NSE rally returns Britam to half-year profit

Britam Holdings group managing director Tavaziva Madzinga. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG

By PATRICK ALUSHULA

More by this Author Holdings  has returned into half-year profit, lifted by growth in investment income and a rise in the value of shares at the Nairobi Securities

Kenya falls behind target in financing research and development

 

Tapping Chinese skills to enhance national capacity

 

The ongoing construction of the Nairobi Expressway along Mombasa road. FILE PHOTO | NMG

  

By GEORGE WACHIRA
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SUMMARY

• Driving through the Expressway construction along Uhuru Highway, and also along the ongoing dual carriageway under construction from Kenol to Marua in Nyeri, I feel encouraged when I see young Kenyans performing (and even supervising ) nearly every aspect of the project.
• And this includes a fair number of women.
• One can indeed call these projects “Chinese polytechnics” where practical skills are gained through hands on coaching. Many of these workers may not be in possession of formal paper qualifications and certifications.

NBV boss to raise his stake to 94pc in acquisition bid

 

A stockbroker at the Nairobi Securities Exchange trading floor. FILE PHOTO | NMG

    

By VICTOR JUMA
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SUMMARY

• NBV will issue the new shares to pay for the acquisition of four companies worth a total of Sh3.4 billion and which are controlled by Mr Soni and his partners.
• The companies are Air Direct Connect Limited, Aviation Management Solutions Limited, Delta Automobile Limited and Delta Cement Limited.

Media barred from Presidency expenditure meeting

 MPs during a session at Parliament chambers. PHOTO | FILE

By EDWIN MUTAI
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SUMMARY

• Journalists were Tuesday barred from covering a parliamentary committee meeting called to scrutinise spending by the Presidency.
• The restrictions saw the accounting officer at the Office of the President appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer audit queries without media coverage.
• The officer was required to explain why pending bills totaling Sh342,081,809 were not paid as of June 30, 2019.

South Africa retail store Game to exit Kenyan market

 

Shoppers at Game store in the Garden City Mall on Thika Superhighway. PHOTO | FILE

By BRIAN NGUGI
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SUMMARY

• The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed retailer announced on Friday it had put up 14 Game stores in East and West Africa for sale.
• Massmart chief executive Mitchell Slape said the chain had begun a formal sales process to divest in five Game stores in Nigeria, four in Ghana, three in Kenya, one in Uganda, and one in Tanzania.

MPs back State control of hospital, doctors charges

 

Parliament building. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By JOHN MUTUA
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SUMMARY

• MPs have backed changes to the law that will grant the State powers to control medical bills and doctors’ fees, a move aimed at stemming the surge in hospital expenses.
• The National Assembly Committee on Health approved the proposed amendments to the Health Act 2017 that will see medical charges determined and capped by an 11-member council.

Selcom: Tanzania’s trailblazer in mobile financial inclusion and transformation

 

Selcom Tanzania’s Executive Director, MR. SAMEER HIRJI.

Summary

Tanzania is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing mobile money markets in the world today, but this was hardly the case about 15 years ago. One of the companies that made the impossible possible is Selcom Tanzania. In this interview with SENIOR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT COSTANTINE MUGANYIZI, Selcom Tanzania’s Executive Director, MR. SAMEER HIRJI, traces the firm’s involvement in the then nascent mobile money business in the country, to what it is today. He highlights its challenges, including high taxation on transactions and predatory pricing by mobile phone operators. However, he is optimistic that with cooperation from the regulators (BoT, Ministry of Finance, and TCRA), a cashless economy in Tanzania is possible to a point where even a mama ntilie sells goods digitally.

By COSTANTINE MUGANYIZI

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QUESTION: Let us first take off by knowing what inspired your digital vision for Tanzania and prompted the Selcom dream.
ANSWER: There was no dream per se, but the vision and ambition was always to do something in the payments space since my time at Celtel.
Towards the end of my time there was already talk about mobile financial services, with M-Pesa having launched in Kenya. The space was very nascent in anzania with challenges around the lack of adequate infrastructure, data connectivity, affordable and reliable USSD and SMS channel access, not to mention suitable handsets in the hands of the masses and the requisite mobile

Digitalising the informal financial sector in Tanzania

Sele Mduda is a co-founder of the Norway-based firm and shares their vision for Africa in this interview.

Summary

• Wakandi is technology innovation company out to create a positive impact on millions of people. It offers a payment network, taking on the challenges of interoperability and financial inclusion. Wakandi aspires for faster, cheaper, and more transparent ways to transfer value and share data. It connects banks, Mobile Money Operators (MNOs) and financial institutions to provide a foundation to develop innovative products and services. Tanzanian national Sele Mduda (pictured) is a co-founder of the Norway-based firm and shares their vision for Africa in this interview.

QUESTION:  First and foremost, briefly outline Wakandi historical background and the brains behind its digital vision and strategic mission.
ANSWER. The idea behind Wakandi came from one of the company’s co-founders, Seleman Mduda, a Tanzanian living in Norway. His struggle with sending money home to Tanzania laid the foundation for many of the solutions we have developed over the last two and a half years.

Exim Bank supports national financial inclusion agenda with unique initiatives

    

Exim Bank CEO Jaffari Matundu.

Summary

Supported by an extensive outlet network comprising 28 branches across the country, the bank’s innovative digital options enables its customers to access essential financial services anywhere at all times.

The global financial inclusion champion Tanzania is today and the shining example of digital transformation it has become in Africa has not been a one-man show but a concerted effort involving strategic players like Exim Bank Tanzania.
The lender is not only one of the top local financial services providers but also a

TPB Bank’s financial inclusion agenda

  

TPB Bank PLC Chief Executive Officer Sabasaba Moshingi.

Summary

• TPB Bank’s market outreach of 84 outlets makes it one of the local lenders with the largest branch networks in the country that enables it to reach out to many Tanzanians and actively promote financial inclusion.
• Tanzanians grew up with TPB Bank and the bank occupies a special place in their minds. This is why Tanzanians are so passionate and feel such an inclination towards TPB Bank, a bank that is largely owned by the government.
• In January 2017, TPB Bank changed its name and logo from the previous Tanzania Postal Bank to TPB Bank Plc.
• This was done so as to be compliant with the Banking and Financial Institutions Act, 2006 that requires all banks to be registered under the Companies Act. The change of name necessitated a change in the logo and tagline to reflect the new look and feel.
• 
  

History and market outreach
This bank started as the Tanganyika Post Office Savings Bank in 1925, making it one of the oldest banks in Tanzania.
TPB Bank has 84 branches (48 full-fledged branches and 36 mini branches) that reach every region in Tanzania.
This is one of the largest branch networks in the country and we are able to reach out to many Tanzanians and actively promote financial inclusion.

Products and services portfolio
TPB Bank Plc offers a whole array of products and services to suit all Tanzanians.