- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 16 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has waived Sh158 billion in penalties, fines, and interest for 2.9 million taxpayers under a tax amnesty program, which was launched in December last year. The initiative, which will end on June 30, 2025, has seen the taxman collect Sh10.…
- APRIL 16 – “Trump is a crazy man,” says Lionel Xu, who is surrounded by his company’s mosquito repellent kits – many were once best sellers in Walmart stores in the United States. Now those products are sitting in boxes in a warehouse in China and will remain there unless President Donald Trump…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 15 – Kenya’s economic environment is showing signs of recovery as the country heads into the 2025/2026 fiscal year, but deep structural and fiscal challenges persist, according to insights presented during a pre-budget media briefing by EY experts. The briefing highlighted…
- APRIL 16 – Microchip maker Nvidia said it would be hit with $5.5bn (£4.2bn) in costs after the US government tightened export rules to China. The chip manufacturing giant, which has been at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, will require licences to export its H20 AI chip to China…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 16 – Swiss digital border security firm Travizory Security SA has dismissed reports suggesting it is holding funds meant for the Kenyan government, calling them “misleading and inaccurate.” In a statement issued Tuesday, the company said it has remitted all funds due to the…
- SAN FRANCISCO, April 16 (Xinhua) — Uber and Waymo said on Tuesday the public will be able to hail a robotaxi in Atlanta, U.S. state of Georgia, this summer. Uber said the company is inviting customers in Atlanta to join a list if they’re interested in hailing a Waymo robotaxi as the companies…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 16 – Digital credit provider MyCredit has secured Sh1.4 billion in funding from global impact investors Oikocredit and BlueOrchard, aimed at financing Kenya’s fast-growing private school sector. The funding will provide tailored loans of up to Sh10 million per institution,…
- NAIROBI, April 15 (Xinhua) — The drought situation in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands has worsened, with conditions deteriorating in all 23 counties, putting millions of people at risk of starvation, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) warned on Tuesday. As a government agency…
- APRIL 15 – Angry Nigerians are turning to social media to describe how they have been locked out of their accounts on the digital financial platform, CBEX. People have posted videos of themselves crying, saying that they could not withdraw their investments and worried that their money had gone.…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 15 – SBM Bank has posted a net profit of Sh12.4 million in quarter one (Q1) of this year, an improvement from the Sh370 million loss recorded during a similar period last year. In the review period, the bank’s total assets expanded to Sh102.9 billion, an improvement from Sh90.…
- ROME, April 15 (Xinhua) — Italy’s new “baby bonus” initiative was launched on Monday, marking the latest step in the country’s ongoing efforts to reverse its declining birthrate. The Italian National Institute for Social Security on Monday unveiled the formal process for families to access a tax-…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 15 – Digital lending platform Tala has let go 28 staff in the customer operations department amid a high rate in loan repayments. This follows a 95 percent increase in customers choosing and managing their loan repayments, cutting workload in the department. “This represents…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 15 – Tullow Overseas Holdings BV has signed a heads of terms agreement with Gulf Energy Ltd to sell its Kenyan unit for Sh15.6 billion ($120 million). The payment will be structured in three phases, starting with an initial Sh5.2 billion ($40 million) payable upon completion…
- APRIL 15 – China’s President Xi Jinping has called on Vietnam to oppose “unilateral bullying” to upkeep a global system of free trade – though he stopped short of naming the US. It comes as Xi is on a so called “charm offensive” trip across South East Asia, which will also see him visit Malaysia […]
- APRIL 15 – Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has taken the witness stand in a landmark antitrust trial to defend his company against allegations that his company operates a social media monopoly. His testimony is part of a case first brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020 during the final…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 15 – Kenya will participate in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan under the theme “Kenya Rising: From the Bottom Up”, aiming to showcase its progress in renewable energy, tourism, trade, technology, and cultural heritage. The Kenya Pavilion will highlight the country’s economic…
- By Antony Gicira, APRIL 15 – This year’s International Women’s Day served to highlight the fact that women in today’s hyper-connected world still face financial exclusion. Appallingly, estimates indicate that 2.3 billion working-age women do not have an account at a formal financial institution. It…
- APRIL 15 – The Trump administration has said it is freezing more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the elite college rejected a list of demands from the White House. “Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 15 – The Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) has announced its decision to unsubscribe from the Rhino chatbot service, with the termination set to take effect on April 18, 2025. In a communication sent to users, Team Rhino confirmed that CDSC’s chatbot…
- VIENNA, April 14 (Xinhua) — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has revised down its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2025 to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), citing the expected impact of recently announced U.S. tariffs. The adjustment was outlined in OPEC’s…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 14 – Prices of super petrol, diesel, and kerosene have been reduced by about Sh2 per liter for the next month in the latest Energy & Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) review. According to the latest EPRA figures, a liter of petrol will, starting at midnight, fall by…
- APRIL 14 – Donald Trump says Chinese-made smartphones and other electronics will not be exempt from tariffs – adding they are simply moving into a different levy “bucket”. European stock markets bounced up on Monday morning after Friday’s official announcement that some of these products would…
- NAIROBI, Kenya – April 11, 2025 – The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by the Speaker of the National Assembly and the National Assembly seeking to suspend the High Court’s decision that nullified the Privatisation Act, 2023. In a ruling delivered by Justices F.A. Ochieng, W. Korir,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 14 – The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Competition Commission has confirmed that Heineken Holding engaged in anti-competitive practices across its distribution networks within member states. Following an investigation launched in 2021, the regional…
- APRIL 14 – A trial in the landmark antitrust case against social media giant Meta kicks off in Washington on Monday. The US competition and consumer watchdog alleges that Meta, which already owned Facebook, bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate competition, effectively giving…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 14- The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has approved the acquisition of National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK) by Access Bank PLC (Access) after the deal met regulatory requirements. The approval comes a few months after the National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary…
- APRIL 14 – The Caribbean nation of Guyana is breathing a sigh of relief after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on the introduction of higher tariffs on a number of countries. Guyana, which is nestled between Venezuela and Suriname on the South American mainland, had been singled…
- SINGAPORE, April 14 (Xinhua) — Singapore’s economy expanded by 3.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Monday. The pace of growth was slower than the 5.0 percent expansion recorded in the previous…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 12 — Kenya is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan arrangement, with discussions expected to advance further during the upcoming IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. National Treasury officials have confirmed the engagement,…
- APRIL 13 – More than three million children around the world are thought to have died in 2022 as a result of infections that are resistant to antibiotics, according to a study by two leading experts in child health. Children in Africa and South East Asia were found to be most at risk. Antimicrobial…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 13 – The government has welcomed Heifer International’s $95.7 million Practice for Change (P4C) Signature Program, a five-year initiative targeting 625,000 smallholder farmers across Kenya. Launched in Nairobi, the program seeks to transform rural livelihoods through climate-…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 13 – Del Monte Kenya Limited has planted over 8,200 trees in its latest environmental conservation effort, contributing to parent company Fresh Del Monte’s global target of planting 2.5 million trees by 2025. The tree-planting event, held on the company’s farms and in…
- APRIL 13 – US President Donald Trump’s administration has exempted smartphones, computers and some other electronic devices from “reciprocal” tariffs, including the 125% levies imposed on Chinese imports. In a notice, US Customs and Border Patrol said that the goods would be excluded from Trump’s…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 13 – Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has issued a stern warning to miraa traders and exporters who fail to adhere to the ministry’s minimum price directive. Speaking during a Farmers’ Day event in Meru, Kagwe said all non-compliant traders…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 12 – The newly formed Africa AI Council is positioning the continent to tap into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), with projections estimating a $2.9 trillion contribution to Africa’s economy by 2030. During the launch of the Africa AI Declaration,…
- DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, April 12 – Tanzania Commercial Bank (TCB) has joined Ramani’s Financial Marketplace, becoming the second banking partner on the platform after Stanbic Bank. The move is expected to boost access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), particularly in the fast…
- NAIROBI, April 12 (Xinhua) — Kenya is developing a master plan to climate-proof its livestock sector, aiming to tackle hunger and malnutrition while broadening revenue streams for pastoralists in semi-arid regions, a senior official said on Friday. Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of…
- By Stephen Mutoro APRIL 12 – The recent lead story in The Standard titled “Man of Steel: Devki Boss’ Iron Hold on Ruto’s Government” left readers with more questions than answers. Rather than scrutinizing government malfeasance, it instead appears to cast aspersions on investor Narendra Raval,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 12 – Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has expressed deep concern over the mental health crisis and welfare challenges facing police officers in Kenya, citing disturbing trends of suicide and violence within the National Police Service. Speaking during a town hall…
- MEXICO CITY, April 12 (Xinhua) — Mexico will “immediately deliver” millions of cubic meters of water to the U.S. state of Texas, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s complaint a day earlier. “A significant amount of water will be…
- NAIROBI, April 12 (Xinhua) — The Kenyan shilling declined 0.35 percent this week to close at 129.71, as uncertainty is growing over the impact of U.S. tariff hikes, the Central Bank of Kenya reported on Friday. The currency started the week at 129.26 and declined gradually during the five days,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 11 – The Capital Markets Tribunal has directed Amana Capital Limited to pay a total of Sh21.4 million to Susan Mukuhi Kagiri, a disgruntled investor whose funds were frozen following the collapse of Nakumatt Holdings. In a unanimous judgment, the Tribunal dismissed Amana’s…
- APRIL 11 – The UK economy grew by more than expected in February, according to the latest official figures. The economy expanded by 0.5%, with the services sector having a strong month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Economists had predicted growth of just 0.1%, but the ONS said…
- By Njeri Jomo, There’s a conversation echoing quietly through the boardrooms, coffee lounges, and Zoom calls of Kenya’s corporate sector. It’s not about market share or quarterly results. It’s about exhaustion. Silent, creeping, and often dismissed as a personal weakness burnout has become Kenya’s…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 11 – Prestige Plaza has finalized a Ksh400 million facelift aimed at modernizing the iconic shopping complex and enhancing the retail and leisure experience for visitors. The revamp, led by retail trade real estate investments firm Primrose Management Limited, included…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 11 – Former Ministry of Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dr. Mercy Mwangangi has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Social Health Authority (SHA). Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the appointment in a statement on Friday, saying Mwangangi…
- JERUSALEM, April 11 (Xinhua) — Direct flights between Beijing and Tel Aviv resumed on Thursday, as a Hainan Airlines aircraft successfully landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv early in the morning, marking the end of an 18-month hiatus. According to Yu Chaojie, president of…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 11 – Nipsea Paint Kenya Limited, a subsidiary of Japanese paint maker Nippon Paint, plans to expand local production with an extended facility in Mombasa County. The proposed project is contained in an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study Report submitted to the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, April 11 – After giving birth about a decade ago, Adelaide Njeri, like many other women in maternity, thought of what she could do to keep her occupied without taking attention away from her baby. Coincidentally, at the time, her late mother-in-law was unwell and couldn’t consume…
- APRIL 11 – OpenAI is suing Elon Musk over claims he has tried “nonstop” to slow down its business for his own benefit. The company accuses the Tesla boss of using “bad-faith tactics” against OpenAI to help him control cutting-edge AI technology. Mr Musk sued OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman last…
