SMEs
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News
Safaricom Hosts its Inaugural SME Exhibition in Nairobi
More than 100 small businesses are taking part in Safaricom’s Inaugural SME Exhibition hosted in Nairobi. The Expo, under the theme,…
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BUSINESS
Equity, Bpifrance Join Forces to Boost SME Trade Financing in East Africa
Equity has signed a trade credit financing agreement with BpiFrance, the public investment bank of France, to strengthen support for…
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News
Safaricom partners with tappi to digitize Kenyan MSMEs
Kenyan digital commerce startup tappi has partnered with Safaricom’s M-PESA to digitize 650,000 business users across Kenya. According to a…
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BUSINESS
Equity Bank commits to support SMEs to scale regionally
Equity Bank Group has committed to partnering with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to scale up business beyond their current…
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News
NCBA Bank Kenya Wins 2024 Global SME Finance Award
NCBA Bank Kenya has been named the winner of the 2024 Global SME Finance Award solidifying its position as a…
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News
![[Gerald Maithya] What we can learn from Africa’s small business success stories](https://techtrendske.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Gerald-Maithya-Image-1-390x220.jpg)
[Gerald Maithya] What we can learn from Africa’s small business success stories
Africa is often hailed as the birthplace of some of the world’s most exciting tech startups. From Cape to Cairo,…
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Startups
Mastercard Foundation launches agribusiness challenge for SMEs in Africa
The Mastercard Foundation Fund for Resilience and Prosperity has launched an Agribusiness Challenge Fund targeting SMEs across 20 countries in…
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BUSINESS
Glovo partners with Visa to support SMEs
Glovo has teamed with digital payments leader, Visa, to empower small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) through a series of online training courses.…
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BUSINESS
Branch and Solv partner to extend loans to Kenyan MSMEs
Branch MFB has entered into a strategic partnership with Solv Kenya to extend loans, business development support and market linkages…
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News
Unlocking the Potential of Startups in Africa: Breaking Down Barriers for Lending to Micro and Small Businesses in Africa
In the dynamic landscape of Africa’s economic growth, small businesses and startups stand as the backbone of innovation and employment…
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News
Uzapoint and Pezesha partner to provide embedded working capital to merchants in Africa
Uzapoint Technologies has partnered with SME financing platform Pezesha to provide access to finance for micro and small businesses across…
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News
Absa Bank commits Ksh.100 billion to support MSMEs in Kenya
Absa Bank Kenya has announced a KES100 billion funding commitment to spur the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises…
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BUSINESS
Kenyan SMEs ditching mobile money payments to avoid taxation
Government’s increased taxation is forcing small businesses in Kenya to ditch mobile money payments in favour of cash. According to…
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News
Microsoft and M-PESA Africa partner to develop digital skills for MSMEs
Microsoft is partnering with M-PESA Africa to support its Capability Development Academy. Microsoft will provide access to the Microsoft Community…
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News
Kenya-based Kua Ventures invests over $1 Million in local SMEs
Kua Ventures, an impact investment firm based in Kenya has invested more than $1 million (Ksh. 145 million) in SMEs…
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News
Kenyan fintech Boya launches Virtual Visa cards for SMEs
Boya, the Kenyan fintech firm on Tuesday launched its virtual Visa expense card targeting local businesses. The card was launched…
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BUSINESS
Pesapal and Sokohela Launch Credit Product for SMEs in Kenya
Digital payments company Pesapal has partnered with Sokohela, a digital credit provider to launch a new credit product for small…
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News
Players need to make connectivity available and affordable for SMEs, Liquid
Last week, the world marked World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, a day observed annually to mark the signing of…
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News
Zoho officially opens its new office in Nairobi
Zoho Corporation, the Indian technology company building enterprise management solutions has officially opened its new office in Nairobi. The new…
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BUSINESS
Winners of the Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards 2023 Announced
Mastercard has announced the winners of its second edition of the Women SME Leaders Awards. The award celebrates the achievements…
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News
Zuri Health Launches digital outpatient service for SMEs
Zuri Health, the Kenyan health-tech has launched a new digital outpatient service designed specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).…
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News
Empowering African SMEs: Cladfy’s innovative approach to accessing capital
Sub-Saharan Africa is currently home to 44 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). All of which serve as a…
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BUSINESS
A Closer Look at the Importance of IT Support for Small Businesses
For small businesses, staying on top of the latest technology and IT support can be a difficult task. This article…
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News
Flutterwave to spotlight small businesses in Africa through reality TV show Big Brother Titans
Nigeria’s popular payments platform Flutterwave has announced its collaboration with Multichoice Africa to bring back the popular reality TV show…
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BUSINESS
Workstyle Africa and SNDBX target African SMEs with new workspaces
Serviced office space provider, Workstyle Africa, has partnered with SNDBX International to open five one-stop-shop entrepreneurship centers and workspaces in…
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BUSINESS
Glovo Local launched to help small businesses digitize their products and services
Glovo has launched a new program targeting SMEs in the retail and restaurant industries. Known as Glovo Local, the multi-category…
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News
$200 million fund launched to support African SMEs
The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF) has launched a $200 million funding initiative for small and medium-sized enterprises in…
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Apps
What is the Purpose of an Invoice – How to Generate it?
In this competitive world, businesses need to carry out several chores in order to stay alive in the competition and…
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News
DTB launches a special account for women-owned SMEs
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has launched a unique account for women running Small and Medium Enterprises. Dubbed Zawadi, the account…
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Startups
Nigeria’s Payhippo acquires Maritime Microfinance Bank to expand its customer offerings
Payhippo, a fintech that offers credit facilities to SMEs in Nigeria has acquired Maritime Microfinance Bank (MFB). MFB is a…
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BUSINESS
Sendy and Meta to offer free digital skills training to SMEs in Kenya and Nigeria
Sendy, the Kenyan logistics startup has partnered with Meta through the Innovation Growth Hub (IGHub) to offer free training for…
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News
Twiva partners with Caroline Mutoko for MSMEs training
Caroline Mutoko and influencer-powered social commerce platform Twiva have partnered to highlight and train Kenyan Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises…
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CYBER SECURITY
Cybersecurity is foundational for an economic recovery that works for all, says Dell
With citizens, governments, and businesses more dependent than ever on digital connectivity, one of the most pressing sectoral issues for…
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News
4G Capital goes live on Mambu’s cloud banking platform
African Micro and small business-focused neobank 4G Capital has gone live on Mambu’s cloud banking platform 4G Capital says Mambu’s…
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Startups
Nigeria’s Kwik has launched a free eCommerce storefront for African merchants
Nigeria’s digital commerce enabler Kwik has introduced KwikStore, a storefront that enables merchants across Africa to build and run a…
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BUSINESS
Absa Bank Kenya hosts women entrepreneurs for the PanAfrican InspireME Conference
Over 3,000 businesswomen from across Africa have benefited from Absa Bank Kenya’s PanAfrican InspireME conference hosted in Nairobi. The one-day…
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News
ESTHER KAMAU: Digital Transformation and How It Influences Scalability for MSMEs
Digital transformation has shaped the diversity of MSMEs who account for at least 40% of Kenya’s GDP. MSMEs in Kenya…
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News
Software Developer Zoho has launched a discounted app package for Kenyan SMEs
Global software and systems developer Zoho has today launched a heavily discounted business management system for Kenyan SMEs. The Zoho…
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News
Kenyan Online Accounting firm Odibooks Launches Management platform for SMEs.
Kenyan fintech startup Odibooks has launched a management and accounting platform that SMEs can use to automate their processes. Odibook…
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BUSINESS
Mastercard Expands its Jaza Duka Micro-Credit Program with Kasha
Mastercard today announced that Kasha, the purpose-driven digital retail and distribution platform has joined Jaza Duka, Mastercard’s micro-credit digital lending platform…
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News
Bulk SMS provider Vaspro is celebrating MSMEs in Kenya with a Special Offer
Did you know that Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90% of all firms and accounts, on average…
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News
46% of SMEs in EEMEA earning more money than before the pandemic, Mastercard report
Data from Mastercard’s 2022 Borderless Payments Report has revealed two in five (46%) small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Eastern…
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News
WhatsApp launches campaign to profile SMEs from across Africa
WhatsApp has announced the launch of the WhatsAppreneurs campaign, profiling small entrepreneurs from Africa who are using the WhatsApp Business…
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News
Google to offer e-commerce training to 1000 SMEs in Kenya
Google has partnered with Coursera to develop an online course for Small and Medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Kenya. Coursera is…
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News
Mozilla launches course on data privacy and protection for SMEs and Startups in Kenya
Mozilla has today unveiled a course for SMEs and startups in Kenya to increase their awareness and capabilities on the…
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News
Sendy partners with Google to empower MSMEs in Kenya and Nigeria.
Sendy has entered into a new partnership with Google to empower small and medium businesses in Kenya, South Africa and…
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News
AfriLabs Academy to facilitate capacity building among startups in Africa
As innovation hubs increase in number across Africa, the need for capacity building, benchmarking and other supportive initiatives prevail. It’s…
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News
We-Fi Announces $15 million Funding for Women Digital Inclusion in Africa
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) has announced a $15 million funding to the African Development Back’s Africa Digital Inclusion…
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News
Sa Nyoung Kim: Local entrepreneurs should partner with big firms to drive customer value
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) constitute over 90 per cent of businesses in Kenya and provide seven out of ten…
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News
ESTHER KAMAU: Why MSMEs Must Embrace Technology To Remain Competitive
Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) ought to consider ‘Social Commerce’ as part of their performing business model if their…
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Startups
Kenyan fintech 4G Capital raises $18.5M from Lightrock
Kenyan fintech credit provider 4G Capital has raised $18.5 million in Series C funding from global private equity firm Lightrock. …
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BUSINESS
Women Leading Transformation in Africa, says Zuri Foundation CEO Norah Muthoni
Women are now taking the lead in the transformation of Africa as the continent makes tremendous progress driving gender parity. Speaking…
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BUSINESS
JOSHUA OIGARA: Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Need Innovative Support for Quicker Recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic has largely been framed as a public health crisis, over one and a half years since it…
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Startups
Glovo launches pitch competition for tech startups in Kenya
On-demand delivery platform Glovo has launched a pitch competition targeting early-stage tech startups in Kenya that are delivering value to…
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BUSINESS
Mastercard opens nominations for its Women SME Leaders Awards 2022
Mastercard has announced the inaugural Women SME Leaders Awards 2022, to recognize and further empower women-owned and run SMEs in the…
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News
Google launches Hustle Academy for SMEs and Entrepreneurs across Africa
Tech giant Google has today announced the launch of a new academy to offer free training to small and medium…
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BUSINESS
IFC Extends Financing to Guaranty Trust Bank to support SMEs in Kenya
IFC has extended a loan to Guaranty Trust Bank (Kenya) Ltd, a subsidiary of the Guaranty Trust Group, for on-lending…
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Startups
Kenyan fintech startup Zanifu raises $1M funding, eyes Ghana and Uganda expansion
Kenyan fintech startup Zanifu has closed a $ 1 million seed round to scale its business and improve on its…
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News
Equity Acquires Ksh.18.6 Billion loan from IFC for Onward Lending to SMEs in Kenya
Equity Group has acquired a Ksh 18.6 billion loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help it increase working…
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News
Kenyan fintech startup Paylend raises $2m seed investment to accelerate growth
Paylend, a Kenyan fintech startup focused on providing access to finance and digitizing MSMEs in Kenya has raised $2 million…
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BUSINESS
Over 21,000 SMEs and individuals have so far benefited from Stanbic Bank Kenya’s Accelerate Program
Over 21,000 SMEs and individuals have so far benefited from Stanbic Bank Kenya’s Accelerate Program. This is is according to…
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BUSINESS
Mastercard and Meta join forces to support digitization of SMEs in MEA
Mastercard is collaborating with Meta to support the digitization and growth of SMEs across the MEA region. The two plan…
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BUSINESS
DTB and Crown Motors sign SMEs vehicle financing deal
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has today announced a new partnership with Crown Motors Group, the official distributor of the Nissan…
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BUSINESS
Social media main enabler for growth among women-owned businesses, Mastercard report
95% of women SMEs in the region identify social media channels as the top tool to drive their business ventures.…
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News
TUNDE OLADELE: How banks can leverage technology to rebuild and maintain a healthy credit portfolio
The defining issue in the success of a bank is the quality of its loans. Yet Covid has torn through…
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Startups
Nigerian Fintech Startup Brass Secures $1.7M Financing Round
Nigerian fintech startup Brass has secured $1.7mn in funding to address the heavily underserved banking needs of local entrepreneurs, traders and…
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Startups
Nigeria’s e-commerce startup Sendbox raises $1.8 million
Sendbox has announced the completion of a $1.8 million seed round from investors including 4DX Ventures, Enza Capital, FJLabs, and…
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News
Kaspersky launches dedicated ‘low budget’ security hub for SMEs across META
Kaspersky has unveiled a free platform with tips and tricks for small businesses to help them quickly improve their organization’s…
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BUSINESS
Mastercard and Zambian fintech firm Digital PayGo launch merchant mobile payments solution for SMEs
Mastercard has partnered with Zambian-based fintech company, Digital PayGo, to launch a new merchant mobile payments solution for SMEs in…
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News
Mastercard Launches a Global Small Business Initiative to Accelerate Economic Recovery
Mastercard – through the Center for Inclusive Growth – on Thursday launched Strive, a global initiative focused on strengthening the…
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News
TransUnion Africa, and data analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet Partner to Boost SME Sector in South Africa
Information and insights provider TransUnion Africa has partnered with global commercial data company Dun & Bradstreet to help small and…
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News
78% of SMEs in region’s retail sector are optimistic about the next 12 months, Mastercard
Although different sectors were exposed to and impacted in diverging ways to the extensive changes of the COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs…
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News
[Rwanda] IFC, CMA and Central Bank partner to boost access to long-term finance for SMEs
To support the development of Rwanda’s capital markets, IFC, the National Bank of Rwanda and the country’s Capital Markets Authority…
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BUSINESS
IFC, FMO partner with I&M Bank to support SMEs in Kenya
IFC and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, have announced a $50 million loan facility to the I&M Bank to…
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CYBER SECURITY
Brandon Rochat: What SMEs need to know about Ransomware attacks
Ransomware attacks are on the rise and malicious cybercriminals are always fine-tuning their strategies. Business leaders need to realise that…
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News
UN announces winners of “Good Food for All” competition in Africa
Thirteen small- and medium-sized businesses from Africa and the Middle East have been announced as winners of the “Good Food…
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BUSINESS
Creditinfo launches SME blended scorecard in Kenya
Credit information and decision analytics provider Creditinfo Group has launched a scorecard solution in Kenya tailored for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Through…
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BUSINESS
AGF issues $5m Loan Portfolio Guarantee to Sidian Bank to boost SMEs financing in Kenya
The African Guarantee Fund (AGF), has issued a Loan Portfolio Guarantee to Sidian Bank to boost financing of the SME…
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BUSINESS
AfDB approves $50m loan to support women businesses in Nigeria
The African Development Bank (AfDB), has approved a $50 million loan to Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to support…
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CLOUD
Francis Wainaina: The role of cloud in Kenya’s growing tech start-up scene
Despite a global pandemic with many business-related hurdles, the resilient African tech start-up ecosystem thrived during 2020, securing a record-breaking…
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News
Microsoft launches new app to support Small Businesses in Africa
Microsoft has unveiled a new cloud-based business management solution, Dynamics 365 Business Central, to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)…
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BUSINESS
SMEs feeling economic pinch turn to innovative tech platforms to save cash
More than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic and South Africa ’s SMEs remain under enormous pressure and are increasingly…
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News
50,000 small business owners in Kariobangi to be equipped with digital skills
An initiative to equip over 50,000 owners of Micro Small Enterprises (MSEs) with the relevant digital skills by the end…
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BUSINESS
NCBA and KAM partner to support local manufacturing SMEs
NCBA Bank Kenya PLC has today partnered with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), to enhance the development of Manufacturing…
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News
[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Cloud adoption is the future of African SMEs
In our previous Africa Cloud Review report, we highlighted how cloud adoption is no longer merely an option but a necessity that…
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BUSINESS
Newly signed Equity SME guarantees to benefit more women owned SMEs
A bulk of the recently signed SME guarantees by Equity Bank totaling Kshs 52.25 Billion will go towards supporting women-owned…
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Startups
Ajua and MTN Nigeria launch Customer Management mobile app for SMEs
Kenyan based customer experience startup Ajua has partnered with MTN Nigeria to launch EnGauge, a digital eCommerce customer engagement management…
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BUSINESS
Faulu Bank to lend Ksh.3 billion to local SMEs
Faulu Microfinance Bank plans to lend up to Ksh.3 billion to local micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help…
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News
Government partners with Stanbic and Microsoft to equip enterprises with digital skills
The Kenyan Government through the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development has partnered with Stanbic Kenya Foundation and Microsoft…
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BUSINESS
Mastercard, Unilever and KCB Bank to provide a $150k recovery package to Kenyan MSMEs
To extend support towards COVID-19 economic recovery, Mastercard, Unilever and KCB Bank have pooled resources to provide Micro, small and…
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News
DPO Group introduces Real-Time Settlements on digital payments for sole trader merchants in Kenya
African payment service provider DPO Group has launched Real-Time Settlements for its SME sole proprietor merchants in Kenya. 86% of SMEs…
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WomenInTech
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day: The role of women in business is changing
This week, the world has been celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. This is a day set aside to observe, celebrate, empower…
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BUSINESS
Equity Bank’s Borrowed SME Funds jump to Ksh68.5 billion in Q3
Equity Bank’s borrowed funds for SME s jumped 19.7 per cent to Sh68.5 billion over the three months to September…
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News
Safaricom to Offer Free Calls and Data to Customers as it Celebrates 20th Birthday
Safaricom turned 20 on Friday 23rd after officially launching in the Kenyan market on 23rd October 2000. The telco celebrated…
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BUSINESS
East African SMEs accelerate their growth with cloud deployments
SMEs in the East African region are using digital transformation initiatives to increase their competitiveness and ensure they are set…
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CYBER SECURITY
Sophos Deconstructs Dharma Ransomware-as-a-Service Attacks on Small and Mid-Sized Businesses During Global COVID-19 Pandemic
Sophos today published, “Color by Numbers: Inside a Dharma Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) Attack,” which provides the first in-depth look at an…
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COLUMNS
[Column] Soromfe Uzomah: How global disruption can have local implications
The global impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had not only on public health, but on business, cannot be underestimated.…
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BUSINESS
The business challenges of SMEs during this COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only taken a toll on the health sector; it has now become an economic crisis…
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BUSINESS
Equity Bank Receives $50 Million Loan from IFC to support Kenyan SMEs affected by COVID-19
IFC has announced a $50 million loan to Equity Bank Kenya to support local SMEs especially those facing COVID-19 related…
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BUSINESS
Kenya Association of Manufacturers is piloting a Circular Economy programme with SMEs in Ruaraka
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) is piloting a Circular Economy programme for local SMEs with Denmark in Ruaraka, Nairobi.…
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BUSINESS
Zoho launches Bigin, a CRM solution for SMEs priced at Ksh.560
Zoho, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm has today launched Bigin, a pipeline-centric CRM software designed specifically for small and micro business owners.…
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