Airtel and BAKE to recognize top Kenyan bloggers

Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi and BAKE chairman Kennedy Kachwanya officially opening the voting phase of this year’s BAKE Kenyan Blog Awards.

Airtel Kenya yesterday announced that it will sponsor this year’s BAKE Kenyan Blog Awards scheduled for 2nd May 2015.

The awards aim to single out bloggers with great creative and innovative, useful and regular content and posts. 

This year’s awards themed “Content is King” will bring together various online content creators including corporate organizations, celebrities, SMEs, county governments, and national government agencies for an evening to celebrate the growth of the Kenya blogging space. 

With rapid development in internet awareness and penetration, the corporate world has discovered that the internet is the fastest and the most convenient platform to reach out to its target audience. 

More and more Kenyans continue to plug into the information super highway as blogs emerge as a vital source information ranging from breaking news to analysis or commentary, blogs are increasingly commanding more authority as alternative sources of information. Through blogging there is now a second force for reporting. Bloggers are starting to influence mainstream content and opinions on topics ranging from technology, fashion, sports, politics and many other areas. 

Speaking at a media briefing, Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi said; “Airtel recognize the crucial role that Kenyan bloggers continue to play in providing real-time information hence the reason for our support in their continuous development.”  

The awards started with the submission phase which ended on 18^th February, enabling individuals to recommend their blogs or their favorite blogs for consideration.  A group of 5 judges then went through the submissions, picking the best 5 in each category. It is in the Judging phase that the quality of each blog plays a great role in determining which of the 5 is capable of winning in the voting phase. Today marks the start of the voting phase where each of the 5 nominees will be required to rally their readers to vote in their favor.  Kenyans can vote for their favourite blogs at blogawards.co.ke/vote.   

Speaking at the brief, the BAKE Chairman Kennedy Kachwanya said; “In line with our theme this year, we believe that bloggers continue to play a very important role in creation of quality content. We however need an increase in variety to cover topics such as Agriculture, Health and Education among others from areas that rarely get any coverage. Our goal as BAKE is to ensure that the stories from every Kenyan are told. We believe this can be done. Airtel’s partnership with BAKE as the title sponsors in this year’s awards is clear show of Airtel’s commitment to the promotion of Kenyan local content.”   

Kenya has the third highest number of blogs in Africa. It is estimated that there are currently 15,000 created Kenyan blogs with the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) having registered 7,000 blogs. There are 450Million created blogs worldwide.  

Airtel and Visa extend mobile payments to seven countries in Africa

Visa Inc., the global leader in payments, and Bharti Airtel today announced a partnership to bring innovative mobile payment services to seven markets in Africa including Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles and Tanzania. 

Visa and Airtel will build on the existing capabilities of Airtel’s Mobile Money allowing subscribers to use their Airtel Money account to pay in stores and online wherever Visa is accepted. Additionally, customers can withdraw money and make payments from their Airtel Money account using their Airtel Money Visa companion card.

“This agreement with Airtel allows us to give consumers, who have previously lacked access to formal financial services, secure and convenient ways to pay using their mobile phones,” said Vish Sowani, Vice President of MNO Partnerships for Visa. “Mobile payment services will help drive greater financial inclusion in Africa by bringing the latest digital payment advancements into the everyday experiences of Airtel’s customers.”

In addition to everyday transactions in stores, online and at ATMs, Airtel Money can also be used to make micro-payments, conduct fund transfers, purchase airtime and pre-paid electricity, plus Internet bundles - using an easy, safe mobile experience.

“We are excited to embark on the next phase of development for Airtel Money with our new partner Visa,” said Chidi Okpala, Director & Head - Airtel Money Africa. “We can look forward to further empowering our Airtel Money customers with access to retail, ATM and online payments using only their Airtel Mobile Phone and Companion Card to manage all their mobile payment needs.”   

Visa and Airtel have already launched an Airtel Money Visa Card in Kenya and will roll out services in other markets including Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles and Tanzania starting in early 2015.