Author: NLM Correspondent

Video assistant referees (VAR) will be used at all 52 matches at this month’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time. The 2019 edition in Egypt saw the technology introduced from the quarter-finals by the organisers, the Confederation of African Football (Caf). “With Caf advancing with plans not only to improve the image of refereeing but also produce world-class match officials in Africa, the implementation of VAR in all 52 matches is a step in the right direction,” said a Caf statement. For the second successive tournament, the tournament will have 24 participants. That means six groups of four,…

Former Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General Michael Waweru was recently hailed as hero who managed to cultivate a tax-compliance mindset of Kenyans making even the ordinary Kenyan feel obliged to pay taxes in order to achieve a self-sustaining economy. During the unveiling of his autobiography dubbed Kenya’s Tax Czar in December last year, Leader of Majority at the National Assembly, Amos Kimunya applauded him for penning a book rich with life lessons, documents his journey to the top and calls on Kenyans to embrace patriotism by paying their taxes to support the journey towards a more prosperous Kenya. “Having read this…

BY BRENDA VIOLA Growing in this day and age is quite a challenge. But with the technological advances occurring across the globe, the common youth can still make a breakthrough – at least that is the case in the first world countries like England, USA, and Japan. In countries which are still developing, like Kenya, the experience is quite different. The lack of jobs in the country, for example, is no longer news to the youth. For young people, the next best thing is to be self-employed, and even that proves a challenge. An alternative could be to engage in…

A country is destroyed at family dinner tables long before leaders embark on political rallies By Kenyatta Otieno Mr. Mukenya lived with his wife and children in a simple home near Nairobi. He never lacked, yet he wasn’t from a wealthy lineage. His home sat between the homes of his two brothers. He was the middle child. The siblings had relatively good education and stable sources of income – they stayed on the community land they had inherited from their father who had since died. And it was well until they all got married and their wives began to fight…

By Antony Mutunga Cyber criminals have been evolving at a faster rate, especially after an increase in online users during the pandemic. This has seen 2021 being a good year for hackers, especially against Microsoft windows, As at November 2021, a record of over 100mn malwares were developed mainly to target Microsoft windows, and to pry on unexpected users according to a report by Atlas VPN and AV-TEST GmbH. The data, which was provided by AV-TEST GmbH, an independent research institute for IT security and analysed by Atlas VPN, identified 107.28mn new threats. Compared to the previous year (2020), there…

Businesses in Kenya are dealing with 1,400 cyber attacks each week as per Check Point research 2021 saw a 29% rise in cyberattacks against businesses across the world. In Africa, this growing threat is driven by an increase in users accessing the internet, creating a larger pool of targets for criminals, which is the same thing being witnessed in Kenya. Data from Check Point Research Threat Intelligence Report shows that the country’s connected population nearly reached 22mn users in January 2021 – a figure likely to have grown as pandemic lockdowns forced many business and government services online. “It’s alarming…

Non-fungible tokens could be the new online goldmine By Antony Mutunga Anyone who spends a considerable amount of time online has come across ways to make money through online portals. You may not have made cash the entire time you have been using the internet, but many are taking advantage of the diverse opportunities that the digital space offers. Since the start of 2021, nothing has skyrocketed in popularity more than non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which can be described as unique assets or digital certificates in the digital world that can be turned into income – they can be bought and…

While not every business is online, it is better to understand why it is critical to go that route especially now that experts say 66% of consumers are more loyal to the brands they follow on social media. For Kamaldeep Sandhu, it was an eye-opener to realize that online presence for her business was the “booster” she had been missing. Ms Sandhu is the managing director of Malaika Gifts and Interiors, a Kenyan based start-up that links artisans with clients. Since its founding in 2012, she says, the company has been operating from a physical shop in Nakuru, and mainly…

You don’t need a lot of funding to start some businesses – just energy, passion and the drive to succeed. Today, more and more individuals are considering starting their own business, and for good reasons. On average, one might have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career to another often think about their second or third career move being one they can manage as a side hustle. The good news: creating a second incoem stream is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard. Experience, training, or licensing may be needed. …

By Fred Ndung’u The new business normal brought about by Covid-19 pandemic means new capacity gaps for business owners in leading their businesses to sustainability and growth. For Phoebe Nyangweso, resilience programs are very important especially when building a tech empire. As the managing director and founder of Agro and Real Limited, an ICT operating company, the need to spur growth led her to appreciate the need for capacity building as the starting point in putting her business on a positive recovery and growth path. Ms. Nyangweso said her business scooped its share of challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, especially…