Bismart, a Kenyan start-up insurance aggregator, has entered into an agreement with GreenTec Capital, a German long term impact investor, to enable the start up upscale its digital and online platforms so as to connect customers to insurance and investment solutions that are available in Africa. According to Eunice Maina, CEO Bismart Insurance, Bismart has a vision to help customers by giving them a friendly, transparent and convenient way of accessing the insurance and investment services. “By using emerging technologies to address the issues of financing and transparency in insurance, Bismart aims to empower the customer to be financially independent,…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
By David Wanjala Over the years, Kenya has enjoyed the title ‘king of East Africa’, which has helped the country grow as it attracts more and more investors compared to its neighbours. The title saw Kenya chosen over Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia whenever international institutions and multinational organizations looked to host important conferences in the region. However, recently this has changed as the economies of Rwanda and Ethiopia have sustained an upward trend placing them among the fastest growing economies in the whole of Africa. As a result, this has seen Ethiopia overtake Kenya and become the new king…
BY MOHAMED AHMED The level of cyber crime in Kenya at the moment is such that businesses are grounding to a halt. Cases of those who have lost money online simply because sensitive information was leaked are many and diverse. As always the case, whenever you go online you are never sure whether you’ve engaged in a secure manner or not. You could just be checking your account balance or paying bills only to fall prey to the sly hands of online criminals. That’s why the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes Act (2018) that was recently signed into law by…
When a Canadian woman was hit by a train and badly injured in northern Italy, rescue services quickly went to her aid on the tracks. But as they treated the victim a young man captured the scene from the station platform in a selfie that has provoked widespread anger. He was himself pictured by a news photographer who complained, “we have completely lost a sense of ethics”. Police caught the young selfie-taker and forced him to delete his picture. The young Canadian woman caught up in the accident late last month was taken to hospital and had a leg amputated.…
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a baker in Colorado who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. The Colorado state court had found that baker Jack Phillips’ decision to turn away David Mullins and Charlie Craig in 2012 was unlawful discrimination. But the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 7-2 vote that that decision had violated Mr Phillips’ rights. The conservative Christian cited his religious beliefs in refusing service. Gay rights groups feared a ruling against the couple could set a precedent for treating gay marriages differently from heterosexual unions. But the…
BY DAVID ONJILI As Kiarie Mwangi, a volunteer trying to reform prisoners using soccer around the country, and I drove into the compound of GK Kamiti Maximum Prison, I had mixed emotions. I trained myself not to expect anything but allow the experience be my guide. I blocked my mind from any pre-conceived bias. Suddenly, reality dawned. Kiarie instructed me to leave my cell phone, wallet and any money that was on me in the car and only carry my national identification card. Still, I was not sure of what to expect. All I knew was the realization that I…
There are shows that you watch with friends and family, chat about around the water cooler, post about on social media, and even host viewing parties for. Then, there are those you view behind closed doors, or with one hand shielding your phone when you’re on the train. You may smile in acknowledgement when your guilty pleasure series comes up in conversation, but your cool demeanor belies the fact that you’ve seen every episode. Twice. But you can’t hide your guilty pleasures from Amazon. The streaming-video service knows what you watch on your phone when no one’s looking. Amazon analyzed…
BY PETER WANYONYI In January and March of this year, this column discussed the emergence and growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, as well as their underlying technologies such as Blockchain. The general view of cryptocurrencies is that they are a fresh new approach to money and its issuance and management, and the lack of a centralised authority controlling the issuance of such currencies makes them particularly attractive to those who want to remain anonymous while transacting online. So far, so good. But every good thing has a not-so-good side, and cryptocurrencies are no different. The very reasons that…
BY STEPHAN DAMHORST Digitalization is the business driver for companies to safeguard their businesses. However, a great percent of the digitalization projects have or are failing after spending fortunes in activities targeting digitalization. According to a survey done by FUJITSU, one in three organizations have cancelled their digital projects, while a quarter has suffered a cost of up to €555,000 (Sh65.3 million) in digital failed projects. On another hand, some organizations are experiencing great success and are already enjoying the benefits. What seems to be the problem? 74% of businesses also admit that they do not have a digital strategy…
BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) report released last month, real estate contributed the most to May’s increase in the stock of non-performing loans (NPLs).The ratio of the non-performing loans to gross loans increased to 12.4% in April from 11.4% in February 2018 largely due to increased NPLs in the real estate, trade and manufacturing sectors. Banks are designed to optimize the transfer of funds from savers to borrowers. However, with lending comes the inherent risk that loan repayments might fall behind schedule or that the borrower might not be able to repay the debt…