- NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 6 – Kenya unveiled its strategic plan for export market competitiveness for the years 2023-2027, to enhance the competitiveness of locally manufactured products in the global market. Trade Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano launched the plan on Wednesday that aims to propel Kenya’s…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – AstraZeneca, a global pharmaceutical company, has attained Top Employer and Best Place to Work certifications across key African markets, highlighting best workplace practices. While in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, the firm got top employer status; it was named the best…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – ABC Bank has been ranked at the top among Tier 3 lenders in customer satisfaction, according to the latestKenya Bankers Association (KBA) report. The financial institution’s performance is attributed to innovation. The survey, which drew opinions from over 30,000 customers…
- NEW DELHI, March 6 (Xinhua) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday inaugurated the country’s first underwater metro section in the eastern city of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. Following the inauguration, Modi took a metro ride on the Esplanade-Howrah Maidan metro route and…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has licensed 19 extra digital credit providers (DCP), pushing the total number of registered firms nationwide to 51. Already, CBK has received a total of 480 applications for licensing as firms rush to be compliant with Section 59(2) of the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – Stanbic Holdings Plc posted a profit after tax of Sh12.2 billion in the full year ending December last year, buoyed by high net interest earnings, strong trading volumes, and balance sheet growth. This represented a 34 percent jump compared to a similar period in 2022.…
- LOS ANGELES, March 5 (Xinhua) — Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at the Jovian moon Europa to be substantially less than most previous studies, according to new findings. The ice-covered Jovian moon generates 1,000 tons of oxygen every…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – The Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) has pledged to capitalize more on the Naivasha inland container depot to reduce the transit distance for their cargo. In collaboration with the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), they said this strategic move would reduce the transit distance by…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – Equity Group has organized an Investors’ Roadshow in Kinshasa, DRC, aimed at showcasing trade and investment opportunities within the East African Community (EAC) region. Ending on March 8th, 2024, it marks the fourth installment of such events organized by Equity Group in…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – The Conservation Alliance of Kenya (CAK), in partnership with the State Department for Forestry, State Department for Environment and Climate Change, and State Department for Wildlife, organized a forum to discuss the state of Kakamega forest and its ecosystems. The forum,…
- ROME, March 5 (Xinhua) — Female farmers, poor people, and older populations are the most affected by climate change, and their needs require targeted measures, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlighted in a report published on Tuesday. The study, titled “Unjust Climate,” reveals…
- TOKYO, March 6 (Xinhua) — Japan’s police have launched an investigation into a luxury watch rental operator based in Osaka, western Japan, after they received more than 40 complaints about the firm, local media reported on Wednesday. Luxury brand watch owners using Toke Match said their watches…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – Konza Technopolis has received a boost after South Korea agreed to finance three additional projects at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Under the Economic Innovation Partnership Program (EIPP), the funding will go into smart farms, the establishment of an incubation complex…
- GABORONE, March 5 (Xinhua) — Botswana will soon engage Kenya to lobby for the exemption of its citizens from the East African country’s electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) requirement. Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi said on Monday that the eTA, a semi-automated system that determines the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – Britam General Insurance has tapped into artificial intelligence (AI) to cut 20 percent of motor insurance costs for drivers. The Motomatics cover, which is covered by AiCare Telematic Ltd., slashes premiums paid by motorists if they drive less than 10,000 kilometers besides…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – Vehicle manufactures Isuzu East Africa has won the UD Trucks distributorship deal, giving the company selling rights to the Japanese heavy vehicles locally. After the signing of the agreement today, production, sales, and after-sales support for UD Trucks will now fall under…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has initiated an inquiry into irregular tender awards and embezzlement of funds allegations against Bomas of Kenya (BoK). EACC had received an allegation that the BoK had irregularly awarded the general property and work…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – Del Monte Kenya has sought security services from G4S Kenya Limited after allegations of violence by its guards. The collaboration follows recommendations from a recent Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) endorsing the outsourcing of security personnel as a best practice.…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – A total of 50 primary schools in Kenya will be connected to the internet through a deal between Airtel Kenya and ATC Kenya. The project, which will initially be rolled out as a pilot project at 10 learning institutions, involves installing, upgrading, and refurbishing ICT…
- COLOMBO, March 5 (Xinhua) — Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to absorb SriLankan Airlines’ outstanding debt of 510 million U.S. dollars by the government, a minister said on Tuesday. Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva told the media that the cabinet approval…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCCA) has opened an investigation to ascertain the cause of an aircraft accident involving a Cessna aircraft belonging to Ninety-Nines Flying School and a Dash 8 belonging to Safarilink Aviation Limited. Safarilink Aviation confirmed that this…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – Kenya’s private sector activity rose to the highest level in over a year last month on the back of cooling inflationary pressure as well as an increase in new orders. The latest data from the Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) shows that the country’s PMI in…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – World Animal Protection (WAP) has launched the ‘Wildlife Not Profit’ campaign, advocating for an end to wildlife farming and urging governments to take immediate action. This is after a recent report exposed the widespread exploitation of wild animals, revealing how billions…
- TOKYO, March 5 (Xinhua) — About 10 percent of Japan’s local governments will not be able to fully migrate their data systems to the central government’s cloud service by the end of fiscal 2025, digital transformation minister Taro Kono said Tuesday. Kono said that 171, or 9.6 percent, of the…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has launched investigations into procurement irregularities against the managing director of Tanathi Water Works Development Agency (TAWWDA). Through a gazette notice, EACC noted that a Sh300,000 tender for the construction of…
- ROME, March 4 (Xinhua) — The percentage of the overweight population is slowly on the rise in Italy, especially in the poorer southern region, according to the latest data released Monday by the country’s High Institute for Health (ISS). Italy has long been among the healthiest countries in the…
- LOS ANGELES, March 4 (Xinhua) — Participants in a U.S.-China Green Port and Low-Carbon meeting have called for stronger port cooperation between the two countries to jointly promote carbon emissions reduction and sustainable port operations. Representatives from over 60 global shipping and…
- MOMBASA, Kenya, March 4 (Xinhua) — Kenya received 430 wagons from China Monday to enhance freight operations on its railway network nationwide. The batch includes 230 wagons designed for the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line and 200 wagons for the Meter Gauge Railway line. Mohamed…
- MANILA, March 4 (Xinhua) — Pacific island countries account for nine of the top 10 places in the world with the highest prevalence of obesity among women and men aged 20 and above, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday. In the Pacific, overweight, obesity, and diet-related non-…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has initiated an inquiry into bribery allegations against a Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officer. According to EACC, this is after receiving a report on March 14, 2023, which claimed that a waiver processing officer at KRA…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – Equity Bank has reduced the time it takes PayPal customers to withdraw funds from their wallets from a period of 24 hours to an instant. The lender says that this is aimed at providing faster settlements for millions of customers receiving payments through PayPal. Equity…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in the East Africa region are cautious about global economic growth, with only 42 percent saying that the growth will improve in the next year. According to PwC’s East Africa CEO Survey, which sampled a total of 231 East African CEOs’…
- NEW DELHI, March 4 (Xinhua) — Moody’s on Monday raised India’s 2024 growth estimate to 6.8 percent from 6.1 percent estimated earlier on the back of strong economic data. This comes days after India reported its economic growth rate grew to 8.4 percent during the period from October to December,…
- BRUSSELS, March 4 (Xinhua) — The European Union (EU) on Monday slapped tech giant Apple with 1.8 billion euros (about 1.95 billion U.S. dollars) of antitrust fine. Apple was fined for the alleged abuse of its dominant market position in the distribution of music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has appointed 12 members to the Youth Advisory Board to support the United Nations Digital Agency in advancing global connectivity. The inaugural Youth Advisory Board members include Clinton Oduor (Kenya), an expert in machine…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – Rose Mwaura has been appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). She joins from the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK), where she served as the first female CEO and Secretary to the Council for the past five years. At ISK,…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – Activists campaigning for tobacco harm reduction have warned that the Government’s planned crackdown on vapes and nicotine pouches could backfire badly in the battle to reduce the toll from smoking cigarettes. Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni has announced her…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – President William Ruto has assented to the county government’s Additional Allocations Bill, providing an extra Sh46 billion to devolved units. The Bill (now ACT) was sponsored by Senate’s Budget and Finance Committee chairman Ali Roba and now paves the way for the counties…
- LONDON, United Kingdom, Mar 4 – The United Kingdom is importing and exporting significantly less than it did before it left the European Union, according to analysis by the Financial Times newspaper. The FT reached the conclusion after crunching data published on Friday by the UK’s official…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has called on Kenyans with businesses to electronically generate and transmit their invoices to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) via the electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS). The taxman says it has now simplified the platform to…
- MANILA, March 4 (Xinhua) — The Philippines’ debt rose to 14.79 trillion pesos (roughly 263.57 billion U.S. dollars) as of end-January, a 1.19 percent increase from the total outstanding debt recorded in end-December 2023, the Philippines’ Bureau of Treasury said over the weekend. The bureau…
- VIENNA, March 3 (Xinhua) — Several OPEC+ members announced Sunday extensions of oil output cuts into the second quarter to support the “stability and balance of oil markets.” OPEC+ is an oil-producer group comprising member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – Safaricom Sacco has announced an upcoming rebranding initiative after significant growth since its establishment in 2001. “Since our establishment in 2001, we have grown from a 200-membership drawn from Safaricom PLC to 18,000 members spread across the globe with an ambition…
- ADDIS ABABA, March 3 (Xinhua) — The African share of global trade remained at less than 3 percent as African countries continue to trade with the rest of the world more than among themselves, said a new UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) report. The report on the assessment of progress on…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 3 – President William Ruto has appealed to Kenyans to support the housing levy. He said the fee will make the Affordable Housing Programme a success. The President noted that aim is to give low-income earners, especially those living in slums, a chance to own homes. He…
- NAIROBI, KENYA, MARCH 3-Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has asserted that the Completion of Kitale-Endebess-Suam to boost trade between Kenya, and Uganda. The CS who inspected the ongoing construction of the 45 km road, stated that the road will create a third one-stop border post…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 3 – The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has signed a deal with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to roll out dual training for youths aimed at enhancing industry-led skills. The Partners plan to enhance youth employability and skills…
- ALGIERS, March 2 (Xinhua) — The 7th Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) opened here Saturday, aiming at safeguarding the interests of both gas producers and consumers. In his opening remarks, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune underscored the crucial role of the forum in…
- NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 3 – The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has partnered with Africa’s 100-meter record holder, Ferdinand Omanyala, head of the ITB Berlin expo. In a statement, KTB asserted that Omanyala’s presence at the expo, which is slated for March 5th–7th, 2024, in Berlin, Germany, will market…
- BY PRIYA SHAH NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 2 – The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) recently published guidelines on the processing of health data, aiming to provide guidance that the information collected adheres to the law, guaranteeing patients the right to privacy and dignity. These…