Uber Kenya has now introduced Phone Anonymization, a new in-app contact feature that will allow both passenger and driver to keep their numbers private whenever they need to get in touch. The new feature will see the phone numbers, of both the rider and driver anonymized thus none will be able to see the other’s contact details. Despite the driver and rider not being able to see each other’s contact details, they will still be able to communicate through the in-app support system. In the system, instead of their actual contact details appearing, the numbers of both driver and rider…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY PETER WANYONYI How come a leopard cub is born with spots and not with stripes? Why are tiger cubs born with stripes rather than spots? After all, both species are members of the Genus Panthera, and can actually cross-breed and hybridise with each other, and with careful crossing can produce fertile offspring. What about humans? An African father and an African mother will never produce a half-Chinese baby. Yet we are all humans and can interbreed easily. What drives these breeding results? The answer is, of course, DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, perhaps the most miraculous thing that occurs in nature.…
BY MICHAEL PITTELKOW According to the World Bank’s most recent report on Global Economic Prospects, despite the broad global recovery currently underway, Africa still faces substantial downside risks, especially relating to challenges with subdued productivity and potential growth. In response, governments on the continent should look at a combination of improvements in education and health systems, high-quality investment, and labour market, governance and business climate reforms that could yield substantial long-run growth dividends. While Africa continues its inexorable rise as a global economic powerhouse, its partnerships and collaboration with other nations, regional bodies and continents is coming sharply into play.…
BY VICTOR ADAR Born in Kimende in Kiambu County, Beth Koigi got interested in water issues while in Chuka University four years back when students on campus would get brown water from the taps. Motivated by her experiences, she is currently revolutionizing access of water especially for off-grid communities through disruptive technology thanks to the concept of harvesting water from air. The youthful entrepreneur and water expert could not imagine that one day she will start a water filtration start up to fix the perennial water problem not only in her own campus, but also beyond. She teamed up with…
BY VICTOR ADAR Majority of Kenyans are willing to own a house now than before thanks to the government’s move to work closely with private developers, financial institutions as well as cooperatives to deliver affordable housing, which is now part of the “Big Four Agenda”. Housing is affordable when those whose income is below the median of, say Sh30, 000 to Sh50, 000 can afford it. The median income in Kenya, according to Cytonn, comprises of those earning from Sh30, 000 to Sh49, 999 a month. A household that has two working adults with a maximum total income of Sh100,…
BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU Although almost everybody has somehow been involved in a real estate investment, majority of people make irrational decisions based on rumors and expectations without considering even the basic principles of investing such as risks. This is the reason why investors often lose a lot of money when making investments in real estate. Real estate, equities, forex and any other type of investment do have one thing in common, risk. Property markets are not risk free. In general, there is no risk free investment. This is why a fundamental principle of investing is the risk/return tradeoff, which simply…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Over the years, the popularity of China’s currency, the Yuan, has grown all over the world with many countries considering adding it as a reserve currency. As a result of its increased use in international transactions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive Board voted and added it to the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket of currencies in 2016. This saw its popularity swell, which in turn saw different countries around the world, especially in Africa, consider adopting it as a reserve currency. The Chinese currency has gained traction all over the world despite still being far…
BY NBM WRITER For long, Africa was considered a dark continent due to various countries experiencing macroeconomic instability, corrupt legal systems, policy uncertainties, armed conflicts and terrorism. This saw many foreign investors shy away from the continent as they believed it was not a worthy investment destination. However, after the 2008 global financial crisis things took a turn for the best for Africa. As a result of its rising population, growing middle class, high rates of economic growth, improving macroeconomic stability and an enormous arable land, the continent was now attracting foreign investors all over the world. According to the…
BY PETER WANYONYI Recent tidings out of Addis Ababa and Asmara make for interesting geopolitical reading. In July 2018, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea ended decades of armed hostility between their two countries. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki set aside an acrimonious history and agreed to re-establish ties between the two sister states. Progress from then on was super-swift: Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s leading airline by some distance, immediately set up flights to Eritrea from Ethiopia. Immigration ties between the two nations were re-established, with citizens of the two countries receiving visa waivers when visiting.…
BY FUAD ABDIRHAMAN Djibouti is fast becoming a gateway to the region; the tiny nation located on the further end of the horn of Africa has seen major investments on their ports in recent years and has recently added to its projects the construction of multibillion free trade zone considered to be the biggest in the continent. The mega free trade zone, launched in early July, intends to capitalize on its landlocked neighboring Ethiopia growing economy. Djibouti is roughly 25 times less than the size of Kenya, whose population is also 48 times bigger. Investors, mainly the Chinese government and…