Kenyan start-up QuickBus, which allows travellers to simply book and pay for bus tickets, has closed an undisclosed round of seed funding to speed its international expansion. QuickBus aggregates booking for all major bus operators to create greater simplicity for travellers. Having launched in Kenya, the start-up has already expanded to Uganda and Angola, and has secured partnerships in a further seven markets across the continent. This expansion process will now increase in pace as a result of the seed round. The funding, which is undisclosed, features investors such as Shorooq Partners, EchoVC, and Oman Technology Fund, and will be used…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY PIETER BENSCH As we enter the New Year, owners of small and startup businesses have the opportunity to look back on their achievements in 2019 and to look ahead to how they can fuel business success in 2020. The most important element to get right is the company’s finances – with the right financial insights you can reduce costs and improve revenue and profitability in the years to come. Conversely, without a firm handle on the company’s financials, you could amass unnecessary costs and losses, miss out on exciting business opportunities, or run into trouble with the tax authorities.…
The Standard Gauge Railway has managed to increase its revenue by more than double in the nine months to September 2019 as compared to the same period in 2018. The profits rose from Sh3.74 billion as of September 2018 according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) to Sh8.82 billion in September 2019. The growth has been accredited to revenue from its passenger and freight services. A bulk of the revenue was from SGR freight services which managed to soar from Sh2.6 billion last year to Sh7.54 billion as of September 2019. This can be accredited to the hike in…
The Kenya International Freight Forwarders Association (KIFWA) and the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) in partnership with other relevant industry associations have unveiled the Kenya Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders Bill 2020 in a bid to enhance professionalism in service delivery and compliance to the existing regulations. The aim of the Bill is to end cargo delays at Ports, improve cargo flow, improve revenue collection and lower the cost of doing business. Unveiling the new Kenya Bill, FEAFFA President Mr. Fred Seka said the new regulation is meant to streamline cargo clearance by ending the deployment of untrained agents,…
She wanted to be a servant from early times in her life and she was much touched by Jesus’ words in Luke 6:16 BY GAD WESONGA According to Erick Ngala, Sister Marianna Hulshof was born on 12th April 1921 in a family of 11 in Ootmarsum village in the Eastern part of Netherlands where generous people are born for Sister Marianna admitted that they immensely contributed towards her project in Kenya. Her nephew was a cardinal and was a source of encouragement for her to start working for the disadvantaged quite early in life. The call to serve others was…
To the sick, she healed. To the hungry, she fed. To the homeless, she sheltered. To the thirsty, she quenched. To those in need of education, she flung the golden gates to infinite academic highway. BY GAD WESONGA Adelaide Sarah Munyolo beams with delight and gratitude as she confesses that she is forever grateful to the late Sister Marianna Hulshof. In 1985, then aged at 10, she became disabled courtesy of a polio attack. Her parents responded by abandoning her at Alupe Hospital, Busia District. The search for her kin led to her grandparents who rather than despair, embraced optimism…
BY DAN AWENDO Undoubtedly, the biggest space to play for any real estate developer in the future is affordable housing; development of units selling at between Sh2m to Sh4m. For us to achieve this sweet spot, affordable building materials and harnessing of new building technologies that lower construction cost, and availability of affordable loans for buyers will be the holy grail that will unlock the prospects of the property market. UN Habitat estimates that more than half of Africa’s population in the cities is living in informal housing and 14 million housing units are needed annually. In Kenya, 60% of…
Artists are a clear reflection of our society. In a community rife with corruption and sabotage of legitimate artistic ventures, the creatives would rather sing popular “dirty” club bangers that will get them continuous revenue streams as opposed to mainstream music that will not pay their bills. BY DENNIS NDIRITU The world of African music is never complete without the mention of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti whose musical life spanned through a period of almost four decades, from the 1960s through to the 1990s. During his musical lifetime, Fela had a history of political activities throughout, always a rebel defying societal norms…
He was agreeable on most occasions, a dependable man even. On the offside, he simply failed to understand the concept of being considerate of others’ preferences and feelings BY BRENDA VIOLA There he was, one knee on the ground, hope emanating from his eyes as his lips moved, spilling sweet nothings for me, and perhaps the crowd. At the moment, I knew not how to smile, for I was too disconcerted. The man who knelt before me would be my happily ever after, a new beginning to the other chapter of my life. Was I supposed to be excited? Naturally,…
Seven days earlier Moses, being the joyful baby whom everyone loved, was in high spirit, enjoying himself and even entertaining guests during the colorful wedding of his parents at their Nyakhobi village BY GAD WESONGA A distraught Eunice Ndeda wailed when her firstborn son Moses Ikhabi Ndeda breathed his last on October 27 while undergoing treatment at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, wondering how on earth she was going to mourn her baby. Exactly seven days earlier, October 20th, Moses, being the joyful baby whom everyone loved, was in high spirit, enjoying himself and even entertaining guests who included Busia Governor…