Author: Newsroom

Corporate

Consumer lobby claims insurance companies in breach of law

The Consumer Federation of Kenya has filed a petition against the insurance regulator and a host of companies including Madisson Insurance, Xplico, Invesco, Monarch among others for collecting premiums without the capacity to settle claims. Cofek Secretary General Stephen Mutoro has gone to court alleging the regulator has allowed several companies to flout capital adequacy rules putting customer premiums at risk. The country has failed to strictly implement the capital adequacy ratios on insurance companies that would have led to consolidation of weak players. The previous regime under CS Ukur Yatai said the government slackened compliance on the back of Covid-19 challenges which has left

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Markets

KRA to onboard informal sector players into the tax net

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is developing policies and measures to bring thousands of small-scale businesses and players in the informal sector into the country’s tax system. The informal sector, mainly comprising SMEs, employs approximately 15 million people in Kenya, representing 83 percent of the country’s total labour force. KRA views this segment as having significant potential and aims to promote tax compliance within it. During the 2023 Annual Tax Summit, KRA’s Commissioner-General, Mr Humphrey Wattanga, stated, “One of the initiatives under KRA’s tax base expansion programme is netting the informal sector into the tax bracket, the majority of whom are the MSMEs. This, therefore,

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Corporate

Absa raises daily transaction cap on Timiza to Sh500,000

Absa Bank Kenya has announced an increase in transaction limits on its Timiza wallet, offering customers the chance to transact up to Kes500,000 per day. The move is aimed at offering customers more flexibility and convenience in managing their finances. With these new changes, the maximum amount one can transact in a single transaction on Timiza has been raised to Kes250,000 from Kes150,000. Additionally, the daily transaction limit has been increased to Kes500,000 from Kes300,000. Steve Omamo, Head of Digital Channels at Absa Bank Kenya, notes that this move aligns with recent adjustments in mobile money transaction limits and changing consumer preferences “Our key priority

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Technology

Safaricom paves the way to a tech-driven future for Kenya’s youth

Software developers in Kenya can now come up with secure and better-quality applications by tapping into various resources in the newly launched Safaricom Developer Portal. The web-based platform serves as a central hub for software developers, offering essential resources and tools to streamline the development process while improving their efficiency and productivity. Safaricom Developer Portal According to the telco giant, Safaricom Developer Portal provides a user-friendly and responsive interface that helps enhance the overall developer experience. Safaricom Developer Portal is one of the three latest offerings from the company unveiled during the second annual engineering summit dubbed Decode 2.0. The other new platforms are Entertainment

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Sports

KCB RFC ready to defend floodlit title

KCB RFC Head Coach Curtis Olago is exhuding confidence ahead of the Floodlit Rugby Tournament set to kick off on October 14, 2023, at the Impala Club. The bankers, who are the defending champions, will be out to defend their title as they take on Kenya Harlequin on Saturday evening in the opening round. The team has been bolstered with the additions of props Wilhite Mususi and Nick Okullo who joined the Thika-road side from Kenya Harlequin and Blak Blad respectively. “I am thrilled with the boys’ training so far as we gear up for the Floodlit tournament this weekend. We have been working so

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In Brief

Kitui to digitize services using myCounty App

Kitui has become the second county in the Eastern region after Makueni to launch the digitisation of its services through Safaricom-backed myCounty App platform. The platform will provide a range of services, including payment options for county services, revenue management systems, a citizen reporting and engagement tool, as well as solutions pertaining to agriculture, health, utility bills, and SME programs. Presently, myCounty app has seen over 400,000 users actively accessing county services across 11 onboarded counties. These counties include Nairobi, Makueni, Kitui, Busia, Samburu, Bomet, Narok, Kilifi, Uasin Gishu, Kajiado, and Elgeyo Marakwet. “Our vision is to enable counties to offer one-stop shop for their services and more

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Economy

From crop to cup: Logistics is key to revitalising Kenya’s coffee industry

Climate change and deforestation mean your morning cup of coffee may face extinction by 2050 according to reports from the Fairtrade Foundation, this comes at a time when the world’s demand for coffee is already outstripping supply. Logistics support for a booming Kenyan coffee industry has never been more critical to ensure the world’s demands for its morning cuppa are met, but also to grow the Kenyan economy. “Moving a coffee bean efficiently from a farm in rural Kenya to a coffee shop in central London is critical for the revival of the Kenyan coffee industry,” says Zaid Khammash, Managing Director, Operations, Kenya, at FedEx.

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In Brief

Six Immigration employees arrested over passport fraud

Six Department of Immigration Services employees, including an intern, as well as nine suspected brokers around the city centre have been arrested for their involvement in the corruption scandal surrounding passport issuance at Nyayo House, Nairobi. According to the DCI, the public and foreigners seeking passports and work permits were coerced into paying hefty bribes to access essential services. The rogue employees were exploiting a temporary system glitch at Nyayo House to line their pockets. They even deployed brokers around Nyayo House to lure desperate applicants and those with influence into securing special treatment. After investigation and profiling of suspects, detectives raided the Department of

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Markets

The final call: ILAM Fahari I-REIT redemption offer nears end

The ongoing redemption offer for the listed real estate investment trust, ILAM Fahari Real Estate Investment Trust (I-REIT), is set to conclude tomorrow, October 6th. Addressing the redemption offer period, which paves the way for the conversion process, Einstein Kihanda, CEO of ICEA LION Asset Management (ILAM), noted that following the closure, trading of the ILAM Fahari I-REIT will be temporarily suspended at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). This suspension will run from close of trading on Friday, October 6th, until Wednesday, October 25th, in line with the timetable outlined in the Conversion Offering Memorandum and the Public Notice dated August 29th, 2023. Premium offer

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Sports

KCB Golf Series heads to Machakos

The 14th leg of the KCB East Africa Golf Tour will be held at the 9-hole Machakos Golf Club this coming weekend. The morning action is expected to tee off at 7:00 am as 140 golfers brave the fairways to fight for the top two positions in a bid to qualify for the grand finale of the tour scheduled for next month at the Karen Country Club. The series has so far seen 12 teams book a spot in the Pro-Am event with the latest entries comprising Phylis Kisuna, J. Jesang, J. Cheruiyot, J. Kisuna, Phylis Kisuna, J. Jesang, J. Cheruiyot, and J. Kisuna joining the

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