BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Financial institutions have started to see a glimpse of recovery in their books following a tough period as a result of the pandemic. In the year ending December 2022, banks listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange such as KCB, NCBA, Absa, DTB, Equity, Stanbic, Housing Finance, Standard Chartered, I&M, and Co-operative Bank, managed a combined pre-tax profit of Sh213.3 billion, taking home 83.3% of the total profits recorded in the Kenyan banking sector. Competition among the top commercial banks has also been high as KCB overtook Equity to become the largest lender in the country by asset…
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.
Motor vehicle dealers CFAO Motors Kenya, formerly Toyota Kenya, and DT Dobie have merged their operations to become one entity to increase efficiencies and grow market share. CFAO Motors Kenya said that the respective businesses of CFAO and DT Dobie, which holds the Mercedes brands franchise in the country, will be run under one entity – CFAO Motors Kenya. The companies have been operating independently for a decade despite their common ownership after Japanese conglomerate Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) acquired trading firm CFAO Group in December 2012, taking over its many subsidiaries in Africa including DT Dobie. “The internal restructure brings…
A financial and capital markets fintech investment group, 42Markets has secured Sh1.3bn ($10mn) growth funding from Convergence Partners, a private equity investor dedicated to the technology sector across sub-Saharan Africa, after it recently closed its Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) at Sh40.2bn ($296mn). “This is a real vote of confidence in the positive impact investment in digital financial infrastructure can have, both in developing and in mature markets,” 42Markets Group CEO Andries Brink says. Mr Brink notes that the most mature of the Group’s businesses is capital markets services and advisory firm Andile (UK,), that brings deep market and…
Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, popular as ChatGPT and Google’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, are some AI technology receiving attention for their detailed responses and articulate answers across many spheres. While developed countries have integrated the two technologies, Africa has not been left behind in the race – a number of African countries have already invested in AI and are working to intergrate it in different sectors. According to an AI readiness index released by Oxford Insights, there are 10 African countries in the “top 100 countries” which are ready to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) in an effort to deliver…
Despite Kenya having more than 380 Digital Credit Providers (DCPs), access to credit has remained a challenge for many small businesses in the country, with players blaming the bad precedence on predatory practices. However, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is beginning to streamline the industry. The regulator has licensed 12 more digital credit providers, a move that has seen the number of licenced digital lenders rise from 10 to 22, following the licensing of the first 10 in September last year. This means 359 DCPs that applied for licenses last year (since March 2022) are still inactive – CBK…
The depreciation trend of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar is worrying. Since the start of this year, the shilling has been weakening thanks to growing demand of the US currency initiated by importers and oil companies. Today, the dollar demand is higher than the supply with the Kenyan shilling hitting a historic low of Sh124, an indication that the demand will continue placing the Kenyan shilling under pressure as key export earners experience reduced dollar inflows. People who import petroleum products, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, machinery, medicine, wheat, and clothing should be worried about the weakening shilling – importers will…
Fast moving consumer goods company, Unilever has been crowned the top employer in Kenya by the Top Employers Institute for the seventh time. Unilever led the food and beverages manufacturing sector list of the top 100 employers followed by Nestle Kenya Limited. Other firms on the list include Safaricom, Absa Bank, DHL Express Kenya, and TransUnion. Unilever Kenya’s managing director, Luck Ochieng’ said the firm aims at creating a favourable environment of mutual trust and respect for their employees to enable them to exploit their best potential. “Our goal is to create a brighter future for all,” Mr. Ochieng said.…
A look at the good side of a weaker currency. Since mid-last year, the Kenyan shilling has continued to drop against the dollar due to global uncertainties created by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. As of October 20, the exchange rate of the shilling was about Sh121.60. In June 2021, the exchange rate dropped to Sh108. This has raised the price of imports, thus setting the stage for the price of all ranges of imported goods to increase, from electronics to furniture, motorbikes to vehicles, and second-hand clothes. As demand for the dollar continues to rise, analysts see a…
By Antony Mutunga For a long time, Africa took a back seat when it came to technology as the continent would follow and never lead in the sector. By leapfrogging the use of plastic money and going straight for mobile money, which is widely accepted in most countries, Africa will benefit going forward. African tech companies are currently pushing their way into the world economic forum technology pioneers’ list, an assembly of leading high growth firms from around the world that are pioneering new technologies and innovations. Like 2021, the 2022 list did not disappoint – African tech start-ups were…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Amref Health Africa and AstraZeneca, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), launch a fleet of Mobile Vaccination Clinics (MVCs) in an effort to protect last-mile communities from the pandemic. As of June 17, 2022, 31.4% of the adult population in Kenya were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while Africa’s average vaccination rate is 17.7% lagging behind other world regions. Each of the 10 mobile clinics are set to help vaccinate 70 to 100 people per day reaching up to 1,000 people (on a daily basis) once they are fully operational. The initiative will also help to…