M-Pesa Gets GSMA Certification

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M-Pesa Gets GSMA Certification

Special Correspondent - April 12, 2018

M-PESA Passes Independent Assessment in Offering Safer, More Transparent and More Resilient Financial Services. ...

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UBA Kenya has appointed George O. Otieno as the new Chairman of the Board. The announcement follows regulatory approval and comes as the bank marks 15 years of operations in the country. The bank said Mr. Otieno’s appointment is a key step in strengthening its strategic growth in Kenya and the region. “His appointment marks a significant milestone in the bank’s journey,” the bank said in a statement. Mr. Otieno takes the helm at a time when UBA Kenya is pushing to expand its footprint and enhance its presence as a bank of choice for SMEs, corporates, government infrastructure development, and individuals. The bank said Mr. Otieno brings valuable experience in shaping policies and building local and regional partnerships.

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As global carbon markets shift from rule‑setting to real transactions, with Article 6 mechanisms advancing and compliance‑driven demand such as CORSIA coming into sharper focus, attention is turning to where credible supply and policy certainty can be delivered at scale. For Africa, this marks a transition from carbon market readiness to delivery. Against this backdrop, the Carbon Markets Africa Summit (CMAS) 2026 will take place from 13–15 October 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda, bringing together policymakers, investors, buyers, project developers and market enablers at a pivotal moment for global carbon markets. The Summit is delivered with the support of the Ministry of Environment of Rwanda, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and AUDA‑NEPAD, and with support from private sector partners such as SGS and Anthesis. Rwanda has emerged as one of Africa’s most advanced carbon market jurisdictions, with active engagement under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and a strong focus on mobilising climate finance. “Rwanda has made a deliberate choice to position carbon markets as a tool for climate action, investment mobilisation and long-term development,” said Dr. Bernadette Arakwiye, Minister of Environment, Rwanda. “Hosting CMAS 2026 reflects our commitment to building credible and investable carbon projects that deliver real value for our economy, communities and climate goals.” At a continental level, carbon markets are increasingly seen as a strategic financing mechanism for development. “The Summit provides a timely platform for African countries to shape the future of carbon markets in line with the continent’s development priorities, and reflects the growing momentum to build credible, high-integrity markets that deliver real value”, said Olufunso Somorin, Regional Principal Officer, Climate Change and Green Growth Programme, African Development Bank. “The Bank remains committed to working with our countries and partners to strengthen the policy, regulatory, and institutional frameworks needed to scale carbon markets, attract investments, and ensure Africa is well-positioned in global carbon markets.” “As Africa transitions to a low‑carbon economy, the mobilisation of private capital is needed at scale to support climate mitigation activities and build climate‑resilient infrastructure,” said Kumesh Naidoo, Carbon Markets Lead at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). “As a regional DFI, the DBSA recognises the importance of carbon markets as a climate finance tool and has intentionally stepped forward to support their development through carbon financial instruments, capacitation support and the building of a robust carbon project pipeline. Partnering with CMAS 2026 provides the DBSA with a platform to advance these objectives.” CMAS 2026 is held under the theme: “Africa’s Carbon Markets on the Global Stage: Delivering a Strong Pipeline of Projects, Capital and Transactions at Scale”. As scrutiny on carbon market integrity intensifies, Africa’s carbon assets are increasingly viewed as tools for financing development and strengthening economic sovereignty. “High‑quality carbon markets offer Africa a unique opportunity to translate its vast natural capital into tangible economic value – mobilising finance at scale while empowering countries to pursue development pathways that are both sustainable and sovereign,” said Maxwell Gomera, UNDP Resident Representative in South Africa and Director of the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub. Designed as a market‑enabling platform, CMAS 2026 focuses on alignment between policy, capital and delivery. “We are deliberately shifting the focus from readiness to delivery,” said Emmanuelle Nicholls, Group Director: Green Economy at VUKA Group, the Summit organisers. “CMAS brings policy, capital and projects into the same space to support real transactions and long‑term market credibility.” The programme includes Article 6 and CORSIA workshops, investor and buyer roundtables, curated project presentations, deal rooms and solution‑labs addressing key bottlenecks such as early‑stage finance, MRV capacity and authorisation in practice. Ministerial roundtable and targeted networking formats support coordination and commercial outcomes. Register: https://apo-opa.co/49Kcmpy Get involved: https://apo-opa.co/3R8m6DR

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Africa’s leading electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy infrastructure platform, today announced the successful closing of its latest funding round at $270 million. This milestone follows a newly finalized $55 million investment from NewTrails Capital, a prominent Chinese growth-stage investment fund focusing on emerging markets with strategic locations in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Nigeria. Scaling Africa’s next-generation mobility and energy ecosystem This capital injection positions Spiro among the continent's most heavily backed Africa’s e-mobility and energy ecosystem. Building on the support of long-standing institutional partners such as FEDA, Spiro’s latest equity round also draws global capital from Europe and Africa, Impact Fund Denmark, Equitane and FEDA, on top of the recent backing from Nithio and the Africa Go Green Fund. "I would like to thank NewTrails Capital for believing in Spiro’s model and supporting our unique tech, energy and innovation journey. Having deployed 100,000 electric vehicles and 2,500 smart-swap stations across seven active markets, Spiro has firmly moved past the proof-of-concept phase. Partnering with NewTrail Capital’s deeply experienced team marks a powerful new chapter for Spiro as we prepare for the next steps of our pan-African and international expansion”, stated Gagan Gupta, Founder of Spiro and Chairman of Equitane. Yufan Zhang, Founding Partner of NewTrails Capital, added: “We believe Spiro is driving a profound “energy revolution” across mobility use cases in Africa. This represents not only a vast and highly imaginative market opportunity, but also the potential to grow into an infrastructure-like business that creates meaningful commercial, social, and environmental value. In our view, Spiro’s core strengths lie in its deeply localized operating capabilities, vertically integrated supply chain, digitally enabled ecosystem, sound unit economics, and strong ability to scale rapidly. More importantly, Spiro has systematically integrated vehicles, batteries, energy replenishment, payments, and service networks into a solution that is truly tailored to the needs of African users, effectively addressing long-standing structural pain points in the local market. As a Chinese fund committed to investing in Africa’s energy transition and green technology, we are also very encouraged to see Chinese supply chains and financing playing an increasingly important role in this process. Spiro is still a young company, and everything today is only the beginning. We look forward to continuing to fulfill our role as a long-term investor, contributing our resources and experience, growing together with Spiro, and helping accelerate Africa’s new energy transition.”, This partnership will be instrumental to support Spiro’s current manufacturing and supply chain localisation effort on the continent in particular with Chinese suppliers.

Spiro secures $55M additional backing from Chinese investor NewTrails Capital

July 10, 2026

Radisson Hotel Group (RHG) (www.RadissonHotels.com) is helping drive a new era in healthcare meeting planning, contributing to the industry’s evolution from operational event delivery to a structured, strategic discipline focused on improving scientific exchange, decision-making, and healthcare outcomes. The findings emerge from the Radisson Hotel Group Knowledge Exchange: Healthcare Planning, Design and Strategy Summit held in Florence, Italy, where 75 experts from across the pharmaceutical, healthcare agency, and venue production sectors came together to explore the future of healthcare meeting design. Built to drive tangible outcomes, the two-day summit centered on collaborative working sessions and practical workshops that translated industry insights into actionable frameworks, rather than a traditional conference format. The resulting report identifies a clear industry shift: healthcare meetings are increasingly being recognized not as standalone events, but as strategic communication systems that require structured design, measurable methodologies, and continuous improvement. “Healthcare meetings are no longer simply logistical exercises—they are strategic communication platforms that can drive measurable educational, scientific, and organizational outcomes,” said Muriel Poulenc, Senior Director, Sales Strategy at Radisson Hotel Group. “Across the industry, we are seeing growing recognition that better outcomes require more than flawless execution. They require structured design, integrated workflows, and a more deliberate approach to how meetings are planned, delivered, and measured. The organizations embracing this shift will be best positioned to create meaningful impact.” Healthcare meeting design is becoming a discipline A central theme emerging from the Florence summit is the growing professionalization of healthcare meeting planning. As regulatory requirements, stakeholder expectations, and organizational complexity continue to increase, the industry is moving toward shared methodologies, frameworks, and measurement systems that support more consistent and effective outcomes. Building on discussions first initiated at the 2025 Knowledge Exchange, participants worked to translate industry insight into practical, repeatable tools designed to improve meeting effectiveness, compliance, and stakeholder engagement. The report argues that healthcare meetings should no longer be viewed as isolated events, but as intentionally designed systems that support learning, collaboration, and decision-making across the healthcare ecosystem. The healthcare meeting planner is becoming a decision architect As healthcare meetings become more complex, the role of the planner is evolving beyond coordination and logistics. The report highlights the emergence of meeting planners as strategic decision architects, responsible for aligning stakeholders, structuring workflows, and helping organizations make better decisions throughout the planning lifecycle. Workshop discussions revealed that many organizational challenges, including delays, inefficiencies, and rework, are often the result of fragmented decision-making rather than execution shortcomings. Participants concluded that better meetings depend on better decision structures, greater alignment, and earlier strategic involvement from planners. AI won't fix healthcare meetings. Better systems will While artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate industry conversations, the Florence summit challenged the assumption that technology alone will solve healthcare meeting challenges. According to discussions and data presented during the summit, while AI adoption across the industry is high, relatively few organizations are achieving its full value. Participants agreed that the real challenge is not technology adoption, but the integration of AI into coherent workflows, governance models, and decision-making systems. The report identifies fragmented processes, disconnected workflows, and inconsistent planning structures as some of the industry's most significant barriers to progress. In many organizations, as much as 40–60% of planning activity remains focused on non-value-creating work. To address these challenges, RHG advocates for the adoption of structured methodologies, including Lean Six Sigma, Agile, and Sprint thinking, to redesign healthcare meeting planning around flow, efficiency, and measurable outcomes. Build. Measure. Learn. One of the report's key contributions is the introduction and exploration of the Meeting Flow Efficiency Ratio (MFER), a framework designed to measure the balance between value-creating activity and reactive planning effort. The model demonstrates how organizations can increase productive planning time by improving workflow design, reducing friction, and creating greater alignment across teams and stakeholders. The report also reinforces the need to move beyond one-off event thinking toward a continuous engagement model. This evolution is particularly important given the report's finding that 66% of healthcare professionals change their clinical practice or prescribing behavior following participation in industry-sponsored symposia, highlighting the significant influence healthcare meetings can have on professional decision-making and patient outcomes. An industry ready to evolve A panel featuring senior leaders from Inizio Engage XD, MCI, Emota, and Open Audience reinforced the report's conclusions. Drawing on longitudinal industry data spanning 2018 to 2026, the panel identified a common challenge: not structural failure, but structural inertia. While participation remains strong and investment continues, many traditional meeting formats have failed to evolve alongside changing expectations and technological capabilities. The report concludes that the future of healthcare meetings will belong to organizations that combine methodology, intelligent orchestration, and strategic design to create more impactful, measurable, and scalable engagement. By combining sector expertise, collaborative industry engagement and methodology-driven approaches, Radisson Hotel Group continues to support the advancement of healthcare meeting design and contribute to the ongoing development of the discipline globally.

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M-Pesa Gets GSMA Certification

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