Author: Nairobi Business Monthly Reporter

A number of African countries, 44 in total, have signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework agreement, which commits countries to removing tariffs on 90% of goods and lifting all barriers to trade within the continent. Eventually the free movement of people and even a common currency could become part of the agreement. In the meantime, to deal with the currency problem, banks have proposed an inter-African trade payment platform, which would make it possible for people to trade inter regionally in their local currencies. While Africa’s most developed countries are at an advantage due to their manufacturing capabilities,…

Read More

Over the last few years, Kenya’s rising public debt has been a point of discussion in most macroeconomic outlook discussions, with organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global credit rating agencies (Moody’s Credit Rating Agency, S&P Global Ratings, and Fitch Ratings) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), among others, raising concerns. Most recently, on February 14, Moody’s downgraded the government’s issuer rating to “B2” from “B1” previously, based on the observation that as the country’s financing needs continue to grow and the government turns to external commercial loans to fund the deficit, more pressure is…

Read More

BY DR BENJAMIN NJIHIA A ‘stomach ache’ is one of the common reasons a parent may bring their child for evaluation by a doctor. It may be due to constipation or bloating, but sometimes it may be associated with more serious conditions. If a child’s pain begins in the belly-button area and spreads to the lower right abdominal area, it may be the result of appendicitis, an inflammation of the appendix with subsequent infection. The appendix is a finger-like extension from the caecum, the first portion of the large intestine. Appendicitis is the most common reason for emergency surgery in children.…

Read More

BY IMBOKO TALL Louis Otieno’s story has touched many. It’s not new but it is still worthy a rant. Some of my Facebook friends were babies when Louis was Louis. Those of us, who take serious interest in current affairs and the media, know just how good a journalist this guy was. I loved watching Njoroge Mungai read the news. He remains my best, ever, Kenyan newsreader. But when it came to analysis of current affairs and serious interviews, Louis Otieno was the go-to guy. He had mastered his trade. He was very comfortable in front of the camera and he…

Read More

BY PETER WANYONYI The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is charged with assessing and collecting all monies due to the government of Kenya. Some say it is also supposed to account for such monies, but that is a debate for a different forum, Kenya being Kenya. To facilitate collection of those revenues, the KRA has a whole host of accounts in every bank in the land. The account numbers are listed online on the KRA website. There’s an account for Customs Duty, another for Stamp Duty, and so on. In total, the KRA lists 93 bank accounts, each account being for…

Read More

BY DAN MATTHEWS  The consumerisation trend has massively raised the bar for what we expect of our business applications. Together with emerging technologies such as AR, VR, voice activation and new ways to personalise enormous flows of data, this redefines enterprise software user experience (UX). The clear link between user engagement and profitability is beyond doubt. This has been apparent on the consumer side for years. Moreover, just look at Walmart’s massive 2016 redesign of its UX and ecommerce platform, which resulted in 214% growth in digital visitors, and Bank of America, which increased its online banking registration by 45% after a UX redesign of the…

Read More

BY DOMINIQUE FRIEDL We’ve come to take the power of our smartphones for granted, but they’re the result of a decade of amazing innovation. We have watched the advent of new features such as high dynamic range (HDR) photography and 4G/LTE connectivity, and we have seen powerful functionality cascade down to mid-range and even low-end devices. Here are some examples of how the next-generation of technology is delivering powerful user experiences – from reliable, world-wide connectivity, faster charging, increased battery life and shooting better photos and video, to providing the best audio-visual experience on-the-go. Systems on a chip Many of…

Read More

BY MARIAM ABDULLAHI No industry will remain undisrupted in 2018 and the years to come. But for African telco providers, who have feasted on near-uninterrupted subscriber and revenue growth over the past two decades, the need to adapt is paramount. In a market where the average business lifespan is 12 years (compared to 25 years in the last two decades) the objective is not to simply improve that which is already working. African telcos need radical transformation of entire business models in order to become digital supply networks and re-imagine work, resources management, and contingent worker management. Since the advent…

Read More

BY VICTOR ADAR It looks like buying something online comes with more risks especially at a time when con games have engulfed most online portals. In fact, the choices of online platform to use when making a big purchase like buying a car are almost endless. You are seemingly betting on something that you have no idea how it looks, and can be worse when you order from those who are not genuine and several months down the line, you realise that, after all, what you got is not what you ordered for. Well, you are obviously going to come…

Read More

BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU Many people argue about the efficiency of the Kenyan real estate market with many questions being raised on the same. It is important to understand what an efficient market is and its main characteristics. An efficient market should provide knowledge and information that would minimize the risk to investors allowing them to make rational decisions on up to date information. It also includes a time dimension, related to the need to assess the adaptability of property market process as economic and social conditions change. In such a market, there are many participants, many buyers and sellers as…

Read More