Author: David Indeje

The National Bank of Kenya will exit the Nairobi Securities Exchange once the takeover deal by KCB Group PLc is approved. KCB Group Plc has declared its intention to acquire 100% stake of National Bank of Kenya through a share swap deal, comprising of 10 ordinary shares of NBK for every 1 ordinary share of KCB. “The acquisition of the Offer Shares by the Offeror is also stated to be subject to several conditions, including: (i) the Company delisting from the Nairobi Securities Exchange upon acceptance of the Offer by not less than 75% of the Offer Shares including scope…

Uber Head of Communications in East Africa, Janet Kemboi is resigning from her position, she announced on Monday. Janet, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) journalism with a minor in Sociology from United States International University in Nairobi took to her LinkedIn page and said, “ It’s been close to 3 years leading communications for Uber in East Africa. The experience has been nothing short of humbling.” As the first communications manager of Uber in East Africa, during her tenure, the ride-hailing company has been able to launch numerous app features for riders and drivers and products such…

The Kenyan manufacturing industry economy stagnated by 60% more than expected in the first quarter of 2019 attributed to ‘rampant corruption and increased bureaucracy in government agencies’, according to data provided by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) Manufacturing Barometer, April 2019. 21% believe it is growing and 19% believe the economy is declining among the leaders in the manufacturing sector who gave their views on the implementation of the Big Four Agenda. The 2019 Manufacturing Priority Agenda (MPA), themed ‘Closing the manufacturing gap through the Big 4 Agenda for shared prosperity’, the sector is expected to contribute 15% to…

EGM Securities Limited, a non-dealing online forex broker, has unveiled FXPesa, that will focus on small deposits clients in  East Africa. FX Pesa offers a web-based forex trading platform which does not require any downloads. Kevin Ng’ang’a, CEO of EGM Securities said, “The FXPesa platform has an easy-to-use interface and is tailor-made for users who do not necessarily have forex trading experience, do not necessarily have extra cash to trade, or simply can’t bear a lengthy onboarding process. Everyone who signs up for an FXPesa account is in full control of when to trade, how to trade and how much…

Kenya’s economy suffered a hit to operating conditions in April, as activity and employment declined for the first time in 17 months in the wake of poor weather conditions and intensifying cash flow issues. Markit’s monthly service sector PMI dropped to 49.3 in April below the neutral 50.0 threshold. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in the manufacturing sector while a reading above 50 represents expansion. “This marked the first time in nearly one-and-a-half years that the series has fallen into contraction territory, signalling a slight deterioration in business conditions. It was also the fourth successive drop in the…

Safaricom on Friday reported its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the full year to March soared 13.1% to Ksh89.6 billion. This was driven by M-Pesa growing at 19.2% year on year, and, accounting for 75% of the revenue growth for the year.  • Service revenue growth of 7% to KSh 240.30bn. • Voice service (incoming and outgoing) revenue grew by 0.3% to KSh95.94bn. • M-PESA revenue grew by 19.2% to KSh 74.99bn. • Mobile data revenue increased by 6.4% to KSh38.69bn. • Fixed service revenue increased by 22.7% to KSh8.19bn. • Total customer base increased by…