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Smart Africa Group through its subsidiary Smart Foundry a product Development and Management company have launched Content aggregation mobile application an African digital content hub targeting users across the globe looking to discover information and knowledge about the continent through digital content.

Touted as the “Amazon for African content”, Rifaly allows anyone with a smartphone and an Internet connection to read, listen, and stream digital content available through an intuitive mobile application for free. The platform also caters to the premium user looking for an ad-free experience with flexible daily, weekly, and monthly subscription rates.

Modelled as a content marketplace, print publishers, bloggers, podcasters, influencers, and storytellers upload their content onto the application and make money every time a user downloads or streams their content. Rifaly joins YouTube, Spotify, TikTok as one of
the growing number of digital platforms that empower local content creators earning a living from entertaining and informing online audiences.

Speaking at the launch of the event, Smart Africa Group CEO Mr. Edwin Bruno said that “academics, local publishers, and online influencers now have a home-grown solution to help them monetize their content online. Whether it’s print publications like books, newspapers, and magazines, or audio content like podcasts, Rifaly provides a reliable distribution channel and scalable revenue model that meets the users needs, at their convenience.”

In attendance at the launch event was Tanzania’s Ambassador to Kenya H.E. Ambassador Dr. John Stephen Simbachawene who commended the tech company’s entry into the Kenyan market underpinning the strengthening of trade ties between Kenya and Tanzania.

The Rifaly app is now available for download from the Google Play store for Android users or Apple’s App Store for iOS users.

Smart Africa Group through its subsidiary Smart Foundry a product Development and Management company have launched Content aggregation mobile application an African digital content hub targeting users across the globe looking to discover information and knowledge about the continent through digital content.

Touted as the “Amazon for African content”, Rifaly allows anyone with a smartphone and an Internet connection to read, listen, and stream digital content available through an intuitive mobile application for free. The platform also caters to the premium user looking for an ad-free experience with flexible daily, weekly, and monthly subscription rates.

Modelled as a content marketplace, print publishers, bloggers, podcasters, influencers, and storytellers upload their content onto the application and make money every time a user downloads or streams their content. Rifaly joins YouTube, Spotify, TikTok as one of the growing number of digital platforms that empower local content creators earning a living from entertaining and informing online audiences.

Speaking at the launch of the event, Smart Africa Group CEO Mr. Edwin Bruno said that “academics, local publishers, and online influencers now have a home-grown solution to help them monetize their content online. Whether it’s print publications like books, newspapers, and magazines, or audio content like podcasts, Rifaly provides a reliable distribution channel and scalable revenue model that meets the users needs, at their convenience.”

In attendance at the launch event was Tanzania’s Ambassador to Kenya H.E. Ambassador Dr. John Stephen Simbachawene who commended the tech company’s entry into the Kenyan market underpinning the strengthening of trade ties between Kenya and Tanzania.

The Rifaly app is now available for download from the Google Play store for Android users or Apple’s App Store for iOS users.

Award-winning, intra-African, cross-border remittances and digital wallet company EziPay, has partnered with MFS Africa, the continent’s leading digital payments gateway, to bring last mile connectivity for remittances and collections to and from mobile money wallets and bank accounts in Africa.

The partnership comes at a time when mobile money is burgeoning at increasing rates on the continent, with businesses and individuals alike requiring solutions that allow them to transact across regions.

“At MFS Africa, it has always been important to us to help businesses of all sizes scale by building a network hub and partner ecosystem that shares these same values. Partnering with EziPay, an organisation that is known for providing digital wallets for inward and outward remittance to MSMEs, SMEs and individuals across continents, made complete sense to further enable the interoperability we aim to achieve through our acquisitions and partnerships,” says Dare Okoudjou, Founder and CEO at MFS Africa.

EziPay, which has a presence in 14 African countries, currently has a global user base of over 300 000,  including Africans in the diaspora as well as those in the local expat community who utilise EziPay’s digital wallets for inward and outward remittances.  The organisation’s global wallet Mauritius offering is currently live with over 90+ countries payout corridors.

Amit Gaur, Co-Founder and CEO at EziPay, says, “With EziPay and MFS Africa joining hands to solve cross continent remittances to Africa from Asia, Europe, the UK and the USA, remittances for goods, services, school fees, medical transfers, business transfers, family maintenance allowances, and P2P transfers will be enabled. I firmly believe that with the MFS Africa partnership, our customers will have instant remittances to bank accounts and wallets across Africa for our ever growing customer base.”

MFS Africa has enabled more possibilities, more connections and more interoperability for individuals and businesses alike. The organisation’s full-service digital payments network connects over 400 million mobile money wallets, over 200 million bank accounts, and over 120,000 agents in Nigeria.

“As Africa’s mobile money landscape continues to evolve, we hope that entrepreneurs will be able to take their businesses to the next level through partnerships like these. Ultimately, we hope that it will lead to not only a more connected Africa, but also a more connected world,” concludes Okoudjou.

Super Metro Sacco, one of Nairobi’s leading public transport operators, today announced the introduction of its first electric bus as part of its fleet. Supplied by Kenyan electric mobility startup BasiGo, the 25-seater K6 Electric bus starts operating today and will ply the CBD to Kikuyu and CBD to Kitengela routes.

Commenting on this, Jit Bhattacharya, CEO BasiGo said, ‘’Kenya has a vibrant public transport system that provides a vital service to millions of people each day. Today, we are proud to hand over this transformative bus to Super Metro, one of Nairobi’s leading public transport operators.  Through this partnership, BasiGo and Super Metro are bringing Nairobi commuters a cleaner, quieter and more comfortable journey on buses powered by 90% renewable energy generated right here in Kenya.”

Adding to this, Super Metro Sacco chairperson, Nelson Mwangi Nduki said, ‘’Super Metro prides itself on providing excellent and seamless services to our customers. Our decision to introduce electric buses into our fleet is therefore based on our desire to be a leading and efficient transport partner for all our commuters. We have acquired the bus to offer our customers a top-notch ride experience and look forward to hearing positive feedback from our drivers and passengers. To mark our first electric ride, all passengers who ride on our electric bus today will enjoy a free ride.  In addition, since it’s Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing the love with our passengers by giving a cupcake to everyone who rides on our electric bus today.’’ He concluded.

The K6 is a 25-seat, 250 km range electric bus that recharges in less than 4 hours and is designed by BYD Automotive, the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world.  The K6 electric bus introduced by BasiGo includes a premium passenger coach with synthetic leather seats, free WiFi, USB charging ports and an onboard television screen.

Since launching in March 2022, BasiGo’s electric buses have driven over 150,000 kilometers and carried over 200,000 passengers as part of fleet operations with 2 Nairobi bus operators.. BasiGo plans to supply over 1,000 locally manufactured mass transit electric buses to transport operators in Kenya over the next three years.

Safaricom Foundation, through its Ndoto Zetu initiative, has equipped four health centres in Uasin Gishu and Taita Taveta counties in a bid to boost delivery of Maternal and Neo-Natal health care.

In Uasin Gishu County, Chepkero Dispensary received hospital beds to increase its capacity for in-patient maternal health services.

In Taita Taveta County, Ghazi Dispensary in Voi, Wesu sub-County Hospital and Werugha Health Centre in Wundanyi received modern delivery beds and pre-natal equipment, which will bring maternity services closer to the community. The pre-natal units were equipped with incubators, heaters and phototherapy units to provide medical support to pre-term infants.

“Health is a major priority of the Ndoto Zetu initiative, which aims to empower communities. We have now started commissioning health projects in this latest phase in response to the proposals we received from Kenyans. Maternal health is a key area where we need to boost the capacities of facilities and health workers to improve service delivery. Our long-term vision as a Foundation is to reduce maternal and infant mortality to near zero,” said Joe Ogutu, Chairman, Safaricom Foundation.

The KES 2 million investment in the projects has ensured that the health centres are well-equipped to handle medical emergencies.

Ndoto Zetu is Safaricom Foundation’s flagship philanthropic initiative, which calls on Kenyans to partner with the Foundation to actualise their community’s dreams and aspirations.

Over the next three months, Safaricom Foundation will commission over 400 Ndoto Zetu projects targeting two million beneficiaries in health, education and economic empowerment worth KES 100 million.

·         LG Miraclass is capable of displaying 68.7 billion color variations, enabling viewers to experience movies just as their creators intended them to be seen.

·         Currently, it consists of four product lineups offering different sizes (from 14 to 101 square meters) and screen resolutions (4K/2K) to choose from.

 LG Electronics (LG) has rolled out a new LED screen brand dubbed LG Miraclass aimed at enhancing movie enthusiasts viewing experience. The name ‘Miraclass’ – a combination of the words Miracle and Class – means incredible image quality that can enhance audiences’ sense of immersion.

Targeted at cinemas and theatres, the new brand which leverages LED Technology seeks to present moviegoers with new, premium services and immersive viewing experiences, by delivering realistic images with natural colors and deep blacks.

In his remarks, while announcing the launch, senior vice president and head of the Information Display business unit of LG Electronics Business Solutions Company, Paik Ki-mun said “To accommodate rising demand and the diverse requirements of movie theater companies, more lineups and models will be introduced in the future. In this case, LG is confident that LG Miraclass will satisfy the needs of operators and meet the expectations of moviegoers seeking memorable cinematic experiences”.

Built with advanced LED technology, LG Miraclass displays help bring movies to life, improving the theater-going experience and offering new value to venue owners and operators.  Currently, it consists of four product lineups offering different sizes (from 14 to 101 square meters) and screen resolutions (4K/2K) to choose from.

At five meters wide, models LDAA025-1 and LDAA012 are good options for small-capacity theaters, which have become increasingly popular with audiences in recent years. All Miraclass displays provide compatibility with Dolby’s Integrated Media Server, IMS3000, meaning theater owners can deliver premium images and sound to elevate the customer experience.

Employing self-emissive LED pixels, each LG Miraclass model delivers 24-bit color processing and outstanding contrast to give on-screen images depth and vibrancy. They also boast strong, consistent brightness with no corner dimming, and produce clear, distortion-free pictures. What’s more, LG Miraclass is capable of displaying 68.7 billion color variations, enabling viewers to experience movies just as their creators intended them to be seen.

Besides, this new theatre solution provides easy management for movie theater operators thanks to its intuitive software and facilitates greater space efficiency by eliminating the need for projection rooms. Additionally, the screen brightness of LG Miraclass can be adjusted across five stages, from 48 to 300 nits, offering suitability for various use scenarios: from playing 2D/3D movies to delivering content for company presentations or special ceremonies.

Despite the relative newness of LED movie screens, LG’s LED-based displays can already be found in several major theater chains around the world.

 

Electric vehicle (EV) dealer, Go Electric Limited, has picked Ms. Eve Maina as the new Corporate Director to spur electrical mobility growth in Africa as the firm seeks to expand its wing in the Kenyan market and the East African region. Ms. Maina holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and is a graduate of Stern of Business New York University, USA, and Central European University Business School in Budapest, Hungary. She is an expert in strategy development with a main focus on emerging and developing markets, financial management, and transnational leadership. Prior to joining Go Electric Ltd, Ms. Maina served as the CEO of Taxiye Ltd between 2020 and 2021, in charge of strategy and business development of the company’s expansion into the East Africa region. During her tenure, she developed innovative business models that saw Taxiye grow its market share and mitigate risks by 34% within a period of 3 months. She was also instrumental in creating market entry strategies that attracted more than 6,000 riders and approximately 2, 000 drivers from across the country. Early this year, Go Electric launched the first ever fully electric and solar-powered vehicles dubbed UTU in the East African market, in an event that was held at Naivasha Buffalo Mall. Further, the company announced that they were investing KES 2 billion to import more vehicles and help the country as attention shifted to e-mobility. Electric vehicles are seen as a game changer in the East African market that has for long being dominated by fossil-fuel vehicles. They come with reduced running costs, in cutting the use of fuel and reduction of operational costs. Thus, owners of the EV who want to venture in public transport will save more money than their counterparts, because of the reduced engine maintenance costs. From her wide experience, Ms. Maina will oversee the revamping of the market entry strategies that will increase ownership of electric vehicles. Speaking while announcing the appointment, Paul Njeru, RMD Go Electric Ltd said, “As we continue to invest in E-mobility and provide solutions for Kenyans who want to own vehicles with less operational costs, we are also committed to scaling our operations, distribution infrastructure and expanding our footprint. I have confidence in Evelyn Maina because of her experience in strategy and vision planning, forging and maintaining partnerships, and business positioning. She is going to use her wide business network that spans North America, Africa, and East and Central Europe to turn around the business for profitable sales.” Ms. Maina joins the team at a time Go Electric Ltd is targeting to tap highly talented C-Suite executives to match their competition, offering fossil-fuel vehicles. Although Kenya is almost entirely reliant on fossil fuel vehicles, there is a global paradigm shift to electrical vehicles mainly to tame the increasing carbon dioxide emissions in the Ozone layer, leading to environmental pollution. Speaking on her appointment, Evelyn said, “I am delighted for the appointment to join a team of vastly experienced members who are committed to innovating and changing the world technologically. I am humbled at the opportunity and commit to the management that I will meet and exceed their expectations of making Go Electric the largest supplier of Electric Vehicles in East Africa.” EVs have existed in the past, although with little popularity, and thus did not gain significant traction. Some of the changes that will revert the trend include the reduction of acquisition costs and the availability of solar canopy services to ease charging. Go electric offers buyers of EVs a wide range of charging options and solutions including charging piles, wall box ports, and solar panel-shaded carports. About Go Electric Ltd Go Electric is an Electric Vehicle (EV) dealer that provides EV solutions to the African market. It offers a wide range of products from electric cars, tricycles, buses, motorcycles, and electric charging solutions. Go Electric Ltd is the sole dealer of Electric vehicles and solar vehicles dubbed Utu. Utu EVs are designed for African roads as they are designed in Kenya even though manufactured in China hence offering a unique combination of local innovation and global manufacturing. The brand is currently available in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, and Mozambique among other African countries. It was recently recognized awarded in an attentional award dubbed Pacesetters Awards East Africa as the Pacesetter in Electric mobility in East Africa. The company has been at the forefront of spurring the uptake of EVs through its various initiatives such as the establishment of various solar and electric vehicle charging hubs.

 EssenceMediacom – GroupM’s newest and largest agency – globally launches formally today with an ambition to deliver marketing breakthroughs for their clients. Disrupting the old models across media, creative, innovation and analytics, the agency has been built to find new opportunity for brands and deliver truly integrated media solutions.

Comprised of 10,000 people across 120 offices globally and led by Global CEO Nick Lawson, EssenceMediacom combines Essence’s performance, data, analytics and creative technology DNA with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise.

Nick Lawson, EssenceMediacom’s Global CEO, said: “This process has been nine months in the making and I am so excited to see our ambition of bringing Essence and MediaCom together finally become a reality. What will underpin our groundbreaking agency is our people, and we will be steadfast in our commitment to provide an environment of continuous learning so they can grow and be the best they can be. Together, and with analytics, data and technology at our heart, I have no doubt we will deliver breakthroughs across our entire client base.”

EssenceMediacom Sub-Saharan Africa Managing Partner Marion Wanyoike “I am personally excited about the opportunities this merger creates for me, my team and our clients. Because this is a worldwide merger, all markets from Kenya to the UK are getting world-class support to standardize how we work, engage and structure ourselves. It means more opportunities for my team as we begin the journey of upscaling resources to build stronger data, tech and leadership capability. Not only is this a rare skillset, it is also high in demand and scarce on the continent. For our local clients, it means a chance to reset the relationship – addressing the current unmet attribution needs in the market.”

The agency launches with an enviable client roster, which includes The Coca-Cola Company, P&G, Godrej, KCB, Jumia, Isuzu and Google among others.

EssenceMediacom will have access to the richest data, most robust benchmarks and most advanced capabilities in the market. Alongside Mindshare, Wavemaker and GroupM Digital, the launch of EssenceMediacom delivers the solutions and thinking needed by every brand and marketer seeking to grow their business in the new communications economy.