T he global economy has faced no shortage of challenges in recent years. Now, a new set of headwinds has emerged, with banking stresses flaring up in the US (AAA stable) and Europe. The economic backdrop has shifted in recent weeks, with near-term financial stability concerns posing downside risks to the global growth outlook. As growth slows and credit risks rise, questions over the ensuing impact on emerging market (EM) corporate borrowers’ balance sheets remain front and center. To assess the risks to credit quality, rating migration, and defaults in these uncertain times, we conducted a scenario analysis drawing lessons…
Author: NLM writer
The payments market in Africa is experiencing rapid growth, mainly due to advancements in peer-to-peer (P2P) and consumer-to-business (C2B) payment solutions. However, the fragmentation of payment processing continues to pose a significant challenge for businesses seeking to establish a presence in Africa. Founded at the height of Africa’s mobile technology boom in 2003, Cellulant is building Africa’s most comprehensive payments infrastructure. The company offers a single API payment platform that enables businesses to collect payments online and offline while allowing anyone to pay from their mobile money, local and international cards, or bank. Providing alternative payment methods for African consumers…
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has unveiled a QR Code Standard that seeks to hasten online payments for businesses and customers. The standard will guide how payment service providers and banks that are regulated by the CBK will issue Quick Response (QR) codes to consumers and businesses that accept digital payments. QR Codes are machine-readable codes consisting of an array of black and white squares containing information that provide an alternative option for initiating and accepting digital payments made by customers at supermarkets, general stores, and shops, among other outlets. “The implementation of the Standard, and use of standardized QR Code-enabled…
Governors are up in arms that Ruto is paying lip service to his devolution promises, and particularly miffed by the County Governments Bill, 2023 By NLM Writer The recent statement by the Council of Governors (CoG) warning of an imminent collapse of the devolved units for lack of Exchequer disbursements presents unprecedented political challenges for President William Ruto’s administration. This warning by CoG muddied the political waters for the Kenya Kwanza administration, which has heightened the blame game since assuming office, accusing the former Jubilee administration of everything that is going wrong economically. With the problems facing devolution mounting by…
The Government is teetering towards debt default, and Devolution is its first casualty By Shadrack Muyesu The Senate recently voted against increasing revenue allocation to counties. Coming against a backdrop of the Kenya Kwanza Government’s promise to protect devolution, it is a move that has left a bad taste in the mouths of many Kenyans, most of whom are now convinced that, far from what he has stated in the past, President William Ruto is really after undermining devolution and consolidating power. At first glance, this seems to be the case, especially when the President’s past relationship with the Constitution…
Due to the growth of social media, young people are now experiencing a new phenomenon where they are exposed to a fictitious world of success and money. This is becoming very common in Africa, where many young people are drawn in by those who brag about their money on social media. This pattern is alarming since it seriously jeopardises Africa’s future. The fake affluence people display on social media deceives many young people in Kenya and Africa. Influencers and con artists establish profiles that portray a life of wealth, complete with images of pricey vehicles, lavish homes, and far-flung trip…
Microsoft is streamlining its workforce, which reflects a broader trend in the technology industry as companies adjust their workforce to align with their revenue and customer demand. The tech industry has been hit by mass layoffs indicative of the current economic conditions, which have been affected by inflation and other macroeconomic factors. In a move that stunned the African technology sector, Microsoft fired many of its developers in Kenya as part of its global plan to reduce 10,000 positions. The company’s African Development Center (ADC) branch, which started in Kenya and Nigeria in 2019, had pledged to invest $100 million…
Argentina will start to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than dollars, the government announced a measure that aims to relieve the country’s dwindling dollar reserves, Reuters reports. In April, it aims to pay around $1 billion of Chinese imports in yuan instead of dollars and thereafter around $790 million of monthly imports will be paid in yuan, a government statement said. The decision aims to ease the outflow of dollars, Argentina’s Economy minister Sergio Massa said during an event following a meeting with the Chinese ambassador, Zou Xiaoli, as well as with companies from various sectors. The decision comes…
How realistic is it to end the greenback’s dominance? By Mumbi Mutoko For decades, the U.S. dollar has dominated the global financial system. It serves as a benchmark for worldwide transactions, the reserve currency for many central banks, and the currency of choice for international trade. However, the dollar’s dominance has been challenged recently as other nations have begun to think about trading in their own currencies. Many factors, like stimulus programmes and the historically low-interest rates put in place by the Federal Reserve, have contributed to the dollar’s decline in value. This problem was made worse by the COVID-19…
Business email compromise and CEO impersonation is on the rise, and it puts the entire organisation at risk One of the most successful cyber-attacks of 2022 is CEO fraud, also known as Business Email Compromise (BEC). According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center 2021 report, this type of attack is one of the most profitable, and one that has seen a significant increase. It is also incredibly smart – cybercriminals impersonate the CEO or a high-level executive using email, deep fakes or audio files to trick staff into providing access to critical business information, systems or even authorising fraudulent…