WertBlog

  August 2025 - Recent Developments and Investment Trends Executive Summary Africa may hold just 2.5 per cent of the global AI market, but startups across the continent are drawing investor attention, with the sector valued at $4.51 billion in 2025 and projected to grow to $16.53 billion within five years. Despite global AI funding reaching record levels, African AI startups face significant challenges in accessing capital, raising only $14 million in Q2 2025 across five deals compared to the global AI funding explosion of $47.3 billion during the same period. Key Funding Trends and Statistics Global Context vs. African Reality Global AI Funding : Over $100 billion raised by AI startups globally in the first half of 2025, nearly triple the $38.5 billion raised in the same period last year African Share : African AI startups secured over $40 million in 2025, representing less than 0.04% of global AI investment Recovery Signs : Tech startup investment in Africa is rebounding,...

  Executive Summary The AI startup ecosystem continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and growth, with significant funding activity across multiple sectors during the past week. Despite broader venture capital market challenges, AI companies are securing substantial investments, with a particular emphasis on healthcare AI, enterprise solutions, and autonomous systems. Key Market Trends Overall Investment Climate AI's Market Dominance : AI startups received 53% of all global venture capital dollars invested in the first half of 2025, jumping to 64% in the U.S. market Concentration of Capital : AI startups comprise 29% of all globally funded startups and nearly 36% in the U.S. Valuation Growth : AI companies continue to see valuation step-ups that significantly exceed those of non-AI companies at every funding stage First Half Performance : AI startups raised $104 billion globally in H1 2025, representing nearly two-thirds of all fundraising deal value Sector-Specific...

I am a self-confessed Nokia die-hard. I have stuck with them even though the performance of some of their later models of phones, especially the touchscreen ones has been less than stellar. Nokia make great hardware. I am yet to find a manufacturer that makes sturdy long lasting phones Like Nokia does. However, their software seems to leave a lot to be desired. Saying that, I still do believe that the Nokia E71 is one of the best smartphones they may. I still have mine to date and it has served me faithfully. A friend who couldn’t understand my almost fanatical obsession with Nokia phones dared me to try another smartphone operating system. Try the iPhone or an Android phone and then tell me if you will go back to Nokia. The opportunity came when Safaricom introduced the uber-cheap Huawei IDEOS U8150 in Kenya. Retailing at 8,500 Kenya Shillings with 600MB free data and 1,000 Shillings free airtime, it was a bargain to say the least. The IDEOS had Android 2.2 (Froyo) installed. It com...

Hi, I decided to do a simple comparison of data prices from the 4 mobile operators . I just took the data they had posted on their respective websites and put it in a table for comparison . From the data, some of which was a bit confusing to interpret , I found that the only common data bundle is the 1GB or 1000MB bundle . I decided to use the 1GB as 1000MB so as to standardize the values . So from the analysis , Safaricom data is the most expensive , and yu data is the cheapest . However it must be noted that yu 's information is easily misunderstood . The one point to note is that only Safaricom has a 3G network and all the other 3 - yu , Orange and Airtel are on EDGE. On a side note, interestingly, in some places I find that Orange and yu only have plain old GPRS within Nairobi environs. With Airtel and Safaricom, I haven't encountered that yet. Their signals have always been good enough to get at least EDGE coverage. Data is below...

Got this from Facebook where a very interesting discussion is going on. For more info, visit the Soma Katiba group on Facebook - link here . Otherwise some content on merits and demerits of the proposed constitution: by Kimathi Kamencu Merits Chapter 1 1. The introduction of a Preamble is a step forward. You will remember (from yesterday’s discussion) that we had noted the lack of “local ownership” of our independence constitution. The preamble sets us out as a distinct people with a distinct history. Chapter 2 2. The recognition of the Devolved Government structure is also a positive provision in the PNC. You may have heard it said that some people groups in Kenya regard a journey to Nairobi as a visit to Kenya. It is hoped that the devolved structure will provide a framework that is real and equitable. More comments on this when we discuss the relevant chapter. 3. Recognition of Kiswahili as a national language is like music to my soul! I recall having recently read a poem entitle...

A Commentary by Pete Ondeng and Peter Waiyaki The public discourse on whether or not the Kadhi Courts should be included in the constitution has been wrongly interpreted by many to be a Christian vs Muslim affair. The often uninformed rhetoric by hard liners on both sides of the argument adds an unnecessary and potentially explosive element to the already charged political atmosphere. The issue here is not about religion, but about the constitution. The move to change the current constitution springs from an acknowledgement by most people that there are wrongs in the document that need to be made right. There are some basic rights, for instance, that the original constitution did not address, and which need to be enshrined in the new document. Similarly, there were some provisions that were included by those who negotiated the Lancaster House document that no longer hold water and need to be scrapped. The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) retreat in Naivasha, which was expected by m...

Aimee Herd (July 29, 2009) "This is something where you just hope that you are aligning your work with His purposes, and that you're attuned to the needs of the people you're there to serve." In a recent Nightline interview, President Obama told ABC News' Terry Moran that his prayer habits have intensified since taking office, and that he prays "all the time now." "I've got a lot of stuff on my plate and I need guidance all the time," Obama said in the interview. He told Moran that before he was elected, he used to pray each night. Obama reportedly receives a devotional and prayer sent to his BlackBerry every morning from Pastor Joshua DuBois, the director of the president's Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Initiative. (Photo: LATimes) Obama candidly added, "I think that every president who's had [this job] is constantly humbled by the degree to which there are a lot of issues out there and the notion that one perso...