Author: Korir Issa

Afro-pop singer Abigail Chams, also known as Abby, has been named the Spotify EQUAL Africa ambassador for December 2023. She is a multilingual singer who performs in Swahili, French, and English and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays five musical instruments, including the violin, piano, guitar, flute, and drums. Abigail Chams was nominated for the Emerging Artist Award at the Tanzania Music Award in 2022 and has since gained over 67,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. She released her debut EP 5 in September 2023, which contained six tracks, including collaborations with Marioo, Rayvanny, Whozu, and Chino Kid. “Abigail is a true…

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced a 17 per cent workforce reduction due to financial difficulties. The company will pay severance and offer support to affected employees. CEO Daniel Ek announced on Monday that Spotify is cutting its workforce by 17 per cent on Monday. The music streaming platform will lay off 1,500 employees, mostly in the US, due to the financial challenges it faces.  Ek said he made the cuts now rather than gradually over the next two years. Affected employees will be notified and will receive severance pay and other support. “This decision was not easy, and I know…

Spotify has launched Wrapped 2023, its annual review of how people listened to music and podcasts on the streaming platform. The review shows the trends, preferences, and habits of Kenyans in the past year. Some of the highlights include viral hits, a boy band’s hiatus, a new genre’s recognition, and a global showcase of Kenyan R&B. For Kenyans, there have been viral hits, Kenya’s foremost boy band taking a hiatus, Gengetone being recognised as a genre for Grammy consideration, and Spotify partnering with COLORSxSTUDIOS to showcase Kenyan R&B to a global audience. All this to say, it’s been an interesting…

Diamond Trust Bank Kenya reported a 4.3 per cent increase in net profit for the first nine months of 2023, reaching Sh5.99 billion. Its net interest income rose by 19.6 per cent to Sh20.1 billion due to an increase in loans and advances to customers, which grew by 11.9 per cent to Sh210.8 billion. Non-interest income grew by 34 per cent to Sh9.2 billion, boosted by a 47.6 per cent increase in fees and commissions to Sh5.9 billion. The combined effect of higher interest and non-interest income resulted in a 23.7 per cent increase in total operating income, which reached…

The High Court has ruled that the housing levy proposed in the Finance Act 2023 is unconstitutional and unlawful.  The levy would have deducted 1.5% from employees’ salaries to fund the government’s affordable housing agenda. A three-judge bench comprising Justices David Majanja, Christine Meoli, and Lawrence Mugambi delivered the ruling on Tuesday, following a petition by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and six others.  The petitioners challenged the legality and constitutionality of the Finance Act 2023, which was passed by the National Assembly without the concurrence of the Senate. The judges found that the housing levy violated Article 10 of the…

The Kenyan government announced on Monday that it plans to sell 11 state-owned enterprises through a privatisation program.  The enterprises are: Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) National Oil Corporation (NOC) Kenya Seed Company Limited Mwea Rice Mills and Western Kenya Rice Mills Limited Kenya Pipeline Company New Kenya Cooperative Creameries Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers Limited Rivatex East Africa Limited Numerical Machining Complex The decision to sell these enterprises was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House on Monday, November 27, 2023. The latest announcement follows the government’s stance to sell 35 state-owned enterprises…