Author: Muindi

For youth experiencing a mental health crisis, a mental hospital might be the right place to find help. However, this is not the case, as they opt for alternative interventions due to the high costs. According to a survey by the Brain and Mind Institute, an entity of the Aga Khan University, on self-harm to mark Self-Injury Awareness Day shows that 28 out of 33 people interviewed said no to medication use. Sixty-one per cent of the respondents who said no to medication were between the ages of 21 to 30 years. The roundtable session brought together persons with lived…

South African singer and TikTok star Tyla has joined the likes of Nigeria’s Yemi Alade and Kenya’s Xenia Mannaseh as the monthly ambassador of Spotify’s EQUAL Africa programme. EQUAL Africa is aimed at spotlighting and amplifying the voices of female African artists who are breaking down barriers and making waves in music. It also amplifies their music by exposing their catalogue to global listenership. “It is satisfying to be selected for the EQUAL programme, joining other incredible female creators on the continent,” Tyla said in a press statement. “This just goes to show that there is room for all of us…

Quickmart Supermarket has opened a 24-hour store in Thome, along the Northern Bypass road, bringing the retailer’s number of operating outlets countrywide to 56.  The retailer’s expansion is influenced by the desire to cater to the convenience preferences of shoppers within the residential locality.  In addition, its aggressive expansion drive to promote the Quickmart brand as a household name among customers, thereby increasing its competitiveness against other retailers such as Naivas and Carrefour . “This comes at a time where the formal retail penetration in Kenya is low, standing at 30.0% in 2018, coupled with gaps left by other retailers such as…

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya emerged as the overall winner of the customer satisfaction survey conducted by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA. The survey by KBA revealed that the preference for human interaction in customer service support among bank customers rose in 2022. However, the preference for automated banking channels grew, rising to 67 per cent in 2022 from 58 per cent in 2021. The Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey (2022) estimated that 15 per cent of bank clients preferred contact bank services to self-service platforms such as chatbots and the Internet. This shift aligns with the preference for human-assisted…

The Competition Authority of Kenya has given its approval to Somalia’s Premier Bank to acquire a 62.5% stake in Kenya’s First Community Bank. “It is notified for general information that in the exercise of the powers conferred upon the Competition Authority of Kenya…(it) has authorised the implementation of the proposed acquisition of 62.5 per cent stake in First Community Bank Ltd by Premier Bank Ltd (Somalia),” said CAK acting Director General Adano Wario. First Community started operations in Kenya on June 1, 2008. Premier Bank is a privately owned Sharia-compliant commercial bank incorporated in Somalia in 2013 and licensed by…

Absa Bank Kenya has picked Abdi Mohamed as its new chief executive officer, replacing Jeremy Awori. Abdi takes over from Yusuf Omari, who served in an acting capacity after Awori’s exit. “This appointment follows a rigorous recruitment process conducted between October 2022 and February 2023,” read a statement from the lender. Abdi has over twenty-eight years of experience in the financial sector and has held various executive positions within Absa Group. He is currently the Managing Director of Absa Bank Tanzania and acting Managing Executive for Retail and Business Banking, Africa Regional Operations, Absa- a role that spans multiple geographies…