Podcasts about Safaricom

Ep 433 AMANDEEP JAGDE - COMEDY, STOPPING MATATUS, SAFARICOM'S BAD MMF, CRIMES & FINES

Ep 109 part 1 KITHURE KINDIKI'S SWEARING-IN, GACHAGUA's HONEYMOON, MAVERIK AOKO FOUND & SAFARICOM

In October 2022, Safaricom launched its telecommunications services in Ethiopia, marking a major milestone as the first private operator to enter the Ethiopian telecom market. This move broke the long-standing monopoly of state-owned Ethio Telecom and was seen by many as a significant step towards liberalising the country's telecom sector. The company had officially been licensed in July 2021, with a record $850 million licensing fee—the largest foreign direct investment in Ethiopia at the time. Safaricom committed to investing around $8 billion over the next decade to build its infrastructure and services, aiming to enhance competition and improve connectivity for millions of Ethiopians. However, Safaricom's launch did not come without challenges. The rollout faced delays due to socioeconomic and security issues within the country. Initially planned for an earlier start, the company adopted a phased approach, beginning with services in Dire Dawa and targeting expansion to 25 cities by April 2023. That move reportedly saw significant infrastructure investments being made, including the construction of mobile towers and a national transmission network, alongside the importation of over $300 million worth of equipment. Episode overview: Fast forward to October 2024, in this episode of the African Tech Roundup Podcast, Yahya Banafa gives Andile Masuku a behind-the-scenes peek at the challenges and opportunities Safaricom is facing as it continues to establish itself in Ethiopia. He offers a practical perspective on building and deploying modern telecom infrastructure from scratch in a market that's evolving rapidly. Key topics: • Planning and engineering a mobile network in a new market • Tackling Ethiopia's unique terrain and altitude challenges • Balancing regulatory hurdles with business goals • Managing unexpected surges in data demand • Forming strategic partnerships within the telecom sector • Exploring the future potential of mobile money services • Optimising network coverage across diverse landscapes • Introducing 5G technology to meet growing demand • Meeting the digital needs of Ethiopia's younger generation • Addressing competition from new market entrants like Starlink Notable points: Banafa delves into the complex process of network planning, touching on the importance of meeting both regulatory standards and service quality benchmarks. He explains how Safaricom has adjusted its approach to handle Ethiopia's high-altitude regions and varied geography. The conversation reveals that higher-than-expected demand for data services has pushed Safaricom to accelerate its 5G rollout. There's also a discussion about the potential of mobile money services in Ethiopia, with insights drawn from the success of M-Pesa in Kenya. Banafa stresses the importance of collaboration across the telecom sector to enhance the customer experience. Listen in for valuable insights into the strategic decisions behind Safaricom's efforts to establish a cutting-edge telecom network in Ethiopia. It sheds light on how technology, regulations, and market dynamics intersect to shape the country's digital future. Editorial Note: This interview was recorded at the fringes of NOVACOM Africa 1-to-1 Telco Summit 2024 in Franschhoek, South Africa, where Andile Masuku attended as an independent media guest. African Tech Roundup maintains complete editorial oversight and is not affiliated with the event organisers. Image credit: Gift Habeshaw

In this episode of Flanigan's Eco-Logic, Ted and co-host, Russell Sturm, speak with Jesse Moore, CEO and Co-Founder at M-KOPA, the world leader of affordable "pay-as-you-go" financial services for low-income customers based in Africa. Since commercial launch in 2012, M-KOPA has connected, provided, and served over 3 million customers to affordable off-grid distributed solar systems and connectivity solutions, including lighting, charging, radio, TVs, fridges, and smartphones. Russell starts with his introduction, exploring and explaining the impressive evolution of the off-grid solar industry over the past fifteen years, which has emerged for the first time to provide power to 2 billion people who do not have access to reliable and modern energy. He then introduces Jesse to the conversation, and describes M-KOPA as a sustainable and profitable company which continues to innovate for the financially excluded.Ted and Jesse then dive into his works, first discussing his background, originally from Toronto, Canada. He holds an MBA from Oxford University (Skoll Scholar) and a BA from the University of North Carolina (Morehead Scholar). Early in his career, with a desire to drive social impact, Jesse worked with the international development charity CARE. His work then transitioned from a strictly humanitarian focus to enterprise solutions, spurred specifically by an interest in advancing cellular connectivity in Africa via M-PESA, a virtual payment service launched by Vodafone and Safaricom in 2007. M-PESA offered a playbook for what would become M-KOPA, which was founded in 2010 with an idea of combining the power of digital micropayments with GSM connectivity to make life-enhancing assets more accessible. Jesse has since overseen the company's growth from startup to over 2,000 employees and 20,000 sales agents. M-KOPA currently has offices in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, UK and Hong Kong. The company has received numerous awards for its innovation, impact and scale: including winning the prestigious Zayed Future Energy Prize, making the coveted MIT Technology Review 50 Smartest Companies list, and being listed by Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 50 Companies Changing the World. Investors in M-KOPA include Generation Investment Management, CDC Group and Standard Bank, as well as esteemed entrepreneurs such as Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson and AOL founder Steve Case.As a leader in empowering homes and small businesses through connected technology, Jesse is representative of an industry of entrepreneurs that sees the only way to address these fundamental problems within commercial markets at scale is with companies that are responsive to customer needs instead of donor biases, and are able to innovate, drive prices down, and continuously provide products that people need.

In this episode, Tiekie Barnard discusses the concept of creating shared value and the vital shift in business perspectives from focusing solely on profit to incorporating social and environmental considerations into core strategies. The episode delves into how companies like Safaricom and Nestlé have successfully integrated the shared value approach to simultaneously advance their competitiveness and improve the economic and social conditions within their communities. Additionally, Tiekie shares insights on the Shared Value Africa Initiative, aiming to encourage all companies across Africa to adopt this transformative business model. By exploring innovative business models and providing advice for those interested in pursuing a sustainable career, this podcast episode offers a comprehensive understanding of how businesses can achieve financial success while making a positive social impact, proving that it is not about profit only but profit with purpose.This episode serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of integrating sustainability into the heart of business operations, illustrating through examples and expert insights how companies can lead the way toward a more sustainable and equitable future.****The PricingForThePlanet podcast delves into the fusion of business and sustainability, highlighting profitable and sustainable business models. For us, the only path to amplifying sustainability is by framing it as a driving force and facilitator for business. Tune in for insights on how businesses can thrive while being eco-friendly.****Join our free PricingForThePlanet bi-weekly digest on Monetizing and Pricing Sustainability: https://www.pricingfortheplanet.com/weeklydigest Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Google annonçait mercredi dernier le licenciement de plusieurs centaines de personnes au sein de son équipe mondiale de vente de publicités à cause de l'automatisation de tâches grâce à l'intelligence artificielle (IA). En Afrique, l'usage de l'IA se développe également dans la communication et la publicité. Ceci dans un contexte budgétaire restreint. Graphistes, photographes, designers... Dans le milieu, beaucoup craignent donc des pertes d'emplois.   L'été dernier, le plus grand opérateur téléphonique kényan, Safaricom, a lancé un premier clip publicitaire réalisé avec l'Intelligence artificielle. Un évènement qui n'est pas passé inaperçu dans le milieu. L'IA est de plus en plus développée dans les agences de communication et publicitaires. Les professionnels du secteur craignent des pertes d'emplois.« Je peux vous assurer qu'il y a des emplois qui sont perdus et c'est une tendance qui va se poursuivre », assure Anthony Irari un analyste kényan spécialisé dans ces questions. Et de poursuivre ses explications en prenant l'exemple de la campagne de Safaricom : « Cela peut prendre environ un mois d'organiser un shooting pour une campagne et cela implique de nombreuses personnes. Mais désormais, si vous avez un individu qui manie bien les requêtes sur l'intelligence artificielle, avec les retouches, cela prendra peut-être un ou deux jours pour avoir les images. En une semaine, les affiches peuvent être envoyées à l'impression. »L'IA vu comme remplacement ou comme outilDes études évaluent la baisse des dépenses pour la publicité en Afrique de plus de 10 %. Pour lui, cela ne fait aucun doute « quand les entreprises vont voir que cela fonctionne et que les coûts sont réduits », elles n'hésiteront pas à se lancer. Parmi les leaders en Afrique de l'Ouest : Voodoo group. Stéphane Kouakou est le directeur de l'agence d'Abidjan qui compte 52 employés. Cela fait un an qu'ils travaillent avec les IA génératrices. Cependant, il n'a pas souhaité revoir l'organisation actuelle de son agence.« C'est un complément, c'est une aide à la réflexion qui permet de générer plus, explique Stéphane Kouakou. Peut-être qu'on aurait recruté un ou deux illustrateurs en plus sur certains sujets pour faire des story-​​​boards, où on aurait externalisé certains travaux de ce type, ce qu'on ne ferait plus aujourd'hui parce qu'en termes de rapidité et de productivité, on a l'élément tout de suite. Mais cela n'a pas changé la structure actuelle de l'équipe. »Un modèle économique à trouverPour lui, l'IA est un outil de réflexion qui permet de gagner du temps. Mais le modèle économique nécessite tout de même d'être réfléchi. « Le modèle de l'agence fonctionne sur des honoraires de création et de la commission agence qui rémunèrent de la production, détaille-t-il. Avant, j'aurais fait une photo, donc si je ne fais pas cette photo d'un point de vue strict, je n'ai pas de commission liée à la production de cette photo. »Si l'image est générée par IA, l'agence perd alors la commission liée à cette image. « Il y a un gain de rentabilité pour nos clients puisqu'ils ne dépensent plus d'argent en production, concède-t-il. Mais il y a une légère perte de revenus au niveau des agences. Donc, je pense que sur la durée, il faudra retravailler le modèle pour ne pas perdre de revenus en fait. »Par ailleurs, selon Stéphane Kouakou, la compréhension humaine du contexte local et culturel restent irremplaçables pour des campagnes performantes.

Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week on we're moving into the new year with some wise words and insights in Part 2 of my conversation with Ghanaian investor and developer of new businesses, Eric Osiakwan. With 25 years of experience spanning 32 countries in Africa gained through a number of successful tech start-ups, Eric is a leading pioneer of internet in Africa. Having worked in multiple countries building internet service providers (“ISP”) and ICT businesses, some of his successful exits include iBurst in South Africa, One2Net in Uganda, and BusyInternet in Ghana, to name a few. Eric also founded and ran the Africa ISP Association for eight years, during which the ISP industry grew by almost 120 percent. He then moved on to leading efforts to build submarine cables on the continent. Eric was part of a public-private partnership in Kenya that built and launched the TEAMS submarine fibre cable, the first to connect East Africa to the rest of the world. He subsequently contributed to the building of terrestrial fibre networks in Ghana and Nigeria. As we learned in Part 1 of the conversation, he Co-Founded Angel Africa List, Angel Fair Africa and currently heads Chanzo Capital (https://www.chanzocapital.com/#abt), a venture and growth capital firm, investing capital, capacity and community in high-tech startups and scaleups in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Where to find Eric? ericosiakwan.com (https://www.ericosiakwan.com) On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericosiakwan) On Facebook (Eric Osiakwan) On Instagram (Instagram (@eosiakwan)) On X (https://twitter.com/eosiakwan) What's Eric reading? Works by Cheikh Anta Diop (https://www.amazon.com/stores/Cheikh-Anta-Diop/author/B000APFJ2O?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true) Other topics of interest: How Greater Accra (Tema) is the geographical center of the Earth (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Is-Ghana-Really-The-Centre-Of-The-World-221634) About Panafest (https://panafestghana.org/history-of-panafest/) and Kojo Yankah (https://pahmuseum.org/founder/) On Ghana's Joseph Project (https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10802304) Year of Return (https://www.yearofreturn.com) Full Circle Africa Economic Conference (https://fullcircleafrica.org) Stripe Payments Platform (https://stripe.com) Safaricom and the roots of Mobile Money (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa) United Nations Economic Commission for Africa: African Information Society Initiative(AISI) (https://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/14949) UNDP Internet Initiative for Africa (http://web.undp.org/evaluation/documents/essentials_5.pdf) What are Internet Exchange Points? (https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/cdn/glossary/internet-exchange-point-ixp/) The African Internet Service Providers Association (https://icannwiki.org/AfrISPA) ICANN (https://www.icann.org) and Esther Dyson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Dyson) About TEAMS (https://www.teams.co.ke) Bongo Hive (https://bongohive.co.zm) About the BenBen App (https://benben.com.gh) On Eric's book KINGS of Africa's Digital Economy (https://medium.com/@eosiakwan/the-kings-of-africas-digital-economy-tedxberkeley-by-eric-osiakwan-4a211e746955) Special Guest: Eric Osiakwan.

In today's episode, we're joined by a familiar face in the Kenyan social media scene, Wixx Mangutha. Wixx is a visual storyteller, utilizing anything within reach to craft her art. With accolades like the Best Animator award (WIFA) and the Pulse Art Influencer award, she boasts collaborations with major brands such as Coca-Cola and Safaricom. Wixx generously shares her journey and the invaluable lessons she's gathered along the way. What makes her narrative particularly intriguing is her ascent in the art industry without any formal training, bridging the gap between formally educated creatives and self-taught artists. Her story is a testament to the power of hard work and persistence, especially resonating with self-taught creatives. Tune in for insights and inspiration from Wixx's remarkable journey! This is the 37th episode under the ‘Shifting Narratives' program supported by the British Council SSA Arts. *For the best experience, please use a headset/earphones. Instagram: wixx_mangutha YouTube: Wixx Mangutha Music by: Ngalah Oreyo (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ngalah_oreyo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and Mercy Barno (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@merc.b_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For the full episode transcript: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.afrika.design/wixx-mangutha

Overview: Today, we're going to talk about Nomba (formerly known as Kudi) , the FinTech payments solutions provider. We'll explore the story across the following areas: African & Nigerian SME context Nomba's early history  Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on December 3, 2023 Companies discussed: Nomba (Kudi), MoniePoint (TeamApt), Yoco, Kuda Bank, Flutterwave, Paystack, Stripe, Safaricom, Brass Banking, TradeDepot, Sabi, Paystack, Flutterwave, MTN, Airtel, Bumpa, Vendease, Orda, OPay, OnePipe, Paga, FairMoney, Omnibiz, Interswitch & Kippa Business concepts discussed: SME Agency Banking, Informal retail, banking, Open banking & Mobile Money, Merchants solutions, Points-of-Sale devices, SME Lending & hardware and software bundling Conversation highlights: (01:25) - Nomba context (06:29) - Context of African SMEs and Informal retail (19:10) - Founding story and founders' background (29:02) - Fundraising (43:07) - Partnerships, Geographical expansion and Team (47:55) - User metrics (52:55) - Product and Monetization strategy (1:02:24) - Competition and options for exit (1:12:35) - Olumide's overall thoughts and outlook (1:18:50) - Bankole's overall thoughts and outlook (1:24:40) - Recommendation and small wins  Olumide's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: TBD Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Jay-Z at Madison  Square Garden. Incredible. He performs so many of his hit songs with an ensemble of other artists. I was jumping of my chair rapping along. Charlie Munger died last week.. What a hero. What a legend. What a mind. I love the guy. I can recommend all his books and videos Bankole's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Constellation Software on Business Breakdowns Small win: Running in Paris and Ray-Ban Meta glasses Listeners: We'd love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com

Throughout her impressive career leading businesses, nonprofits, and now as the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman has been driven by a simple question: "What are we going to do about it?" This relentless focus on action propelled her as she transformed eBay from a fledgling startup into a global e-commerce powerhouse and guided her as CEO navigating HP through a high-stakes corporate split. In this episode, she shares how her mother's experience becoming a certified airplane mechanic during WWII instilled in her the courage to take on big challenges, like building diplomatic bridges in Africa's burgeoning Silicon Savanah.Click here for the episode transcript.

Our expert hosts, Benjamin Ensor and David Barton-Grimley, are joined by some great guests to talk about the most notable fintech, financial services and banking news from the past week. This week's guests include: Sarah Kocianski, Independent Fintech Consultant Samee Zahid, Director of Engineering at Chipper Cash We cover the following stories from the fintech and financial services space: JP Morgan increases its stake in Brazilian digital bank C6 Goldman sells off its Personal Financial Management unit African startups raise $2.7bn in VC funding Safaricom's mobile money rollout in Ethiopia marks moment for ‘last frontier' New fintech accelerator, Archie, launches in London X gains payment licences in seven US states Open banking reaches 11 million + payments milestone Venmo lets you gift money to your loved ones with special Hallmark greeting cards Fintech Insider by 11:FS is a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to all things finance, banking, technology, and financial services. Our expert hosts, with real industry experience, are joined by the biggest decision-makers, VCs, and reporters from across financial services including guests from Visa, Nubank, M-Pesa, Techcrunch, Starling, and JP Morgan Chase to discuss the latest news, developments, and trends within the industry. Our weekly news show drops every Monday and tackles the biggest news stories, from acquisitions and launches, to regulatory changes and innovation. Then, every Friday our Insights show dives deeper into the hottest topics shaping the industry like web3 and BNPL. Whether you're already immersed in the world of financial services, or just keen to learn more, this is the #1 podcast for you. Come and see the show LIVE at our Fintech Insider: After Dark event on 20th September in London's Village Underground. Grab your tickets here (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/11fs-fintech-insider-presents-after-dark-underground-london-registration-690897582267?aff=oddtdtcreator). If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe and please leave a review Follow us on Twitter: @fintechinsiders where you can ask the hosts questions, or email podcasts@11fs.com! Special Guests: Samee Zahid and Sarah Kocianski.

Overview: Today, we're going to talk about Yoco, the South African Point-Of-Sale FinTech company. We'll explore the story across the following areas: South African payments context Yoco's early history Yoco's Product & monetization strategy Yoco's Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Apr 9, 2023 Companies discussed: Yoco, Square, Flutterwave, PayFast, PayThru, PayU, DPO, Flutterwave, Paystack, Stripe, Ikhokha, MTN, Safaricom, Zapper, Visa, Interswitch, Nedbank, ABSA, FNB (First National Bank South Africa) & Wave Business concepts discussed: Merchants solutions, Points-of-Sale devices, SME Lending & hardware and software bundling Conversation highlights: (01:30) - Yoco context (07:30) - Africa / SA payments context (23:11) - Yoco Founding Story and Founders' background (40:45) - Fundraising and Growth (51:52) - Partnerships,  Acquisitions, and Team (59:20) - Key metrics (1:02:16) - Product Strategy (1:19:42) - Monetization strategy (1:30:50) - Competition (1:36:42) - Options for exit (1:49:06) - Bankole's overall thoughts and outlook (1:57:01) - Olumide's overall thoughts and outlook (2:07:14) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: I released my book called Firedom = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. It was an incredible journey to get it out and I'm very excited about it. I think many people will really enjoy it. You can buy the audiobook, ebook or print here. Here's an excerpt from the full blog post announcement: Book Creation context: Around the end of 2022, I made a new friend when I met Samon, we instantly got along because we shared a lot in common: African immigrants who moved to America/Europe, worked in Management consulting and are in love with personal finance. We decided to embark on a project together and write a financial independence book we are calling Firedom!   What is Firedom book about? Living life intentionally + Personal finance + Financial independence + Personal Development + Freedom + Exploring your own unique path in life + Life adventures of two African immigrants Who is it for? Underdogs, outsiders, expats, nomads, minorities, immigrants interested in : Living their lives more intentionally to achieve Financial Independence Learning about people's life stories (turning points, challenges, flameouts, etc) Changing their mindset and psychological relationship with wealth Recommendation: Owl City - Unbelievable. I love the song so much because it reminds me of adventures and experiences growing up  Recommendation: Good Hair - Documentary by Chris Rock. Good shit. Reduced my ignorance level about African women hair Small win: Virgin Voyages cruise - First ever cruise. Very cool. Small win: No scrubs Karaoke on cruise. Too much fun. It was an experience. Bankole's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Economist Article on Nitrogen & Asake - 2:30 Small win: Moderating a panel at the Harvard Business School Africa Business Conference Other content: The Prosperity Paradox by Efosa Ojomo, Karen Dillon, Clay Christensen, Adyen pricing page & PayFast pricing page Listeners: We'd love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our substack mailing list where discuss more & find all episodes on Afrobility.com

In the past few weeks, Safaricom's share price has been on a free fall, causing panic. The giant telco lost as much as  32.3 percent off that price valuation.Solomon Kariuki - Equities and Fixed Income Analyst .AIB-AXYS Africa joins us for this episode to discuss the performance of the Safaricom share price and the possible effects on the Nairobi Stock Exchange?

Overview: Today, we're going to talk about DPO Group. We'll explore the story across the following areas African payments context DPO group's early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Mar 5, 2023 Companies discussed: DPO Group, Network International, Flutterwave, Paystack, Interswitch, Safaricom, MTN, Airtel, Takealot.com, Superbalist.com, Safaricom, Yoco, PayPal & Chipper Cash Business concepts discussed: Bootstrapping, Payments ecosystem, payments partnerships strategy, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation, Mobile Money, E-commerce payments, Virtual cards & payments M&A strategy Conversation highlights: (04:40) - Africa Payment Context at time of DPO's founding (12:46) - DPO Group Founding and early history (14:05) - Founder Background (25:57) - Fundraising and Growth (29:48) - Acquisitions and Partnerships (51:30) - Product and Monetization Strategy (1:00:05) - Competition (1:08:35) - DPO's exit to Network International (1:27:15) - Bankole's overall thoughts and outlook (1:39:10) - Olumide's overall thoughts and outlook (1:47:01) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The War of Art: Book for creators and artists to get over the hump and release their inner creative expression to the world Recommendation: Naval Ravikant podcast with David Deutsch talking about Physics. Amazing episode. Having two of them together is incredible. Like having a rap collabo. Recommendation: Fela in Versace. Shit is too nice.I love songs that combine unrelated ideas Small win: Soul Cycle for the First time. Dope shit. Bankole's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Stratechery Podcast - Eric Seufert and Ben Thompson & Mike Munger on EconTalk on Decision-making Small win: I signed up for a gym membership for the first time ever Listeners: We'd love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com

Director of Brand and Marketing at Safaricom, Zizwe Awour on #DriveInn With Fareed Khimani

Timestamps: 16:47 - The idea for Worldcoin 21:49 - Proof of personhood 26:01 - People without access to smartphones 27:56 - What you can do with Worldcoin 37:50 - When Worldcoin will launch About Alex Blania: Alex Blania is the co-founder and CEO at Worldcoin, a startup issuing a new, decentralized global currency that will be distributed fairly to as many people as possible. He holds a BSc with a double major in Physics and Mechanical Engineering from the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and was previously a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light. In 2020 he co-founded Worldcoin together with Max Novendstern and Sam Altman, with the goal of connecting everyone to the global economy as fast as possible. Worldcoin plans to issue every single person on Earth one free share, which you keep in a non-custodial crypto wallet purely based on smart contracts. With it, you will be able to buy other tokens/stablecoin, buy more Worldcoin, send coins to your friends, and pay for goods and services. When building Worldcoin, the first problem the founders had to face was that of identity: How do you issue everyone an equal identity that is pseudonymous and privacy-preserving? The answer was biometrics, which allow you to prove that you're an unique human without actually revealing who you are. The Worldcoin co-founders have built their own biometrics device. Without having solved this issue, Worldcoin might have possibly been able to operate in regions like Europe and North America, but the incentive to attack the system would be very high. Another issue that they will have to tackle in the pursuit of their vision is the lack of access to smartphones in certain parts of the world. For this, they draw inspiration from Safaricom, in Kenya, which has through their digital banking platform Mpesa allowed an entire country to gradually switch to digital payments, which can also be made via SMS – i.e., without a smartphone. Worldcoin does not, however, plan to charge Safaricom's high fees of 8%. They have yet to undergo their global launch and are currently running field tests in many locations around the world. Memorable Quotes: "If I could stop time and just do what I enjoy the most, I would do research." Don't forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there's no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly give-aways or founders dinners!

Overview: Today, we're going to talk about MFS Africa. We'll explore the MFS Africa story across the following 5 areas: African payments context MFS Africa's early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Jan 29, 2023 Companies discussed: MFS Africa, Safaricom (M-Pesa), Opay, Flutterwave, Paystack, MTN, Airtel, Orange, Chipper Cash, Ecobank, Safaricom, Homesend, TransferTo, MasterCard & Visa Business concepts discussed: Financial interoperability, mobile money (agency banking), banking regulation, acquisition strategy, payment processing, payment gateways & closed-loop payment networks Conversation highlights: (09:50) - Africa payments context and background (20:26) - MFS Africa founding and early history (22:06) - Founder background (31:40) - Fundraising and early growth (38:44) - Partnerships and M&A (1:02:15) - Product Strategy (1:06:30) - Monetization Strategy (1:13:59) - Competition and Options for Exit (1:28:51) - Olumide's overall thoughts and outlook (1:34:00) - Bankole's overall thoughts and outlook (1:47:00) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide's recommendations & small wins: Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com Recommendation: Be Happy 35 Powerful Methods for Personal Growth & Well-Being. Talks about practices for a positive mental health. Fun short read that you can refer to time and time again Small win: Birthday celebrations with friends in Miami, NYC & SF. It was epic! Bankole's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Accidental Gods by Anna Della Subin Small win: I read 3 books in January Other content: Afrobility Chipper Cash episode , Inside the MFS Africa acquisition of Beyonic & Follow me on Goodreads Listeners: We'd love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com

Safaricom's $850 million entry spend into Ethiopia.

In this HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Susan Githuku about scalable and actionable human performance takeaways for HR leaders. Susan Githuku (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sgithuku/) is the Founder & lead consultant at Human Performance Dynamics Africa, an organizational development, and human resources consulting. She has over 25 years of global experience across multiple sectors and specializes in organizational transformations, talent development, executive recruitment and diversity, equity, and inclusion management.   Before establishing HPD AFRICA, Susan worked at the Coca-Cola Company and was until January 2009 the Eurasia & Africa Group director for Coca-Cola university. In this capacity, she was responsible for learning and development initiatives in 90 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Prior to this role, she served as the Coca-Cola Africa Group CHRO based in London and Johannesburg. She has consulted widely for several organisations including the World Bank, IFC, Mckinsey, Safaricom, and sits on the Boards of Centum Group (Kenya) and Circle Gas (UK). Please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon and leaving a review wherever you listen to your podcasts! This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at www.BetterHelp.com/HCI and get on your way to being your best self. Check out Ka'Chava at www.Kachava.com/HCI. Check out BELAY here. Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 592296) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connecting Africa's Paula Gilbert about Safaricom's new network in Ethiopia, which will be the country's first private telecoms operator and end the country's decades long telecoms monopoly. We also discuss why South Africa's government wants to turn 2G and 3G off by 2024 and 2025 respectively but operators say it's too soon as about 60% of mobile traffic in SA still runs on 3G. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit with Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa to discuss the following sub-themes: 2022 full-year earnings Progress of Safaricom Ethiopia Network Partnership Deal with Ethio Telecom M-PESA in Ethiopia Views on M-PESA Hitting close to $1 Billion in Revenues, Separating it from Telco The future of Safaricom from a Mergers and Acquisitions perspective Podcast Host: Erick Asuma, Co-Founder and CEO, Hisa Guest: Peter Ndegwa, CEO and Board Member of Safaricom Production: Rawlins Hamisi

In this episode, we sit with Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa to discuss the following sub-themes: 2022 full-year earnings Progress of Safaricom Ethiopia Network Partnership Deal with Ethio Telecom M-PESA in Ethiopia Views on M-PESA Hitting close to $1 Billion in Revenues, Separating it from Telco The future of Safaricom from a Mergers and Acquisitions perspective Podcast Host: Erick Asuma, Co-Founder and CEO, Hisa Guest: Peter Ndegwa, CEO and Board Member of Safaricom Production: Rawlins Hamisi

Overview: Today we're going to talk about Telkom - The South African telecommunications company. We'll explore the Telkom story across 5 areas: We'll start with some context about the South African telecoms sector Telkom's early history We'll deepdive into Telkom's primarily telco & non-telco businesses Telkom's operating & financial performance .Overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Mar 27, 2022 Companies discussed: Telkom, Vodacom, Vodafone, Cell C, MTN, Southwestern Bell Communications (now AT&T), Safaricom, M-Pesa, Rain Networks & Multilinks Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Internet connectivity, International telecommunication expansion, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Cell Towers spinoffs & Telco regulation Conversation highlights: (01:10) - Telkom and why we're talking about it (07:12) - South Africa context (13:20) - Telkom's transition to commercial company (15:30) - SBC and Telekom Malaysia investment in 1997 (18:44) - 2003 IPO (33:20) - Telkom sale of Vodacom stake (35:00) - Telkom market expansion (43:17) - Telkom's mobile business (55:08) - Telkom's non-telco businesses (1:17:38) - Investments and Partnerships (1:21:38) - Financial results and stock performance (1:31:44) - Olumide's overall thoughts and outlook (1:36:40) - Bankole's overall thoughts and outlook (1:46:55) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The Wealthy Gardner, Generalist AngelList article (AngelList is probably my favorite company in the world), Live life with Passion (Brendon Burchard) Recommendation: AwardLogic & Point.me. There's never really been an Expedia of airline miles Small win: Got Samsung Galaxy S22, looks nice. Just need to set it up Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com Bankole's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman & Encanto Small win: Played basketball for the first time in several months Other content: San Francisco Has Become a Shoplifter's Paradise Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We'd love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you'd like to hear.

M-Pesa has revolutionized mobile money and nowadays it is almost impossible for businesses to run without M-Pesa. The numbers don't lie as we can see that more than a billion shillings is "Fulizad" every day. In this episode we will be talking about how M-Pesa has changed a lot and what we think could be the future for Safaricom.

On the 65th tech this week episode, we have gathered some of the tech events that took place. Starting with Safaricom’s first official phone call test in Ethiopia, Facebook and Snapchat agreeing that TikTok could potentially be the future of social media, Starship presentation to be held on February 10, Metaverse getting criticized for inappropriate groping, and other actions that have forced the company to add protective shields on all avatars, and much more news. Episode Timeline 00:20 Safaricom tests the first phone call in Ethiopia 02:20 Snapchat and Facebook agree that the future of social media could look like TikTok 05:30 Apple to hold their first 2022 event on March 8. 08:30 Marck Zuckerberg losses 29 Billion USD net worth 09:25 A 40 year old woman living in England said she had been sexually harassed in the Metaverse moments after joining the platform 12:00 Around 70 episodes of the Joe Rogan podcast seems to have disappeared 16:30 MIT engineers have claimed that they have found a material lighter than plastic and stronger than steel 18:20 Elon Musk announced that a Starship presentation will be held on February 10 Contact the hosts Henok Tsegaye Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Abdulhadmid Oumer Twitter Instagram linkedIn Follow Zemach FM and give us comment

Having founded Gina Din Corporate Communications in 1997, Gina Din-Kariuki is not only a trailblazer in the African public relations business, but also a pioneer among women entrepreneurs in her home country of Kenya, where she has also been a mentor to many of the market's top professionals and also an active philanthropist—all of which earned her the Outstanding Individual Achievement SABRE Awards this year. Prior to launching her own firm, Gina previously spent 13 years as head of corporate affairs for Barclays Bank of Kenya, and parlayed her expertise in the financial services sector into relationships with clients including her former employer, Old Mutual, Kenya Commercial Bank and CIC Insurance. Since then, she has provided strategic counsel to 80% of the corporate market in Kenya and has been a leader in shaping conversations in Africa more broadly. #cta101

Last week, Centum released fair results. However, investors are still wary of Kenya's real estate sector especially after COVID-19 ravaged footfall in malls. KCB called off the acquisition of Tanzania's BancABC, citing regulatory headwinds and Tesla's valuation and volatility in US markets is getting investors concerned. Locally, the NASI fell by 2.88% closing the week at 160.03 bp. The NSE 25 fell by 3.66% closing the week at 3533.74 bp whereas the NSE 20 fell 2.49% to end the week at 1839.46 bp showing a decline in the mood of the market. Equity turnover fell by 40.2% closing the week at Ksh 3.5 billion worth of shares traded down from 5.96 billion in the previous week. Volumes in the bonds fell by 50.14%  with about 9.4 billion worth of bonds traded compared to 18.96 the previous week. The primary auction in the bonds market by CBK could have sparked the decline in both the equity and the bonds market. Safaricom, Equity Group, and KCB, stocks which account for most of the market activity on the NSE for the week, declined by 2.5%, 6.16% and 9.5% closing at Ksh 37.50, Ksh 41.15 and Ksh 46.60 respectively. In global markets, the S&P 500 continued to take a drop of more than 1% for the fifth consecutive week. The index fell 1.2% closing the week at 4538.43 bp. The Dow fell by 0.9% closing the week at 34580 bp while the Nasdaq was down 2.6% to end the week at 15085.47 bp.  Tune in to learn how the fears of Tesla's volatility and the Fed's direction towards tapering is affecting US markets, how CBK's recent auction is sparking a decline in local bond and equity markets and some of the things to look out for in Centum's results and future.  Trade US stocks from Kenyan via the Hisa App on Android or iOS. Subscribe to the Kenyan Wallstreet podcast on spotify wherever you listen from. This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Produced by Mwakaneno Gakweli.

Last week, Markets were shaken following the discovery of Omnicron by South African Scientists, evident in Dow's Dip by 800 bp on Friday, one of the highest since the pandemic began. The Dow dipped by 2.01% for the week, whereas the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell by 3.5% and 2.2% respectively. Locally, the NASI shed 3.66 basis points settling at 164.77 bp while the NSE 20 shed 7.3 bp closing the week at 1886.35 bp. We also recorded mixed results from I&M, Stanbic, DTB and HF. Tune in to learn how Omnicron is pushing investors to safer bets, why Safaricom's decline could have been led to lower indices, and how small-cap stocks took the crown last week on the NSE. Watch out for the debut of trading on the Hisa App on Android or iOS. Subscribe to the Kenyan Wallstreet podcast wherever you listen from. This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Produced by Mwakaneno Gakweli. 

In this episode we discuss Central Bank of Kenya's Directive to suspend the listing of negative information of borrowers with loans under Ksh 5 million that were previously performing but went under from 1 October 2021, the suspension of clearance certificates as a requirement for job application, the shining results of Safaricom and Equity Group and the mechanics behind Elon's share sale and the following dip. Tune in now to learn why suspending CRB listing and adopting cost based lending could democratize access to credit and increase its cost for some, how suspending clearance documents is a respite for job seekers that would benefit even more from zero pricing of background check documents, the gaps in results of the giants, and why the Twitter poll did not in fact influence Elon's decision to sell some of his Tesla Shares.  This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Mwakaneno Gakweli - Podcast Host and Producer, Kenyan Wallstreet/Hisa Produced and Directed by Mwakaneno Gakweli 

In this episode, Eric Asuma talks to Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa and CFO Dilip Pal on the developments in Ethiopia following the state of emergency, the shifting conflict and delays in the US DFC $500 million loan.  Tune in to understand why Safaricom is still optimistic about launching in Ethiopia in mid-2022 despite the shifting conflict, its Capex commitment so far, and its investment in the market for the short and mid-term.  Tune in to all our podcasts directly through the Hisa App on Android or iOS, or subscribe to the Kenyan Wallstreet podcast wherever you listen from. This episode features: Peter Ndegwa - CEO, Safaricom Dilip Pal - CFO, Safaricom Eric Asuma - CEO, Hisa Audio Production by Mwakaneno Gakweli

Last week, the Safaricom stock took a beating, declining by 6.07% to Ksh 40.20 following worsening conditions in Ethiopia and US DFC's delay in disbursing the $500million to finance its Ethiopia entry. Equity Group reported an 85% jump in Q3 profit before tax to Ksh 36.6 Billion from Ksh 19.7 billion in Q3 2020. Globally,  Uber reported its first-ever EBITDA adjusted profit of $8 million. Listen to this episode to find out what's dragging Safaricom's share price, the details behind Equity's Profit jump and why BK Group is trailing, despite the positive Q3 results. Tune in to all our podcasts directly through the Hisa App on Android or iOS, or subscribe to the Kenyan Wallstreet podcast wherever you listen from. This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Production by Mwakaneno Gakweli

In this weekly episode of We Are Curious, we discuss banks' decision to request additional security in case the value of collateral like land depreciates, explore the push to declare Safaricom as a dominant player in Kenya's Telco space, and take notes from the plunge of the Squid Game Crypto. Get all your podcasts directly through the Hisa App on Android or iOS, or subscribe to the Kenyan Wallstreet podcast wherever you listen from. This episode features: Mwakaneno Gakweli - Podcast Host and Producer, The Kenyan Wallstreet Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Special appearances: Hamisi Rawlins Enock Aguera

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 million shares traded. NBV's YTD performance has dipped from top position to 10th, pointing to its continuing high volatility. Globally, tech stocks were jittery. Shares of Twitter, Alphabet, Microsoft and Snapchat were all down. Snap Inc, the company behind Snapchat released positive results but failed to meet analyst expectations. Revenue was up by 57% to $1.7 billion, a shortfall of 93 million dollars from what analysts expected, which is why the stock plummeted on Thursday and Friday, closing the week at $55 after shedding 27%.  Facebook will be releasing its results today.  Listen to this podcast to understand what happened in local markets last week, and what to expect from global tech stocks following changes in Apple's privacy policy that is spelling doom giants like Snap and Facebook.  Listen to all our podcasts directly on the Hisa App available on the App Store and Google Playstore. This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa

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 their shareholding.  The volume of shares was down 31.2%, closing the week at 54.8 million shares traded. Turnover for the week also fell to Ksh 2.09 billion compared to Ksh 2.88 billion traded a week earlier.  Top companies trading on the NSE accounted for 94% of market activity.  Safaricom was up closing at the week at Ksh 43.10 up from Ksh 41.65 at the opening of the week.  DTB announced that it hopes its ROE would go back to 13% or higher, acknowledging the recent actions by investors, and the complaints in dividend non-payment.  NBV has completed its acquisitions of Delta International's 4 businesses. The acquired companies have a valuation of about Ksh 3 billion. It's a curious case of how the subsidiaries will impact NBV's performance on the exchange.  Oil prices continue to rise, with Brent hitting $85 and WTI hitting $83 on Monday. This is good news for investors who went long on oil. However, it could further worsen ongoing inflation.  Last week, the Dow Jones was up 1.3%, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were also up 1.3%. YTD, the Dow Jones is 15.3%, S&P is up 19% while the Nasdaq is up 15.5%.  Kenya Power, KQ bailout require intensive audits to make sure the resources are utilized correctly, and that the revenue holes, including integrity issues, are plugged.  Listen to all our podcasts directly on the Hisa App available on the App Store and Google Playstore. This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa

Poor infrastructure was an insurmountable hurdle for the traditional banking model in many developing markets. Branches were too expensive to install and then often too hard to reach for many. The first waves of digital banking helped to alleviate some of this pain, but only for the lucky few who had access to a stable internet supply - so typically the wealthier folk in the bigger cities. And then came cell phones. Not smartphones, hardy Nokia's that could take a beating and last a week on a single charge. Safaricom and M-Pesa were probably the biggest name in this game, using SMS technology to provide basic banking on the cheap, initially in East Africa but then through large parts of the continent. This was a godsend, but the global applicability was limited since much of the value came in its ability to work around bad infrastructure. In the developed world, where this was not a problem, consumers were looking for a customer experience that could not be delivered by SMS. That's what makes the latest wave of African fintech much more interesting, built as they are on smartphone apps that cater to digital consumers just as discerning as those in the rest of the world. So, by leapfrogging internet banking, African digital banking is now a hotbed of mobile banking innovation. To put this fast-tracked growth in context, I speak to Felix Duku, one of the drivers of digital banking in Ghana over the last thirty years. Using his own career as a backdrop, we talk about the stable goal of delivering a great customer experience and how he looked to deliver this through consecutive waves of technological innovation. If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me at brendan@howtolendmoneytostrangers.show A full written transcript with timestamps can be found on HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show

Thank you for your support by helping us create content. MPESA TILL (BUY GOODS) - 5236949 PAYPAL - Njau.richard@gmail.com CARD PAYMENTS - https://bit.ly/donatecta SEND WAVE - (+254) 0701-000-777 Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE - http://bit.ly/SubscribeToCTA Njugush (Timothy Kimani Ndegwa) is an accomplished Kenyan comedian, influencer, MC, and mentor. Most people know him as Njugush and assume that his real name is Njuguna, which is not true. The star rose to fame for starring on the Real House Helps of Kawangware, a TV comedy-drama series that initially premiered on KTN and later NTV. #ThePlayHouse #cta101

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 Evergrande defaulted its payments to offshore investors, why Nike cut its revenue forecasts as Vietnam and Indonesian closures affect supply, and how a dip in the giant stocks on the NSE is affecting the overall performance of the exchange.  Highlights: The impact of the current financial crisis is slowly biting China and Asia after Evergrande defaulted on payments for offshore investors, estimated at $83 billion in interest payments. Evergrande's YTD performance is down 83%. Global markets closed on a positive edge. The Dow Jones was up 0.6% at 34.798 points, while the S&P 500 rose 0.05% closing at 4455 points. The Nasdaq was flat 0.001% ending the week at 15.048 basis points.  Nike is bracing for shortages and trims revenue forecast as Vietnam shutdowns, costing the company 10 weeks of production. Safaricom, Equity, EABL, and KCB took a dip on the NSE. The NSE All-share index (NASI) decreased by 2.7% to close the week at 177.81 points from last week's 182.75 points. Similarly, the NSE25 and the NSE20 share indices were similarly down by 2.41% and 1.05%, respectively. Ghana's benchmark index fell 4.1% last week. Similarly, Egypt fell, eroding its YTD gains. Listen to previous episodes of the Weekly Markets Update on the Hisa App available on the App Store and Google Playstore. This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Audio Production by Mwakaneno Gakweli.

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 Asian markets.  Highlights:  Co-op Bank recorded a decline in activity from 3.1% of the total market activity in the previous week to 2.7% last week.  Longhorn Publishers recorded low activity on the exchange despite bouncing back profitability, reporting a profit of Ksh 7.48 million in profit for 2021 H1. The All-share index was up 1.45%  The NSE 25 is back to 4000 basis points, standing 4015.08 basis points at the end of last week, signalling a lot of positive activity.   The 20 share index was down 0.1% closing at 2061.45 basis points. Regionally, Ghana has led SSA in YTD performance, topping the chart at +43.3%. Zambia is up +21.3%. while the NSE is third at +20%.  Evergrande mentioned last week that it will not be able to repay its dollar-denominated debts, as their real estate wing takes a hit. The effects of the group's downfall are likely to have a ripple effect in other markets in Asia like South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.  the S&P 500 was down 0.6% week on week while its YTD performance was up 18%. The Nasdaq was up 16.7% YTD and down 0.5% week on week. The Dow was down 0.1% week on week and up 13% YTD.  Listen to previous episodes of the Weekly Markets Breakdown on the Hisa App available on the App Store and Google Playstore. This episode features:  Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Audio Production by Mwakaneno Gakweli. 

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 for smart meters, and whether Kenya Power is likely to accept the 75%/25% revenue sharing split favouring Safaricom. We also ask important questions with regards to the viability of the oil project in Turkana, given only 585 million barrels out of the total 2.85 million barrels is commercially viable (at least at the moment), at a higher cost. We close the episode looking at what's happening in global markets, with the US issuing sanctions against parties involved in the Tigray war, and Zuckerberg launching a directory-like feature for small businesses on WhatsApp.  Listen to all our podcasts directly on the Hisa App available on the App Store and Google Playstore.  This episode features: Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa Nicole Omaya - Community Manager, Hisa Mwakaneno Gakweli - Business Journalist, Producer and Podcast Host, Hisa

In this episode, the Hisa team looks at CIC's performance for the half-year ended June 2021, analyse how local investors on the NSE outpaced foreign investor activity for the first time in a long time and weigh in on how unrest in Afghanistan and the Middle East could affect global commodity prices.  Highlights:  CIC reported a net profit of KSh260 million for H1 ended June 2021. Gross written premiums rose by 15% to 10.8 billion, while net earned premium rose by 0.5%. The counter rose by 47% YTD and 54% YoY, ranking at 3rd on the exchange in YTD performance.  Local investors accounted for 65.65% of the total market activity on the NSE, overtaking foreign investors at 34.35%. Most of the investment went into Safaricom, Equity, KCB and Cooperative bank, while foreign investors mostly focused on EABL.  NASI was up by 1.5%, closing at 181.18 basis points. The NSE 25 rose by 0.84%, closing the week at 3950 basis points. The NSE 20 fell by 0.68%, closing at 1961.07 points. Equity turnover was up 64.3%, closing the week at Ksh 2.45 billion trade in terms of trade. The bond market was also up 2.9%, with Ksh 21.9 billion worth of bonds traded. The total shares traded rose by 142%, with 110 million shares traded in the week. Bank of Kigali was the top gainer for the week, up by 18%, closing at Ksh 38.25. NBV was the top loser, shedding 14.8% and closing at Ks 5.92. Ghana was the top-performing sub-Saharan African exchange for the week, with its all share index gaining 40.5% YTD. Zambia, Kenya and Uganda followed, gaining 19.2%, 19.1%, and 18.3%.  A destabilised Middle East would not board well for commodity prices starting with oil, likely affecting other markets.  

In this episode, the Hisa team discusses how Safaricom's 3.27% uptick last week affected turnovers, dives into the Crown Paints rights issue, and what it will mean for the company and the global smartphone outlook with Xiaomi as the second-largest smartphone maker by market share.  Highlights: There was positive activity in all indices, with the All-share index gaining 17.5% YTD and 1.9% week on week closing at 178.65 basis points. The NSE 20 added 20 basis points, closing at 1972.33 basis points, while the NSE 25 gained 37.01 points, closing at 3902.04 basis points. The performance of the indices is likely driven by Safaricom, the top mover, whose counter rose by 3.27% following the licenced granted in Ethiopia and the subsidiary's announcement. Safaricom traded 855 million shares for the week.  DTB traded 5.2 million shares valued at 306 million, while Equity Group traded 4.5 million shares valued at 219 million.  Overall market turnover fell by 32.38% to close the week at 56.25 million, compared to 83.18 million recorded in the previous week. Zoom is planning to acquire five9, a cloud-based service for $14.7 billion Xiaomi is the second-largest smartphone exporter, overtaking apple by 3%, 17% of the global market share for the last quarter. Audio Production by Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli – Business Writer & Podcast Host, Hisa Technologies Snippet Artwork by Muteti Munyambu - Graphics Designer, Hisa Technologies

Last week, the NSE recorded a market turnover of Ks 3.3 billion achieved by 112 million shares traded on the exchange. The NASI and the NSE 20 both declined, likely attributed to Safaricom's 1.21% dip week on week to Ksh 40.75. In this episode, our in-house Financial analyst explores the performance of different sectors for the week, specifically looking at why Kenya's energy sector lags. The episode also touches on some of the stellar stock performances on the exchange, such as NBV's impressive 94% YTD growth and the effect of corporate actions like Total trading ex-dividend and NMG's buyback. Audio Production by Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli – Business Writer & Podcast Host, Hisa Technologies Snippet Artwork by Muteti Munyambu – Hisa Technologies

In this episode, the Hisa team discusses the details of Safaricom's recently launched e-Sim and developments following President Uhuru's discussion with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy on opening Ethiopia's mobile money market and how that could open doors for Kenyan banks and fintechs to explore the new market. We also talk of the rocky Kenya-Somalia relationship, the resumed flights across the two countries and its possible impact. Finally, we discuss Tanzania's waiver for VAT on mobile devices and World Bank's mildly optimistic prospects for Sub-Saharan Africa for 2022, as different countries recover from blows of COVID-19 on manufacturing, tourism and agricultural exports.  Audio Production by Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli – Business Writer & Podcast Host, Hisa Technologies

Kimanzi Constable is an author of books that have sold over 150,000 copies. He's a writer whose articles have appeared in over 80 publications and magazines. You can see his articles published in Forbes, the HuffPost, Entrepreneur Magazine, SUCCESS Magazine, AskMen, Fox News, Yahoo, NBC News, Business Insider, and more. He is a senior editor at The Good Men Project. He's been interviewed on over 250 podcasts. He's a consultant that has traveled to 79 countries for corporate consulting at companies such as Unilever, Morgan Stanley, Allianz, Naspers, Safaricom, Dentsu, and more. Sponsors   Black Boss Club Black Boss Shop   Show Notes High level Overview Kimanzi shares his backstory The difference between PR and being featured, and being a contributor of a reputable publication/platform How to become a contributor for a big publication and quickly build your social proof  Why your website/blog matters The secrets to getting your content published fast How to figure out what publications make the most sense for your message How to reach out and pitch to publication editors How to boost your website traffic with your written content How to leverage other people's audiences to build your brand and authority The go-to content creation strategy How to land big corporate clients  Connect with Kimanzi Constable Website - kconstable.com Free Resource - getpublishedguide.com

Michael Joseph, former Safaricom CEO and current Chairman of the Board, is arguably one of the most influencial business operatives in East Africa and beyond.  We discuss the birth of Safaricom and its future!