Author: David Indeje

Kenya and the United Kingdom on Tuesday said they have concluded talks on a new Trade Agreement which will formally be signed after review. According to the UK, the agreement will ensure all companies operating in Kenya, including British businesses, will continue to benefit from duty-free access as they export products including vegetables and flowers to their customers back in the UK. International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena said: “I’m delighted we’ve reached a trade agreement with Kenya. This deal gives businesses the certainty that they’ll be able to continue trading as they do now, supporting jobs and livelihoods in both…

“Kenya isn’t ‘broke’”, Razia Khan, Chief Economist for Africa and the Middle East, says as the country seeks more financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to The Business Daily, Kenya is seeking another loan after it received Ksh 79.3 billion ($739) in May to respond to the economic shocks caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Following up on the support provided by the IMF in May under our Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), the Kenyan authorities have expressed interest in a Fund arrangement. IMF staff is in discussions with the authorities toward such an arrangement,” IMF resident representative Tobias…

Kenya’s small and medium businesses are among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address these challenges, Absa Bank Kenya PLC says it provided relief to small businesses affected by the pandemic to the tune of KSh 60 billion to enable business recovery. “Our ambition as Absa Group is to become a leading, purpose-orientated, African bank that is deeply rooted in the countries it serves,  which recognises that our own sustainability is directly linked to the sustainability of the communities in which we operate,” Absa Bank Kenya Managing Director Jeremy Awori said during the launch of the banks’ Sustainability…

NCBA bank plans to shed off some of its staff commencing November through a voluntary exit program beginning November. NCBA Group Managing Director John Gachora through a memo to staff says the redundancies have been attributed to the tough and uncertain operating environment. The lender is undergoing a consolidation process after the CBA, NIC merger creating Kenya’s third-largest bank by asset base. “The COVID-19 pandemic, which is the most harrowing health and economic crisis of our lifetime, has affected the execution of our growth plans. We have had to defer our plans to scale our branch network and have taken…

Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves continued to decline considerably in the week as the central bank intervened to reduce the slide of the currency. The forex reserves fell from Ksh 888 billion shillings ( 8.22 billion U.S. dollars) to 8.12 billion dollars, the Central Bank of Kenya said in its weekly bulletin published Saturday. The dollar reserves have been on a decline in the past weeks as the shilling faces pressure from international currencies. The previous week, the forex reserves declined by 143 million dollars as the shilling depreciated. During the week, the shilling exchanged at KSh 108.83 per US dollar…

Kenya Airways on Saturday cancelled the resumption of flights to New York flights due to increased cancelations. The flights were to resume on October 29. In a statement, KQ said, “We regret to announce that due to cancellations of flight bookings to New York City, we have pushed back the resumption of our service to this destination to 29th November.” The airline said it has made alternative arrangements for thor customers who had booked with them. KQ expanded its codeshare partnership with the US Delta Air Lines expanding its current network in North America offering customers flying into Dallas, Washington…