Malawi has made significant progress in extending mobile connectivity, but most of its population remains offline despite living within areas covered by mobile broadband networks.A new report from the GSMA estimates that around 80% of Malawians live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet, highlighting a growing gap between network availability and meaningful digital access.The report, Driving Digital Transformation of the Economy in Malawi: Opportunities, Policy Recommendations and the Role of Mobile, argues that closing this usage gap could have significant economic and social benefits for the country.According to the analysis, targeted digital reforms could generate an additional MWK 1.1 trillion in economic value and create about 490,000 jobs by 2030. The findings were released on 20 August 2026 during the GSMA’s Digital Africa Summit in Lilongwe, as policymakers and industry stakeholders consider how Malawi can accelerate digital adoption and support the country’s longer-term development ambitions.The report links greater digital access to potential improvements in areas such as education, financial services and access to digital government services. It also positions mobile connectivity as an important component of Malawi’s development plans, including Malawi 2063, the Government’s 2025–2030 manifesto, the Digital Malawi Acceleration Project and the Inclusive Digital Transformation for Malawi.Malawi’s connectivity infrastructure has expanded considerably in recent years. The country reached 87% 4G population coverage in 2025, while mobile data prices remain among the more affordable in Africa. Mobile money has also become an established part of the financial system. According to the GSMA report, 75% of adults actively use mobile money, with more than 576 million transactions worth MWK 8.6 trillion processed during 2025. Yet these gains have not translated into widespread mobile internet use.The GSMA estimates that unique mobile internet penetration stands at just 12.5%, while smartphone adoption is 33%. This leaves a substantial proportion of the population unable to take advantage of the digital services and economic opportunities enabled by mobile connectivity. The gap is particularly pronounced when compared with other African markets. Around 80% of Malawi’s population is estimated to be living within mobile broadband coverage without using mobile internet, compared with a regional usage gap of approximately 65%.The figures suggest that the next stage of Malawi’s digital transformation will require more than building additional networks. Infrastructure remains important, particularly in underserved areas, but getting people to actually use the networks will require attention to the cost of devices and services, digital skills and the wider economic environment.“Malawi has made strong progress in expanding connectivity and financial inclusion, but access alone is not enough. With 80% of the population still offline despite network coverage, the priority now must be turning access into meaningful use.“This requires decisive action to address affordability, digital skills and investment barriers. With the right policy environment in place, Malawi has a clear opportunity to unlock significant economic growth and ensure that digital transformation benefits everyone,” Caroline Mbugua, Senior Director Public Policy at GSMA Africa, said.The report identifies device affordability and limited digital skills among the key barriers preventing more Malawians from moving online. While mobile networks may be available, owning a smartphone capable of accessing modern digital services remains beyond the reach of many households. The relatively low smartphone adoption rate of 33% is therefore an important part of the wider usage challenge.The wider investment environment also presents obstacles. Foreign exchange shortages and high energy costs can increase the cost of maintaining and expanding telecommunications infrastructure, making it more difficult for operators to invest in network expansion and capacity. These challenges are particularly important outside urban areas, where lower population densities and higher infrastructure costs can make commercial investment more difficult.The GSMA therefore argues that Malawi needs policies that address both sides of the connectivity equation: ensuring that networks continue to expand while making it easier and more affordable for people to use them.The potential economic impact is one of the central findings of the report. If the recommended reforms are implemented, the GSMA estimates that Malawi could add 810,000 mobile internet users by 2030, taking the total number of users to about five million. The report projects that this could contribute MWK 1.1 trillion in additional economic value across key sectors and support the creation of approximately 490,000 jobs.There could also be an impact on government revenues. The GSMA estimates a net positive fiscal impact of MWK 179 billion by 2030, driven by increased digital adoption and improved tax compliance. The projections illustrate why the usage gap is increasingly being viewed as an economic issue rather than solely a telecommunications challenge.
Read briefing At the Gallagher Convention Centre, in a keynote hall built for a continent-sized conversation, AWS made its position clear: Africa does not need to follow the same digital path as the rest of the world. It can skip parts of it entirely.That was the thread running from Jyoti Ball, AWS General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, to Tanuja Randery, the company’s Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.Ball’s argument was simple and, on this continent, familiar: progress does not have to be sequential, and Africa has the track record to prove it.The continent did not build copper landlines at scale before catching up with the West. It moved straight to mobile. Fewer than 10 per cent of connections run over fixed lines today, compared with roughly 115 million mobile connections and a mobile money ecosystem that has made Africa a global leader in digital payments.That is not a one-off. It is a recurring pattern of leapfrogging, and it is the evidence AWS points to for why AI adoption could follow a similar trajectory.Ball’s argument on stage was that AI is simply the next leap in that sequence. While mature markets are retrofitting AI onto decades of legacy IT investments, much of Africa is building from a comparatively clean slate, without the same legacy infrastructure to unwind or replace.Ball put a number on the opportunity: Africa’s AI market is valued at more than $16 billion and growing at 27 per cent annually, well ahead of the continent’s overall GDP growth rate of 4 per cent.The gap between those figures is the point AWS wants to make. AI adoption in Africa is not simply following the broader economy; it is outpacing it. In market terms, that is what a leapfrog looks like.The practical grounding came during a fireside conversation featuring Kgomotso Molabe, Group CIO for Personal Banking at Standard Bank, and Randery, who reinforced the leapfrog thesis while adding the discipline needed to make it work.Africa’s challenges are unique and require solutions designed around its realities. For Standard Bank, that means working backwards: starting with the business outcome it needs and then identifying the combination of technologies and tools that can deliver it, rather than starting with the technology stack and working forward.For a bank operating across multiple African markets, each with its own infrastructure, regulatory and talent realities, that discipline turns “leapfrog” from a slogan into an operating principle. Identify the outcome first, then let the problem determine which tools are needed.A continent shaped by mobile-first adoption and a history of leapfrogging has already demonstrated its ability to absorb transformative technologies without carrying all the legacy infrastructure that can slow adoption elsewhere.To reinforce the argument, Randery pointed to AWS’s investments in the continent. The company has invested $819 million in infrastructure across Africa since 2018 and has committed a further $1.5 billion through the end of 2029.AWS also says its skills programmes have trained 1 million people across the continent since 2017, while its AWS Africa (Cape Town) Region now offers 154 services locally.Taken together, the numbers form the foundation of AWS’s argument that Africa’s AI opportunity is no longer theoretical. The infrastructure is being built, the skills are being developed and, if the continent’s history of technological leapfrogging is any guide, the next major jump may already be underway.
Read briefing Amazon Web Services (AWS) is committing AI and cloud technology to support the expansion of NBA Math Hoops. This basketball-based education programme aims to reach 10,000 students across five African countries by the end of 2027.The partnership with nonprofit Learn Fresh will use AWS technology, infrastructure and technical expertise to expand the programme to students aged 8–14, including 1,000 learners in South Africa. The initiative builds on a three-year pilot that has trained more than 100 educators in South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.NBA Math Hoops combines basketball with mathematics, allowing students to solve algebra problems using real NBA and WNBA player statistics while developing problem-solving and social-emotional skills.AWS will support the programme through its $100 million Education Equity Initiative, providing technology designed to help Learn Fresh scale the programme across different countries and languages.Amazon Bedrock will be used to personalise maths challenges based on students’ learning levels and pace, while Amazon Translate will localise content in English, Arabic, French and Swahili. Amazon Quick will provide real-time visibility into student engagement, learning outcomes and educator performance.The programme is targeting South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt, with the first regional tournaments planned for the first half of 2027. Continental tournament participation is planned to be linked to the Basketball Africa League Finals by 2030.The expansion comes against a significant education challenge. UNESCO estimates that nearly 90 percent of children aged 6–14 in sub-Saharan Africa do not achieve minimum proficiency in numeracy.Learn Fresh’s programme has previously demonstrated measurable results. A randomised controlled trial conducted by WestEd found that students gained four to five months of mathematics learning after 17–24 hours of programme exposure.“AWS exists to help organisations build solutions that improve lives, and NBA Math Hoops is exactly the kind of program we want to see succeed,” said Francessca Vasquez, Vice President of Frontier AI Engineering and Services at AWS.Clare Akamanzi, CEO of NBA Africa, said the partnership would combine basketball’s appeal with technology and proven educational tools to equip young people with skills needed in school and beyond.Students will access the programme through NBA Africa’s network of offices, partners, community organisations and schools, while educators will undergo structured training before introducing the programme to learners.Calvin Sibert, Chief Mission Officer at Learn Fresh, said the partnership would allow the organisation to deepen its collaboration with NBA Africa and build on its work in South Africa and across the continent.
Read briefing Deloitte Africa has been named AWS Consulting Partner of the Year at the 2026 AWS Partner Summit and Awards, held at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Tuesday,18 August 2026.The AWS Consulting Partner of the Year Award recognises the top consulting partner that has demonstrated exceptional performance across key areas, including revenue growth, skills and capability development, and the achievement of AWS competencies and designations.“Winning AWS Consulting Partner of the Year for the second consecutive year is an incredible milestone for us. More importantly, it reflects the trust our clients place in Deloitte and AWS to turn bold ideas into reality. Together, we are harnessing the power of Cloud and AI to deliver measurable business impact and help some of Africa’s most important organisations transform and grow. This recognition strengthens our commitment to innovation across the continent and inspires us to continue raising the bar for the value we create for our clients and communities,” says Aasif Karachi, Partner and Deloitte Africa Alliance Leader.During the AWS Partner Summit, solutions delivered by Deloitte Africa in collaboration with Gold Fields and Trident Steel were highlighted as examples of innovation and impactful transformation.For Gold Fields, Deloitte implemented a solution that reduced incident reporting times from weeks to hours, significantly improving responsiveness and operational efficiency.In collaboration with AWS, Deloitte Africa also developed an advanced monitoring centre that combines human expertise with AI-driven intelligence to identify risks and generate incident reports in real time, enabling faster and more informed decision-making.As organisations across Africa continue to accelerate their digital transformation journeys, Deloitte Africa remains committed to partnering with clients and AWS to deliver innovative solutions that create lasting value and make an impact that matters.
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Read briefing Africanews highlighted a Kenya-built navigation tool designed to help people with visual impairment understand what lies ahead as they move through Nairobi, underscoring practical AI use in public life.Why it matters: It is a positive, evidence-based technology story with strong visual appeal and local innovation value.
Read briefing The commission has published nomination requirements for 2027 presidential aspirants, including proof of support from at least 2,000 registered voters in a majority of counties.Why it matters: Nomination thresholds shape the field of contenders and will drive county-level mobilisation and party vetting across Kenya; mark for sensitive editor review.
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Read briefing Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA) is targeting to equip 120,000 people across 19 counties with digital skills over the next three years as the country seeks to address gaps in digital literacy alongside expanding internet connectivity.The programme is being implemented through the Authority’s Universal Service Fund (USF) under its Digital Skilling Project, with a focus on communities in areas that remain unserved or underserved by digital infrastructure.The initiative recognises that expanding access to connectivity is only one part of closing Kenya’s digital divide. While more people are gaining access to internet services, a lack of digital skills can limit their ability to use those services effectively and take advantage of opportunities in the digital economy.The CA said the programme is therefore intended to complement ongoing connectivity initiatives by helping people develop the skills needed to use digital technologies confidently, safely and sustainably.Speaking during a stakeholders’ workshop on digital skilling, the Authority’s Director of Universal Service Fund, Eng. Dennis Chepkwony, emphasised the role of collaboration in implementing the programme and reaching communities where access to digital technologies remains limited.The focus on skills also reflects a broader challenge facing Kenya’s digital transformation. Investments in broadband networks and other digital infrastructure can improve access, but their economic and social impact depends partly on whether people have the knowledge and confidence to use the services available to them.The Digital Skilling Project forms part of Kenya’s wider efforts to expand digital capabilities under the Kenya National Digital Master Plan 2022–2032. The national strategy places digital skills among the areas that need to be strengthened as the country expands the use of technology across government, businesses and communities.For communities in underserved areas, digital literacy can influence how effectively people access online government services, education, employment opportunities, financial services and other digital platforms.The CA’s approach consequently links two elements of digital inclusion: access to connectivity and the ability to use it. The three-year programme is expected to extend these skills to 120,000 people across the 19 targeted counties, with implementation relying on collaboration between the Authority and other stakeholders.As Kenya continues to invest in nationwide connectivity, programmes such as the Digital Skilling Project point to the next challenge in the country’s digital transformation: ensuring that connectivity translates into meaningful participation in the digital economy rather than simply providing access to the internet.
Read briefing For most smartphone buyers, battery life is one of those specifications that matters more in everyday use than it does on a product sheet. A powerful processor or a high-resolution display may attract attention, but none of it is particularly useful when the phone needs to be plugged in halfway through the day.The same is increasingly true of privacy. Smartphones now hold banking applications, mobile money accounts, personal conversations, photographs, work files and social media accounts. Handing your phone to someone else can therefore mean giving them access to far more than the single thing they asked to check.These are two areas where the vivo Y500 takes a somewhat different approach from many phones in its price range. Its biggest talking points are an 8,100mAh battery and a dedicated Privacy System, while the rest of the device is built around a large AMOLED display, durability and enough storage for everyday use. The Y500 sits in Kenya’s mid-range smartphone market, where it has to compete not only on specifications but on how useful those specifications are in real life.There is no getting around the size of the battery. At 8,100mAh, the Y500 has considerably more battery capacity than what is typical of smartphones in this segment. For context, many mainstream smartphones have settled around the 5,000mAh mark, making the Y500’s capacity one of its most significant differentiators.According to vivo, its laboratory testing produced up to 35 hours of local video playback, 29.6 hours of YouTube playback over Wi-Fi and 10.2 hours of continuous PUBG gaming. Those figures should be treated as laboratory benchmarks rather than an expectation of what every user will achieve, since battery performance depends heavily on brightness, network conditions, applications and how a phone is used. Still, the underlying advantage is that the Y500 is designed for people who would rather carry a larger battery than carry a charger everywhere.The company also says the battery is covered by a six-year battery health guarantee. That is particularly relevant for a device whose selling point is longevity, although the terms and conditions of the guarantee are worth checking before purchase. The trade-off, as with any phone carrying such a large battery, is that battery capacity is only one part of the overall experience. A bigger battery can add weight and thickness, and buyers who prioritise a particularly slim and lightweight phone may find the design less compelling than someone whose first concern is endurance.The second major feature is less visible than the battery but arguably more interesting. The Y500’s Privacy System creates a separate space on the phone where users can store applications, photos, videos and files. That space can be secured separately using a password or fingerprint. The usefulness becomes apparent in a situation that is common in Kenya where someone might ask to borrow your phone. Maybe they want to make a call, check something online or send a WhatsApp message. Ordinarily, giving them the phone means trusting them not to wander into other applications or files.A separate private space provides another layer of control. Instead of having to think about what is visible on the main device before handing it over, users can keep selected information away from the main interface. It is not a replacement for good security practices, but it is a practical addition to a problem that smartphone manufacturers do not always address directly. It is also a feature that could prove particularly useful for people who use one phone for both personal and work purposes. Keeping certain files and applications separate can make the device easier to share without necessarily making everything on it accessible.In that sense, the Privacy System is more interesting than some of the headline specifications because it addresses an everyday behaviour rather than simply adding another number to a specification sheet.The Y500 comes with a 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display, a 120Hz refresh rate and a claimed peak brightness of up to 5,000 nits. The large screen is well suited to video, gaming and general content consumption. AMOLED also brings the usual advantages associated with the technology, including strong contrast and deep blacks. The 120Hz refresh rate is useful beyond gaming. Scrolling through social media feeds, moving between menus and navigating webpages generally feels smoother than on a conventional 60Hz display.Furthermore, the Y500 carries IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance and is marketed with military-grade protection. The IP ratings are particularly useful for a device intended to be used throughout the day. Phones are exposed to rain, accidental spills, dust and the occasional drop, and additional protection can reduce some of the anxiety that comes with carrying a smartphone everywhere.The phone also supports underwater photography, although this is one feature where users should pay close attention to the manufacturer’s guidance. Water resistance is not an invitation to treat a smartphone as an underwater camera indefinitely, and protection can change over the life of a device. Still, the combination of water and dust resistance makes sense alongside the phone’s focus on durability and long-term use.
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Read briefing This photo provided by Kenya Red Cross shows Kenya Red Cross emergency response teams during a multi-agency rescue and recovery operation in response to a helicopter crash near Mt. Ololokwe in Samburu, Kenya, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Kenya Red Cross via AP) ADDITION: Removes reference to killed touristsNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A safari helicopter crashed Wednesday morning in a remote part of northern Kenya, killing seven people, including five Americans, according to local police and the U.S. State Department.Among those killed were an executive with Telemundo, the U.S.-based Spanish-language network owned by NBCUniversal, and the director of Ecuador’s national intelligence service.The helicopter crashed at 9:13 a.m. while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, which said in a statement that an investigation was underway. It said there were seven people on board — six passengers and the pilot.Late on Wednesday, David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, told reporters that all seven people on board had died.“The U.S. Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance,” it said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss.”The identities of the victims were not revealed but a local television station in Miami, Florida, said that José Suárez, 55, president and general manager of several Telemundo stations in Florida, was among those killed.“We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that José was killed in a helicopter accident in Kenya,” the NBC affiliate in Miami quoted from a joint statement from NBC Universal and Telemundo leadership.The helicopter crashed in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in the country, local media reported. The helicopter, owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests with travel company &Beyond. Lady Lori Helicopters said in a statement that the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement that it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations.Ecuador confirmed later Wednesday that Michele Sensi-Contugi, director of the country’s National Intelligence Center, died in the crash.“In this moment of deep sorrow, the government extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones and close associates,” Ecuador’s presidency said in a statement posted on X.Sensi-Contugi, a friend and close associate of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, was visiting Kenya as a tourist with his wife, Stephany Hollihan, who also died in the crash. She was a U.S. and Ecuadorian citizen. They are survived by their two children.Helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry that depends on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant places like Mount Ololokwe.In February, a legislator was among six people who died after a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya.This story has been corrected after a previous version erroneously said that local safari company Tropic Air operated the helicopter.
Read briefing South Africa’s National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have published a draft Crypto Asset Manual for Cross-Border Activities for public comment, setting out proposed rules for cross-border cryptocurrency transactions and the regulation of authorised Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs).The draft Crypto Manual complements the draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, published in April, and provides greater detail on how authorities intend to implement the regulations’ crypto asset provisions.The proposed framework would establish rules for the authorisation and supervision of CASPs, define when crypto transactions are considered cross-border transactions, and introduce requirements governing the externalisation and repatriation of crypto assets. It would also impose reporting, operational, governance and compliance obligations on authorised CASPs.Under the proposed rules, a crypto transaction would generally be considered cross-border when assets move between a South African authorised CASP and an offshore CASP, or from a domestic authorised CASP to a non-custodial wallet, resulting in a cross-border inflow or outflow. Transactions between domestic authorised CASPs would remain domestic and would not be reportable to the SARB’s Financial Surveillance Department (FinSurv).For South African resident individuals, crypto assets could be transferred from domestic custodial wallets to offshore custodial or non-custodial wallets, subject to existing exchange-control allowances. These include the ZAR2 million single discretionary allowance and the ZAR10 million foreign capital allowance per calendar year.The proposed framework takes a more restrictive position on resident entities. While companies could acquire and dispose of crypto assets domestically, they would not be permitted to conduct crypto transactions classified as imports or exports of capital. This would include certain transfers between South African and offshore wallets.CASPs facilitating transactions classified as capital imports or exports would require authorisation from FinSurv and would face enhanced reporting requirements, including monitoring transactions through South African custodial wallets and maintaining systems capable of reconciling transaction data with information submitted to the regulator.The proposals signal a further move by South African authorities to bring cross-border crypto activity within the country’s existing exchange-control and financial-surveillance framework, while creating clearer obligations for businesses operating in the crypto ecosystem.Interested parties have until 30 September 2026 to submit written comments to the SARB. National Treasury and the SARB said both the draft CFM Regulations and the Crypto Manual remain subject to further refinement following public comments and stakeholder engagement.
Read briefing Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has signed the regulatory instruments underpinning the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative (NSCI), establishing unified rules, technical standards and an investment roadmap for cloud service providers, data centres, artificial intelligence infrastructure and government digital assets.Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, NITDA Director-General signed three instruments at a ceremony in Abuja on 4 August, with the agency publishing the documents for public download this week. Attendees included Nadungu Gagare, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy; Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, Director of the Payment Systems Supervision Department at the Central Bank of Nigeria; and Ikechukwu Nnamani, Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Data Centres.The composition of the gathering highlighted the intersection between financial-sector regulation and commercial data-centre operations.“Today’s signing marks our transition from policy development to implementation,” Abdullahi said.The initiative rests on four instruments. The National Cloud Computing Guideline sets the overarching rules for cloud adoption, while the National Cloud Technical Guideline establishes the technical standards providers must meet.The National Digital Infrastructure Assurance Framework (NDIAF) provides the assurance mechanism through which compliance is verified rather than simply asserted. Alongside these frameworks, NITDA unveiled the National Cloud Investment Strategy, a roadmap for attracting investment into cloud infrastructure, data centres, sovereign computing and AI infrastructure.The initiative builds on the federal government’s existing Cloud First Policy. NITDA said the instruments were developed through consultations involving government agencies, indigenous cloud providers, global hyperscalers, data-centre operators and development partners — a stakeholder base that matters because the framework will apply across the ecosystem.NITDA plans to operationalise a national digital regulatory platform by October 2026, through which it will conduct the onboarding, technical assessment, certification and regulation of cloud and digital infrastructure providers operating in Nigeria.That moves the framework from a statement of principles towards an enforceable regulatory regime with a defined start date. Providers serving the Nigerian market — domestic operators and international hyperscalers alike — will be assessed and certified against the technical standards established by the new instruments.Oversight will sit with a Sovereign Cloud Governance Committee, which the agency said would be constituted within two weeks of the signing.The term is used loosely across the industry, but the instruments give it more specific content.A sovereign cloud framework typically addresses where data physically resides, which legal jurisdiction applies to the provider and its subcontractors, who can access data and under what authority, what assurance and audit rights the state retains, and what happens to workloads if a provider withdraws or a commercial relationship ends.Abdullahi framed cloud infrastructure as a strategic national asset underpinning digital government, financial services, artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, innovation and digital trade.The presence of the Central Bank’s payment systems supervisor at the signing also reflects that overlap. Nigeria’s financial sector already operates under data-localisation expectations, while cloud certification could provide a technical and institutional mechanism for enforcing those requirements.Abdullahi told the ceremony that the country should “position ourselves not to serve Nigeria alone, but to serve West and Central Africa,” describing Nigeria as already the digital gateway to West Africa and arguing that achieving the wider ambition depends on building the infrastructure first.The IMF’s recent assessment of AI in sub-Saharan Africa counted roughly 160 data centres on the continent — about 5.5 percent of the global total — with nearly half concentrated in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.By capacity rather than facility count, the Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 economic report places Africa at around 0.6 percent of global capacity.Nigeria is among the three markets that account for most of the continent’s existing capacity. Whether certification can attract the investment needed to expand that capacity is the question the National Cloud Investment Strategy is intended to address.The sovereign cloud instruments are the second major framework NITDA has issued in a month, following the National Software Quality Assurance Framework, signed on 30 July. That framework will make independent third-party testing a precondition for federal software deployment from the second quarter of 2027.Both sit within a broader Nigerian regulatory build-out this year that includes the NIMC Act 2026, which designates the identity commission as the country’s root of digital trust, and an executive order placing telecommunications infrastructure under critical national information infrastructure protection.
Read briefing FILE -A man connects electric cables on a pole above the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde, File)FILE -A view of electric wire poles and cables towering over the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde, File)A solar power plant is seen at the car park of Two Rivers Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)A solar power plant is seen at the car park of Two Rivers Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)FILE -A man connects electric cables on a pole above the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde, File)FILE -A man connects electric cables on a pole above the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde, File)FILE -A view of electric wire poles and cables towering over the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde, File)FILE -A view of electric wire poles and cables towering over the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde, File)A solar power plant is seen at the car park of Two Rivers Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)A solar power plant is seen at the car park of Two Rivers Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)A solar power plant is seen at the car park of Two Rivers Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)A solar power plant is seen at the car park of Two Rivers Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya has tripled its long-term target for expanding its renewable energy capacity to meet surging demand and support its industrialization, but that might not result in more affordable power for consumers.The plan calls for renewable power generating capacity of 5,500 megawatts, up from about 1,500 MW now. That would include 2,000 MW of nuclear power alongside 700 MW of hydropower and new geothermal projects.That will strengthen the country’s position as a global leader in renewable energy. Kenya already produces 93% of its electricity using renewable sources. But experts say that reforms for utility contracts, electricity grids, financing and pricing are needed to translate clean energy growth into lower cost power for consumers.“We have recalibrated our long-term growth trajectory from 1,500MW to a 5,500MW renewable energy development pipeline,” said Peter Njenga, CEO of KenGen, the state-owned utility that produces about 60% of Kenya’s power.Lawmakers have been pushing the government to reduce electricity rates. In July, the parliament directed Energy Minister Opiyo Wandayi to develop a policy for renegotiating electricity supply agreements with major power producers. Lawmakers said lower wholesale prices could create more leeway for Kenya Power to cut consumer rates without damaging its finances.Energy experts say Kenya needs to focus less on building new generation capacity than on making electricity cheaper.“The answer to this conundrum is not as straightforward as it may seem,” said Mugwe Manga, climate finance lead at the nonprofit FSD Kenya. “One must look at the entire energy system holistically to understand the drivers of the end cost of power.”Unlike countries like Morocco, Egypt and China, Kenya provides limited direct subsidies to cushion electricity prices. While renewable generation costs are broadly competitive, consumers ultimately bear the burden of financing costs, transmission and distribution losses, taxes, and foreign exchange movements.Latest data show that industrial consumers in Kenya pay between $0.18 and $0.23 per kilowatt-hour, compared with about $0.03 in South Africa and Egypt, and $0.05 in Morocco and Ethiopia.“The perception that electricity is expensive is subjective,” Kenya Power CEO Joseph Siror said in an earlier interview. “The consumer prices are dependent on infrastructure costs, electricity tariff structures, and outstanding bill recoveries.”Kenya’s heavy reliance on green energy sources adds to costs since the infrastructure required to generate such power is expensive to install and maintain, he said.One of the biggest inefficiencies keeping electricity costs high lies in the distribution network itself, Manga said.More than 20% of electricity is lost to technical failures and illegal connections, compared with a global average of 8%-10%,” he said “That offers a great low-hanging fruit to improve efficiency and pass that efficiency dividend to end consumers through reduced tariffs.”High financing costs are another problem. Renewable energy developers across Africa borrow at significantly higher interest rates than their counterparts in wealthier economies because investors perceive view projects as having greater risks. Those extra borrowing costs ultimately are passed on to consumers.
Read briefing Kenya’s energy planning remains in focus after the government raised its long-term power ambition sharply, aiming to accelerate geothermal, nuclear and broader generation expansion.Why it matters: Energy strategy affects investment, industry costs and climate policy; it remains consequential even as a follow-on development to the earlier AP version already excluded.
Read briefing President William Ruto has declared that Kenya has crossed a historic threshold in the pursuit of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), with 32.3 million Kenyans registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA), saying the focus must now shift from establishing UHC to ensuring it delivers quality and affordable healthcare to every patient.“The question before us has changed. No longer whether Kenya should pursue universal health coverage. We have crossed that Rubicon. But how do we make it work even better for every patient, at every facility, and in every county?” Ruto posited.The president spoke on Tuesday during the opening of the Kenya Health Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, where national and county governments, health workers, development partners, private-sector players, and other stakeholders are assessing the progress of health reforms.The two-day summit, running from August 18 to 19, is being held under the theme ‘Reform Delivered. Health as a Right.’President Ruto said UHC was one of the five pillars of his administration’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, noting that economic empowerment could not be meaningful if illness continued to wipe out household savings and push families into poverty.He noted that the reforms were anchored in four laws signed in October 2023—the Primary Health Care Act, Social Health Insurance Act, Digital Health Act, and Facility Improvement Financing Act—which replaced the former NHIF framework and established the legal architecture for Taifa Care.Further, the President announced that 107,800 community health promoters (CHPs) had been deployed nationwide, reaching more than nine million households and referring over 750,000 people for treatment.Through the Primary Health Care Fund, he disclosed that the government has allocated Sh27.4 billion and disbursed Sh23.3 billion to support more than 20 million outpatient visits, benefiting over 15 million Kenyans.Ruto added that eight million Kenyans had received treatment through SHA, while more than 1.5 million mothers had been supported to deliver safely and over 500,000 surgical procedures funded.The government, he said, has also sponsored nearly 560,000 vulnerable households, covering approximately 2.2 million Kenyans.On emergency healthcare, Ruto highlighted the recently launched SHA-922 Lifeline and National Ambulance Dispatch Center, saying it would enable patients to access emergency assistance without having to raise money or make deposits before treatment.“Article 43 of our Constitution does not say emergency care is available only to those who can afford it. It says no person shall be denied emergency medical treatment,” he proclaimed.In his remarks, Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale stated that the reforms had also improved the availability of medicines, medical equipment, and health workers.Duale reported that the national order fill rate at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) had increased from 35 percent when the administration took office to 95 percent.He revealed that KEMSA had been recapitalised through a Sh10 billion credit facility and currently supplies more than 11,400 health facilities, with 54 percent of its supplies going to Level 2 and Level 3 primary healthcare facilities.On medical equipment, Duale said equipment worth Sh9.68 billion had been installed in 251 health facilities across 44 counties as at July 30, 2026.The equipment includes 36 CT scanners, two MRI machines, 52 digital X-ray machines, and 72 ultrasound machines.Duale added that the government had deployed 24,573 healthcare interns across all 47 counties over the past four years at a cost of Sh19 billion, while 5,000 additional nurses were being recruited.On his part, Council of Governors Chair Ahmed Abdullahi mentioned that counties had received Sh46 billion through SHA, of which Sh31.4 billion had been paid to hospitals and Sh14.2 billion reimbursed to primary healthcare facilities.He said primary care networks had increased from 89 to 277, while counties continued to work with the national Government to strengthen primary healthcare services.Concurrently, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja highlighted progress in expanding access to primary healthcare in the capital, where 7,820 community health promoters serve about 780,000 households.In attendance, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya Gary Connell, speaking on behalf of the UN family, observed that the success of the reforms would ultimately be measured by the experience of patients rather than the laws and policies adopted.“A right written is a promise. A right delivered is a country keeping its word,” Connell established.National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, on the other hand, said Parliament had provided the legislative foundation for the reforms, noting that the four major health laws were passed in 2023.He called for stronger action against fraud, unlawful charges, unequal distribution of health professionals, and wastage of resources, while urging greater emphasis on preventive and promotive healthcare.
Read briefing "We didn't purchase the technology outright but engaged investors who own the equipment," Ruto stated
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Read briefing Kevin Kinyanjui, one of the pioneers of Kenya’s IT profession and among the most respected CIOs of his generation, has been laid to rest. He was 59.The CIO community joined his family and friends in celebrating his life at the Karura Community Chapel.For those who worked alongside him, and there are many, across four decades and half a dozen of Kenya’s largest institutions, the loss is heavy. Kinyanjui belonged to the small cohort who built the CIO role in this country before it had a name. At a time when technology reported somewhere below finance and had to argue its way into every conversation. He argued well, and he did it without drawing attention.Kinyanjui entered the industry in 1986 as a systems designer and developer at Agman Computer Services, moving two years later into IT management consultancy at PwC. The training ground, he would later say, that taught him to look at technology through the lens of the business rather than the machine. In consultancy he worked across sectors and across African markets, helping companies find efficiency in finance, payroll, human resources, supply chain, inventory, sales and customer service.His own account of the journey ran through the Management Consultancy Services Division in the Office of the President; Barclays Bank across East Africa, Botswana and the United Kingdom; Bamburi Cement, where he served as Group Information Systems Manager and CIO from 1995; Housing Finance, as IT Director and CIO; Kenya Airways; East African Breweries under Diageo; and Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya, where he spent seven years. He held a qualification from the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria.It was at Kenya Airways, which he joined in early 2004 as Information Systems Director and CIO, that his reputation was made. He held the role for 13 years — an extraordinary tenure in a job whose average lifespan is measured in single-digit years — through the airline’s expansion, its fleet renewal and its most turbulent commercial period.“He mentored many, a pioneer CIO. He was one of the first Navision experts, before rolling out Oracle ERP and other large systems. He refused to be called IT director because he was one of the first experts to realize that the emphasis should be on systems and business enablement, not technology. Hence Information Systems Director at KQ,” said Francis Kamuyu, a mentee.His brief there, as he described it to our publication, was disarmingly simple and rather demanding: to ensure the IT strategy supported the business strategy as well as it possibly could — across core operations, customer service and internal efficiency. In practice that meant an airline’s entire nervous system: reservations, departure control, baggage, loyalty, maintenance, revenue accounting, and the mobile channels he pushed the carrier towards early, when self-service was still a novelty in African aviation.The recognition followed. In 2013, his team won the Computer Society of Kenya’s award for use of ICT in the air transport sector. In 2014, Kenya Airways took the overall East African honour at the CIO100 Awards for its baggage-tracking system — and Kinyanjui was named CIO of the Year, the highest individual recognition in the East African technology profession at the CIO100 Awards and Symposium in Naivasha.Beyond his corporate roles, he built other things, including the Golden Valley Livestock Cooperative, a reminder that his interest in systems extended well past the server room.“He was like a five-star general in the military,” said Harry Hare, Chairman and Co-Founder of CIO Africa by dx5, who knew him across the length of his career. “Calm, always calm, whatever the crisis — and wherever it came from, it’s now here, and he’s in charge. He had that quiet authority that doesn’t need to be proclaimed. He never ran, always walked and worked purposefully, as if every move had been rehearsed to perfection. He didn’t perform, didn’t try to impress, he was always unfazed.”Anyone who has run technology for an airline will recognise what that composure was worth. Aviation systems fail in public and at speed; a departure control outage is not an inconvenience but a queue of stranded passengers and aircraft going nowhere. The temperament Kinyanjui brought to those hours — unhurried, deliberate, entirely without theatre — is the rarest quality in the profession and the least teachable.The generation Kinyanjui belonged to did something that is easy to overlook now, when Kenya’s technology sector is celebrated globally and its engineers are recruited worldwide. They established, institution by institution, that technology leadership was a business discipline rather than a support function — that the person running the systems belonged in the room where the strategy was set. They did it without playbooks, mostly without budgets, and often without much recognition beyond their own peer group.That peer group is precisely what the CIO community in East Africa became, and Kinyanjui was among the figures who gave it standing. Those who came after him — the chief digital officers and chief technology officers now sitting on executive committees across the region — inherited an authority he and his contemporaries built.
Read briefing President Ruto says Universal Health Coverage is one of the most consequential social transformation programmes after the affordable housing; cites SHA, CHPs, facilities improvement and digitisation.
Read briefing Artificial intelligence is becoming embedded in the everyday lives of younger users, but for Generation Z, its role is moving beyond search, study and work. Increasingly, AI is also being treated as something closer to a conversational companion.New research by Kaspersky’s internal market research centre, based on responses from 7,200 people globally, suggests that Gen Z is using AI more frequently than other generations and is also developing a more personal relationship with the technology.Almost half of Gen Z respondents, 47%, said they use AI every day or almost every day, the highest proportion among the demographic groups surveyed. Their most common uses include searching for information, reported by 56% of respondents, followed by studying at 49%, generating ideas at 47% and work at 39%.The findings point to a generation that is becoming increasingly comfortable incorporating AI into activities that once relied almost entirely on traditional search engines, teachers, colleagues or other people.But the more notable shift may be happening outside these practical applications.According to the survey, 27% of Gen Z respondents said they use AI as a friend. That is higher than the proportion reported among other generations and suggests that conversational AI is beginning to occupy a different space in people’s digital lives.For some young users, the appeal appears to be the ease with which they can initiate a conversation. AI systems are available on demand, can respond conversationally and do not carry the same social dynamics as speaking to another person. This has also made them a place where some users are willing to discuss issues they might otherwise keep to themselves.The survey found that 28% of Gen Z respondents use AI to discuss personal issues they would rather not share with other people.That growing familiarity, however, introduces questions about how users understand the boundaries between an AI system and a human relationship.An AI chatbot may respond in a conversational and reassuring way, but it does not have the judgement, accountability or understanding of a human friend. Its responses can also be inaccurate or inappropriate. At the same time, the sense of privacy created by a one-to-one conversation may encourage users to disclose information they would normally keep confidential.This creates a challenge for a generation that is otherwise among the most comfortable with emerging digital technologies: familiarity with AI does not necessarily translate into safer use of it.Kaspersky’s research found that only 42% of Gen Z respondents consistently take protective measures when using AI services.Such measures include checking information generated by AI against reliable sources and avoiding the disclosure of confidential or sensitive information.A further 52% said they take such precautions only occasionally, while 6% do not take them at all.The figures highlight a potential gap between AI adoption and AI literacy. Young people may be quick to experiment with new AI tools and understand their capabilities, but that familiarity can also make it easier to overlook the risks associated with using them.The issue becomes more significant as AI moves into areas such as education, work, communication and personal decision-making.An inaccurate AI-generated response could affect a student’s academic work or influence an everyday decision. More concerning is the information that users may voluntarily enter into these systems. A conversation with an AI service could contain personal documents, financial information, private correspondence, passwords or other sensitive details.The principle is relatively straightforward: information entered into an AI service should not automatically be assumed to be confidential simply because the interaction feels private.This is particularly relevant as conversational AI becomes more sophisticated. The more natural the interaction becomes, the easier it can be for users to forget that they are communicating with a technology platform rather than a person.The growing use of AI does not necessarily mean that young users should avoid the technology. Instead, it points to the need for responsible AI habits to develop alongside technical familiarity.One of the most important habits is verification. AI-generated information can be useful, but important claims should be checked against reliable sources, particularly when the subject involves education, finance, legal matters, healthcare or other areas where inaccurate information can have significant consequences.Users should think carefully before entering passwords, payment information, identity documents, private correspondence or other confidential material into AI platforms. Understanding how an AI service collects, processes and stores information can also help users make more informed decisions about what they share.Cybersecurity risks also extend beyond the AI systems themselves. As AI becomes more popular, criminals can exploit that interest through phishing campaigns, fraudulent websites and fake AI applications designed to trick users into handing over information or downloading malicious software.
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