Author: Kimani Chege

Civil societies in Kenya exploring underlying social and economical issues affecting Oil and Gas benefits in Kenya

Civil societies in Kenya exploring underlying social and economical issues affecting Oil and Gas benefits in Kenya

Civil societies in Kenya have called for greater scrutiny of Kenya’s oil and gas industry to ensure there is maximum benefit both for the country as well as for the society. The issues raised during a media round-table in Nairobi included compensation, use of oil revenues and infrastructural development.

There is evidence of roughly 600 million barrels of oil in the two “blocks” of oil reserves currently being tapped in Turkana by a group of partners led by London-based Tullow Oil. But initially, production will be very limited pending construction of an 821-kilometer oil pipeline to a seaport in Lamu, Kenya, which is forecast to be completed by 2022.

However, Kenya Oil and Gas working group is calling for audit of the contracts of oil mining to ensure they follow international standards.

According …

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Sawa Minerals works with small-scale miners who make a huge contribution to the global minerals trade by utilising blockchain-backed smart contracts 

Sawa Minerals works with small-scale miners who make a huge contribution to the global minerals trade by utilising blockchain-backed smart contracts

Sawa Minerals, a tech-driven company has launched a platform that will transform the lives of many African miners.

The blockchain backed smart contracts platform has been designed in such a way that it is easy to buy ethically mined minerals from artisans and small scale miners (ASM) across Africa and the developing world in a transparent manner.

The name ‘Sawa’ is Swahili for “fine”, “all good” or “no worries”. One of the co-founders Mr Kali Angwa said they settled on the name because it captures the purpose of the platform.

Sawa Minerals is a platform where stakeholders are not worried about fraud; where buyers are assured of ethically mined, genuine minerals; where miners are assured of decent pay. The platform will be guided by the principles of fair treatment …

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Initial solar plant by Rendeavour is expected to produce enough power for 8,500 people per year- The Exchange

Initial solar plant by Rendeavour is expected to produce enough power for 8,500 people per year

Rendeavour, a real estate developer based in Nairobi Kenya has installed its first solar power plant in Kenya, as part of a 30 MW strategy for Tatu City, the company’s new city development in Nairobi.

The installation is in line with Rendeavour’s long-term commitment to environmental conservation through harnessing renewable energy sources. The solar power plant – installed on the roof of Dormans Coffee’s global headquarters at Tatu Industrial Park – provides 1 MW of electricity. Installation of the entire plant, including 15 kilometers of cables, took only six days.

Tatu City’s strategy is to install solar panels on all rooftops at the industrial park, the largest in East Africa, said Nick Langford, Kenya Country Head for Rendeavour, Tatu City’s owner and developer.

Read also: Tatu City partners with Karibu

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Education stakeholders meeting in Kenya have urged for curriculum reforms to be learner-centered

Education stakeholders meeting in Kenya have urged for curriculum reforms to be learner-centered

The Aga Khan University in Nairobi has organised a major education stakeholders as it aims at evaluating the development of education in the East African region.  The conference theme is Maximizing Educational Change: Research, Policy, Leadership, Technology and Curriculum and will run until April 17.

The conference, is hosted by AKU’s Institute for Educational Development, brought together around 100 policy makers, teachers, and education stakeholders to discuss relevant issues affecting education in East Africa.

The Chairman of the Commission for University Education, Prof. Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha has advised education stakeholders to ensure that the ongoing curriculum review process is learner-centered.

Noting that the review of the current educational structure is inevitable, Prof. Chacha told stakeholders to ensure that they do not exert their influence to the process, at the expense of the pupils and students who need the …

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Mbarara - Kisangani Road Network

Bottlenecks to the completing of the planned Trans African Highway include difficult terrain and climate conditions, inadequate funding for Road maintenance and upgrades as well as insecurity due to civil conflicts that have damaged roads that now require reconstruction.

There is a new-found political will and High-level commitments by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda to develop and upgrade the Northern Corridor Road Sections  of their country of the Trans-African Highway (TAH) Network No 8 from Lagos, Nigeria to Mombasa that is expected to open the whole of Africa to interstate trade.

Uganda and DR Congo are already working to fix the gaps of the northern corridor in Mbarara-Bushenyi-Kikorongo-Mpondwe-Kasindi-Beni-Komanda-Kisangani  which measures 940Km.

Bottlenecks to the completing of the planned TAH include difficult terrain and climate conditions, inadequate funding for Road maintenance and upgrades as well as insecurity due to civil conflicts that have damaged roads that now require …

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24 employees will spend four and a half weeks in Kenya to support 16 local entrepreneurs- The Exchange

24 employees will spend four and a half weeks in Kenya to support 16 local entrepreneurs

Citi, the leading global bank, has launched the Volunteer Africa 2019, a program that engages junior employees to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

Now in the fourth year of the program, Citi volunteers are returning to Kenya where the program started in 2016. This year, 24 Junior Bankers will spend four and a half weeks working with local entrepreneurs based in Nakuru and Eldoret, using their skills and experience to help them to improve the overall business including growth, employment, and future investment opportunities.

Citi has been operating in Kenya since 1974, serving Corporate and Institutional clients. Volunteer Africa demonstrates Citi’s ongoing commitment to the country, driving economic growth at the community level.

Citi joins forces with Balloon Ventures, a social enterprise that runs development programs to give micro-enterprises the training, funding and support …

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Hello Tractor and CTA launch partnership to support smallholder farmers access mechanization - The Exchange

Hello Tractor and CTA launch partnership to support smallholder farmers access mechanization

Hello Tractor and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) have announced the launch of a joint partnership project to increase smallholder farmers’ access to mechanization services and youth employment opportunities.

The partnership project will enable Hello Tractor to expand its services across Nigeria and Kenya over the next one year to connect 5,000 smallholder farmers to mechanization services, as well as to create jobs for youth as tractor operators and booking agents.

Best practices and lessons learned will be shared on implementing digital services for agricultural mechanization.

“We are delighted to partner with Hello Tractor in expanding its innovative digital platform to reach a large number of users that will contribute not only to modernizing smallholder agriculture and increasing productivity but also to attracting young people to agribusiness in Africa,” said Michael Hailu, Director

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Jiji - the largest classifieds marketplace in Nigeria – has reached an agreement to redirect OLX users in Nigeria to Jiji and to acquire OLX businesses in four other countries, building a leading pan-African classifieds business

Jiji – the largest classifieds marketplace in Nigeria – has reached an agreement to redirect OLX users in Nigeria to Jiji and to acquire OLX businesses in four other countries, building a leading pan-African classifieds business

OLX, online classfied portal has been a major player in the African market for almost a decade even from its original name Dealfish.  However, things have not been going well for the online platform as new entrants including Jumia has pushed it to the blink.

And now Nigerians have come to the rescue in the name of Jiji.

Jiji and OLX have announced that both companies have reached an agreement under which Jiji will acquire OLX businesses in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, pending certain regulatory approvals, and OLX users in Nigeria will be redirected to Jiji. The transaction is backed by one of Jiji’s cornerstone investors, Digital Spring Ventures.

Joining Jiji’s family will …

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