner ethanol stove for low-income households as it seeks a piece of the cooking gas business. The specially-designed cookers will retail at Sh7,000 and come with a refillable smart canister with a capacity of 2.3 litres that dock with KOKOpoints, which then dispense fuel they have pre-purchased by topping up their KOKO accounts with M-PESA. They then take their smart canister home to dock into their KOKO Cooker, a modern, high-power 2-burner ethanol stove that delivers affordable cooking energy, safely and conveniently.…

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Microsoft opens first Africa Development Centres in Nairobi and Lagos

It was almost three decades ago that Microsoft opened its first offices in Africa. In this time, they witnessed incredible growth on the continent – more internet connectivity, more digital capability and more innovation. Africans have expanded the applications of technology, changing the way communities bank, farm and even access healthcare. As the next step on Microsoft’s journey in Africa, and to better understand a continent rapidly adopting technology in the cloud, and at the edge, Microsoft launched its first Africa Development Centre (ADC). With two initial sites in Nairobi,…

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Unregulated digital apps loans, consumer protection among emerging issues that require attention- CBK Kenya Study

M-Gas Mpesa Central Bank of Kenya

The 2019 FinAccess Household Survey report presents results of data collected during October – December 2018 covering 11,000 households across the country. The survey targeted individuals aged 16 years and above, from scientifically selected households, designed to provide significant estimates at the national and regional level and by residence (rural and urban areas). The 2019 survey focussed more on the usage, quality and impact/welfare dimensions of measuring financial inclusion. In addition, the questionnaire incorporated a needs-based framework to the measure the relevance of financial services and products; financial health and…

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Kenya accounts for 60 per cent of private equity investments to East Africa

Banking Crisis

Kenya accounted for more than half of funds pumped into the region by private equity (PE) and venture capital firms. A new report shows that Kenya received 59 per cent of the funds that private equity firms pumped into the region between 2013 and 2018. The report by the Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) indicates that there were 110 reported deals during the five years valued at Sh130 billion. Most of the money was invested in the consumer goods and technology sectors. Reports have in the recent…

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Kenya ranks 3rd in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 2018 Global Innovation Index

Orange

Kenya has won the third place in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2018 coming after South Africa and Mauritius. Kenya achieves high levels of innovation relative to its level of development, a continuous performance since 2011. Strengths for Kenya are access to credit (especially microfinance loans), innovation linkages and exports of creative services, such as R&D financed by abroad, workforce efficiency and printing and other media. Now in its 11th edition, the GII is a detailed quantitative tool that helps global decision makers better understand how to…

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Uber Is Expanding To Ghana, Tanzania And Uganda

Uber Africa launches Uber Cash in partnership with Flutterwave

Uber is branching out to more African countries. The car-hailing company said that it plans to start operating in the capitals of Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania within a month, AP reports. With operations in Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya, Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria and five cities in South Africa, this move will further increase their presence on the Continent. Uber’s existence in Africa has not been a smooth journey. It has been met with resistance from existing taxi drivers who deem it as competition. Incidences in Kenya of Uber drivers being…

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Africa’s mobile money platform Mpesa expands to Europe

Editor’s note: Tomorrow Transformed explores innovative approaches and opportunities available in business and society through technology. (CNN) — Snapchat may be the latest application with a new mobilepayment feature launched this week, but the idea that made Snapcash possible was spawned more than seven years ago in Africa. When M-Pesa came on the scene in 2007 — a money transfer system devised by Vodafone and Kenya-based Safaricom – it sparked a mini-revolution. With the touch of a button, relatives in Nairobi could transfer cash instantly to their remote up-country families…

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