Author: David Indeje

Kenya’s debt has exceeded 7 trillion following large state borrowing as the coronavirus pandemic continued to wreak havoc to the economy. Data from the Central Bank of Kenya’s Weekly Bulletin shows that at the end of August, total accumulated debt hit KSh7.068 trillion. The debt increased by 0.158 billion compared with July’s KSh6.91 trillion. Between March and August, the country borrowed KSh782.75 billion of which KSh329.07 billion was from domestic sources and KSh453.69 from external sources. https://twitter.com/MihrThakar/status/1315242172694880257?s=20 Analysts at Genghis Capital project that the public debt will hit KSh9 trillion by the year 2022 if the current rate of borrowing…

BIDCO Africa Limited, East Africa’s leading manufacturer of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), is implementing a smart electrification solution for its latest production site at Bidco Industrial Park in Ruiru with support from Schneider Electric. Schneider Electric is providing and installing a suite of hardware and software that will provide Bidco’s operations team with the ability to power and maintain the factory’s existing production lines. In addition, it will ensure the facility is future-ready and is able to integrate renewable power sources with Internet-of-Things functionality. “We were looking for electrical technologies that would create efficiency and allow for scalability as we…

The Walt Disney Company is reorganizing its media and entertainment businesses to focus on streaming and direct-to-consumer offerings. “Given the incredible success of Disney+ and our plans to accelerate our direct-to-consumer business, we are strategically positioning our Company to more effectively support our growth strategy and increase shareholder value,” said CEO Bob Chapek in an announcement Monday. The revised structure will include a new media and entertainment distribution group that handles all content Disney produces. The company will organize its holdings into three media and entertainment content groups – Studios, General Entertainment and Sports.  Studios will include Disney, Pixar, Marvel,…

UK supermarket giant Tesco has suspended the supply of avocados from agricultural firm Kakuzi over systemic human rights abuses. The grocery retailer announced the move after law firm Leigh Day said Sunday it had initiated legal action against UK firm Camellia, whose subsidiary runs the site. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 79 Kenyans at London’s High Court, accuses the subsidiary Kakuzi of employing security guards alleged to have perpetrated killings, rape, attacks and false imprisonment since 2009. According to Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper, Kakuzi supplies avocados to several UK supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s and Tesco. A Tesco spokesperson said: “Any…

Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) continued to exhibit weakness with NASI, NSE 25, and NSE 20 all recording losses of 0.1 percent, 0.5 percent, and 0.8 percent, respectively. This was mainly attributed to losses recorded by large-cap stocks such as ABSA, BAT and Equity Group, which declined by 4.1 percent, 3.0 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.  During the week ending October 8, market capitalization, equity turnover, and the total number of shares traded declined by 0.2 percent, 39.0 percent, and 45.0 percent, respectively.  Foreign investors remained net sellers during the week, with a net selling position of USD…

Big Square, a fast-food retail chain, opened its second branch outside Nairobi, in Eldoret, at Rupa’s Mall.  This brings the total number of stores operated by the retail chain to 12. It has 10 stores operating in Nairobi, and one in Mombasa.  Big Square has branches in Westlands, Karen, Lavington, Gigiri, Kilimani, Thika Road, Lang’ata, Ngong Road and Mombasa Road. “On matters expansion, the current pandemic has affected the hospitality industry. Even as we work on increasing our footprint in Nairobi and out of Nairobi, we’re taking caution on when and where we open new outlets,” said Carolle Kariuki, Marketing…