In a bid to expand it's goal of youth transformation and empowerment, the Swahilipot Hub has launched a new radio station dedicated to the youth.

The launch of the station based at the Imaara building coincided with the International youth celebration.

According to the Head of partnership and resource mobilisation at Swahilipot Hub Rukia Jamal the station will also act as a source of income for the Swahilipot hub.

"Our staff will mainly be youth, as you are aware our main goal as Swahilipot has always been to create opportunities and also empower our youth." said Rukia.

Adding "Apart from that, we also want to have this as our source of revenue for the hub."

The official opening was graced by first daughter Charlene Ruto and the C.E.O national youth council Margaret Kiogora.

The new radio station will be broadcasting in Swahili and English.

Swahilipot Fm broadcasts on 91.7 Frequency Modulation (FM) in Mombasa, Malindi, Kwale, Kilifi and Tana River. Taita Taveta 91.5 fm and Lamu 91.9 fm.

Mombasa County is set to host this year's International Youth Day celebrations.

The event which will include several activities is set for Monday, 12th, at the Swahili pot hub.

This year, activities are centered around five critical pillars: Climate Action, Agriculture, Health, Governance, and the Creative Industry.

These pillars represent areas where the youth will significantly contribute to national development and global progress.

Throughout these events, the aim is to engage and impact over 5000 youth, including the International Youth Day celebration, fostering a generation of informed, active, and empowered individuals.

In addition to various activities, policy briefs addressing the five pillars will be launched during the International Youth Day celebration.

The event is expected to be presided by Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, Principal Secretary Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, Ismail Maalim Madey, First Daughter Charlene Ruto among other guests.

“ In alignment with the International Youth Day theme, we recognize the transformative power of digital technology in advancing these pillars. Digital tools have always acted as an enabler to innovate, connect, and lead efforts that drive sustainable development across these critical areas." said Principal Secretary Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, Ismail Maalim Madey.

Adding "We are cognisant that the future of our Nation lies in the hands of the Youth. Their energy, innovation, and determination will definitely shape the trajectory of our Country. Therefore, it is our duty, as enablers, to provide them with the platforms and opportunities, that they need to succeed.” 

On her part the National Youth Council Kenya C.E.O Margaret Kiogora stated " “I am also pleased to announce that during the International Youth Day celebrations in Mombasa, we will be launching comprehensive policy briefs, focused on Climate Action, Agriculture, Health, Governance, and the Creative Industry. These policy briefs have been developed in consultation with Youth leaders, experts, and stakeholders, regionally. They will outline actionable strategies and recommendations to support Youth involvement and leadership in the various stated pillars."

Among the activities set for the day includes a walk from the famous Pembe za Ndovu to the venue of the event Swahilipot hub, official opening of a youth radio station Swahilipot fm and a music concert at the Mama Ngina Waterfront.

The theme for this year’s IYD is ‘From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development,’ which resonates with the Digital Superhighway Pillar of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) under the Kenya Kwanza Plan (2022-2027).

 Kenyan entertainer Remcy Don has released his latest single, "Ai We Mama," celebrating the beauty and essence of African women. The track, produced by Young Joh, mixed and mastered by Richy Chai, comes with vibrant visuals shot by renowned video director Jijo Drumbeats.

Watch “Ai We Mama” on YouTube Here: https://youtu.be/chgYsUh7g0I 

About Remcy Don

Remcy Don is a multifaceted Kenyan artist, known for his work as a musician, content creator, and businessman. His musical journey began in 2013 as a Mugithi songwriter and singer. However, financial constraints forced him to temporarily leave the music scene. In 2021, a by chance encounter reignited his passion when someone noted his resemblance to US mega-star Jason Derulo. This encounter propelled him into the spotlight, and by 2022, Remcy Don had released his first official music video.

In 2023, he gained significant popularity on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, by creating content as Jason Derulo's doppelgänger. Remcy Don has collaborated with notable Kenyan artists such as Stevo Simple Boy and Rekles, formerly of the Gengetone group Ethic. He approaches music both as a passion and a business, with dream collaborations including Jason Derulo and Alikiba

About the Song "Ai We Mama"

"Ai We Mama" is an ode to African women, highlighting their unique beauty, body shapes, skin tones, and vibrant spirits. The song's afrobeat tempo and catchy lyrics aim to celebrate all African women across the continent. The song is no doubt going to be a hit both on the dance floor and in listeners' hearts.

As we approach the first anniversary of his debut album ‘The Evil Genius’, GRAMMY® Award winner MR EAZI is thrilled to unveil the music video for “PANADOL”.

The single is inspired by how men brag about their love lives, thinking they're in control, while the woman actually holds all the power and pulls the strings.

Directed by Mollana Burke, JM Films and shot in London, the video brings the track’s themes of pleasure and ease to life with vibrant visuals and a playful narrative.

It showcases this cheekiness and lightheartedness playfully and stylishly. 

Recorded in Ouidah, Benin, and produced by Type A, Mr Eazi’s smooth vocals and infectious melodies capture the essence of finding relief in love and music, much like the soothing effects of the pain reliever Panadol.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR 'PANADOL'

With over 100 million streams, ‘The Evil Genius’ has been celebrated by Forbes, The New York Times, Billboard, Rolling Stone, The FADER, Complex, CNN, The Guardian, and Music Week.

Fans can anticipate more exciting releases from Mr Eazi, including new singles and a surprise EP before year-end. Beyond music, he remains committed to his philanthropic efforts, focusing on supporting young creatives and entrepreneurs.

By Wojtek Piorko, managing director for Africa at Vertiv

There’s no doubt, across any industry, that Artificial intelligence (AI) is here, and it is here to stay.

The use cases for AI are virtually limitless, from breakthroughs in medicine and enhanced farming techniques, to high-accuracy fraud prevention and personalised education.

It is heartening to see that there is opportunity for great development within Africa.

In fact, a paper published in late 2023 by Access Partnership stated that AI is already being used with significant effect in Africa, to help address challenges such as predicting natural disasters, like floods and earthquakes, as well as in the protection of endangered species on the continent, improving food security, and improving maternal health outcomes.

The paper notes that a preliminary assessment by Access Partnership estimates that AI applications could support up to USD136 billion worth of economic benefits for just four sub-Saharan countries (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa) by 2030, based on current growth rates and scope of analysis.

‘To put this in perspective, this figure is higher than Kenya’s current GDP and represents 12.7% of the 2022 GDP for these four economies,’ it says.

Making the Move to High-Density

AI is already transforming people’s everyday lives, with local use of technology like ChatGPT, virtual assistants, navigation apps and chatbots on the upswing.

And, just as it is transforming every single industry, it is also beginning to fundamentally change data centre infrastructure, driving significant changes in how high-performance computing (HPC) is powered and cooled.

To put this into perspective, consider the fact that a typical IT rack used to run workloads from five to 10 kilowatts (kW), and racks running loads higher than 20 kW were considered as high-density.

AI-chips, however, can require around five times as much power and five times as much cooling capacity[1] in the same space as a traditional server. So, we’re now seeing rack densities of 40 kW per rack, and even more than 100 kW in some instances.

This will require extensive capacity increases across the entire power train; from the grid to chips in each rack.

It also means that, due to traditional cooling methods not being able to handle the heat generated by GPUs running AI calculations, the introduction of liquid-cooling technologies into the data centre white space, and eventually the enterprise server room, will be a requirement for most deployments.

Investments to upgrade the infrastructure needed to both power and cool AI hardware are substantial, and navigating these new design challenges is critical.

The transition will not happen quickly: data centre and server room designers must look for ways to make power and cooling infrastructure future-ready, with considerations for the future growth of their workloads.

Getting enough power to each rack requires upgrades from the grid to the rack. In the white space specifically, this likely means high amperage busway and high-density rack PDUs.

To reject the massive amount of heat generated by hardware running AI workloads, two liquid cooling technologies are emerging as primary options:

 1. Direct-to-chip liquid cooling: Cold plates sit atop the heat-generating components (usually chips such as CPUs and GPUs) to draw off heat.

Pumped single-phase or two-phase fluid draws off heat from the cold plates to send it out of the data centre, exchanging heat but not fluids with the chip. This can remove between 70 to 75 percent of the heat generated by equipment in the rack, leaving 25 to 30 percent to be removed by air-cooling systems.

2. Rear-door heat exchangers: Passive or active heat exchangers replace the rear door of the IT rack with heat exchanging coils, through which fluid absorbs heat produced in the rack. These systems are often combined with other cooling systems as either a strategy to maintain room neutrality, or as part of a transitional design starting the journey into liquid cooling.

While direct-to-chip liquid cooling offers significantly higher density cooling capacity than air, it is important to note that there is still excess heat that the cold plates cannot capture.

This heat will be rejected into the data room unless it is contained and removed through other means such as rear-door heat exchangers or room air cooling.

Supporting the Higher Power and Cooling Requirements of AI

Because power and cooling are becoming such integral parts of IT solution design in the data room, we’re seeing a blurring of the borders between IT and facilities teams, something that can add complexity when it comes to design, deployment and operation.

Thus, partnerships and full-solution expertise rank as top requirements for smooth transitions to higher densities. 

To simplify this shift, Vertiv recently introduced the new Vertiv 360AI portfolio to EMEA and boost customers’ AI plans.

These solutions provide a streamlined approach for scalable AI infrastructure, addressing the evolving challenges posed by high-performance computing.

Vertiv™ 360AI is designed to help accelerate retrofits of air-cooled edge and enterprise data centres, as well as the development of hyperscale greenfield projects.”

Vertiv™ 360AI also features prefabricated modular solutions to enable customers to deploy AI without disturbing existing workloads and without consuming floorspace. Initial Vertiv 360AI solutions can power and cool over 130kW per rack, and include designs optimised for retrofits.

Safaricom has today awarded five more winners with Kshs 1 million each in the ongoing countrywide Shine Kenya Shinda Mamilii Kama Bingwa campaign.

This is the fifth week of the promotion bringing the total number of weekly millionaires to 25. Additionally, each winner received Kshs 250,000 to support a community project of their choice.

The award ceremony took place in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, where the latest five winners were announced namely, Samuel Kuria from Nairobi, Emmanuel Mbogo from Murang’a, Kevin Bitienyi from Kakamega, Geoffrey Langat from Mulot, and Tabu Ndonya from Mariakani.

Speaking during the award ceremony, a 45-year-old mother of four, Tabu Ndonga from Mariakani, expressed her joy after receiving her cheque of Kshs1 million. She stated that the money will significantly help her support her family, as she has struggled to provide for her children’s basic needs due to her minimal income as a house manager. She plans to support her local dispensary with the extra Kshs 250,000.

“I really don’t know what to say at this point, as it’s still unbelievable. I am a mother of four and have really struggled raising my kids with my limited income. I believe this is a new beginning, as I feel my life changing. I plan to start a small business, build a decent house, and pay school fees for my kids,” said Mrs. Ndonga.

Emmanuel Mbogo, an 18-year-old from Murang’a, was elated after being announced as one of the weekly winners in the ongoing campaign. Mbogo, whose dreams were previously shattered due to an inability to afford college fees after completing form four last year, now plans to return to school to pursue a course in plumbing.

This will enable him to secure a job and support his family. Additionally, he intends to use part of his winnings to repay the loan his father took to fund his secondary education, with the remaining amount allocated for his siblings' education.

“I am grateful to Safaricom for remembering the less fortunate in society. I never imagined I would win something that could transform my life and revive my shattered dreams. We have struggled a lot as a family, to the extent that my father had to take a loan to educate me and some of my siblings, which is still pending. First, I want to clear the loan, then enroll in a plumbing course, and pay for my siblings’ school fees,” said Mr. Mbogo.

Similar sentiments about school fees and returning to education were echoed by Samuel Kuria, a part-time lecturer at a private university in the country.

Samuel said, “We are living in tough economic times, and many people are struggling to make ends meet. I feel this is a great initiative by Safaricom to support and transform Kenyans' lives. I have a few projects that have stalled due to financial constraints. With this money, my hopes of going back to school to pursue my PhD have come true, and I can expand my poultry project, which I have partnered on with my mum.”

He also pledged to support the Home for the Elderly in Kasarani, Nairobi County, where he once worked as a volunteer, through the ksh250,000 community projects supported by the Safaricom Foundation. Similarly, Emmanuel Mbogo offered to support the elderly community in Murang’a.

Elsewhere, Kevin Bitienyi, a 33-year-old casual worker from Shimanyiro, Kakamega County, could not hide his happiness after being awarded the cheque.

Mr. Bitienyi said he never imagined he would one day receive a million shillings, having always worked as a casual labourer supporting a local women's agricultural group.

“I have worked as a casual labourer, but from today I will become self-employed as I plan to venture into serious agricultural business to grow myself and support my family. I feel my life is going to change tremendously; I will never be the same,” said Mr. Bitienyi.

The five winners were selected after transacting on M-PESA and purchasing Safaricom’s Shine Kenya bundles for as little as Kshs20. In addition to the Kshs 1 million received by each winner, they also received KES 250,000 from the Safaricom Foundation to support any community initiative of their choice.

“ Since launching this campaign in early May, we have made 25 millionaires across the country and supported various community projects of their choice. We still have six more winners to announce, including the grand prize winner who will receive KES 5 million,” said Peter Ndegwa, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom PLC.

As part of bringing services closer to the people, Safaricom also opened four new franchises in various parts of the Coast region today.

To participate, customers will need to transact on M-PESA or purchase any Safaricom Bundles. For every Kshs200 transacted on M-PESA and any Bundles purchase of Kshs 20 and above, customers will earn an entry into the weekly draw.

Qualifying M-PESA transactions include Send Money (P2P), Lipa na M-PESA, any transaction made through the M-PESA app, My Safaricom app, or by dialing *444#, *544# or *334#.

Kenyan Australian singer, rapper and producer, Elsy Wameyo, has released ‘Saint Sinner’- her anticipated debut album out via AWAL.

Elsy returned home to Kenya from Australia to create the album in which she enlisted a team of producers, fellow songwriters and close connections including Wuod Omollo, Fancy Fingers (of Sauti Sol) and Ywaya Tajiri - who helped inform her new work and a rediscovery of the creative ambition that first set her on this path to greatness.

‘Saint Sinner’ is the culmination of those sessions spent writing and recording together in Naivasha where Elsy surrounded herself with personalities and energy that encouraged growth and rejuvenation. 

Elsy says on the album, “I am not a saint nor a sinner. I am a child yearning to perfect and mimic my father’s glory as I continuously fall short. Still, I courageously and resiliently get back up to fight. I understand that evil is within me. It is my nature, though I sit and walk beside the king. He shields me from the storm and wraps me in His arms. Refined by the fire and set apart for greatness. Lord, it is I, Saint Sinner.”

Watch “Conquer” on YouTube

Stories of aggressive fearlessness and profound boldness on “Repercussions” and “Quagmire” meet stories of self-love, ego and an unapologetic self on “Umva”, “Ler” and “Wonder Horns” in the 13-track album. Unafraid to go to places of pure sadness and grief, “Slowly Slipping” demonstrates Elsy’s savvy ability to move between shades of unbridled vulnerability, while matching them with natural beauty and strength. 

A central theme that weaves through the second half of ‘Saint Sinner’ is endurance, and a return of faith, explicitly felt on the single “Conquer”. A sound of realignment is heavily heard as Elsy battles with inner demons, temptations and worldly voices to find a way back to her guiding spirit. Even through feelings of self-doubt, isolation and emotional displacement, it’s evident Elsy remains unapologetically fearless and strong in herself and sound as felt on the tracks “Journey”, “Saint” and “Thank You”. 

The success of her 2022 debut EP ‘Nilotic’ catapulted Elsy into a limelight that she'd dreamt of since childhood; touring internationally, performing across stadiums and collecting accolades. However, with this dream came the reality of the music industry's toxic underbelly. This uncomfortable season brought her to a new creative touchstone, a place of reclamation and self-empowerment in the form of her debut studio album, ‘Saint Sinner’.

Through the turmoil and tumult of young adulthood, navigating the modern world as a Black woman has been a process not without its struggles like finding a sense of purpose and belonging, and of being caught between two cultures, that of Kenya and Australia. 

A strength of voice exists throughout Saint Sinner’, replete with sounds that are urgent and poignant – showcasing Elsy’s levelled up sense of determinism and resilience on record.