Safaricom’s Zuri Migrates from Facebook to WhatsApp

Zuri

Zuri, has migrated from Facebook messenger to Whatsapp. Facebook, still a top tier app in Kenya in terms of popularity, is not Kenya’s most popular conversation and chatting app. In that regard, Whatsapp is. Hence the reason why Safaricom have moved Zuri to Whatsapp. Allowing more Kenyans to access it, and use the chatbot to its full capabilities. Through the creation of Safaricom’s chatbot, the precedence of AI in Kenya has taken a new turn. With Safaricom being the trail blazer in a constantly changing Kenyan tech space, AI has…

Safaricom and M-Gas Launched Prepaid Gas

M-Gas Mpesa Central Bank of Kenya

Safaricom and M-Gas have launched prepaid gas service for Kenyan households. This is expected to empower millions of Kenyan homes to enjoy access to clean, affordable and reliable cooking gas, providing them with the flexibility of purchasing gas based on their needs and how much they can afford at a time. M-Gas is tackling existing access barriers to clean cooking by eradicating both the upfront cost required for a gas cylinder and gas cooker, often more than Sh6,000 and the high refill cost of Sh2,000 per cylinder. Safaricom’s partnership with…

Safaricom Launches Lipa Na M-Pesa promotion

M-Gas Mpesa Central Bank of Kenya

Safaricom has launched an eight week Lipa Na M-Pesa promotion that will reward both customers and merchants for making and receiving payments through the service. Buyers and sellers will receive 1 point for every KES 100 payment with customers standing to win one of 6 houses in weekly draws. The promotion runs until March 5th 2020 and will reward both customers and merchants in 8 regions across the country. In the grand finale, customers across the 8 regions will win one of 8 tractors each equipped with a plough and…

Korba launched an all inclusive shortcode

MTN Rwanda

Korba, a leading Ghanaian Fintech brand owned and operated by Halges Financial Technologies Ltd, has launched an all inclusive and innovative shortcode that allows users to transfer funds, pay bills, purchase airtime, data bundles among others. The newly introduced *365# promises to be a game-changer in Ghana’s financial services ecosystem providing users with utmost convenience and security. Speaking at the launch, Nelson Da Seglah, CEO of Halges Financial Technologies said the introduction of the shortcode is in line with the company’s commitment to continuously evolve to serve customers better. He…

Paxful and Binance partner to provide financial inclusion

Paxful

Binance has announced a partnership deal with Paxful, to provide financial inclusion around the globe. Starting immediately, Paxful- a peer-to-peer bitcoin (BTC) marketplace and web-based Virtual Bitcoin Kiosk – will be integrated and directly available on the Binance platform for new and existing Binance users. Binance is a leading global cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and users. “Paxful is proud to be partnering with Binance in our joint efforts to bring bitcoin to the masses,” said Ray Youssef, CEO and co-founder of Paxful. “They share our passion and vision for the…

Brex Building its Brand using Podcasts and Billboards

Brex

Corporate card and financial product startup Brex is best known as an enabling platform for businesses, with a focus on startups. The three-year-old company, which is reportedly valued at $2.6 billion, initially spread the word about its offerings through word-of-mouth referrals. But that’s quickly changing. As it grows its customer base, Brex is taking a mass market approach to marketing reminiscent of direct-to-consumer startups like SoFi, TransferWise and N26. Since April, it’s been running a biweekly a podcast called Brex in the Black. It’s opened a lounge co-working space for customers in the Bay Area, and last year, it reportedly spent $300,000 on a…

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will be moving back to Africa for at least 3 months in 2020, new home?

platform hint job Twitter CEO Voice Tweets Gryphon

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and mobile payments company Square, tweeted his farewell to Africa on Wednesday, but announced that he would return and temporarily move to the continent for at least three months in 2020. JHe uggested that he may move to Africa for at least three months next year. Sad to be leaving the continent…for now. Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid 2020. Grateful I was able to experience a small…

Visa acquires stake in Nigeria’s Interswitch

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Nigerian digital payments firm Interswitch confirmed today it has reached unicorn status after Visa acquired a minority equity stake in the firm. Global payments giant Visa will invest $200 million for 20% stake in Interswitch, electronic payments company, UK’s Sky  News reports. The investment places a billion-dollar valuation on 17-year old Interswitch and is a major boon ahead of a proposed initial public offering slated for  the London Stock Exchange next year. “The investment makes Interswitch one of the most valuable African fintech businesses with a valuation of $1 billion,”…

PayPal to enter China Market after a 70% stake acquisition in GoPay

PayPal Becomes The First Foreign Payment Platform In China

PayPal will become one of the first international companies to gain a payments license in China, after news emerged that the state-owned People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has greenlighted PayPal’s acquisition of a majority stake in local company GoPay. PayPal, through one of its local China-based subsidiaries called Yinbaobao, will acquire a 70% stake in GoPay, according to a statement on GoPay’s website [in Chinese]. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2019. The company’s full statement on the acquisition is below: The People’s Bank of China has approved…

Cybercrime Report Tracks Growing Threat of Networked Cybercrime

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions today released at the Digital Identity Summit its Cybercrime Report providing a comprehensive view into the shifting global fraud landscape from January 2019 through June 2019. During this period, the LexisNexis® Digital Identity Network® recorded 16.4 billion transactions, of which 277 million were human-initiated attacks, a 13% increase over the second half of 2018. The report highlights a shift toward networked, cross-organizational and cross-industry fraud, and gives insight into the evolution of bot attacks targeting new accounts in media and e-commerce. Key Findings from the LexisNexis Risk…