Browsing: Kenya

Kenya’s Strathmore University, in collaboration with SYSPRO, a global provider of industry-built Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for manufacturers and distributors have released research findings of a production and manufacturing industry in Kenya .

The study explored productivity and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector in Kenya, from close to 100 companies drawn from 12 sectors on the role of new technologies in improving the sector and the state of adoption and use of these new technologies.

The study, titled “An Investigation into the Implementation of Technological Aids and ERP Solutions in the Manufacturing Industry in Kenya”, had Prof. Ismail Ateya, Dean of Research and Innovation, as the principal investigator and Prof. Reuben Marwanga as the co-investigator.

The findings were presented at a launch event attended by Betty Maina, the Principal Secretary, State Department of Investment and Industry in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, and Dr. Vincent Ogutu, Vice …

Tanzania is consistently hindering East Africa’s integration by its aggravated actions in dealing with its neighbours…

Investors are keen on new developments at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as the market opens its counters for derivatives trading.

The NSE Derivatives Market (NEXT) futures start trading today with the official launch of the market slated for Thursday, July 11, 2019.

“NEXT provides new opportunities to investors, enabling them to better diversify their portfolios, manage risk, and deploy capital more efficiently,” NSE Chief Executive Geoffrey Odundo said.

Futures contracts provide investors with risk management tools in the wake of unexpected volatility in asset prices.

READ:NSE gets green light for Derivatives Market

NEXT will also enable Kenya to consolidate its position as a leading financial services hub offering a wide variety of investments products.

The  NEXT will commence with index futures and single stock futures on selected indices and stocks respectively, the bourse’s management said.

The Exchange will initially offer index futures contracts on the NSE25 Share Index …

The premier global event for coffee, tea and chocolate enthusiasts, the Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Festival (CTC Festival) is set to be held in Kenya this year.

Dubbed The Journey of Taste, the festival to be held in March 2019 in Nairobi, celebrates in one location the burgeoning of speciality coffees, ergonomic tea selection and chocolate lifecycle.

It is expected to bring more than 40,000 people together in one venue to explore private training, innovation labs, interactive workshops and live stage shows among many other activities.

World Barista Champions, producers

Kenya is the first African country to host this world-class festival.

“We are excited to be showcasing to local, regional and global players and visitors, the variety that is offered by Kenya, in terms of coffee and tea,” says Obed Mutua, General Manager of Four and One Worldwide Kenya.

He added, “Participants will get the chance to meet world Barista …

World Bank Vice President for Africa Hafez Ghanem has assured of the Bretton Woods institution’s support for Kenya’s Big 4 development blueprint which drives the government’s development agenda.

Ghanem has singled out the provision of affordable healthcare as an area that his organization is keen on collaborating with the government to ensure its success.

READ ALSO:Boost for Kenya’s Big 4 as World Bank extends US$250 million

“The World Bank is committed to supporting Kenya in advancing the Big 4 Agenda both in technical and financial cooperation,” Mr Ghanem said.

The World Bank VP was speaking when he paid a courtesy call on President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi.

President Kenyatta praised the collaboration between his administration and the World Bank, saying the partnership has seen implementation of projects that have impacted positively on the lives of Kenyans.

READ:World Bank gives Kenya US$750M loan, but why?

President Kenyatta …

Kenya’s insurance sector has been rocked with controversies among them failure to meet contract obligations, exposing policy holders to risks rather than being cushioned as expected of indemnity.

In the latest twist of events, it has emerged that over ten insurance companies in Kenya are not paying claims, despite collecting billions in monthly premiums from their clients.

This has left hundreds of thousands exposed to risk while affected persons suffer despite having insurance covers.

There are 37 general insurance companies and 25 long term insurance companies, placing the total number of underwriters at 62.

The country’s insurance market has also been infiltrated by banks, which are offering insurance services under the ‘Bancassurance’ umbrella.

READ:What’s next for the insurance industry in Kenya?

Billions in premiums

According to official data by the industry regulator-Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), insurance industry gross premium written stood at Ksh216.37 billion (US$2.12billion) as at end of …

Software Group, a global software company that provides digital financial solutions with African operations run from Kenya, has appointed Mr. Connor Hanan to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria, it currently serves a worldwide client base in more than 70 countries from 9 regional offices located in Australia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hanan was the company’s Key Global Accounts Manager. He has had a successful career focused on financial services specific to affordable shelter in developing contexts. Within this sector he helped establish operations, Small Businesses and partnerships across roughly 35 markets in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Mr. Hanan has over 11 years of experience with FSPs, client-focused product design, and market analysis, a seasoned professional in Investor/Client Relations, as a Program/Project manager, and as a Director of …

Kenya has made a major step in the commercialisation of its oil ahead of planned exports which will see the East African nation become a major net oil exporter in the region.

In the latest developments, the government and its Joint Venture Partners: Tullow Kenya, Total and Africa Oil Corp, have signed Heads of Terms for the development of the oil fields in the northern part of the country (South Lokichar Basin-Turkana), where exploration and production has been ongoing on small scale.

These Heads of Terms capture all of the key commercial principles related to the implementation of ‘Project Oil Kenya’ and provides both the framework and commercial certainty required to draft the fully termed upstream and midstream agreements, ahead of a Final Investment Decision(FDI).

This is a major and important milestone towards reaching a FDI.

Oil blocks and pipeline

Under the deal, all parties have agreed that the Amosing, …

Pan-African connectivity provider, BringCom, in partnership with science and technology investor, Imprimatur Capital, and European edge cloud software company, GIG Technology, have launched a cloud sovereignty system – afriQloud.

Launched in Uganda, afriQloud will provide, at internationally competitive rates, local and foreign customers with an innovative and secure distributed edge cloud service.

The aim of afriQloud is to have the Edge Cloud installed in cities and tech hub ecosystems which hosts a high number of startups and developers. Now present and operational in Uganda, afriQloud will be spreading its services further into the different regions of Africa this year.

Hans van Linschoten, founding partner of Imprimatur Capital Africa and CEO of afriQloud says,  “We see significant potential in the growing African cloud market where an estimated $2 billion is being spent in cloud this year, and we’re excited to bring this service to the continent. By the end of 2019 …

Global risk and information solutions provider—TransUnion has urged the use of credit scores for better loan product pricing.

With a keen focus on Kenya where the capping of interest has led to a credit crunch to private sector and households, TransUnion Kenya is urging lenders to focus on individual credit scores to make smarter decisions and empower consumers to take control of their financial health.

“With new risk-based pricing systems for loans on the horizon in Kenya, it’s becoming increasingly important for both consumers and financial institutions to understand how credit scores can help enable the right conversations,” the firm says in its latest market review on the East African country.

According to the firm, there is need for a new pricing system for interest rates (ether risk-based or not) to become increasingly clear.

“Many banks currently take a blanket approach to pricing,” says TransUnion Kenya CEO Billy Owino, “This …