Facebook has selected 60 finalists from the hundreds of entries it received from across the Middle East and Africa for the Bots for Messenger Developer Challenge. The challenge is a contest to recognise and reward developers who create the most innovative new bots on Messenger. Developers, in teams of up to three people, were invited to create bots in three categories: gaming and entertainment; productivity and utility; and social good. The 60 finalist teams (10 per category in Middle East/North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa) each won a Gear VR and mobile phone, one hour of Facebook mentorship, and tools and services from FBStart,…
Author: Editor
Kwese TV has signed distribution agreements with Africa’s leading mobile network operators (MNOs) establishing a significant pan-African distribution network for its core products. The MNOs represent a combined customer base in excess of 400m across the African continent. Kwesé has recently announced partnerships with some of the continent’s biggest MNO’s including MTN, Safaricom, Tigo and Vodacom in specific territories and additional announcements are expected in due course. These powerful distribution agreements will see the broadcaster expand the reach of its mobile TV proposition, which is delivered via the Kwesé App. Kwesé TV will also leverage the physical distribution network of…
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has announced Kwesé Sports, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, Castle Lite, General Electric, Solektra International, Marriott International and 947 as official partners of NBA Africa Game 2017. The partner roster represents the most-ever for the NBA in Africa. The second NBA game in Africa will take place Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa. NBA Africa Game 2017, which will take place following the 15th edition of Basketball without Borders (BWB) Africa, will once again feature a Team Africa vs. Team World format and will be…
The African development bank is leading the African Union in mobilizing domestic resources required to execute the Bank’s five developmental priorities dubbed the ‘High 5s’. The financing gap to meet these needs is huge, some as large as $162 billion a year. Speaking at the Centre for Global Development in Washington, AfDB president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said that the Bank had issued local currency bonds in 11 countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, and Uganda. “We’re investing in the development and integration of capital markets, including the establishment of an African Domestic Bond Index and a $200…
By David Wanjala The prediction has finally come to pass; Ethiopia has now surpassed Kenya as the leading nation, in terms of GDP, in East Africa. Regardless of the increasing GDP forecasted by major international institutions for Kenya, it was no match for the growing double-digit economy of our neighbour to the North. Ethiopia’s recent public investments have been top notch compared to those in Kenya. The Kenyan government has focused so much on infrastructure and development with most of the projects being done through debt financing, leaving the country in huge debt. Corruption on the other hand has stagnated…
BY BENARD AYIEKO The role of trade in the economies of developing and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) continues to attract significant attention by virtue of the effect it has on the economic growth and development agenda of these nations. Two years ago, Kenya became the first African country to host the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference which culminated in the adoption of the “Nairobi Package” – a series of six Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed countries. WTO is a 164-membership organization whose primary purpose is to open trade for the benefit of all. It…
BY TERRY MWANGI As much as height comes with a lot of giraffe related nicknames, it really isn’t a bad thing. The only struggle that comes with it is dressing up where all the tops you try on are crop-tops, the shirts are not long enough to fit your wrist and you can’t seem to find jeans long enough to go beyond your ankle. Here is a brief guide that will arm you with knowledge about what clothes work best for you. Heels Never try shrinking yourself into oblivion by avoiding heels. Ignore everyone that tells you to stop wearing…
BY TOM ODHIAMBO We live in a world of plenty. But we also live with millions of neighbours, friends, family, colleagues or members of the larger community who literally have nothing. In a world that is suffocating with goods – cars, clothes, computers, phones, fridges, furniture, housing, food etc – there are so many who hardly own anything. This is one of the great mysteries of the 21st century world, a time when technology has made it possible to tame nature and satisfy all kinds of needs by human beings, but also a place where poverty, disease, wars, insecurity, death…
BY nbm writer Prefects are extremely powerful people at the Alliance High School. Next in line are house committee members, then a cabal of rich pretty boys. An English speaking horde, these rich boys are sons of ministers, judges and PSs who often join the system via the back door. Then there are the commoners – the ordinaries – young men from Turkana, Mandera and Pokot, where they came from affluent backgrounds; students who are just students, nice and humble also fall in this category. Teachers are virtually powerless, so prefects run the show – like a military camp. They…
Internet security company ESET East Africa has announced intentions to set up a research and cyber-security operations centre (SOC) in Kenya. Teddy Njoroge, Country Manager ESET East Africa, said the company will explore joint opportunities with like-minded partners and contribute assets in developing innovative cyber-security solutions targeting both blue chip businesses and Small and Medium Enterprises over the next one year. In furtherance of this, ESET East Africa, he said, has signed a memorandum of understanding (M.O.U) with the @iLabAfrica centre of the Strathmore University aimed at enhancing the fight against cybercrime in Kenya. “Through this M.O.U, we will support…