A team of five upcoming filmmakers emerged top in the inaugural Academy of African Filmmakers training that just ended in Nairobi in December. The filmmakers – Kizito Gamba, Mark Wambui, Annabel Angwenyi, Florence Onyango and Agnes Njeri working under ‘Delilah team’ – were picked as best by a panel of film experts. The winners were announced after an intensive three-day course offered under a partnership between Unilever and MOFILM, a global community of filmmakers that aims to inspire filmmakers and help them further their careers. The training is a new initiative to empower Kenyan filmmakers and develop filmmaking expertise among…
Author: Editor
BY VICTOR ADAR Juan Torres is a man who likes taking the bull buy the horns. When he moved to head the East African arm of Amadeus, the global online travel technology company in 2012, he brought to bear his rich background in marketing, corporate strategy and business development. Today Amadeus rings a bell among other key players like travel agencies, corporations, airlines, airports, hotels and railways. It can be argued that the company gives them the tools to serve travellers better and manage their own business more effectively. Thanks to the company’s products, Mr Torres says local travel operators…
BY DAVID WANJALA Eating on the go in the city has always been a nightmare especially with limited parking spaces and endemic slow service. It was no wonder therefore that pomp and glamour greeted the opening of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (KFC) first drive through fast-food outlet in Nairobi and indeed East Africa, in early December. Speaking at the launch of the KFC Mombasa Road Drive-Thru at Total Service Station, Mr Justin Melvin, the general manager of Kuku Foods Kenya, KFC’s local franchise, said the fastfood giant is keen on offering solutions to the needs brought by Nairobi’s rapid expansion. “Nairobi…
Family Bank has revamped its internet banking platform with complimentary online banking options for corporates and SMEs. The service now offers functionalities that were lacking in the old platform – key among them widgets that allow users to personalise their online profiles and dashboards as well as the use of tokens to authorise funds transfers. The new platform will soon have a mobile app for both Android and iPhone that will boost new user experience. Customers will be able to do real-time account and transaction reporting to enable users check their account balances; check and download account for fixed deposit…
BY JAMES NDONE Online classifieds portal OLX and the English Premier League (EPL) topped the most searched topics on the internet in Kenya in 2014, according to a report by search engine giant Google Search. The report offers a sneak peek into the year’s major events and top trends based on the top searches, helping rank what caught the eyes of Kenyans. Formerly referred to as “Zeitgeist (German for “the spirit of the times,”) Google rebranded the report to “Year in Search” to offer insights into how people around the world use the most popular search engine. This involves trending…
BY JAPHETH AMIMO This is the time of the year when most people and some organisations try to come up with the New Year’s resolutions. Most of the resolutions are commonly based on individual health plans with a promise to make it better by exercising more or reducing alcohol intake, spending more time with loved ones and so on. You will find with all these plans in place some will actually start by committing to some programme. A good number begin a lifestyle change but very few go beyond Valentine’s Day with the programme. Organisations are not an exception;…
By LEONARD MUTINDA From an amateur innovation, Chris Githingu has molded a mobile solutions business that is providing cutting-edge services to millions of Kenyans. His company, Tangazoletu, is behind Safaricom’s Lipa Na M-Pesa service and SpotCash, a product that has automated business processes for more than 50 Sacco’s across the county. But Mr Githingu, who was recently named Top40 Men Under 40 CEO, did not set out to run an ICT company. In 2005, while still pursuing his undergraduate Computer Science studies at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, he came across someone whose water had been…
BY NBM CORRESPODENT In the world’s largest refugee complex – the sprawling Dadaab settlement in Kenya’s North Eastern Province – women listen attentively during a business management workshop held at a hospital in one of its newest camps, Ifo 2. Ms Leila Abdulilahi, a 25-year-old Somali refugee and mother, has brought her five-month-old along, while her four other children wait at home. She asks question after question, eager to learn more. Leila has lived in the camp for the past three years and has no source of income, so her family depends on the rations distributed by the World Food…
President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Security Laws (Amendment) Act 2014 despite spirited opposition by a section of politicians, saying that it does not contradict the Constitution. Mr Kenyatta said all the contentious issues that had been raised in debate were addressed through amendments. “I am confident that you will find that there is nothing in this law that goes against the Bill of Rights or any provision of the Constitution,” he said. “Its intent is to protect the lives and property of all.” He urged Kenyans to take time to read and understand the new law, regretting that…
BY VICTOR ADAR Although 2014 was a stormy year, the outlook for 2015 is bright as the country is now teeming with investors, developers, lenders as well as brokers in different sectors. Virtually all economic sectors have promising opportunities, although returns will vary depending on industry pricing levels, competition and creativity. To date many Kenyans still struggle to make ends meet as well as access banking, education and healthcare needs – all presenting customer needs waiting to be satisfied. It is better to get a heads-up on where to invest, which sectors and markets offer the best prospects, and…