BY BARNABAS ONYONKA Very strange! The guy from Central Bank will tell you it is bad. The expert and the economist will tell you as a country, we are ‘walking on a slippery slope’. The politician will tell you if the trend continues ‘the country is headed for the dogs.’ The general consensus of the common mwananchi is that it is not good. All these opposing opinions but the President borrows anyway. Why so? You may ask. Well, I will tell you why. Public opinion is shaped by what the politicians are saying; politicians are merely echo aloud what the…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Nation Media Group (NMG) has shut down Nation Hela, its international money transfer unit launched five years ago to profit from the growing diaspora remittances from Kenyans living abroad. The service has been struggling to get the critical numbers needed to make it profitable since its launch in August 2012, with competition from international money services like MoneyGram, Western Union and mobile transfers finally pulverizing it. A circular from Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), the holding bank, to accountholders last week indicated that the Nation Hela card services will be discontinued on May 31 2017. The biggest beneficiary of this product failure…
Large scale datacentre investment opportunities are increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa as key commercial hubs benefit from the critical combination of high quality international backbone infrastructure (subsea cable) connectivity and mushrooming local demand for data, say investment leaders. Michael Tobin OBE, former chief executive of data center operator Telecity, who is a key speaker at the upcoming TMT Finance Africa 2017 event in London, said there is massive potential for data centre investment in Sub-Saharan Africa and conditions in three markets especially standout. “Clearly South Africa is the core environment,” said Tobin. “We’re just starting to see the big boys go…
There is a growing number of Kenyans who would go for an investment which attracts little amounts, then as trust develops, they top up all big amounts they want on either daily basis, weekly or every month. You could be on maternity leave and thinking of ways to generate passive income, or on a poorly paying day job that makes it tricky to get involved on something which can generate some income on the side. But now things are changing, so it seems, with most financial institutions turning to the long forgotten low–income lot with competitive investment products. Money managers…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA A four century old relationship has been rekindled between Kenya and Oman after the latter’s national carrier, Oman Air, officially launched its four times weekly flight from Muscat to Nairobi in March. The company entered the market offering fair prices of $350 to Muscat and $485 to Guangzhou, making it a good time for travellers who are going to the regions. The move is likely to strengthen political, social and economical ties between the two countries. This is vital to the relationship between the U.A.E and Kenya as it comes at a time when the Kenyan government…
Africa’s largest airline group, Ethiopian Airlines, has inaugurated the reopening of Abuja Airport on April 18, 2017 with its latest technology and the most modern Airplane, the Airbus A350-900. From henceforth the state of the art airplane will operate the scheduled service on the Addis Ababa Abuja route. Following this move Ethiopian Group CEO, Mr Tewolde GebreMariam said; “As a veteran Pan African airline, it has always been our source of pride to connect our beloved continent of Africa together and beyond. Our presence in Nigeria dates back to the 1960’s, the same time the Federal Republic of Nigeria gained…
Moses Musyoka Muthui is the new Head of Strategy and Business Management at Barclays Kenya, joining the Kenyan branch from the Barclays Capital, in the United States, where he served as a Wall Street investment banker. In this newly created role, Mr Muthui will help build and coordinate a holistic business strategy working with the business and unit heads, who continue to own and drive execution of their respective strategies. The fact that he is not new to the Kenyan branch as it is where he started his rise in the corporate ladder 10 years ago; he is expected to…
CourierPlus Logistics, one of the continent’s best logistics and distribution services company, recently opened up shop in Kenya with the aim of helping its customers compete in the market through revitalizing their businesses. Operating globally, the company brings with it expertise, experience and competency that are helpful to different clients in their respective fields. For instance, the company targets clients from sectors like government, financial services, telecommunications as well as manufacturing. Mr Tokunbo Talabi, Courierplus Africa President, says, “Courierplus, as a Pan African company, understands that most countries are predominantly net importers and as such we endeavor to offer solutions…
Almasi Beverages Limited, a manufacturer and distributor of Coca Cola products, has taken delivery of ten Mercedes Actros trucks supplied by DT Dobie to boost the distribution of soft drinks to wholesalers in the Rift Valley, Central and Western Kenya. A team of executives and drivers from Almasi Beverages headed by James Mworia, chairman and Joyce Macharia, CEO, collected the fleet of trucks from Mike Duder, DT Dobie general sales manager for Mercedes Benz commercial vehicles and John Ngugi, a sales representative. Almasi Beverages Limited was incorporated in 2012 following the merger of three Coca-Cola franchise bottlers; Kisii Bottlers Limited…
BY NBM WRITER The general norm for young graduates is to spend the next few months after school mailing resumes to anyone that looks like a potential employer. But In a country where patronage seems to hold sway over qualification or ability, this is often a frustrating exercise. Economics graduate Ian Mati is among a growing number of young Kenyans who have decided not to take this route. At 23, Mati is the founder and CEO of Vintara – a successful accessory brand focusing on the sale of bags, shoes and neckpieces but with a touch of vintage and ankara…