Andrew Coman is the new group managing director & CEO of East African Breweries Limited (EABL) after swapping places with his counterpart, the former director, Charles Ireland. He has been part of the company for a period of 9 years and prior to this he was the country director of Diageo, which owns over 50% of EABL, Great Britain (GB). After being in the fast-moving consumer goods sector for more than 20 years, he looks to emulate his past success by ensuring the company keeps its best performance in the East African region with his wide range of experience in corporate…
Author: Editor
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA One of the many privileges that human beings have nowadays is reading. But this was not always the case as history has shown us; once upon a time it was only a privilege to people of a particular class, which included nobles and top officials in churches. The fact that it was once reserved for a certain class shows how important reading is. It is very crucial because it gives human beings the possibility of learning new things without that firsthand experience. Reading gives human beings the opportunity to use imagination to visualize anything, anywhere. However, this…
BY ROWAN BENN The Sports Utility Vehicle market is exploding with new levels of opulence, luxury and speed. Lamborghini and Rolls Royce are both developing their 4x4s, Bentley has already sold out and the Jaguar sales are racing away as fast as they can make them. Meet the new luxury SUVs who are transforming the 4×4 workhorse into a first class experience for the family. Jaguar F-Pace Seriously stylish looks won Jaguar 2,500 pre-orders before anyone had driven it. Sized between a Cayenne and a Macan, there is plenty of room for five adults and a big boot space to…
BY David Wanjala Advancements in information and communication technologies have created unprecedented challenges to the services sector especially in the developing world. The disruptions that come along have, in some cases, meant complete destruction of existing companies. However, for the resilient, it has only meant seizing the new opportunities that eventually emerge with the paradigm shift. Since the advent, and spread and penetration of the Internet, traditional postal services including mail and postal financial services have suffered a major blow. To survive the onslaught, postal corporations the world-over have had to morph into new entities to keep up with emerging…
Algeria’s Ambassador to Kenya H.E Salah Francis El Hamdi candidly addresses Algeria’s economy, governance, diplomacy and the various aspects of ties with Kenya in an exclusive interview with Dennis Muritu. At the economic level, Algeria is following the implementation of the third five-year development plan (2015-2019) with a $262.5 billion budget. The plan, Mr El Hamdi says, is devoted to governance, human development and public productive enterprises. Since the beginning of the collapse of the price of oil, Algeria does not depend only on oil any more to improve its economic performance but on a combination of sectors, including agriculture.…
BY IAN ONDARI It is undeniable that the whims of the insurance sector are market-driven. Claims settlement has always been a conduit for massive revenue hemorrhage. The most recent revelation by Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) that the sector had lost upwards of Sh300 million to fraudulent claims was disconcerting, especially since this happens to be among the most proactively supervised segment of the financial services sector. The state went to absurd levels of protecting underwriting income by capping the maximum compensation payable to auto injury victims at Sh3 million, by amending the Insurance (Motor Vehicle Third Party Risks) Act (Cap…
BY KENYATTA OTIENO For the first time since I started interacting with Chase Bank, I met a dissatisfied customer. The bank refused to issue cheque books after re-opening under receivership, then destroyed them without stating the timelines when they called him to pick it. He felt the bank had abused his patience, after he had waited and prayed that they re-open, this is what he least expected. However, he was certain that it was a decision made by Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) receiver managers and not his beloved Chase Bank. How did Chase cultivate such loyalty in its customers that…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Even though they are not always beneficial as they depend on one’s ability to understand the market, Investment funds are one of the best forms of earning wealth. Some people have gained wealth from these funds while some have thrown away their hard earned cash in pursuit of the same. The industry requires one to have knowledge on the behavior of the market, to know when to buy and when to sell. There are different types of investments funds; mutual funds – an investment vehicle made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose…
By JAAFAR S. ABDULKADIR Kenya’s agricultural sector is increasingly gaining a footing as a driver of economic expansion, heightening the need for financiers to rethink their strategies. As the sector grows, so has Islamic finance providers continued to deepen their investments in supporting the sector. Through Salam financing, institutions plying in Islamic finance are becoming critical in driving the growth of the agricultural sector, curving a strong niche that is redefining the engagements between the two industries—financial sector and agribusiness. Under Islamic Finance is an innovative financing contract considered appropriate for the production of primary commodities especially in the agricultural…
BY DAVID ONJILI An interesting story is told of a caterpillar that lived on a clay pot that had a beautiful plant at the center which it wanted to partake of. It started trudging the circumference of the clay pot thinking that every movement drew it closer to the plant. The more it moved the ‘closer’ she got to her food atleast in its thinking. This went on until the caterpillar ultimately died without ever having come closer to the plant. That is the sad story when it comes to financial knowledge and its application to many. We are busy…