Author: Jack Oduor

• Investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) lost $263.5 million (Sh34 billion) in paper wealth in the three months to September 2024.
• The volume of shares traded decreased slightly by 0.65% to 1.092 billion compared to 1.097 billion in Q2 2024.
• In the bond market, the turnover decreased by 29.37%, with Sh323.61Bn traded in Q3 compared to Sh458.2Bn in prior quarter.

Investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) lost $263.5 million or Sh34 billion in paper wealth in three months to September as the country recovered from shocks of the bloody Gen Z protests in June. The third quarter Statistics released by the Capital Markets Authority shows the market capitalisation at the Nairobi bourse dropped by 2.01 per cent during the period to Sh1.67 trillion from Sh1.71 trillion.

The $263.5 million drop in paper wealth is, however, lower than the $410.7 million (Sh53 billion) hit suffered in the three months …

• Stanbic PMI Report shows that purchasing efforts accelerated in October, leading to the greatest upturn in inventories since August 2023.
• PMI readings below 50 signals a decline in month-on-month private sector activity, while levels above point to growth.
• While tax payments and higher material prices drove expenses up at several firms, reduced fuel prices partly countered this.

Kenya’s private sector activity improved marginally in October, boosted by a rise in employment and growth in output, according to the Stanbic PMI Report. The Stanbic Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which measures the performance of key private sector indicators such as output, new orders, and employment, rose slightly to 50.4 in October from 50.0 in September.

PMI readings below 50 signal a decline in month-on-month private sector activity, while levels above point to growth. The index shows that activity in the review period expanded amid a broad stabilization of new work, …

• Africa Trade Barometer has ranked Kenya sixth after South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Nigeria.
• Kenya’s macroeconomic environment has demonstrated a moderate contribution to the nation’s trade attractiveness.
• A total of 235 businesses were surveyed in Kenya, located in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret.

Kenya has fallen one place in Africa’s trade index by Stanbic Bank, as the country navigated a challenging macroeconomic environment marked by high interest in the first half of the year.

Latest Stanbic Bank Africa Trade Barometer has placed Kenya sixth after South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria.

Kenya has nevertheless beaten Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and Angola in the index which surveys 10 key economies in Sub-Sahara Africa, looking into trade openness, access to finance, macroeconomic stability, infrastructure, foreign trade, governance and economy, and traders’ financial behaviour.

According to the report, the country recorded drops in macroeconomic stability, governance, quality of infrastructure and …

• Expert shares list of the 10 places occupied by billionaires.
• New York tops the list, with Hong Kong and Beijing close behind.
• Expert says these cities are hotspots for networking.

Billionaires, otherwise known as members of the Three Comma Club, can more or less decide to live wherever they like. Some even choose to buy an island for themselves, to get away from it all! However, most opt to live and work in some of the world’s major cosmopolitan areas. So where are they?

Julian Goldie, a leading business consultant and educator, gives us a rundown of billionaires’ top ten favourite cities, how much they are collectively worth, and why they choose to live where they live.

According to Goldie, these cities are spread across the whole globe, and are as diverse as they come.

“But they do all have one thing in common, and that is that they …

• Financing by Venture Capital Firms (VC) is the leading source for injecting capital into startups, accounting for 29 percent of the deals.
• Findings show that venture debt is becoming a crucial funding tool, especially for climate tech startups with limited access to traditional equity financing.
• The survey notes that to support this growth, investments in digital and energy infrastructure are essential.

Kenya is emerging as a leader in sourcing capital for its agricultural technology and food startups across the African continent. A large portion of capital for African startups still comes from foreign countries, with approximately 60 per cent, coming from international sources, primarily the United States and the United Kingdom.

On the continent, however, most investors are concentrated in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, where innovation and funding activity are most prominent. Large-scale investments in solar energy solutions and precision agriculture partly drive Kenya’s dominance in the sector.

Read …

• Kenya’s banking sector corporate taxes have been on the rise in the past few years.
• A new analysis shows that the contribution of the banking sector towards Pay-As-You-Earn was 7.79 per cent of all PAYE collected in the country.
• The study included 43 institutions—37 banks and six microfinance institutions.

The total tax contribution (TTC) from Kenya’s banking sector reached $1.5 billion (KSh190.26 billion) in 2023, a 4.96 per cent increase from the previous year, the Kenya Bankers Association has said. This marks the highest TTC since the study began in 2017, representing 8.78 per cent of the total government tax receipts for the financial year ending in June 2023.

According to the Banking Sector Total Tax contribution report, the TTC comprised $793 million (KSh102.52 billion) in taxes borne by the participating banks and microfinance institutions and $678.8 million (Ksh87.74) billion in taxes collected.

While the overall tax contribution grew, …

• Kenya adopts global messaging standard  ISO20022, which is the latest international open system for sealing financial deals.
• In the 12 months to August 2024, the country processed a total of over 5.3 million transactions valued at over Sh45 trillion for local currency transactions.
• The new standard’s rich data formats will aid in checking fraud thereby curtailing illicit transactions.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced a transition of the Kenya Electronic Payment and Settlement System (KEPSS) to the internationally recognized Global Messaging Standard (ISO 20022 Standard). The new system is the latest international open standard for financial messaging that is being adopted globally.

Last month, the banking industry regulator directed lenders, including microfinance institutions to start testing of the upgraded system for messaging high-value financial transactions aimed at increasing the speed of transfers while heightening the checks against fraud.

“KEPSS, which is Kenya’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, is …

• Sub-Saharan Africa economic growth remains stuck in “low gear” with a large youth population at risk of being left behind—The World Bank.
• Currently, seven in 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to pre-primary education.
• The World Bank says stabilizing economies and transforming education to equip the region’s growing workforce with stronger foundational skills and market-relevant expertise is critical.

Despite signs of a fragile economic recovery, Sub-Saharan Africa economic growth remains stuck in “low gear” with a large youth population at risk of being left behind. According to the latest analysis by the World Bank’s Africa Pulse, two factors are critical to jumpstart inclusive growth: stabilizing economies and transforming education to equip the region’s growing workforce with stronger foundational skills and market-relevant expertise.

The report, which is in its 30th edition and on the theme of Transforming Education for Inclusive Growth, says economic activity in the region …

• In Kenya, mobile phone users are opting for internet calls and texting as a measure to cut on costs.
• Last year, customers spent more time on a single on-net call averaging 2.8 minutes.
• Safaricom customers spent more on off-net calls, averaging at 1.4 minutes while Airtel accounted for 33.3% of voice and 10.3% of SMS traffic in Kenya. 

An increasing number of mobile phone users in Kenya prefer using internet calls and texting as a measure to cut communication costs, a 2023 report by the Communications Authority shows. This shift is steadily eroding both voice and text revenues for mobile network providers in Kenya.

The report shows that the minutes of use per month per subscription decreased to 120.4 minutes in the three months to December 2023 compared to a higher 123.4 minutes during the previous quarter.

Similarly, short messages sent per month per subscription declined marginally to 65.4 from …

• As workplace environments and changing attitudes evolve, certain habits that may seem harmless could be hindering career advancement.
• Beyond common productivity killers, subtle habits such as chronic procrastination, resisting change, and avoiding difficult conversations can also derail careers.
• Fast-tracking a career could be as easy as monitoring these habits when others fail to.

The old phrase “work smarter, not harder” has never been more relevant than it is today as different industries demand certain work habits to register growth. But as workplace environments and changing attitudes evolve, certain habits that may seem harmless could actually be hindering career advancement, leading to a host of other issues, including workplace depression, poor productivity, and stagnant salaries.

According to one expert, it’s imperative that we recognize and address these bad habits to ensure professional growth.

“The more we accept a workplace that cultivates these habits, the better chance we have of creating higher …