Qualcomm’s 2025 Africa cohort signals a major shift to hardware innovation, crowning Kenya’s Farmer Lifeline for its solar-powered AI crop protection.

Expert James Booth analyses how embedded finance, cross-border payments, and AI-driven risk models will redefine African fintech by 2026.

The payment giant isn’t just shipping more plastic cards; it’s building the digital plumbing for a projected $1.5 trillion market.

TECNO Mobile Kenya is leaning hard into AFCON fever, and this time it is dangling a very tempting carrot in front of smartphone buyers. The brand has announced a limited-time 200% cashback promotion tied to the Africa Cup of Nations, giving Kenyans a chance to earn back double the value of their purchase if their football predictions are spot on. The offer runs from December 17, 2025, to January 10, 2026, and is open to customers who buy select TECNO smartphones during this period. How the TECNO AFCON 200% cashback offer works…

Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has issued a fresh speed governor tampering warning, cautioning public service vehicle (PSV) operators and commercial drivers against disabling or interfering with speed limiters during the busy festive travel season. In a public notice, NTSA reiterated that speed limiters, also known as speed governors, are mandatory safety devices required by law on all PSVs and commercial vehicles. These devices are designed to curb overspeeding, which remains one of the leading causes of fatal road crashes in the country. According to the authority, enforcement operations conducted in recent weeks have revealed a worrying rise in cases where speed limiters have been tampered with or completely disabled.

If you’ve been following the flagship smartphone space in Kenya, you know the pricing has gotten... aggressive. Vivo Kenya recently dropped the Vivo X300 Pro, creating some serious waves with a KES 169,999 price tag. But that’s not even the full story. Alongside the phone, there is a separate accessory—a massive telephoto extender—that costs another KES 39,999. For most of us, spending over KES 200,000 on a phone setup is a pipe dream. But thanks to a new unboxing video shared by Vivo Kenya, we can at least see what that kind of cash gets you.

Infinix partners with Pininfarina to design the Note 60 Ultra. We breakdown the specs, premium strategy, and potential risks

Infinix’s XPAD Edge offers a massive 13.2-inch screen, but the 60Hz display and budget chip might be dealbreakers for power users.

Alongside the launch of the Vivo X300 Pro in Kenya, Vivo is also bringing over its photography-focused accessories, aimed at users who want to push the phone closer to a dedicated camera setup. The headline accessory is the Vivo ZEISS 2.35x Telephoto Extender, which is priced at KES 40,000 locally. vivo ZEISS 2.35x Telephoto Extender: price and details Price in Kenya: KES 40,000 The telephoto extender is designed to physically attach to the Vivo X300 Pro’s camera system, extending its reach for long-distance photography and video. Key highlights include:

With the launch of the Vivo X300 Pro in Kenya, Vivo is making an unusually strong promise on long-term software support, one that now puts it in the same conversation as Google and Samsung, at least on paper. Vivo says the X300 Pro will receive: 5 years of Android OS upgrades 7 years of security updates That immediately places it among a small group of Android flagships offering extended software maintenance, a category currently dominated by Google’s Pixel lineup and Samsung’s Galaxy S and Z series. However, there is an important distinction worth noting.

Vivo has officially introduced the Vivo X300 Pro in Kenya, succeeding the local launch of the X200 Pro. The new flagship is now available at an RRP of KES 169,999, positioning it among the most expensive Android phones currently sold in the country — and also one of the most camera-focused. The X300 Pro builds heavily on Vivo’s partnership with ZEISS, while also bringing a larger battery, a new MediaTek flagship chipset, and long-term software support. A 200MP ZEISS telephoto camera leads the pitch The standout feature on the Vivo X300 Pro is its 200MP ZEISS APO telephoto camera, designed for high-resolution zoom photography with reduced chromatic aberration and improved stabilization.

TikTok averts US ban as ByteDance signs historic sale deal with Oracle-led consortium. Here is what the new ownership means.

TECNO launches the MEGAPAD SE in Kenya for KES 18,999, featuring the Ella AI assistant, 90Hz display, and 8000mAh battery.

For many Kenyans, network issues are more than an inconvenience. They’re a recurring frustration. New consumer complaints data from the Communications Authority (CA) shows that telecommunications remains the most complained-about sector, even as other digital services perform far better. Telecom services remain the biggest pain point Nearly a third of all consumer complaints recorded in the last quarter were linked to telecom services. Even more telling, over 40% of those cases were still unresolved by the end of the reporting period. Voice services — basic calling — accounted for the bulk of these complaints.

While telecom services dominate complaint volumes, consumer data from the CA shows that some of the most frustrating and risky experiences happen elsewhere, particularly around fraud, customer care, and data protection. Fraud and cybercrime are persistent consumer risks Complaints related to fraud, scams, and cybercrime form a sizable share of reported consumer issues. While most of these cases are eventually resolved, the number of reports remains high. This points to a worrying trend where consumers are often reporting incidents after harm has already occurred, rather than being protected upfront. The upside?

Airtel Africa has officially cemented its partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink to bring Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity to its 174 million customers. The move, announced yesterday, positions Airtel as the first mobile network operator in Africa to leverage Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation to plug coverage gaps where terrestrial towers simply can’t reach. This latest development follows an earlier announcement back in May 2025, and signals a major escalation in the battle for connectivity supremacy on the continent, particularly here in Kenya where Safaricom remains the dominant player. "Through this partnership, Airtel Africa customers with compatible smartphones in regions without terrestrial coverage can have network connectivity through Starlink, which is the world’s largest 4G connectivity provider (by geographic reach)." Airtel Africa said.

Safaricom’s KES 20 billion Green Bond was 175% oversubscribed, with most investors participating via M-PESA to fund green 5G infrastructure.

The IT services giant has already deployed 100 Starlink sites in Kenya and plans to hit 1,000 across Africa in six months, positioning LEO satellites as the ultimate failsafe for business.

Asahi Group acquires Diageo’s majority stake in EABL for $2.3 billion, marking a massive Japanese entry into the African alcohol market.

Airtel Money users in Kenya can now pay for Showmax subscriptions directly via mobile wallet, simplifying access to streaming plans.

After months of speculation and alarming audit reports regarding the backlog at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the government has officially pulled the trigger. In a Cabinet meeting held on Monday, the government approved the rollout of Second-Generation Smart Driving Licenses. While the headlines were dominated by the new Sovereign Wealth Fund and the National Infrastructure Fund, the driving license update is arguably the most immediate change for the average Kenyan tech user and motorist. The big news? The NTSA is effectively handing over the keys to a private consortium in a deal valued at a staggering KES 45 billion.

After dominating mobile screens for the last decade, Meta is officially making its move to capture the biggest screen in your house. Announced yesterday, the company has begun testing a dedicated Instagram for TV app, designed to transform the vertical Reels experience into a "lean-back" viewing experience for the living room. While the app is launching as a limited test, it signals a major shift in how Meta wants us to consume short-form video, directly challenging YouTube’s dominance on smart TVs. A new way to watch Instagram Reels We have known for a while that video—specifically Reels—is the primary driver of growth for Instagram.

For years, Home Fibre in Kenya has operated on a rigid, monthly subscription model. You pay your Sh2,999 (or more), and you get your month of connectivity. But Safaricom is gearing up to fundamentally change how Kenyans consume fixed internet, borrowing a page from its mobile data success story: flexibility. In a recent address discussing the company’s future roadmap, Safaricom CEO Dr. Peter Ndegwa revealed that the telco is preparing to roll out flexible payment schedules for fixed broadband. Soon, customers will be able to pay for fibre connectivity on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis, moving away from the strict monthly cycle that currently defines the market.

Spiro Kenya’s electric motorbikes were once marketed as a lifeline for boda boda riders squeezed by high fuel prices. By mid-December 2025, however, the company found itself at the centre of one of Kenya’s most intense tech-and-labour backlashes, with riders accusing it of exploitation, overreach, and "digital slavery." What began as one rider’s complaint quickly escalated into a nationwide reckoning over ownership, control, and who really benefits from Kenya’s electric mobility push. How the controversy started The storm was sparked by viral posts from @IAMRAPCHA (Rapcha The Sayantist), a Spiro rider who shared images and videos alleging that Spiro:

For years, Google Cast has been one of Android’s quiet superpowers. Tap a single icon and your phone hands off a movie or TV show to the biggest screen in the room, whether that’s a Chromecast dongle, a smart TV, or even a Nest Hub. That convenience took a hit earlier this month when Netflix quietly removed casting support from its mobile app for most TVs and displays — a move that frustrated Android users globally. Now, in a twist few would have predicted, Apple is doing the exact opposite.