According to the 2018 economic survey report, 2017 was among the worst years Kenya has ever faced with the growth of the economy slowing down to 4.9% as compared to the previous year where it stood at 5.9%. The report accredited the slowdown to the uncertainty created as a result of the recent prolonged electioneering period and the severe weather conditions the country faced. Worse still, Kenya is losing among its major sectors such as finance, agriculture and manufacturing. For instance, despite an increase in terms of marketed production in the agriculture sector, the net output of the sector decelerated…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY ELSIE OYOO Professional networking consultant, Terry Bean suggests that there are certain professionals who should always be in your networking circle for you to have an enriching interconnectedness experience. Your lawyer is one such professional. There are several reasons why cultivating professional rapport with your lawyer will stand you in good stead. They are a good source of leads for customers and suppliers While giving you legal advice, your lawyer gets to have a pretty good grasp of the workings of your business. Conscientious Lawyers gain such knowledge of each of their client’s businesses. They are thus well placed…
BY GILBERT NG’ANG’A Dozens of Kenyan corporate chiefs are staring at job losses this year in the wake of continued financial hemorrhage, poor performance and botched up business decisions. A growing number of big firms are sinking into loss-making while others are posting sharp profit declines, largely as a result of a harsh economic environment and a prolonged electioneering period late last year, a detailed analysis by the Nairobi Business Monthly show. As the 2017 full year corporate scorecard continues to emerge following the end of the March reporting season, top bosses, who are usually employed on performance based contracts…
BY BENARD AYIEKO The sequel on the ‘big four’ continues in this edition of the ‘Last Word’. It is the second article of the four-piece series that is offering unsolicited policy advise and proposals on how best the drivers of the ‘big four’ agenda can build and sustain affordable housing in the economy. Last month’s edition focused on Food Security – a key pillar in President Kenyatta’s ‘big four’ development agenda. Housing is an interesting subject in developing countries. In Kenya for instance, the Constitution puts emphasis on the need for the government to guarantee all citizens the right to…
BY DR SALIM HASSANALI As the world marked tuberculosis (TB) day with the theme ‘Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world’, which seeks to mobilize partners across all sectors from private to public including the government, non-governmental organizations, community leaders, people affected with TB, civil society advocates, doctors and nurses and how each of us can contribute in their own work to end tuberculosis, it is important to address the adverse form of the disease; extra-pulmonary tuberculosis which is prevalent especially in our immunocompromised patients from various causes. The mention of tuberculosis conjures up images of a wasted person with a…
BY Janek Sunga The challenge for non-Western countries has always been modernising without westernising. According to Danai Gurira, the Zimbabwean-American actress, the movie Black Panther answers the question that Africans have always wondered: “Who would we have been if we weren’t colonised?” I would like to think she means the heights of scientific advancement that Africa would have reached. Lupita Nyong’o is in the latest instalment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but you should also definitely watch it because of the scientific issues it raises. Science is a universal language. The laws of physics are built on a mathematical foundation,…
BY Kibe Mungai High Court Judge Joseph Louis Omondi Onguto, who died on February 28, 2018, was an accomplished legal practitioner, budding scholar, first-rate jurist and one of the most promising of the recently appointed judges. His death was both sudden and surprising because he was only 53 years old; he died after a training session at Parklands Sports Club Nairobi in circumstances that belied his long-term dedication to wellness of body and that of the mind. By all yardsticks, Justice Onguto, who was appointed as a judge in July, 2014, leaves a rich legacy of diverse, sound, incisive and…
It’s not every day that you hear about cutting-edge global discoveries led by African scientists, especially female scientists. And yet, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) female Fellows are breaking barriers in non-invasive measures of health, nanotechnology for cancer and Alzheimer’s treatment, treating and preventing malnutrition, type 2 Diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, next generation health systems and technology policies, plant defense in forest species, upcycling waste, and explaining Einstein’s fudge factor, to name only a few areas. “What is clear is that in most cases the world does not know or value the contributions to female scientists to science or…
Pan African cyber security consultancy firm Serianu has opened the doors of the first of its kind state-of-the -art Cyber Immersion Center. The training center targets cyber security professionals in Africa to hone their skills and ramp up their cyber-attack preparedness. Located in Nairobi, Serianu’s Cyber Immersion Center is grounded in the metropolis that is fast emerging as Sub-Sahara Africa’s technology hub where for the first time in the region’s technological history, cyber security professionals now have an opportunity to stay a step ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving global cyber security landscape. Serianu Chief Executive Officer William Makatiani said…
BY ULF TILLANDER Digital is everywhere in retail today. The threat from more agile internet-based companies continues to drive traditional players to try innovative new approaches. Over the next year we will see innovative in-store education centers, more “endless aisles” concepts and blockchain for sustainability at the top of the retailers´ agendas. These are the 2018 trends to watch Global Industry Director for Retail and Wholesale at IFS. Two in three retailers will start new in-store engagement initiatives In the consumer- and product-centric retail sphere, the physical store is a major asset; after all, that’s one of the main reasons…