Month: September 2019

Consumers in Kenya are going for price-driven shopping over network reliability and the need for speed.…

When Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) released it’s 2018 insurance industry report few expected the shocker that the results would provide.

Insurance penetration in the economy relative to the Gross Domestics Product (GDP) fell from 2.7 percent in 2017 to 2.4 percent in 2018. Overall premium increase was recorded to Kshs 216.11 billion from 210 billion the previous year.

The fact that the results showed a decline in insurance penetration in the insurance industry was something that most people didn’t expect especially with the hype that we get of how the economy is doing well.

The results are a true reflection of the industry noting that they are actually audited figures from the various insurance companies. This contrasts sharply with the unaudited figures and subsequent reports that come from those figures always released by Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). Perhaps it’s time IRA left that work to AKI if they cannot …

Ethiopia emerged as the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in East Africa, a new report released by financial consulting firm EY shows.

The 2019 survey carried out by EY Attractiveness showed that Ethiopia attracted foreign investments worth Ksh.726.6 billion last year compared to Kenya’s foreign investments, which stood at Ksh.207.6 billion in the same period.

Tanzania’s foreign investment stood at Ksh.103.8 billion.

According to the report, the FDI Ethiopia received translated to 16,000 jobs from 29 projects, while Kenya created 6,000 jobs from 64 projects and Tanzania created 3,000 jobs from 19 projects.

An expert said that Ethiopia’s “efficient” business environment has helped its much higher FDI flow compared to the rest of the region.

Mr Francis Kamau, a tax partner at audit and consultancy EY East Africa said,” “Ethiopia has affordable electricity supply and is served by an efficient airline”.

Mr Kamau also added that Ethiopia has …

In a statement given by Tala, the company has not yet made a decision to permanently shut down its loan services in Tanzania but are reviewing its operations to make their final decision.

The statement also reads, “Tala Tanzania has not made a decision to permanently close operations. However, after piloting our credit product in Tanzania, we have paused our lending operations and are undertaking a review of our operations to determine our path forward in the market.”

The company serves more than four million subscribers at an approximated Ksh.100 billion ($961.9 million dollars) on disbursed loans, said it is actively working to continue to support financial services access to Tanzania.

According to Tala, Kenya remains at the heart of Tala’s operations with a customer reach of over three million and ease in offering financial services. It assured that its operations in Kenya would remain uninterrupted.

“Our operations …

AAR Insurance Kenya has launched a service that enables customers to manage medical expenses using their mobile phones. The new service replaces a smart card that clients have been using to access treatment at health facilities over the years.

This will be implemented together with CarePay and is a modification of the old M-TIBA. AAR Insurance Kenya Managing Director, Nixon Shigoli, says the mobile platform, allows clients to access their medical benefits via their mobile phones, thus ensuring convenience. The new platform will also help curb fraud by creating transparency of medical expenses for the client, insurer, and provider. It also gives clients control of their benefits while accessing treatment.

CarePay gives people the power to care by connecting health payers, beneficiaries and healthcare providers through its mobile platform. In Kenya M-TIBA is developed and managed by CarePay Limited.

 “Our clients do not have to walk around with medical cards …

Standard Chartered Tanzania has been named the Best Consumer Digital Bank in Tanzania, 2019 by the financial journal, Global Finance.
In addition to the award, the Bank has also been recognised for its information security and fraud management systems, under its digital offerings. Commenting on the award, Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania CEO Sanjay Rughani reflected on how the award reaffirms the Bank’s commitment to its digital agenda and how the Bank is leading the way in developing digital solutions that are aligned with country’s financial inclusion agenda. He added, “Our Digital Bank on Mobile solution is a demonstration of how the Bank continues to be on the cutting edge of strategic technology investments and marries very well with our customer obsession mantra”. “Digitization to us means disruption from traditional and conventional ways of banking to transforming banking business with the sole objective of improving client experience. It is imperative that …

A creative approach to leasing deals is helping innovative landlords offset the challenges of high vacancies in an overstocked Nairobi office market, according to Broll Property Intel’s latest Kenya Office Market Snapshot H1:2019 report.

Despite variable economic markers, the macroeconomic fundamentals that contribute to the overall dynamics of the property market have remained largely stable in the first half of 2019 says Vivian Ombwayo, Broll Kenya’s Head of Research and Valuations.

While economic growth brings with it an associated increased demand, there still remains a significant amount of A-grade office space available for tenants to choose from in the market. In such a competitive environment, landlords are recognizing that they need to offer attractive terms to secure good quality tenants, while corporates with professional representation are realizing the choice and power they have at the negotiating table.

Ombwayo says that as a result of increasingly attractive leasing terms offered, A-grade …

Equity bank has become the newest member of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) finance forum.

The SME finance forum is a global membership network that brings together technology companies development finance institutions and financial institutions to share knowledge and promote the growth of SME.

Matthew Gamser, CEO of the Forum said, “200 million businesses worldwide need financing to invest, grow and create new jobs”.

He further said that they were proud to have Equity Bank join their network of more than 150 members who work to expand access to finance for small and medium businesses

Mary Wamae, Executive Director of Equity Group said, “Our vision is to be the champion of the socio-economic prosperity of the people of Africa. We value integrity, innovation, and respect for our clients,”

Mary Wamae further said,” becoming a part of the SME Finance Forum touches on each of these values as we learn …

The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded the Kenya Craftskills Energy International Limited a grant to develop a 50-megawatt wind power plant with an integrated battery storage in Kajiado, Kenya.

Actis, will work together with craftskills energy international limited while Delphos International which is another US firm, will execute the study. Actis is a which is a leading US investor firm in growth market across Africa, Latin America and Asia,

USTDA Acting Director Thomas R. Hardy said, “ The project has both the structure and the smarts to succeed.”  He further complimented craftskills on the quality partners that they have on board and believes that the US companies will be very competitive in the supply of Kajiado project major components.

The U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter said the US Embassy was proud to continue its support for the project. He added that the embassy is committed …

The German company brought together leaders from around the globe for “an exchange to promote co-creation”.…