Kenyan Wallstreet

In this episode, we talk to Anthony Kirui on the status of Kenya's capital markets, specifically looking at improving access for retail investors, heading against foreign outflows and moving away from safe bets like government securities. This episode follows the release of the 2021 Africa Financial Markets Index , where Kenya's market attractiveness fell to 11th position in Africa, scoring especi...

Last Week, HF Group announced the appointment of Olive Mugenda, a known reformist and chairperson at the Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital. Benchmark indices ended the week lower as major stocks on the exchange went red, including Safaricom. However, the overall market activity was high. Equity turnover was up 53.2% to Ksh 3.2 billion traded while volume rose by 33.4% with 73.2 mi...

In this episode, we sit with Joanita Lunkuse - Jaggwe to discuss the role of women in spearheading macroeconomic growth in Africa through taking leadership roles in sectors like Finance and Agriculture, and how increasing access to opportunities and proper succession planning could be the bridge to tapping into the benefits of having women in top leadership. Apply for an opportunity to be recognis...

In this episode, Mwakaneno chats with Luke Ombara, Director Policy and Market Development at the Capital Market Authority Kenya on the representation and participation of women in Kenya compared to other African markets. We discuss the role of policies like the corporate governance code and the 2/3 gender rule in bridging gender parity on boards and platforms for mentorship in grooming the next ge...

Last week, we saw investor uncertainty across global markets, following the rise of inflation across the globe that could last for long. On the NSE, the NASI was up 3.04 points, the NSE 25 was 32.37 basis points. The NSE 20 share index dropped 1.13%.  Highlights:  Limuru Tea was the top gainer last week, up 10% to Ksh 330 shillings, following an earlier announcement by Unilever to move t...

In this episode, Maurice Makoloo, Senior Director-Africa Hub at the Habitat of Humanity discusses what it takes to build resilient housing in Africa, while still following the tenets of affordability and maintaining cultural sensitivity. Mwakaneno and Maurice break down the multifaceted roles which houses play, from serving as educational centres, workstations and health centres, and how these fun...

This week, the high court ruled that there is an intricate link between Uber BV and Uber Kenya, a decision that could allow uber drivers in Kenya to sue both companies for fare reductions on the platform. Join Mwakaneno and Nicole as they travel back to 2016, the genesis of the court case against uber, to break down the different arguments in the case and what it could mean for drivers and riders....

In partnership with BitcoinKe, we recently interviewed Umar Bukenya, Uganda Ecosystem lead at cLabs and Daniel Kimotho , Kenya Ecosystem Lead at cLab s, a member of the Alliance for Prosperity and part of the community working on Celo. cLabs has built an open, decentralized platform, designed to support stable coins and tokenized assets, which are optimized for mobile phones. In the interview, we...

This week, we saw Kenya's monthly inflation skyrocket to a 19 month high of 6.91% largely driven by higher fuel costs and fuel, grew ecstatic of the Presidential directive for lower electricity tariffs, watched legislators circle the unpopular petroleum levy and held our breaths for Nigeria's eNaira. Listen to this episode to find out what's driving higher inflation, how our hopes for lower electr...

In this episode, Catherine Musakali breaks down the role of company policy in creating inclusive workspaces and nurturing spaces for women to rise to board levels. Catherine and Mwakaneno discuss how gender-sensitive policies like job share, and telecommuting allow women to grow their careers while still addressing other responsibilities in their lives, and how mentorship helps grow the female tal...

Last week, we watched Asia come to the reality of Evergrande's fall, which is dragging Asian markets. In the US, investors grapple with anticipation as the US Central Bank Tapering process approaches its end mid next year, and Nike takes a blow from Vietnam's shutdown. Locally, NSE giants bowed down slightly, and the indices went blood red. Listen to this episode to learn how Asia is fairing after...

In 2017, the World Economic Forum noted that female talent remains one of the most underutilized business resource. In this podcast, Nuru Mugambi and Hedwige Nuyens explore whether and how much that has changed in the past 4 years in the role women play in the financial service sector. The duo recap Hedwige's non-traditional path to becoming the Managing Director at the International Banking Feder...

In this episode, Mwakaneno Gakweli talks to Paul Kimani about his experience building a Digital HR solution, the hard questions that helped the company find product-market fit, and how the startup faced off with legacy systems. We then break down how digital HR systems are solving everyday problems like payments, and how they could cut wastages like ghost workers and inefficiencies of cash payment...

Last week, Equity turnover rose 24.6% to Ksh 2.51 billion despite a 1% decline in the top five companies on the exchange. Safaricom accounted for Ksh 1.4 billion traded, whereas the top five counters accounted for 89.62% of the activity on the market. Listen to this podcast to understand how the NSE faired last week, African markets to watch, and how Evergrande's downfall could affect a series of...

On March 12, 2020, the Ministry of Health confirmed Kenya's first case of COVID-19, triggering a series of lockdowns orders, a curfew and an unforeseen strain on the country's healthcare system. In April, a team of 15 students from Kenyatta University took up the challenge to build one of the country's first locally-made ventilators, promising an MVP in 7 days. Listen to our debut episode of The I...

While Africa has made giant steps towards gender parity in leadership boards in companies, there are still gaping differences in representation across subregions and sectors. Join Mwakaneno Gakweli and Maxwell Pirikisi as they break down the inequalities in women representation on boards across the continent, the hurdles to achieving gender equality globally, and the role of awareness campaigns an...

Last week, Safaricom proposed smart meters for Kenya Power at a rather skewed revenue split, Tullow Oil confirmed just how much oil is commercially viable in Turkana at higher costs, US announced sanctions over the conflict in Tigray and Zuckerberg announced yellow pages like features for businesses on WhatsApp.   In the latest episode of We Are Curious, we put to test Safaricom's proposition...

Last week, the trial of Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes kicked off, a 13-week long journey to test her innocence against 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Locally Scangroup is soaring, despite a 22% dip in revenue and a Ksh 1.732 Billion loss in 2020. US stock indices were bloody red. Listen to this episode to find out why investors are buying ScanGroup,...

This week, Kenya was downgraded from the list of high-risk areas for piracy after 12 years, KNBS finally released the 2021 Economic Survey, Bolt introduced a more expensive category of female drivers, Tanzania finally ratified the AfCFTA and Ukraine joins the list of countries to legalizeBTC. Listen to our latest episode of We Are Curious to find out how Kenya's redesignation could board well for...

In this episode, Nuru Mugambi talks to Angaza Awards Judge Esohe Denise Odaro, breaking down her career journey to becoming the Head of Investor Relations, International Finance Corporation, including some of the lessons she learnt along the way, and how she defines success. Nuru and Esohe then shift gears to why it is important to focus on gender equality, what women in finance can do differently...

Last week, small counter stocks on the exchange recorded an uptick, evidenced by the rise in Week on Week activity, unlike the decline in large counters. In this episode, we break down why small counters stocks surged while large counter stocks dipped, and how that affected the performance of the exchange, analyse Scangroup results, and weigh how events in Guinea could affect bauxite prices global...

This week, we explore the proposals in the Health Amendment Bill of 2021, including the regulation of medical fees and restricting the bandwidth for hospitals to seek deposits before offering emergency services a how that could impact hospitals. We also talk about Game's announcement to leave the Kenyan market, following the list of South African businesses that find Kenya a waterloo. We close the...

In this episode, Brian Myers and Mwakaneno Gakweli break down the importance of financial literacy in shaping investment decisions, avoiding scams and improving participation in investment products. We also talk about the role of different stakeholders in the finance space, like investment companies,  trading brokerages, and regulators, in democratizing investor education to build trust in th...

This week, we discuss the hike in tuition fees for postgraduate and select undergraduate courses at the University of Nairobi following lower admission rates for self-sponsored students in recent years. On one hand, the university is stuck with debt and unpaid statutory fees. On the other hand, increasing tuition will likely scare off some potential students, feeding into the already dwindling adm...

In this episode, Eric Asuma, Dr Manoj Shah, Dr Manilal Dodhia, and Sandeep Malu break down the success story of Dr Manoj, detailing his lessons, attributes, and principles that contributed to his success as a businessman and turnaround artist. We travel back to his early days in business, breaking down his core elements of success such as teamwork, mentorship, onward planning and global focus enab...