Demand for faster, cheaper internet rises to tackle crisis
BUSINESS DAILY By FAUSTINE NGILA
Thursday April 30, 2020
Dealing with the health and economic challenges of Covid-19 has exposed the need for faster and cheaper mobile internet that can be expanded to the last mile of African populations.
During a policy webinar on 'leveraging technology in assisting African countries in the fight against Covid-19' United Nations Under Secretary-General and executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Ms Vera Songwe said the continent needs mass internet access that penetrates to rural villages.
Organised in collaboration with Ant Financial Services of the Alibaba Group, the livestreamed event brought together leaders of the Asian tech giant, some African ministers of technology and telecommunications, private sector actors across the continent and digital economy activists who agreed that technology is a common denominator in mitigating the impact of the pandemic, restoring livelihoods and tackling similar challenges in the future.
Private schools go online in search of fees for survival
BUSINESS DAILY BY ELIZABETH KIVUVA
TUESDAY APRIL 21, 2020
Private schools are turning to online classes to generate income from fees as they fight for survival in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to the closure of learning institutions.
As the economic impact from the pandemic begins to bite, there are fears that some private schools could be driven out of business due to loss of their main source of income: Fees.
Elite schools such as Braeburn Schools, the Aga Khan Academy, Banda School, Cavina School, Premier Academy, Kenton School, Rusinga School and Sabis have reached an agreement with parents to charge fees for teaching students online.
This will boost their cash flow and facilitate paying salaries for teachers and non-teaching staff, maintenance of facilities and repayment of loans for investors who have tapped bank credit to build or expand their schools.
Did 5G cause coronavirus?
DAILY NATION By John Walubengo
Wednesday April 08, 2020
By Did 5G cause coronavirus?
There have been several clips shared on social media showing some pundits, celebrities, scientist and other commentators discussing how the new 5G technologies triggered the coronavirus.
Commonly known as conspiracy theories, the most absurd one claims that the Chinese manufactured the coronavirus in a lab in Wuhan and are spreading it through their 5G networks.
We shall ignore that one with the contempt it deserves and instead focus on the others that sound abit more convincing.
We can use technology to distribute Covid-19 relief food
DAILY NATION By JOHN WALUBENGO
Thursday April 16, 2020
The recent food stampede at Kibra makes one wonder how a very tech-savvy country like Kenya could not make basic use of its financial infrastructure to deliver food relief to the vulnerable groups.
There are already existing banking platforms that the government uses to disburse funds to vulnerable groups like the pensioners and other senior members of the Kenyan population.
Additionally, there is also the world-famous M-Pesa and other mobile money platform that can practically reach 90 per cent of Kenyans, wherever they are across the country.
Why couldn’t the politicians use any of these digital platforms to send relief to the vulnerable groups?
Google's internet balloons now in Kenyan airspace
Google's Loon internet balloons have finally gone airborne in the Kenyan space ten days after the government authorised the tech-giant and Telkom to deploy the balloons.
Data from Flight Radar shows that the two balloons (HBAL092 and HBAL125) are currently airborne in Migori and Homabay area over 60,000 feet.
The balloons were launched in Nakuru and have since travelled though Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu, Kajiado, Garissa and Tana River counties.
But it is not clear whether the balloons were on a test flight or are already connecting Kenyans with high speed 4G internet services.
Last week, President Kenyatta announced that the government is working with Google Loon to help Kenyans in remote areas access internet services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.