BY VICTOR ADAR Wanja Mwangi is very calm, a wife, a mother and an auditor. About four years ago, her hubby got a job in West Africa and made a dress for her, then bought different fabrics for their mums, sisters and other relatives as a gift. With a tip of Sh20,000 from a guest, this man opted to appreciate and empower his wife in style. He purchased 12 pieces of Vitenges, a fabric that is currently popular as Ankara. “Our friends saw the fabrics and the dresses and started asking if I could ask my husband to send them…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
In a bid to tap into the burgeoning youth population in the Kenyan market, Chinese based mobile phone maker Tecno mobile is poised to introduce into the market a new pocket friendly device, a Smartphone that will retail for less than Sh9, 999. The aim, according to the firm, is to reach more young people who are tech savvy by providing them with advanced gadgets but at affordable prices. The new device boasts of special features such as 13MP rear/ 8MP front, F/2.0 dual cameras. The standard edition of the new series device will also come with a fingerprint sensor,…
Kenya’s immigration department has finally started to issue citizens with the new e-passports after holding off for two years. The new passports will allow freer movement and faster clearing at ports of entry and exit. The e-passports will differ from the old ones on the basis that they are going to have chips incorporated in them that will hold the passport holder’s biometric information. Holders of the old passports are allowed to use them for the next two years before they switch to the new generation ones. The upgrade will therefore first apply to those who are applying for the…
The National Bank of Kenya (NBK) and one of the leading digital money transfer services in the world, WorldRemit have entered into a partnership that will look to help Kenyans in the diaspora to make transfers back home much easier. The partnership will enable users of WorldRemit to make deposits straight to NBK accounts irrespective of whether they are held in Kenyan shillings or in US dollars. It also allows the users to be able to send money, which can be picked up from across the bank’s extensive branch network in terms of Kenya shillings. Ismail Ahmed, founder and CEO…
Businesses have failed to grow past their first eight months due to various reasons like bad debt, stiff competition from established businesses in the same line of products, poor market research by the owners before setting up, and most important cash flow problems. Those that have sustained past these early stages have either experienced hard economic times or never grown like the owners had initially anticipated. Kenyan businesses are mostly family owned, and with individuals mostly having limited sources of financing to grow or expand, it is important that they seek, despite the skeptics, other sources of financing to grow.…
Youtap, a global provider of contactless mobile payments and financial services software, has launched a QR code solution and Smartphone apps for mobile money services in Africa and Asia. Youtap’s solution enables customer or merchant-initiated QR code payments for smartphones and smart point-of-sale devices. The solution conforms to the BharatQR industry standard developed by Bharat, Mastercard and Visa. Youtap’s apps can be white-labelled and branded with the logo and colours of the mobile money service. The new solution gives any merchant or small business owner with a Smartphone the potential to download Youtap’s Merchant App, self-register, and start accepting mobile…
Women in Africa, according to a recent survey by Opera and Worldreader, use more data as compared to their male counterparts. Opera and Worldreader surveyed 1,500 women aged between 14 and 44 years in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria in the form of a poll and compared the results alongside Worldreader’s database of 50,000 app users from the respectively mentioned countries. The results made for interesting analysis especially between the male and female Internet users in the countries. Specifically for Kenya, close to half of the respondents proved that women spent over US $9.62 (Sh1000) on mobile data. With a…
Absa Bank Limited, a subsidiary of the Barclays Africa Group Ltd (BAGL) has successfully concluded a five year $100 million Special Facility Agreement with the China Development Bank (CDB). This is the first major transaction between the two lenders and is geared towards providing funding to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). This will also benefit BAGL’s existing and prospective SME clients across the continent, which will be reached through its 12-country presence. ding needs, and may be increased in the future to assist with new funding opportunities within BAGL’s operations. “We are glad to partner with CDB on this landmark…
eBay Inc. and Mall for Africa have announced a strategic partnership today that further boosts the sale of handmade African products into the United States. The partnership expands upon an existing relationship between the two companies, which allows Africans the ability to purchase items from eBayforAfrica.com or directly through the Mall for Africa app. The two global e-commerce giants will now provide Africans starting with Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and Rwanda a new platform to sell their one-of-a-kind artisan products into the U.S. The inventory will be surfaced on the Mall for Africa store on eBay.com, allowing sellers to expand their businesses and…
By David Wanjala Even before the August 28 plastic ban kicks in, there is already skepticism as to whether the hefty penalties imposed on offenders will guarantee its success. According to the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, the ban will see convicted offenders face a period of between one and four years imprisonment or a fine of between Sh2 million and Sh4 million. While the hefty punishment could make a case for deterrence, it’s not difficult to see why skeptics are adamant that this could open fresh avenues for corruption. For starters, the new guidelines have been poorly advertised. The…