WrapUp: Our pick of main stories, Monday 19th January

The week starts off with a bang as Samsung unveils two phones to the Kenyan market, a new partnership will see M-Shwari customers buy smartphones more flexibly and still on phones, Jumia Kenya is offering the latest Infinix smartphone at half price. These and more in our first news WrapUp of the week.

Samsung’s full metal Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 now available in Kenya

Samsung Electronics has unveiled the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3, offering a refined, trendy design and the most advanced functions to support social networking for mobile consumers. Available in a variety of colors and sizes, both devices empower younger consumers to quickly and easily capture meaningful moments, connect to social media and share their daily lives.

Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 will retail at Kshs 40,000 and Kshs 30,000 respectively in all authorized Samsung dealer shops countrywide. Consumers will enjoy 1.5 GB free data from Safaricom and 3G free data from Airtel.

‘Smart Loan’ to enable M-Shwari customers to acquire smart devices flexibly 

The Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and Safaricom has formally introduced a new proposition that will enable M-Shwari customers to access affordable loans to acquire smartphones and tablets. The proposition is a product dubbed ‘Smart Loan’, the product seeks to enable Safaricom subscribers to purchase smart devices through affordable monthly installments to remove any possible barriers to digital inclusion.

Under the scheme, customers will pay for 30 per cent of the cost of the device, and pay for the difference in installments of up to six months. The service is available for all smart phones and tablets available in Safaricom shops.

Kenyan and Ugandan ICT firms to improve export capability

The Netherlands Trust Fund III (NTF III) Export Sector Competitiveness Programme, a three-year, multi-phase Dutch-backed project with the International Trade Centre (ITC) has completed the company selection process for the projects in Kenya and Uganda.

33 Kenyan and 30 Ugandan companies were chosen based on a criteria that focused on their perceived ability to benefit from the NTFIII training and advisory services.

Relevant criteria includ the financial soundness of the company, export experience and strategy, and market presence.

The NTFIII will sponsor specific initiatives to boost export competitiveness of the IT and ITES (IT enabled services) sectors in Kenya and Uganda is focused on companies both large and small that have either already taken steps to export or are poised to join the export market.

The NTFIII company pool for Kenya and Uganda includes product start-ups, software development, and services companies.

Latest Infinix smartphone available from Jumia Kenya at half price

Infinix has their latest Android Smartphone in Kenya, the Infinix Hot X507 – which features a Quad-Core CPU with 16 GB internal memory – selling exclusively on Jumia for Kshs 7,000 down from the normal Kshs 16,000.

The smartphone is the latest being unveiled from Infinix into the Kenyan market. Infinix, formerly called Sagem ,is a brand that entered and left Kenya twice fast between 2002 and 2005 and was quite popular due to its low prices and design.

Customers can purchase the smartphone on the Jumia Infinix Shop and enjoy delivery everywhere in Kenya with free deliveries within Nairobi for products above Kshs 5,000 while those below the amount attract a Kshs 200 shipping fee.

Payment methods include Cash on Delivery, mobile money transfer or credit card and have 7 days to return or exchange product(s).