How to get Africa online: ‘white space’

May 10, 2013 6:49pm by Eleanor Whitehead

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Africa has the lowest internet penetration rate globally, but some of the world’s tech giants think they may have touched a magic formula for the rollout of broadband on the continent.

The ‘white spaces’ technology being deployed by Microsoft could bring “almost 80 per cent of Kenya’s population online over the next three years,” according to Fernando de Sousa, who heads up the company’s 4Afrika initiative.

Bearing in mind that Kenya’s population has grown to just over 40m, that’s a fairly substantial number. Continue reading »

Tags: Africa infrastructure, internet, Microsoft, ThisisAfrica Posted in Africa, Kenya, South Africa | Permalink

Kenya: another unexpected hefty cut

May 7, 2013 5:18pm by Rob Minto

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When it comes to interest rates, Kenya is hard to predict. Having cut interest rates from 18 per cent in mid-2012 in great chunks of 150, 200 and 350 basis points to 9.5 per cent, Tuesday’s central bank rate decision was something of a guessing game.

In the end, the bank cut by another 100bp to 8.5 per cent, having held at its previous meeting in March. Around half the analysts polled in advance by Reuters and Bloomberg had predicted a hold in rates. At least no-one was predicting a rise. Continue reading »

Tags: Kenya economy, Kenya interest rates Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

Kenya’s CIC Insurance ready to expand in region

Apr 22, 2013 3:10pm by Nizar Manek

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Less than two years after independence, South Sudan is attracting the attention of insurance companies in east Africa. And it’s not the region’s only new frontier. CIC Insurance Group of Kenya is ready to expand in the country and into neighbouring Uganda.

Next year, CIC has its sights on Tanzania and Malawi, Joel Gatune, the insurer’s finance and investments manager, tells beyondbrics. “For us, we believe sustained growth is in micro-insurance,” he says. “We’ve come up with a micro-insurance blueprint.” Continue reading »

Tags: Cooperative movement, East Africa insurance, Kenya insurance Posted in Africa, Global, Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda | Permalink

[in pictures] Kenyatta is sworn in

Apr 9, 2013 3:40pm by Rob Minto

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President Uhuru Kenyatta, right, receives the sword of the Commander In Chief of the Kenya Armed Forces. Photo: Reuters

Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in as Kenya’s president on Tuesday.

The March election was largely peaceful, free of the widespread violence than marred the 2007 polls. However, it was not free from controversy, with the close result contested all the way to the supreme court, and with the winner indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes dating from the 2007 election. Continue reading »

Tags: Kenya elections Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

National Bank of Kenya: power shortage cuts profits

Mar 26, 2013 4:19pm by Nizar Manek

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It has been a tumultuous few days for shares in National Bank of Kenya, the country’s ninth biggest lender by market capitalisation. A lack of the price-setting power enjoyed by bigger banks meant it first spooked investors with a profit warning last week – and then sent them scurrying on Monday when it reported a 52.8 per cent fall in pretax profits for 2012. Continue reading »

Tags: interest rates, Kenyan economy, National Bank of Kenya, Standard Chartered Kenya Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

West on Kenyatta: bark and no bite?

Mar 12, 2013 3:49pm by Eleanor Whitehead

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Diplomatic relations between Kenya and the west took a pummelling over the course of the country’s presidential election, which saw Uhuru Kenyatta (left) – currently indicted by the International Criminal Court for inciting ethnic violence after the 2007 vote – edge his way to a first round win.

But with results in, will the diplomatic fallout be as bad as the rhetoric suggests? The answer is: probably not. Continue reading »

Tags: diplomacy, ICC, Kenya elections, Kenyatta Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

Guest post: Africa’s future is not seen in the rear view mirror

Mar 12, 2013 12:15pm by beyondbrics

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By Aly-Khan Satchu of Rich Management

It was Vinod Khosla, who bagged a billion at Sun MicroSystems in Silicon Valley, who said, ‘The future is not seen in the rear view mirror.’

I started my journey from Mombasa, spent half my life in the City of London running interest rate trading desks, packed my bags when I turned 40 and returned home in 2005. Continue reading »

Tags: Africa Inc, guest post, Kenya elections, Nairobi Securities Exchange, portfolio investment Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

Kenya: market rallies despite doubts

Mar 11, 2013 7:41pm by Rob Minto

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The markets bet on a peaceful outcome, and so far, they’ve been proved right.

The Nairobi All-Share index jumped 3.2 per cent on Monday to a 5-year high of 115.37. But Kenya’s election is hardly done and dusted. Continue reading »

Tags: Kenya elections, Nairobi Securities Exchange Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

[video] Mobile money keeps Kenya economy moving

Mar 11, 2013 4:55pm by beyondbrics

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Kenya has led Africa’s innovative and revolutionary embrace of mobile telephones, and the country’s technology sector has grown faster than all others in east Africa’s regional economic hub. Bob Collymore, chief executive of Safaricom, parent company of the mobile payment system M-Pesa, talks to Katrina Manson, east Africa correspondent.

Tags: m-payments, M-Pesa, Safaricom, video Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

From FT.com March 9, 2013

Kenyatta declared Kenya’s new president

A poll official stacks ballot boxes that have been tallied in Kakamega, western Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared the winner in Kenya’s tense presidential elections, but Raila Odinga, the prime minister is refusing to accept the results, report Katrina Manson and William Wallis. The final tally put Mr Kenyatta 0.07 per cent above the threshold needed to prevent a run-off.

Diplomats and party officials waited for hours at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for a final declaration amid doubts over the final figures which even for much of the morning on the commission’s screens did not quite add up. Continue reading »

Tags: Kenya elections Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

Kenya elections: down to the wire

Mar 8, 2013 3:34pm by Eleanor Whitehead

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The race for Kenya’s presidency is heading to a nail-biting finish as the front-runner’s lead fades away and the votes counted show the decision going to a run-off for the first time since counting began four days ago.

With around 80 per cent of the constituencies declared, the early lead held by deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta has fallen away, slipping just below the 50 per cent mark needed to secure an outright win. His rival, prime minister Raila Odinga, is trailing with 44 per cent of the vote but results trickling in from Odinga strongholds are closing the gap. With 20 per cent of ballot papers left to count, the outcome could go either way. Continue reading »

Tags: elections, Kenya elections, technology Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

Kenya: shilling falls as uncertainty surrounds election count

Mar 6, 2013 6:44pm by Andrew Bowman

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A failure of electronic vote counting systems has delayed the announcement of preliminary results for the Kenyan presidential elections and caused a sharp drop in the value of the shilling.

The Kenyan currency had strengthened over the past week and remained steady during the election. But in the face of uncertainty over the outcome of the vote on Wednesday it fell 1.5 per cent against the US dollar, reaching 86.75 by the end of the day. Continue reading »

Tags: elections, Kenya elections, politics Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

Kenya elections: Kenyatta in early lead

Mar 5, 2013 7:36pm by Andrew Bowman

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Partial results in the Kenyan presidential election show Uhuru Kenyatta ahead with 53 per cent of the vote as of 22h00 in Kenya (19h00 GMT), with rival Raila Odinga on 42 per cent.

However, with many votes still to be counted and a final result from the electoral commission not due until Wednesday, the balance could still tip, and Odinga issued a message to supporters that many of his major strongholds had yet to be counted. Continue reading »

Tags: Kenya elections Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

Kenya’s poll: peaceful, so far

Mar 4, 2013 6:18pm by Andrew Bowman

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With polling stations for the Kenyan presidential and parliamentary elections kept open beyond the official closing time to accommodate queuing voters, reports suggest the day has passed off peacefully in the main, with no sign of a repeat of the widespread conflicts which led to over 1,000 deaths in the wake of the 2007 election.

Nineteen people are reported to have died in clashes between secessionists and police in the coastal city of Mombasa and nearby towns. But the violence appears to have been limited to isolated flash-points. Continue reading »

Tags: Kenya elections Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

In pictures: Kenya votes

Mar 4, 2013 11:25am by Rob Minto

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Kenya’s presidential and parliamentary elections are held on Monday, with the two leading presidential candiates Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta very close in the polls. Markets are betting on a peaceful outcome, after the violence that marred the 2007 election – although at least 15 people were reported killed in two violent incidents.

Voters in the Dandora neighborhood of Nairobi started queuing at Dandora Primary School before dawn.

Voters in the Dandora neighborhood of Nairobi queue outside their polling station before dawn.

Tags: Kenya elections, pictures Posted in Africa, Kenya | Permalink

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