BY DAVID ONJILI The 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicked off in Egypt on 21st June. 24 teams are battling it out to be crowned as the continent’s champions in the biennial soccer event. Four Egyptian cities, Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Ismailia play host to the games and also showcase the country’s rich culture. Cameroon arrived as the defending champions and Kenya’s Harambee Stars makes a return to continental football after a fifteen-year absence, no mean feat. Star players to watch out for. The chants… “Mo Salah, Mo Salah” do not just reverberate in Liverpool, England…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY DR TOM ODHIAMBO The Kenyan economic secret was made public recently. The government statistics say that the country is doing quite well economically. But the real figures on the ground don’t seem to support the mathematics, to a large extent. Government’s own numbers show that the economic growth rate is impressive. At 6.3%, Kenya is doing very well. Definitely one can see some evidence of the growth – more new and bigger cars on the road; newer and taller buildings; shiny shopping malls; high-end eateries etc. The dream of prosperity doesn’t seem to be that far, at least symbolically,…
Synology Inc. has launched DiskStation DS419slim, a 4-bay NAS equipped with 2.5” drive support. Underneath the palm-sized chassis, it supports up to 20TB maximum raw capacity with four 2.5” HDDs. “Many people are still struggling with managing files scattered across public clouds, USB drives, or personal computers. As a clever and reliable personal cloud, DS419slim helps keep your precious photos, videos, and documents in order, bringing everything under control with its powerful file management capabilities,” said product manager at Synology, Katarina Shao. “Not only can you easily access, share, and synchronize all your files across multiple platforms, but you can also…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Cybercrime has continued to grow alarmingly all over the world. In fact, according to the Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime Study by Accenture and the Ponemon Institute, the average number of reported security breaches in 2018 rose by 11% from 130 to 145. It is quite high considering that the study only includes research from 11 countries. The rate is faster in Africa where more and more people, as well as organizations, continue to fall victim to cyber-attacks. According to the 2017 Africa cybersecurity report by Serianu, the estimated cost of cyber-crime on Africa is $3.5 billion…
BY VICTOR ADAR In the late 2010 and early 2012, as the influence of smartphones was being felt across the country, expectations were a tad high. It was about which brand should we use. The capabilities that we see now like multi cloud platforms, did not really exist. Although some have kept it traditional, ignoring the digital shift, the result is quite transformative. Having an array of mobile applications means that what we used to do in the past is no longer applicable. It is about selling technology and solutions. Before, apps were scattered. But today, there are apps that…
BY PETER CHENEY If you’ve ever noticed that your car burns more gas than its official rating suggests, you’re not alone, especially if you drive a car with a turbocharger. Turbochargers are the new darlings of the automotive engineering world. Pushed to achieve government-mandated fuel efficiency gains, car designers increasingly turn to small-displacement, turbocharged engines. Almost everyone’s doing it. Ford offers its F-150 pickup with a turbocharged V-6 instead of the traditional V-8. Porsche just downsized the motor in its iconic 911 sports car from 3.8 litres to 3.0, but made it more powerful by adding a pair of turbochargers.…
BY VICTOR ADAR Across the country, the demand for housing is on an upward trajectory. Today, available data shows that Kenya’s housing deficit stands at 2 million units and is rising steadily – at the rate of about 200,000 units a year, in fact. Scores of real estate developers trying to fill the gap cannot seem to catch up, in the wake of tough economic times. It is why, perhaps, players in the sector have increasingly found themselves having to find or create niches to either remain competitive, or draw consumers, or both. Whether one wants to put up residential…
By NBM Writer Frank Mosier, the chairman of Rendeavour, the owner and developer of the Tatu City Special Economic Zone in Kiambu County, has been named to a special committee advising President Donald Trump, the US government announced last month. Mosier, a long-time emerging markets investor and the largest American investor in Rendeavour and Tatu City, has been named to the 26-member President’s Advisory Committee on Doing Business In Africa (PAC-DBIA), joining executives from General Electric, Visa, Bechtel, Mastercard, Pfizer and IBM, among other companies. US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the appointment. The PAC-DBIA was established in 2014…
Residential Following the pending legal case in regard to the Kenyan Government’s Housing Fund levy, Principal Secretary for the State Department of Housing and Urban Development, Charles Hinga announced that Kenyans can begin voluntary contributions, which according to the Housing Fund Act, shall not be less than Sh200 per month. This is to kick start contributions from willing individuals, especially the 225,000 Kenyans registered on the Boma Yangu portal, a symbol in itself of their interest in the Affordable Housing Scheme. Operationalization of the institution is, therefore, set to be backed by voluntary contributions and Sh5b seed funding from the National…
BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU Property market’s trend is too based on expectations and speculations and, of course, depends on actual market analysis. It is subject to market fluctuations and can be affected by several factors. What makes a good sustainable market from bubbles and the fragile opportunities are a stable, well-founded economy and a balanced relationship between demand and supply. Unfortunately, we have seen many bubbles and bursts around the world both in the stock markets as well as the property markets. If there is a lesson learned out of all these cases is the fact that all markets will be…
