In a continent where over 60% of the adult population is unbanked and the financial sector is considerably underdeveloped, fintech has been a welcomed revolution that is seen to be boosting Africa’s financial infrastructure. With a growing population, an increasing rate of mobile and internet penetration, combined with a substantial need for financial inclusion, Africa […]
Category Archives: Kenya News
Kenya News
The appeal of East Africa has led to an increased number of direct international flights into the Region. Europe and the USA are providing the most tourists at present, but numbers are increasing both from within elsewhere in Africa and from Asia and the Far East. Those who decide on East Africa as a tourist […]
It is quite phenomenal how in recent years, both ecommerce players and retailers have used Black Friday to sweep thrifty shoppers off their feet. So much that the shopping event is no longer restricted to a single-day shopping spree but has rather taken over the entire month to become Black November. If you drove around […]
Strategies to share talent between Africa and France By Kiné Seck Mercier A young woman spends her youth in Nigeria, leaving to attend a university in London. She goes on to work in the United States, Ghana, South America, Kenya and Zambia, finally settling in Paris. In many ways, she is illustrating an increasingly common […]
Introduction The development of a country partly depends on the expansion of their hotel and tourism industry. Africa is facing a tough time economically and they are trying their best to fight back this economic crisis. They focus on the hotel management sector and try to develop this industry. A hotel is not only […]
According to the annual African Hotel Chain Development Pipeline Survey from W Hospitality Group, there are 75,000 branded rooms in 401 hotels in the pipeline across Africa On the occasion of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) (https://www.AHIF.com) this week, Filippo Sona, Managing Director, Global Hospitality Drees & Sommer (https://www.DreSo.com/), asks whether Sub-Saharan Africa is […]
The recent redevelopment and upgrading of Kenya’s Mombasa – Nairobi railway line has revealed a market for faster, affordable intercity passenger transportation services between African cities. Following the recent tragedy of Ethiopian Airlines, the African passenger transportation market might be ready to consider an alternative technology capable of providing affordable, fast travel between several pairs […]
by Johan Burger 2018 has been an interesting year for Africa, with various events and trends becoming visible. 2016 saw the effects of the slowdown of China’s economic growth due to its rebalancing of its economy and the end of the commodity price super cycle. 2017 brought some relief. In Africa, 2018 demonstrated a number […]
by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Manufacturing in Africa Manufacturing and industrialisation are the current buzzwords for transforming Africa’s economies. In order to reduce any dependence on the extraction and sale of raw […]
by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The year 2018 saw numerous cases of economic development on the African continent. This would include trade, etc. Africa The US$2 trillion-plus Sub-Saharan Africa economy continues to […]
by Johan Burger This paper addresses events and trends in the agriculture sector in Africa for 2018. It is based on the media articles addressed in the Friday@Noon weekly newsletters of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies in Singapore. These are by no means meant to constitute an exhaustive list of developments. General Agriculture in […]
by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. General Africa has vast infrastructure needs. According to the AfDB, Africa’s infrastructure requirements are estimated to be between US$130 billion and US$170 billion, far higher than the […]
by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Regional integration has become a high profile intervention and is seen as the route to economic integration and increasing intra-African trade. Some commentators are of the opinion […]
by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The growth and continuation of e-commerce in Africa has received various boosts during 2018. Africa’s leading online shopping platform, Jumia, reported in 2018 it wanted to make […]
by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. A trend of earlier years in which we saw the further growth and development of the renewable energy sector, has continued in 2018. Renewable energy is becoming […]
By Johnstone Oltetia, Interim CEO Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) There are two essential parts to achieving affordable housing: building decent, low-cost homes, and developing a housing finance market that enables low-income earners to buy those homes. For, without finance, almost no home price is low enough to be affordable on an average salary. For […]
The invention of plastic has changed the world in so many ways – for both better and worse – that it’s hard to picture modern life without it. Instinctively, we might think a plastic-free world could only be an improvement, but that would be to ignore the extent to which plastic is interwoven in almost […]
Fintechs are Easing Access to Credit for Small and Medium Enterprises. The African economy has gathered momentum over the years, with an estimated increase of 3.8% of the real output growth in 2017. As the largest economies gradually strengthen, the 2018/2019 performance should reach 4.1% according to the African Development Bank. This economic growth and […]
Otavio Veras, Researcher of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies Synopsis The East African Community (EAC) is an economic bloc formed by Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. The countries have a history of cooperation dating back to the early 20th century. In the recent years, they have started various infrastructure projects to improve the […]
No one talks of safari without mentioning the great treks that crisscross the African continent. So popular is this cradle of mankind for its magic-ridden sunsets and vast plains teeming with wildlife, that many seem to awe away at the bush ideal, totally ignoring that the continent also takes pride in mothering some of the […]
Louvre Hotels Group, number one hotel group in East Africa, inaugurated its first hotel in Nairobi, pursuing its creation of a network covering all sub-Saharan African metropolitan areas. Already present in 8 sub-Saharan African countries, with 13 hotels comprising a total of 2,020 rooms under its Tulip Inn, Golden Tulip and Royal Tulip brands, Louvre […]
Africa’s leading online hotel booking platform reveals top 7 business destinations It’s pretty hard to miss the buzz that has been on about the African economy, with large markets and a huge consumer market-base, Africa has become one of major hub of business in the world. The African continent is deemed the world’s fastest growing […]