Browsing: Kenya

An American company Pura has announced that it has entered an agreement with an undisclosed Kenyan coffee farm to produce coffee to be laced with extracts from the cannabis plant. The company that is known for producing different products from the extracts of marijiuna plant.

CBD or Cannabidiol, is a less intoxicating product of Cannabis Sativa that treats a variety of mental issues. These include anxiety and depression. The Marijuana plant has been well researched and even more, findings are being released by the day.

Scientists have identified many sub-components of this plant but three components have remained central to scientific research. These include Cannflavins, which relieve pain and inflammation; CBD which affects anxiety and depression without giving users a ‘high’ and the much-debated tetrahydrocannabinol or THC which is much sought after for recreational purposes.

CBD and THC have been identified by scientists to be quite similar. They both have …

Thirty-eight emerging market economies, including five countries in Africa, have initiated key banking reforms to drive development and fight climate change, according to the second Global Progress Report of the IFC-facilitated Sustainable Banking Network (SBN).

The SBN Global Progress Report shows that regulators and banking associations in countries in Africa are adopting national sustainable finance policies and voluntary principles as well as advancing green bond markets and innovative green lending policies.

“African countries will be among the hardest hit by climate change and Africa already faces daunting challenges around job creation and inequality,” said Kevin Njiraini, IFC’s Regional Director, Southern Africa & Nigeria. “Advancing sustainable finance is critical to help the region build competitive and resilient financial services that support inclusive economic development.”

In addition to providing practical resources for countries undertaking sustainable finance reforms, the report also highlights the knowledge shared by SBN members – a hallmark approach of …

Distributed Power Africa (DPA) has unveiled a 1.2MW solar installation at Liquid Telecom’s  Campus in Midrand, Johannesburg –one of their largest projects to date in South Africa. Recently, the company also announced a major deal with Tesla to bring Powerwalls into Zimbabwe, as a part of their telecoms power solution.

According to the CEO of DPA Africa, Norman Moyo “This solar deployment to Liquid Telecom Midrand is a major development in improving energy security for critical users like data centres.  It will improve their power security and energy efficiencies.  The power needs of data centres tend to be heavy and sensitive, and DPA’s engineering hopes to provide a reliable power supply to keep this operation running with no downtime.”

DPA designed and is engineering the Liquid Telecom Midrand solar plant as a combined carport and rooftop solution, that will come complete with a real-time power monitoring system.  This initiative is …

Today, as the world commemorates World Anesthesia Day, we hope deliberations from the 7th All Africa Anesthesia Congress in Morocco will yield progressive results on the ground in order to live up to our commitment of leaving no-one behind.

Passy, a 7-year-old girl from Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo lies unconscious on the operating table at CBCA Bethesda Hospital in Goma, ready to have her cleft palate treated for free, courtesy of Smile Train. Haggai Musinene, the anesthetist in the room monitors Passy’s breathing, intensely switching his eyes between the screen and Passy’s chest before Dr. Obady Vitswamba, the lead surgeon could touch her. It’s Haggai’s green light to Dr. Obady that gets things going. 45 minutes later, Dr. Obady lays his instruments down and Haggai patiently monitors Passy as the anesthesia wears off. Passy, groggy from the medication is whining, but Haggai calms her down as …

Safaricom, leading communications company in Kenya is eyeing a stake in Ethiopia’s State-owned Ethio Telecom.

Ethio Telecom has announced the sale of shares through a privatisation plan.

Safaricom’s interim CEO, Michael Joseph said that Safaricom is considering buying a stake in the world’s largest telecoms monopoly or might consider setting a shop in Ethiopia from scratch.

Michael Joseph’s comments came when the Ethiopian authorities launched the search for an adviser on the sale of a stake in its national operator. The company is opening the country’s telecoms market to foreign investment for the first time.

Ethio Telecom’s has a subscriber base of 44 million makes it the biggest single-country customer base of any operator in Africa. Ethio Telecom last year generated revenues of about $1.2 billion, which is nearly half the Sh250.9 billion that Safaricom posted in the year to March.

Safaricom’s cash at bank stood at Ksh20 billion …

Kenya’s green energy M-Kopa has revealed how it has bridged energy needs for low income earners in East Africa. The company, which boasts of clean energy stalwart Al Gore in its shareholding has issued over $233 million in credit to its predominantly low-income customers over the last eight years. Repayments are made via micropayments and M-KOPA has now processed nearly 100 million mobile money payments.

M-KOPA provides off-grid homes and businesses with asset financing for lights, phone charging, radios, televisions, fridges and more. Previously, customers were spending an average of 50c per day on kerosene, candles and phone charging.

The energy company pioneered and built one of the world’s most advanced pay-as-you-go platforms – unlocking solar, information, technology and finance to upgrade lives in over 750,000 homes and businesses.

M-KOPA payments displace this spending and customers are able to save an additional US$650 over the lifetime of their systems. This …

Kenya is keen to boost its trade with Ethiopia through the One Stop Border Post initiative, even as Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor starts to take shape.

Acting Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning Ambassador Ukur Yatani has called on residents of the upper eastern region at the Kenya-Ethiopia border to take advantage of recently established One Stop Border Point (OSBP) in Moyale to boost trade between Kenya and Ethiopia.

READ ALSO:Ethiopia beats Kenya in Foreign investments

The CS said that the modern facility which is among other six in the country was underutilized.

“We should see more trade volumes passing through the OSBP at Moyale- an indication of a robust business activity between Kenya and Ethiopia. Unfortunately, we are not witnessing this. I wish to urge residents in this region to make use of this exemplary facility for their good and the good of both …

With the ever-increasing need to provide job seekers that are qualified for a specific job, Kenya’s talent recruitment agency BrighterMonday has introduced a new product called ‘Best Match’. Research has shown that there exists a disconnect between job seekers with their skills and the job market keen to bridge skilled labour space.

The product is designed to make the process of finding the best candidates more efficient for human resource professionals, business heads and entrepreneurs looking to hire quality talent.

According to BrighterMonday CEO Emmanuel Mutuma, with increasing market dynamics and competitive job markets, Best Match was designed to cater to growing organizations with limited access to niche talent, those with mass recruitment needs as well as organizations that were not savvy enough to use digital recruitment solutions.

“Employers who use the Best Match product will get up to 10 best matches within the first 7 days of their job …

Every month, Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway moves an average of 200 cargo trains from the coastal city of Mombasa to Nairobi’s inland container depot. With it, it moves at least 1,000 containers to Nairobi. This has left a bitter taste among residents of Mombasa, who have over the years depended on the undertakings around the port for jobs.

SGR, which has been billed as the biggest transport infrastructure project in the Kenya’s history, is expected to haul about nine million tonnes of cargo to make a profit of Sh5.08 billion a year, averaging Sh424 million per month, compared with 990,488 tonnes carried in the first year when SGR made a loss of Sh10 billion.

The SGR has so far made Sh10.9 billion from cargo and passenger business since it started operating, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ economic indicators report released in December 2018.

The cracks on the …

Sports betting fans in Kenya, with an incentive to win a handsome load of cash, will have to rely on other outlets as large-players SportPesa and Betin quit the market in a rather disappointing manner.

The duo’s exodus, occurred shortly after a series of engagements with the government, proved to be a failure. SportPesa commented on it’s return ( to the market) conditions, citing that they would resume operations when “adequate taxation and non-hostile regulatory environment” are in place.

The latter was also compelled by the July hit, where the government ordered telcos to shut down 27 sports betting pay bills and shortcodes, SportPesa and Betin inclusively.

According to The Citizen report, the government of Kenya saw uneven distribution of the benefits within the sector, as sports betting companies garnered over $2 billion in 2018, but the government share stood at $40 million.

According to PWC, Kenya is the …