By Kevin Motaroki It sounds impolite to say it but a socialite needs to be loaded. True, she thrives on attention and popularity, but she also needs money to make these possible to get. One cannot dress in the day’s hottest designer issues without a puffed up bank account. The source of the money doesn’t matter – it could be from a parent, lover, politician or businessman – as long as it exists. The craving to be a socialite among Nairobi’s teenage girls, and even women, has become the in-thing. They flaunt their “assets”, as bums and busts are…
Author: Editor
BY MARVIN SISSEY It used to be that when USA sneezed, the rest of the world caught a cold – a statement to signify the great influence of the world’s largest economy in global economic affairs. The most recent case was the 2008 recession that started in USA, and which caused shockwaves in the global economic wellbeing, resulting in a widespread global financial crisis. The script however seems to be changing, if ever so gradually, and this has been in the pipeline for a while; it is now becoming evident that the world no longer seems to be dancing…
The launch of the cashless fare payment system sparked fears of joblessness among thousands of young men who indirectly earn their livelihoods from ferrying of passengers. But the hoplessness is turning into a blessing in disguise as some of the youth get semi-formal jobs from the cashless payment. Cash-Light Fare System ‘My 1963’, for its part, says it had created 2,000 youth jobs by December in partnership with more than 100 SACCOs running over 6,000 passenger service vehicles. Technology firm, Fiber Space Ltd, which earlier this year launched My 1963 as a multifaceted e-payment system, says it is addressing issues…
The World Bank in December approved a $200 million (Ksh18 billion) credit line to help the Kenya government to finance the multipurpose Mwache Dam and increase access to clean water supply, sanitation and income generating activities through sustainable agriculture in Kwale. The financing will support the Kenya Coastal Region Water Security and Climate Resilience project, which aims to build water security and climate resistance. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (MEWNR), the project is supporting reforms and devolution in the water sector as well as activities in water resources management, irrigation, and water supply…
The East Africa single tourist visa launched in February 2014 took off to a false start, attracting only 1,560 applications by December 2014. The Kenya Tourist Federation, which represents private players, said enthusiasm was dampened by insecurity. “The uptake has been slow because Kenya, which is seen as a big brother in the region, is struggling due to real and perceived security threats that have reduced our international tourist arrivals numbers,” said Ms Agatha Juma, CEO Kenya Tourism Federation. She also blamed lack of awareness among players in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda which signed up to the single tourist visa. She said most of them…
Liquid Telecom, the data, voice and internet provider, has connected 39 counties with 4,200km of fibre optic network at a cost of $200 million (Sh17 billion) to tap growing internet access as government and private institutions expand their services to the grassroots. Demand for fibre internet infrastructure in the counties has been driven by organisations expanding to new territories, particularly banks opening rural branches – with 80% of them on the Liquid Telecom fibre network – linking ATMs as well as providing secure inter-office connections from rural branches to head office. The growing rural banking network has increased the…
Nakumatt Holdings plans to double its local and regional market share through a number of customer experience enhancing projects. Currently enjoying less than 25% market share of the formal retail space, Nakumatt Holdings will be seeking to retain a bigger slice of the mid to premium segment. Through this strategy, the retailer will also be seeking to grow its gross revenue to more than $1 billion (Sh85 billion) in the medium term period, while expanding its footprint across East Africa. The retail chain has already embarked on a stores refurbishment programme geared at refreshing its shopping floor ambience to global…
Logistics company, Atlas Development & Support Services, cross-listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on December 17 after raising Ksh450 million through a private placement. The London Securities Exchange logistics and support services company listed in the Growth Enterprise Market Segment, popularly known as GEMS. The listing gives the Nairobi-headquartered company the much-needed Kenyan face since it first went to the London Stock Exchange to raise funds for its growth. Burbidge Capital was the placing agent and Nominated Adviser for the private placement and cross-listing. Atlas CEO Carl Esprey said the strong uptake of 39,139,827 new ordinary shares at Ksh11.50 apiece…
By ZAWADI MUDIBO Tucked in a little known village on the outskirts of Naivasha town is a most unusual school – Wa-madogs Dogs Training Academy. The proprietor, Mr Timothy Githogori, has made a name for himself over the years by training people including ambassadors on how to handle dogs. The Wa-madogs name, slang for ‘he of the dogs’, was given to him by the residents because of his love for canines. The nick-name had become the only reference the locals knew him by after a while and he took it up as the academy’s official name. For the training service…
Etihad Airways and South African Airways have announced a major expansion of their strategic partnership, marking a new era of cooperation between the two national airlines. As part of the extended cooperation, South African Airways will launch a daily service between Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi on March 29 2015, which will complement Etihad Airways’ existing flights between the two cities to offer a combined double-daily frequency on the route. As a result, travellers will benefit from multiple options between Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi on the same day. More than 1,000 connections will also be offered each week over Etihad Airways’…