Author: Jack Oduor

EAC Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC) meets every year to asses the region’s progess. This year the MAC meeting will be held in Juba, South Sudan. Sectors like fishing, timber, and agriculture have been identified as potential areas for growth and revenue generation. East Africa Community governors of central banks are set to meet to assess the regions’ economic scorecard and avenues for investments. The chair of the EAC Monetary Affairs Committee James Alic Garang, who is the Bank of South Sudan governor said that single currency for the EA region will feature prominently in the deliberations. This body meets annually,…

The prices of key food commodities influenced Kenya’s Inflation drop. KNBS says the food and non-alcoholic beverage index, which represents 32.9 per cent of inflation measurement, dropped by 0.1 per cent. KNBS data adds that housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’ index dropped by 1.3 per cent Kenya’s inflation dropped to a record 24-month low in April, hitting five per cent, according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, as prices of key food commodities continued to fall. This is the third month in a row that the index has dropped, from 6.9 per cent…

Payment for ransomware attacks is not only impacting large businesses even smaller ones have been hit with 7-figure demand. The rate of ransomware attacks falls slightly, but recovery costs hit $2.73 million. Despite the soaring ransoms, this year’s survey indicates a slight reduction in the rate of ransomware attacks The amount organisations are paying to get back their data from cyber criminals has increased by 500 per cent in the past year, a new report by Cybersecurity solutions provider Sophos has revealed.   Sophos, in its annual “State of Ransomware 2024” survey, says this has seen organizations that paid the…

TikTok Community Guidelines will see introduction of stricter For You eligibility standards. Video sharing entity says this code emphasizes responsible behavior on and off the platform According to the recently released Reuters Institute Digital News report 2023 survey, Kenya leads in world TikTok usage. Popular video sharing platform TikTok, has unveiled significant updates to its Community Guidelines and introduced new features aimed at supporting creators and maintaining a safe environment for users. The platform’s Community Guidelines, which outline rules and standards for all users, have been updated to provide greater clarity and transparency. These updates, set to take effect in a few…

Africa private capital deals fell to to 450 deals in the past one year. The continent’s total private capital deal value stood at $5.9 billion, the fourth largest value on record since 2012. Decline in Africa private capital deals marked the continent’s steepest year-over-year decline in volume in 12 years. Africa recorded a 28 per cent year-over-year (YoY) decline in the total private capital deal volume for the first time since 2016, falling to 450 deals. This downturn is attributed to the global economic turmoil, which led to inflation spikes and the devaluation of continental currencies. In Kenya and Nigeria for…

Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism will avail 8000 tons of fertiliser. 5.533 million Kenyan farmers are registered for the government’s subsidised fertiliser programme. African Development Bank granted Kenya $67 million in 2022-2023 through its African Emergency Food Production Facility. The Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism has launched a project to help deliver 8,000 tons of fertilisers to 100,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya to boost harvests and incomes. Through its Fertiliser Financing for Sustainable Agriculture Management Project, the Mechanism will provide a $2 million partial trade credit guarantee and a grant of $219,000 to Apollo Agriculture Limited, a Kenyan corporation, to facilitate the…

Kenya’s high-interest rates hit 13 per cent in the last review by the Central Bank of Kenya. Since mid-2023, however, the World Bank’s index of commodity prices has remained essentially unchanged. World Bank reiterates that between mid-2022 and mid-2023, global commodity prices plummeted by nearly 40 per cent. Kenyan consumers will have to bear the high cost of borrowing for much longer as Central Banks will not loosen their monetary policies any time soon, the World Bank has said. The lender says the continued tightening will be a result of the prevalent global economic shocks, such as the Middle East…

Kenya-Ethiopia trade relations have been on the rise in the past 27 years, with Kenya having the upper hand.  Ethiopia, on the other hand, recorded an increase at an annualised rate of 23.7 per cent. During the Meeting Kenyan investors also undertook exhibitions showcasing some of their products. Kenya and Ethiopia have renewed the push to streamline the bottlenecks that are hampering trade growth between the two states. A delegation of the National Assembly to the Kenya-Ethiopia Trade and Investment Mission held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has rooted for the speedy removal of bottlenecks hampering cross-border trade between both Nations.…

TLcom Capital has raised $154 million  in its second Fund, TIDE Africa II With this second fund, TLcom Capital maintains its early-stage, multi-sector focus and expands its mandate beyond Sub-Saharan Africa to Egypt. TLcom Capital currently has over $300 million under management. TLcom Capital, the Africa-focused venture capital firm, announced the final close of TIDE Africa Fund II, its second fund for technology in Africa, at $154 million. Confirming TLcom Capital’s status as Africa’s largest Seed and Series A investor, the new fund accelerates the firm’s mission to partner with elite founders to tackle Africa’s biggest and most complex challenges with…

AfDB asks policymakers to put in place an orderly and predictable way of dealing with Africa’s $824Bn debt pile. According to AfDB, Africa’s ballooning external debt reached $824 billion in 2021. AfDB president says there is urgent need for increased concessional financing, particularly for low-income countries.  Africa’s immense economic potential is being undermined by non-transparent resource-backed loans that complicate debt resolution and compromise countries’ future growth, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said. Adesina at the Semafor Africa Summit taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings, highlighted the…