Author: NLM Correspondent

London Stock Exchange has welcomed two landmark bonds this week, showcasing London’s position as a leading international listing venue for African issuers, sustainable finance and a centre of excellence for offshore local currency bonds. Acorn Holdings listed its Kenyan Shilling green bond on London Stock Exchange with proceeds financing environmentally friendly accommodation for 5,000 university students in Nairobi. Acorn is the first Kenyan issuer to launch a green bond in the international market and the first company to issue a Kenyan shilling-denominated green bond. The bond is also the first from an African issuer to list on London’s Sustainable Bond…

By Antony Mutunga Start-ups are known for building solutions, through the generation of new technology, to tackle consumer needs and development challenges. Examples are mobile money, which helped to increase financial inclusion, and the drones that are now used to transport medicine supplies to remote areas. Countries such as Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria have invested immensely in technology start-ups, the result of which has been a rise in investments for African tech start-ups throughout the continent. According to Disrupt Africa, in 2016 tech-start-ups in the continent raised over Sh13 billion ($129 million). In 2019, the total investment raised, according to…

How Supreme Court of Kenya gutted freedom of assembly and right to demonstrate By Walter Khobe F reedom of assembly and the right to demonstrate are constitutionally entrenched in Kenya. The recognition of these twin freedoms in theory has not translated to substantive actualisation of the constitutional goal of ushering democratic governance and a culture of justification in our polity. Instead, a presumption of limitation of the freedom of assembly is the norm and all too often the right to protest is easily dispensed with at the altar of public order in continuation of the state organisation logic…

By Njuguna Ndung’u and Landry Signé The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)—characterised by the fusion of the digital, biological, and physical worlds, as well as the growing utilisation of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, and advanced wireless technologies, among others—has ushered in a new era of economic disruption with uncertain socio-economic consequences for Africa. However, Africa has been left behind during the past industrial revolutions. Will this time be different? So far, it does not appear that Africa has yet claimed the 21st Century, as it still lags behind in several…

By Vera Songwe With all Africa now signed on to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and 29 countries having ratified it (as of January 2020), the region is now implementing a single continental market for goods and services and laying the foundations for the establishment of a continental customs union. Many on the continent look to the AfCFTA as an investment, economic diversification, and job creation blueprint that will shape the future of Africa in the years to come, help meet the SDG targets by 2030, and consolidate progress toward the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Indeed, with a…

It is unlikely the continent will be able to successfully and effectively implement and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030 or Agenda 2063 unless institutions are reformed to enforce good governance undergirded by the rule of law By John Mukun Mbaku Among the seven key aspirations listed in Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want—the African Union’s (AU) shared 50-year development and transformation program for realizing the full potential of the continent—one stands out in its interconnectedness: “[a]n Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law” [emphasis added]. The key to Africa’s political and economic…

By Homi Kharas A round the world, household final consumption expenditure rose by $18.2 trillion in 2011 PPP terms between 2010 and 2020, from $46.5 trillion to $64.8 trillion. This growth, averaging about 3.3 percent per year, was the same as the average growth over the previous forty years—a bit better than growth in the first decade of this century, a bit worse than the growth in the last decade of the last century. It represents a continuation of a period of sustained advances in material prosperity in most places across the world that has seen average real consumption per…

By Antony Mutunga For Africa, 2019 was full of the unexpected as leadership changes and demonstrations rocked many countries. For instance, South Africa faced a number of violent protests against foreigners. On the other end, Sudan lived through a revolution that saw the removal of strongman Omar al-Bashir. On a more positive note, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was ratified. With the new year just beginning, the continent will expect a more positive result than recorded in 2019. This year brings with it new opportunities for the continent to develop and catch up to the rest of the…

With cracks in the relationship of the duo, it will be difficult for the DP to marshal government machinery in his quest to ascend to power The Kenyan political situation calls for a delicate balance among leaders in their quest to secure their interests and those of the country. The forthcoming elections have jolted leaders into early campaign mode even as President Uhuru Kenyatta works to steer his Big 4 agenda, the plank of his legacy given, that he is serving his final term. The key political players in this matrix are the President himself, his deputy Dr William Ruto…

BY Shadrack Muyesu I have never been interested in politics in this country and honestly, while I respect their freedoms of thought and expression, I pity the men who put much thought into it. In his best element, a politician is an ethnic entrepreneur and an intellectual whore. Not that it should be held against him; like every Kenyan, his is merely a quest for survival. As King Kaka says, if this country is rotten, the principal culprit is you, the faithful voter and consummate consumer of politics who continues to give him credence never mind the numerous alternatives the Constitution…