Author: Korir Issa

Thousands of people living in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) in Kenya face a fast-deteriorating humanitarian crisis – severe drought and hunger resulting from prolonged periods of no rain. There is no water, livestock is dying, people can barely afford a meal a day, and others are travelling for miles to get water. In September 2021, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta declared the drought a national disaster, and funds were set aside to assist the affected families. However, the food security situation has been on a worsening trend in ASAL regions. A recent report by the United Nations Office of Humanitarian…

Charles Leclerc remained dominant from a pole position into a triumphant victory in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, extending his Formula One championship lead. The 24-year-old dominated the Australian Grand Prix from start to finish to take the chequered flag.  “The car was incredible today. Really. What a race. What a day,” Leclerc said after the race. https://twitter.com/Charles_Leclerc/status/1513103000776036356?s=20&t=j3uT686l0WHFAV6Ir1a_hw The champ, Max Verstappen failed to finish for the second time in three races in 2022.  https://twitter.com/Max33Verstappen/status/1513069902185254912?s=20&t=j3uT686l0WHFAV6Ir1a_hw Sergio Perez finished second, followed by both Mercedes and McLaren cars. Leclerc has two wins and a second from the opening three races.  https://twitter.com/SChecoPerez/status/1513089322995822601?s=20&t=j3uT686l0WHFAV6Ir1a_hw…

Business activity in Kenya’s private sector slowed in March, weighed down by rising input costs, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index survey published on Tuesday. The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped from 52.9 in February to 50.5 in March, signaling a slower and only marginal improvement in the health of the Kenyan private sector economy. “The slowdown was driven by rising inflation which resulted in subdued demand growth by consumers and a contraction in output by producers,” said Kuria Kamau, Fixed Income and Currency Strategist at Stanbic Bank. “Input prices rose at the fastest rate in eight…

Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Thursday announced the second phase of its unique program — “Futuremakers”. This is an initiative that takes a systemic approach to supporting disadvantaged young women and young persons with disabilities in the labour market, through the provision of demand-led technical skills training, employability training, career guidance, and job placements. In 2020, StanChart launched the pilot program, in partnership with Light for the World. “Following this successful pilot programme, we are investing USD 850K to expand the 2nd phase. The lead strategic partners will be Sight Savers International and Light for the World. This will be a…

Stanbic Bank Kenya and the African Guarantee Fund for Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (AGF) Tuesday signed a Loan Portfolio Guarantee Facility to increase financing for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country. The Portfolio Guarantee Facility of Ksh 1 Billion will allow Stanbic Bank Kenya to expand their lending capacity and coverage to SMEs. The guarantee scheme will be in place for a renewable period of five years and will see the bank provide loans of up to KSh3 million to a single borrower. Florence Wanja, the head of business and commercial clients at Stanbic Bank Kenya says the…

Money market funds have always been touted as a simple, profitable, and risk-free investment option compared to others. It protects your capital, that is, your initial investment and any additional top-ups) from loss. It makes one of the most viable ways of making money as a conservative investor. The benefits you earn from money market funds are pretty modest since they are derived using compound interest. Every shilling that you invest is working for you – it constantly makes interest on top of your interests.  What you save is consequently invested in highly liquid, short-term instruments or government securities with…