Medical journal, Lancet Series, calls for standardisation of data, technology, and quality pre-natal information as national preventive measures to curb the high rate of early infant deaths and stillbirths that currently stand at 20% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Created through an international collaboration of a group of scientists, it estimates that 566,000 stillbirths and 5.2 million preterm or underweight births could be prevented each year by implementing eight accessible and cost-effective pregnancy interventions in low-and-middle-income countries, with the estimated cost of implementing these measures stands at $1.1 billion by the year 2030. “As a government and especially with the devolution of…
Author: Antony Mutunga
Antony Mutunga
Antony Mutunga holds a Bechalor’s degree in Commerce, Finance from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He previously worked for Altic Investment & Consultancy before he joined NBM team in 2015. His interest in writing ranges from business, economics and technology. He is also our lead researcher in matters business.
Listed electrical cables and conductor manufacturer, East African Cables, has lauded growing support for local manufacturers from Kenya Power as part of a strategy to enhance reliable electrical power distribution. According to the cable manufacturer’s chief executive, Paul Muigai, Kenya Power has steadily increased its efforts to avail procurement opportunities for local manufacturers as part of the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BeTA). Speaking when he confirmed the dispatch of the first batch of Sh 232 million electrical cables and conductor’s consignment to Kenya Power, Muigai said sustained placing of orders with local manufacturers will have a positive ripple effect…
On September 13, 2022, President William Ruto took the oath of office as Kenya’s fifth president, with a raft of ‘good promises’, but one year on, he has scored a C plain rating, with his deputy Rigathi Gachagua managing a performance rating of 47% in a recent poll released by Infotrak. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki took the best minister spot with a score of 59%, followed by Education’s Ezekiel Machogu at 55%, as Transport’s Kipchumba Murkomen, Agriculture Mithika Lintui and Health’s Susan Nakhumicha all recording an average performance of 53%. The poll, which comes amid soaring price of goods…
By Antony Mutunga T wo decades ago, most Kenyans were locked out of the credit market. As service providers, primarily digital lenders, entered the unexploited space, a high appetite for credit followed as financial inclusion grew. It resulted in high-interest rates and low access to credit, thereby attracting the attention of investors and stakeholders, with the Kenyan parliament passing a bill that imposed a cap on interest rates in September 2016. True, but the cap did not last, as authorities came to terms with the fact that it reduced the chances of private sector players accessing credit, leading to an…
By Antony Mutunga For years, Kenya has retained her position as the leading country in East Africa. The economy has been attracting investors and international organizations to her shores, making her the favourite destination in Eastern Africa. No wonder, the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) is the UN’s headquarters in Africa and one of four main UN secretariat duty stations. This shows how important Kenya’s position is to rest of world not only in the East Africa region, but Africa as a whole. With about 80% of East African regional trade passing through Kenya’s Mombasa Port, the country’s dominance…
BY SILAS APOLLO County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee is worried about Sh71 million debt choking the Muranga County-owned water companies, warning they risk crippling their operations. In particular, the committee singled out Murang’a Water and Sanitation Company (Muwasco) whose debt has grown exponentially in the last three years – from Sh60 million in December 2020, the company’s debt had jumped to Sh71 million as of January 2023, surging by an additional Sh5 million to stand at Sh76 million by July 2023. When Governor Irungu Kangata appeared before the committee last week, he was given seven days to submit…
The training, done jointly with the USAID Tumikia Mtoto Programme and the World Vision Kenya, seeks to empower young and vulnerable women by providing them with skills in areas such as electrical, paintwork and plumbing works BY SILAS APOLLO Over 2000 young people are set to benefit from technical and vocational training in construction through a Sh60 million investment by the Family Bank’s arm, the Family Group Foundation. The training, done jointly with the USAID Tumikia Mtoto Programme and the World Vision Kenya, seeks to empower young and vulnerable women by providing them with skills in areas such as electrical,…
Need to empower women drivers inspires a partnership between Isuzu and Bamburi cement By Mumbi Mutoko Isuzu East Africa and Bamburi Cement join forces in an effort to uplift women in the trucking industry. Dubbed “Women on Wheels”, the program aims at fostering driving expertise, expand job opportunities, and fortify road safety across the country. In her address at a recent Isuzu Drivers Academy’s fifth graduation ceremony, Rita Kavashe, the managing director of Isuzu EA, highlighted the advantage of skills, and why the ripples of their collaboration extend beyond certification, and signifies a firm step towards gender equality, industry advancement,…
The Parliament of Kenya in conjunction with the African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) will host the Sixth Annual African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) Conference in Mombasa this month BY SILAS APOLLO The forum focuses on experience sharing and is expected to help lift Africa’s economic development. It also seeks to debate the future of Parliamentary Budget Offices (PBOs), and will be coordinated by the Parliamentary Budget Office. The event is scheduled to run from August 27 to September 1, 2023, and is set to be opened and presided over by the Speaker of the National Assembly,…
Kenyan businesses suffered a marked fall in demand at the start of the third quarter of the year, latest Stanbic bank Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data shows BY SILAS APOLLO The PMI data, released by Stanbic Bank Kenya, shows that the demands fell for most businesses as customers continued to reduce their spending amidst steep inflation. Political protests also accelerated the downturn, according to surveyed firms, leading to a sharp contraction in output that was the fastest since August last year. Meanwhile, a deterioration in the exchange rate and reports of rising fuel prices and taxes culminated in another substantial…