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Sama to train 2,000 youth and women for global AI projects

At least 2000 youth and women are set to get Artificial Intelligence skills from outsourcing giant Sama as the company aims to transform Kenya into a global AI powerhouse, aligning with government initiatives and unlocking opportunities for underserved communities. Sama says it will hire and train young individuals for computer vision projects catering to Fortune 500 companies. The initial wave of 600 participants in Nairobi has already been hired and is currently undergoing training. The remaining 1,500 individuals are slated to join in the coming weeks, forming part of Sama’s dynamic team of over 3,000 staff in Nairobi dedicated to computer vision AI projects for

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NewsTechnology
James Wambua

Twiga Foods: We are not shutting down

Recent reports of workers’ layoffs have led to perceptions of struggle, even a looming shutdown of Twiga Foods, a business-to-business e-commerce company that seeks to revolutionize supply chains. Twiga Foods CEO and founder Peter Njonjo maintains that the company is on course, reshaping the way retailers access quality goods and services in Kenya while optimizing end-to-end supply chain solutions tailored to Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities. Partly backed by the World Bank’s private venture unit International Finance Corporation (IFC), Twiga Foods was largely dependent on venture capital, a financing stream that has significantly dipped by 40 percent across Africa in the six months to June…

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Prof Kithure Kindiki
NewsTechnology
James Wambua

Kindiki slams the brakes on Worldcoin mania

Authorities in Kenya have suspended activities of Worldcoin, an entity that has caught the attention of the country in recent days for gathering citizens data through scanning of people’s iris. Unaware of what they are getting into, jobless and needy Kenyans have been racing to acquire an iris scan from WorldCoin, the latest crypto craze, because they have been promised the chance to make a quick buck right away. At the same time, the ministry of Interior says it has started investigations to establish “authenticity and legality” of Worldcoin activities in Kenya. In particular, sleuths will be seeking details on the protection of the data…

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Zoom Kenya
Technology
Maryline Josephine

Remote work company Zoom surviving end of work from home

Zoom, the company that became the office boardroom in 2020 has fallen from one of the top applications used in Kenya to rank 105 among top apps on Google playstore. The company, whose valuation has dropped to pre-pandemic levels, shows just how fast the shift back to the office has cut back on the Covid-19 boost for tech firms that became popular for supporting remote work. Online data show that by May 2020, Zoom had 200 million daily meeting participants. This figure rose to 300 by the following month as Zoom call jumped from oblivion to become one of the most popular applications globally more than a decade

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Sama Kenya
NewsTechnology

Kenya closing labour law gaps to drive jobs in digital era

Authorities in Kenya have agreed to collaborate with industry stakeholders to address gaps in the country’s labour laws that are hindering job creation in the growing digital economy. During a site visit to Sama, a firm providing data annotation solutions that power the AI models of the future, the Principal Secretary State Department for Industrialization Dr. Juma Mukhawana, assured a closer working relationship with Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry stakeholders. The governmenment aims at addressing gaps in the labour laws and to prime the rapidly evolving digital economy to create jobs for the youth, in line with the Kenya Kwanza administration Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda…

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Starlink Kenya
NewsTechnology
James Wambua

Karibu Connect to offer Starlink satellite internet in Kenya

Karibu Connect, a provider of internet connectivity services in East Africa, will has been appointed as the first authorized reseller of Starlink in Kenya. This move marks a significant step in the company’s mission to eliminate the digital divide and enhance the connectivity infrastructure across Kenya. Across Africa, Starlink is already accessible in Rwanda, Nigeria, and the French overseas territories of Reunion and Mayotte. Starlink, operated by American aerospace company SpaceX which is owned by billionaire Ellon Musk, offers a revolutionary satellite internet service that uses a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. “Our partnership with Starlink is a substantial progression in our mission…

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Google Bard
NewsTechnology
James Wambua

Google Bard makes historic debut in Swahili, the first African language supported

Google is expanding Bard, its conversational AI service, to 40 new languages including Swahili. Swahili becomes the first African language to be included, pushing Bard’s reach to 59 new countries across territories. New capabilities in the expansion enable users to more fully customize their experiences, foster creativity, and complete more tasks. With the extension, Bard is now accessible in the majority of the world’s countries, including those in the EU. Bard is now available in most frequently spoken languages such as Swahili, Chinese, German, Spanish, Arabic, and Hindi. Now that text-to-speech is available in eight languages, users can enjoy Bard in their favourite language. Swahili…

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