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Opera becomes the world’s first alternative browser optimized for Chromebooks

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Opera on Chrome OS comes with a set of unique functionalities, including built-in messengers, a free, unlimited built-in VPN, ad blocking and tracker blocking  Opera...

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LIFESTYLE NEWS

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced the Africa expansion of DoubleTree by Hilton, its upscale brand known for its warm hospitality, with the signing of three new properties in key destinations across North, West and Central Africa: Morocco, Togo and the Republic of Congo. These latest signings include Hilton’s debut in Togo and underscore Hilton’s commitment to growing its footprint on the continent, where the global hospitality company now has more than 100 hotels in its pipeline. Carlos Khneisser, chief development officer, Middle East & Africa, Hilton, said: “Africa’s major business hubs, rich cultural heritage, and spectacular landscapes continue to present exciting opportunities for growth. We are delighted to expand our footprint with three new DoubleTree by Hilton properties, which will join Hilton’s growing portfolio in Africa as we plan to nearly triple our presence across the continent in the coming years. These signings reflect our commitment to supporting Africa’s hospitality sector – with dedicated local development teams on the ground and deep expertise in these markets, we are well positioned to create long-term value for our partners and deliver world-class stays to our guests.” DoubleTree by Hilton Lomé Airport, Togo Marking Hilton’s debut in Togo, DoubleTree by Hilton Lomé Airport is developed in partnership with SODEXH SA. Strategically located opposite Lomé International Airport, the hotel will be the country's first internationally branded airport property, offering upscale services and conference facilities to business travellers. The hotel will feature 165 guest rooms and suites, a signature restaurant, a lobby café, as well as an outdoor pool, spa and fitness centre. Flexible meeting spaces include a ballroom and three meeting rooms, designed to cater to business travellers and transit guests with easy access to the city’s commercial and cultural hubs. DoubleTree by Hilton Kintele, Republic of Congo Located in Brazzaville’s emerging Kintele district, this property will include 200 guest rooms and suites, a fitness centre, tennis court, spa, and beauty salon. Guests will enjoy multiple dining venues including a lobby bar and terrace, pool bar, and two specialty restaurants with panoramic views of the Congo River. The hotel will house West Africa’s largest conference centre, which spans 75,000 sqm with an auditorium for 1,500 guests, banquet halls, a VIP lounge, and museum hall – making the hotel a prime accommodation choice for major events and corporate gatherings. Signed with Société d’Exploitation et de Développement des Infrastructures du Congo (SEDIC), DoubleTree by Hilton Kintele will start welcoming guests in 2026, joining the recently opened Hilton Brazzaville Les Tours Jumelles Hotel & Residences. DoubleTree by Hilton Marrakech La Palmeraie, Morocco Set in Marrakech’s renowned Palmeraie district, this resort-style property will offer 228 guest rooms and suites, landscaped gardens, and multiple dining options including an all-day dining restaurant, lobby café, pool bar, and two specialty restaurants. Guests will enjoy a relaxing pool area and kids pool, gym, spa, and paddle court. The hotel will also feature a ballroom and meeting rooms, with close proximity to the city’s historic district and vibrant souks. The hotel is expected to open in 2028. This latest signing joins Hilton’s rapidly growing footprint in Morocco with 16 hotels in the pipeline, including the highly anticipated Waldorf Astoria Rabat Salé and Hampton by Hilton Ben Guerir – both opening soon. The properties will join DoubleTree by Hilton´s global portfolio of more than 700 hotels across 61 countries and territories, where the award-winning brand is renowned for delivering warm and contemporary hospitality to business and leisure travellers – complete with its signature DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie welcome. DoubleTree by Hilton’s momentum continues across Africa with several signings announced earlier this year, including DoubleTree by Hilton Cabinda Futila Residences in Angola, DoubleTree by Hilton Adama and DoubleTree by Hilton Dire Dawa in Ethiopia, and DoubleTree by Hilton Fes Golf in Morocco.
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Hilton Expands Full-Service Portfolio Across Africa with Three New DoubleTree by...

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Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced the Africa expansion of DoubleTree by Hilton, its upscale brand known for its warm hospitality, with the signing...
Financial infrastructure firm, Tala, has launched a tokenized lending platform to cater to borrowers without a banking history in the world. It plans to deploy $50 million credit facility via the platform in USDC to power blockchain-enabled, permission-less lending for millions of global customers. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) underwritten consumer lending tool, in partnership with Huma Finance, is the first of its kind in Kenya and is powered by Solana and supported by USDC liquidity facilitated by the Huma Protocol For billions of consumers who lack access to traditional banking services and credit history systems, tokenized lending offers faster and more reliable access to credit, better rates through a global capital network, and a portable, digital reputation that enables broader participation in the global economy. Tala’s existing customer base of nearly 13 million across multiple emerging markets creates immediate scale for blockchain adoption. "After a decade operating across multiple emerging markets, we know how to translate frontier technologies into real-world financial power," said Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO, Tala. "By pairing Tala’s trusted platform with the power of blockchain technology, together with Huma and Solana, we can expand financial access, eliminate systemic inefficiencies, and help millions become active participants in the global digital economy.” The solution is powered by Tala’s proprietary credit engine, which has been trained on $7 billion in lending performance data across multiple continents. That dataset—largely invisible to banks and most AI systems—gives Tala the ability to evaluate borrowers who have historically been overlooked by the global financial system. By tokenizing these loans in an overcollateralized lending facility and connecting them to Huma’s liquidity pools, Tala unlocks a new funding mechanism for emerging market credit, bringing global capital directly to high-demand markets transparently and efficiently. Speaking during the launch, Erbil Karaman, Co-Founder of Huma Finance, said that Tala’s team has over a decade of experience in scaling high-performance lending programmes while providing financial access to tens of millions of people who need it the most.

Tala launches crypto lending platform

Kenya’s cloud and artificial intelligence boom may be entering its most consequential phase yet, as new data suggests local consultancies, AI startups and systems integrators stand to earn dramatically more from Amazon Web Services (AWS) than previously understood. A study by US-based research firm Omdia reveals that AWS partners worldwide can now generate “up to a $7.13 (Sh900) multiplier for every $1 (Sh130) of AWS sold,” a figure with enormous implications for East Africa’s technology ecosystem. The report, titled "Partner Ecosystem Multiplier: The AWS Opportunity 2025," was released on the sidelines of the AWS: Re-Invent event in Las Vegas, Nevada, which kicked off on December 1 and ends on December 5. It reached this conclusion after Omdia conducted in-depth interviews with 35 AWS partners across various geographies and partner types. The report’s central argument is blunt: in a region where businesses are hungry for automation, resilient infrastructure, and AI-powered customer engagement, the biggest revenue doesn’t come from selling cloud technology itself. Instead, it comes from the advisory, design, build, adoption, and managed services wrapped around it, the same areas where Kenyan firms have sought to differentiate themselves. “In the new era of AI, Omdia has forecasted a services opportunity tied to generative and agentic AI of $267 billion by 2030,” the research notes, positioning partners as the engines of this expansion. With Kenya’s financial institutions, telcos, and public agencies accelerating cloud migrations, the findings sharpen the conversation about who will capture the next decade of revenue. Kenyan companies already recognize the shift. For years, Kenya’s cloud market has revolved around foundational migrations: moving banks off aging data centres, helping enterprises modernize digital infrastructure, or building customer-facing platforms with elasticity and scale. But companies across Nairobi’s tech districts, from Westlands to Upper Hill to Ngong Road, are now repositioning their services for an AI-first world. The Omdia numbers help make the business case. The report states bluntly that 82 per cent of AWS partners are now delivering some form of AI as part of their transformation delivery, a seismic shift that mirrors Kenya’s adoption pattern: AI chatbots in banking, machine learning in fraud detection, recommender engines in e-commerce, and predictive analytics in agriculture and logistics. “Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to be the market-leading provider of public cloud infrastructure in terms of market share. For customers to unlock the full opportunities of AI in their public cloud environments, they lean on a wide variety of services and expertise from their technology providers, specifically the partners within the AWS Partner Network.”

Kenya’s cloud firms can multiply revenue by seven times via AI...

KenGen approves higher dividend on 56% growth in net earnings

Bolttech said the acquisition will allow it to integrate mTek’s technology into its global embedded insurance ecosystem. Stephan Tan, Chief Executive Officer for EMEA at bolttech, said, “This represents an exciting step forward for bolttech as we expand our footprint in Africa. mTek’s innovative platform and talented team share our vision of using technology to make protection more accessible.” “Together, we can accelerate digital transformation in insurance and extend the reach of embedded protection across the region.” mTek’s leadership will remain in place during the transition, with CEO Bente Krogmann continuing to oversee East African operations. Krogmann said the deal sets up the company for wider regional expansion. “Joining the bolttech family marks an exciting next chapter for mTek. Our technology, local insight, and commitment to inclusive insurance have transformed how customers access protection in Kenya, and this partnership allows us to scale that impact even further – bringing more innovative and relevant insurance solutions to customers at scale.” The company is expected to rebrand following the acquisition, as the firms work on integrating systems, staff, and partnerships.

Bolttech acquires Kenya’s digital insurance platform mTek

Kaspersky detected half a million malicious files daily in 2025

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Strengthening Market-led Digital Agriculture Platforms

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“Searching for markets required money, physical stamina and a lot of time travelling. We used to leave this for men,” Monica Rashid, Msambafumu Network,...

CAPTAIN MORGAN ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH MEJJA

Climate and disaster risk financing get fresh boost from African Development...

Declaration on Energy Transition, Climate Justice and Energy Poverty

Young people should tap into the potential available in subcounties, a...

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World Water Day: Greenpeace demands more commitment to defend South African...

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The spotlight on water is at the heart of all conversations in South Africa with questions mainly being raised around sustainable water management, government’s...

East Africa Regional Economic Outlook 2023

SOLAR KIOSKS: Connecting the mass market

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PERFORMANCE TRAINING

Survey reveals 95 percent of African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) did not receive...

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African Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and AfriLabs worked together to create the Rollo Africa Business Simulation Programme to support SMEs and the...

EABL signs lease deal for office space in upcoming Garden City Business Park

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East African Breweries Limited (EABL) and Actis, a leading growth markets investor, have announced the signature of a long-term deal with Garden City Business...

Oppo Partners with Lipa Later for Oppo 7

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Selfie Expert and Leader, OPPO Mobile has today entered into a partnership with Lipa Later, a credit offering company to allow customers to purchase...

Equity Bank Feted for Supporting SMEs

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Equity Bank, Kenya’s biggest in terms of customer base, has won the global SME Finance Award in the Platinum category of SME Bank of...

Piling coins in the beauty industry

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All the way from Burundi, Sally Kamenge travelled to Kenya to make a life and settled for the personal grooming industry; she tells of...
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Sanlam Kenya celebrates mother company for completing Africa’s largest insurance firm...

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The local Sanlam Group affiliate has welcomed the completion of a US $1billion corporate acquisition of the North Africa headquartered insurance firm, Saham Finances. The...
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