Author: Lynet Awino

Standard Chartered Bank Kenya posted profit after tax of KSh 3.58 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, a 26.3% decline from KSh 4.86 billion a year earlier. The result extends one of the most difficult earnings runs in the bank’s recent history, as falling interest rates continue to compress margins with no immediate relief in sight. Falling Rates Squeeze the Core Business Net interest income bore the sharpest pain. It fell 23.3% to KSh 6.29 billion, the steepest annual decline on record and a second consecutive year of contraction. Interest income dropped 22.4% to KSh 7.22 billion, while…

Noir Fashion Week returns to Nairobi from 6 to 9 August 2026, anchoring its expanded global tour that also takes in Paris, New York and South Africa. The theme this year is The African Code, a programme built not around spectacle but around argument: that the textiles, rituals and material traditions of African design constitute a system of authority within global luxury, not a footnote to it. Why Nairobi, and Why Now The choice of Nairobi is deliberate. Cities including Lagos, Johannesburg and Nairobi have spent the past decade building credibility as regional fashion capitals, attracting international buyers, investment and…

HF Group Plc has renamed itself HFCB Group Plc, completing a process that shareholders set in motion at the General Meeting held on 4 September 2024. The company received its Certificate of Change of Name from the Registrar of Companies, and the rebrand took legal effect on 22 May 2026. The name change carries no consequences for the company’s legal standing. All existing rights, obligations, assets, liabilities, operations, and contractual relationships with customers, partners, and other stakeholders remain intact and unchanged. A Six-Decade Journey From Mortgage Financier to Integrated Financial Group HFCB Group Plc traces its origins to 18 November…

Kenya’s nationwide transport strike entered its second day on Tuesday before Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced a one-week suspension, opening the door to formal negotiations between the government and transport sector stakeholders over record fuel prices. Strike suspended, talks set for one week Speaking after meeting with the Transport Sector Alliance on Tuesday, CS Murkomen confirmed that both sides agreed to escalate negotiations to a higher level. “The strike that is ongoing is suspended for a period of one week to provide an avenue for consultation and negotiations between the government and the stakeholders,” Murkomen said. The CS added…

There is a moment in In the Seashell Hum where words stop making immediate sense. “404 error message. The signs are gone. They stole the seashell radio tape. I am the sign.” The words arrive broken, strange, almost nonsensical. At first, the audience laughs nervously, unsure whether to interpret the moment as poetry, madness, memory, or performance experimentation. But as the production progresses, the fragments begin forming an emotional language of their own. Suddenly, the confusion feels intentional. Human. Familiar, even. This Mental Awareness Month, I had the opportunity to watch ‘In the Seashell Hum’, a psychodrama stage production by…

Jubilee Health Insurance and the Sikh Council of Kenya have joined forces to launch a medical cover scheme tailored specifically for members of the Sikh community in Kenya, extending protection to their families and businesses. The partnership marks the first in a planned series of affinity group collaborations designed to bring organised communities into the healthcare system — not as an afterthought, but as the entry point. Why Community-Based Cover Makes Sense Now The cost of healthcare continues to climb. For many Kenyan households, the barrier is not the willingness to pay for medical cover — it is the upfront…