On the 9th of May 2019, Motor vehicle distributor, Toyota Kenya launche the fifth generation of the Toyota RAV4 in the Kenyan market. The new Robust Accurate Vehicle with 4 Wheel Drive (RAV4) model brings a new era of improved performance, capability and safety in the automobile industry. Toyota Kenya’s Managing Director; Arvinder Reel while speaking during the launch, said the new RAV4 aims to stimulate the curiosity of customers inspiring their desire to try something new and to experience the joy of driving anywhere, anytime, and as far as they want. “The RAV4 has been a long-time market leader…
Author: Tobey
If a report by the Transport and Housing Committee gets adopted by Members of Parliament, then Kenya’s national carrier; Kenya Airways, will be exempted from paying taxes. Reports by Nation Newspaper, claim that this is part of nine other recommendations presented by the Members of Parliament (MPs), as solutions that would save the loss-making national carrier. The proposal, also includes the nationalizing of Kenya Airways (KQ). This move, will see the government pay all the debts Kenya Airways, owes to National Industrial Credit (NIC) Bank, the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group, Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) group, Equity Bank,…
East Africa’s once booming retail giant; Uchumi Supermarkets, is reportedly in a land ownership dispute with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). The Kenya Defence Forces, has laid claim to the 20-acre Uchumi owned prime parcel of land located in Kasarani, near the Thika Superhighway. According to Business Daily, the KDF has moved its equipment into the piece of land in question, thus creating a standoff with the cash-strapped retailer. The Nairobi Securities Exchange listed Uchumi is reported to have been planning on selling the land to turn around its dwindling fortunes. The company had already signed a sale agreement last…
According to The Verge (who mentioned Reuters airs source), Airbnb is set to get into the Television scene and is currently looking into building its very own original video studio. The hotel and rental platform which operates a global online marketplace and hospitality service, reached the decision to create its own TV studio, so as to produce short films, documentaries, and shows which it can use to promote travel and, by extension, its brand. As far fetched as it sounds, the idea is not exactly new to Airbnb. Reutersclaims that the company has, for a few years now, been looking…
Even though the country’s exportation of clothes has been on the rise, its importation of second hand clothes (also known as Mitumba) into Kenya, saw a growth of 30 percent in 2018, as an astounding 177,160 tonnes of second hand clothes valued at 16.9 billion Kenyan Shillings, was shipped in. This is the highest quantity ever shipped into the East African nation. While the market for second hand clothes and shoes market appears to be growing however, the clothes export scene isn’t doing badly either. Business Daily reported that 22 Kenyan apparel factories enjoyed a 25.8 percent increase in export…
For every iPhone user, battery life is one of the biggest concerns. I mean let’s face it, once your iPhone’s battery is low, you become dangerously close to losing access to all its features including email, phone calls, texts, and GPS. At best, a dead battery is annoying, as it leaves you without anything to watch or read with during an SGR train ride or ending a conversation via social media, SMS or phone call, abruptly. In the worst case scenario and Godforbid you don’t have access to a power bank, a drained battery can leave you stranded, unable to…
Kenya’s largest telecommunications company; Safaricom, has announced a 14.7 per cent (63.4 billion Kenyan Shillings) increase in net profit for the year which ended in March 2019. Safaricom’s service revenue saw a growth of seven percent to 240.3 billion Kenyan Shillings, from (to a rather large extent) M-Pesa charges and outgoing voice calls. The company’s record profits, have surpassed KCB Group, Equity Group and East African Breweries Limited’s combined net earnings, further cementing the telco giant’s dominance in the nation’s economy. While Safaricom’s earnings from voice (which has always traditionally been the company’s main source of revenue) have long since…
The National Betting and Licensing Board in a letter to all betting, lotteries and public gaming license holders, has banned outdoor advertising of gambling, advertising of gambling on all social media platforms, and advertising gambling between 6 am and 10 pm. This reflects the Kenyan government’s crackdown on betting companies. The Board in the letter said; “We wish to remind you that gaming has a potential to harm the consumer with a possibility of leading to addiction as well as some disorder,” adding that, “We therefore as a regulator of the industry have a duty to protect its customer, members…
Kenya is reportedly getting ready for bigger loan repayments to superpower; China, as the five-year grace period for the standard gauge railway (SGR) funds draws to a close. According to an agreement signed with the Exim Bank of China on May 11, 2014, the repayment of the principal loan extended to Kenya for the first phase of the railway project will begin next month. This will add to the already growing load on the Treasury which is already servicing interest charges on the loan. The Treasury Secretary, Henry Rotich on Wednesday, claimed that the repayment of the principal loan for…
New mobile subscribers will be receiving new mobile numbers with a different prefix after service providers exhausted the 07** prefix. Telco giants; Safaricom and Airtel have reportedly already applied for the new 01** prefix and will roll out new lines starting with 0110, 0111 and 0100, 0101, 0102 respectively. Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya, Francis Wangusi says “The move to release the new series of numbers is necessitated by increased demand for SIM cards, mobile data and machine-to-machine communication, and other emerging technologies that require telecommunication numbers,”. Mr Wangusi also said the regulator had provided for 100…
According Business Daily, Safaricom’s chief executive Bob Collymore, is planning to step down this August 2019. His decision, is as a result of health reasons. He had taken a nine-month medical leave in late 2017 to return to his native England to battle cancer, A source, speaking on the condition of anonymity as there has been no official announcement said “He wants to concentrate on his health so he did not wish to renew his contract,”. Collymore told Reuters on Monday he was still in discussions with the board, adding it would make announcements on the chief executive position at…
Service providers in Kenya’s Telecommunications Sector could essentially, be forced to break off mobile money divisions, from their core business if a new Bill is passed into law. This possibility, is as a result of certain proposals in the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which call for a new regulatory framework for Kenyan telecommunication service providers. The Bill wants telecommunication companies to seperate their core business from other ventures and seek regulatory approvals for each of the ventures. The Bill, states that; “A person may engage in any other business provided that such person shall; obtain the relevant…
East African nation; Kenya’s ICT sector has reported achieved a growth of 12.9 percent over the past year due to an increase in the uptake of mobile banking and Internet use. Data from the 2019 edition of the Economic Survey indicates that the nation’s economy as well as consumers in Kenya, continue to reap benefits of the billions Kenyan Shillings which service providers, have invested in digital infrastructure across the country. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said that “In 2018, the… ICT sector expanded by 12.9 percent to 390.2 billion Kenyan Shillings supported mainly by growth in the…
On Friday April 26th, 2019, Kenya and China signed project delivery agreements worth 67.5 billion Kenyan Shillings for the Konza Data Centre and Smart Cities Project by telecommunications giant Huawei and the JKIA-James Gichuru expressway. The Konza project deal is reportedly worth 17.5 billion Kenyan Shillings while the expressway project, by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, is worth another 50 billion Kenyan Shillings. President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is in China for the second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum, was a witness to the signing of the deals that will be fulfilled through concessional financing and Public Private-Partnership (PPP).…
