Author: James Wambua

Liquid Intelligent Technologies
NewsTechnology
James Wambua

Liquid adds Kenya-Ethiopia, Zambia-Malawi fibre links

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a subsidiary of Cassava Technologies, has unveiled two new fully redundant terrestrial fibre connectivity routes. These routes, connecting Kenya to Ethiopia and Zambia to Malawi, will see the firm enhance regional connectivity while empowering businesses in these nations. The 1000 km fibre link between Kenya and Ethiopia is poised to revolutionize digital connectivity in the region. Ethiopian businesses will now have direct access to data centers and cloud services in Nairobi, Kenya. This connection is bolstered by a 711 km link between Zambia and Malawi, providing a reliable pathway to content caches and data centers in South Africa. Adil El Youssefi, CEO,…

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Technology
James Wambua

Online scams a rising threat to finances and emotions

Gone are the days of poorly written phishing emails riddled with spelling errors; today’s cyber threats are sophisticated and convincing. The proliferation of online scams has reached alarming levels in Kenya and across Africa, with nearly half of the 800 survey participants falling victim to deceitful schemes, resulting in significant financial losses and emotional distress. According to KnowBe4 2023 Online Scams and Victims in Africa Report, a survey conducted across Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Mauritius, and Botswana, financial scams affected nearly half of the respondents. The report says that 53 percent of the victims believed the fraudulent offers were legitimate primarily because

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News
James Wambua

Jubilee taps into USIU-Africa alumni network in new expansion strategy

Jubilee Insurance has partnered with United States International University Africa (USIU-Africa) alumni association to tap into a new avenue of expanding growth with a potential of signing up 22,000 individuals worldwide. Kenya’s highly educated population is widely networked over social media and formal alumni associations, which are often plagued by welfare contributions, presenting fertile ground for recruiting insurance customers. With Kenya’s insurance penetration rate at just 2.3 percent, Jubilee Health Insurance is on a mission to make healthcare coverage accessible and affordable to more Kenyans. Jubilee has tapped into this new space offering ALUMNICARE, a healthcare coverage plan that is responsive to the set needs…

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Tatu City
LifestyleNews
James Wambua

Tatu City pioneers urban agroforestry farm in Kenya

Tatu City has partnered with agroforestry farming pioneer ForestFoods to grow carbon-neutral organic produce for the new industrial center home to 75 leading businesses in Kenya. ForestFoods’ first farm at the 5,000-acre mixed-use Special Economic Zone (SEZ) integrates plants and forestry seeking to promote a healthier, sustainable, clean food supply that contributes to reforestation, climate change mitigation, and restoration of the ecosystem. “Our farm in Tatu City is a remarkable example of how modern cities can embrace sustainable agriculture to enhance their environment, economy, and quality of life,” said Sven Verwiel, Managing Director of ForestFoods. Addressing Environmental Challenges “Our mission is to transform the agricultural…

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StanChart
MarketsNews
James Wambua

StanChart woos Kenyan investors to seize global prospects

Investors in Kenya are poised to tap into a world of global market opportunities that promise enhanced returns for portfolio growth, thanks to a new partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and French-based Amundi Asset Management. Under Signature CIO Funds, this market offering provides customers with access to an array of international investment prospects that cater to diverse financial objectives. Paul Njoki, Head of Wealth Management and Affluent Banking at StanChart, said the collaboration with Amundi empowers customers with a selection of four distinct funds tailored to address varying investment needs, spanning from income generation to long-term portfolio growth on a global scale. StanChart global presence…

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NewsTechnology
James Wambua

Twiga Foods: We are not shutting down

Recent reports of workers’ layoffs have led to perceptions of struggle, even a looming shutdown of Twiga Foods, a business-to-business e-commerce company that seeks to revolutionize supply chains. Twiga Foods CEO and founder Peter Njonjo maintains that the company is on course, reshaping the way retailers access quality goods and services in Kenya while optimizing end-to-end supply chain solutions tailored to Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities. Partly backed by the World Bank’s private venture unit International Finance Corporation (IFC), Twiga Foods was largely dependent on venture capital, a financing stream that has significantly dipped by 40 percent across Africa in the six months to June…

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NOCK
EconomyNews
James Wambua

Debt-laden NOCK to split into three firms

The National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) will split into three units, NOC Upstream Ltd, NOC Downstream Ltd and NOC Trading Ltd as the State moves to shore up its fortunes. In a Cabinet brief released on Tuesday, NOC Upstream Ltd will focus on the exploration and upstream production activities and services while NOC Downstream Ltd will market and distribute petroleum products. The third spin off, NOC Trading Ltd will be charged with holding strategic stocks of petroleum products for import and export. The latest spin-offs under President William Ruto are indicative that the State will continue shouldering heavy debt and financial obligations to the…

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KBA
Economy
James Wambua

Excise drives taxes paid by banks up 40 percent to Sh181 billion

In Kenya, the banking sector is increasingly taking a central role in the economy, with a new study showing the sector contributed Kes181.27 billion largely on account of higher excise tax in 2022. The significance of this contribution was magnified in the Total Tax Contribution (TTC) study that shows the financial impact the banks had made in 2022. Led by Alice Muriithi, a Partner at PwC Kenya and the lead technical advisor on the study, the TTC study reported a Total Tax Contribution of Kes181.27 billion in 2022. This was a 39.94 percent increase from the previous year’s Kes129.52 billion. The contribution marks a milestone

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Prof Kithure Kindiki
NewsTechnology
James Wambua

Kindiki slams the brakes on Worldcoin mania

Authorities in Kenya have suspended activities of Worldcoin, an entity that has caught the attention of the country in recent days for gathering citizens data through scanning of people’s iris. Unaware of what they are getting into, jobless and needy Kenyans have been racing to acquire an iris scan from WorldCoin, the latest crypto craze, because they have been promised the chance to make a quick buck right away. At the same time, the ministry of Interior says it has started investigations to establish “authenticity and legality” of Worldcoin activities in Kenya. In particular, sleuths will be seeking details on the protection of the data…

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EABL
CorporateNews
James Wambua

EABL sales dip as consumers balk at higher prices

The volume of alcohol sold in Kenya is on the decline with sales data from the East African Breweries Limited (EABL) showing a four percent dip owing to inflationary pressures and a higher tax regime that has pushed up retail prices. Persistent geopolitical tensions fueled inflation-driven cost escalation, posing ongoing challenges to our manufacturing operations, said Dr. Martin Oduor-Otieno, EABL Chairman. EABL says excise tax escalation negatively impacted its price-sensitive mainstream segment in the trading period 2023. Renewed crackdown on bars in the counties also negatively affected the company’s sales which closed at Kes110 billion for the full year ended June 30, 2023, a similar…

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