By Leonard Wanyama Part of the reason government is struggling with its messaging is that various ministries, departments, agencies, or counties have been deceived by lots of journalists who’ve paraded themselves as strategic communications experts but are not. This has been a short cut rebranding for many journos out of media jobs transitioning into corridors of power to help politicos package themselves, their ideas, or their messages better. As academic institutions, media platforms, public relations, and demographic needs have expanded, demands on government branding, outreach, social media presence, or even integrity of internal communications have also dramatically increased in…
Author: MSN Reporter
Airbnb has awarded grants to two organizations in Kenya as part of its Community Fund project. Children of Africa, a charity that empowers underprivileged girls through vocational training, and Global Give Back Circle, a social enterprise that supports vulnerable girls and women are the beneficiaries. “Airbnb donates to organizations that are supporting and strengthening communities around the world including donations made in partnerships with local hosts in many of these communities,” it says. The organizations will benefit from the Ksh1 billion together with over 160 organizations across 30 countries. In Africa, the other organizations set to benefit include Digify Africa…
Let’s be honest—Africa isn’t Silicon Valley, and no amount of slick pitch decks or buzzwords like “disruption,” ” democratizing, or “leveraging” will change that. Recently the failure rate of startups has been a constant feature in the ecosystem in Kenya and beyond. It begs the question of the appropriateness of the startup models being applied and how relevant those startup models are to the context. These startups whose rise from the secret walls of product design is normally unknown to many until they are able to secure funding, which is announced in pomp and color. The failure of these startups…
Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) has handed to Asharami Synergy Limited part of its land to develop bulk LPG storage. In a notice to the public, KPRL, a state corporation under Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) says the firm will also put up handling facilities. In total, Asharami Synergy Ltd will enjoy a sublease of 31 years on the 23 acres of land in mainland Mombasa. “KPRL competitively procured a PSP to undertake the project, in compliance with the relevant legislation and or circulars for the lease of public land,” reads the notice. The 30,000 metric ton project is expected to…
Sudan insists it is not importing Kenyan tea, despite a bold claim by Kenyan President William Ruto on Sunday night. Speaking to local radio stations, President Ruto insisted that Sudan continued to buy Kenyan tea despite the ban. “By the way, we are selling tea to Sudan, even after they said they are not buying it. The market itself has forced them. We sell tea today to Sudan, so there is no issue about selling tea, and that is why we are making money in the tea sector,” Ruto said. But in a rejoinder on Monday, war-torn Khartoum insisted it…
The government of Kenya and the United Nations are in talks to establish a humanitarian logistic hub at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi says if the talks are successful, the UN will coordinate is Eastern and Southern Africa humanitarian operations from Nairobi. In a statement, Mudavadi who is also Kenya’s Foreign Affairs cabinet secretary said the talks were at an advanced stage. “If implemented, this facility will be linked to a corridor from Mombasa to Naivasha through Nairobi and will also be the largest in Global South,” As part of its expansion into Africa,…
The fate of 64 years old United States Agency for International Development (USAID) seems to have been sealed. Multiple media reports out of the USA says the last of the remaining agency staff have been sent home. “The Trump administration is terminating nearly all of the remaining 900 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, in a final reduction in force.,” noted NPR, an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. NPR further added that a source it spoke to said the remaining staff were asked to clear with the front office by Friday (28th March 2025,) by 1pm.…
Electricity consumers in Kenya experience longer power outages than recommended. According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) says consumers suffered up to 9 hours per month of outage in 2024. “This was longer than the required 3.25 hours prescribed by the Authority under the current tariff control period,” EPRA says in its Biannual Energy & Petroleum Statistics Report 2024/2025 In 2023, consumers experienced an average of 8.85 hours of interruptions. During the period, average outage increased to 2.56 hours, which is above the EPRA recommended 2.45 hours. The authority says in 2024, October had the shortest restoration time…
Ride hailing app Bolt has announced a new 16 percent charge on commissions payable to its drivers. In a statement, the app says the move is to align with VAT regulations introduced by Kenya on electronic, internet and digital marketplace supply. “Over the past 15 months, Bolt has absorbed the VAT obligation on behalf of its drivers, ensuring their earnings remained unaffected during a period of adjustment,” says Dimmy Kanyankole, General Manager, Bolt Kenya and Tanzania in a statement to newsrooms. While this is expected to eat into the earnings of the drivers, Bolt says it will engage them through…
The encrypted messaging app Signal is getting some unexpected attention this week. High-ranking officials in the Trump administration, including Vice President J. D. Vance and Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, communicated the plans for an attack on the Yemeni Houthis via a potentially unauthorized group chat on Signal. However, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to the group chat, giving him access to these highly sensitive discussions, which he later published. The Signal app itself did not malfunction or operate in an unintended way. Rather, it is user error to accidentally add a journalist to a chat about U.S. military plans — an error…