BY DAVID ONJILI The national women soccer team Harambee Starlets have defied the odds and as they prepare for their maiden appearance at the continental soccer showpiece in Cameroon this November, the entire nation in typical Kenyan fashion has recognized and are now happy to be associated with them. Success, indeed, has many fathers and failure none. Starlets have defied many perenial odds including lack of training facilities to qualify for the continental challenge. As such, they have earned their right to special mention. With current Football Kenya Federation under the youthful Nick Mwendwa, management has improved. The girls are…
Author: Editor
BY BENARD AYIEKO The modern corporate world has changed. The role of a chief executive officer has evolved significantly. The CEO is responsible for the organization’s performance as dictated by the board’s overall strategy. The man or woman at the top of a company is no longer the ‘boss’ but the ‘worker’. He or she is a team leader and role model who set right examples for the rest of the team to emulate. Infact, they are colloquially referred to as ‘Chief Examples Officer’ in some quarters. The CEO of a corporation wears so many hats. He or she is…
BY TERRY MWANGI There is something about velvet that you just cannot seem to keep your hands off. I know you know that feeling, running your hands through the fabric to turn it from matt to shine and back again – the smooth softness of the fabric. Let us not even start on the comfort of the fabric. Velvet is back! Bringing sexy back in a major wild way. This trend, which was once glorified in the 70’s and most preferred choice for parties has been inspired by fashion runways from New York, Milan to Paris. Velvet is appearing on everything, from bags,…
BY TOM ODHIAMBO As Kenyans approach the end of the year, many are already planning how to manage the so-called festive season. In many homes, promises are being extracted and made about gifts in December and at the beginning of the New Year. Husbands are expected to buy their wives new clothes and other accessories for wearing in the Christmas period and when ushering in the New Year. Where children are found, parents have to decide what presents to buy for them. Yet this is also a time when money is scarce and whatever is available has to cover for…
BY AMBROSE KIRAGU The narrative of the Israelites’ journeying from Egypt to Canaan typifies the individual Christian’s journey from conversion to glorification. It paints our own vile hearts unerringly while at the same time opening before us the inexhaustible provisions laid at our disposal by our Living God. The howling desert, strewn with corpses, is a vivid picture of a world which offers nothing for the true pilgrim while it’s daily Manna and the Rock which followed them wherever they went is a type of the rich Divine grace for us his poor, erring and ignorant children that is in…
Through history, a woman plays a big role in society. Forget how she cooks, or drive. Sometimes she takes months off work and get labelled ‘house wife’ because taking care of children untill they reach a certain age while rearing a cat on the side is her priority. She is comfortable in her skin. She knows how to hold her baby. She is a good woman… With all the good things, there are flaws and gaps. Try to picture children who are born prematurely, perhaps the mother delivered through emergency caesarean and not able to produce milk. Or, those babies…
BY LANJI OUKO Every single trend today, whether in fashion, music and beauty, is centred on African themes; Dashiki shirts, Bantu knot hairstyles and Kwaito Music, what was once perceived as backward and too traditional is now viewed as the ‘in-thing’, not only in Africa but globally. Chichi London for example, an East African fashion line started by Christine Mhando is flourishing in London and renown for their catchy Swahili phrases such as ‘Atakae Hachoki’. Currently stocked in independent boutiques across the world, Chichi has gained extensive press coverage in distinguished magazines such as GraziaMarie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Vogue Italia.…
Jumia Travel, an online hotel-booking company, has officially launched the web version of the Extranet App, an application that aims to give more flexibility and independence to hotel managers. Jumia Travel is seeking to further empower its hotel partners across all markets with top-notch technology by unveiling the Web Extranet, a web version of the previously launched Extranet App on Android. The tool allows hotel managers to confirm and view their incoming Jumia Travel reservations, change their rates and update availability. According to Charles de Moucheron, chief operating officer at Jumia Travel, the portal is working on direct integration with…
BY MARTIN MULI Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Kenya last month undoubtedly cemented Kenya’s position as an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub in the region, which for one reason or another, is a timely boost to businesses. In particular, during his maiden trip to Africa, the only other country he visited was Nigeria, which implies that Kenya is very much like a “hotbed” of business travelers. According to media reports, Zuckerberg who visited the Nairobi ICT incubation centre, iHub, was in the country to meet entrepreneurs and developers, and learn more about our mobile money transfer innovation, M-Pesa,…
BY LANJI OUKO Afrikan Kouture, derived from the French word ‘Haute Couture’, was coined to discover and embrace the rise of African fashion. For years, the use of African fabric was only common in West African countries and specifically worn during funerals and wedding ceremonies, but the reign of Ankara promoted the Afrikan Kouture revolution. In the fashion industry, Haute Couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions. In countries such as France, only brands that meet certain criteria are permitted to use the term Haute Couture, which symbolizes exclusive, made-to-order, for a specific customer, usually of high-quality, expensive…