Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has made a personal donation of Sh2 million to the Kenya Red Cross to help with the flood mitigation efforts.

In a statement released by his office on Tuesday, Uhuru said the contribution will assist in bolstering relief efforts and provide essential aid to the affected families.

"The relentless rainfall has caused significant damage, displacing families, destroying infrastructure, and claiming precious lives. During this time of profound loss and despair, my thoughts and prayers are with the affected communities as they cope with the aftermath of this natural disaster," said the former Head of State.

The former President highlighted the urgent need for solidarity and collective action to alleviate the suffering of our fellow Kenyans in distress. He called upon all citizens to unite in providing support and assistance wherever possible.

"Furthermore, it is through our shared determination and compassion that we can help rebuild lives and restore hope amidst this disruption." he said.

Adding "“As a nation, we must stand together in the face of adversity, demonstrating compassion, resilience, and solidarity with one another."

Additionally, he emphasized the crucial need for all Kenyans to remain vigilant and cautious amidst the dangers posed by flooding. He urged citizens to exercise utmost care, avoid crossing flooded roads or pathways, and, most importantly, seek higher ground when necessary to ensure their safety and well-being.

Recognizing the ongoing challenges within the healthcare sector, the former President urged volunteer medical professionals and healthcare providers to step forward and assist the sick and injured.

He acknowledged the dedication and commitment of all healthcare workers and emphasizes the importance of addressing their concerns through constructive dialogue and meaningful engagement.

The recent floods in Nakuru, Nairobi, Homa-Bay, as well as various parts of Central, Eastern, and Rift Valley counties, have resulted in numerous deaths, destruction, and despair.

Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya has called on boat owners and operators to exercise extreme caution when using the vessels during this season when the country is experiencing heavy rains and floods.

In a statement, Mvurya called on passengers and operators to ensure they wear life jackets when using the vessels among other measures.

"The safety of persons using water transport remains the Government's top priority and we advise boat owners, operators, passengers, fisher folks and the general public to take safety measures" said Mvurya.

Other measures highlighted by the CS includes monitoring of the weather, vessel maintenance, monitoring of water levels, avoiding overloading, preparing for emergency,, navigating safely and communicating to authorities and emergency teams promptly.

This comes just a day after capsized in  Tana River county.

According to witnesses, the boat which had more than 40 passengers on board was on its way to Garissa from Madogo where it had picked up the passengers.

22 individuals were successfully rescued. with three bodies retrieved by Monday morning.

In its aim to offer attractive products tailored to the different needs of their travelers, Skyward express has introduced a flight package for students going back to school.

The package dubbed back-to-school flight savings will see students traveling from as low as 5,750Ksh to Mombasa and JKIA.

Schools will reopen for the second term next week.

Last month, the low-cost airline launched daily flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Moi International Airport in Mombasa to give coast-bound passengers more options.

https://ommydalla.co.ke/business/item/3677-skyward-express-officially-launches-new-route-jkia-to-moi-international-airport

Speaking during the launch in Mombasa Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen expressed confidence that the business decision taken by the company to provide air connectivity to various parts of the country will boost air transport in the country

"Last year, the airline became the first to launch the Nairobi-Kakamega route, bringing commercial air transport for the first time to the Western region." said Murkomen.

Skyward express currently operates scheduled passenger services to Eldoret, Lodwar, Kakamega, Kitale, Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa and Ukunda.

 Daring Africa 2024, Nissan’s overland adventure across eight countries with four Nissan Navara pick-ups and an X-Trail SUV, has completed its Kenya leg, the expedition’s penultimate stop before transitioning to Egypt.

“It has been an amazing journey so far,” says Nissan South Africa and Independent Markets Africa’ managing director, Maciej Klenkiewicz.

“We set out to celebrate our African footprint and our 60-year-old light commercial vehicle (LCV) legacy on the continent through this incredible vehicle which, of course, was designed for Africa and is built in Africa by Africans. All that remains now is the final instalment of this odyssey, in Cairo later this year when we will formally link our African LCV manufacturing hub in South Africa with our Egyptian passenger vehicle (PV) manufacturing facility.”

The journey, which began in Rosslyn, South Africa, has taken the team to Maputo in Mozambique, before heading up the coast and turning inland to get to Zimbabwe via that country’s renowned Eastern Highlands.

After a stop in Harare, the expedition went to Zambia around the Kariba Dam, heading east to Lake Malawi through the Luangwa Valley. From Malawi, Daring Africa 2024 traversed the northern part of Tanzania, entering Kenya on Tuesday morning.

Heading straight to the Nairobi National Park, Daring Africa 2024 was met by executives from Nissan Kenya (Crown Motors, a subsidiary of Motus Africa) and local media before driving to Nissan Kenya’s Nairobi state-of-the-art showroom, which was opened 18 months ago. Here, the media could interact with the Daring Africa expedition crew and hear their experiences of this exciting journey.

On Wednesday, selected local media and key Nissan clients were invited to try out the Navara and the X-Trail for themselves on a 4x4 driving experience.

The expedition was designed to showcase the Navara, which will soon be available in North African markets and is due to be launched in Egypt shortly.

It has also been a wonderful platform for the Nissan X-Trail, launched in South Africa last April and in Egypt last August to prove its worth as the daring family car, running in support of the expedition alongside the tough, built for more Navaras.

“Kenya is a very important market for us. We have been in this country for more than 60 years and in fact assembled here in the past. It is a source of enduring pride for us that minibus taxis were locally referred to as Nissans, thanks in part to our long legacy brand in the country,” says Klenkiewicz.

Nissan is represented by Motus Africa in Kenya and in several other East African markets.

Tim Jaques, CEO of Motus Africa, met the media in Kenya and joined them on the off-road experience in the hills outside Nairobi.

“With Daring Africa 2024, Nissan has proved the durability and reliability of the Navara beyond any doubt. To think that the team drove their unmodified Navara pick-ups straight from the facility in Rosslyn and reached Kenya without any mechanical issues – or as much as a flat tyre – is testament to this,” says Jacques.

“This has been an epic experience for everyone involved,” says Nissan Head of Communications and Public Relations Ramy Mohareb. “It really has been Daring in every possible way. The roads have been challenging but the sights we’ve seen and the experiences that we have all undergone have been invaluable.

“We were able to renew old relationships and forge new ones as we shared our vision for Africa on the road and in fireside chats at night. We have been able to dream to dare because we have a vehicle that allows us to do just that, and together we can unlock the incredible potential that lies within this unique continent.”

Daring Africa will now transition to Egypt for the final instalment of this odyssey.

President William Ruto has secured Zimbabwe’s support for Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship.

Kenya has presented its candidature for AUC Chairperson for 2025 – 2028.

This comes in the wake of a unanimous decision by the African Union Executive Council, on 15th March 2024, that the Eastern Africa region submit candidates for the AU Chairperson.

President Ruto said Kenya candidature is informed by the role that the country plays in enhancing the Pan – African Agenda.

“I am assured that Kenya and Zimbabwe will persist in conferring and backing each other on multitude issues of bilateral, regional and continental significance alongside the African Union
Agenda 2063,” said President Ruto.

President Ruto made the remarks at the Bulawayo State House, Zimbabwe on Saturday, during bilateral talks with his counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa.

During the bilateral meeting, Kenya and Zimbabwe signed nine MoUs in the fields of transport, infrastructure, health, education, defense, trade and investments among other areas.

President Mnagangwa emphasized on the need for investors to exploit existing opportunities in the two countries.

Meanwhile, Kenya and Zimbabwe will leverage on their rich shared history, socio-cultural, political and economic ties as well as abundant natural resources for the mutual benefit of their citizens.

President Ruto said the two countries have a deep understanding which underpins our mutual support over the years in diverse arenas.

“Based on this, I wish to declare Kenya’s unreserved support for Zimbabwe’s readmission to the Commonwealth, and for the African Union’s call for the immediate lifting of all illegal sanctions against the Republic of Zimbabwe,” said President Ruto.

Kenya’s commitment to the principle of sovereign equality of nations and states, and a rule-based multilateral system makes no room for the contemplation or imposition of unilateral coercive measures.

“I stand here to affirm Kenya’s commitment to the flourishing of our bilateral relations, and our shared determination to advance and enhance mutual benefit through partnership and consultation,” said President Ruto.

President Ruto made the remarks on Friday evening during a banquet hosted in his honour at the Bulawayo State House in Zimbabwe.

Dr Ruto said President Mnagangwa’s emphatic commitment to accelerate the development of energy, transport and communications infrastructure as enablers of trade and investment, productivity and efficiency and, ultimately rapid economic growth is a substantial testament to the boldness and ambition of his vision for Zimbabwe’s economic turnaround.

“To underscore this observation, I further note your government’s decision to break new ground in monetary policy and inaugurate a new currency backed by gold and other asset reserves, as compelling proof of Your Excellency’s irrevocable intent to usher in a new era of economic recovery and transformation,” said President Ruto.

The Head of State said he was confident that the two countries are poised to accomplish immense growth together, on the basis of the bilateral frameworks of cooperation the numerous areas of potential mutual gains.

President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will forever be grateful to Kenya for standing resolutely with the country, particularly in the clarion and unequivocal call for the removal of illegal Western-imposed economic sanctions.

“We have a common and rich liberation war history and a shared vision for prosperity, peace and progress. As we look into the future, we must now leverage on the current social, political and economic ties as well as natural endowments for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples,” said President Mnagangwa.

He said Zimbabwe also took a leaf from Kenya, especially in infrastructure development that is now ubiquitous in the country as roads, that were in a state of disrepair, were now being resurfaced in every part of the country.

“We are on course to attain our national Vision 2030 to become an empowered upper middle-income economy. The reforms undertaken since the inception of the Second Republic have seen a conducive business environment, which has in-turn increased both local and foreign investments across all sectors,” he said.

Qualcomm Incorporated today announced the shortlisted startups for Qualcomm Make in Africa 2024, as well as the winner of the 2023 Wireless Reach Social Impact Fund.

The Qualcomm Africa Innovation Platform, now in its second year, aims to work with and support the development of Africa's emerging technology ecosystem by providing mentorship, education, and training programs with a focus on 5G, Edge-AI/ML, Compute, and IoT.

This year, Qualcomm received an overwhelming response, with approximately 250 applications from 30 countries.  

  Highlights:  

• Startup cohort announced for 2024 Qualcomm Make in Africa startup incubation program featuring technologies. 
• Announcement of the awardee of the 2023 Wireless Reach Social Impact Fund, supporting startups in scaling their societal and market impact. 
• Development of L2Pro Africa website content nears completion, providing free online training on intellectual property protection. 

As the first initiative of its kind in Africa, Qualcomm Make in Africa is an equity-free mentorship program that identifies promising early-stage startups keen on applying advanced connectivity and processing technologies such as 5G, Edge-AI/ML, Compute, and IoT to innovative end-to-end systems solutions, including hardware.

These startups have demonstrated exceptional potential in applying advanced connectivity and processing technologies to innovative end-to-end systems solutions.

The selected startups will receive free mentorship, business coaching, access to engineering consultation for product development, and guidance on protecting intellectual property.

The 2024 cohort includes the following startups (listed in alphabetical order):  

• Aurora Health from Kenya provides AI-based cardiovascular health care tools. 
• CropScan from Kenya uses solar-powered smart farming IoT devices. 
• Cure Bionics from Tunisia makes smart 3D printed prosthetic arms. 
• DevisionX from Egypt provides AI-based low-code computer vision tools. 
• Kalio from Cameroon is building AI tools for Agricultural IoT 
• Kitovu from Nigeria provides tools and software for smart agricultural warehouse management. 
• NextAI Studios from Kenya builds AI-based emotion detection into toys for children’s mental healthcare. 
• RIM Nextgen from Kenya, uses smart tools for monitoring propane consumption. 
• Sparcx from South Africa uses AI for enhancing radar signal processing.
• Vizmerald from Tunisia is working on AI-based textile industry inspection.

 Qualcomm is also proud to announce the awardee of the 2023 Wireless Reach Social Impact Fund.

This fund, provided by Qualcomm through its Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ Initiative, aims to support startups in scaling their societal and market impact.

Ecorich Solutions Limited, a female-founded organization based in Nairobi, Kenya, will be awarded funding to help scale the impact of their smart organic food composter.

Wireless Reach funding will support Ecorich to address the dual challenge of organic waste management and the need for sustainable agricultural practices, with the goal of reducing environmental pollution, improving crop yields for farmers, and mitigating waste-related health risks for communities.

The other nine startups from the 2023 cohort will also receive valuable stipends to continue fueling their growth.

These startups have showcased innovative uses of wireless technology to address pressing needs in their communities.  

In addition, Qualcomm is excited to highlight the progress of the L2Pro Africa IP e-learning Platform, a free online training program designed to empower startups, SMEs, and researchers in Africa to protect, secure, and maximize their innovations.

This program has been created in collaboration with Adams and Adams, Africa’s leading intellectual property (IP) law firm.

The education content has been updated with individual filing procedures for patents, industrial designs, and trademarks in the countries of Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda and within the two African patent organizations, ARIPO and OAPI.

These step-by-step descriptions of per-country filing requirements empower inventors to interact effectively with IP professionals such as an IP attorney and their respective IP offices.  

"I am thrilled with the overwhelming response to the Africa Innovation Platform this year," said Alex Rogers, President, QTL & Global Affairs, Qualcomm Incorporated. "The quality and diversity of the applications received reflect the immense talent and potential within Africa's technology ecosystem. We are excited to work with the shortlisted startups and provide them with the necessary resources and support to drive innovation and create a positive impact in their communities."  

“We applaud Qualcomm for launching the second year of its Innovate in Africa Platform, which not only equips the upcoming generation of African entrepreneurs with expertise in pivotal areas like AI/ML, healthcare, agri-tech, smart cities, and communications but also empowers them to safeguard their intellectual property through the complimentary L2ProAfrica program.”, said John Omo, secretary general, African Telecommunications Union (ATU).  

Mr. Omo also emphasized that the ATU remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across the continent. "Our youth innovation program, among other initiatives, plays a crucial role in cultivating the talents and aspirations of Africa's young visionaries," he affirmed. "We are ready to collaborate with additional partners to realize this objective."  

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was on Wednesday full of pride after meeting Namibia's Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Hon. Emma Inamutila Theofelus.

Aged 28, Emma is  one of Africa's youngest ministers.

Theofelus was 23 years old at the time of her appointment in March 2020 .

She is also an award-winning, inspirational young leader who has been widely recognised in her country, and globally, for her leading role in advocating for various social causes to better the lives of young people.

Ms. Theofelus was the 2022 Laureate in the Individual Category of the United Nations Population Award and serves as a board member of the Leadership Council of Africa REACH. She has also been recognized as one the most influential African women in the world by several reputable outlets such as the BBC, Avance Media, New Africa, and the African Leadership Magazine.

The discussions between DP Gachagua and Theofelus  centred on the critical role young people are playing in technological advancement of the continent and how our countries can contribute to this cause.

"I'm very excited to meet you, I'm encouraged because I have program of mentoring young people to be leaders of Kenya and Africa. At your age to be a minister is a big achievement and I would like to say congratulations" said Gachagua.

The Minister is in Kenya for the Connected Africa Summit 2024 in Nairobi.

Theofelus thanked the Deputy President for taking up the role of mentoring the young people.

“I can attest to you mentoring young people and being close to them because I first met you during the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit in Botswana last year. We thank you for taking the position of mentoring the young people,” the Minister said.

Blacksand Pictures, a Screen Australia Enterprise-supported production company renowned for its commitment to authentic storytelling and cultural exchange, is excited to announce its expansion to East Africa with the launch of its presence in Kenya.

Founded and led by CEO Kauthar Abdulalim of Kenyan heritage, Blacksand Pictures has established itself as a trailblazer in fostering cultural connections between Australia and Saudi Arabia.

With a focus on promoting diverse narratives and commercial opportunities, Blacksand Pictures is poised to make a significant impact on the Kenyan and more broadly, the Sub-Saharan film industry.

During her tenure in Australia, Kauthar Abdulalim has spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives, including the introduction of Australia's first Inclusion Rider and Muslim-specific Cultural Safety Policy within the screen sector.

Under her leadership, Blacksand Pictures has garnered acclaim for its exceptional storytelling, earning accolades such as the 'Best Short Film' award at the VMC Film Festival for 'The Ninth Tower,' which was also officially selected for the Academy-Award qualifying 69th Melbourne International Film Festival.

The launch in Kenya marks an exciting new chapter for Blacksand Pictures, as it seeks to collaborate with local talents and filmmakers, contribute to the growth of the Kenyan film industry, and showcase the rich culture and heritage of Africa to global audiences.

Speaking about the expansion, CEO Kauthar Abdulalim expressed her enthusiasm, stating, "We are thrilled to bring Blacksand Pictures to Kenya and embark on this journey of creative collaboration and cultural exchange.”

Adding “Kenya boasts a vibrant and diverse cultural landscape, with a growing film industry and we are eager to explore opportunities to support and collaborate with local talents, share stories that resonate with audiences worldwide, and contribute to the success of the Kenyan film industry."

In response to the expansion, John Gregory, the Commercial Affairs Officer at Blacksand Pictures, stated, “Alongside the Middle East, the Sub-Saharan African region stands as one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors for screen production, and Blacksand Pictures is well-positioned to make a significant contribution to content creation in this dynamic market.”

 Blacksand Pictures will officially commence operations in late 2024 in East Africa, with plans to establish a head office in Nairobi.

The company aims to engage with local filmmakers, production houses, and industry stakeholders to create meaningful partnerships and produce compelling content that reflects the richness and diversity of Kenyan and East African culture.