Author: Khusoko

Real estate company HassConsult has launched Ksh 5 billion mixed-use up-market development on Riverside Drive targeting bohemian ‘urbanites’. Dubbed the Riverside Square, the project is expected to be completed in 2 years time. “The project will be implemented in phases with the Upper East and Lower East quadrants of the residential development set to commence in Q2, 2019. The first phase is anticipated to take 20-24 months to complete.” HassConsult Research and Development Consulting head Sakinah Hassanali said, “As development managers, we have led the way in financial models and market positioning in Kenya for over two decades. During that…

Diaspora remittances increased by 11.4% to USD 221 million in March from USD 199 million in February according to Central Bank Data. Data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that the 12-month cumulative inflows increased to KSh274.84 billion in March this year from KSh217.7 billion in March last year, reflecting a 26% growth. “North America remained the main source region for the remittances, accounting for 53 percent of the total remittances in March,” said the CBK. Cytonn Investments attributes the increase to the increased uptake of financial products by the diaspora due to financial services firms, particularly banks,…

Mose Fan Fan (Mose Se Sengo), a highly influential guitarist, composer, and bandleader from the Democratic Republic of Congo, died on May 3, 2019, at 75. According to his producer, Tabu Osusa, he passed away upon arrival at a Kasarani hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Born on October 16, 1945, in Kinshasa, then Léopoldville, Belgian Congo (later Zaire, now DRC), Mose Se Sengo began his musical journey during his time at a boarding school in Kinanga. Upon his return to Kinshasa, he played as a featured guitarist in Rickem Jazz and then Revolution, performing primarily in low-key evening settings. His talent…

The Kenya Bankers Association and players in the payment service industry on Friday launched the 2019 edition of the bi-annual card, mobile and online safety awareness campaign to empower customers to protect themselves from fraud-related risks. The campaign dubbed “Kaa Chonjo!” will seek to empower consumers with information on secure ways of using payment platforms and transaction channels. Themed ‘Promoting Financial Technology Innovation and Security’, the public sensitization exercise has been organised by Kenya Bankers Association in collaboration with Visa, RetailTrade Association of Kenya (RETRAK), Mastercard, mobile operator Airtel, PesaLink,Consumer Grassroots Association (CGA), with support from KBA’s member banks’ networks…

Bob Collymore, Safaricom’s chief executive has said, M-Pesa 1 Tap, a service that was expected to make it easier to make payments using the Lipa Na M-Pesa service, ‘was not a great idea after all’. The M-PESA 1 Tap service also aimed to increase the accuracy and privacy of Lipa Na M-PESA by ensuring that payments are delivered to a matching merchant when it was introduced to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nyeri in 2017. However, Bob Collymore has finally admitted that “M-Pesa 1-Tap was my idea, and I thought it was a great idea but it turned out it…

The Betting Control and Licensing Board has banned advertising and gambling on all social media platforms. In a directive issued on April 30, signed by the Acting Director Liti Wambua, the board has also banned outdoor and online advertising of gambling, as well as the advertising of the same between 6 am and 10 pm. “It has further been decided that any form of advertisement of gambling must be approved and such an advertisement must contain a warning message about the consequences of gambling including its addictiveness,” said Liti Wambua. “The warning message must constitute a third of the actual…