Loans from China closed 2018 at USD6.2 billion (Ksh 627.1 billion)

Kenya will be keen to secure additional funds from China for construction of Phase 2B of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), as the World meets for the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing.

The forum which takes place this week is expected to attract a high number of Heads of States from Africa and across the globe, with thousands of delegates from over 100 countries.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration is seeking a Ksh370 billion (USD 3.67 billion) loan to extend the rail project which is currently at its second phase of construction (Nairobi-Naivasha).

Phase one of the project, 472 kilometre Mombasa —Nairobi line, is currently operational having been completed and commissioned by President Kenyatta on May 31, 2017.

It was constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on a Ksh327 billion (USD3.2 billion) …

Majority of the deals are tier 1 banks going for struggling tier 2 and 3 lenders

Kenya’s banking sector is on an evolution path evidenced by the high number of mergers and acquisitions being witnessed; a trend the government is hoping will realign and strengthen the sector.

The most recent is last week’s offer by the country’s largest bank by asset-KCB, which has made a move to acquire a hundred per cent (100%) of the ordinary shares in National Bank of Kenya (NBK).

This is the sixth deal in the last nine months (between August 2018 and April this year) with a total 13 banking merger and acquisitions in the last six years.

Majority of the deals are tier 1 lenders going for smaller struggling banks in tier 2 and tier 3, in the market which has a total of 42 commercial banks and one mortgage finance institution-Housing Finance.

KCB, …

Farmers could soon start pocketing 80% of gross earnings from Coffee

President Uhuru Kenyatta is committed to revive the country’s coffee industry if latest indicators are anything to go by.

One of the biggest initiatives announced by the government is the rehabilitation of 500 pulping stations (factories) in 31 coffee-growing Counties across the country.

Coffee farmers are also set to benefit a Cherry Advance Revolving Fund being set by the government; a kitty President Kenyatta says will be operational from July 1 when the 2019-2020 financial year commences. The current financial year (2018-19) ends on June 30.

In the coming fiscal year, the government will unveil Ksh3 billion (US$29.6 million) to be accessed at a much lower three per cent (3%) interest rate per annum.

This is much affordable to farmers whom a huge number currently depend on Savings and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOS), which offer loans at a …

Afrexim Bank is providing a USD 500 million financing facility to fund power transmission, infrastructure and agricultural projects. …

Wealthy Kenyans are hoarding nearly two times Kenya’s 2018-19 Sh3 trillion (USD 30 billion) budget representing about 65 per cent of Kenya’s GDP.…

Acumen announces nearly $70 Million close of for-profit off-grid energy fund through its subsidiary Acumen Capital Partners

Acumen, the nonprofit that invests philanthropic capital in companies and leaders tackling poverty, today announced the approximately $70 million close of for-profit fund, KawiSafi Ventures, through Acumen Capital Partners. After investing $22 million of patient, philanthropic capital across the off-grid ecosystem and impacting 81 million lives, Acumen saw an opportunity to drive energy access for millions of low-income people in East Africa and scale the clean energy sector.

In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 600 million people currently live without electricity and spend $17 billion a year on dirty, inefficient energy. KawiSafi aims to deliver clean, affordable energy to 10 million people, at least half of whom live in poverty, and displace more than one million tons of carbon dioxide in the next 10 years, to address energy poverty and help avert the current …

Civil societies in Kenya exploring underlying social and economical issues affecting Oil and Gas benefits in Kenya

Civil societies in Kenya have called for greater scrutiny of Kenya’s oil and gas industry to ensure there is maximum benefit both for the country as well as for the society. The issues raised during a media round-table in Nairobi included compensation, use of oil revenues and infrastructural development.

There is evidence of roughly 600 million barrels of oil in the two “blocks” of oil reserves currently being tapped in Turkana by a group of partners led by London-based Tullow Oil. But initially, production will be very limited pending construction of an 821-kilometer oil pipeline to a seaport in Lamu, Kenya, which is forecast to be completed by 2022.

However, Kenya Oil and Gas working group is calling for audit of the contracts of oil mining to ensure they follow international standards.

According …

Sawa Minerals works with small-scale miners who make a huge contribution to the global minerals trade by utilising blockchain-backed smart contracts

Sawa Minerals, a tech-driven company has launched a platform that will transform the lives of many African miners.

The blockchain backed smart contracts platform has been designed in such a way that it is easy to buy ethically mined minerals from artisans and small scale miners (ASM) across Africa and the developing world in a transparent manner.

The name ‘Sawa’ is Swahili for “fine”, “all good” or “no worries”. One of the co-founders Mr Kali Angwa said they settled on the name because it captures the purpose of the platform.

Sawa Minerals is a platform where stakeholders are not worried about fraud; where buyers are assured of ethically mined, genuine minerals; where miners are assured of decent pay. The platform will be guided by the principles of fair treatment …

Tanzania endeavors to become a middle-income economy by 2025 with a desired per capita income of USD 3000; this will be a monumental step towards economic development and growth for the country.

These aspirations can only be achieved by investing in human capital, in particular creating equal opportunities for women and men. Human capital is the driver of economic transformation and according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) the population currently stands at 54 million and is projected to reach 67 million by 2025. Currently, women comprise 51.3 percent of the population, and while they play a key role in household resilience and sustaining livelihoods within Tanzania’s current economy, they face considerable challenges in other areas. For Tanzania to realize its development ambitions to attain middle-income status, these obstacles need to be addressed in order to create a level playing field that empowers women to be involved in the …