Author: Francis Muli

Safaricom has been ranked the tenth most valuable firm in Africa valued at $9.96 billion (Ksh1.06 trillion), climbing from position 14 last year. The ranking by South African magazine African Business had only four Kenyan companies rank in the top 100, including Equity Bank, East Africa Breweries Ltd (EABL) and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) alongside Safaricom. Equity was ranked 82nd, EABL 90th and KCB 92nd. The survey ranks African or Africa-focused companies listed on public securities exchanges according to their market valuation, also known as “market capitalisation”. Total value for all 250 firms on the list this year is $597.7…

Tanzania has closed with immediate effect its border crossing point with Kenya at Horo Horo, accusing Kenyans of spreading Covid-19 in Tanga. According to Tanga Regional Commissioner Martine Shigella, 19 truck drivers crossing Lunga Lunga/Horo Horo border point into Tanzania have tested positive for Covid-19. “Since Friday we have recorded 19 Covid-19 positive cases, all Kenyans. I am hereby directing the provincial immigration department and all security apparatus to close our borders, including all unofficial entries. We cannot continue allowing sick people from Kenya to bring us Covid-19 by taking advantage of our freedom,” said Shigella. https://twitter.com/VOA_Wandera/status/1262396119079845901 This comes moments…

Cytonn has launched a one stop digital wallet that will enable customers to customer, customer to bank, customer to M-Pesa and paybill transactions online, seamlessly. The new e-wallet, Cytonn Wallet,  which is powered by the Cytonn Money Market Fund (CMMF), will also enable customers earn up to 11 percent when the invest in the fund. “We are in the business of identifying client needs and offering effective and efficient solutions. Cytonn Wallet is our solution to an existing need and what makes it unique are the instant features such as Instant2MyMpesa, Instant2MyBank, Instant2PayBills, Instant2TransferUnits Instant2SendMoney, Instant2Invest and most importantly you…

The treasury has introduced fine regulations with the aim of clearing the CRB blacklist and enhancing chances of borrowers’ loan approval. Banks, saccos and micro finance lenders will now face a fine of Sh2 Million for every defaulter who is denied loans on account of being listed with the credit Reference bureaus (CRB) The new regulations have been set in an attempt to enable firms and individuals who have been affected negatively by the COVID-19 to access more funds. Most financial institutions have been reluctant to offer loans to about 2.5 million Kenyans listed with the CRB. The introduction of…

Family Bank has started handing its employees redundant letters, pointing out to mass retrenchment mostly attributable to Covid-19 effects to the economy. In a letter addressed to targeted staffers on May 15, the lender announced that most jobs had been declared redundant due to change of operating environment leading to automation. The bank promised to redeploy those affected in the changes or retrench them in case there was no vacancy for redeployment. “The Bank has decided to undertake a restructuring exercise guided by a review of its operational model ad the need to drive efficiency. Changes have taken place in…

Former Kestrel Capital CEO Andre DeSimone has moved to the Capital Markets Tribunal to sue the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) for implicating him in the KenolKobil insider trading scandal. DeSimone was accused of leaking price-sensitive material relating to the takeover of KenolKobil by Rubis Energie to Aly-Khan Satchu and Kunal Bid, both stockbroking agents. Desimone resigned in April last year, bringing to a halt his 24-year reign in the company after he was mentioned in the scandal. In the allegations, Desimone, Aly-Khan Satchu and Bid allegedly positioned five investors to gain 53.6 percent of their investment in the buyout, amounting…

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has acknowledged errors in the 2017 General Election Data released over the weekend, and deleted it from it’s website. In a tweet, IEBC said that the errors were caused by massive data, and would be corrected and the report re-uploaded in due cause. “The Commission has recalled the 2017 General Election data that was uploaded on the IEBC website after afew typographic errors occasioned by massive data were noted.The corrected document will be re-uploaded and shared in due course. Inconvenience caused highly regrettable,” tweeted IEBC. https://twitter.com/IEBCKenya/status/1262048654191480833 The report shows that the late Kibra…

Victims of floods in Kabonyo Kanyagwal Ward, Nyando Sub-county in Kisumu County over the weekend received food and sanitary towels aid from a group of Asian Community under the flagship programme SIKH AID. At least 10 schools in the area have been flooded, leaving only five to host the victims. Water in Lake Victoria has hit the highest levels in over 50 years, at 13.45 metres, causing widespread flooding in surrounding areas. “With the ongoing rains expected to continue, the water levels may rise further, aggravating the challenges of flooding especially on the Kenyan side that has more rivers that…

Tanzania has closed its borders for all trucks transporting goods into the country, hours after Kenya closed its border following increasing cases of Covid-19 from the country. Tanzania Minister for Health Ummy Mwalimu said that only goods belonging to Tanzanians will be allowed in, though they will be loaded into another truck on the Tanzanian side at the border. “All trucks with goods owned by a Tanzanian, and need to enter Tanzania, or they belong to someone else but the order was made by a Tanzanian, find another truck to take the goods to the final destination. Vehicles from any…

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has over the weekend uploaded the 2017 General Election Data on on it website, close to three years after the elections were concluded. According to the data, the number of registered voters in the Register of Voters rose from 14,388,781 in 2013 to 19,611,423 in 2017. Out of the total registered voters, 17.4  percent were aged between 18-25 years, a slight increase from 17 percent in 2013. In terms of gender, 47 percent of the registered voters were female while 53 percent were male. The total number of youth between 18-35 years represented…

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has declared that the recently formed Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) is an illegal entity formed by the National Government, Supported by no law. In a letter written to NMS by LSK President Nelson Havi, LSK refused to nominate one of its members to the NMS Physical and Land Use Planning Liaison Committee, on grounds that NMS was not founded under the law. “Given that the establishment of NMS lacks any legitimate legal foundation, the Society cannot be expected to nominate any of its members to serve in the Liaison Committee. We have made the…

Little, the Kenyan Taxi-hailing company, has expanded its services to Eldoret and Nyeri as they aim to become the leading Pan-African mobility company. Residents in the two towns can now request for a little cab using the app, by dialing *826# or through Whatsapp messenger to enjoy a Sh27 per Kilometre ride. “Safe, efficient and reliable mobility is the heartbeat of our business. We are always looking to offer this service to ready markets and hence why we are eager to begin operations in Eldoret and Nyeri. It is quite evident that these two towns are eminent to our economy…

Facebook is buying Giphy – the company responsible for bringing you GIFs. The GIF-making app and website will be acquired for $400 million, according to Axios. Giphy is one of the biggest GIF making sites in the internet. It offers tools for creating, remixing and sharing GIFs. Facebook already uses Giphy’s API to supply GIFS to its social media platforms; Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram. According to Facebook, its user data drives 50 percent traffic to GIFs, half of that from Instagram. However, other social media sites also such as Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit and Slack also source their GIFs from Giphy.…

Close to 105,000 people in Homabay, Kisumu, Siaya and Busia counties who have been severely affected by the ongoing floods will benefit from items worth Ksh14.7 million from the Safaricom Foundation. The Foundation has partnered with Kenya Red Cross to distribute kits with basic household essentials, reusable face masks and three months’ supply of sanitary towels. The household essential kit includes Tarpaulins, a Kitchen set, Blankets, Jerricans Sleeping mats, Soap, Mosquito nets and an easy-to-use water disinfectant. According to the Kenya Red Cross, the floods have displaced at least 34,000 households and there are about 196 camps, largely schools and churches,…

Smartphone affordability remains one of the major contributing factors hampering digital inclusion in some African countries. Speaking during an online Mobile Broadband Inclusion discussion organized by Huawei this week GSMA Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Akinwale Goodluck said the issue of smartphone pricing remained a barrier to internet adoption. Goodluck said while consumers across the continent wanted to have access to quality smartphones, with speedy internet connectivity, affordability was still an issue. “There are a lot of initiatives going on as different stakeholders are trying to sell a 50-dollar smartphone and some places more aggressive, a 20-dollar smartphone. Governments have a…