Category: BUSINESS

Huawei has established a Kshs 3.5 billion (USD 35 million) program for small and medium sized enterprises in a bid to accelerate their adoption of new technologies. Known as the ‘Empower Program’ it is designed for the firms’ digital transformation journeys in which Huawei will partner with them to rollout technological solutions in a system approach structured to enhance their end-to-end capabilities in research and development, marketing, sales, supply, and services.

To do so, Huawei has assigned a total of 600 joint solution developers in 11 OpenLabs around the world to accelerate technology application in six fields, including shifting from transaction to digital engagement, developing cloud-native applications and data, evolving infrastructure, industrializing data and AI application, enhancing real-time data analysis, and moving towards a cutting-edge AI brain.

Speaking at a press conference themed ‘Leading Digital Infrastructure for New Value Together’ Bob Chen, Vice President of Huawei Enterprise BG explained that Huawei had established that at least 40 million SMEs have significant digital transformation needs.

“Our aim is to contribute to their innovative improvement of productivity, make this productivity visible and speed up evolution towards the future,” he said.

Huawei Enterprise has increased investment in joint market expansion, enablement, and marketing with partners. Through this, Huawei aims to guide and encourage more capable partners to help customers achieve digital success. The firm will strengthen the investment in partners’ digital tools and platforms, including offering centralized digital platforms (with both PC and mobile) to support partners’ online marketing, trading and services. To date, it has developed more than 100 solutions for a wide range of industry scenarios.

In the future, Huawei will continue to work with partners to stay customer-centric, deepen industry scenario engagement, and respond to changing requirements through innovation. It will also support customers on their digital transformation journeys and accelerate digitalization among SMEs, in the pursuit of a more connected and intelligent world.

·         The challenging-to-obtain accolade points to the consistently high quality of LG’s HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) solutions, as every model selected by AHRI for testing must pass all evaluations for three straight years for the award to be granted.

·         Representing seven product categories, all 67 LG HVAC solutions submitted for testing passed AHRI’s rigorous evaluations for the third year in a row (2020 to 2022).

LG Electronics (LG) has earned the Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Performance Award for the sixth year in a row.

AHRI is a globally-respected trade association representing the world’s HVAC, refrigeration, and water heating solution manufacturers. Established in 1953, AHRI now boasts more than 350 member companies.

The challenging-to-obtain accolade points to the consistently high quality of LG’s HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) solutions, as every model selected by AHRI for testing must pass all evaluations for three straight years for the award to be granted.

Speaking on the recognition LG head of the Air Solution Business Unit at LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solution Company James Lee said, “LG has now been recognized by AHRI for six years in a row – a significant achievement that reflects the quality, performance, and reliability of LG HVAC solutions. While we appreciate this achievement, we will not stop here, Instead, we will continue to strengthen our position in the global HVAC market by delivering highly effective and energy-efficient solutions for commercial and residential use.”

To ensure the highest standard of testing, the majority of AHRI Performance Award evaluations are conducted by Intertek, one of the world’s most trusted third-party standards, certification, and testing organizations. Intertek runs a comprehensive battery of assessments on the selected products to determine if the actual performance is consistent with the specifications listed by the manufacturer.

Representing seven product categories – including, for the first time, Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV) – all 67 LG HVAC solutions submitted for testing passed AHRI’s rigorous evaluations for the third year in a row (2020 to 2022). In addition to LG’s ERV, the models evaluated belong to the following HVAC categories: Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF), Unitary Small Heat Pump (USHP), Water-Cooled Chillers (WCLL), Air-Cooled Chillers (ACCL), Room Fan Coil (RFC) air conditioners and Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps (PTHP).

One of the LG products evaluated for the AHRI Performance Award, the LG Multi V large-capacity outdoor unit employs the company’s proprietary Ultimate Inverter Compressor to deliver a strong, energy-efficient performance. Popular with customers worldwide, especially those in Northern Hemisphere countries where winters can be particularly cold, LG’s flagship VRF system is able to provide dependable heating operation in temperatures as low as negative-30 degrees Celsius (negative-22 degrees Fahrenheit).

Also tested was the air-cooled Inverter Scroll Chiller, which leverages LG’s advanced inverter technology to obtain a high level of operational efficiency. In addition to impressive performance, the chiller has a compact design that takes up less space than other models in its class, affording customers greater installation flexibility.

Earning the award for the first time, LG’s ERV solution replaces still and stagnant indoor air with clean filtered air from outside and is equipped with a heat exchanger that significantly decreases hot air loss while also helping to reduce heating and cooling costs. Moreover, when connected with a system air conditioner, it manages energy consumption and indoor air quality to ensure optimal comfort and efficient operation.

China Square, the one stop shop located in Unicity mall has resumed operations after an agreement between the Kenyan Government and Chinese traders.

China Square management in a statement announced resumption of operations on Monday, March 6.

The Kenya China Chamber of Commerce welcomed the move by the Kenyan Government to allow the Chinese traders to resume operations.

“We welcome the good news on the resumption of operations of China Square. This follows several engagements between the Kenya Government and the Chinese Community in Kenya to reach an amicable solution to the stalemate.”

They added that Chinese businesses will contribute to Kenya’s growth and development efforts through employment creation and contribution to Kenya’s tax revenue.

Last month, the shop announced it’s indefinite closure to allow them sort out a number of issues.

Insurance is a means of protection against financial loss or damage that can occur due to unforeseen events. It provides individuals with a sense of security by transferring the risk of loss from themselves to an insurance company in exchange for a premium payment.

For an individual, insurance can provide a safety net against unexpected events such as personal accident, theft, motor accidents, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events that can lead to financial losses. Insurance can also offer protection for valuable assets such as a home, car, or business, allowing individuals to protect their investments and
minimize potential financial losses.

In addition, insurance also offers peace of mind by providing individuals with financial security in the event of an emergency. This can help individuals to focus on their recovery without the added stress of financial worries.

Overall, insurance can be an important financial tool for individuals, offering protection, security, and peace of mind in the face of unforeseen events.

Service providers such as Xplico Insurance, an exponential growth in retail underwriting that has over the past two years seen it set up a vibrant Corporate Division to cater for both SMEs and well-established companies, has been working around the clock to give the best to their customers.

This insurance player has gone beyond simply providing insurance solutions that suit peoples’ businesses needs by providing decisive financial solutions, cutting a niche in the corporate insurance. With a team of experienced local and international staff, the Corporate Division provides tailor-made insurance policies created to protect peoples’
businesses and advise them on market trends and new products.

Insurance has serious potential to create jobs and wealth. Ranging from covering individual and groups on various fronts, insurance is something that shouldn’t be a luxury but a want for most Kenyans.

It is about time for Kenyans to understand the importance of insurance in every aspect of life.

MTN Group and Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to strengthen strategic cooperation in the field of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).

Guo Ping, Chairman of the Huawei Supervisory Board explained at the signing ceremony that the firm believes digital technology will become an important force driving social development and making the world more inclusive and sustainable.

In the deal, MTN and Huawei will collaborate to deploy RuralStar, an affordable connectivity solution for providing online access to remote and rural communities. The solution overcomes traditional barriers that make network connectivity in such scenarios unviable for carriers.

To reduce carbon emissions, Huawei will support MTN’s commitment to minimize its impact on the planet and achieve net zero by 2040. The partners intend to work on decarbonizing the operator’s telecommunications infrastructure, spanning Radio Access Network (RAN) sites, transport networks, storage, and data centers. This achievement of network decarbonization will be done via a mix of energy efficiency technologies and application of innovative green solutions.

“Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress can only be achieved through the power of partnerships. Working with companies like Huawei, we can pool our technologies and expertise to drive greater access to connectivity, digital skills and greener and more sustainable solutions to the benefit of all,” said MTN Group Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer Nompilo Morafo.

To enhance digital skills training, the Huawei DigiTruck project will provide free training in digital skills for those in need, including those in rural communities, the elderly, the unemployed, and girls and women. Converted from a used shipping container mounted on a truck, DigiTruck is a solar-powered mobile classroom equipped with laptops, smartphones and 4G connectivity.

Another project in the digital skills training area is Huawei’s ICT Academy. It trains university students in ICT skills such as 5G, cloud computing, and AI. There are 1,900 Huawei ICT Academies in 110 countries, serving around 150,000 students a year. The partnership covers working with MTN’s Skills Academy to enhance the link between digital skills training and job market requirements to benefit producers, consumers, and innovators of digital technologies. The partnership seeks to accelerate efforts to reach even more rural and remote communities and to broaden the portfolio of available digital skills training.

With a significant portion of Africa’s population living in rural areas, MTN is committed to expanding its network to underserved communities and has set a target of 95% rural broadband coverage by 2025. MTN’s partnership with Huawei gets the company closer to its goal. The company intends to expand the number of collaborations and the types of partnership models it has in place.

Isuzu East Africa has launched a new flagship after-sales facility in Nairobi, enabling more proficiency and faster turn-around times.

The Kshs 35million Facility will enable customers to get faster services and access 10,000 different parts for their vehicles.

“Aftersales for Isuzu Motors has always been key pillar of our business. We are now able to offer comprehensive aftersales solutions that boast modern vehicle service and diagnostic technology to ensure customers receive accurate vehicle health checks,” said the chief guest Naohiko Yanagawa, Executive Officer, Isuzu Motors Limited.

Additionally, the facility will also have a wide spectrum of proprietary diagnostic equipment to trouble shoot or tune the latest range of Isuzu vehicles that feature powerful and efficient common rail engines.

“This investment underscores our commitment in ensuring that we continue being the leading automotive assembler in Aftersales services for our bus and truck customers. This facility will be able to offer additional support to our dealer network and growing customer base through improving aftersales operations and processes” said Isuzu EA’s Managing Director, Rita Kavashe.

Ms. Kavashe further affirmed that customers will spend a maximum of two hours for scheduled maintenance, get access to mobile services and field engineers all from the Facility.

“This investment will reduce waiting time for customers. It will also allow Isuzu East Africa to handle peak demand periods seamlessly,” she added.

The new facility houses the Isuzu Health Inspection Service Center where trainee mechanics enhance their skills. The facility is suited to serve long-haul trucks and buses and takes advantage of the major highway network and the logistics gateway to the country’s premier port.

The Facility will also provide Isuzu customers with a computerized Isuzu Vehicle Health Report that enables Isuzu to determine vehicle conditions to advice on proper maintenance timing based on vehicle driving environment and driving style. The Reports will inform customers on how best to reduce fuel consumption costs and get hints for extending the life of consumables such as brake-related parts hence
improving on efficiencies of vehicles. The Heavy Commercial Vehicle Facility will also be the distribution outlet for its Tanzanian and Ugandan markets.

EnergyNet Ltd, an award-winning organizer of energy forums, investment meetings, and collaborative dialogues focused on power generation across Africa and Latin America, has announced a partnership with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) for the 25th Africa Energy Forum (AEF) and Youth Energy Summit (YES!).

The events are scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya from the 20th to the 23rd of June 2023 at the Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC) and marks the first time the AEF will be held in mainland Africa and is officially endorsed by H.E. Honourable Davis Chirchir, Cabinet Secretary for Energy & Petroleum, Kenya.

“We are excited to bring governments, utilities and regulators together with development finance institutions, commercial banks, power developers, technology providers, EPCs, and professional services once again,” said Simon Gosling, Managing Director, EnergyNet, “And the commitment which was reiterated at the press conference today by the Kenyan Ministry of Energy to form an intergovernmental task forces to ensure maximum impact for the people of Kenya sets the tone for what will take place in Nairobi this June.”

Under the theme “Africa for Africa”, this year’s agenda will focus on several strategic areas including mining, hydrogen, connectivity, and the “Just Transition”, all from the perspective of advancing projects, partnerships, and business development.

“KEPSA has 100,000 MSME entrepreneurs as members. The guiding principle of the YES! Entrepreneurs is that they are established, and energy access is an inhibitor to their business growth. We aim to engage 1,000 of the 100,000 members with a view to equipping over 100 entrepreneurs with world class energy solutions. With this partnership we are also excited at the prospect of working with local universities to collaborate with both educators and students with regards to best practice around world and new innovation in the energy and extractives space,” said Mr. Victor Ogalo, KEPSA Deputy CEO.

The Youth Energy Summit (YES!) will welcome over 1,000 participants, including early career professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and educators, to boost the skills, connections, and business readiness of a new generation of African energy leaders. YES! is partnering with universities across Africa to bring students and educators to Nairobi to engage in dialogue, so graduates know what to expect and are better prepared for today’s fast-moving workforce.

“YES! has ambitious goals to accelerate access to reliable energy on the African continent, but we realize that we cannot accomplish this alone,” added Mr.Gosling, “This is why we’re bringing the energy industry’s biggest actors from both the public and private sectors to facilitate relationships and learn together about how tomorrow’s technology will ultimately change how we communicate and develop business in the coming years.”

Additionally, attendees at the AEF which will take place alongside YES! will have access to stakeholders and decision-makers from across the continent and around the world. They will also be able to take part in high-level panel discussions, interactive workshops, and talks that range across a wide selection of themes and issues, including increasing the pace and scale of renewables in Africa, breaking down barriers to energy transition in mining, and Africa’s path to becoming a global hydrogen powerhouse.

The event provides unmatched networking functions, offering attendees fantastic opportunities to engage with one another, share insights, and explore new financing structures in what can only be described as the world’s biggest investor opportunity – Africa. On average, investors from 82 countries attend AEF, and this year will be no different.