Author: David Indeje

NIC Group and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) Board of Directors have agreed to the merger of the two financial institutions to create the third-biggest bank in East Africa. “We have a deal subject to the approval of the shareholders,” said Isaac Awuondo, Group Managing Director CBA. “Our focus is really around our customers. Our expectations focus on customers will drive the future growth of the merged entity,” he added when spoke to investors at a briefing in Nairobi on Thursday. The proposed merger will be executed through a share swap. An exchange share ratio will be based on a…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)  says it will revisit the issue of the interest rate cap, that capped lending rates at 4.0% above the Central Bank Rate (CBR). According to CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge, limited access to credit continues to hinder the growth of the small and medium-sized businesses. Given the underlying risks to the economy and the issues faced by the MSMEs,  the CBK says they cannot expand if the needed finance cannot be accessed by them. Njoroge while speaking to the media on Tuesday following Monday’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, called for a focus on deep…

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be the drivers of Kenya’s growth in 2019, providing access to finance is unlocked, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). “Micro, Small, and Medium-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) remained resilient in 2018 and are expected to support growth in 2019, to the extent that their constraints, including access to finance, are alleviated,” said CBK Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge. According to the committee, private sector credit growth is expected to strengthen in 2019 relative to 2018, with the anticipated higher economic activity and easing credit risk. Additionally, the alignment of Government spending to the Big…

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a multi-award winning Nigerian writer has honored her mentor, Prof. Wole Soyinka as her ‘guiding light’. Chimamanda through her Instagram feed poetically shared poured her heart out in praise of the 1986 Nobel Prize winner in Literature. “You are, for me, a guiding light: Your courage. The ease with which you inhabit your skin, speaking your mind, unburdened by apology. Your kindness and humour. Your utter coolness. The urgent, terse poetry of The Man Died, the exuberance of Ake; your faith in possibility, in adventure, in progress. Yes indeed, ‘the mindless ones are neither the total sum…

Give initiative aims to teach, share creative skills and ideas to underprivileged youth in communities to gain the much needed creative skills. Ogilvy Africa, the most awarded creative agency in Africa, has launched Give Time, an initiative which aims to support the creative talents and help underprivileged youth in communities to gain the much needed creative skills. The initiative will comprise of approaches which include Give Time and Give Space. Through Give Time, Ogilvy staff will dedicate time to teach and share creative skills and ideas with students. This will include areas such as creative writing, drawing and photography. On…

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) registered a 33% growth in half-year net earnings to hit KSh6.61 billion, driven by strong performance across all segments and markets. Net sales grew 13% to Kshs 41.6 billion. Growth was broad-based across segments and regions, as the business benefitted from lapping a weak half following the presidential election in Kenya. Kenya and Uganda witnessed net sales increase by 12% and Tanzania up to 26%. The beer segment grew 12%, driven by Senator Keg performance in Kenya, improved mix in Uganda and continued strong delivery of Serengeti in Tanzania. Spirits grew 16% on the back of strong…