Nairobians rank affordable housing as the most important factor when deciding where to live and work, according to Mercer, a consulting leader in advancing health, wealth and career. This is followed by safety and security, air and water quality, transportation and traffic, and finally life satisfaction. “With this in mind, governments and large businesses have a role to play in making cities more attractive in meeting the top needs of employees,” says Francis Omanyala, associate at Mercer Africa. The study provides critical insight into the motivations of workers against the backdrop of fierce competition for highly skilled talent. It also provides…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY MATTHEW KIBBY With a boom in hotel construction, major infrastructure projects underway, and good GDP growth in many countries, the construction sector in sub-Saharan Africa offers several bright prospects. A report from GlobalData forecasts that sub-Saharan Africa will have the fastest growing construction industry in the world over the next five years, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.6%. However, construction companies in the region also face numerous challenges – from lukewarm economic growth in South Africa and funding challenges in Nigeria, to skills shortages, rising materials and labour costs, and exchange rate volatility across the region. To…
BY PETER WANYONYI Many arguments have been made– including in this column – about the pros and cons of electric vehicles (EVs) alongside, or as a replacement for, traditional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs). These arguments have revolved around the economic and technological case for EVs: The range capability of EVs is a problem, with most unable to provide the sort of range that ICE vehicles enjoy. The most critical issue with EVs, though, is the lack of refill – or rather, recharge – infrastructure.First, the context of the issue. Kenya, like all other African countries, does not…
BY DENS KRUGER The international payments landscape is undergoing significant change. New, disruptive technologies are entering the payments market and putting pressure on traditional banking practices. Regulatory scrutiny, particularly around KYC and AML, and changes in consumer and client behaviours and expectations are also forcing the industry to review traditional banking models. The banking sector is facing these challenges head-on, developing a new and more innovative and dynamic payments landscape. Consumers want their retail experience to be replicated in the banking world; this means instant, frictionless services. At the same time, corporate clients want to reduce payment costs and are…
BY VICTOR ADAR E xpeditions Maasai Safaris Limited, Valentines Cake House and BIZNA Kenya painted a bright picture as far as the digital landscape is concerned at a forum on Digital Trends 2019 that was sponsored by Safaricom Limited. What stood out at the event that was recently held in Nairobi was the fact that techies and corporate organisations are foreseeing fundamental shifts in the digital landscape that will transform consumer behaviour, e-commerce, digital marketing and mobile communication in the near future. Speakers at the forum where top 25 women and top 25 men in digital sphere in 2018 were…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA It has been about nine years since TeliaSonera Company introduced the fourth generation of the mobile technology (4G) to the world, which offers much greater speeds when compared to the third generation (3G). The 4Gl has also reduced the latency involved. Despite being introduced in the late 2009, it took almost three years for the technology to be launched in Africa with Angola being the first country to launch it in 2012. Since then a majority of the African countries have concentrated on having commercial 4G services. According to GlobalData, one of the largest data and insights…
BY VICTOR ADAR Dreams can be powerful. Maybe there is no evidence to this, but when your dreams come true, you can inspire others to also make an effort and move ahead. And one Tumaini Bundi is proof that dreams are always valid. At just 24, when most young people focus on employment while they could start something and thrive on it, Mr Bundi already knew that nothing is better than a good business. The entrepreneurship bug bit him way back in 2014 while still college, and is currently running Hasof Limited, a venture that he says was necessitated by…
BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU As we head into 2019, the hopes of those of us who were speculating that the property market would recover during 2018 and reverse the negative trend of the last three years are fading out. All available data point to the same conclusion, Kenya’s property market is now going through a recession period with all relevant indexes making correctional moves downwards. Supply and Non-Performing loans are increasing as a result of the underperforming and overvalued market. A few days ago the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) released their report for quarter three of 2018. As per the report,…
Kenya’s real estate and construction market has grown over the last 8-years, with its contribution to GDP increasing from 12.6% in 2010 to 14.1% in 2017, as per statistics from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The growth has been fuelled primarily by: Demand as a result of rapid population growth at 2.6% p.a compared to the global average growth rate of 1.2% as at 2017 according to the World Bank; High rate of urbanization at 4.4% p.a, compared to the global average of 2.1%; Infrastructural development in various parts of the country, which has opened up areas for development…
By Fuad Ibrahim Hundreds of thousands residing in Mombasa and the in coastal region directly or indirectly depended on the Mombasa port by either working in the port or working in port related enterprises like clearing and forwarding companies. With new policies introduced mainly brought about the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), things are not going as glamorous as before. SGR is the most costly project ever undertaken in Kenya, consuming close to $4 billion. The completed phase one has already connected Mombasa to Nairobi, phase two, connecting Nairobi to Nakuru is already ongoing with plans to reach Malaba in Western…