Despite an economic slowdown, most African countries are reported to have a positive economic outlook. This is according to Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ (ICAEW) latest report; Economic Insight: Africa Q3 2018 launched last month by the accountancy body The report, produced by partner and forecaster Oxford Economics, provides a snapshot of the region’s economic performance including East Africa, West and Central Africa, Franc Zone, Northern Africa, Southern Africa. East Africa, the report says, continues to be the continent’s best performing region with a GDP forecast at 6.3%. This positive outlook is due to the region’s economic…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY VICTOR ADAR In the midst of harsh business environment, only individuals who out think will put their businesses on the right path. One Goodie Odhiambo is proof that it is never business as usual. Ms Goodie is behind Goodie’s Limited, a company established in 2009 mainly to provide sustainable employment for craft artisans by developing the production and design of quality Kenyan handcrafts. A year after her company was birthed, which might seem such a long time, she has been procuring products directly from handcrafters, over 150 talented artisans, who create stunning works that are mostly sold locally. She…
Capital Markets Authority (CMA) University Challenge 2018 has been launched. The inter-varsity competition whose objective is to promote capital market knowledge commenced late last month and will run through to December 31 when the finals will be held. “As much as there are great prizes to be won, the real objective is to inculcate a culture of savings and investments amongst the youth,” said Mr Paul Muthaura, CEO CMA during the launch. A total of 37 local universities have confirmed participation that will see close to 6015 students compete for the grand prize of Sh150, 000 worth of portfolios of…
A new player has joined the online retail industry in Kenya to tap the growing numbers of shoppers turning to the Internet to buy various items. Hashmart Kenya, which specializes in electronics, is positioning itself to give established players in this segment a run for their money. The company is owned by a consortium of local investors led by Mansoor Hussein, a veteran retailer and wholesaler of electronic products in the offline market. Hashmart, which was started in 2017 but just been officially launched, has focused on niche premium brands which include electronics and accessories as well as lifestyle collections. Mr…
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru last month officially launched the 2018 Connected ICT Innovation Awards, which will see young Kenyan innovators feted during the Connected Kenya Summit that will be held at the Bomas of Kenya from 22nd – 24th October. The awards celebrate Kenyan entrepreneurs that have created new ICT solutions. Over 45 ICT products and services have been awarded since the inaugural awards which were held at the Connected Kenya Summit in 2011. “Our focus for Connected 2018 is the Big 4 Agenda. Technology has a significant role to play in the Big 4 and I look forward to seeing…
In accordance to the China Africa Research Initiative data, Kenya was ranked as the third most indebted country to China in the continent for the period between 2000 and 2017. According to the data, Kenya had borrowed Sh988 billion as at the end of 2017 with only Angola and Ethiopia having borrowed more in the same period; Sh4.3 trillion and Sh1.38 trillion respectively. This was despite the country having reduced its borrowing in 2017 as compared to the period between 2014 and 2016. Other African countries which made up the top ten indebted to China in the period include; Republic…
Fuji Electric, a Japanese electrical equipment company has won the contract to supply a complete geothermal power facility for the Olkaria 1 geothermal power plant. The company got the contract from Marubeni Corporation, a sōgō shōsha (Japanese general trading firm) which was awarded by state-owned power producer Kenya Electricity Generating Co Ltd (KenGen). This will be the first geothermal power plant project that Fuji Electric will be undertaking in Africa after having completed 43 geothermal power generation units in Asia and Oceania (China, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines), 26 units in the Americas and 9 units in Europe…
Kenya was among a number of African countries to defy domestic and external shocks and come out on top in terms of quality of policy and institutional frameworks according to a report by the World Bank. The country, according to the World Bank’s 2017 Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), scored 3.7 in 2017 as compared to the average score for Sub Sharan Africa, which stood at 3.1. The only countries in Africa that recorded a better score were Rwanda and Senegal that posted a 4.0 and 3.8 score respectively. The study that covered 38 SSA IDA countries in 2017…
Lori Systems (“Lori”), a tech-enabled trucking logistics platform that is one of the fastest growing tech startups in Africa, has announced their expansion into three new countries: Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. More than 40% of grains moving through Kenya to Uganda now move through Lori’s platform. The announcement comes on the heels of pitching at TechCrunch Battlefield in San Francisco, and being named the overall winner of TechCrunch Battlefield Africa last fall. In addition to the expansion, Lori recently won multiple bids associated with the newly built $4B railroad system in East Africa, with the joint goal of driving…
Caritas Microfinance bank has been recognized for its use of technology in delivering services to its customers. The bank scooped two awards – the Best microfinance Bank in the Use of Digital Solutions to Enhance Customer Experience and Best Microfinance institution in e-services in Kenya during the 2nd Digital Inclusion Awards held last month. The recognition comes barely six months after the micro lender was feted as the best microfinance Bank in Kenya during the Think Business Awards ceremony. Caritas, whose key shareholders are various institutions in the Catholic Church, was granted a nationwide license by the Central Bank of Kenya…