Author: James Wambua

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FeaturedNews
James Wambua

The last of touch and feel readers

Just like dinosaurs such as myself are transitioning from physical newspapers to the digital world, the future of the traditional medium appears as uncertain as the old media. Early this year, the giant US online retailer Amazon ceased offering subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. The giant online retailer did not provide a reason for this sudden action, though it is evident that fewer and fewer individuals are subscribing to these services. Consequently, continuing to support subscribers for Amazon would have been a financially unwise decision. The sale of news subscriptions has historically proven challenging for many medium-sized organizations, including those here in Kenya. Therefore, the…

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IMF
MarketsNews
James Wambua

Kenya gets nod for Sh100 billion fresh IMF loan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it has secured a provisional agreement with Kenya, allowing for the immediate disbursement of $682.3 million (KES 103.85 billion). The country has also secured an augmentation of the current program’s funding by $938 million (142.76 billion). The IMF noted that uncertainty surrounding Kenya’s ability to access financial markets had been placing significant strain on liquidity. This was primarily attributed to the impending maturity of a substantial Eurobond, valued at $2 billion and set to mature next year. Haimanot Teferra, the head of the IMF’s Kenya mission, explained, “The tightening global financing conditions for frontier economies and…

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Safaricom
MarketsNews
James Wambua

M-PESA revenue surge propels Safaricom half-year profit to Sh34.2 billion

The reintroduction of M-PESA charges, along with the onboarding of more merchants on Lipa Na M-PESA, has increased M-PESA’s contribution to Safaricom’s earnings by 16.5 percent or Kes66.2 billion in the half that ended on September 30. Safaricom reports that business-related payments, such as bill payments and purchases, increased significantly by 40.2 percent or Kes17.6 billion YoY in the same period when M-PESA merchants saw a 22.3 percent uptick to 658,000. Out of the Kes18.3 trillion in transactions processed through M-PESA during this period, Kes 10.1 trillion, or 55.4 percent, were subject to charges, reflecting a 64.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to Safaricom. However, Safaricom…

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NCBA
CountiesNews
James Wambua

Agriculture and services set to lead Kenya’s 6% 2024 growth — NCBA

A rebound in agriculture, driven by favorable weather conditions, along with increased activity in the services sector, is expected to anchor Kenya’s growth next year. NCBA Managing Director and CEO John Gachora has identified these two sectors as the drivers of the country’s GDP growth, which could hit 6 percent in 2024. “Agricultural output is likely to expand by 5 percent in 2024, according to our internal projections,” Mr Gachora stated during NCBA’s Economic Forum held under the theme “Macroeconomic Outlook; Divergence Across Economies and Sectors.” On agri-export flows, including coffee, tea and horticultural crops, the lender says they will remain within their long-term-average trend…

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