Tech

Mastercard pens new deal with Kenya’s KCB to expand payments in East Africa

Published

3 months ago

February 26, 2024

Global payments solution provider, Mastercard, has have signed a 5-year strategic collaboration framework with Kenya’s KCB Bank that will see holders of their cards across the East African region benefit from enhanced value propositions.

The payment solutions, according to KCB Group CEO, Paul Russo, will be rolled out in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Russo who spoke during the signing ceremony in Nairobi on Monday, said customers will enjoy exclusive benefits ranging from a wide spectrum of Mastercard payment solutions, including premium “World and World Elite” cards, youth pre-paid, and corporate cards.

“In addition, cardholders will be able to perform a range of transactions including e-commerce payments, cross-border remittances, QR, and Tap on phone solutions.

“We want to tap technology and our expertise to revolutionize how our customers in East Africa access our financial services,” Russo said.

“This collaboration is also part of our commitment to continually extend a variety of benefits to them while at the same time shaping the future of commerce and forging new paths for inclusive economic growth.”

He added that the two leaders in the financial services space will leverage each other’s advanced technological network to co-create innovative payment solutions and marketing initiatives to leapfrog financial inclusion in target territories.

“In turn, it will enable us to deliver trust, deepen financial access and wellness, connect consumers with priceless experiences, and empower small and mid-sized businesses to derive value from their interaction with the bank,” the KCB CEO added.

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Tech

Cut to undersea cable causes internet disruptions across East, Southern Africa

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Internet services across East and Southern Africa have suffered outages following undersea submarine cable cuts on Sunday.

According to the Group CTIO at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Ben Roberts, in a post on X on Monday, the faults have been reported in the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the Seacom cables.

Though details of the fibre cut are still unclear, Roberts said three crucial submarine cables in the Red Sea, the Seacom, EIG, and AAE1, suffered cuts and remain unrepaired, leading to the widespread outage.

“We have experienced an outage on one of the undersea cables that deliver internet traffic in and out of the country,” Roberts said.

“We have since activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep you connected as we await the full restoration of the cable. You may, however, experience reduced internet speeds,” he added.

Four of the nine subsea cables that connect countries like South Africa to the rest of the world were reported as damaged due to incidents on either side of the continent.

In Kenya, this latest outage seems to have affected service providers like Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya. Safaricom said has since activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep users connected, according to reports.

Other East African countries affected by the cut are Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda.

This is the second time Africa has experienced a major fibre cut this year. In March, a suspected underwater rock slid off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire resulting in several submarine cables being offline which affected over 13 West African countries with greater impacts felt in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.

The affected cables included Africa Coast to Europe (ACE),
SAT-3 – Submarine Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable, WACS – West Africa Cable System and MainOne.

Tech

Oracle to increase research, development investments in Morocco

Published

4 days ago

May 11, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Global IT vendor, Oracle, has announced plans to expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities in Morocco by growing its local workforce to 1,000 information technology (IT) professionals.

Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, who made the announcement on Friday, said the investment in the North African country will accelerate the development of Oracle’s cutting-edge technologies that help solve customer challenges worldwide.

“Oracle’s R&D center in Casablanca has already played a critical role in creating technical breakthroughs, enhancing cybersecurity, and delivering impactful new AI capabilities,” said Catz.

“By expanding our R&D presence in Morocco, we can further tap its deep talent pool to accelerate development of solutions that help our global customers grow their businesses and win in their industries,” he added.

Ms. Ghita Mezzour, Morocco’s Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform who signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of the government, said:

“This ambitious project falls within the strategic and comprehensive Royal Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI who called on encouraging Moroccan youth innovation and creativity.

“At this cutting-edge center, young Moroccans will be at the forefront of designing and developing innovative solutions, covering the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and cybersecurity.

“These solutions will be deployed on a global scale, thus strengthening Morocco’s positioning as a regional digital hub.”

Oracle’s expansion follows the opening of its Morocco Development Center facility at Casanearshore Park in Casablanca, where researchers use Oracle’s cloud, AI, and machine learning technologies to tackle the most pressing challenges facing business, science, and the public sector.