Sidian Bank has appointed former Cabinet Secretary during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime, James Macharia, as its chairman. He takes over from Centum Investment Company Group CEO Dr. James Mworia, who will remain on the lender’s board. Mr. Macharia, a veteran accountant who began his career in Deloitte’s Tax Consultancy Division as a consultant chartered accountant in London before returning to Kenya in 1989, has held high-level positions across accountancy, consultancy, financial management, merchant and commercial banking, general management, and cabinet-level public service. He joined the African Banking Corporation from Standard Chartered Bank, eventually becoming Managing Director of the Zambian and…
Author: Victor Adar
Victor Adar
Victor Adar is a seasoned journalist with a Diploma in Mass Communication (Print) from the Technical University of Mombasa. He has previously worked with Reuters, Go Places travel magazine, and Aden Associates International. Since joining NBM in 2012, he has become a key member of the editorial team, covering enterprise, corporate affairs, HR, and technology.
Consumer goods company, PZ Cussons East Africa has started doubling down on its investment in production, distribution, innovation, and placing greater emphasis on the younger Generation Z and Millennials aged below 35 in what would see it invest Sh150 million over the next one year. The firm’s move responds to rapid evolution in consumer behaviour in its personal care category, where younger shoppers experiment more, demand a wider range of scents and formats, and adopt new brands and innovations faster than older cohorts. This redirection also follows factors such as changing market tastes, channel redesign, and portfolio refocusing. “Our research…
Kenya and Senegal have inked a deal allowing visa free travel for 90 days for all passport holders from the two countries in bid to power tourism and trade. The bilateral agreement, signed on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 21 at State House, Nairobi, between Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Senegal’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Niang, will also lift up diplomatic and economic relations between the two nations. The arrangement applies to holders of both diplomatic and ordinary passports and is expected to promote travel, trade, and cultural exchange. “We recognise the foundations that already exist between our two…
The government has declared Friday, October 17, 2025, a public holiday in honour of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who passed away on Wednesday, October 15, while receiving medical treatment in India. The declaration means Kenyans will enjoy an extended four-day weekend, as the Mashujaa Day celebrations will follow on Monday, October 20, at the Ithookwe Stadium in Kitui County. In a gazette notice issued on Thursday, October 16, Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced the holiday, citing powers granted under Section 3 of the Holidays Act. “In exercise of powers conferred in Section 3…
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died while receiving treatment in India, officials have confirmed. He was one of Kenya’s most prominent political figures. Indian authorities said Odinga was walking normally at an Ayurvedic medical facility with family members and his personal doctor “when he suddenly collapsed.” He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at around 9:53 a.m. Indian Time on Wednesday, October 15, 2025. His body will be moved to the Government Medical College Hospital for a postmortem examination. Odinga sparked controversy weeks ago when it emerged that he was in India, as speculation…
Kenya Power has reported an 18.7% decline in profit to Sh24.47 billion for the financial year 2024/25, down from Sh30.08 billion in the previous year. This drop is attributed to lower electricity tariffs that offset the gains from higher unit sales and improved system efficiencies. Despite the decline, the company will pay a final dividend of Sh0.80 per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to Sh1 per share. During the year, the overall cost of sales decreased by 4%, resulting in savings of Sh5.94 billion. These savings were largely due to the stability of the Kenyan shilling against…
Kenya has recorded more than 205 million spam short messages (SMS) messages, as per Airtel Africa’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered detection service, Spam Alert. Tanzania and Zambia come second and third place with 47 million and 33 million messages, respectively. “This free service is yet another demonstration of our commitment to consistently innovate to deliver an unmatched experience and safer network to our customers,” Airtel Africa CEO, Sunil Taldar, said. The service, which is available to all subscribers at no cost, identifies and prefixes the SMS with “SPAM Alert” and provides real-time updates, with the immediate impact being the elimination of…
UNESCO, in partnership with the Aga Khan University (AKU) Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC), has concluded a two-day training programme for editors, media managers, regulators, and representatives from journalists’ associations across Kenya to strengthen the capacity of local newsroom leaders to combat misinformation and disinformation. The programme, titled “Promoting Gender-transformative Media and Information Literacy Competencies in Kenyan Newsrooms,” was delivered under the UNESCO-backed “Social Media 4 Peace” initiative. Participants gained practical skills in fact-checking and verification, as well as integrating gender-transformative media and information literacy (MIL) policies into newsroom practices in Kenyan media. The training emphasized how editorial…
The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) has launched the Centre for Sustainable Finance and Enterprise Development (CSFED) in partnership with WWF-Kenya, GIZ, and IUCN to encourage banks to develop solutions that support sustainable growth for society and the environment. The centre aims to promote sustainable finance practices within the banking sector and support MSME transformation through capacity building and improved access to finance. KBA chief executive Raimond Molenje emphasized that the centre will play a key role in greening the financial system and supporting enterprise development in Kenya. He stated, “We are committed to supporting the industry in advancing the sustainable…
With a record high of 42 million people facing acute food insecurity this year across Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda, according to the latest Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Regional Focus of the 2025 Global Report, it is time to shift focus to tackling food crises once and for all. The number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity in the six African countries has tripled – from 13.9 million in 2016 during the first edition of the Global Report on Food Crises to 41.7 million in 2025. Sudan and South Sudan are the largest…