Friday, March 29

Personal Finances

L-R: Andrew Shirley, Maina Mwangi and Ben Woodhams. The Knight Frank Wealth Report notes that Kenya’s dollar millionaires are repatriating their wealth to adopted home countries. www.theexchange.africa

The proportion of Kenyans seeking foreign passports is not the highest for Africa, with 31 per cent of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in South Africa seeking a second passport, and 44 per cent of HNWIs in Nigeria.

Andrew Shirley, editor of The Wealth Report at Knight Frank said that amongst Kenyans seeking new passports, the proportion was interested in reducing their tax bills, enhancing their safety, or getting a better quality of life just as much as the wealthy globally.

Of Kenyans seeking new passports, around 59 per cent are doing so as an investment, against a global average of 17 per cent, while 38 per cent cite education as a driver, compared with 18 per cent worldwide.

Meanwhile, 34 per cent are seeking better healthcare, compared with 13 per cent worldwide.…

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Cashlet has been developed by Sycamore Capital Ltd, and it works in partnership with regulated fund managers in Kenya, to allow users to invest in unit trust products in simple, fully digital, and modern way.

The initial partner fund managers include ICEA Lion Asset Management, Old Mutual, and Genghis Capital.

The app seeks to pioneer saving and investing flexibility, life goals creation and tracking, market interest rates, financial visibility, and expert support.…

Ndovu Cofounders Radhika Bhachu and Ro Nyangeri. www.theexchange.africa
  • Data by the World Bank reveals that at least a quarter of the African population has internet access, a nearly fifty-fold increase in internet usage since 2000. 
  • The rapid spread of the internet across the African continent has been lauded as a key driver of prosperity and a sign of the continent’s technological coming of age. 

Over the past few years, the wealth management industry has seen a significant amount of diversification, from traditionally having products geared towards institutional investors and high net worth individuals to offering more accessible products to low and middle-income earners. 

While WealthTech is not a new concept in Africa, there is room for market players to leverage consumer demand for wealth management products that are more digitally accessible and easy to use. 

WealthTech or wealth management technology is the combining of technology such as AI, big data, SaaS, with financial assets, such as savings, investments,

Tala, the leading consumer lending app in emerging markets, has disbursed loans to over 2.5 million customers globally, in the wake of continued global expansion of financial technology. Tala, formerly Mkopo Rahisi, was launched in Kenya in 2014 becoming the first in the world to offer unsecured mobile loans direct to consumers. Tala has improved financial inclusion in Kenya by expanding credit access across Kenya by using alternative data to instantly underwrite and disburse credit to people who have been excluded from traditional finance due to lack of credit history or formal records.

Tala, the leading consumer lending app in emerging markets, has disbursed loans to over 2.5 million customers globally, in the wake of continued global expansion of financial technology.

READ:Kenyan fintech companies brace for sectors’ revolution

This was revealed on Monday during the celebrations to mark the company’s five year anniversary in Kenya.

When Tala, formerly Mkopo Rahisi, was launched in Kenya in 2014 becoming the first in the world to offer unsecured mobile loans direct to consumers.

Since then, Tala has expanded credit access across Kenya by using alternative data to instantly underwrite and disburse credit to people who have been excluded from traditional finance due to lack of credit history or formal records.

READ:Tala raises $30 million to expand into new markets

Speaking during the launch of ‘Tala at 5’ celebrations, the head of Tala’s Kenya business, Ivan Mbowa, noted that Tala has changed the way people …

Cash transfers equal to the cost of common development programs have the same impact- The Exchange

Cash transfers equal to the cost of common development programs have the same impact

Just last year, the World Bank asked Kenya to expand its cash transfer programs to the poor noting that these programmes were having a great impact than the traditional aid. The Bank urged the Kenya;s Treasury to ramp up allocations for direct cash transfer programmes beyond the 519,878 Kenyans covered as at 2015 under the social safety net plan.

In the World Bank report titled “Fiscal Incidence Analysis for Kenya” which analyses the impact of the direct cash programmes in Kenya, the multilateral lender says the elderly cash transfer programme covered only around three percent of all households in Kenya in 2015/16.

This call is now being backed by research as more people evaluate the effects of cash transfer programmes in Africa replacing the old model of donor dictating the project and how a beneficiary can …

CMC Motors, the sole distributor of the Ford Ranger vehicles, and NIC Bank, have signed a partnership agreement that will see CMC- Ford customers receive up to 95 per cent financing on all Ford ranger vehicles. The deal is based on a 60-months-repayment plan, the latest in an effort to grow the uptake of commercial motor vehicles in the country.

NIC Bank and CMC Kenya have entered a deal for Ford Ranger vehicles

CMC Motors, the sole distributor of the Ford Ranger vehicles, and NIC Bank, have signed a partnership agreement that will see CMC- Ford customers receive up to 95 per cent financing on all Ford ranger vehicles.

The deal is based on a 60-months-repayment plan, the latest in an effort to grow the uptake of commercial motor vehicles in the country.

This promotion scheme will ease the acquisition of Ford Ranger vehicles as customers will be able to enjoy maximum loan tenure of 60 months; 60 days repayment holiday after vehicle release and insurance services arranged through NIC bank.

Speaking in Nairobi during the signing ceremony of the financing deal, CMC Motors Group CEO Noel Mabuma said: “Given the vast expertise in financial services from Al Futtaim, CMC is proud to launch the interest subvention scheme that will …

World Bank has projected that by the year 2060, Africa’s population will be as much as 2.7 billion people; Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is estimated to be at 860 million.

At the moment, at least 60 percent of Africa’s population is under the age of 25. This figure also indicates that Africa has one of the largest youth populations in the world.

Africa’s economy has to be in proportional progression to keep up with the ever-rising population. Needless to say, the digital economy is indispensable as it intertwines creative and innovative technological solutions that not only reshape traditional marketing endeavors but also changes people’s lives completely.

It is not surprising to see that there is very little understanding of the digital economy in some African countries. Youth are most likely victims in less democratized regimes as such systems impede democracy by limiting active digital spaces for public participation through constructive dialogue …

Majority of Kenyans securing their old age by saving under retirement schemes are still exposed to tough times during sunset years, a survey has revealed. The study by pension fund administrator Zamara Group has revealed that though pension’s legislation in the country has improved the governance and operations of the retirement funds, it has done little to improve the coverage and adequacy of retirement benefits to individuals. Coverage of retirement schemes in Kenya has remained relatively low with less than 50 per cent of the formal sector covered and coverage of the much larger informal sector virtually non-existent.

Coverage of retirement schemes in Kenya remains below 50%

Majority of Kenyans securing their old age by saving under retirement schemes are still exposed to tough times during sunset years, a survey has revealed.

The study by pension fund administrator Zamara Group has revealed that though pension’s legislation in the country has improved the governance and operations of the retirement funds, it has done little to improve the coverage and adequacy of retirement benefits to individuals.

Coverage of retirement schemes in Kenya has remained relatively low with less than 50 per cent of the formal sector covered and coverage of the much larger informal sector virtually non-existent.

According to Zamara Group CEO Sundeep Raichura, even those who are saving under retirement schemes have insufficient coverage to provide an adequate income when they retire.

The study which covered 65,000 retirement scheme members, spread across more than 200 retirement funds in the …

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