Author: David Indeje

The economic outlook in Kenya has been lowered by 5.7% in 2019, a slight decrease from the estimated 5.8% growth experienced in 2018 by the World Bank. “The medium-term growth outlook is stable but recent threats of drought could drag down growth,” the World Bank said on Tuesday while releasing its 19th Kenya Economic Update (KEU), Unbundling the Slack in Private Investment. “Risks include drought conditions that could curtail agricultural output, especially if the country’s grain-growing counties are affected.” Stephanie W. Kimani, Research Economist, Commercial Bank of Africa collaborates this, “growth forecasts for Kenya have remained bullish with the central…

The Government plans in unveiling a credit guarantee scheme for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to boost economic growth, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Thursday. Kenyatta said the scheme will address the challenges of access to credit, training and skills development. “In this regard, we will be launching an “SME Credit Guarantee Scheme” in few weeks, aimed at deepening their access to credit without being subjected to complex application procedures and collateral requirements,” said the President when he delivered a state of the nation address at a joint sitting of both Houses. He said his administration recognises the…

The Kenyan Government has said every individual must pay taxes in accordance with their wealth. This is the latest move targeting High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in Kenya. “High net worth persons whose lifestyles are not reflective of the taxes that they pay must be compelled to demonstrate the source of their wealth and to contribute their share of taxes accordingly,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Thursday. The President said besides having taken measures to broaden the tax base, the country’s tax base was significantly low, “As a consequence, we have in the recent past taken steps to widen the…

Artcaffé Group, a lifestyle and a social hub restaurant, plans to boost its presence in Kenya as it looks to expand with more outlets in 2019. The only restaurant chain to be awarded the prestigious Superbrand status in East Africa says their focus on high international standards is expected to impact positively on the economy. Sagi Vaknin, Managing Director at Artcaffé said: “We will significantly increase the number of locations in 2019, growing our position as a large employer, taxpayer, and driver of local supply chain growth with the support of Emerging Capital Partners.” READ: Carrefour Kenya Named 2019 Bread…

Mobile banking and tech-savvy youth have become key enablers for supporting financial inclusion in Kenya according to the 2019 FinAccess  Households Survey. “Kenya has maintained its leadership on the financial services access front”, David Ferrand, FSD Kenya adding that “Our challenge is to harness these achievements and build a more inclusive financial system.” According to the report, access to financial services and products has expanded significantly among Kenyans ‘From 26% in 2016 to 82.9% in 2019’ only 11% of adult Kenyans are excluded from formal financial services. Down from 41% in 2006. Further, the report found out that financial health…

Kenyan real estate sector outlook remains sluggish with rental revisions in terms of uptake, rental yields, capital appreciation, and total investor returns given the oversupply of retail and office spaces, according to Cytonn Q1’2019 Real Estate Market Review. “As such, we maintain a neutral outlook for the real estate sector mainly constrained by increased supply in the market and limited access to financing for both developers and off-takers,” it said in a research note released on Monday. The sector softened in Q1’2019, with sectors such as office and retail registering a decline in rental yields by 0.1% points and 0.5%…