Browsing: Featured

Dubai Ports World
  • Dubai Ports World (DP World), based in the United Arab Emirates, is rapidly expanding its operations across Africa to become a dominant player in the region’s commerce.
  • Establishing a streamlined commerce corridor connecting East Africa and the Great Lakes region is a fundamental plank of DP World’s overall strategy.
  • DP World seeks to regulate and strengthen African trade by tackling the difficulties of logistics and storage with cutting-edge digital solutions.

Dubai Ports World in Africa

As the Africa Continental Free Trade Act ushers in a new era of African trade, a significant participant rises from the Arabian Peninsula. Dubai Ports World (DP World), based in the United Arab Emirates, is rapidly expanding its operations across Africa to become a dominant player in the region’s commerce.

The story’s action begins in one of East Africa’s thriving harbours. The vast potential of the Kenyan ports of Mombasa, Lamu, Kisumu, and Naivasha has …

Africa's financial inclusion

Currently, financial inclusion is a target that all African countries must achieve. Boosting Africa's financial inclusion will have a positive impact on economic growth and the prosperity of society. Through financial inclusion, everyone has access to a variety of quality, effective, and efficient financial services. Increasing public accessibility to financial service products will further reduce the level of economic and social inequality which in turn will improve the welfare of the community.

One of the efforts to achieve this financial inclusion target is through technology in the form of digital finance. When financial products and services use internet technology, it makes it easier for people to directly access various kinds of payments, shopping, savings, and investments, including loan and credit facilities. Among these digital financial elements, the payment facility is the service that is experiencing the fastest development and contributes greatly to the achievement of Africa's financial inclusion targets.…

[elementor-template

Zimbabwe's gold-backed digital currency

In May 2023, Zimbabwe released a gold-backed digital currency for peer-to-peer and business transactions. It acted as a store of value as the Zimbabwean dollar continued its steep depreciation. International gold prices controlled by the London Bullion Market Association will dictate the local pricing of Zimbabwe’s digital currency tokens.…

Standard Chartered loans for women businesses
  • Standard Chartered Kenya has partnered with business accelerator Somo to launch a program that would allow women to access loans ranging between KSh250,000 and KSh2 million at an interest rate of 5%
  • Disadvantaged women in Kenya have a chance of accessing small-ticket loans to support their businesses
  • The loans, which are designed to help the women restore and revitalise their businesses, will be payable over a period of up to 3 years

Disadvantaged women in Kenya have a chance of accessing small-ticket loans to support their businesses under a plan by Standard Chartered Kenya in partnership with business accelerator Somo.

Women in business will be able to access loans ranging from KSh250,000 to KSh2 million, at an interest rate of 5 percent. The loans, which are designed to help the women restore and revitalise their businesses, will be payable over a period of up to three years.

StanChart said the …

Mastercard plastic cards
  • Mastercard said plans are in motion to remove PVC plastics from payment cards on its network by 2028
  • The global payment solutions company said the move would further reinforce their sustainability commitments 
  • All newly–produced plastic payment cards will be required to be made from more sustainable materials – including recycled or bio-sourced plastics such as rPVC, rPET, or PLA

Mastercard said it is planning to remove PVC plastics from payment cards on its network by 2028.

In a statement, the global payment solutions company said the move would further reinforce their sustainability commitments and scale the accessibility of more sustainable card offerings for consumers seeking a way to reduce the environmental impact of their wallet.

Mastercard turns to recycled, bio-sourced plastics 

From January 1, 2028, all newly–produced plastic payment cards will be required to be made from more sustainable materials – including recycled or bio-sourced plastics such as rPVC, rPET, …

Youths returning to rural areas to farm commercially
  • Kenyan youth are frequently asked to consider farming as a way of making a living
  • Some agree while others rubbish the trade saying it is difficult
  • Challenges facing farmers in Kenya include the high cost of farming inputs, cartels along the production chain and lack of sufficient land for farming commercially

Kenyan youth have been urged time and time again to turn to farming to make a living, amid high levels of unemployment. They are also frequently asked to use farming as a means of increasing the amount of food produced in the economy to aid food security.

For instance, youths in Elgeyo Marakwet were recently urged to engage in crop farming for economic purposes. Crop farming would also reduce their over reliance on livestock farming, which has contributed to banditry in the region.

A finding by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) explains that agriculture contributes 33% to the …

President William Ruto
  • Kenya has invited German businessmen to invest in the country’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
  • President William Ruto said the country stands to benefit from the world’s most experienced, organised and resourced German establishments
  • Food processing, the digital economy, and intellectual property rights, among others, are some of the potential areas Germans want to invest in

Kenya has invited German businessmen to invest in the country’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Speaking on Monday, 27 March, 2023, Kenya’s President William Ruto said the country stands to benefit from the world’s most experienced, organised and resourced German establishments.

Dr Ruto noted that the sector is the backbone of the German economy, generating more than 60% of employment opportunities.

Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda

He was speaking in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin when he met Dr Markus Jerger, the Chairman of Der Mittelstand-German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW).

According to Dr …

Diageo Kenya shares in EABL
  • Diageo UK has announced that it has successfully completed the partial tender offer to acquire an additional 15.0% stake in East African Breweries Plc (EABL)
  • Prior to the tender offer, Diageo Kenya PLC held 395.6 million shares out of the total 790.8 million outstanding shares, equivalent to 50.0% of the entire shareholding
  • Following the completion of the Tender Offer, Diageo Kenya now holds the largest stake in EABL at 65.0% with 514.0 million shares

Diageo UK, through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary Diageo Kenya, has announced that it has successfully completed the partial tender offer to acquire an additional 15.0% stake in East African Breweries Plc (EABL).

Prior to the tender offer, Diageo Kenya PLC held 395.6 million shares out of the total 790.8 million outstanding shares, equivalent to 50.0% of the entire shareholding.

The tender offer comprised two phases with Diageo Kenya receiving valid tenders from 1,697 shareholders amounting …

smartphone use among Kenyans
  • Thousands if not millions, of Kenyans, earn a living through their smartphone
  • Taxi drivers and cloth sellers are among the people who have created their own jobs through smartphone use
  • A report by the Communications Authority of Kenya covering the first quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year revealed that one of every two Kenyans has a smartphone

Without a doubt, smartphones are helping thousands if not millions of Kenyans and around the world to make a living. In fact, a Statista report shows that the mobile ecosystem employed 26 million people globally in 2021, with a whopping 12 million being employed directly in the mobile industry.

Locally, data shows that half of the Kenyan population owns a smartphone. A report by the Communications Authority of Kenya covering the first quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year revealed that one of every two Kenyans has a smartphone. Broken down, the report …

Tigo global payments
  • Tigo Tanzania, Selcom and Mastercard Inc. have partnered to introduce online payments on a global scale
  • The three parties have launched the service through the Tigo Mastercard virtual service via Selcom’s card-as-a-service (CaaS) platform
  • The deal is expected to enable Tigo Pesa customers to transact on global payments platforms

Tigo Tanzania, Selcom and Mastercard Inc. have partnered to introduce online payments on a global scale. The three parties have launched the service through the Tigo Mastercard virtual service via Selcom’s card-as-a-service (CaaS) platform.

According to the partners, the deal is expected to enable Tigo Pesa customers to transact on global payments platforms. They will also benefit from Mastercard’s technology which would enable new digital commerce opportunities for consumers and merchants, through simple and secure payment experiences.

The launch of the virtual card will ensure Tigo’s ability to provide its customers access to products and services previously a preserve of physical …