Author: Jack Oduor

• Climate emergency has been a new concern in businesses across the markets 
• From those polled 87 per cent of respondents agreed to some extent that they were concerned about physical climate risks
• 72 per cent of corporates surveyed had experienced an extreme weather event in the last five years

Nearly four out of every five businesses in many of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate emergency are already suffering the consequences of a rapidly changing environment.

The startling finding is contained in British International Investment’s third annual Emerging Economies Climate Report – a survey of its investee businesses in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The report is a joint effort between Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and ODI, the global think tank.

BII, Managing Director and Head of Climate, Diversity and Advisory Amal-Lee Amin says that that 79 per cent of companies …

• At least eight West African States have been thrown into significant internet connectivity issues.
• Telcos say repairs could span from weeks to months, depending on the damage location
• The impact of such cable failures worsens as networks attempt to route around the damage, potentially reducing the capacity available to other countries.

Nearly a dozen West African states are currently experiencing internet outages occasioned by damage to multiple undersea telecommunication cables. Reports say that this has caused a widespread connectivity outage in parts of the continent, with operators and Internet monitoring groups cautioning that the situation might require several weeks or even months to resolve.

By the end of Friday, March 15th, at least eight countries across the continent had reported significant connectivity issues, although specific details regarding the cause of the undersea cable damages remained limited.

Global media reports indicated that the affected cable lines included critical continental arteries …

• AI-generated deepfake enabled scammers set to conduct video calls with European leaders under false pretenses. 
• Deepfakes, which are highly realistic fabricated videos or images, can deceive voters, manipulate public opinion, and tarnish the reputation.
• Google’s reverse-image search is another helpful tool that enables you to check if an online image has been used elsewhere.

Shortly before Slovakia’s parliamentary election in September last year, a viral audio recording circulated on Slovakian social media. In the recording, the leader of the Progressive Slovakia Party was heard discussing plans to manipulate the election and increase taxes on beer. (Slovakia is ranked sixteenth globally in beer consumption per capita.) However, it was later revealed that the audio was a fabricated AI-generated deepfake.

This exposed the threats that a majority of the countries are going to grapple with this year as many states hold their elections across Africa. This year, Senegal, South Africa, Chad, Ghana, …

• Eight Kenyan universities have been selected as part of the World Bank’s $55.8 million SME formalisation project.
• In the World Bank plan, 267 young innovators’ students, 10 incubators, 10 accelerators, and 4 tech boot camp providers will be funded.
• The SKIES initiative started with a call for applications that attracted a total of 142 incubators.

Eight Kenyan universities have been selected as part of the World Bank’s $55.8 million (KES7.5 billion) SME formalisation project to provide business development services to micro, small and medium enterprises. Kenya Industrial Entrepreneurship Project will implement the program through the Strengthening Kenya’s Innovation Ecosystem (SKIES).

The government, through SKIES, a subcomponent of the Sh7.5 billion (KIEP) project, seeks to streamline the delivery of professional business development services, thereby enabling innovators of small and medium enterprises to get the proper business training when required.

The absence of a uniform platform to oversee the start-up ecosystem in …

• Kenya has already enlisted over 107,831 community health workers through the Ministry of Health.
• The target cohort of 25,000 will be trained in the first phase, according to the Resilient and Empowered African Community Health (REACH) initiative.
• REACH will be implemented in phases, aiming to boost skills of the 107,831 community health workers employed by the Government.

Kenya has launched a community health initiative supported by the African Union geared to boosting primary health care at the grassroots, targeting under-served populations.

The programme, under the auspices of the African Union (AU) Member States, is known as Resilient and Empowered African Community Health (REACH) and is geared towards increasing Community Health Workers (CHWs) to over two million in the continent by  2029.

Under the first phase of the initiative, over 25,000 CHWs newly recruited in Kenya will be trained on community health and on the use of Community Health Promotion (CHP) …

• The Invest in African Energy forum will explore financing and development opportunities in Liquefied Petroleum Gas storage and distribution.
• With significant unmet demand for clean cooking access, the sub-sector represents a critical opportunity for global investors.
• Last December, Tanzanian Liquefied Petroleum Gas distributor Taifa Gas launched the construction of a $130-million, 30,000-metric-tonne LPG storage facility in Kenya.

With more than 900 million Africans using biomass fuel and kerosene for cooking, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has emerged as a highly attractive and viable clean cooking solution.

While still a fossil fuel, LPG burns more efficiently and produces fewer carbon emissions than wood, charcoal or kerosene. The fuel is both easy to store and transport, as well as able to meet Africa’s clean cooking needs reliably and to scale.

East Africa is one region embracing this solution, with several governments adopting policy measures to scale the use of LPG and increase its …

• The 2024 Sophos Threat Report shows data theft is the focus of most malware targeting small and medium businesses.
• Email attacks have moved away from simple social engineering toward more active engagement.
• According to the World Bank, over 90 per cent of the world’s businesses are small- and medium-sized organisations.

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting data in a new trend in the online security space the 2024 Sophos Threat Report has shown.  The report by cybersecurity services firm Sophos sheds light on the dangers faced by small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the digital landscape.

The 2024 Sophos Threat Report titled “Cybercrime on Main Street” underscores the significant threats looming over SMBs, focusing on the year 2023. According to the report, 50 per cent of malware detected targeting SMBs comprised keyloggers, spyware, and stealers – malicious software designed to steal data and credentials.

Cybercriminals employ these tactics to …

• New regulations for crypto firms in Kenya will force players give evidence of sufficient working capital to continue business.
• Crypto firms will required to maintain core capital of not less than 12% of the total fiat value of the virtual assets held or proposed to be held in the custody of the platform.
• The Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Bill also proposes that businesses dealing in digital assets in the country be allowed to operate as commercial entities.

Players in the digital assets and crypto currency space are now pushing for new regulations for crypto firms that will govern how new players join Kenyan market.

The digital asset industry lobby group, the Blockchain Association of Kenya (BAK), is among others, proposing the formation of a new regulatory sandbox that will test and regulate companies in the industry before their licensing.

Additionally, the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Bill, …

• Cairo-based lender CIB made this announcement during the first Egypt-Kenya forum held in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Egypt is shifting its economic strategy by enhancing collaboration with sub–Saharan Africa
• Kenya exports tea, coffee, nuts, meat, wheat and flowers, skin and hides as well as live animals to Egypt..

Lender Commercial International Bank (CIB) has identified partnerships as key drivers of growth that will power investments by bringing together businesses seeking to explore Egypt-Kenya trade opportunities.

Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi says the entry of CIB into Kenya’s market is a major win for Africa’s quest to enhance trade among its 54 member states.

Speaking at the Egypt-Kenya trade forum in Nairobi attended by roughly 40 Egyptian companies drawn from construction, transport, water, tourism, manufacturing and healthcare sectors, Mudavadi said Kenya was at the forefront of opening its market to African countries to boost intra-Africa trade.

“As a government, we will facilitate …

• In Kenya, a concerning 75.4% of women journalists have reported experiencing online harassment.
• Several sub-Saharan African countries have enacted national frameworks, such as the Cybercrimes Act to counter the menace.
• However, while legal frameworks provide avenues for recourse, more proactive measures are needed to combat online violence effectively.

In an era dominated by digital platforms and social media, the rise of disinformation and online harassment poses significant challenges for journalists across the globe.

According to Clarice Wambua, a lawyer at leading corporate and commercial law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) Kenya, this is especially true for women journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, who provide a vital service to society and must not be bullied into silence.

She notes that the pursuit of truth is of utmost importance, but women journalists in Africa often encounter difficult situations. Despite their valuable contributions to the field, they often face different types of harassment, which …