BLAZE to debut an E-Sports tournament with trip to ESL Gaming Convention in Europe up for grabs
Safaricom (NSE: SCOM) has today flagged-off the fourth edition of BLAZE Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) youth engagements in Kakamega County.
Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) features youth mentorship summits and creation camps all focused on empowering Kenyan youth to achieve success by providing valuable information, skills and networking opportunities in a variety of fields including: creative arts, fashion, film and photography, music, agriculture, sales and production and sports.
This year, BYOB has expanded its youth engagement programme to 18 summits, compared to last year’s three, which engaged more than 26,000 youth.
“The fourth edition of BYOB aims to empower 1.3 million youth by providing access to a platform that allows them to connect, learn and showcase their talent. We decided to change the approach and increase the number of summits in a region in order to reach more young Kenyans,” said Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer – Safaricom.
In a new addition to the programme, BYOB will introduce an E-sports tournament for youth who are looking at E-Sports as a career choice. In partnership with Pro Series Gaming (PSG) and HEVA Fund, BLAZE will run grassroots competitions at the summits, which will culminate in a national finals where top gamers will compete for a KES 300,000 grand prize and an all-expenses paid trip to experience the ESL in Europe next year. Winners at the regional finals will take home KES 80,000. The E-Sports Tournament will kick off on Friday, 28th June at the Sigalagala National Polytechnic in Kakamega.
“A few years ago, gaming was considered a means of passing time, but today, people from all over the world are making a living out of it, which is why we have introduced an E-sports Tournament to affirm to the youth that you can commercialize whatever skills and talents you have. Our commitment is to support the youth in their journey to economic empowerment, however unconventional it may be,” said Ms. Mulinge.
The first BYOB summit will be held on Saturday, 29th June at the Sigalagala National Polytechnic in Kakamega before moving on to Kisii, Siaya and Kisumu. Like in the previous editions, attendees will interact with local mentors who are industry experts through interest-specific pods where they will go through workshops and learn from the mentor’s experience. The summits will feature mentors such as Fundi Frank (fashion designer), Eric Musyoka (music producer), Nancie Mwai (fashion vlogger and retailer), Joanna Kinuthia (beauty content creator), Caleb Karuga (farmer and agribusiness consultant), among others.
To enhance the quality of engagements, BLAZE has partnered with Huawei, Google, IBM, USAID-K-YES, Wezesha, and other partners, to provide a mix of content, training and employment opportunities to BLAZE subscribers who attend the summits.
BLAZE is a sub-brand of Safaricom and was created to give youth aged 26 years and below products, services and benefits tailored specifically to meet their everyday needs. A first of its kind platform in Kenya, East and Central Africa, BLAZE was founded on what Kenyan youth say is most important to them: freedom, empowerment and the journey to self-discovery, ultimately leading to success.
![Canon (www.Canon-CNA.com) today announces the Colorado XL-series, a new platform of 3.4m printers that extends the proven advantages of Canon's UVgel technology to the 3.2m graphics market. Available in hybrid and roll-to-roll configurations, the modular, field upgradable platform powered by UVgel technology delivers great versatility and exceptional productivity for both flexible and rigid media applications from signage and décor to point of sale and packaging. The Colorado XL-series comprises two easy-to-operate models: the Colorado XL7 roll-to-roll printer and Colorado XL7 hybrid printer. The new series brings the benefits of UVgel to a new market segment with exceptional application versatility across a comprehensive range of media – from banner, paper, vinyl and films to soft signage, heat-sensitive materials, foam board, fluted polypropylene, acrylic, aluminium composite boards and cardboard – providing the flexibility to tackle diverse customer requirements. With print speeds of 70m² per hour in quality mode, 106m² per hour in production mode and up to 211m² per hour in express mode, the system delivers the productivity needed for demanding production environments while accommodating substrates up to 52mm/2 inches thick for rigid applications. The new platform includes multiple technology innovations, such as the UVgel 860 ink set, which has been optimised to cover a wide variety of both rigid and flexible applications. It also provides the proven benefits of UVgel: odourless and instant-dry prints, high mechanical and chemical robustness, dimensional stability due to low-temperature curing, excellent colour consistency, TPO [1] - and VCL [2] -free, and matte and gloss finish without the need of a separate varnish. The Colorado XL-series also incorporates new UVgel 850 PrintHeads. Each printhead has 4,544 nozzles and features automated built-in nozzle performance monitoring and compensation. A single printhead supports two colours simultaneously, so that only two printheads are required to print CMYK, plus an optional third if white is configured. Additionally, the Colorado XL-series has an agile and precise printhead carriage that features UVgel DynamicMotion Control to ensure exceptional print quality even with challenging media. Taking the UV LED curing process to the next level, the Colorado XL-series introduces UVgel FullBeam Curing. This technology uses a unique 3.4-metre-wide LED curing array that, combined with an ingenious mirror system, delivers consistent UV light dosing across the entire print width, guaranteeing exceptional print uniformity over large surfaces and enabling a wider colour gamut. Media handling is optimised by the new UVgel TRIdrive vacuum belt system, which features three interactive rollers and multiple powerful vacuum zones that reduce wrinkling and skewing by automatically detecting and correcting the media positioning. This results in highly repeatable media transport through the printer, ensuring accurate positioning both longitudinally and laterally and enabling razor-sharp applications. Optional features for the Colorado XL-series, which are already available on the highly successful and modular Colorado M-series, include: UVgel White for hassle-free white printing, FLXfinish+ for creative effects using matte or gloss or mixed matte and gloss on the same print without additional varnish, and FLXture for textured finishes that mimic materials like leather, wood or fabric. Mathew Faulkner, Director, Marketing & Innovation, Wide Format Printing Group, Canon EMEA, comments: "For the past decade, Canon has been at the forefront of the inkjet evolution in large format, with market-leading technologies including the Colorado roll-to-roll printer series powered by UVgel technology and the Arizona flatbed printers. Large format print providers are looking for systems that deliver high productivity, versatile applications and reliable quality while addressing the challenge of finding skilled operators – which is why Canon is launching our new, breakthrough Colorado XL-series, an addition to our portfolio that will set a new standard in productivity and versatility. “This innovative solution brings the proven advantages of our unique UVgel technology to the 3.2m market for the first time, combining it with extensive automation and a modular design that will enable customers to extend their application possibilities into markets such as packaging and décor. Print service providers already producing high-value signage and graphics can now leverage UVgel's distinctive finishes, including mixed gloss and matte effects and textured printing, at scale to stand out in these new markets. And with its hybrid capabilities, users can print both roll-to-roll and rigid applications on the same device, using the same ink, the same colour profiles and the same unique features and finishes. For brands, for example, this translates to seamless campaigns that span the full spectrum of applications, ensuring perfect consistency across campaign assets whether they're roll-fed graphics, rigid signage, packaging, or décor elements. This is particularly valuable when these different applications appear side by side in-store, where maintaining that consistent quality and finish elevates the entire brand experience that today's brands demand." The Colorado XL-series will be available from the beginning of 2026 via Canon’s direct sales organisations as well as from accredited partners. For more information about the Colorado XL-series, please visit: https://apo-opa.co/3WltKtM](https://businessinsights.africa/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/canon_prograf-80x60.png "Canon expands large format graphics production portfolio with new 3.4m Colorado XL-series")
