Author: NLM Correspondent

Nairobians greeted the opening in May of the Nairobi Expressway for drive test with excitement. It is understandable. BY OUMA OJANGO The City has been a construction site for the last two years courtesy of the works on the expressway and with the ensuing inconvenience to traffic flow that resulted in long traffic gridlocks, news about winding up the road works was bound to be greeted with smiles. The finer works are still going on and might take a little longer to bring the construction on the road to a complete halt. The test drive is, however, going to help…

In May, President Uhuru Kenyatta opened the Nairobi Express Way on a trial basis but for some Kenyans, everything about the elevated highway, from its construction to use, is nothing but an enduring nightmare. By Victor Adar Time to break from work and head home is generally a relief for many after a long day’s work. That used to be the case for Edward Wasonga, a technician who works at Simba Corp situated along Mombasa Road. But the good old experience has since changed and turned into something he and his colleagues have to endure, even considering the traffic jam…

By Robert Ojwang’ and Chris Mahandara The decision to revive counties, urban towns, local governments, and municipalities across the continent was adopted at the end of the 9th edition of Africities summit held in Kisumu City, Kenya. Over 9,000 delegates from Africa and other parts of the world including former Heads of State, ministers, governors, mayors, corporate heads, researchers and innovators attended the May 17 to 21 summit. Kisumu County was privileged to be the first intermediary city to host the continental summit that is usually hosted in Africa’s capital cities. Delegates deliberated on thematic topics underpinning economic growth in…

BY NBM WRITER The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has made recommendations to the government on three cross-cutting thematic agendas to fast-track business and economic recovery by mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising food prices, and the ongoing drought. According to KEPSA, sustained business incentives including tax, and regulatory reforms for economic competitiveness, guaranteed security, and smooth transition of leadership after the elections, and curbing the high cost of food production should be of top priority in 2022. Speaking following a meeting with Fred Matiangi, Cabinet Secretary (CS), Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and Chairman…

A lot is changing. The market research sector is moving more in the direction of data analytics – integrated data from different sources appears to be the next phase. There is a huge shift from data generation to insights, and researchers are now looking at data from a more holistic view. The industry currently prioritizes the need for speed; with everything almost required to be real-time. For Chris Githaiga, who is the managing director of Ipsos In Kenya, a new era has just begun. He had a chat with the Nairobi Business Monthly on why businesses and brands must now…

The firm introduces business satellite and internet protocol model in a bid to revive guest experience with HD viewing As customers’ viewing experience and expectations change, the focus on video entertainment has moved to High Definition (HD) quality. Customers are increasingly demanding the same of commercial establishments such as hotels, guest houses, and hospitals where patrons expect in-room entertainment of the same standard. In today’s world, viewers have different options through which they can access picture perfect HD quality service to all viewing points in a commercial network, but the high deployment costs have remained a barrier to many smaller…

A building and construction solutions provider, Admir Technologies, has stepped up its local capacity building initiatives to facilitate the adoption of geosynthetic solutions in roads and related infrastructure development. Geo-synthetics are manufactured synthetic materials (i.e., made from polymers or hydrocarbon chains) that are used for a wide range of engineering applications. In infrastructure development, geo-synthetics, including geogrids and geotextiles, stabilize weak subgrade soils. Israeli headquartered firm has embarked on local building and construction professionals’ training and related capacity building in conjunction with the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK). Speaking at the inaugural training workshop at a Nairobi hotel, Admir Technologies…

Real estate developer, Superior Homes Kenya, has launched a customer loyalty program that will see investors and customers earn loyalty points whenever they transact at any of the developer’s properties. Dubbed “SHK Zawadi”, the program will allow users to redeem the points accumulated whenever they spend money on accommodation, conferencing, events, meals and drinks at any of the developers’ properties. Both individual and corporate customers will gain 100 loyalty points for every Sh1000 spent, with each point being equivalent to Sh1. The points can be redeemed upon presenting the card (that will have unique numbers for each customer) at the…

Sanlam, non-banking financial services company, and Allianz, insurers and asset managers, have combined their current and future operations across Africa to create the largest Pan-African non-banking financial services entity. This places the combined total group equity value (GEV) in excess of 33bn South African rand, which is approximately $2.1bn. The joint venture will house the business units of both Sanlam and Allianz in the African countries where one or both companies have a presence. Namibia will be included at a later stage and South Africa is excluded from the agreement. The firms are expected to leverage each other’s strengths to unlock…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Lenders are currently enjoying profits of digital transformation as economies recover from Covid-19 crisis. For Equity bank, integrating technology led to a 36% profit growth after tax for Q1 2022 posting Sh11.86bn from Sh8.72bn it recorded in Q1 2021. Absa Kenya also recorded a 22% growth with its net profit increasing from Sh2.41bn in Q1 2021 to Sh2.95bn. Attributing the growth to digitalization, banking brands also managed to be the most valuable brands in Africa according to Brand Finance, an independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy. The Brand Finance Africa 150 2022 report highlights that banking brands…