BY DAN MATTHEWS The consumerisation trend has massively raised the bar for what we expect of our business applications. Together with emerging technologies such as AR, VR, voice activation and new ways to personalise enormous flows of data, this redefines enterprise software user experience (UX). The clear link between user engagement and profitability is beyond doubt. This has been apparent on the consumer side for years. Moreover, just look at Walmart’s massive 2016 redesign of its UX and ecommerce platform, which resulted in 214% growth in digital visitors, and Bank of America, which increased its online banking registration by 45% after a UX redesign of the…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY DOMINIQUE FRIEDL We’ve come to take the power of our smartphones for granted, but they’re the result of a decade of amazing innovation. We have watched the advent of new features such as high dynamic range (HDR) photography and 4G/LTE connectivity, and we have seen powerful functionality cascade down to mid-range and even low-end devices. Here are some examples of how the next-generation of technology is delivering powerful user experiences – from reliable, world-wide connectivity, faster charging, increased battery life and shooting better photos and video, to providing the best audio-visual experience on-the-go. Systems on a chip Many of…
BY MARIAM ABDULLAHI No industry will remain undisrupted in 2018 and the years to come. But for African telco providers, who have feasted on near-uninterrupted subscriber and revenue growth over the past two decades, the need to adapt is paramount. In a market where the average business lifespan is 12 years (compared to 25 years in the last two decades) the objective is not to simply improve that which is already working. African telcos need radical transformation of entire business models in order to become digital supply networks and re-imagine work, resources management, and contingent worker management. Since the advent…
BY VICTOR ADAR It looks like buying something online comes with more risks especially at a time when con games have engulfed most online portals. In fact, the choices of online platform to use when making a big purchase like buying a car are almost endless. You are seemingly betting on something that you have no idea how it looks, and can be worse when you order from those who are not genuine and several months down the line, you realise that, after all, what you got is not what you ordered for. Well, you are obviously going to come…
BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU Many people argue about the efficiency of the Kenyan real estate market with many questions being raised on the same. It is important to understand what an efficient market is and its main characteristics. An efficient market should provide knowledge and information that would minimize the risk to investors allowing them to make rational decisions on up to date information. It also includes a time dimension, related to the need to assess the adaptability of property market process as economic and social conditions change. In such a market, there are many participants, many buyers and sellers as…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA The year 2017 was a difficult one for Kenya. We faced many obstacles to growth among them a prolonged and bruising electioneering period which saw almost everything in the country get affected. The most affected part was our economy as perceived by several international agencies that as a result, they brought down their growth projection for the country. The World Bank downgraded their earlier projection of 5.5% to 4.9% while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) changed its earlier projection from 5.3% to 5.0%. However, not all agencies believed that the prolonged electioneering period was the main reason…
BY DAVID ONJILI Any investor’s aim is to make the most of returns while in the meantime cushioning themselves against risks, most notably losses, and the peace of mind that your investments are diversified. The reasoning behind diversification is that different industries will respond differently to the same event. Take a strike notice by pilots as an example; such notice will shake stocks that are allied to the aviation industry while those in the mining, banking and other sectors may be spared. It is such eventualities that a sharp investor seeks not to fall a victim of. While diversification is…
With African tech hubs, startups and founders starting to mature and gain deeper understanding of local markets after a few years of heady hype that was more about potential than substance, investors increasingly look towards the continent. Partech Ventures’ latest annual funding report shows that venture capital funding in 2017 reached $560 million, recording 53% year on year growth. The scale of growth in funding is seen in the number of investment rounds participated in by startups: in 2017, 124 startups participated in 128 funding rounds compared to 77 rounds in 2016. Partech’s reports include startups that have a primary market…
Kenya’s shilling weakened the most in more than six months mid last month, as warning signs started to flash for a currency that has, until now, been resilient in the face of a political crisis that shows little sign of abating. The currency of East Africa’s biggest economy has climbed 2.1% this year, reaching its strongest level since June 2016 and posting five straight weeks of gains even as a basket of emerging-market currencies declined amid a global stocks selloff. The shilling fell 0.3% by 1:26 p.m. February 19 in Nairobi to 101.10 per dollar. That rise had sent the dollar’s…
BY ELSIE OYOO You are bound to come across contracts in most of the deals you enter as a businessperson. Developing a basic understanding of how contracts work will help you to tell whether a given contract correctly captures the commercial transaction you have negotiated, even before your lawyer gives it a more in-depth look. In addition, knowing what to look out for in contracts enables you to hold your lawyer to account and ask him/her the right questions. Always look out for the following: Description of the parties Does the contract correctly describe the persons it covers? The description…