Month: June 2019

Software Group, a global software company that provides digital financial solutions with African operations run from Kenya, has appointed Mr. Connor Hanan to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria, it currently serves a worldwide client base in more than 70 countries from 9 regional offices located in Australia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hanan was the company’s Key Global Accounts Manager. He has had a successful career focused on financial services specific to affordable shelter in developing contexts. Within this sector he helped establish operations, Small Businesses and partnerships across roughly 35 markets in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Mr. Hanan has over 11 years of experience with FSPs, client-focused product design, and market analysis, a seasoned professional in Investor/Client Relations, as a Program/Project manager, and as a Director of …

Kenya has made a major step in the commercialisation of its oil ahead of planned exports which will see the East African nation become a major net oil exporter in the region.

In the latest developments, the government and its Joint Venture Partners: Tullow Kenya, Total and Africa Oil Corp, have signed Heads of Terms for the development of the oil fields in the northern part of the country (South Lokichar Basin-Turkana), where exploration and production has been ongoing on small scale.

These Heads of Terms capture all of the key commercial principles related to the implementation of ‘Project Oil Kenya’ and provides both the framework and commercial certainty required to draft the fully termed upstream and midstream agreements, ahead of a Final Investment Decision(FDI).

This is a major and important milestone towards reaching a FDI.

Oil blocks and pipeline

Under the deal, all parties have agreed that the Amosing, …

Pan-African connectivity provider, BringCom, in partnership with science and technology investor, Imprimatur Capital, and European edge cloud software company, GIG Technology, have launched a cloud sovereignty system – afriQloud.

Launched in Uganda, afriQloud will provide, at internationally competitive rates, local and foreign customers with an innovative and secure distributed edge cloud service.

The aim of afriQloud is to have the Edge Cloud installed in cities and tech hub ecosystems which hosts a high number of startups and developers. Now present and operational in Uganda, afriQloud will be spreading its services further into the different regions of Africa this year.

Hans van Linschoten, founding partner of Imprimatur Capital Africa and CEO of afriQloud says,  “We see significant potential in the growing African cloud market where an estimated $2 billion is being spent in cloud this year, and we’re excited to bring this service to the continent. By the end of 2019 …

Global risk and information solutions provider—TransUnion has urged the use of credit scores for better loan product pricing.

With a keen focus on Kenya where the capping of interest has led to a credit crunch to private sector and households, TransUnion Kenya is urging lenders to focus on individual credit scores to make smarter decisions and empower consumers to take control of their financial health.

“With new risk-based pricing systems for loans on the horizon in Kenya, it’s becoming increasingly important for both consumers and financial institutions to understand how credit scores can help enable the right conversations,” the firm says in its latest market review on the East African country.

According to the firm, there is need for a new pricing system for interest rates (ether risk-based or not) to become increasingly clear.

“Many banks currently take a blanket approach to pricing,” says TransUnion Kenya CEO Billy Owino, “This …

By Washington Ndegea

In the year of our Lord Two thousand and Eighteen, the Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich strode to parliament carrying the characteristic brief case just in time to read the twenty eighteen-twenty nineteen budget. That was in the month of June.

Expectations were high, that the prices of various basic commodities would reduce, and that we in the insurance industry would get the much needed relief and create an enabling environment to do business.

The issue of the prices of the basic commodities were met, but we in the insurance sector were left reeling by the recommendations that were being proposed in the Insurance Act in form of Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2018, that it would be criminal to handle insurance premiums from then on if the recommendations were to be made law.

We quickly instituted an emergency meeting to look at what could have prompted the Treasury department …

Bolt, the leading ride-hailing platform in Europe and Africa, has expanded its operations to three major urban centers in Kenya, setting the stage for a continued push to expand its market footprint within the country.

This comes as competition heats up for taxi hailing apps in Kenya, where both local and international companies are pushing to secure a substantial market.

Bolt’s launch in Kisumu, Kakamega and Thika will see the number of Kenyan towns and cities served by the platform rise from the current two, to five, making it the largest ride-hailing service provider in terms of geographical reach.

READ ALSO:Bolt targets corporates with new business strategy

According to Bolt Country Manager (Kenya) Ola Akinnusi, Bolt’s mission is to make urban transportation more convenient and affordable for more people, thus broadening the company’s reach, providing a platform for job creation through its social contribution.

“After Nairobi and Mombasa cities, …

The East African region has recorded a marked increase in the number of PE funds looking to invest in the region from 72 in 2016 to 97 in 2018, according to a new report released by KPMG and the East Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EAVCA).

In 2017 and 2018, 84 PE-backed deals were reported at an estimated value of US$1.4 billion.

According to EAVCA Executive Director Eva Warigia, the region recorded a 12 per cent increase in the amount of funds sourced from the domestic market largely driven by participation by pension funds.

“Local participation by pension funds is one way to mitigate against the risk attached to investing in Africa,” Warigia said during the release of the report.

“Participation of pension funds in private equity investments is improving access to capital for small businesses whilst enabling the funds to tap into new sectors for their portfolio …

The programme will also enhance the creation, growth, sustainability and productivity of over 200,000 Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises…

With this collapse, more than 1,000 employees lost their jobs and farmers who provided about 900 tonnes of cotton to Rivatex lost the market.…

The informal sector in Kenya employs approximately 14.9 million Kenyans and contributes an estimated 28 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product…