Author: Njenga Hakeenah

Communities without a reliable clean water supply are set to benefit from a project that will utilise solar technology to desalinate water.

This follows the launch, by four companies, of East Africa’s biggest decentralized water desalination project which is estimated to cost Ksh 435 million (4 million Euros) has been led.

The four companies German energy Solutions Company Boreal Light GmbH (G) and Atmosfaire gGmbH (G) have partnered with local companies WaterKiosk® Ltd (K) and Bilal Sustainable Development Programme to construct 40 solar water desalination systems in 10 counties in Kenya and three cities in Tanzania- Arusha, Tanga, and Dodoma.

This partnership is aimed at providing water for communities suffering from endemic water shortage in the target areas.

The desalination systems will deliver a total of one million litres of clean drinking water per day. They will be installed in Wajir, Mombasa, Naivasha, Garissa, Turkana, Machakos, Makueni, Kajiado, Marsabit, Narok, …

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As Kenya’s SME sector grows through a tough economic time, mentors are increasingly targeting the sector to offer guidance to small businesses.

The latest entrant is Wylde International which has invested Sh50 million in a one-stop-shop entrepreneurs centre in Nairobi dubbed SNDBX.

SNDBX gives entrepreneurs and SMEs timely and personalised access to round the clock business growth experts to help face challenges they are experiencing.

The centre is an all-access pass to more than 20 experts including finance, human resources, tax, legal, branding, marketing, debt collection, innovation, governance and risk management among others.

Speaking during the launch, Wylde International Chief Executive Joram Mwinamo, said the move was necessitated by the need in the market to help entrepreneurs scale up.

“An environment where ambitious entrepreneurs have a supporting cast of seasoned professionals. The SNDBX is a First of its kind in the world, developed over 10 years of working with entrepreneurs, …

Absa Bank Kenya has announced a Ksh10 billion fund to advance credit to women-owned small and medium enterprises over the next five years.

The kitty comes as part of the new customer value propositions under the Absa brand.

The women fund is part of the bank’s commitment towards advancing diversity and inclusion by empowering women with financial resources and capacity building to grow their businesses.

The money will be availed to women entrepreneurs through the existing banking products including unsecured and secured loans, trade finance, asset finance, property finance and working capital facilities.

“Women form over 50 per cent of the local and global population and account for a significant percentage of the SME sector. However, their participation in the national economic development is often stifled by limited access to financial resources and social-cultural restrictions. We are confident that this proposition, coupled with the additional interventions we continue to make, …

Erratic electricity supply and lack of credit are the worst culprits stymying the sector’s growth. …

After signing a deal with a Rwandan bank to build 2,000 affordable housing units, Shelter Afrique is heading to Senegal in West Africa for a similar deal.

The Pan African housing developer has signed a US$11.6 million line of credit with Senegal’s Teyliom Group for the construction of affordable housing units.

Shelter Afrique says the money will go toward the development of affordable housing with the world-class Diamniadio Lake City (DLC).

The deal with Teyliom Group is the first significant project Shelter Afrique has embarked on in Senegal since 2016 and is the second transaction the Company is making with the Teyliom Group.

When complete, the project is expected to deliver large-scale affordable housing of 3,439 units with selling prices starting at US$26,000 for more than 20,000 individuals and create more than 3,000 jobs, with a sizeable number of those being held by women.

The high-density estate has been designed …

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With more than 14 million people in Southern Africa facing acute hunger, non-governmental organisations are calling on the AU Heads of State to address the issue threatening lives in the region.

The NGOs comprising of Oxfam, CARE, Plan International and World Vision are also calling for the implementation of agricultural policies that will enable people to feed themselves in line with the AU’s Malabo Declaration’s commitment of investing 10 per cent of national budgets in agriculture.

In addition, Southern African leaders are being urged to increase investments in early warnings and early action systems on natural hazards and promote agroecological approaches to transition towards more just and sustainable food systems.

14.4 million people facing acute hunger

Severe food insecurity rates across 9 southern African countries are 140 per cent higher now than in 2018 primarily because people are being hit by weather extremes driven by climate change.

Across the Southern …

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