Inspiring Africa's Sustainable Business Growth
KENYA – Kenyans made 1.9 trillion mobile money transactions in the first 11 months of 2021, worth more than US$55 billion. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said that transactions in the first 11 months of 2021 were 20% up on the whole of 2020. The surge in transactions came despite the government removing COVID-19 subsidies at the start of…
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KENYA – Pesapal, an electronic payments company, has been accredited by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) as a payments solutions provider to carry out Payment Gateway Services. The fintech has similarly been granted the National Application Service License (AS) by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) in what is expected to help the firm deepen cross-border e-commerce payments by enabling customers and…
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KENYA – Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, says it has formally applied for a Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) licence to enter the Kenyan market as it seeks lending deals in East Africa and serving Egyptian firms operating in the region, reports Business Daily. The State-run bank, which in 2020 hinted of plans to enter Kenya said the licence applications…
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KENYA – Kenyans in foreign countries sent home a monthly record US$315.8 million in May 2021, a 22 percent jump from the corresponding period a year earlier, supported by higher flows from the US and Saudi Arabia. This is the first-time diaspora remittances to Kenya have crossed the US$300 million mark, continuing to defy expectations of a dip due to…
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KENYA – Djibouti lender Salaam African Bank (SAB), has acquired a 100 percent stake in Kenya’s Uwezo Microfinance Bank that was founded in 2008 but has struggled to post profits for an undisclosed amount. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced that Djibouti’s largest lender by branch network, Salaam African Bank (SAB), completed the transaction on March 25, 2021. The…
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UGANDA – I&M Holdings Plc. has completed the acquisition of 90 percent shareholding in Uganda’s privately-owned lender Orient Bank Ltd (OBL) as part of its regional expansion plan. In a press statement, I&M said the acquisition was completed on April 30, 2021 after the transaction received the necessary approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya, Bank of Uganda, Capital Markets Authority…
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KENYA – The government of Kenya has sought the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) extension to June 2022, a one-year extension from the earlier granted June 30, 2021, debt service suspension secured in January. Besides the relief under the DSSI, the country is also pursuing new limits access to International Monetary Fund funds through the reallocation of existing special drawing rights…
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KENYA – Nigerian multinational financial institution GTBank, has revealed plans to buy a rival bank in Kenya, adding to the growing list of Nigerian lenders closing acquisitions locally to grow market share. The London and Nigeria Stock Exchanges listed bank said it wants to tap into East Africa’s biggest economy. “I think the place we would still like to do…
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KENYA – Housing Finance Company of Kenya (HF) has partnered with digital payments firm Interswitch Group to offer International Money Transfer (IMT) as part of expansions of its digital banking services. With the IMT, the lender’s diaspora customers can remit funds into any HF account and also allows a simplified channel for them to make their loan or mortgage payments. The partnership comes…
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KENYA – Nairobi Securities Exchange listed lender Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) is expected to shut six branches by the end of October as part of efforts to consolidate its physical footprint in Kenya. In a notice issued to the press, the lender said it had received approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to consolidate its branches. “The DTB…
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