Wrap-Up: Our pick of main stories, Wednesday June 3rd, 2015

Government to appeal High Court’s ruling which disbanded CA Board. MasterCard is first international payments network to enter Somalia. Online banking still a challenge to many Kenyans ….and much more.

Government to appeal High Court’s ruling which disbanded CA Board

The Government through the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology is set to appeal after the High Court passed a ruling that the Communication Authority of Kenya, (CA) Board should be disbanded due irregularities in the appointment procedures. This was announced by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of ICT, Dr. Fred Matiang’I who said that he had consulted the Attorney General, Githu Muigai on the way forward and later on filled an appeal at the Court of Appeal on the same.

MasterCard is first international payments network to enter Somalia

At the World Economic Forum on Africa today, MasterCard announced its partnership with Premier Bank, becoming the first international payments network to enter Somalia. As a result of the partnership, Premier Bank will now issue and accept the first MasterCard-branded payment cards in Somalia, a country which hasn’t had any form of formal banking service since the collapse of the government and financial services system in 1991.

Online banking still a challenge to many Kenyans – Study

Online banking still remains a challenge to many people even as the smart phone penetration in Kenya experiences substantial growth due to increase in internet and mobile connectivity which has seen many local banks introduce online banking services at low rates. This is according to a new survey unveiled by Jumia Kenya dubbed as ‘The growth of the smartphone market in Kenya’.The paper, looked in detail at the evolution of the smartphone market in Kenya as well as consumer behaviours in relation to smartphone purchases. Findings within the report are based on a qualitative research conducted by Jumia.

About 20,000 children to participate in SAP’s Africa Code Week

SAP Africa has launched the inaugural Africa Code Week (ACW) with the go-live scheduled for October 2015. The initiative will see an estimated 20 000 children across the continent ranging in age from 8 to 24 years, participating in software coding workshops across eleven African countries: South Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.

Airtel empowers Kambui school for the deaf with free internet connectivity

Airtel Kenya has connected Kambui school for the deaf to the Internet for free. The seamless and effective internet connectivity to the school will enable students and teachers from the institution benefit from enormous educational information available online, allowing them to succeed in their education. This is part of an ongoing Internet for Schools program that seeks to provide data connectivity to schools across the country in an effort to support Kenya’s education system.

Broadband connectivity still remains a challenge in Africa

Implementing Broadband connectivity still remains a challenge in Africa and Kenya in particular even after the successful Digital Migration completed in March due to the high costs required to roll out broadband network and limited spectrum. This was said by Francis Wangusi, Director General, and Communications Authority of Kenya during the 10th edition of the annual Spectrum Africa Workshop that saw Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) stakeholders across Africa converge in Nairobi to dialogue and submit solutions to spectrum challenges in enhancing broadband connectivity in Africa.