BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Since 2016 when the Government signed into law the interest rate cap, banks have been facing a challenging period as most of them continue to report reduced margins and profitability. Due to this, banks have resorted to finding alternatives for boosting their revenues. For instance, some banks have invested in technological innovation such as mobile banking and mobile loan applications as a means of reaching out to more customers. In another bid to survive the difficult times, banks have also looked to consolidations as a way of remaining afloat. With the Kenyan market having a large number…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU Kenyan stock market took a beating in 2018; with most investors reaping losses as securities ended the year lower than they started in January, pulling down key indices with investors’ wealth declining by $4.1 billion. Market giants of the previous decade are now struggling to survive. Banks, super markets, cement companies, real estate companies, fashion retailers amongst others weighed down by debt and losses over the last years are desperately trying to find support and cash flow injections in order to survive and avoid closure. The challenges that Kenya’s economy is facing create a domino effect, which…
Kenya’s latest Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) score for Quarter 3, 2018 has dropped a steep 10 points, since the previous quarter, to 94, revealing a volatile consumer mindset and underlying uncertainties. “Consumer confidence was upbeat at the beginning of the year. This was due to the political situation settling down, GDP strengthening and the country emerging out of a period of drought. However, since no major impact has been felt on ground, consumers are readjusting their expectations. This, coupled with the recent increase in fuel prices, led to a surge in the cost of consumable commodities and the prolonged cold season…
BY GILBERT NG’ANG’A When terrorists hit the upmarket Dusit D2 Hotel in Nairobi mid-January killing at least 20 people, the incident tinkered with Kenya’s political risk profile that could set up the economy for a difficult start. For the past three years, investors had relegated security concerns to the backburner, a departure from the earlier era when terror attacks had dented Kenya’s image abroad, scaring off tourists and hurting economic prospects. But the risk of terrorism could emerge as one of the biggest worries for investors in Kenya this year, at a time when the outlook was seen as largely…
Not failure but low aim is sin – Benjamin Way, an American Baptist minister BY DAVID ONJILI The year 2019 is rolling; most Kenyans are trapped in their usual financial cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul. This has been evidenced by Safaricom’s latest product Fuliza. According to his own admission, CEO Bob Collymore noted that in the first week of its launch, they had netted in close to one million subscribers and lent out Sh1 billion. Those figures are mind-boggling but paint a clear picture of most Kenyans debt riddled lives. This column has always appreciated debt in the…
BY RICK WEBB The case against the internet, when it comes to the quality of society’s news, is well-worn: beginning in the 1990’s advertisers shifted their dollars from traditional media to the internet, and the losers in that transition were the newsrooms of America, who had to make do with less. Internet: The first blow The migration began in earnest with the rise of Google. Google’s keyword advertising predominately effected direct advertising spending — that is, spending that can be directly tied to a sale (10% off!). This was not good news for our news media. Direct advertising, prior to the internet, was predominately the…
BY VICTOR ADAR It is tough being John Njiraini. On the fifth floor of Times Towers, the Commissioner General of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) surprised Kenyans with his ambitious ideas during the launch of the authority’s 7th Corporate Plan running from 2018 to 2021. On the one hand, he is working towards raising the number of active taxpayers from 3.94 million to 7 million thanks to a segmented approach, which is basically to become more customer-focused. Yet on the other, Mr Njiraini will collect Sh6.1 trillion of core revenues – try to picture Exchequer revenues, Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) and…
By Victor Adar That some of the things that tend to tear away the appetite of those who are interested on investing on high growth sectors like real estate include cost of construction, lack of an enabling framework as well as government policies that are perceived to be “weird”, more experts feel that it is only creativity, and a bit of innovation that will turn around things for the better. Real estate development is expensive. But is there an alternative when it comes to cutting down on costs? According to Richard Kirimi, a construction systems manager at a chemical company,…
BY PAUL BURRIN How motivated and engaged are employees in your organisation? The start of a new year presents an opportunity to refocus our efforts on motivating employees and fostering an engaging, rewarding work environment. HR and People teams and company leadership can set the tone for a productive 2019 with the right strategy in place – provided they don’t fall into the habit of common misconceptions about how to best encourage productivity in the workplace. Companies that understand what motivates employees are sure to have a productive year. Here are the most common productivity myths and how to deliver…
BY NBM WRITER When Dimension Data East Africa, trading as Dimension Data Solutions Limited launched its digital business solutions in East Africa, one thing stood out: the tech company is going for growth in 2019. At the moment, the $8 billion worth global systems integrator and managed services provider is deploying niche solutions targeting its core client segments of financial services, public sector, telecommunications, and manufacturing in the region, with Kenya as the hub. According to Ndung’u Kahindo, the firm’s general manager, solutions wing, digital services are a leading driver for the Kenyan economy today with the market value expected…