Kenya and the United States have agreed to consult further on the Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway project that links Nairobi and Mombasa. In a statement after President Uhuru Kenyatta met President Donald Trump on Monday committed to expanding their economic cooperation aimed at making their nations stronger and their citizens more prosperous. “Both sides agreed to undertake further consultations to conclude the terms of the financing agreement,” the White House said in a statement. The two in recognition of the importance of high-quality infrastructure welcomed the proposal by the United States engineering and construction firm Bechtel Corporation to build a modern superhighway…
Author: Khusoko
Khusoko
Khusoko provides market insights into Africa's business investment as well as global trends that impact East African businesses.
Uganda-based motorbike hailing service SafeBoda has launched in Nairobi. Customers will pay a minimum fare of Sh30 per trip. For longer journeys, users will be required to pay Sh25 base fare, Sh30 per kilometre and Sh1 per minute. The bodaboda hailing service is available in Westlands, Parklands, Mbagathi Way, Madaraka, Lavington, Upper Hill, Kilimani, Kileleshwa and Riverside. “Our aim is to improve the industry for both riders and passengers by increasing the number of safe trips taken per day and by making travel around cities convenient and stress-free,” SafeBoda said in a statement. In Nairobi, SafeBoda’s mobile application aims to…
Parliament is set to reintroduce the Kenya Bankers Reference Rate (KBRR) as a base rate to calculate the cost of credit. According to new proposed amendments to the Banking Act, Parliament’s Finance and National Planning Committee: “Section 33B of the Banking Act is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substitution. Therefore the following new subsection: A bank or financial institution shall set the maximum interest rate chargeable for a credit facility in Kenya at no more than 4 percent above the base rate set and published by Kenya Bankers Reference Rate.” Banking Circular No. 4 of 2016 sent to Chief…
Co-operative Bank of Kenya on Thursday launched a packaged financial solution for Micro, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), segmented in bronze, silver and gold respectively. Co-operative Bank has committed to align itself with the regulator’s requirement of ensuring that a minimum of 20 per cent of its lending goes to the MSME sector. Further to this, in support of the Government’s key agenda, the Bank will closely support MSMEs who are key in the realization of this critical agenda. “The MSME customer of today is more exposed to emerging business trends that are both exciting and at the same time…
Kenya’s financial sector has been rated “satisfactory” due to reduced capital and a drop in asset quality compared to a strong rating which was achieved in 2016. In its Bank Supervision Annual Report 2017, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said, “The decline in the industry’s overall rating was mainly due to a decline in capital adequacy and a deterioration in asset quality in 2017.” The institutions rated strong, satisfactory, fair and marginal in December 2017 were 9, 16, 12 and 3 respectively. The institutions rated strong decreased from 11 in 2016 to 9 in 2017. During the period, fifteen…
Safaricom has unveiled “Maisha Ni Digital” campaign that aims to give at least 10 million Kenyans access to the internet through their mobile phones by offering affordable 3G devices, convenient payment terms, and personalized data offers. The three-month campaign is in partnership with Google has unveiled Kenya’s most affordable smartphone: Neon Kicka 4. “As smartphone usage and share of Internet traffic from mobile phones grow in Kenya, we are witnessing a marked difference in income generated by those with Internet-enabled devices compared to those without. Vendors have been able to increase their customer bases by leveraging online marketplaces, and bodaboda…