The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) Senior Policy Seminar has placed a spotlight on fragility of growth in African economies, seeking to stimulate an informed policy dialogue and related policy-making aimed at reducing identified fragile contexts and building a more resilient African economic sector. However, social and economic issues that were already highly challenging have now become exponentially more serious due to the current COVID-19 health crisis and the catastrophic effect it is having on the African economies as well as the global economy. Despite decent economic and social progress achieved in the last two decades, growth in most African…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Apptivate Africa, a company keen on employee wellness and motivation schemes through a mobile phone-based solution is using M-Kula, one of its apps, to help employers ensure their employees eat healthy meals to help boost their immunity in a bid to combat the maddening Coronavirus. “Employers around the world are grappling with COVID-19. Key to combating this challenge is prioritizing the health of their employees by ensuring our merchants provide the healthiest meals possibly to help boost the staffs’ immunity which is the main defence against the virus in addition to other measures set by our medical professionals and the…
Amethis, an investment fund manager dedicated to the African continent, and its partners; Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Mauritian Commercial Bank (MCB) Equity Fund and International Finance Corporation (IFC) have entered into a partnership with Naivas, marking the acquisition of minority equity stake worth Sh1.60 billion ($15 million) into the Naivas Group. The investment is expected to help the company optimise business operations and further strengthen its corporate governance structures. According to David Kimani, managing director Naivas, the group is very excited about the partnership. “As we embark on our next phase of growth, having an experienced investor with us…
With two of the continent’s most ambitious industrial projects underway, Nigeria’s Dangote Group has achieved the seemingly-impossible with an SAP-led digital transformation that was completed in record time. “We want our refinery to be not just the largest single train refinery in the world but also the most modern and smart with the latest state-of-the-art technologies like SAP S4HANA 1909,” says Mr.Devakumar Edwin, group executive. According to Ramakrishna Potluri, head – IT & business applications (refinery), the Dangote Refinery and Fertiliser strategic business units upgraded their SAP landscape to SAP S/4HANA 1909 in mere six days. “The upgrade affected all…
BY VICTOR ADAR The concept of merry-go-round is a massive success story in Kenya. The only challenge, though, is that the informal nature in which they operate make it difficult for policy makers to evaluate exactly how valuable they are. They are, and have always been valuable savings vehicles. Our grandparents, and even parents had them, we have them and the younger Kenyans already have them. They help strengthen the social fabric by giving those who in some case would otherwise be strangers, a reason to become close and form deep friendships. They are vehicles for mentorship in society too.…
For business leaders, this is uncharted territory – yet the responsibility to quickly adapt and guide their organisations through these difficult times is immense BY JORDAN RITTENBERRY As the number of Covid-19 cases rises in Africa and industries scale back under restrictive but necessary lockdown rules, it is clear that the pandemic has dramatically altered our lives, perhaps permanently. For business leaders, this is uncharted territory – yet the responsibility to quickly adapt and guide their organisations through these difficult times is immense. More than ever, employees are looking to their leaders for information and for inspiration. Edelman’s 2020 trust…
Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E (CIB) has acquired 51% of the shareholding of Mayfair Bank Limited (MBL). The acquisition, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), takes effect beginning May 1. It follows the approval by the CBK on April 7 under Sec 13(4) of the Banking Act and that of the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning on April 8 pursuant to Sec 9 of the Banking Act. MBL was licensed in June 2017 and commenced operations in August 2017. The bank has five (5) branches in Nairobi, Eldoret and Mombasa. It targets high net worth…
Is the next generation of athletes ready to take personal sacrifice, isolate themselves from fads and pursue success with a single-minded focus? BY DAVID ONJILI This is an expression of my gratitude to a man whose life has inspired so many both on and off the pitch. A life cut short in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on the fateful morning of January 26, 2019 alongside his daughter Gianna Bryant and 7 others At 41, Kobe Bryant won it all both on and off the basketball court. Black Mamba, as he was fondly called, was a huge credit to…
BY ROBERTAS LISICKIS Becoming a new parent is surely exciting, not just for the parents-to-be, but also for everyone involved. Oh, and also the Internet, if you decide to track your pregnancy in pictures and costumes. However, kicking off parenthood also comes with its own challenges, like getting all of the necessary baby items and learning all of the proper methods of taking care of a baby before he or she actually arrives. And that is in addition to the physical challenges that mothers have to go through while pregnant. Well, Finland’s government has kicked off a maternity package program that attempts,…
The Pakistani Christian woman who spent years on death row after being convicted of blasphemy says she had faith freedom was on the way Now living in Canada, she told the BBC that she hoped she would be able to return to Pakistan one day. Ms Bibi has released a memoir, Enfin Libre! (Finally Free), written with French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet. In it, she recounts her time in jail and her brutal treatment by guards. In one of the most disturbing incidents she recounts how she had her neck put in a brace that was tightened with a key, and…