Month: August 2019

In March last year, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) published regulations for the commercial use of drones.

KCAA Director General Gilbert Kibe said that any operator of the unmanned aerial vehicles were expected to register them before use.

Drone importation and licensing in Kenya

In a move seen as a limitation to the country’s nascent film industry, Kibe said that even those who owned drones before the laws were passed were supposed to register them within six months.

“A person commits an offense if they own, operate, import, manufacture, assemble or test an RPAS without authorisation from KCAA,” he said.

The contention came due to the fees imposed by KCAA.

While drones are permitted for recreational use in Kenya, anyone wishing to operate one has to part with anything between Kshs 60,000 (USD 600) and Kshs 232,000 (USD 2,300) depending on the purpose of use.

Kibe said, “Any Person …

Kenya will be hosting the 23^rdSession of the FAO/WHO Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa to discuss and formulate strategies on improving food safety and quality in Kenya, Africa, and the world.

The event comes in the wake of increasing public concern over the rise of adulterated food products like sugar and dairy products as well as cases of wrong use of preservation chemicals for meat products in Kenya.

The one-week conference dubbed “A Quest for Trade in safe food” runs from 2^nd – 6^th September 2019 and is being hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in conjunction with the government of Kenya through line ministries including Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).

The event brings together governments, national standards bodies, public and private …

Longhorn Publishers PLC, the Kenyan book publishers with strong presence in East and Central Africa has announced its financial results, with group profit after tax for the year ended 30 June 2019 rising by 1%, to Kshs 185 million, from Kshs 183 million in 2018.

The Company attributes this performance to commendable growth in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, as well as the positive response to the rollout of Kenya’s new competency-based curriculum (CBC), in which Longhorn has played a significant role in its implementation by having distributed 2 million textbooks to 23,000 public primary schools in Kenya.

Mr. Maxwell Wahome, the Group Managing Director of Longhorn Publishers, said,  “The strategic focus on regional expansion has begun to bear fruit, with our investment in market-specific content, particularly for Uganda and Tanzania, realising a 41% revenue growth in these markets.  In an increasingly digital world, we need to ensure all our children …

Octagon claims that was developed with the youth, Jua Kali artisans and workers in Micro-Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in mind…

Tanzanian government has put in place measures to stop use of any Tanzanian, without paying for it.

This pledge was made by the Minister of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Hon. Dr. Harrison Mwakyembe in a public meeting with entertainment industry stakeholders in Dar es Salaam, to discuss merging of three bodies: COSOTA (Copyright Society of Tanzania), BASATA (Arts Council of Tanzania) and the Tanzanian Film Board for better sectorial operations.

“No more using artists properties without paying, in wedding ceremonies halls or kitchen parties, all of them must contribute. How comes master of ceremonies (MC) get paid and use artists music freely” Minister said.

The statement, though it came quite rather late, but still at a convenient move to rejuvenate the lucrative sector, proving to standout amidst competitive entertainment industries form South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda.

Just last year two Tanzanian prominent talents and multiple awardees music-artists Hamis …

Kenya’s HF Group Plc has expressed optimism of returning to profitability by the end of this financial year after registering significant performance improvement, cutting its losses by more than half a billion shillings.

The mortgage lender recorded a half-year pre-tax loss of Ksh94.314 million, compared to a loss of Ksh642.74 million for the year ended 31 December 2018. 

The Group’s total interest expenses reduced by 9.80 per cent to Ksh1.67 billion from Ksh85 billion during a similar period in 2018, on the back of an aggressive retail banking strategy that has seen the business lower the cost of funding.

During the period, the Group’s property development subsidiary, HFDI, managed to offset outstanding debt worth Kes. 1.5 billion.

Non-funded income grew by 56 per cent to Ksh914 million up from Ksh586 million during a similar period in 2018, on account of gains made on sale of assets.

 Managing Non-Performing Loans

I won’t go into details (you will have to seduce me first) but the country has genuinely a special place in my heart. And trust me, I’ve been around, so that means a great deal to me.

I don’t usually get this personal – in fact I don’t think I ever did – but last week as I visited Maputo I came across a truly remarkable initiative whilst getting involved with a special economic zone. Let’s be honest, Corporate Social Responsibility is often seen by corporations as just another item on their checklist as they make their way to approving projects. Particularly if their operations have a significant impact on the surrounding communities – think natural resources and infrastructure. I am always surprised by the number of senior executives I come across who “talk the talk” regarding social impact but care very little whenever marketing and compliance are not at …

For the second time, TEDX Oysterbay brought together a diverse range of experts, practitioners, artists, thinkers, visionaries and educators before an idea-thirsty community to the Little Theatre in Dar es Salaam.  12 TEDx speakers with interesting ideas challenging social norms and practices, shared their ideas before an audience of 100 people and many more via social media.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. TED is the convergence of Technology, Entertainment and Design, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

In urban Tanzania, youth now perceive ideas as the new  “social currency” for human development. Being the 7^th largest economy in Africa and most populous nation in East Africa, human capital development is a vital …

The Aga Khan University in Nairobi is positioning itself as a leading trainer of journalists and media professionals in East Africa and beyond through its Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC). The university which has so far established a formidable partnership with foreign institutions of higher learning is quickly earning the hearts of media professionals in the region.

During the ongoing, The East African Communication Association (EACA) Conference, media trainers and scholars drawn from the region have heaped praises on the institution based on the unique approaches it is employing in raising the standards of media training in the region.

The conference themed, ‘Embracing Innovation, Surviving Disruption: New Frontiers for Journalism and Communication’ aims at offering solutions to the challenges that the media sector is currently facing and will interrogate how new technological trends are transforming the sector in East Africa.

Dr. Alex Awiti, Interim Dean at GSMC …

The Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE) has recorded an 82 per sent drop in half year profit to June 30, the self listed firm has reported.

The group’s profit during the period Ksh24 million as compared to Ksh134 million recorded over the same period in 2018.

This was occasioned by an 18 per cent decrease in revenues mainly driven by a 28 per cent drop in equity turnover which declined from Ksh108.5 billion for the six months ended 30 June 2018 to Ksh78.1 billion for the six months ended 30 June 2019.

READ:Bear run continues at NSE with drop in key index

This in turn led to a reduction in equity trading levies by 28 per cent from Ksh259.9 million for the six months ended 30 June 2018 to Ksh187.5 million for the six months ended 30 June 2019.

“The decline in the equity turnover was as a result of low …