Author: David Indeje

Africa-focused renewable energy finance platform, Nithio FI has secured $4.5 million in funding to offer sustainable and renewable off-grid energy solutions for homes and small businesses in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Led by FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), the investment tier of FSD Africa, a financial sector development and catalyst programme based in Nairobi and funded by the UK Aid. The funding complements Nithio FI’s total raise of $23 million, will support access to renewable energy for households, smallholder farmers and micro-entrepreneurs who otherwise will not be able to meet the costs. It wants to do the same for energy providers…

Kenya will receive emergency aid totalling USD 410 million to support its program to address debt vulnerabilities, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. It will also help respond to the COVID-19 crisis and enhance governance. The disbursement is part of the 38-month Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the 38-month arrangement under Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Kenya. Kenya has now received US$ 714.5 million under the facility approved in April 2020. “The Kenyan authorities continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to their fiscal reform agenda during this unprecedented global shock. Performance under the EFF/ECF…

The Kenya National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has approved the environmental release of genetically modified (GM) cassava in the country. The event 4046, resistant to cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), was developed by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). The approval paves the way for conducting national performance trials of these varieties before registration and release to farmers.  “Full approval will be considered by the Board after the NPTs have been finalized. This approval is valid for a period of five (5) years from the date of authorization,” Prof Doringtom Ogoyi, CEO of Kenya National Biosafety Authority, said in…

New lockdown restrictions towards the end of Q1 are expected to further dampen demand, with rents within the Nairobi office market coming under renewed downward pressure according to Knight Frank’s Africa Office Market Dashboard for Q1 2021. The report finds that the Nairobi office market performance remains subdued owing to the lockdown restrictions imposed towards the end of Q1 which impacted negatively on market activity. “There remains an oversupply of commercial space in most districts across the city which together with the slowly recovering economy and working from home dynamic has given occupiers the upper hand in lease term negotiations…

Kenya’s leading telco, Safaricom PLC, has launched a new lifestyle app designed to bring customers the convenience of front-end insights on M-PESA transactions including direct access to statements, spending, and so much more. The new app, M-PESA, unlike the already existing mySafaricom App, focuses only on Safaricom’s mobile banking platform. It offers an intuitive and interactive solution that simplifies the M-PESA experience by converging several services including buy data, bill manager, M-PESA global, and space where users can save and grow.  The simple user journey availed by the new M-PESA app is expedited by a design that houses everything under…

Kenya has received 360,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine as part of the country’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccines were donated by the Government of Denmark. https://twitter.com/MOH_Kenya/status/1407058592348393476?s=20 A brief handover ceremony was held at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Monday, which was attended by Ministry of the Health PS Susan Mochache, Danish Ambassador to Kenya Ole Thonke. Others include UNICEF Representative to Kenya Maniza Zaman and WHO Representative to Kenya Dr. Rudi Eggers. The rollout of the national vaccination campaign is being led by the Ministry of Health, with support from the Global Alliance for…