By Dr Sulaiman Shahabbudin Aga Khan University (AKU), in four decades since its beginning, has grown to become an international institution with campuses and programmes in six countries that include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom. The University’s academic agenda is diverse from medicine and nursing, to journalism, educational development, Muslim civilisations, arts and sciences, and more. AKU also operates a health system comprising 7 hospitals across 3 countries. Forty years ago today, on March 16, 1983, the institution was born out of the vision of its founder and Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan. It was…
Author: Ruqaiah Al Meri
By Boniface AbudhoA major challenge that African markets face is the shortage of affordable housing. In Kenya, for example, the demand for housing is estimated at 250,000 units per year, while only 50,000 new units are being supplied annually, leading to an 80% annual housing deficit. The government’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) has not achieved its target of providing 500,000 units; only less than 10% of the intended units had been delivered by 2022.In Egypt, more than 12 million people live in informal housing. This problem is not unique to Africa, a continent which has a population of approximately 1.4…
By Peter Harris It is noteworthy that the East African regional real estate sector registered a positive recovery in 2021 and is continuing with the growth momentum this year. Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, for instance, have witnessed a resurgence in demand for new office spaces, which is back to pre-pandemic levels. These two cities are showing signs of a gradual return in business confidence. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Kenya’s real estate sector grew by 5.2% in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the 3.7% growth recorded over a similar period in 2020. Data from the…
By Peter Harris Over several decades, we have watched as technology has revolutionized commerce, communication, information, transportation and most recently, fintech. Yet real estate, the largest global investor class ($32 trillion), remains in the comparatively early stages of tech adoption. But we should not be in any doubt – the data revolution is coming fast. Commercial real estate is undergoing a paradigm shift, with technology finally catching up with the market’s needs, forever altering what was once an established playing field. One only needs to think about the retail market before Amazon, how Facebook changed the advertising industry, or the…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA The number of consumers who depend on remittances is expected to rise in the next 12 months amidst high cost of living and inflation. Remittances to and from Africa will see a rise in the next twelve months.According to Western Union’s inaugural Global Money Transfer Index, which was conducted in five countries; Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Senegal, the majority of Africa’s consumers (62%) receive money transfers at least once a month or more while 59% send funds across borders at the same rate. In the next 12 months, 78% expect an increase in these remittances.…
BY NBM WRITER A majority of individuals are attempting to create wealth through savings and credit cooperatives thanks to the fact that one can never grow until he/she invests. Suppose you have made the wise decision of saving and investing for your future, where would you put your money? In a Co-operative Society, a Savings and Credit Co-operative Society, or, maybe, both? Before deciding where to put your cash, it is important to understand the difference between the two – co-operative societies and Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (SACCOs) are often misunderstood by some people and used interchangeably. However, they…
… and the causes of dollar demand-supply mismatch By Ephraim Njega The talk about dollar shortages has been with us for some time now, with fuel and oil importers saying that the deep in supply of the US currency is crippling their business – a debate as to whether the shortage is real, or it is due to market manipulation is still on-going. There are both fundamental and sentimental issues which can affect the supply of dollars. When the Covid-19 happened, prices of commodities in the global markets rose sharply. This meant that we needed more dollars to import the…