Author: Wanjiku Njugunah

• The private sector in the community has been urged to drive the buy and build East Africa initiative
• Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the EAC dropped by 43% to USD. 4.9 billion in 2020
• Jobs declined by 2%, wiping out the gains made in previous year

Trade between East Africa Community countries dropped by 5.5% to USD. 5.9 billion in 2020 due to COVID-19 while exports from the bloc to the world hit 16.2 billion in 2020 a 3% boost in comparison to  2019.

This is according to the East Africa Business Council CEO John Bosco Kalisa who urged the private sector in the community to drive the buy East African, build East Africa narrative.

He added that the campaign is central in driving the economic recovery agenda for the EAC bloc amid COVID-19 pandemic.

He spoke during a webinar on EAC Trade & Investment Recovery amidst COVID-19 organized by …

• The cost associated with policy instability and unpredictability is often passed down to consumers
• In 2020, the manufacturing industry in Africa experienced reduced demand and depressed production capacity

The biggest challenge that the manufacturing industry faces in Africa is unpredictable business environments.

This is according to the Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Association of Manufacturers Phyllis Wakianga who says the sector is faced with unpredictable fiscal and regulatory policies that discourage the industry from scaling up their businesses.

She adds that the situation also leads to investors seeking more suitable, predictable and secure markets to relocate their businesses.

“Unfortunately, the cost associated with policy instability and unpredictability is often passed down to consumers, whose spending power has been crippled by the ongoing pandemic,” he says in an exclusive interview.

Wakianga also reveals that such instability is a blow to manufacturers, who are struggling to reduce costs, in a highly uncertain …

Kenya is among some eight countries that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) wants to deepen trade ties with, even as it pushes to grow its status as the Middle East commercial hub.  

According to a report filed by Reuters on September 14th, the Gulf State said it wanted to strengthen trade and economic ties with countries including India, Britain, Turkey, South Korea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Israel and Kenya.  

The Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi told the publication that UAE would pursue bilateral issues that include trade, foreign direct investment and sectors such as tourism.  

In terms of oil, UAE is Kenya’s major supplier of oil. For instance, in 2019, oil imports from the UAE stood at KSh116.9 billion ($1.2M) in 2018 compared to KSh108.6 billion ($1.0M) in the previous year.  That year, however, Saudi Arabia overtook UAE as the leading source of Kenya’s oil imports, …

• Benefits of the agreement include strategic positioning in global aviation and diversification of earning streams
• The Kenyan carrier said it remains committed to its financial turnaround strategy
• The deal comes at a time when SAA has just resumed operations after an 18 month hiatus

Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) and South Africa Airways (SAA) have entered a memorandum of cooperation with a longer-term view to co-starting a Pan-African Airline Group that in time will enhance mutual growth potential between the two carriers.

In a statement, KQ said the cooperation aligns with core purpose of ‘Contributing to the sustainable development of Africa’.

The airline added that the agreement would be based on mutual benefits, including strategic positioning in global aviation, diversifying earning streams, and reinforcing regional partnership in Africa through diplomatic and commercial relations.

These benefits are expected to translate into an increase in passenger traffic, cargo opportunities, and general …

• The telco sustained 190,273 direct and indirect jobs during the year
• Safaricom registered its first decline in full year profit in nine years, in the year ended March 2021
• The report seeks to illustrate how Safaricom is using a sustainable business model to address society’s needs

Safaricom’s latest sustainable business report indicates that the company created a total value of Sh664 billion for the Kenyan society in the 2020/2021 financial year, which is ten times greater than the profit made during the year.

According to the report’s ‘True Earnings’ highlights, the firm contributed Sh557.1 billion to the economy in the financial year, which is 5.2% of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The independent analysis of Safaricom’s true value to society identifies the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the company and quantifies them in financial terms.

“Our Sustainable Business report, which covers our last fiscal year from 1st  April 2020 to …

Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, urged the project beneficiaries to take advantage of the government’s free electricity supply policy it rolled out in 2018, provided wiring of their premises had been certified.

The Bank’s Country Manager, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, noted that besides promoting small and medium businesses, the availability of stable power would bolster service delivery, especially at health centres.…

• The move is aimed at creating positive change in communities
• Absa said it is leveraging the power of technology to assist in learning and impart core skills
• Experts have already said the country needs to lay the groundwork for e-learning through investments in ICT infrastructure and digital literacy

Absa Bank Kenya PLC has launched a digital literacy enhancement programme targeting to establish 66 computer labs in schools across the country.

The bank is investing Sh23 million in the nationwide project that is being spearheaded in partnership with Computer for Schools Kenya (CFSK) and will see 1,500 computers donated to different schools in the coming months.

The two organizations rolled out the initiative at the Kikuyu Township Primary School by donating 20 desktop computers that are fully networked and fitted with relevant software to support learning.

The donation was accompanied by desks and tables refurbished from the waste collected during the …

• More than $73 million USD was diverted since 2018
• Illicit diversion of State resources has severely undermined the economic rights of citizens
• Oil industry is also dominated by unaccountable oil consortia

Leaders of South Sudan are diverting staggering amounts of money and other wealth from the country’s public coffers and resources, undermining human rights and endangering security.

This is according to the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan which has found in its latest Conference Room more than $73 million USD was diverted since 2018, including transactions worth almost $39 million USD in a period of less than two months.

The Commission noted that this figure is only a fraction of the overall amount looted.

For instance, President Salva Kiir himself admitted as far back as 2012 that South Sudan’s ruling elites had diverted more than $4 billion USD.

The report also found that illicit diversion of State resources …

• Mastercard Impact Fund has committed a initial philanthropic investment of $25 million 
• The company said small business owners are currently in need of innovative solutions
• It builds on Mastercard’s $250 million commitment to support small businesses’ financial security made last year

Mastercard, through the Center for Inclusive Growth, has launched a new program dubbed ‘Strive’, to strengthen the financial resilience of small businesses as well as support their recovery and growth.

In a statement, the company said the initiative, which is global, will help micro and small enterprises transition to using digital platforms and processes.

The technology company said the launch of the initiative comes at a time when there has been a rapid shift towards digital services, which was necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.

An initial philanthropic investment of $25 million from the Mastercard Impact Fund has been committed to the initiative whose aim is to help more than …

• Demand for credit remains high from financially-stressed consumers.
• Banks and lending institutions had emerged as crucial players in Kenya’s recovery journey.
• According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the NPL rate stood at 14.0% at the end of June.

A new report now indicates that the Covid-19 pandemic is continuing to have an impact on the Kenyan credit market, with banks and lending institutions having to adjust their operations to the current economic climate.

Although demand for credit remains high from financially-stressed consumers, the latest TransUnion Q2 2021 Kenya Market Analytics Report shows a decline in the number of active accounts, clients and new accounts opened compared to the previous quarter.

Ongoing consumer demand for credit saw the value of new loans disbursed during the second quarter increase by 2.5% from the first quarter, from Sh486.6 billion to Sh499.0 billion.

This was driven largely by growing demand for the M-Pesa …