BY PATRICIA SCOTLAND Cyclones in the Caribbean and Pacific, devastating bushfires in Australia, recurrent floods and droughts in Asia and Africa, increasingly bring tragic loss of life to our nations and communities, inflicting physical and mental trauma on survivors, and causing irreparable damage to centuries old ways of life and undermining prospects for future prosperity and growth. The current bushfires in Australia have been among the most distressing manifestations, leading the government to declare a state of emergency. The total cost to the economy of the bushfires with which Australia is grappling seems likely to run into billions of dollars.…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
When Bernard Ngugi Bernard was appointed Kenya Power and Lighting Company managing director in a bid to lead the company towards improved profitability in October last year, dreams of strengthening the electricity retailer’s commercial aspects of business grew. He took over from caretaker managing director and chief executive, engineer Jared Othieno, who filled the vacuum left after former managing director Ken Tarus was arrested in July 2018 and charged with graft. Having served the electricity distributor for over three decades, Mr Ngugi hit the ground running. He specializes in the fields of financial and revenue accounting, internal audit and supply…
Aerial and ground control operations are in progress in addressing the worsening desert locust situation in some areas in the country. According to the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group’s recent update, the East Africa region is already experiencing a high degree of food insecurity, with over 19 million people coping with crisis (which has reached Integrated Phase Classification Phase 3 – a classification that describes severity of food emergencies) or higher levels of hunger. Under a worst-case scenario, where the current locust upsurge is not quickly contained and becomes a plague by the next main crop season, significant crop…
Liquid Telecom, the leading independent data, voice and IP provider in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, has continued to expand in the country rolling out 138 internet of things (IoT) base stations that are meant to ensure connectivity to a majority in Kenya. The company has seen the number grow from 20 initial base stations they had set up in 2018. The network of the base stations now covers 78% of Kenya’s population. These stations are expected to connect Liquid Telecom’s fiber network in 41 Counties, improving internet speeds, reliability and economic benefits. According to William Oungo, Head of Government…
A coalition of private and public sector organisations, including United Nations entities, non-governmental organisations and a private equity firm has announced the launch of SDG500 – a new investment platform to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This $500 million investment platform is the first-of-its-kind dedicated to helping achieve the SDGs. SDG500 will offer an exposure to six different underlying funds. Each of these funds is or will be managed by impact asset manager Bamboo Capital Partners. The funds will use debt and equity to invest at Seed, Series A and Series B stages in hundreds of businesses in emerging and frontier markets. SDG500 aims to…
Global fintech accelerator Catalyst Fund has secured a GBP12 million (US$15 million) commitment from UK Aid and JP Morgan to advance financial inclusion in emerging markets. Catalyst Fund, managed by BFA Global and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), will us the funding over the next three years to support the growth of 30 additional start-ups across five key emerging markets for fintech innovation: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India, and Mexico. “We’re thrilled to enter the next phase of this journey, building on lessons learned over the last four years, to position ourselves as the best partners for innovators building affordable, accessible and appropriate solutions…
BY NIKKI SUMMERS Global economic growth may be slowing but Africa is bucking the trend. Rising populations, along with rising incomes, emerging industries, and untapped markets present promising business opportunities, especially in East Africa. The World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Index ranks Kenya and Rwanda above South Africa and Nigeria for ease of doing business. And Djibouti is among the top four improvers in the world. What’s more, six of 2018’s top 10 fastest-growing economies were in Africa. These top-performers have something in common: Entrepreneurship – but not for the sake of it. Entrepreneurship in Africa is driven by a desire…
Labor ministers from East and Horn of Africa states on have singned an agreement to guide their countries on harmonization of migration policies. The ministers who met in Nairobi during a regional forum on labor migration within and outside the region said the agreement will govern and facilitate safe, orderly and regular labor migration in line with international and regional standards. “We have agreed to enforce regional and continental initiatives on freedom of movement to facilitate employment opportunities, stem irregular migration and counteract smuggling, trafficking and forced labor,” says Simon Chelugui, Cabinet Secretary for Labor and Correctional Services. The ministers…
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…
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.…
