BY PETER WANYONYI Kenya goes to the ballot box in a couple of months. Come election time, two things are guaranteed – one, that there will be long queues of voters snaking out of polling stations and on for hundreds of metres at every polling station save for the country’s sparsely populated north. Two, and more important, there will be massive disagreements come results announcement time. Not a single losing candidate around the country will accept the verdict of the returning officer. The reasons will be varied, but they will revolve around one fact: no one, not even the Electoral…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY MARTIN MULI The unprecedented growth in digital communication has undoubtedly given Kenyans a platform for political activism. With the General Election barely three months away and intense political activities on the social networks, it is safe to conclude that social media’s influence in the polls will be much stronger than before. The impact of social media as a tool of political engagement is already being felt profoundly with the growth in the various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Youtube. According to the latest annual report, “The State of the Internet in Kenya 2016” by…
BY VICTOR ADAR There’s a lot of good things going for a young man who was once looked down upon after failing form four exams. Author of The Betrayed Nation, which is a drama of gambling with politics and violence, and currently riding on the latest book, The Raila Conspiracy, Babior Newton is one guy profiting from what many young people would find a great discomfort venturing into. Hearing his name would make you think that the creative author is some guy from South Sudan, or some fellow running funny cloth line from Lagos to Nairobi. But that is not…
BY NBM WRITER Governments across Africa, private sector actors, donors and development partners were recently urged to step up efforts to accelerate Africa’s path to prosperity, inclusive growth and decent jobs creation by moving from agricultural commitments to action. The call was made at the official unveiling of Côte d’Ivoire as the host of this year’s African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), hailed as premier continental agriculture gathering, to be held on 4-8 September 2017. The West African nation, a leading agricultural powerhouse and a hub of expertise in improving smallholder farming, will be the first francophone African country to host the annual Forum.…
By ANTONY MUTUNGA and David Wanjala Real estate has been a boom in Kenya for a while now, contributing 7.6% of the GDP. Investors have been bringing up buildings with the aim of satisfying the growing population that demands almost 250,000 housing units per year. However, with the prices of houses having gone up over the years, most people have turned away from high-end buildings to apartments. According to the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) Housing Price Index, in the fourth quarter of 2016, apartments accounted for 60% of total sales while Maisonettes and bungalows accounted for 23% and 17% respectively.…
By Kosta Kioleoglou Over the last few years, Kenya’s economy has been growing with an impressing pace. At an average growth rate of over 5%, Kenya seems to be unstoppable. People think that there is only one way that the country can move towards, and that is forward. Real estate is considered as one of the main pillars supporting Kenya’s growth. Truth is that property market has been outperforming most of the other sectors of the economy. Unfortunately, growth rate alone is not enough as an economic measurement to prove real prosperity. Several other economic data are equally important as…
African Media Agency (AMA) Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading pan-African multilateral development finance institution and project developer, has issued a $500 million 7-year Eurobond. The senior unsecured Eurobond, which carries a coupon of 3.875% was priced to yield 4.000% and matures in April 2024. The Eurobond received strong global interest, with an order book of $2.4 billion, representing about five times over-subscription from 231 investors across the Middle East, Asia, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. Prior to the launch of the bond, AFC conducted a road show in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, and the…
By Jaafar S. Abdulkadir Corporate governance continues to be a relevant subject of discussion globally owing to the deregulation of markets, the rise of institutional investors and the continuing integration of world economies. There has never been stronger emphasis on promoting the collective interests of stakeholders, and not just the narrow interests of shareholders, than there is now. The economic and financial crisis that plagues the markets from time to time may be attributed to loose governance, which blurs the separation of roles between those who own the business entities and those who manage these entities. Good corporate governance helps…
By Victor Adar There has been a sharp decline on growth of banks after interest rates capping law took effect last year. But amidst the unfavourable business environment, KCB Group takes the top position as the most attractive bank pushing Equity from top to position three thanks to a strong franchise value and intrinsic value score as per latest Cytonn Investments banking report. The franchise score measures the broad and comprehensive business strength of the company and the intrinsic score measures the investor return potential. National Bank ranked lowest in both franchise and intrinsic value score. Themed Consolidation & resilience in a challenging…
BY FRANCIS MONYANGO It is no secret that technology has disrupted the media industry. In the past few years, media houses have downscaled operations, leading to many loss of jobs and have also changed their approach and joined the muddy battle for clicks. Every media house now has an online news blog even though the quality of news that they post leaves a lot to be desired. In this new age, media houses do not just compete amongst themselves but also against blogs for traffic. As they say, all is fair in love and war. In this war, a huge…