There’s a common misperception that digital transformation means adopting new technology and jumping on buzzword bandwagons like AI, blockchain, and machine learning. But this is exactly why so many businesses get it wrong. “Digital transformation does not mean a change in technology, or something you apply to the front-end of your existing products and services. It’s about business transformation – changing the way you do business to serve your future customer. Most importantly, it must be linked to a specific business objective,” says Tony Christodoulou, CIO, EMEA, at American Tower Corporation and lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBBS)…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY BRUCE EINHORN, KYUNGHEE PARK & MASATSUGU HORIE A new, long-delayed 88-passenger jet from Japan may finally be the right plane at the right time. More cities in Asia and Europe are seeking to link up with each other and the global air travel network. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet, the first airliner built in Japan since the 1960s, began certification flights last month in Moses Lake, Washington, to satisfy that demand. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s new airliner is testing the skies just as rivals are moving to sell off their manufacturing operations for jets with up to 160 seats. Boeing Co.…
BY FUAD ABDIRAHMAN The hyped 5G is not only about having access to an internet that is faster, the new infrastructure of 5G will also hasten artificial intelligence on the gadgets we use making them more friendly to handle and put them in a position to do complicated assignments 4G connectivity can hardly facilitate. The uninterrupted connection of 5G ensures extraordinary artificial intelligence, and therefore once it is rolled out, we will see more of automated cars on the roads, as the risk of poor data connection will be eliminated. Robots, among other firsts, will be able to take over…
BY VICTOR ADAR Digital means a lot of things to a lot of people. To those who are technology inclined it means, ‘connecting devices and making sense of it’. But you don’t have to be tech savvy to survive in an era where data is a vital business asset. Big data is becoming a source of competition, it is the key driving force. A flash discs, for example, may get lost, hard drive may crash, remote hacking or a virus could instantly bring business to a standstill. Of course data is precious and a solution that offers solutions such as…
Office yields remained largely stable in most African markets over the past two years, anchored by patient domestic capital as local investors assume a longer-term perspective, a new analysis by Knight Frank shows. The analysis, published in a new Knight Frank report, Africa Horizons, shows that of the 35 office markets covered, yield remained stable in 16 locations in the two years to 2018 and rose in six, while 13 markets recorded declines. Africa Horizons provides a unique guide to real estate investment opportunities on the continent, examining developments in agriculture, hospitality, healthcare, occupier services (office), capital markets, residential and…
BY VICTOR ADAR Real Estate Company, Superior Homes Ltd, is banking on a retirement home dubbed “Fadhili Retirement Village”, a project that is targeting senior citizens aged 60 years and above. Situated at Greenpark Estate in Athi River, it consists of 40 specially designed cottages that come in one or two bedrooms with each going for Sh9.90 million and Sh11.98 million respectively. The first phase is complete with 12 houses currently ready for occupation while the rest are to be done at least by this month. According to Joseph Karuga, who is in charge of sales and marketing at Superior…
BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU There are several strategies when it comes to real estate and property investments. One of the most popular strategies used around the world is the “Flipping Model”. Flipping (also called wholesale real estate investing) is a type of real estate investment strategy in which an investor purchases a property not to use, but with the intention of selling it for a profit. The word ‘intention’ is key because it is a wish to make profits and not a fact that the project will produce guaranteed profits. People tend to forget the key element of investing, and that…
BY ROSE MUTURI There is a significant number of people in Kenya living without a documented financial history. Without that documentation, it has been nearly impossible for banks and other traditional financial institutions to understand and provide credit to these people. The advent of digital technologies like mobile money and the growing availability of alternative sources of data has enabled us to overcome the limitations of traditional finance to push the limits on financial inclusion. Today, customers can choose to share their phone data with providers to apply for loans. Providers can then underwrite these borrowers, even if they’ve never…
Four key factors; consolidation, regulation, asset quality and improved earnings shaped the banking sector in FY’2018. Consolidation The banking sector has continued to witness consolidation activity as players in the sector are either acquired or merged leading to formation of relatively larger and possibly more stable entities. Consolidations that took place in 2018 include: SBM/Chase Bank of Kenya In August 2018, State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) Bank Kenya completed the acquisition of select assets and liabilities of Chase Bank Limited, which was under receivership. Following the agreement between the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), and…
BY YOMI KAZEEM News of Jumia’s filing to go public on the New York Stock Exchange last month is stirring questions about what defines a startup as African. While the company runs the largest e-commerce business across Africa with operations in 14 countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco and Egypt, it is incorporated in Germany, has its headquarters in Dubai with its central tech team based in Portugal, and as its IPO filing shows, will be listed in New York. Being a “German stock corporation” probably means it will pay the majority of its corporate taxes in Germany, but its subsidiaries will also pay local…