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Safaricom partners with Dignitas to donate tablets to students in Kawangware and Dandora

Safaricom and Dignitas have collaborated to donate tablets for students in Kawangware and Dandora in support of e-learning especially during this period when all institutions have closed their physical branches to embrace e-learning instead as a measure to curb the spread of covid-19. Safaricom through its foundation and Dignitas a non-governmental organization that works to provide access to education in Kenya’s urban slums seeks to promote e-learning to a thousand households drawn from the two slums through the distribution of the tablets.  

Most schools in the country have embarked on embracing technology as a means of curbing the spread of the current outbreak with most institutions offering classes online. Since the current outbreak almost caught everyone unaware, students from poor backgrounds or remote areas of the country that have little or no access to the internet thereby hanging on the disadvantaged segment in the country.

Elite schools have managed to make arrangements, some involving mobile service providers in the country to continue offering learning lessons through the internet so that most don’t miss out on the curriculum that is essential for them to pass their upcoming exams. However, not all students have the same financial muscle to own a tablet or computer for learning, let alone access to the internet.

 Speaking on the unveiling of free tablets, Safaricom foundation chairman joseph ogutu noted the current crisis had disrupted day-to-day learning in schools which has unfortunately left some students behind; especially those who cannot afford smart phones or tablets for online learning. He added the foundation was trying to bridge this divide not only through philanthropy like the free tablet initiative but also through products such as Shupavu 291 which is in partnership with Eneza and allows for access to learning and revision content via text messages and USSD.

The project aims to give tablets to student leaders and teachers from the two informal settlements who will use the devices to relay education content to other students both via SMS and through online platforms. 

Dignitas on its end through Executive Director Deborah Kimanthi said they were excited to be partnering with Safaricom Foundation during this crisis. She added the NGO believed that every child deserved the opportunity to thrive and succeed. However, many children rely on school for protection and well-being as well as learning. She also added their support to children in this season is aimed at protecting their well-being and promote learning at home so that all children could reach their potential.

Safaricom previously engaged Eneza Education, Longhorn Publishers and Viusasa Elimu to provide free access to educational content for primary and secondary school students studying from home.

 The partnership with Eneza Education allows students from grade 4 to form 4 access learning and revision content on the SMS-based Shupavu291 free of charge following a 60-day waiver of the daily KES 3 subscription fee. The platform can be accessed via USSD *291# or the short code 20851.

Learners with internet access can also access education content on Shupavu Web, Viusasa Elimu and the Longhorn E-learning portals through a free education bundle available on *544#

Huawei is expected to launch Huawei nova 7i in the Kenyan Market

After a successful launch of nova5T in the market early in the year, Huawei is yet again introducing a Huawei Mobile Service version of the Nova series with the soon to be launched nova7i. The device comes with an attractive package of outstanding photography performance and battery life.

The soon to be launched device will be available in the market in towards the end of May and will be sold in select stores across the country including Jumia.

Huawei nova7i boasts a distinctive quad camera, arranged in a 2×2 matrix. The four lenses are made up of a 48MP Main Camera, a 120° Ultra-Wide-Angle lens, a Portrait Bokeh lens and finally a 4cm Macro lens.

Speaking of the soon to be launched device, Huawei Mobile Kenya Country Head Jim Zhujie said, “HUAWEI nova7i is an entertainment mid-range device suitable for millennials and Gen Z’s alike. Not only does it have a sleek look and feel, but it also encompasses unparalleled photography features, a large 4200mAH battery and the outstanding 40W HUAWEI Supercharge. If you are looking to change up your phone, HUAWEI nova7i is the way to go. “he concluded

The HUAWEI nova 7i is powered by the Kirin 810 chipset which is manufactured with an industry-leading 7nm process. According to the GFX tests, the single-core CPU performance of Kirin 810 is 11% greater than the Snapdragon 730; multi-core performance greater by 13% and GPU performance greater by 15%. For this reason, Kirin 810’s performance excels, and impresses with its graphics processing and gaming capabilities.

For processing gaming graphics, the real test is GPU real-time computing capabilities. HUAWEI nova 7i utilizes GPU Turbo 3.0 graphics processing technology which provides system optimization to increase processing speed as well as improve efficiency between software and hardware collaboration. HUAWEI nova 7i greatly improves frame rate and brings about quick millisecond sensitive touch response, supporting popular games such as Arena of Valor, PUBG Mobile and dozens more.

HUAWEI nova 7i is built with a 4200mAh large- battery that is greater than the standard 3000-4000mAh battery from phones with a similar price point, and it can support a whole day of entertainment.

HUAWEI nova 7i also supports 40W HUAWEI Supercharge, which charges significantly faster than a standard 18W from other phones. With this, it only takes half an hour to get the device recharged to 70%. Even if you forget to charge your phone before bed, you can give your phone a quick charge in the morning during breakfast and your phone can last an afternoon. Additionally, HUAWEI Supercharge is certified by TÜV Rheinland, so that you can use your phone while charging safely and without a problem.

Chipper Cash waives transaction fees to encourage social distancing amidst current covid-19 pandemic

Chipper Cash, one of Africa’s leading fintech innovation that offers low cost and more advanced tech solution to send and or receive money across the African continent right on your mobile phone has zero-rated transaction fees on its platform to help customers combat with the covid-19 effects. With the current pandemic which has forced many under lockdown and by extension practice social distancing, several people are now looking for solutions that do not involve moving around such as visiting physical locations unless its absolutely necessary.

It’s one of the many firms that have so far taken measures to come up with solutions that least exposes customers to the current outbreak. Unlike the likes of western union of which on their own cannot effectively offer services without having to visit an agent unless using third party services like Mpesa, Chipper Cash allows customers to send and receive money across the African continent at no fee. This has tremendously promoted social distancing as well as the physical handling of cash.

The Chipper Cash innovation was born out of the Silicon Valley in San Francisco by Uganda’s Ham Serunjogi and Ghana’s Maijid Moujaled, having been inspired to offer fast and cheap mobile payment solutions in Africa, and was launched in October 2018. Africa continues to lead in the use of mobile based money transfer services with success stories in countries like Kenya where MPESA trounces all other services by significant margins.

Speaking on the development, the Co-founder and CEO of Chipper Cash, Ham Serunjogi pointed out that their education and life experiences abroad drove them to think of ways they could leverage growing up on the continent to create a major impact, leading to the birth of Chipper Cash.

Kenya continues to lead the world in the use of digital payments especially via mobile phones that have so far reached close to 70 percent of its population. Chipper Cash is therefore offering a platform to those who work across the continent and want a more convenient, simple and cheaper platform to send and receive cash.

Serunjogi also added that Chipper Cash was enabling Africans to transfer and receive money across Africa in a fast, free, and easy way right from their mobile phones. In addition, he also said they plan to expand the untapped opportunity in Kenya and continue bringing Africa together, one transaction at a time.

Chipper Cash is currently operational in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, and South Africa and has over 1 million downloads from the Android Play Store. Also, over 3 million transactions have been successfully completed since its inception.

It allows customers in Kenya to make up to 2 million Kenyan Shillings per day worth of transactions or 15 million Kenyan Shillings per week. It can be downloaded from both the top app stores – Play Store for android devices or App Store for iOS devices.

Advantages of using Chipper Cash;

  • Its currently free to download and has no transaction costs for local or cross-border transfers
  • Users can purchase discounted airtime of 2% on most mobile networks across Africa
  • You can send money to someone who doesn’t have a Chipper Cash account
  • You can as well Send and receive money from any network
  • Chipper Cash is easily linked to your contacts
  • Refer your friends to Chipper Cash to expand your network of those you can send to and receive from for free

Kenya is set to implement new intellectual property laws through new IP bill 2020

Kenya is on course to implement new intellectual property rights through the latest Intellectual Property Bill 2020 that’s aimed at spurring innovation in the country. Currently, the country is highly ranked as the second most innovative country in Africa and a home to a handsome of global innovations.

Items which can be classified under the intellectual property laws include innovations, copyrights as well as trademarks. Trademarks are basically those special marks that uniquely identify goods and services to a particular company. These marks may as well refer to brand names while on the other hand, copyrights are intended to safeguard artistic creations of the mind.

Copyrights are quite common in the entertainment industry with the likes of audio, visual, literary, computer graphics as well as audio-visual beneath the same copyright umbrella. The last segment of intellectual property includes patents, technology innovations and utility models which are all contained in the Industrial Property Act. There’s also a less common type of intellectual property that entails industrial designs as well as geographical indications.

At the moment, Kenya’s intellectual property laws are contained in several existing laws such as the Industrial Property Act which regulates patents, utility models and technology innovations, trademark laws that regulate trademarks and Copyrights which regulate the same and related rights. But there also existing some government organs that oversee the administration of the various classes of rights.

In the proposed intellectual property bill 2020, the laws therein intent to make changes to the current status by incorporating several pieces of legislation into one known as the Intellectual Property Act (IP Act). The act will then include different classes of legislations under one law and will also lead to the creation of one statutory body to administer intellectual property in Kenya, that is, the Intellectual Property Office.

Consolidation of the intellectual property laws comes with major advantages as is the case with other countries such as Rwanda that were drafted with assistance from the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO). Consolidating laws into one as was done with previous laws regulating marriage has several benefits that comes into play especially during legal interpretations.

The proposed law accommodates for an intellectual policy and strategy which the old ones didn’t have. Any progressive legislative environment has to be supported by a strong policy to guide future changes in the law. The new proposals spells importance in the growth and development of Kenya’s economy. The functions of the regulatory authority have been expanded to accommodate fighting counterfeits and promotion of innovations. The regulatory body will not just administer the rights but also participate in enforcement.

Crooked Ways Uber drivers are implementing to avoid paying the 25 percent fee

As most companies resort to having employees work from home, there are some professions that this option would unequivocally appear on their list of alternatives. Surprisingly, some of these groups that can’t work from home are at the same time the most vulnerable in the current era. Take for example taxi drivers, they literally interact with a lot of strangers on a daily basis, whom by extension could be carrying an infectious disease such as the covid-19. Just like anyone else, taxi drivers such as Uber faces enormous amounts of distress during this period; from diminished earnings to increased risks of being infected.

As the saying goes, tough times calls for touch choices and uber drivers have devised a clever way to make those rides without the knowledge of Uber or in some cases vehicle owners. By using certain clever means on unsuspecting riders, they’re able to circumvent paying the mandatory twenty five percent fee they remit to uber on every trip they make.

And by extension the same tactics are used to withheld some earnings from car owners. Uber utilizes an app that connects riders to drivers. Riders have to input their pick up location and destination in the app where the app provides a estimate of the amount they’ll likely be required to pay. Under normal circumstances, Uber systems have become very efficient in a way that riders usually only pay the estimated amount except in rare cases such as traffic jams or road closures.

Faced with touch times that have led to meagre earnings, Uber drivers have found some loopholes in the online taxi hailing app that often allow them to make trips, collect cash without remitting the firms 25 percent share.  

Ways uber drivers use to avoid paying the 25 percent uber fee

  1. Loyal customers that don’t request cabs via the app

Once you’ve taken a ride in an uber, there are some customers who might want to keep the driver on certain occasions. For example, there are many Kenyans who have partnered with some of uber drivers to drive them on specific days for various reasons. Whether its going to work or church or any occasion that require one to make regular trips at specific times.

  • Cancelling a ride instead of starting it once the rider gets in

This is a peculiar method but still most of them do it all the time. this method works with the assumption that the rider already has an estimate of what the ride would cost. In some cases, drivers ask their customers if they’ve seen the amount they’ll need to pay just before cancelling. And after the trip is completed, uber drivers usually depend on their customer’s good will to pay even without receiving an official invoice.

  • Requesting riders to cancel and pay the estimated amount.

This one is a bit straight forward and requires consent from the rider first just to make sure they’ll pay. Once you request a ride, the driver might request you to cancel the trip and just pay for the shown estimate amount.

  • Submit a paid trip as unpaid

Lastly but not least, crooked drivers in some cases will say you dint pay cash for the trip even though you paid. This is more common to rides requested by someone else other than the rider. Uber requires riders to make an official complaint within three days. Therefore, these drivers base on the assumption that you won’t notice immediately especially if you rarely use the app.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority releases cost of operating a drone in Kenya

After being marred by controversy, Kenya ultimately allowed private entities to own and operate drones in its airspace. This comes after the government had initially outlawed the use of drones in the country owing to the insecurity aspect attached to the unmanned air crafts. Drones technology has been deployed worldwide in aiding to combat situations that normally would be impossible to tackle such as emergency situations but the increase of unregulated crafts in the airspace has been linked to various mishaps resulting in accidents.

Areas that drones can be used in Kenya

There are several areas that drone technology can be used to effectively tackle than relying on traditional methods. These include use of drones in the agricultural sector to tackle infestations such as locust infestation that Kenya is currently fighting.

Secondly, the use of drones in the photography industry has become popular with the ability to shoot aerial photos from any angle. Photography has evolved to the extend of involving drones to take those aerial shots during special functions such as weddings, funerals, fundraising and many more.

Although the use of drones to make retail deliveries is happening elsewhere in the world, it’s an area that Kenya hasn’t matured enough but there are a few firms that are aspiring in just doing that.

After the government allowed use of drones in the country, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has gone ahead and announced the costs for drone operations in the country. The draft fee structure details the amount you’ll be expected to part with in terms of importation, registration, airworthiness certificate and training your organization for use of drones.

Requirements for registering drones in Kenya

For a start, all unmanned drones must be identifiable, meaning they’ll all need to be registered at some point as Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The authority will then provide a certificate of registration. Only Kenyan citizens above 18 years and corporate bodies or national government/county government members can register drones.

From the draft regulations, drones have been grouped into different categories from A-C depending on the risk levels, and each of them have specific rules and regulations that have been laid out to guide operations.

These regulations apply to any persons who import, export, test, own, operate, procure, assemble, manufacture, modify or maintain drones in Kenya or intend to do so. The regulations also apply to use, registration and storage of drones in the country.

If the current draft proposals are adopted, you’ll pay as below to operate a drone in the country;

ItemFees (Kenya Shillings)
Registration3,000
Certificate of Registration Issuance2,000
Remote Air Operator Certificate (ROC)100,000 renewal fees 5,000
UAS (drone) under the certificate5,000 new UAS Type 20,000
Change of ownership2,500
Amendment of the Certificate of Registration4,000
Issuance of a temporary permit10,000

Basically, you’ll need close to Ksh125,000 to be allowed to own and operate a drone in Kenya.

Installed a custom android ROM but there’s no fingerprint, LTE Mobile Data or Network?

A couple of times, I like to experiment different custom android ROMS at least until I find one that best fits my needs, and almost every time I feed a new ROM on my mobile phone, there’s a possibility to find hitches here and there. Some of these hitches are tolerable especially if most of your desired functions are working as expected. To be fair, stock ROMS are expected to work more flawlessly as the manufacturer worked specifically to make sure all the hardware is supported.  

There are a couple of hitches that are intolerable, especially those harboring the core features of your phones. Let’s say for example you install a custom ROM then find out the fingerprint sensor isn’t working. If you ask me, this is a bummer! It’s the basic security feature that’ll protect your device against unauthorized access. Secondly, smartphones are mainly used for communication purposes, imagine having a device that cannot make or receive phone calls, and cannot connect to the internet! If any of these features is non-functional, then you’re as good as someone who doesn’t have a phone, in fact, someone with a Symbian device from gone days is better off.

While these functionalities are deemed critical, there are ways you could re-enable them especially if the issue is not related on the new custom ROM but rather the previous stock or custom ROM failing to completely be wiped off from the device. The process of installing a new custom or stock ROM is quite tedious that a simple mistake can have a major functionality impact or worse brick your handset and render it unusable.

What Causes fingerprint sensor to stop working after installing a new android ROM?

Fingerprint’s functionality is usually embedded inside your device’s firmware due to its sensitivity nature. Firmware is basically your device’s specific software that manages core functionality of the operating system. Most custom ROM’s are based on specific stock firmware, in fact its prudent to always read carefully on the firmware requirements for that specific ROM.

How to re-enable fingerprint functionality

The first and most common cause for a not working fingerprint is wrong firmware version. First, you’ll need to search online for the required firmware of your device then install it after which reinstall the ROM and hope everything works. In minor cases the fingerprint hardware can malfunction, in which case the only solution is to replace it.

What causes no LTE mobile data or no network after installing a new ROM

While the fingerprint issue is mainly related to the firmware, mobile data and no network is mainly a modem related malfunction. The error occurs when installing a new ROM and fails to wipe and install from the new ROM.

How to re-enable mobile data and sometimes network

Boot your phone into bootloader mode and run below fastboot commands.

fastboot erase modemst1

and

fastboot erase modemst2

Then reboot your device. That should fix the issue otherwise your device might have device specific issues. You must have the basic technology know how regarding the use of fastboot and adb commands, but since you’d have already attempted a custom ROM install then this should be a breeze.

M-Tiba has unveiled a text-based service to assist Security forces identify health workers

M-Tiba -a mobile wallet product that aims at enabling users set aside funds for medical purposes has unveiled a text message service that will aid security personnel verify healthcare workers attached to Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF) that has over 75, organizations in the health sector under its umbrella. M-Tiba which can be accessed via a USSD code *253#, allows for seamless transfer of funds from MPESA and the funds can only be used for medical purposes.

Speaking on the launch, Kenya Healthcare Federation CEO Dr. Anastasia Nyalita said the innovation will aid members to continue working under current conditions and even after most restrictions have been flexed.

How to verify health workers attached to Kenya Healthcare Federation

To verify, Security agencies need only to send a free SMS with an ID number of the healthcare worker to 20253, after which, they’ll receive a confirmation message from M-TIBA authenticating the ID – and vehicle registration details, when available.

In excess of 2,000 staff of KHF member organizations have already been admitted on the platform pilot and a further 2,000 healthcare workers are expected to register in the coming weeks.

Nyalita further added that several efforts had been directed towards curbing the current situation with a goal to simultaneously support and maintain the availability of essential workers, medications, equipment, and supplies. She also acknowledged that the partnership between the two organizations will eventually help members as well as the security services to smoothen the flow of essential services at this critical time.

M-Tiba has been steadfast in embracing technology having unveiled a product that would allow members lock certain amount of their income specifically for medical purposes. Kenyans have faced severe economic times that prevented most of them from setting aside part of their income for medical purposes.

Speaking on the launch of the SMS verification platform, M-Tiba’s parent company CarePay Kenya’s CEO Moses Kuria said the firm was continuing to work with healthcare providers and insurers to find new ways to use the platform to ensure the safe and uninterrupted provision of healthcare and supplies