Author: Antony Mutunga

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA The festive season is finally here with us after the year was mostly plagued by the disruptive Covid-19 pandemic. As we ushered in 2020, many would have not imagined the economic disruptions that have seen an economic slowdown worldwide. Many businesses were forced to close down and many people around the world were left unemployed. As we come to the end of year, which is mostly a time of consumer spending, things are expected to be a bit different for many. The long queues of shoppers and heavy traffic is not an expected sight this year as…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA In 2014, Facebook acquired the popular messaging service, WhatsApp for about Sh2.07 trillion ($19 billion) after years of tracking it because of its rising popularity and it’s potential as the Facebook killer. The acquisition saw many expect that the newly acquired WhatsApp will follow in the footsteps of Facebook and include advertisements as a monetization strategy. However, after trying to do so, the parent company gave up on adding advertisements to the messaging service earlier this year. Having not given up on the monetizing of WhatsApp, the parent company has taken another path to earn some income…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA With COVID-19 having slowed down movement and business activity, many have found themselves at home in order to combat its spread. During the period, access to the internet has become crucial especially among the youth. Mobile data bundles and Wi-Fi have seen an increase in popularity. With a majority working from home, many have experienced slow connections especially those on Wi-Fi. The more people are on the same Wi-Fi, the slower the connection. The problem is especially worse where there is a large number of people on one network at the same location for example in stadiums…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA At the start of 2020, the Kenyan economy was expected to rebound as compared to the previous year. The Covid-19 pandemic was still in its early stages and was only being recorded in China. The Kenyan shilling which had weakened against international currencies in the last decade was slowly stabilizing and, compared to 2010, the cost of living had almost doubled as a result of the depreciation. The slow stabilization was therefore a good welcome because if it was to continue then the citizens would see a change in the cost of living. However, this has not…

As much as governments and companies are excited about the use of contact tracing apps in helping combat the virus, they must not replace the work that contact tracers do or stop mass testing BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Technology has come in handy amid the coronavirus pandemic more so in contact tracing. Despite its sudden rise, the idea behind the contact-tracing tech has been used for years as a standard disease control measure. Basically, contact tracing entails gathering information from those who tested positive to determine the number of people they have been in contact with as well as the areas…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Kenya’s GDP growth increased to 6.3% in 2018 from 4.9% in 2017, thanks to increased production in the agricultural sector, continuous growth in the transport sector, acceleration in the manufacturing sector and a vibrant service sector. As a result, the country was expected to increase its growth come 2019. However, this is did not come to pass as Kenya experienced a slowdown recording a growth of 5.4%. According to the 2020 economic survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Kenya’s economy was higher when compared to that of Sub-Sahara Africa, which stood at 3.1% in…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA The beginning of 2020 was to mark the end of the continuous challenges that a majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya have been facing. Limited access to credit (top of the list), limited market access, poor infrastructure, rapid changes in technology, and lack of adequate skills and training are but a few. With President Kenyatta recently repealing the interest rate cap, SMEs were foreseeing a change in terms of finance, which in turn, would help deal with the rest of the challenges. In the last half of 2019, the private sector, which had…

Shares of technology companies on the stock market have suffered following closures of stores, cancellation of events and delay of products BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Since the outbreak of the corona-virus late December last year, China has witnessed more than 4,000 deaths and counting. The country’s economy has also taken a beating as the virus, code-named as COVID-19 has caused countless factories to close down for an unknown period and flights to several cities in the country to be grounded. To control the outbreak, the Chinese government has also resorted to disinfecting and destroying cash from affected areas and in turn…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA The most anticipated annual list of young Kenyans, 2019 100 Most Influential Young Kenyans, which is spearheaded by leading PR & Rating firm, Avance Media, has been released. The annual ranking has highlighted the works of many young Kenyans across the world and has seen notable personalities such as Daniel “Churchill” Ndambuki (2016) and Darshan Chandaria (2018) voted as the Most Influential Young Kenyans. According to Prince Akpah, MD of Avance Media, this year’s list has a gender record of 56 females and features young Kenyans who have made remarkable contributions towards their respective fields which has…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Last year not only saw the advancement of emerging technology but also the introduction of new innovations. IoT, 5G and artificial intelligence, for instance, advanced to new heights while the likes of NANO1, the world’s smallest astronomy camera and solar roadways became a reality. In 2020, technology is expected to go even further as the likes of 5G become more available around the world. However, this is not the only mobile technology expected to become more popular in the year. 2020 is also expected to be the year of the eSIM. Despite being used in Apple devices…