BY VICTOR ADAR While many enterprising individuals would find it peculiar starting businesses in areas where a big number lack the purchasing power, three young people are seeing a lucrative venture. Just ordinary young graduates, Boaz Onyango 28, Vivianne Atieno 24 and Samuel Muthui 29, have their sights set on big things currently trying to woo people living in Soweto Slum in Kahawa West into a more sustainable lifestyle. What gets them ahead is love for what they do that has now birthed Umbrella of Homes for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (UHOVC), a charitable outfit that started in early 2017…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Takaful Insurance of Africa (TIA) recently celebrated its customers at its branches across the country through an initiative dubbed “Customer Appreciation Awards week” that saw the insurer’s most loyal customers and best supporters since 2011 including Transnep insurance brokers, First Community Bank and Towfiq Kenya feted. Speaking during the function that took place at Sarova Panafric in May, Hassan Bashir, the insurer’s chief executive officer expressed confidence that their model is all about customers, and that the company provides a wide range of risk management and financial security services thanks to its Sharia compliant products which are tailor-made to serve…
The total number of mobile SIMs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is forecasted, according to Dataxis latest research, to exceed 1 billion by 2023, from around 800 million in 2017. This growth follows the steady increase observed in the SSA mobile market for many years and will mainly be driven by the internet enabled SIMs. Among them, 3G and 4G subscribers are anticipated to jump from 35% of the total mobile subscribers in 2017 to 57% in 2023. Even though 3G is projected to remain the principal technology enabling mobile internet access, 4G’s share will increase to reach almost 40% of…
The Capital Market Authority has given the Nairobi Securities Exchange an approval that allows it to undertake a pilot phase test for the derivatives market within the next six months. This came after the CMA was satisfied that the NSE had fulfilled all the requirements in respect to the derivative markets regulations. According to the NSE, a derivative is a financial instrument between two parties based upon the assets. Its price is determined by fluctuations in the underlying asset (which includes stocks and market indexes). However, derivatives are usually used for commodities such as oil, gasoline, or gold. The pilot…
BY COLIN BEANEY In many parts of the world, smart meter installations have been around for some time, and in some countries, second or third generation devices are now being fitted. According to Metering and Smart Energy International, over the next five years, emerging markets alone will deploy nearly 250 million meters, representing an investment of almost $35 billion. When you factor in countries like Germany, which has only really just started a program, and the UK where the expectation is a minimum of one million meters needing to be installed per month to meet the 2020 target, you do wonder…
Finland based start-up, HMD Global – the home of Nokia phones has raised additional $100 million from multiple investors to scale business operations and fund the company’s growth in its second year. This round of investment has been led by Geneva based, Ginko Ventures via Alpha Ginko Ltd with participation from DMJ Asia Investment Opportunity Limited and Wonderful Stars Pte Ltd, and a subsidiary of FIH MOBILE LTD. With the latest round of funding, HMD Global’s current market valuation exceeds $1 billion, giving it a unicorn status. HMD Global will be making strategic investments in scaling its fast-growing business operations.…
The potential for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to become a powerful tool for driving industrialisation, economic diversification and development was highlighted at the start of the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) Conference of Ministers in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) last May. The 4-day event aimed to advance the ambitious initiative to form a regional common market, which the ECA believes could boost intra-African trade from its current level of 16% to 52% by 2022. Addressing the gathering, Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the ECA, said that realising the promise of the AfCFTA and its development goals required…
The leading provider of cloud-based business software has announced its expansion into the African market. Freshworks plans to substantially increase its commitment with specific investments in marketing, sales and partner resources to better serve its customers in the region. “Africa,” said Arihant Jain, director for Middle East & Africa, Freshworks “is a very strategic market for Freshworks. “The opening of Africa is an important milestone for us, as it demonstrates our expanding commitment to the region and strengthens our position as a leading software provider. The combination of our industry-leading solutions along with a growing customer base in the region…
The International Trade Centre (ITC) has launched the Kenya chapter of SheTrades in the Commonwealth in a drive to connect more Kenyan women entrepreneurs to markets. A dedicated project of ITC’s global SheTrades initiative, the SheTrades in the Commonwealth project aims to drive increased trade, productivity and competitiveness for women entrepreneurs and women-owned companies to ensure that they play an active role in international trade. Through intensive training and mentoring activities, the goal is to strengthen the capacities of 3,000 women-owned businesses with a view to generate sales worth $38 million (Sh3.8b) by 2020. ITC is the joint agency of…
Over a third of all airline seats in Europe today are on a low cost carrier. In the Americas the figure is 31% and in Asia Pacific it is 26%. Midas Aviation, a team of aviation specialists suggests that the problem is not that Africa is immune to the lure and benefits of the low-cost phenomenon, just that the take up is happening from a lower base level than 10 years ago. This gives hope. Given time, and more steady growth like this, African air travellers will be able to take advantage of the low fare travel that consumers elsewhere do. As we look…