Trending
- Kenyan Farmers Receive $2M Boost from Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism
- Brace for High Interest Rates for a Longer Period World Bank Warns Kenya
- Kenya-Ethiopia Trade Relations: Legislators Advocate for Policy Alignment to Boost Ties
- Visualising the state of debt in Africa 2024
- Abu Dhabi radiates optimism as over 300 startups join AIM Congress 2024
- TLcom Capital Raises $154 million in Funding to Boost Its African Growth
- Africa’s $824Bn debt, resource-backed opaque loans slowing growth — AfDB
- LB Investment brings $1.2 trillion portfolio display to AIM Congress spotlight
Africa
- AfDB asks policymakers to put in place an orderly and predictable way of dealing with Africa’s $824Bn debt pile.
- According to AfDB, Africa’s ballooning external debt reached $824 billion in 2021.
- AfDB president says there is urgent need for increased concessional financing, particularly for low-income countries.
Africa’s immense economic potential is being undermined by non-transparent resource-backed loans that complicate debt resolution and compromise countries’ future growth, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said.
Adesina at the Semafor Africa Summit taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings, highlighted the challenges posed by Africa’s ballooning external debt, which reached $824 billion in 2021, with countries dedicating 65 per cent of their GDP to servicing these obligations.
He said the continent would pay $74 billion in debt service payments this year alone, a sharp increase from $17 billion in 2010. “I …
- Meg Whitman, US Ambassador to Kenya, highlights key investment opportunities in Kenya, particularly in the creative industry and clean energy.
- She noted that Kenya has the potential to become the Singapore of Africa through vertical business integration, job creation, innovation, and foreign direct investment.
- AmCham Business Summit 2024 seeks to strengthen bilateral trade and investment between the US, Kenya, and East Africa.
The fourth edition of the regional American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham) Business Summit, has officially kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme, ‘Catalyzing The Future of US-East Africa Trade and Investment’.
This year’s forum underscores AmCham Business Summit as the premier platform for strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the United States, Kenya, and East Africa.
Hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the two-day Summit has brought together delegates from the United States of America, East and Sub-Saharan Africa in efforts to deliberate and …
- UN faults UK-Rwanda asylum treaty citing concerns on potentially harmful impact on global responsibility-sharing, human rights, and refugee protection.
- Spearheaded by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the legislation mandates judges to deem Rwanda as a safe third country.
- With deportation flights slated to start in July, the move is sparking weighty debates over the ethical implications of outsourcing asylum responsibilities.
This week’s passage of the “Safety of Rwanda” Bill by the UK Parliament has triggered alarm bells within the United Nations (UN), with two prominent leaders, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, raising concerns over its potentially harmful impact on global responsibility-sharing, human rights, and refugee protection.
Spearheaded by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the legislation mandates judges to deem Rwanda as a safe third country, paving the way for the deportation of thousands of migrants who have sought refuge …
Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has announced a new deal that will help businesses in the private sector forge their way to recovery.
CMA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) to support market deepening and leveraging capital market products to catalyze growth in the sector.
The partners say the move is line with the Big 4 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.
Through the MoU, CMA and KEPSA say they will be seeking avenues for private and public sector finance and investment necessary to support Kenya’s economic growth and complement development funding gaps.
The two institutions will also seek to collaborate in the development of policy and regulatory interventions to create a conducive business environment that will support a robust, resilient, and inclusive financial sector through the growth of the capital markets.
The CMA Chief Executive, Wyckliffe Shamiah said the partnership is expected …
Digital health solutions provider Carepay has this week announced a new partnership with Jubilee Health Jubilee Health Insurance.
The Kenyan based company which operates M-TIBA platform says the partnership will see them roll out Jubilee’s digital insurance products on the M-TIBA platform.
The partners are currently developing a new range of mobile-first health policies for groups, saccos and chamas.
Under the new deal, Jubilee Health Insurance customers will be able to sign up and manage their health policies through M-TIBA’s mobile interface.
CarePay is also providing digital services through M-TIBA, including new member outreach, on boarding, claims handling and payments integration.
The partners are predicting that the rollout of convenient and cost-effective digital capabilities will support the growth of Kenya’s retail insurance segment by enabling more seamless product bundling and much wider access.
Jubilee Health Insurance Dr. Patrick Gatonga noted that there exists a lot of unexploited opportunities for insurers …
Of the 186.5 million people from around the world who cannot afford an energy-sufficient food diet, the vast majority are Africans.
This is according to a new report launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC).
Nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables and animal proteins, are relatively expensive when compared to staples such as cereals and starchy roots, and, the report argues, some of the reasons for this are systemic.
Evidence presented in the report shows that nearly three-quarters of the African population cannot afford a healthy diet of fruits, vegetable and animal proteins, and more than half cannot afford a nutrient-adequate diet, which provides a mix of carbohydrates, protein, fats, and essential vitamins and minerals to maintain basic health.
Even an energy-sufficient diet, which supplies a bare minimum of energy and little …
Women-owned and led SMEs (WSMEs) in Kenya face structural barriers that limit their ability to secure contracts with large companies for growth.
This is according to an IFC study published today that recommends ways banks and large businesses can better support female entrepreneurs.
The study was commissioned as part of IFC’s wider efforts to connect women entrepreneurs to new markets and is titled Sourcing2Equal Kenya: Barriers and Approaches to Increase Access to Markets for Women-Owned Businesses.
It found that women-owned businesses face challenges accessing finance, business networks, and market information, hence limiting their ability to take on large contracts.
The study found that there is a 9 percent gender gap in the participation of SMEs supplying directly to corporate Buyers, commonly known as tier 1 suppliers, with WSMEs receiving fewer contracts among the SME respondents in this study.
However the survey indicates that there is 13 percent more WSMEs than …
The young and the restless are befitting words to vividly depict the status quo of the countless educated but unemployed African youth; a ticking time bomb threatening the future of the continent.
Is it the lack of proper skill sets or the intermittent nature of opportunities that has resulted in the shrinking job market? This remains a puzzle yet to be unraveled. Upon graduation from tertiary institutions, the almost assured optimism by young people of landing top jobs on the basis of their qualifications is swiftly replaced with the icy glare of disillusionment. As desperation creeps in hope for a bright future slowly seeps out for many young people; moving from office to office wielding briefcases filled with job applications, whilst others frequent internet cafés to fill out a dozen more steadfast in their quest for jobs. Pushed to the brink, it is not a rarity to find young people …
Kenyan-based lender Family Bank Limited has officially rang the bell to mark the listing and the commencement of trading of its corporate bond at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
The country’s Capital Markets Authority gave a nod to list the first tranche of its Medium Term Note under the Fixed Income Market Segment at the NSE after a successful offer that raised a total of US$40.6 million against a US27.8 million target, marking a subscription of 147.3 percent.
Early in June, the Authority allowed the mid-tier lender to issue an US$74.1 million multicurrency Medium Term Note (MTN) programme in tranches.
“The response that this bond has generated demonstrates the confidence the market has in the Family Bank brand despite constrained liquidity in the money market as evidenced by the tough economic environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Family Bank Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Mbithi.
“The capital raised will definitely …
