BY VICTOR ADAR Armed with a backpack and laptop with no knowledge of what lay ahead apart from just a belief in her convincing power, Sheila Ogembo made a big leap. Three years ago, she started Speed plus media limited, a firm that not only deals with design, printing and branding but also advises customers on marketing strategies. A journalist by profession, and alumni of Technical University of Mombasa, entrepreneurship bug bit her at a time when many people her age would find it a great discomfort jumping into business. She tells of the fears that include lack of jobs…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY NBM WRITER The final days of 2017 are finally here with us and no one can say it hasn’t been an eventful year. From several natural disasters hitting all over the world to one of the most prolonged electioneering periods within our country. Even though the world was full of different events, let us focus on events affecting one sector that has really seen some crucial changes, the financial sector. Different events took place in the financial sector. In kenya for instance, a lot happened, from the launch of the first mobile sovereign bond in the world to the…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA In 2009 the world witnessed the emergence from the blues of a mysterious technology. At the time, no one imagined the technology, which came to be known as Bitcoin would eventually come to take the world by storm. Bitcoin was the work of Satoshi Nakamoto who mined the first ever block; the genesis block, for a reward of 50bitcoins after many years of research and development. Bitcoin although, did not start off on the right track as in the year it was introduced to the world, it went for close to nothing and in its second year,…
BY GILBERT SAGGIA Statistics indicate that 90% of imports and exports in Africa are driven by sea. With a global middle class set to reach 5 billion people by 2030, global trade is set to continue to grow at an unprecedented rate. Reports suggest that global freighter fleet is expected to double over the next decade due to the growing consumption demands of the ever-increasing middle class. Beyond fulfilling their respective countries’ trade needs, ports act as gateways to land-locked countries such as Ethiopia and Chad, that have significant agrarian and raw materials export potential, and great need for imports…
BY SHADRACK MUYESU African countries are increasingly taking up debt as they approach the repayment period when most capital market Eurobond loans mature. The negative effects on economic growth have been telling. In the last four years the continent’s sovereign external debt balance has risen faster than the Gross Domestic Product. On average, countries are paying out more in debt service than they are receiving in loans. Because of the sheer volume of these debts, more than half of the countries that issued sovereign bonds in the last half decade are on the verge of defaulting while the rest are…
BY ELSIE OYOO As a client, you want a lawyer whose legal advice helps you to fulfill your dreams such as owning some property or taking your business to the next level. Lawyers can also assist you to mitigate crisis moments in emotive issues in the settlement of personal or commercial disputes. You probably know in general what you want from your lawyer. At times though, it proves difficult to identify exactly which traits you should look out for in a legal advisor. While the list below is by no means exhaustive, if you pick your lawyer based on the…
A new paper from the International Center for Transitional Justice on police vetting in Kenya charges that the Kenyan government has failed to undertake needed reforms to root out corruption and abuses from the National Police Service and restore public trust in the police. Four years into the vetting process, the National Police Service Commission, tasked with vetting over 77,000 officers, has faced allegations of corruption and been criticized for failing to vet senior police officers implicated in graft and other crimes. “Since the police vetting process began in 2013, Kenya has witnessed continued police misconduct, suspected extrajudicial killings and a…
BY CHRISTOPHER ROSANA & ETALE REAGAN The freedom of expression is a fundamental right encapsulated in Article 33 of the Constitution. It underscores the aspirations of Kenyans to express ideas freely including artistic creativity. Classic examples of success stories include the famous local political satirical XYZ Show. However, the freedom of expression is subject to limitations; propaganda for war, incitement to violence, hate speech, advocacy of hatred or a limitation by a statute of Parliament. Creations of the mind, though intangible, can morph into intellectual property (IP) under Articles 11 and 40 of the Constitution. A trademark (such as Safaricom,…
BY BARNABAS ONYONKA As a rule of life, bigger is always better. It is ingrained in us and there is little we can do to change our preference for bigger things. Even toddlers will fancy bigger toys as compared to smaller ones. Likewise, in the business world bigger is always preferred. A big company is better than a small company and so is a big name as compared to a smaller one. Bigger by any metrics, in the business world, opens doors for more profits which are, actually, the most important figures in any company. Paradoxically though, when it comes…
BY VICTOR ADAR It seems like Kenya’s aspiring entrepreneurs are affected by lack of innovative business ideas, mentoring services as well as access to seed capital. Of course, there has been a wave of early stage entrepreneurs not being able to overcome such barriers and grow. It is in that predicament that Sinapis, an organization that empowers aspiring entrepreneurs, saw a gap and started providing a rigorous business education, world class consulting and mentoring services to the tiny lot. Sinapis is looking to the practical side of business and teaches integration of faith and business. And with the backing of the…