BY DAVID ONJILI Regulatory sandboxes, is when the government or essentially the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) stays aloof to allow experimentation then later formulate policy to guide them. The gist of this is to give a safe legal status and space for ingenuity to investors and developers to unlock their unique financial innovations with specific bias to Kenyan consumers. It is greatly inspired by the global success of M-Pesa where Kenya remains a trailblazer in mobile money innovation. Fintech innovation tends to align with the Capital Market’s 10-year Master Plan that seeks to stimulate innovation, broaden products while deepening market…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY GILBERT NG’ANG’A This was meant to be a year when Kenyans would begin enjoying the raft of economic promises made by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime last year as the Jubilee government sought re-election. As imagined by many, going with the Jubilee manifesto and campaign statements, the country would usher in an era of economic prosperity, anchored on lower cost of living and increased business and job opportunities. However, nearly a year since re-election, that is not to be the case. Kenya is staring at an era of high cost of living in the coming months, which could trigger mass…
BY EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA Prof Kivutha Kibwana projects a certain humility that is depressingly rare. He resisted when an aide attempted to give him a “better” seat during our interview. The law professor was comfortable on a seat his staffer considered not befitting his status—an ordinary seat. A conversation with the Makueni governor paints a picture of a scholar who left the ivory towers and retreated to the village to work with ordinary people. And he seems pretty at home. He fought for a Wanjiku-driven Constitution. After passing the Constitution, he followed Wanjiku to the village. The governor sees his current…
“Like all major transitions in human history, the shift from a linear to a circular economy will be a tumultuous one. It will feature heroes and pioneers, naysayers and obstacles, and moments of victory and doubt. If we persevere, however, we will put our economy back on a path of growth and sustainability. Many years from now, people will look back on it as a revolution.” – Frans van Houten BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Imagine a world where pollution was reduced to a minimum, a place where the air, land and water were free of waste from industries. Wouldn’t that be…
BY DAVID ONJILI The true taste of the pudding is in the eating. George, a mobile phone repairer along Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi and a personal friend escorts me to a stall along the busy street to meet Wanjiru, a reserved business woman and a mother to a teenage girl who is also pursuing her degree at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). She may pass for as an ordinary jobless Nairobi dweller, yet she is a moneylender, a member of Nairobi’s secret club of millionaires. I have with me a Huawei GR3 model mobile phone, which…
By Victor Adar A brand store is one of those things that will really add value to a business. In this era of cutthroat competition, Norbert Klein admits that the big idea in opening a showroom is to capture future customers today. The head of region for Turkey, Middle East, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (now called Russia) at Bosch knows too well how such a strategy can boost sales and strengthen customer loyalty. “When it comes to building up of our brand, one of our strategies is a brand store,” he points out. “In a normal retail shop,…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA For years the local telecommunication sector has seen a fierce competition with Safaricom PLC leading the park in what has pushed competitors, Airtel and Telkom Kenya to argue that the leaders hold an unfair advantage over them. Time and time again the competition has argued to the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) about the dominance of Safaricom that allows it to control market trends. However, each time the case has not yielded any result as the dominant Telco maintains a major market share. This constant discussion on dominance saw the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) commission an…
BY GILBERT NG’ANG’A Anyone familiar with the tribulations of the giant cement maker Athi River Mining (ARM) Cememt for the past three years would have predicted that its fall from corporate glory was imminent. But few expected the slide to be that rapid and severe. Mid August, ARM’s days of magnificence came to a screeching halt. On August 18, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) floated manufacturer was put under administration, bringing on board global audit firm PwC to run the business. This marked the end of an era for a firm that has for years been Kenya’s second-largest cement maker…
By Victor Adar Fadhili Care at Green Park gated community along Mombasa road, which is a purpose built assisted living complex, is the latest package by Superior Homes Kenya coming couple of months after Machakos High Court stopped the Water Resources Authority from executing a demolition notice of houses that the company had constructed within Greenpark Estate. It was in June this year that the houses, said to have been built on riparian land by the developer were to be demolished. Nicholus Njogu, Superior Homes sales and marketing manager says that flooding was a major challenge thanks to construction on…
The appointment of Mary Wangari Wamae as the group executive director overseeing the Equity Group’s subsidiaries may be the latest change in the corporate scene. Taking over from the lender’s long standing managing director and CEO Dr James Mwangi, Ms Wamae will oversee the management of the Group’s banking subsidiaries in countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan. Although learning the ropes as a newly appointed director can be challenging especially during the first two years in the seat, with the right qualities, the experience, expertise and knowledge, one can help a company develop further.…