Author: Kimani Chege

Africa has seen a sharp rise in mergers and investments over the last decade.  The total deal value of merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in Africa increased by 32%, rising from US$16 billion in H1 2018, to US$21 billion in H1 2019 according to different wheel dealers in Africa. The appetite for African share has been born out of an economy that is showing one of the fastest growths in the world. Also, the continent has launched various initiatives to lure foreign direct investment into the continent. These initiatives include the Africa Continental Free Trade Area as well as individual…

Kenya has always been at the center of wildlife conservation due to its world-renowned national parks and an active conservation movement. Drawn by the large economic benefits brought about by tourism, wildlife conservation is however increasingly becoming a strained trade. Three events happened in the last two months that have cemented Kenya as the center for conservation. First, a project to maintain the legacy of the last white rhino in the world received a boost after the country announced the successful fertilization and creation of new embryos from the original bull. This research was conducted by Kenya Wildlife Services, OlPajeta…

In a jammed conference room in a Nairobi hotel in early 2019, a panel of rights activists poked holes at the Kenyan oil exploration and mining activities in Turkana. Blow by blow, the team illustrated how Kenya stands to lose if radical measures are not put into place to ensure the resource benefits the country. The Kenya Oil and Gas working group called for an audit of the contracts of oil mining to ensure they follow international standards. Charles Wanguhu, a social activist coordinator of the Kenya Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, said in international practice, if a…

Africa is one of the sunniest continents in the world, 85 percent of African land receives more than 2,000 kilowatt-hours of solar energy per square meter per year. Almost 70% of the population of African countries is located in the Sahara and the surrounding areas do not have access to the grid. With the need to hook up to the grid, a new partnership is moving towards achieving more solar power for the industry. Kenyan industries are set to benefit by saving a minimum of 30% on their current cost grid consumption following a partnership between Distributed Power Africa (DPA) and Canadian Solar company. Currently, Kenyan…

At Kapiti research station, 70 Km south of Nairobi, scientists based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and its Mazingira Centre – a-state-of-the-art environmental and education facility in East Africa is conducting essential climate observations. Collecting actual data on how the climate is changing in Kenya’s Savannahs has remained a challenge. Thus, the data available to show climate variations in East Africa has always needed validation. The most commonly used method is use of satellite imagery which unfortunately lacks the ability to show actual data for a specific area spanning a couple of kilometers. This data captured by satellite,…

Kenya is pursuing a new trade deal with the United States, a deal that was announced earlier in February during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to Washington DC. To set the stage for the new deal, US department of agriculture USDA has announced that Kenya will start receiving wheat from Idaho, Oregon and Washington states after the states addressed plan health concerns. Kenya has lifted the trade barrier to allow U.S. wheat growers in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) access to Kenya’s wheat market for the first time in over a decade after the U.S.- Kenya Trade and Investment Working Group adopted…

The Senegalese capital of Dakar is hosting Africa Day 2020 with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and UN-Habitat presenting various opportunities for investors, with an aim of increasing levels of investment in the housing and habitat in the continent. Africa Day gathers participants from Africa, Europe, and others parts of the world to debate the challenges and solutions for the continent in development, digitalization, sustainability, jobs for young people and many other areas. “Cities for people” is the main topic at EIB Africa Day conference. More than 400 government ministers, business leaders, academics and civil society representatives, as well as mayors…

South Sudan’s handshake’ has been welcomed by economists who say the deal resonates with the demands of the economy, which according to the World Bank and IMF, expects it to be one of the fastest-growing in the continent. Last week, a new government of national unity was unveiled with Dr. Riek Machar joining the government as a vice president ending six years of civil war that has killed about 400,000 people and displaced millions. The war has also led to massive looting and wastage of oil and the proceeds of the natural resource leaving the country impoverished. According to the…

Vancouver based East African Mining has entered into an agreement with Hong Kong mineral company, Sino Union Energy Group Limited for the acquisition of the Ethiopian mineral project, the Harvest Project. Harvest project is 70%-owned by Tigray Resources, a subsidiary of EAM and is located in the Arabian Nubian Shield in northern Ethiopia. In a statement made to the shareholders, EAM said that a binding letter of intent to acquire a majority ownership stake in the Harvest Project whereby Sino Union will acquire 55% interest of the Harvest Project by making a cash payment of five hundred thousand dollars. It…

Returning from a global legal onslaught, Chinese owned Opera has moved on to solidify its hold of Africa with the installation of new servers in Mombasa which it says makes browsing four times faster. The browser with more than 350 million monthly active users has faced legal tackles mainly from US and Europe on how it handles app-based loans. Google play also announced that it will take measures against the company based on how it runs Okash, an online money lending app. Opera has announced the successful installation of its new local servers in Mombasa, Kenya, through iColo.io MBA1 data…