Author: Khusoko

Khusoko provides market insights into Africa's business investment as well as global trends that impact East African businesses.

The Bank of Kigali, a Nairobi Securities Exchange and Rwanda Stock Exchange-listed lender has announced a 35 percent increase in net profit to LSh5.8 billion for the year ended December 2021 driven by a 20.8 percent rise in total interest income and double-digit growth in all key performance metrics. It has recorded a 41.4 percent year-on-year growth in non-interest income to Sh4.2 billion, on the back of increased trade volumes and economic activities. “We recorded another strong performance in 2021, reflecting economic recovery with improved asset quality and profitability,” Bank of Kigali, Chief Executive Officer, Diane Karusisi said. The group…

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Mobile money adoption and use saw continued growth in 2021, processing a record $1 trillion annually according to the GSMA‘s 10th annual ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money’. The industry enjoyed a substantial increase in the number of registered accounts, up 18% since 2020 reaching 1.35 billion globally. The volume of person-to-person transactions were up to more than 1.5 million every hour.   The report reveals that one of the most significant drivers of growth was merchant payments, which almost doubled year on year. It also highlights how mobile money continues to act as a core pillar of financial and…

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Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) says it will use its newly donated studio equipment from Multichoice to boost its television upgrade project. The donation worth over Ksh 36.8 million includes video switchers, a high definition audio-visual recorder, routing matrix, playout servers, and a Media Asset Management (MAM) Storage System among other TV studio items. The donation cements the two institutions’ pioneering, 27-year-old, public-private partnership that began in 1995. MultiChoice Kenya Limited was established in 1995 as a joint venture between KBC owning 40% stake locally and MultiChoice Africa Holdings (60% stake), a subsidiary of the MultiChoice Group to provide Subscriber Management…

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Absa Group has appointed Arrie Rautenbach as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately.  Arrie, who is currently Chief Executive of the Group’s retail and business banking (RBB) unit, is the first internally appointed CEO since 2006. Interim CEO Jason Quinn will resume his position as Group Financial Director with immediate effect. Arrie has more than 25 years of banking experience, which includes serving as the Group’s Chief Risk Officer, simultaneously providing executive leadership for the Group Separation Programme and Group Strategy Office. He previously served as a Chief Executive of Retail Banking at Absa, Managing Executive of Absa Card Division,…

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Trace Eastern Africa, an urban entertainment and edutainment channel has launched its first-of-a-kind series of entertainment tours targeting university students. The tours will be graced by Kenyan top artists who will tour the campus under the ‘Trace in the City’ theme and feature a fusion of music, games, and entertainment offering the young campus crowd the best the industry has to offer. The first tour took place at the Mount Kenya University (MKU), where Trace FM’s mid-morning show host, Jo Jo Kibare said that the tours are not just about artists performing, but about encouraging new talent on the ground…

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Viewers on DStv can look forward to the second round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, live from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on the evening of Sunday 27 March 2022. SuperSport is definitely your #HomeOfSport and the ultimate destination for motorsport fans. The first round in Bahrain this past weekend saw Ferrari claim a stunning 1-2 to open the new season in style, as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz claimed the first two steps of the podium, with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finishing third. “Coming into this season, we knew we would be in…

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