Since 2014, the on demand ‘taxi’ hailing market in Africa, has really evolved. Take Kenya for instance, whose market was first penetrated by American multinational transportation network company; Uber. It has since seen a number of homegrown(Little by Safaricom) and international (Bolt, formerly known Taxify) ride hailing service providers, also set up shop. Initially, Uber had come into the market with offerings like UberX, UberBlack and even UberChopper for a little while from their international markets, but the company quickly realized that those services, would not work in Kenya and promptly put plans in motion, to localise their services. This…
Author: Tobey
Just after news of the United States blacklisting Huawei hit tech consumers and enthusiasts, the United States government has now issued a license that will allow Huawei to trade with United States companies temporarily for the next ninety days at least. The temporary license, which was given by the United States’ Commerce Department, will allow Huawei to purchase goods made in America, so as to enable the company continue to maintain existing devices on its product line and also provide software updates to said devices as well. One implication from this move, is that Huawei will now (or rather for…
Following the US Government’s recent blacklisting of Chinese technology giant; Huawei, after concerns over national security, the company is losing its access to Google’s services including the Operating System; Android, as the company (Google), is registered in the United States. Reuters has confirmed that Google has halted conducting business, until further notice. The report states; “The suspension covers any businesses that require the transfer of hardware and software products except those covered by open licenses,”. This means that Google will no longer offer direct support to future Huawei devices neither will Google services be accessible on said devices, moving…
Japanese multinational conglomerate; Toshiba Corporation, has announced the launch of its brand new branch office in Nairobi under the name ‘Toshiba Africa’. The company’s main subsidiary based in South Africa. The Toshiba Africa Nairobi branch, started business operations this month, as the company looks to explore the potential in eastern Africa from its Nairobi office. The President and Chief Operating Officer of Toshiba Corporation; Satoshi Tsunakawa, said in his opening speech: “I am very excited to be here in Nairobi for this momentous occasion.”. He also added that “Here in Africa, we are sharpening our focus on how we…
In a new directive, Kenya’s Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA) will now impound imported fake goods at their point(s) of entry. In a review of the proposed Amendments to the regulations for the Anti-Counterfeit Act, the scope of counterfeiting was extended to include a provision to impound goods counterfeited outside Kenya and them imported into the country. This is according to The Star. This is expected to result in the destruction of fake goods in the market including illicit alcohol, pharmaceuticals, as well as cosmetics that the country already imports. The amendment will be embedded in the Act after backing by the…
Timiza Timiza, is a digital banking platform launched by Barclays Bank Kenya. With Timiza, users can get loans of up to 150,000 Kenyan Shillings. The specific loan amount however, depends on your M-pesa transaction history. The loan amount will be charged an interest of 6.17% which comprises of a 5 percent processing fee and a 1.17 percent interest. The loan must be paid within 30 days. Users can register by dialing *848# with a Safaricom line or by simply downloading the app from the Google Play Store. The platform also offers micro-loans to Kenyans. MCo-op Cash loans MCo-op Cash which…
Vehicle users in Kenya, have reportedly began to incur additional charges at fuel pumps. This is as a results of moves made by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), to impact increments to the maximum retail prices for petroleum. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA),m which was formerly known as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), has in its mid-month review adjusted costs for the three petroleum commodities by an average 5.43 Kenyan shillings for Petrol, 2.24 Kenyan Shillings for Diesel and 2.40 Kenyan shillings for kerosene. The notable surge in fuel prices has been largely due to a…
Kenya has finally secured its third Eurobond issue, raising $2.1 billion (210 billion Kenyan Shillings), in a dual tranche consisting of 7 and 12 years. Treasury Cabinet Secretary; Henry Rotich said in a notice on Thursday the 16th of May 2019, that Kenya will pay interest at seven percent for the seven-year tranche and eight percent for the 12-year paper. He did not however, disclose the split of the debt between the two periods. The bond was arranged by JPMorgan and Standard Chartered, and will be listed on the London Stock Exchange. He added that a significant part of the…
According to the verge.com, tech giants; Samsung and Huawei have finally agreed to settle their long running legal battle, which saw the two companies dueling over patents for smartphones in more than 40 lawsuits. nikkei.com which says the settlement was also reported on local Chinese media, claims the two companies in question; Samsung and Huawei, likely wanted to redirect resources spent on the litigation wars, to other more essential areas. Especially with the increasingly difficult business environment. The fact that Global smartphone shipments fell by 4.1% percent to 1.4 billion units in 2018 to mark a second straight year-on-year decline,…
The Jumia Kenya Managing Director Sam Chappatte has said East African nation; Kenya, is one of the three countries where the retail giant, will be piloting its third-party payment solution ‘Jumia Pay’ which aims to provide a “more convenient” payment method to its users. He made this known, during a recent interview with Kenyan Wallstreet. Jumia Pay which is the byproduct of the recent partnership with Mastercard who agreed to join Jumia as a shareholder after investing $56 million (5.6 billion Kenyan Shillings) in a private placement before the IPO, is currently being used in Nigeria and Egypt. The e-commerce…
The President of the Republic of Kenya; Uhuru Kenyatta has issued a directive stating that all Kenyans in diaspora will be given new generation passports in their countries of residence, upon application. Uhuru Kenyatta, who was on a state visit in Namibia, issued the order to the immigration department and the Foreign Affairs ministry, when he met Kenyans living and working in the southern African nation. The President, said he saw no reason why Kenyans living outside the country should shoulder such huge financial costs to travel back to Nairobi, to acquire the new passports. Speaking at the Windhoek Country…
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has set its sights on businesses using the Internet to market and sell products in a renewed bid to reduce revenue leakage through tax evasion. The agency claims some of the businesses, which have invested in online channels as a means to provide services and drive sales, are neither paying taxes nor filing annual returns. In a statement, the Kenya Revenue Authority said; “KRA would like to advise that unless income or supply is expressly exempt in the law, appropriate taxes should be paid,”. It added that “KRA would, therefore, like to remind taxpayers that…
Reports from Business Daily, claim private contractors will now finance the upgrade of the old metre gauge railway (MGR) between Naivasha county and the Malaba border. According to the Transport Secretary; James Macharia, the private sector will also fund the construction of a new line which will connect to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) at a total estimated cost of 21 billion Kenyan Shillings. The partnership contract between the public sector and private sector, will help the government avoid borrowing more loans, while making sure that there is a reliable railway connection between Naivasha and the Ugandan border for onward…
According to Kenyan Wallstreet, Mr. Dennis Aluanga and Dr. Peter Munga will no longer serve as directors in the board of Equity Group Holdings.Investors reached an agreement regarding the matter during the Equity’s annual general meeting which was held on the 30th of April 2019. Dr. Peter Munga who is the founder of Equity Group, has served as the chairman of Equity, since the bank began operations in 1984. Dr. Munga’s exit from office, is as a result of him surpassing the recommended retirement age for board members which is 70 years, as he is 76 years of age…
