BY JUMIA TRAVEL There are so many blogs on the media scene today, and the truth is, not all of them are getting the expected shares, subscribers, recognition or engagement. Of course, building a blog’s audience does not happen overnight but most times, the reason is simply because the blogger is making wrong moves which are constantly working against his endeavors. Do you a blog? Have you been working hard to build a loyal following for your business but it’s just not happening for you? Here are the five possible reasons why your blog might not be getting the traffic or the attention…
Author: Editor
BY BRETT PARKER Africa is no stranger to connectivity. While Africa may be behind when it comes to IT infrastructure compared to more developed nations, the fact is that more than double the population of sub-Saharan Africa has mobile phone access. With Smartphone usage on the up and IT literacy expanding, bringing Internet of Things (IoT) level connectivity a natural progression for this tech-hungry continent. The future is connected The IoT should be considered more than just technology. Rather, it is an ecosystem of products and services – from software to cloud technology – where effective connectivity adds real business…
BY NBM WRITER Cyber security researchers have cautioned of a rapidly changing Android landscape owing to growing proliferation of Malware and Trojan Downloaders targeting Android devices. Surge of malicious programmes that are increasingly tricking users of mobile devices into installing potent applications disguised as legitimate apps on Google Play and other third-party app stores is causing more loses for businesses. “It is clear that there is a growing presence of threats targeting mobile devices, in addition to a growing trend of malware being used to target corporate data, especially in countries where the largest portion of Internet usage is through mobile devices,” says…
BY VICTOR ADAR Angela Nzioki knows too well that managing cash flows is not for the faint hearted. The country manager and founder of Uhasibu, a local startup, says in addition to the already existing challenges, many companies utilize an array of workers such as full time employees, consultants, and even casual laborers with each group requiring a different paper trail that has to be submitted in order for the company to confidently rest that they are following the rules and regulations. Having chosen the entrepreneurship route a time when many Kenyan youths are seeing very few opportunities, Ms Nzioki…
BY LANJI OUKO The digital era poses a threat to a number of sectors and gradually continues to render a number of conventional concepts irrelevant. Digitalization calls for evolution across the board. What if someone told you in a few years malls would be considered irrelevant? And instead of running across town to find a laundry service, you could find all the services in one central website, online. Uvind is a managed online service provider platform, connecting people to local service providers within their city. The computing framework is designed to offer network-based services to enterprises, residence or to other…
By Kosta Kioleoglou The property market has been at the center of investors’ interests in recent years. Majority of Kenyans in one way or another have participated in this market and have been part of a crazy price race that produced great returns for the last five years. Investing as individuals, companies, family groups, investment groups, Chamas or cooperatives, millions of people placed their lifetime savings and their future in the “hands” of the property market. The profits produced during the same period are huge but a majority of investors today cannot show their profits via a bank account statement…
BY LEONARD WANYAMA Nationalistic pride may demand that one speak highly of his or her country at all times, but it is hard not to acknowledge that many a times it seems Kenya is governed by crisis. Whether it is a big or small predicament, the country stumbles from one issue into the next mostly firefighting. Even when some good news arise, it is quickly overshadowed by a real or pseudo-catastrophe that sends the state, its people, agencies, institutions etcetera ad infinitum veering off course. Such manifestations point towards a serious limitation in the sense of political, social and economic…
Many countries in Africa have seen a reduction in the number of foreign counterparties, the overseas banks with which African banks transact. This is according to data recently released by SWIFT, which was part of a new report looking at the impact of global regulations on correspondent banking networks, called ‘Addressing the unintended consequences of de-risking – Focus on Africa’, released at the SWIFT Business Forum South Africa, in Johannesburg. Correspondent banking enables banks to access products and services that might otherwise be unavailable, while enabling cross-border transactions and access to overseas products and markets. Increasingly, as banks globally respond…
BY ALEX MURPHY For Africans living in the Diaspora, sending remittances back home is often a proud obligation, a willing sacrifice made on behalf of loved ones, a gesture of appreciation for those who helped them succeed along the way. More than $40 billion in remittances is sent every year by Africans abroad. Yet these individuals face the highest transaction costs in the world. The World Bank estimates Africans pay on average 9.5% of the total transfer sum in fees, reaching as high as 20% in some corridors. Such disproportionate costs not only represent a heavy burden on hard-working Africans,…
BY DAVID WANJALA For a whole year covering the entire period Dr Patrick Njoroge has been in office as Governor, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), commercial banks never heeded strong advice by the new sheriff at CBK on the need to self-regulate in the interest rates regime. They did not proactively embrace the new mechanisms the regulator was putting in place, including setting friendly reference rates, that were geared towards leveling the playing ground in the lending market and that would provide a win/win environment for both lender and the public. Lending rates of each commercial bank, as published by…