Author: Martin Mwita

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Equity Group Holding Plc’s subsidiary, Equity Investment Bank (EIB) has partnered with global investment firm Tellimer, in which EIB clients will access the firm’s new research portal. The pact comes as part of Equity’s market development strategy and will enable EIB clients gain access to research insights and intelligence to make quality and informed investment decisions. Equity Group’s CEO and Managing Director Dr. James Mwangi noted that the research portal will go a long way in achieving EIB’s vision to become a leading brokerage and investment banking firm in Kenya, East and Central Africa, serving local and international institutional investors…

NSE 20 share Index which tracks top listed companies at the bourse was down 16.21 points Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) opened the week with low activities as shares traded close Monday at a total of 10 million, valued at Ksh302.5 million (USD 2.9 million). This was down compared to 19.8 million shares valued at Ksh560 million (USD5.5 million) posted on Friday before the market took a break for the weekend. On Monday, the NSE 20 share Index, which tracks blue chip companies was down 16.21 points to stand at 2783.01. All Share Index (NASI) shed 2.40 points…

It targets agricultural,building,construction and waste management sectors in the country Leading construction and building equipment supplier, Ganatra Plant & Equipment Ltd and NIC bank have partnered to finance purchases of new JCB Back-hoe Loaders in Kenya. This is in the wake of a credit crunch in the market occasioned by the interest rate cap law, which has lowered the purchasing power of majority of investors. READ:Why Kenya’s Central Bank has retained minimum lending rate at 9% The partnership is seeking to reduce the financial load from the customers by offering them flexible financing terms including a cost reduction of 20…