A Mombasa-based glass manufacturer is warning that it could be forced to close Kenyan operations under the heavy weight of high production costs coupled with proliferation of cheap imports. Milly Glass Works director Mohamedraza Rashid says the EAC and COMESA agreements have opened doors for cheap products from member states forcing it to review its […]
Category: Regional News
East Africa’s creative industry gets $900k credit fund to grow to $5m over 4 years
The financing is aimed at unlocking the potential of the creative and cultural economy in the region. According to the agreement, enterprises will be able to access working capital and asset financing, as well as strengthen their internal systems to enable them to produce at scale and make their business practices more efficient. This signing […]
Mastercard driving shift of Tanzania into a cashless economy
Mastercard and Selcom have expanded their collaboration by signing a seven year strategic partnership agreement to introduce a variety of payment solutions in the country, thus supporting Tanzania’s goal of becoming a cashless economy. Tanzanian’s will be enabled to transact more conveniently, quickly and securely at more payment acceptance locations. Already consumers, retailers and local […]
Kenya: Agriculture Minister complains about sugar dumping allowed by the Treasury
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri on Monday accused Treasury of opening the floodgates allowing the dumping of 1.3 billion kilos of sugar into the market, effectively knocking millers out of business for a long time. Mr Kiunjuri said Treasury, in an unprecedented move, allowed everyone, without a licence, to import as much sugar as they […]
Every Kenyan owes lenders $1150
Kenya’s public debt has crossed the Sh5 trillion mark ($50bn), meaning that every Kenyan now owes the lending institutions at least Sh110,000. Although Treasury documents tabled in the National Assembly put the debt at Sh4.9 trillion as at June 2017, by February this year, the country had borrowed another Sh220 billion largely for infrastructure development […]
Kenya’s 2018/19 budget good for textile and steel
Cotton growers, textile manufacturers and steel makers could turn out to be some of the biggest beneficiaries of this year’s budget. But there are caveats. First, the county governments will have to assist farmers with inputs, training and developing linkages with cooking oil processors and textile firms to guarantee markets and prices. Secondly, the relevant […]
Safaricom’s digifarm opens four farmers’ depot in Meru County
Safaricom in partnership with iProcure, FarmDrive and Arifu have opened four Digifarm depots in Meru County. Located in Laare, Nkubu, Mikindori and Meru Town, the four depots will offer quality, affordable inputs to farmers from Meru County. Since October 2017, more than 105,000 farmers from the county have signed up for the Digifarm service. “Digifarm […]
National Bank CEO gets Sh48m ($480k) pay
National Bank of Kenya (NBK) chief executive Wilfred Musau. file photo | nmg National Bank of Kenya’s chief executive Wilfred Musau earned a total of Sh48 million in the year ended December, representing an 80 per cent pay rise from his previous position as the lender’s director of retail banking. Mr Musau was paid Sh26.8 […]
Kenya’s Coffee Exchange: Auctioning Coffees at Origin
Auctioning is perhaps one of the most convoluted and least efficient ways to complete a coffee transaction. It also happens to be one of the very first means used for trading green coffee. It persists today as the primary method for purchasing coffees from nations such as Kenya and Tanzania, and it maintains an important […]
Safaricom Staff Pension Fund eyes Private Equity deals
Private equity investments, which are long term like real estate, will also offer attractive and stable returns for the over 5,000 members of the scheme, according to Chairman Joseph Ogutu./FILE Private equity investments, which are long term like real estate, will also offer attractive and stable returns for the over 5,000 members of the scheme, […]