Once a man named Charles M. Schwab, a steel magnate, asked his colleagues, “Three men were laying brick. The first was asked: “What are you doing?” He answered: “Laying some brick.” The second man was asked: “What are you working for?” He answered: “Five dollars a day.” The third man was asked: “”What are you doing?”” He answered: “”I am helping to build a great cathedral.” Which man are you?” The aim of the question was to determine what every individual works to gain in life. Deconstruction of the question shows us that its true motive is exactly what excites…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Finns ranked Valio as the most sustainable brand for the seventh consecutive year. Sustainable Brand Index is Europe’s biggest survey measuring the sustainability of brands. The survey indicates that people consider Finnish origin, animal welfare and sustainable packaging as especially important. “We are delighted that Finns continue to view Valio as the most sustainable brand. We receive the recognition humbly, and we will continue the work to improve the wellbeing of the environment, animals and people. We believe there is a place for sustainably produced Finnish dairy products also in the future,” said Valio’s CEO Annikka Hurme. The climate and…
Absa Bank Kenya, former Barclays bank of Kenya, has committed a Sh10 billion fund to offer credit to women entrepreneurs over the next five years as part of its customer value propositions under the new Absa brand. Through SheTradesKE programme, a joint partnership of the International Trade Centre (ITC) and Absa Kenya, the bank aims to empower more than 10,000 women with additional skills and resources in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sectors. The fund is part of the bank’s commitment towards advancing diversity and inclusion by empowering women with financial resources and capacity building to grow their businesses.…
The World Bank has committed $60m (Sh6.2b) to support the country in combating the deadly coronavirus pandemic. The committed funds are expected to help Kenya enhance surveillance, laboratory services, equipment, isolation units, and communication and strengthen multi-sector platforms, mobilize response capacity as well as help in monitoring and evaluating prevention and preparedness. According to Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank country director for Kenya, the international institution has committed Sh6.2 billion to support the Government of Kenya’s response to COVID-19: Sh5.19 billion from COVID-19 financing facility, while Sh1.04 billion is triggered under contingency emergency response component of transforming health systems for…
Local retailer Tusker Mattresses Group and Amref Health Africa in Kenya has announced a working partnership leveraging mutual capacities to manage the Coronavirus threat. As part of the partnership, Amref Health Africa Kenya will provide on-ground health education and awareness support at Tuskys Supermarkets and Mavazi Lifestyle clothing locations for the retailer’s staff and customers. This will be delivered through community health workers (CHWs) stationed at Tuskys branches countrywide to sensitise and educate staff and clients about the virus and the relevant prevention measures. Alongside the partnership with Amref Health Africa, Tuskys has also unveiled a home delivery service in…
BY KARNIKA YADAV There is only one road left to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set for Africa for 2030 and that’s through sustainable businesses. For the sluggish progress, to date has been primarily a consequence of ‘putting all our eggs in one basket’ and expecting the state to deliver the SDGs, which it cannot. A prime obstacle in that is finance. The SDG Center for Africa estimates the financing gap to achieve the SDGs is running at between $500b and $1.2tn a year. That is simply beyond the reach of the public sector, with the Center estimating that…
Kenyans are not enthusiastic sightseers and that is why even on a weekend a recreation facility like the museum is almost empty. This is a disservice to the nation. BY JACOB OKETCH Recently, I took a walk to the national museums of Kenya and discovered a very significant feature there. This is what is called a peace path. It is a ground which is designed with rings and it forms a labyrinth. The interesting thing is that the labyrinth is constructed with stones from all parts of Kenya. One is supposed to walk barefoot on this ground and it has…
The only country to cling onto its independence during the 19th – Century Scramble for Africa, its culture and traditions have remained virtually intact. Its history goes as far back as the beginning of human existence. Its age-old structures, fiery cuisine, Amharic language and high-altitude wildlife occur nowhere else in the world Ethiopia has been named as one of the world’s must see destinations revealed in National Geographic Travellers cool list for 2020. The magazine says that “Ethiopia is one of the most exciting places to visit in Africa, if not the entire world. Things continue to develop in Ethiopia…
BY JACOB OKETCH Q uestions of my youth is a book that is difficult to categorize if one is to strictly adhere to the typology of writings as we know it. I choose to call it an omnibus of sorts; it is a mix of narration, poetry and it even incorporates aspects of drama. This seems to be going against what the author has called the book, a treatise, suggesting that it is a formal essay. One thing fundamentally makes the book an easy and comfortable read, the anecdotes are brief and on point. Even when the author is illustrating…
BY GAD WESONGA Before Ken Saro Wiwa, earlier on in 1966, prolific Nigerian author and father of African creative writing, Chinua Achebe had penned another of his signature ingenious piece of work in his novel A man of the People where he demonized corruption. In the story, Chief Nanga was initially a teacher before he became a politician. As a political figure, he is very corrupt and greedy in his behavior. As Minister of Culture, Chief Nanga believes in bribes such that he receives and gives bribes. He spends money extravagantly, and much of his money comes from taking money…
