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- Kenyan home buyers shift preferences, seek affordable housing despite market downturn
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Industry and Trade
- Kenyan home buyers are looking for cheaper houses despite an overall drop in real estate property prices
- In addition, there was a slight activity increase in the high-market section, to account for 17 per cent in quarter four from 15.2 per cent in the third quarter.
- These variations underscore the segmented nature of the housing market, influenced by both region and house type.
Kenyan home buyers sought cheaper houses despite an overall drop in real estate property prices throughout last the year, according to a new report.
The latest Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) Housing Price Index shows that the low market segment (Affordable Housing) recorded high demand in the last quarter, accounting for 62.3 per cent.
The shift to the low end was a steep rise compared to 48 per cent recorded in the previous quarter.
Price reduction came amidst challenges like high inflation and a weak shilling, which reduced …
- Firewood is responsible for killing at least 33,000 people yearly in Tanzania.
- A person who is exposed to firewood smoke for an hour has similar health risks as a person who smokes between 200 and 300 cigarettes.
- Tanzania is estimated to lose nearly 470,000 hectares of forest each year due to the rampant acts of cutting down trees for charcoal and firewood.
The use of clean cooking energy is no longer a luxurious thing. It is a necessity, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan noted recently during the launch of the 10-year National Clean Cooking Strategy in Dar es Salaam. However, this assertion comes at a precedented moment when women such as Magreth are seeking alternative energy.
“We ask President Samia to help us in any way possible with alternative ways of cooking such as gas,” says Magreth Ngole, a resident of Njombe and a frequent user of firewood for cooking …
- Kenya Apparel Exports currently stand at about Sh51 billion, according to a Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) report.
- Kenya is one of the global suppliers of big fashion brands in America, such as H&M, Levi’s, JCPenny, and Wrangler.
- Youngone intends to start a vertically integrated manufacturing factory, from knitting to dyeing to manufacturing of garments.
Top Global apparel and footwear manufacturer Youngone will set up a factory in Kenya at the Athi River Export Processing Zone (EPZ), Cabinet Secretary for Trade and Industrialization Rebecca Miano has revealed.
The CS said the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) had received a Manufacturing application form with all the required attachments from Youngone Kenya EPZ Limited (Proposed) by April 21, 2024, and issued an Approval in Principle Letter on 25 April 2024.
This comes as the government, through the Ministry of Trade, has been seeking more investors in the textile industry to drive local …
- Kenya Ports Authority handled 37,576 metric tons of cargo in 2023, according to its Managing Director.
- The KPA MD revealed the gantry cranes were procured to the tune of $31,493,808
- One of the notable recent investments by KPA is the construction of the second phase of the Lamu Port.
The Lamu port is poised to become a key driver of economic growth and regional integration, according to industry players.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director Captain William Ruto said the impressive statistics underscore the vital role that the Lamu port plays in facilitating trade and driving growth in the region.
He added that this results from its container capacity of 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) across its three berths of 4000 meters each.
“The Lamu facility is poised to become a key driver of economic growth and regional integration,” he pointed out.
Captain Ruto disclosed last year that …
- DRC Joins the Organisation of Southern Cooperation after depositing the Instrument of Acceptance
- Secretary-General Manssour Bin Mussallam received the Instrument of Acceptance.
- The OSC, aimed at fostering cooperation and development among Southern Hemisphere countries
The Republic of the Congo has consolidated its full membership status of the Organisation of Southern Cooperation (OSC) by depositing the Instrument of Acceptance by Daniel Owassa, Ambassador of the DRC to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union.
Secretary-General Manssour Bin Mussallam received the Instrument of Acceptance at a handover ceremony yesterday at the OSC Headquarters in Addis Ababa.
The Republic of the Congo is a founding member of the OSC. The depositing of the Instrument of Acceptance signifies the completion of the full membership process by countries in the Global South.
Read Also: SkyPower, AFC, and DRC join forces for $2.3Bn Green Giant project
H.E. Bin Mussallam said the occasion marked the beginning …
- Red Sea shipping disruptions by Houthi rebels stemming from the Israel -Palestine dispute in the Gaza Strip.
- Simultaneously, transits around the Cape of Good Hope are up by a nearly similar amount in the same period.
- Since the first attack in November last year, data shows the numbers have risen to about 68 as of March 12.
The East African region is still at risk of future global shocks as continued Red Sea shipping disruptions and attacks on cargo vessels by Houthi rebels could likely dent the current ease in the cost of living in Kenya, with analysts predicting an increase in fuel prices.
This is likely to negate the calmness in inflation witnessed in the past three months, when the country recorded a decline in fuel and some food item prices, bringing down the level of inflation to 5.7 per cent in March.
The attacks that are stemming from …
- Kenya looks to rise on its estimated $38.4 million blue economy investments to grow sector revenue to $921 million annually.
- Africa, with its vast coastline and rich marine resources, is poised to harness the immense potential of the blue economy.
- BlueInvest Africa is a business-to-business event that aims to catalyse the growth of Africa’s blue economy through strategic investments.
The Kenyan government is looking to ride on its estimated $38.4 million (KES 5 billion) investments in the blue economy initiatives to increase revenue to $921 million (KES 120 billion) annually.
This will be a threefold increase from the current $288.6 million (KES 37.6 billion) that the state generates from the blue economy.
The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy & Maritime Affairs, Salim Mvurya, said that part of the plan was to map the fisheries’ infrastructure across the country.
“We want to increase the revenue to Sh120 …
- 121 African startups secured $466M, marking a 27 per cent drop from the previous quarter; women-led startups got 6.5 per cent of the capital.
- About 87 per cent of startup funding in the three months to March went to entities in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa.
- Gender imbalance persists as only 6.5 per cent of the financing went to female-led startups in Africa.
The big four economies of Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt continue to attract the highest share of funding going to startups in Africa, even as the ecosystem suffered a 27 per cent drop in financing to $466 million in the three months to March 2024.
The latest analysis from Africa: The Big Deal shows that 87 per cent of startup funding in the three months to March went to upcoming entities in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa.
Attracting $160 million, Nigeria’s economy accounted for …
- The partnership will enable Kenya and South Korea to strengthen legal services and networks for African companies.
- G&A has built a strong reputation in Africa, delivering on transformational projects like the recent Eurobond
- In February last year, the two countries pledged to continue to nurture and expand ties
A law firm in Nairobi is championing a plan to see Kenya and South Korea strengthen legal services for companies in Africa. Kenya’s G&A Advocates LLP has signed a partnership agreement with South Korea-based law firm Jipyong ahead of the Korea-African Summit. The partnership will enable Kenya and South Korea to strengthen legal services and networks for African companies.
The Korean African Summit is set to take place between June 4 and June 5 in Seoul, South Korea, under the theme: “The Future We Make Together, Shared Growth, Sustainability and Solidarity.”
The summit, which will be the first-ever, aims to strengthen the …
