By Alex Owiti The recent tech layoffs have taken the world by a surprise. Over 150,000 employees have been terminated from their jobs in an unanticipated manner within the tech industry, in spite of their global size and astronomical revenues. Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Amazon, Salesforce, NetApp, Twitter, Spotify, and Microsoft are some of the big tech firms that have recently streamlined their human resource capacity because of jittery about the looming global recession. What could be the issue? Are the layoffs warranted? Even though the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia War, Climate change, inflation, and other macroeconomic elements…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY MUMBI MUTUKO An engineer is proving that it’s possible to turn fish waste to fertilizer. Michael Ibuba an Aeronautical engineer by profession launched an aquaponics farm which he turned into a full-blown business. In 2015,Mr. Ibuba started an Aquaponics farm, a method of growing plants and fish in a symbiotic environment, where the waste produced by fish is used as a fertilizer for the plants and the plants, in turn, clean the water for the fish. In Aquaponics, he says, ammonia, a by-product of fish, is not taken at face value – the growth beds where vegetables are grown…
Why would an investment company spend colossal amount of cash on buying its own shares? Here are five reasons Nairobi Securities Exchange listed firm, Centum Investment opened its share buyback offer on February 6, 2023 after an approval from its shareholders and the Capital Markets Authority in an effort to stabilize the company’s share price which has fallen from Sh80 in September 2014 to Sh9 as of February 9. The company has set aside Sh600.8 million to go towards buying 66.5 million shares from its shareholders within a period of 18 months, with a maximum share price set at Sh9.03…
By Robert Ochieng I always get questions from first-time Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) investors regarding shares to buy. So, I was not caught flat-footed when my younger sister approached me with numerous queries about opening a brokerage account. After reassuring her that one can never be too young to start investing, I threw more layers of questions to her: What is your risk tolerance? What is your long-term goal? What company do you really love and believe in? How does the company’s balance sheet look? Does it pay a dividend? Does it have a moat? A moat, as popularized by Warren Buffet, the richest…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has asked all employers to immediately comply with the NSSF Act No. 45 of 2013, which is set to increase monthly pension contributions from Sh200 to Sh2,160. This is after the Court of Appeal ruled that the Act is legal. As per the new law, the statutory ceiling is set at 12% of the pensionable wages made up of two equal portions of 6% from the employee, and 6% from the employer subject to an upper limit of Sh2,160 for employees whose incomes are above Sh18,000. “The rates to be implemented are…
The talk about higher retirement contributions is misplaced under the current circumstances By Ephraim Njega National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act of 2013, which sought to increase monthly contributions from Sh200 to Sh2,000, is now legal after Appeal Court judges Hannah Okwengu, Mohamed Warsame and John Mativo ruled that the government will start deducting the new rates. The reinstated law is timely in the context that adequate retirement income is what will transform peoples’ living standards at old age. However, to make social security work, more reforms are needed at NSSF than money. In Africa, social security systems were guaranteed…
The improved revenue collection comes as technology has enhanced the customs operations’ effectiveness, consequently improving national revenue Kenya’s customs officials have enabled the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to surpass its revenue target by enabling “legitimate trade without hindrances” and preventing threats posed by organized crime, smugglers, fraudsters, terrorists, and even goods that could endanger the citizenry. KRA surpassed its revenue target after collection in the financial year (FY) 2021-2022 hit Sh2.031 trillion. During the same period, customs and border control also collected Sh728.530 billion surpassing a target of Sh702.823 billion, which is a growth of 16.6%, and a surplus collection…
By Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u andProf. Théophile T. Azomahou The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a profound setback after a quarter-century of economic and social progress. Insecurity and political instability are becoming pervasive across Africa. The Russian-Ukrainian war is exposing millions of people to food insecurity, and the most vulnerable are the hardest hit as a large share of their income is spent on food and transport. This is compounded by a harsh drought in the horn of Africa that has affected food supply and food security. In parallel to these shocks that will likely have lasting consequences, African economies still suffer from…
Environmental, social and governance disclosure regulations are being enhanced around the world and locally, particularly for listed firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange Businesses that strive to maintain responsible corporate citizenship standards are bound not only to track and measure their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impacts, but to be transparent about them through public disclosures. ESG is ultimately a framework upon which companies develop and deploy their sustainability initiatives, including identifying, assessing and managing risks that emanate from social and environmental issues within their entire value and supply chains. As a university student in the early 1990’s the compulsory…
BY CATHY SMITH T he defining leadership challenge of 2023 will be navigating the silent war brewing between employers and employees. “What war?”, you may ask. Perhaps it is easier to explain it as a series of battles happening on many work fronts. The US and other developed markets are facing a challenge that has been dubbed “the great resignation”. Post pandemic, many people are taking stock of their lives and realizing that in the relentless pursuit of career success, they have lost perspective on what really matters. Hours spent behind laptops and steering wheels on long travels, for example,…
