Author: Khusoko

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Mutahi Kagwe, on Monday, while briefing the nation on the status of COVID-19, made a passionate appeal for Kenyans to return cylinders to manufacturers to help stem a looming crisis. He made a shocking revelation that cylinders are being hoarded and illegally refilled across the country which means that the cylinder pool is being depleted daily. Oxygen is critical in the management of COVID-19. The CS said more than 20,000 Oxygen cylinders are in the hands of Kenyans and made a humble appeal that they are returned to enable the frontline workers to save the…

Thanks to the efforts of young people such as Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti and Greta Thunberg who are speaking up and urging the world to pay more attention, climate change is garnering global interest. Leaders, young people and even students are now talking about it. Companies are thinking about how they can reduce their carbon footprint and their operations’ impact on the environment. We have already started feeling the effects of climate change such as the soaring frequency and intensity of storms, floods and droughts, weather patterns are changing.  Here in Kenya, water bodies are either drying up or bursting their…

Tanda, a Kenyan agency banking startup, is set to expand its footprint into Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda within the next 24 months. This expansion drive comes after it secured backing in February 2021 from HAVAÍC, Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab, Victor Asemota and 3 more investors. Tanda has also secured key strategic partnerships with Mastercard & Interswitch which will further accelerate this growth. Founded in 2018, Tanda allows shop owners to access inventory on credit and also become access points for essential services such as airtime, utility payments, banking and insurance services for their customers. The platform aggregates all major financial…

KCB Bank Kenya is the overall winner of the 2020 Financial Reporting awards, which seek to celebrate and acknowledge financial institutions which have embraced reporting. The Bank bagged six awards: Winner Best in Kenya, Best Bank Category and Best among the Listed Companies, first runners-up Corporate Governance Category and second runners-up Integrated Reporting Category. “The awards are a testament of the deliberate focus we have put in enhancing our reporting, being a responsible corporate, which believes in transparency and accountability. Today, we capture all aspects of our business in our Integrated Report for the good of all our stakeholders,” CEO…

The Central Bank of Kenya announced it will sell a new 18-year Infrastructure Bond  (IFB1/2021/18)  worth Ksh 60 billion in April. The bond is currently on offer until  06/04/2021.  Its coupon is market-determined. What Analysts Say “Given the tax-free nature of the bond coupled with the government’s increased appetite for domestic borrowing to bridge the budget deficit, we anticipate an oversubscription and a high acceptance rate,” Cytonn Investments. “While this is an off the curve paper, it should give a fair indication of both the government demand and potential appetite from the market, given the recent developments,” NCBA Market Research.…

Equity Group Plc reported on Monday an 11%  to Ksh 20.1 billion on the back of a 496% increase in loan loss provisions from 5.3 billion in 2019 to Ksh 26.6 billion in 2020.  Net interest income grew by 23% to Kshs 55 billion up from Kshs 45 billion driven by a 30% growth on customer loan book and 26% growth in investment in Government securities. Non-funded income grew at 27% to reach Kshs 38 billion up from Kshs 30 billion to contribute 41% of the total income. Total operating costs grew by 67% to Kshs 71 billion up from…