Why Jack Ma went to Kenya, Rwanda with 38 Chinese billionaires in tow

Jack Ma, Asia's richest man and founder of Alibaba Group is on a two-day trip to east Africa, visiting Kenya and Rwanda with 38 fellow Chinese billionaires, all no doubt poised with expensive fountain pens, ready to ink billion dollar deals.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/21/africa/jack-ma-kenya-visit/index.html

The Full public lecture at UoN
Alibaba founder Jack Ma addressed business community and students at the University of Nairobi Thursday afternoon.

The entrepreneur jetted in the country on Wednesday and offered tips on how to build successful business.

https://youtu.be/IEkT-YatPnM

New Sh15bn brewery godsend for struggling western region.

Here are the reasons I think that the new Sh15 billion brewery East African Breweries will be shortly launching in the lakeside town of Kisumu is a very significant economic development in western Kenya. First, it has demonstrated once again that tax policy is not just about how to raise the money for the government to spend. - Jaindi Kidero.

http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/kisero-kisumu-brewery-will-be-significant-economic-development/440808-4010650-vd1yh9z/index.html

A growth engine for Africa: Training 1 million young people in digital skills

Chebet Mutai from Nairobi, Kenya had little digital knowledge when she attended a “Women, Technology & Entrepreneurship” event run by Google in 2012. But the stories she heard and skills she learned there inspired her to quit her job at a bank and pursue her dream of opening a fashion business. She used her savings to buy two sewing machines and rent workshop space, and she set up a business making leather bags and accessories. Today, her companyWazawazi (a combination of two Swahili words meaning “open mindedness”) employs 12 people at a fair wage, exports to countries around the world, and continues to grow.

Read more: google africa.blogspot.co.ke

Pizza Hut to invest Sh500mn in Kenya in next two years

Pizza Hut, the world’s largest pizza brand, is set to invest about Sh500 million in the Kenyan market in the next two years. Feast Limited is the operator of Pizza Hut in Kenya. Feast has already invested more than Sh150 million in local operations that includes opening two retail restaurants in Nairobi.

Speaking to Capital FM Business, Feast Limited Director Chris Joseph says the firm has plans to open another four Pizza Hut restaurants in Nairobi before the end of 2016.

Morgan Heritage to launch studio in Nairobi

Fresh off their success at the Grammy Awards, Morgan Heritage reveal that they are working on starting a studio in Nairobi. The reggae royalty won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album. READ MORE: www.the-star.co.ke

Rise of the Innovation-Oriented City

City Momentum Index
The current cycle of globalisation, urbanisation and technological advancement is leading to a shake-up of the global urban hierarchy and creating sweeping changes to the geography of commercial real estate opportunity.

In this new era of city competition, success is no longer purely about size or inherited attributes, but revolves around innovation, liveability and a city’s ability to transform and adapt to a constantly changing socio-economic landscape.

JLL’s City Momentum Index (CMI), now in its third year, tracks the speed of change of a city’s economy and commercial real estate market, identifying those cities which have the most dynamic urban economies and are adapting most rapidly to the imperatives of technological and infrastructural transformation.

Key Highlights of 2016
Nairobi’s (11th) impressive demographic and economic momentum is necessitating the creation of infrastructure and real estate to support the city’s expansion as it registers among the highest levels of office and retail construction and  absorption of any city in the CMI. Nairobi is also pushing to become the centre of technology in Africa, with a growing number of tech incubators and venture capital funds opening in the city. The start of construction on Konza Techno City, an innovation hub including space for higher education and technology firms, is laying a solid foundation for the future.

2016 Index
2015 Index
2014 Index
More on Jones Rang Lasalle research

Building Kenya's giant new shopping mall

Now countries like Kenya are pinning their hopes on achieving a great leap forward in development by following China's model.

Big Chinese loans have enabled them to forge ahead with massive infrastructure projects.

More money is expected - African heads of state meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a big summit in Johannesburg on Friday where billions of dollars in extra assistance are on the table.

And construction is already under way in Nairobi on the biggest shopping mall in sub-Saharan Africa, another Chinese venture. see video: BBC's Karen Allen visited the site of the new mall.

Nikon opens multimillion showroom at Thika Road Mall

a Tokyo-based world leader in digital imaging and manufacturer of high-end digital cameras, has opened a multimillion showroom in Kenya.

Nikon has invested in a Sh20 million showroom at the Thika Road Mall with their main aim being the need to cater to the needs of the Kenyan photographers and the growing number of photography enthusiasts. The showroom is a first of its kind in Africa with  similar showrooms existing only  in Europe and the United States.

The launch of the Nikon Nairobi showroom is part of the firm’s growth and expansion strategy to tap into the growing film market in Africa by offering customers with variety of quality products and services in the market.  read more: https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/lifestyle/2015/07/06/nikon-opens-multimillion-showroom-in-nairobis-thika-road-mall/

New mall set to change how Kisumu shops

A Sh2.5billion shopping mall whose construction is near completion, will soon be part and parcel of the middle class lifestyle in Riat Hills, Kisumu.

Located conveniently at Mamboleo junction on the Kisumu-Kakamega highway, the mall which is being constructed by the Lake Basin Development Authority, is expected to be the largest of its kind in the region.
 

The 27,000 square metres building will be completed in August and will house a five-star hotel, a regional resource centre, more than 1,000 housing units as well as a complex consisting of three office blocks. This is besides serving as the headquarters of the Lake Basin Development in Kisumu.

According to the Lake Basin Commission chairman Onyango Oloo, the shopping centre is expected to revolutionise the shopping experience in the region. read more: http://mobile.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/New-mall-set-to-change-how-Kisumu-shops/-/1950774/2772450/-/format/xhtml/item/0/-/769dfh/-/index.html

US$ 16m camp opens up in Maasai Mara

The Maasai Mara National Reserve which is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya commonly known for its wild beast migration is home to a newly opened US$ 16m luxury camp.

The luxury camp in Maasai Mara which is christened Angama Mara has just been opened and is projected to benefit highly from the tourism industry in Kenya targeting the tourists who visit the country mostly during the wild beast migration.

According to reports, the Masai Mara saw an increase in the number of visitors last year to 166,000 up from 103,800 in 2013.  read more: constructionreviewonline.com

SunGard to open an office in Nairobi

American Financial software company, SunGard Financial Systems (SunGard) is set to open a new office in Nairobi to serve growing demand in East Africa.

The office will provide its existing customers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with professional services, training and project support, and function as a sales and account management base to expand and service new customers in the broader East African region.
read more: www.capitalfm.co.ke/business

Powerhive ends Kenya Power’s distribution monopoly

The government of Kenya has awarded a power distribution license to Powerhive East Africa a wholly owned subsidiary of US microgrid solutions provider Powerhive Inc effectively bringing to an end the local power utilities monopoly in the distribution of power.

The license allows Powerhive to generate, distribute and sell electricity in Kisii and Nyamira counties in the west of the country. It however restricts the company to rural areas not covered by the national grid. read more: constructionreviewonline.com

Subsidiary becomes first private utility in Kenya’s history to be licensed to sell electricity to the public

Powerhive, Inc., a leading microgrid solutions provider, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Powerhive East Africa Ltd., is the first private company in Kenya’s history to receive a utility concession to generate, distribute, and sell electricity to the Kenyan public.

The concession, granted last February, allows Powerhive East Africa to scale up its operations in the region, beginning in Kisii and Nyamira counties in western Kenya, and to deliver electricity directly to hundreds of rural communities that are beyond the reach of the national grid.  
read more: www.powerhive.com

Equity Bank plans Sh200 billion ten country expansion

Equity Bank plans to expand to ten countries in the next five years at a cost of Sh200 billion, it announced Tuesday. The lender said it had already signed loan agreements for Sh36 billion ($400 million)—and Tuesday created additional shares worth Sh20 billion to be used in the acquisition process.

The bank which currently operates in five countries said it will raise the remaining Sh160 billion through a rights issues or a secondary initial public offering.

Equity plans to enter Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the next two years before expanding southwards to Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. read more: www.businessdailyafrica.com

Toyota Tsusho to invest billions in energy sector

IMAGE SOURCE: www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/

Toyota Tsusho Corporation says it wants to invest billions of dollars in Kenya’s energy sector after it successfully build the 280-megawatt Olkaria plants that have significantly enhanced Kenya’s “green” credentials.

At a meeting in Tokyo with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was on a five-day official visit, senior Toyota Tsusho executives said they had set their eyes on a number of geothermal projects the government is due to put to tender in the coming weeks.

The projects include a unit of Olkaria I and V, and Olkaria VI. Other fields of interest included Menengai, Akiira, Longonot, Baringo-Silali and Suswa power projects, Toyota Tsusho CEO Jun Karube told the President. READ MORE: www.capitalfm.co.ke/business

The 28 Year-Old Kenyan Entrepreneur Who Built A $7 Million Retail And Advertising Business

Trushar Khetia is one of Kenya’s most outstanding young entrepreneurs. The 28 year-old serial entrepreneur is the founder of Tria Group, an outdoor advertising firm that uses public transit vehicles to market leading consumer goods in Kenya. Tria, which was founded in 2013, places advertising on more than 200 buses in Nairobi for clients such as Unilever, Google, HP, Dell and Konica Minolta. The company has annual revenues exceeding $1.3 million.

Khetia is also the founder of Society Stores, one of the most popular supermarkets in Thika, a thriving industrial town 40 kilometers north east of Nairobi. The four-storey retail outlet is doing more than $6 million in annual revenues and Khetia is set to open two other stores before the end of this year.  READ MORE: www.forbes.com

The new world of business

Another region showing great promise is sub-Saharan Africa, now home to the world’s fastest-growing middle class. Investors continue to think of Africa almost entirely as an exporter of oil, gas, metals, and minerals, but services are playing an ever larger role across the continent. And governance in many countries has improved sharply. The World Bank’s 2013–14 “Doing Business” report asserted that sub-Saharan Africa has benefited more than other regions from regulatory improvement. Few countries offer greater promise than Kenya. READ MORE fortune.com

High speed rail system will raise Kenya’s GDP by 1.5 pc

The modern high speed rail system under construction will raise Kenya’s GDP by 1.5 percent once it becomes operational, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.

Pres. Uhuru Kenyatta inspecting a section of the Standard Gauge Railway at Mtito Andei,on January 23, 2015.

The President said the economic benefits of the high speed trains will be massive and the immediate effects will include decongestion of the port of Mombasa that will lead to higher volumes of national and regional trade.

President Kenyatta said the tens of thousands of jobs that will be created by the construction projects and the many more that will be created once the modern rail system becomes operational will bring prosperity for millions of Kenyans. READ MORE: www.kbc.co.ke/uhuru-high-speed-rail-system-will-raise-kenyas-gdp-by-1-5-pc/

The Do-Good Startups of Nairobi

Stephanie Koczela arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010, when everyone was moving fast and breaking things. She had been working for the microlender Kiva in Nairobi, Kenya, and transferred to the company’s South of Market headquarters to build its global field operations. For an ambitious twentysomething with an interest in development issues, it seemed like a dream job. The work was engaging, but Koczela was miserable. She longed to be back in Nairobi, where expat entrepreneurs were launching startups of their own.

In Africa, “you are surrounded by people that are living a very fun, very hard life,” Koczela says. “You are working from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at least. Most people are working to 1 a.m. to make phone calls back to the U.S. If you text someone at 10 and say, ‘Do you know how to do this Excel calculation?’ they will call you right back.” Koczela expected that same camaraderie in San Francisco but found it had been more vibrant in Nairobi. read more: www.businessweek.com

Africa's New Hope for Growth

On the top two floors of a five-story building on Strathmore University’s campus in Nairobi, students with tablets and laptops are gradually changing the face of the East African economy. As part of the university’s master’s program in mobile telecommunications, they spend their days developing computer apps tailor-made for African markets.

Their creations include Valuraha, an app that simulates trading on the Nairobi stock exchange as a teaching tool, and Henga Systems, which tracks activity on a mobile phone owner’s M-Pesa bill-payment account. A research academy at Strathmore, @iLabAfrica, has helped nurture such ideas with financial backing from about 20 companies, including Google (GOOG), Samsung (005930:KS), and Safaricom, a Kenya-based mobile phone service provider.

The academy has produced 36 startups since 2011, more than half of which are still operating. read more: www.businessweek.com

Plans for Africa's biggest convention centre

The Ministry of Tourism has announced plans to build Africa's biggest convention centre as it seeks to diversify tourism products. The facility to be called Bomas International Conference and Exhibition Centre will sit on a 82-acres at the current Bomas of Kenya grounds. The centre will have a 15,000 capacity exhibition space, 10,000-delegate capacity conference centre, five luxurious hotels with a total capacity of 2,000 beds, presidential pavilions, VIP pavilions, fully furnished apartments, coffee shops and business centres among others. Read more: www.standardmedia.co.ke