Coronavirus accelerates need for mobile, self-service banking
The coronavirus has accelerated the need for mobile and self-service banking, with traditional branches seeing a fall in customer traffic, meaning their customer acquisition has also significantly declined. Though it may be tempting to conclude that this will lead to bank branches becoming obsolete, that is not the case. Instead,...
From the Maria Theresa Thaler, to the rupee, to the Kenya shilling
Early use of currency in Kenya commenced with the Arab influence who were among the first to use currency as we know it. In Muscat, they used a silver coin called the Maria Theresa Thaler (MT$), first minted in Austria in 1741 and, not surprisingly, they continued using it when...
Blast from the past: The evolution of the Kenyan currency
Two years after the unveiling new currency in December by the Central Bank of Kenya’s, the country seems to have put behind it the appearance of the money that characteristically bore portraits of heads of government and state.The present currency coins and notes unveiled on December 10, 2018 bear wildlife...
$170,000 banana, potato factory puts money in pockets of Kakamega youths
With Ksh17 million ($170,000) World Bank and national government funding, youths in a remote village in western Kenya are going about their lives with a spring in their legs. Reason? They are now reaping the benefits of a value addition factory in Khwisero subcounty in Kakamega County that is now...
A Nigerian’s public outcry against graft is proportional to distance to dabble in it
On June 13, 1988, Pini Jason Onyegbaduo (1948 – 2013), a popular Nigerian columnist, propounded a “Hypothesis of Corruption.” The hypothesis was intellectually articulated in the now-defunct THISWEEK newsmagazine. But unknown to Pini Jason, he had developed what would become known as the “Jason’s Law of Corruption.” The “Law” would...
Market oriented horticultural smallholder farmers hit it big
Potato farming, among other horticultural crops, is the mainstay for farmers at Mwendi Kurima Cooperative Society in Engineer Town, Nyandarua County. Initially started as a self-help group by 13 farmers, Mwendi Kurima Group, whose membership currently stands at 350, it has weathered many storms over the years to become one...
Fishermen want Kenya, Uganda to resolve marine resources dispute
Fishermen in western Kenya county of Migori have petitioned Kenya and Uganda to agree on how to settle a protracted marine resources dispute over fishing boundaries. Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world is a source of livelihood for more than 10 million people in Kenya, Tanzania,...
How geothermal energy powers farming in the heart of Rift Valley
Erratic weather and a burgeoning population that requires food employment is an ever-ticking time bomb. Nakuru, once synonymous with commercial agriculture and industrialisation in Kenya has over the years slipped down the rung, now needs rejigging to breathe new life into the once cleanest town in East Africa. Endowed with...
Climate change threatens coffee production in Africa
Coffee farmer, Francois Dadi Serikpa from Gnamagnoa in Côte d’Ivoire, joined Nestlé’s Nescafé Plan 10 years ago. The coffee farms that had been in his family for generations were producing poor yields, making it hard for him to earn a good living to care for his family. Under the plan,...
Vegetal therapy still trusted antivenom in Kenya
Poor and often stashed far away from medical facilities, pastoralist communities in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions have over generations depended on vegetal remedies for envenomation. With decentralisation of medical services seven years ago, regional governments in the devolved units are stocking antivenom to deal with the menace that has...