Author: Kiptoo Kosgei

M Pesa shop
  • Brand Finance ranked giant telecommunications company Safaricom as the most valuable brand
  • Equity Group Holdings Limited has become one of the most recognised banks in Kenya under James Mwangi’s leadership
  • Tusker Lager emerged as the fastest-growing brand with its value growing by 132 per cent

Brand Finance, a valuation consultancy firm, recently released the list of the most valuable brands in Kenya.

The Brand Finance Kenya 20 2022 ranking listed giant telecommunications company Safaricom as the most valuable brand. The telco has consistently maintained the top spot out of 20 firms surveyed over the years.

Companies in the financial sector services dominated the list.

  1. Safaricom

Safaricom is the largest telecommunications company in Kenya. The 2021-2022 first quarter sector report released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) noted that the telco is the market leader with a 64.6% share.

The Kenyan government and Vodacom each control a 35 per cent

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Johannesburg

The Africa Wealth Report 2022, released by Henley & Partners in partnership with New World Wealth, ranked the wealthiest cities in Africa by total wealth.

Listed in the report are the richest cities using total private wealth held by all the individuals living in each city.

The parameters measured were assets, cash, equities and business interests. Henley’s survey indicated the top two wealthiest cities on the continent are in South Africa. Johannesburg topped, followed by Cape Town.…

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M Pesa

The report noted that the value of Africa’s mobile money transactions increased from US$495 billion in 2020 to US$701.4 billion in 2021. Research by American firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) affirmed that Kenya and Ghana are ranked second and third in mobile payment usage globally after China, the world’s most populated country.

During the period under review, transactions through mobile wallets and phones were the equivalent of 87 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Kenya and 82 per cent in Ghana.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank ranked Ghana as the fastest-growing mobile money market. That was not the case in 2009 when mobile money services were launched in the West African country. At that time, 70 per cent of Ghana’s population had no access to bank services, while approximately 35 per cent of citizens owned mobile phones.…

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biden 1200

CCA president and chief executive officer Florizelle Liser said the forum allowed over 2,200 participants to network.

“CCA looks forward to partnering with the US Chamber to jointly convene the private sector as part of the Summit’s Africa Business Forum, which will help drive progress towards a trade and investment relationship that unlocks opportunity and growth for both the U.S. and Africa,” Liser said.

The US-Africa Leaders Summit will build American and African shared values and hopes to foster new economic engagement. It will also reinforce the two regions’ commitment to democracy and human rights. Among the issues to be discussed are mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and future pandemics and working collaboratively to strengthen regional and global health.

Climate change is another matter of concern that needs a response by respective governments. Nevertheless, Biden said he was hopeful the summit would be a success.…

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CBK governor

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was first elected in 2013, will retire after serving his two constitutional terms. Four presidential candidates were cleared by the Independent, Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in the State House race.

They are Deputy President William Ruto of the United Democratic Alliance, Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, David Mwaure (Agano Party) and George Wajackpoyah (Roots Party).

The outgoing head of state has endorsed Raila as his preferred successor to the chagrin of his deputy, who has accused him of interfering in the 2022 succession politics.

The central Bank of Kenya, in its July 2022 Monetary Policy Committee Market Perceptions Survey, notes that at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 share price indices increased by 4.0 per cent, 4.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, during the week ending July 28.…

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kenya airways 12
  • The open skies policy will allow foreign airlines to easily access national airports to boost tourism
  • In early July, aviation stakeholders resorted to testing the opening up of African skies during a conference held in Nairobi
  • Intra-Africa air connectivity still remains low, with African airlines accounting for 1.9 per cent of global traffic in 2021, down from 3.5 per cent in the 1980s
All airlines within East Africa will fly across the region without restrictions as Kenya and other partners pilot an open skies policy. The policy will allow foreign airlines to easily access national airports to boost tourism and develop the East African Community (EAC) as a potential regional hub.
Maureen Kahonge, the business development and communications senior manager at the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) said they chose EAC because its states were already in talks to harmonise various policies on taxation.
“We want to look on now
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Egyptian military

Amid increasing cases of terrorism and conflicts between member states, African countries have been allocating more money to defence to protect their citizens and businesses.

As of July 2022, nine African countries allocated over US$1 billion dollars each to their defence departments, according to Statista, a German company specialising in market and consumer data.

Data by Statista indicated that Algeria tops the list of African countries with the highest defence budgets in the continent. Algeria is followed by Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Libya and South Africa in that order. Overall, the list is dominated by countries in North Africa faced with internal and external aggressions.…

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African business leaders

The forum is being organised by the government of Barbados and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) under the theme “One People, One Destiny: Uniting and Reimagining Our Future”.

Other conveners are the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Africa Business Council, the CARICOM Secretariat, and the Caribbean Export Development Agency.

The conference will give business communities in Africa and those in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region an opportunity to develop strategic partnerships and enhance bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, technology transfer, innovation, tourism, culture, and other sectors.…

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Buhari
  • According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the continent holds 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves
  • Despite being endowed with these resources, the continent still lags in development partly due to colonisation and corruption
  • By 2050, the African economy is expected to reach a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$29, driven by agricultural, trade, and natural resources investments
  • Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, followed by South Africa and Egypt
Africa is a blessed continent with a large quantity of natural resources, renewables and non-renewables.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the continent holds 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves, eight per cent of the world’s natural Gas and 12 per cent of the world’s oil reserves.
“The continent has 40 per cent of the world’s gold and up to 90 per cent of its chromium and platinum. The world’s largest reserves
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patrick njoroge bbc
  • The regulator noted that the two companies were not licensed to operate in Kenya, so they should not provide remittance or payment services to buyers and sellers
  • On July 7, the High Court froze more than US$50 million in 62 bank accounts belonging to Flutterwave and four Kenyans
  • It was suspected that the millions were proceeds of fraud and money laundering
  • Chipper Cash was founded in 2018 by Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled. Serunjogi is a Ugandan, while Maijid is a Ghanaian
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has warned consumers against engaging with fintech payments Flutterwave and Chipper Cash.
The regulator noted that the two companies were not licensed to operate in Kenya, so they should not provide remittance or payment services to buyers and sellers.
CBK governor Patrick Njoroge said the two companies’ operations remain suspended in Kenya.
“Flutter wave is not licensed to operate remittance provider
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