Author: David Indeje

Kenya is expected to grow at 6.4 per cent in 2021 but economic growth could decelerate next year to 6.0 per cent, according to the Central Bank. The forecast is higher than the 6.1 per cent growth for this year and 5.6 per cent in 2022 projected in September. “We have used this new quarterly data, leading economic indicators and other information that we have and our projection for 2021, the annual is 6.4 per cent and six per cent in 2022,” Dr Patrick Njoroge said during a virtual media briefing post MPC meeting held Monday. However, the CBK said…

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will step down as CEO of the social media platform, the company announced. He will be succeeded by Twitter’s current Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal. Dorsey will remain a member of the Board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders. “I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders. My trust in Parag as Twitter’s CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I’m deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It’s his time to lead,” said Dorsey.…

Safaricom Youth Orchestra staged the end of term concert on Sunday afternoon that featured classical music, Christmas songs to usher in the holiday spirit. They also featured the Safaricom fun fare song in celebration of 21 years of Safaricom.  This was the first physical concert in 2 years. “We continue to support young talent, especially in the creative industry to give them a platform, opportunities to transform their lives and go beyond to achieve their dreams,” Safaricom said. “As we celebrate the great milestones that the Safaricom Youth Orchestra has achieved this year, despite the pandemic year they have managed…

The new coronavirus variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) has an “unprecedented number” with  “severe consequences”, the World Health Organization said Monday. In a technical brief, ‘Enhancing Readiness for Omicron (B.1.1.529): Technical Brief and Priority Actions for the Member States’  on the newest “variant of concern”, the UN health body cautioned that assessments done were based on limited information, but said the overall global risk related to the highly mutated variant was “very high”. “Given mutations that may confer immune escape potential and possibly transmissibility advantage, the likelihood of potential further spread of Omicron at the global level is high,” the WHO wrote…

The Kenya National Treasury said it has disbursed over Ksh 1.44 billion loans to  Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) under the Credit Guarantee Scheme since its launch in Dec 2020. The Credit Guarantee Scheme is one of the government’s incentives to mobilise private sector capital towards development goals. Mr Ronald Inyang’ala, National Treasusry Ag. Credit Guarantee Scheme Manager and who serves also as the Deputy Director of Financial and Sectoral Affairs, disclosed that the amounts were disbursed during the period Dec 2020 to October 31, 2021. During the period, 21 per cent of recipients of the credit was MSMEs…

Air Tanzania said on Friday it has resumed its Dar-Nairobi flights, which had stopped in over two decades.   The arrival of the new ultra-modern Airbus A220-300 Friday at 6:45 a.m. in Nairobi marked the start of the carrier’s double-daily flights on the route as part of its expansion plans in Africa. The restart of this route is largely attributed to improved bilateral relations, increased trade between the two countries the need to connect the region with other markets. “We at Air Tanzania are looking forward to bolstering the relations between Tanzania and Kenya, who have been trusted friends and sincere…