Author: Martin Mwita

NIC Bank Kenya has signed a Loan Portfolio Guarantee agreement amounting to Ksh 515,900,000  (USD5.1 million) with the African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The partnership aims to unlock financing intended to facilitate the promotion, growth and development of SMEs in Kenya.

This comes in the wake of a continued credit crunch in the market, occasioned by the interest rate cap law in the country.

Since the law came into place in 2016, banks have been lending more to the government, shunning the private sector and individuals whom they term ‘high risk borrowers’.

READ:Why high risk borrowers , SMEs in Kenya could get easy loans

Speaking during the partnership launch, AGF Group Deputy CEO Jules Ngankam noted that the objective is to provide partial credit guarantees and capacity development to NIC Bank to stimulate financing of SMEs, thereby unlocking their potential to deliver exclusive growth in …

The Kenyan government has renewed its efforts to fight counterfeit goods and infringement of intellectual property, as counterfeiters continue to pose a threat to local manufacturers and traders.

In a new move, the country’s anti-counterfeit laws have been amended, putting in place new measures that will help fight the vice which takes up to USD300 million of local manufacturers’ market share annually, with the government loses USD80 million as potential tax revenue.

READ:Shocking counterfeit headaches crippling Kenya’s manufacturing sector

The State is also targeting proceeds of counterfeit trade mainly property, with top businessmen, politicians and high-net individuals being among the biggest perpetrators who could cross swords with the authority.

The Anti-Counterfeit Act, 2008 (amended) now extends the counterfeiting scope to include goods counterfeited outside Kenya, allowing for their impoundment.

This means that the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA), formerly the Anti-Counterfeit Agency, now has the power to impound items counterfeited outside …

Kenya and the European Union (EU) have renewed their commitment to a stronger relationship that will enhance trade, support businesses and growth of their economies.

This came after President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday hosted a business dialogue meeting with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the delegation of the European Union in Kenya and the European Business Council (EBC) at State House Nairobi.

On the side-lines of this meeting, President Kenyatta also met with ambassadors from the European Union countries to discuss trade related matters.

Besides fostering the relationship between the private sector in Kenya and their counterparts from the EU operating in Kenya, the meeting aimed at seeking investment commitments from the private sector in Big Four agenda and the Blue Economy sector, forging a formal dialogue engagement between KEPSA, EBC and the government of Kenya.

The business dialogue meeting between KEPSA and EBC was conducted in two sessions. …

Invest In Africa (IIA), a Not-for-Profit SME focused entity, has rebranded its online platform—African Partner Pool (APP)—in a renewed effort to enhance its support for small players grow their businesses.

The platform will now be known as ‘Biashara.Now’, a boost for SMEs seeking to grow their businesses in Kenya.

This comes as the entity marks two years of its online platform which links Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with procurement opportunities available in the private sector across value chains, promoting local content and business sustainability.

READ:Invest in Africa push for increased business on the APP platform

In just two years, the organization has been able to register 2,250 MSMEs on its platform.

It has also recruited over 20 partners who have provided 67 tenders worth Ksh270 million (USD2.9 million) which have been won by MSMEs so far.

Additionally, over 200 MSMEs have been trained and over Ksh300 million …

Global oil prices which have been on an upward trend since January are putting pressure on Kenya’s economy, as the country’s population continues to dig deeper into their pockets to meet the cost of living.

This is in the wake of a rising inflation in Kenya which rose to 6.58 per cent in April from 4.35 per cent in March, the highest increase in the cost of living in 19 months, mainly driven by high food prices.

Crude oil prices have been on the rise since January after edging up from USD59.50 per barrel in December. In January, a barrel traded at USD60.95.This went up to USD66.35 in February, USD 68.60(March) and USD73.05 in April.

Brent, which is a benchmark crude, is currently trading at USD71.90, with overall oil prices projected to surge.

Kenya which prices its oil products on the previous month’s market prices (due to the import period), …

Coca-Cola Africa is partnering with African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa to gather critical inputs and insights from leaders in the water sector, to help understand how the Company and other corporates can address Africa’s water security.

The initiative runs between May 14 and 16, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

According to Coca-Cola, the partnership is in line with the company’s approach to continually engage the right stakeholders, to ensure it is responsive and collaborative in its water stewardship strategy.

“The Company has made significant strides in improving its water-use ratio over the past ten years, and recently announced that three million more people across Africa have improved access to safe water under its Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) – the largest public-private partnership focused on water in Africa,” explains Dorcas Onyango: Head of Sustainability for Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa.

Coca-Cola Africa continues to fulfill its global goal …

Equity Bank has posted a 5.1 per cent rise in its profit for the first quarter of the year as the SMEs —focused—lender continues to navigate the interest rate cap regime in Kenya and a loan default trend in Tanzania.

The Nairobi Security Exchange (NSE) listed bank recorded a Ksh6.2 billion (USD61.3 million) net profit for the period, up from Ksh5.9 billion (USD58.4 million) in a similar period last year, buoyed by interest income and cost management.

READ:Equity net profit grows to Ksh19.8 billion on FinTech

Interest income from loans and advances rose to Ksh9.1 billion (USD 90million) up from Ksh8.7 billion(USD86 million) last year as the lender’s loan book swelled to Ksh305.5 billion (USD3.02 billion ) compared to Ksh271.1 billion (USD2.7 billion ) in March last year.

Interest earned from government securities equally went up to close the quarter at Ksh4.1 billion (USD40.5 million), compared to Ksh3.7 billion …

The Kenya shilling is arguably the strongest currency among the East Africa Community (EAC) member states, giving the region’s economic power house a competitive edge over her peers in international trade. 

READ:Here are Kenya’s biggest trading partners

However, the country has been operating a managed shilling than a free float currency, running a risk of making its exports more expensive in the short run as compared to competitors, eventually causing a reduction in export earnings and the economy’s growth, a report by Amana Capital has established.

Amana’s “Kenya’s Economic Puzzle – Putting the pieces together” report highlighted that 10 years ago, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 97 but has since shot up to 192 to date, meaning what the value Ksh100 (USD0.99) could buy in January 2009 can only buy 50 per cent of that now.

This translates into a 50 per cent devaluation of the purchasing …

Safaricom (NSE: SCOM) has announced plans to double its 4G network coverage to 5000 base stations by March 2020, covering all major towns and 80 per cent of the Kenya population.

The announcement was made by the company CEO Bob Collymore as he released financial results for the year ending  March 31, 2019, which saw net income increase by 14.7 per cent  to Ksh63.4 billion (USD624.9 million ) with revenue hitting Ksh240.3 billion (USD2.4 billion).

“We are pleased with the strong results we have delivered for the year, building on our long track record of delivering relevant products and putting the customer first. We foresee continued growth in the future,” said Collymore.

Safaricom expects to spend over Ksh36 billion (USD354.8 million) in driving up additional 4G coverage, which will see the company roll out an additional 2,030 4G and 4G+ base station to reach more than 80 per cent …

Glovo, one of the world’s fastest growing delivery players has announced a USD169 million Series D funding round, led by international venture capital firm Lakestar, as it plans to expand its operations in Africa.

The start-up, which recently launched in Nairobi, will use this injection of funding to bolster its growth within the Sub-Saharan Africa market.

READ:Investing in Kenya’s logistics space

Priscilla Muhiu, the firm’s head of marketing for Sub-Saharan Africa says the move aims at improving their response to customers.

“Glovo is committed to taking its tech capabilities and systems to the next level. We will use this opportunity to grow our team of tech experts to create a smarter and more efficient experience for customers and reduce waiting time for Glovers,” said Mrs. Muhiu.

“We also intend to expand our footprint across Sub-Saharan Africa, with new operations in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania,” she added.

Glovo hopes to …