Author: David Indeje

The Covid-19 pandemic had wiped out 1.7 million jobs in Kenya the first three months since the first case was announced in 2020 according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). A survey by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) conducted between September and October found out that at least 3.1 million workers in the sector lost their jobs. On the other hand, the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) corroborated KNBS data indicating that the jobs lost were from 604 firms. KNBS data found out that about 15,547 workers of aged between 55 and 59 years lost jobs in…

Loon launched a pilot project in Kenya in 2020+ In 2019, Loon raised $125 million in a funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp. Loon to cease operations in Kenya on 1st March Google parent Alphabet Inc is shutting down its nine-year-old internet balloon business, Loon, claiming it was not commercially viable. “While we’ve found a number of willing partners along the way, we haven’t found a way to get the costs low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business,” Loon Chief Executive Alastair Westgarth said in a blog post. “We talk a lot about connecting the next billion users, but the…

The Central Bank of Kenya has raised Ksh 81 billion in its 16-Year Infrastructure Bond issue against a Ksh 50 billion target. This is the second bond issue in 2021. According to CBK, it received bids worth Ksh 125.3 billion (250.7%). Market analysts say that the offer was oversubscribed. “We attribute the oversubscription to the bond’s tax-free nature and favorable tenor of 12.5 years (amortized), as well as high market liquidity with the flight of capital from the equities market,” Sterling Capital Research said in its note. “We also believe that a significant proportion of the subscriptions were from foreign…

Housing Finance Group PLC, a multi-dimensional financial services provider, has received a cash injection of Ksh1 billion from Britam Holdings, to strengthen the Group’s core activities. “The investment comes on the back of a formidable turnaround strategy that is poised to see the business transform into a full-service bank,” HF’s chief executive Robert Kibaara said in a statement. “This is indeed a major vote of confidence informed by the results already being witnessed through our business transformation initiatives.”  “The capital will also boost HF Group’s strategy focusing on end-user financing for affordable housing and create opportunities for Kenyans in the…

Standard Chartered, Family Bank and Diamond Trust Banks top overall in  2020 Kenya Bankers Association Customer Satisfaction Survey Bank customers opt for contactless service platforms  The coronavirus pandemic has shifted focus of Kenyan consumers towards digital experience with a majority opting for fully automated services when it comes to banking, says Kenya Bankers Association.  As per Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) Customer Satisfaction Survey (2020), 43% bank clients opted for contactless banking platforms to reduce the possibility of infection with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) through currency and bank branch visits.   Only 16 percent of the survey respondents reported the need to visit their…

The Scheme became effective on January 1, 2021  Whistleblowers to be rewarded upto Ksh 1 million for concluded cases Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) says it has operationalised its reward program to increase efficiency and effectiveness in its enforcement work.   The Informant Reward Scheme is part of the authority’s mechanisms to be applied in rewarding persons who provide actionable information to them when conducting investigations.  To start with, informants who provide credible intelligence on unfair trade practices are entitled to up to 1% of the administrative penalty imposed by CAK.   The intelligence given must lead to penalization of involved parties for the…