Author: Martin Mwita

In Kenya, the airline is projected to register 19% more seats than in 2022.  The expected growth is attributed to increased business travel post the August 2022 general elections. New Regional General Manager exhibits confidence in Nairobi’s ability to support Air France-KLM operations by providing a stable and developing business climate and regional connectivity. Air France KLM Group is keen to solidify its position in the East African market and meet the fast- changing consumer needs, as it embarks on its 2023 growth plan. This comes after a challenging Covid-19 pandemic season that saw air travel falling sharply prompting airlines…

Auto firm Peugeot has stirred the pick-up market in Kenya that is currently dominated by rivals Isuzu and Toyota. Majority of Kenyans prefer cheaper second-hand cars imported mainly from Japan.  The new Landtrek enables Peugeot to make a comeback in a pick-up market where it has a strong heritage, including legendary models such as 404 wagon and the 504 pick-up, which won the 1984 African Rally championships. Peugeot is seeking to grow its sales in Kenya as it moves to introduce a new pick-up truck in the market that has been dominated by Isuzu and Toyota in recent years. The…

Housing demand in Kenya is estimated at 250,000 units annually. With a supply of only 50,000 new houses annually, there is an 80 per cent annual housing deficit. President William Ruto has detailed his plan to deliver 200,000 housing units annually. Kenya has had an ambitious plan to address the housing shortage in the country, with the two past regimes placing affordable housing as one of the key priorities. Housing demand in Kenya is estimated at 250,000 units annually. With a supply of only 50,000 new houses annually, there is an 80 per cent annual housing deficit. The previous government…

The fastest growing licensing partners on Mdundo in the period were Slide Digital (Tanzania), Dapper and Mavin (Nigeria), Content Connect Africa (South Africa) and Saldid Records (Kenya). The growth is an indication of the catalog released within the period as well as marketing initiatives within the Mdundo service. The milestone is in line with the 2025 Strategy of reaching 50 million monthly active users. Africa music service platform, Mdundo.com has reported a strong performance for the first half of the financial year ending December 31,2022 as unique monthly users reached 23.4 million. This was a 15 per cent increase, with…

Kenya Power is at the center of electric motorization as it has to ensure adequate and reliable electricity supply to spur the growth of this nascent industry. GIZ is keen to help Kenya develop a framework that will support a coordinated approach toward the implementation of electric motorization in the country. Kenya Power has already announced plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles and motorbikes from its fleet in favour of electric-powered ones. Kenya’s ambitious goal to expand the Electric Vehicles (EVs) market has received backing from the Germany government, in what could help the East African nation fast-track adoption…

AGOA has been a cornerstone of the U.S trade policy in Sub-Saharan Africa since the year 2000. The non-reciprocal trade preference programme that provides duty-free access to the U.S market. A range of manufactured goods and processed mineral products account for the bulk of exports. African countries are pulling together to lobby the U.S Congress to approve the renewal of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) this year. Kenya and South Africa are leading the push to have a 10-year extension on the pact that allows a select number of African countries to export finished products to the US. AGOA has been…

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) softened markedly in 2022 to 3.4 per cent as inflationary pressure, weak external demand, and tighter global financial conditions, tempered post-pandemic recoveries in many countries. Food price pressures, already significant even before the pandemic, have intensified further because of adverse weather shocks, supply disruptions worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increased fragility and insecurity, and, in some countries, large currency depreciations. According to the World Bank, annual food price inflation exceeded 20 per cent in over a quarter of all countries last year, dampening growth in real income and consumer demand, and deepening food…

Before the Covid-19 Pandemic struck, East African countries had a common agenda to invest in infrastructure development. As the three main economies of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda they sought to become competitive and attractive investment destinations, the issue of borrowing in foreign currencies created the debt burden they face today. The mega investments in roads, railways, ports and aviation, have all been challenges, as low revenue collections and high recurrent expenditures continue to plague their respective governments. Most of the countries have no choice but borrow to bridge budget deficits. According to the IMF, the major EAC nations, namely Kenya,…

Kenya’s inflation has marginally dropped for the third straight month providing relief to households that have been battling runaway inflation since April last year. The overall year-on-year inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 9.0 per cent in January 2023, down from 9.1 per cent in December and 9.5 per cent in November last year. It hit a five-year high of 9.6 per cent in October 2022, data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows. The lower inflation (measure of the cost of living) in January however remains above the preferred ceiling of 7.5…

The world has in recent months witnessed a dramatic turnabout on the future of nuclear energy, mainly in the developed countries. This is on the back of the Russia-Ukraine war which has seen post-pandemic energy shortages turn into a full-blown energy crisis. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nuclear power plants slated for closure across Europe have been given “an 11th hour reprieve. Japan has announced, after a decade of paralysis, that it plans to restart many of its reactors, which have sat idle since the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi. France, which had launched plans to reduce its…