BY VICTOR ADAR In what seemed like changing the narrative, a number of innovators more recently converged at a Nairobi hotel to demystify the role that innovation hubs will play to accelerate startups. The aim was to bring all stakeholders in the entrepreneurship support ecosystem together in order to provide an avenue through which they would dialogue and debate on different matters that affect the entrepreneurship ecosystem, while growing the innovation space. It was part of the partnership between the Association of Startup and SME Enablers Kenya (ASSEK) and Make IT Africa tech entrepreneurship initiative that aims at jointly developing…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a highly volatile and uncertain environment for businesses resulting in a litany of new or heightened risks for directors and officers (D&O) as well as exacerbating the situation in an already strained D&O insurance market, according to the new report Directors and Officers Insurance Insights 2021 from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). Rising insolvency exposures, growing cyber security threats and persistent securities class action activity are among the key risks for which D&Os of companies could be held liable. In 2021, companies also need to be on guard against “event-driven litigation” which can be…
BY VICTOR ADAR It is a hot Monday mid-morning at the open-air food area on top of Prestige Mall on Ngong road as Esther Wanjoga Otieno talks about simplifying shoe search for big foot individuals. She is the CEO and founder of Feet First Footwear; a company that focuses mainly on big shoes size. Mrs Otieno says her grandfather had heavy bones, as well as big foot, genes that she picked. At an early age, her foot was literally growing faster than her body so much that at class 8 she was already wearing size 10 shoes. There was no…
With less than a decade to meet global energy goals, new research from Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) shows that energy access finance continues to be significantly off-track to meet 2030 targets. The challenge is particularly significant in Sub-Saharan African countries, where finance levels are inadequate and in some cases not being directed to the areas of greatest need. This year’s Energizing Finance research series – produced in partnership with Climate Policy Initiative and South Pole – reveals that, yet again, finance levels for electricity and clean cooking remain far below the investment required to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 – access…
Serviced apartments within the Nairobi Metropolitan Area (NMA) recorded an average rental yield of 7.6% in 2019, 0.2% points higher than the 7.4% recorded in 2018. This was attributed to a 2.3% increase in monthly charges per SQM, from Sh2,742 in 2018 to Sh2,806 in 2019, fuelled by the continued demand for serviced apartments by both guests on business and leisure travels. The improved performance was overally supported by the stable political environment and improved security, thus making Nairobi an ideal destination for both business and holiday travellers. The hospitality sector was the worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as…
Almost one year after the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the deep economic recession it has triggered continues to have profound economic and social consequences. While no nation has emerged unscathed, this year’s Global Competitiveness Report finds that countries with advanced digital economies and digital skills, robust social safety nets and previous experience dealing with epidemics have better managed the impact of the pandemic on their economies and citizens. As the global economy recovers, the opportunity exists for countries to expand their focus beyond a narrow return to growth. The Global Competitiveness Report Special Edition 2020: How Countries are Performing on the…
BY VICTOR ADAR The damage caused by the second wave of Covid-19 seems to vary from nation to nation as per a survey by GeoPoll, a provider of remote and mobile-based research solutions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In November, it found that 43% of 3,000 respondents reporting their emotional wellbeing had declined in 2020. While this has led to a far greater degree of disruption to normal routines, Kenya is the most widely affected financially and emotionally by the pandemic, reporting extensive income cuts and distress compared to Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and…
The Kenya Government has reiterated its commitment in implementing international standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes as part of a national effort to curb tax evasion and illicit financial flows. Speaking at the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes Plenary virtual meeting, National Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Julius Muia assured global tax administration players that Kenya is on course to implement automatic exchange of information protocols on tax matters by September 2022. Kenya, Dr Muia told the Global Forum delegates, has taken decisive steps in implementing the international standards of…
Core Earnings per Share recorded a weighted decline of 32.4% in Q3’2020, compared to a weighted growth of 8.7% recorded in Q3’2019. As reported by most of the banks, the decline in the earnings was mainly attributable to the increased provisioning levels, as they covered for downgraded facilities, with the expectations of an increase in defaults across sectors on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic. Asset quality for listed banks deteriorated in Q3’2020, with the gross NPL ratio rising by 2.6% points to 12.4% from 9.8% in Q3’2019, and higher than the 5-year average of 8.5%. The banking sector was…
By NBM Writer Academic, activist and politician Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o is a man who straddles defining events of several generations – defined by the lives and ideals of early liberation leaders and reformers in colonial Kenya, he became a political activist and in post-independence Kenya during President Daniel Moi’s regime, which he continues in the present-day as the Governor of Kisumu County. Born in Ratta, Kisumu, Prof Nyong’o completed his undergraduate studies at Uganda’s Makerere University in 1971, where he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science. During his time in Makerere, he served as Guild…