By 2030, Africa will be home to 32% of the World’s under 30 population by year 2030 and will also have the largest working age population by 2035. Yet, today’s youth unemployment in Africa is up to three times higher than adult unemployment. This is why Hewlett Packard has introduced the HP LIFE centre. HP LIFE offers free online learning for users to gain the skills to start and grow their own business or improve their employment opportunities. Building on the success of this global program, HP is working with partners to open technology-enabled HP LIFE innovation centres to further…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Germany luxury apparel brand Hugo Boss has entered the Kenyan market as it moves to tap the growing demand for designer fashion brands among the middle class population. The company, which has had a presence in the Kenyan market for over 20 years, has opened its first store at Westgate Mall, through the local partner Fazal Group, where they expect to attract more affluent customers and expatriates. Mr Andreas Pfeiffer, the team leader for sales in direct markets, says Kenya is the 27th African country to host a HUGO BOSS store. “We have started with men’s line as the anchor in Kenya as…
Family Bank’s performance has continued on an upward trajectory registering a Sh187.8 million net profits in the nine months ending September 30, 2018. This has been largely driven by a drive in digital banking that has seen growth in credit uptake through the revamped PesaPap as well as continued improved operation efficiency that has resulted in cost containment for the bank. The Bank’s profit position for the nine months ended September is a remarkable turnaround from the same period last year when it registered a loss of Sh743.1 million. Net loans and advances to customers grew by Sh190.8 million to…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has finally approved additional loans worth Sh27.5 billion (£235 million) for the completion of the Thwake River Dam project in southern Kenya. The additional loan package comprises of Sh22.5 billion (£192.5 million) which will come from AfDB while the rest Sh5 billion (£430million) will be from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), a fund that was created by both AfDB and China to finance public and private development projects in the African continent. This additional assistance follows another loan that was granted by AfDB in 2013 to start building the dam, which is part of…
The ability of Nielsen’s 7th Africa Prospects Indicator (APi) report to provide a definitive profile of performance and clear country comparisons is evident in the latest edition, which shows that all eight countries in the overall country ranking, shuffled position at the mid-year mark, the first time this has occurred in nearly four years. The overall APi indicator ranking is created from macro, business, consumer and retail indicators, to create an overall indicator based on nine common datasets and 12 weighting calculations to determine the relative indicators for each of the individual dimensions. “What is increasingly evident, is that no country is…
By David Wanjala The year 2018 has been a tough one for Kenyans financially. The effects of the capping of interest rates on loans from commercial banks continued to bite, stagnating growth especially in the SMEs as banks preferred trading with government securities that are considered safer. Investing in the stock market has had its fare share of downs. As at the early weeks of December, it was reported that close to a third of the listed companies had shed a total of Sh14 billion in their first half-year net earnings. Athi River Mining and Deacons have gone into receivership because…
The Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi has acquired an ultra-modern Positron Emission Tomography (PET) CT scanner and Cyclotron from General Electric Healthcare (GE) Healthcare. No longer will people need to leave the region in order to benefit from its. The acquisition of this highly specialised system by the hospital reaffirms its premier status as the leading provider of quality clinical care, teaching and research in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally the two institutions have also initiated efforts to drive dialogue on latest innovations and interventions in early cancer diagnosis and detection. The two institutions hosted a PET CT and Cyclotron Symposium…
The talk in town has already shifted from the impact on economy of the controversial Finance Act 2018 that has hardened life for Kenyans following heightened inflation after 16% VAT was slapped on essential commodities and services, to a referendum on the 2010 Constitution. Has the public already resigned to the fate of increased cost of living as the new norm, or are the people lying in waiting to use the referendum to amend some economic anomalies? The high cost on fuel products and banking and communication services among other essential sectors has brought untold suffering to the masses. The…
A head of its maiden African Investment Forum early this month, the African Development Bank continues to see another year of sustained indicators, underlined by a stellar Triple A rating by all three major agencies and sharply increased earnings. The inaugural Forum takes place 7-9 November 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa, offering a platform for sourcing funding for bankable African projects, brokering infrastructure deals and providing innovative financial solutions. The event will attract key global companies, financial players, and public officials who will address the continent’s critical infrastructure investment gaps. The Bank’s performance and ratings are based on the solid support…
LafargeHolcim, the leading global building products & solutions company, which was born of the merger between Lafarge and Holcim in 2015, has begun the roll out of specialized one-stop building material stores in Kenya. The Swiss multinational company has opened up four outlets in Nairobi, Machakos and Kiambu counties. The stores, which are to be operated under the brand name, Binastore, will serve the needs of end-consumers, self-builders, masons and small contractors selling a broad range of building materials including Bamburi Cement products and solutions as well as a variety of other construction materials from partner suppliers. Some of the…
