M-Pesa now enters Uganda in Safaricom, MTN pact

M-Pesa users will now send and receive money from one of Kenya’s biggest trade partners Uganda after Safaricom partnered with MTN, a mobile phone service provider in the neighbouring country. Uganda is one of Kenya’s top trading partners and the pact is not only expected to increase trade between the two nations, but also to offer cheaper remittance services. The M-Pesa International Money Transfer partnership with MTN is the third cross-border deal within the East African region [...]

Banks to reward customers for frequent transactions

Kenyan banks have started running reward programmes to boost retail transactions and hold on to their customer base, with KCB and I&M Bank the early pacesetters. Kenyan banks have started running reward programmes to boost retail transactions and hold on to their customer base, with KCB and I&M Bank the early pacesetters. Such programmes have previously been confined to credit cards and the extension to all chargeable transactions comes with the uptake of more robust IT systems in the industry [...]

Stanlib opens way for property developers to issue more Reits

Stanlib Investments became the first company to list a real-estate investment trust (Reit) at the Nairobi Securities Exchange charting the path for other property owners and developers to tap retail funds. Investors of i-Reit reap the rental income from the underlying property. Other companies that have registered interest in using Reit to unlock their investments include insurer UAP Holdings, listed investment firm Centum and public pension fund National Social Security Fund (NSSF) [...]

Micro-lender Premier Credit to raise Sh2.5bn for SME lending

Micro-lender Premier Credit, which operates in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, says it will next year lend Sh2.5 billion to small and medium enterprises in Kenya to raise its customer base and grow revenue. Micro-lender Premier Credit, which operates in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, says it will next year lend Sh2.5 billion to small and medium enterprises in Kenya to raise its customer base and grow revenue [...]

Exporters’ earnings up as shilling ends year 11pc down

The shilling is set to end the year 11.3 per cent down after almost touching the 2011 record low, underlining the extent to which global and local markets have influenced its value. CBK governor Patrick Njoroge said he expected the current account deficit — the gap between imports and exports — to narrow from the current 6.9 per cent next year further stabilising the shilling. But other analysts see the shilling possible depreciating due to a stronger dollar [...]

One-stop shop tax tribunal hearings start January

A one-stop full-time tax appeals tribunal has been set up and will start hearings next month. The one-stop tribunal is intended to end the multiple tribunals, each of them dealing with a particular type of tax ranging from value added tax and income tax to customs duty. The setting up of the appeals tribunal has taken more than two years with the law giving it legal status having been enacted in 2013 and its members appointed and sworn in mid this year [...]

Sh3bn Mombasa data centre set for three-month delay

A Sh3 billion data centre in Mombasa owned by a venture capital fund, East Africa Capital Partners (EACP), will be ready by mid next year, three months behind schedule [...]