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 …

A new report has revealed that ICT and Agriculture are the leading host sectors for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya.

The 2021 MSMEs Survey Report by Kenya Bankers Association also ranks manufacturing and construction among the dominant hubs for the enterprises that collectively create an estimated 15 million employment opportunities in the economy.

The study, conducted by the KBA Centre for Research on Financial Markets and Policy in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in May this year, further indicates over 90 percent of the 279 MSMEs sample analyzed were registered, signaling a high level of formalization.

The Findings

Based on entrepreneur characteristics, majority of MSMEs owners are males at 77 percent, highly educated with 54.5 percent having a bachelor’s degree level of education.

In addition, close to two-thirds or 63 percent of enterprise owners had been in employment for more than six years before …