Author: David Indeje

KCB Group reported a 22.10% decline in annual net profit of KShs. 19.6 billion for the full year ending December 2020 from the KSh 25.2 billion in 2019. The lender which also operates in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan attributed the decline to higher provisions for loan losses and subdued economic activity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic significantly affected our business across the markets we operate in, with most of them going into some degree of lockdown. The negative impact on the economy drastically reduced our customer’s ability to operate necessitating loan restructures,” the Group CEO…

Kenyan High Court has dismissed a petition that sought to decriminalise Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) saying it violates the right to health, dignity and in some circumstances the right to life. In dismissing the petition case No. 244/2019, the 3-judge bench, Lady Justice Lydia Achode, Lady Justice Margaret Muigai and Justice Kanyi Kimondo held that one can not chose to harm themselves. “We find that limiting this right is reasonable in an open and democratic society, based on the dignity of women,” said judge Lydia Achode. “The amended petition is devoid of merit and hereby dismissed.” Dr. Tatu Kamau had…

Flutterwave is collaborating with PayPal allowing businesses in Africa to receive payments from over 377 million PayPal users all over the world. Flutterwave said the new arrangement will eliminate a barrier to cross-border commerce while involving 50 countries.  “By working with PayPal, we can further strengthen our commitment to our customers and service users as we will be enabling them to transact and expand their business operations to reach new markets. PayPal’s global reach is unrivalled and collaborating with them allows our customers to explore new markets where PayPal is embedded,” Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola said Tuesday.…

The Cereal Millers Association (CMA) has raised the red flag on high levels of aflatoxin in maize being delivered to their premises higher than the allowable 10 ppb rate. According to CMA, the high aflatoxin levels in maize flour for both human and animal consumption pose a grave threat to the health and wellbeing of Kenyans. “As such the CMA continues to request the government agencies to encourage best practices for farmers, increase the use of Aflasafe to promote safe maize, increase testing at our cross border trade points, look at alternative uses of contaminated maize as well as have…

The economy of Kenya has suffered an estimated loss of Ksh 560 billion in revenue in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday during a televised address that announced the extension of a nationwide overnight COVID-19 curfew for 60 days, revealed that the pandemic had greatly affected the economy. “Last year, fellow Kenyans, the Kenyan economy was projected to grow by 6.2%, but it only grew by 0.6% because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kenyatta said, adding that further, projections indicate that, despite the COVID plunge, our economy is likely to bounce back and grow 7 per…

Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves are now at the same level as the East African Community (EAC) criteria for import cover. The reserves have fallen by Ksh 27.8 billion (about 254 million U.S. dollars) since the start of March.  Currently, the forex stands at USD 7.4 bn (equivalent to 4.5-months of import cover), which is above the statutory requirement of maintaining at least 4.0-months of import cover, and the EAC region’s convergence criteria of 4.5-months of import cover. In the reporting week, according to weekly data released by the Central Bank of Kenya, the reserves declined from 7.605 billion dollars at…