Betting is a very lucrative business in Kenya and bookmakers are cashing out big time in the country. In 2019, gamblers spent over Ksh30 billion ($224.6 million) in a single month from gambling. These gamblers staked nearly 180 million individual bets in a single month in 2019, while bookmakers like Betin Kenya and SportsPesa raked …
Treasury management and interest rate risks in a volatile market environment
Today’s volatile financial market is fraught with lots of interest rate risks and failure to stay ahead of this risk could leave banks exposed to potential losses stemming from changes in interest rates and the unpredictable economy, which could adversely affect their earnings or capital. A classic example is the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank …
Be your own bank with Onboard, Nestcoin’s new digital finance platform for Africans
Nestcoin has announced the launch of Onboard, a digital finance platform aiming to provide modern, world-class digital finance services that connect Africans to the global economy. African citizens, whether living on the continent or with interests in it, have long been excluded from financial instruments and opportunities to build wealth due to geography and a …
These startups make living costs affordable for Nigerians
For most Nigerians, the first quarter of 2023 was like an aimless walk through a desert under the blazing midday sun. So much has happened since the year began. The first was an unusual fuel scarcity from November 2022 that found its way into the new year and ruffled things up a bit – like …
Leatherback offers African startups a lifeline amid global bank shutdowns
A few weeks ago, news broke that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the widely endorsed bank for most startups and venture capitalists, was shut down by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). What triggered the closure was a bank run that began after the bank announced that it lost $1.8 billion in the sale of treasuries …
Felicia Omari Ochelle, TechPR’s CEO, is helping technology companies tell compelling stories to a global audience
Africa has a population of over 1.4 billion people. Interestingly, it is the youngest continent in the world, with 60% of the entire population aged below 25 years. This makes it the hub of the future workforce and a hotbed for technological innovation. While many African governments grapple with poor unemployment rates, weak economies and …
Mastercard taps local partners to launch contactless payment in Nigeria
Mastercard, a global pioneer in payment innovation and technology in partnership with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Netplus, has launched a contactless payment solution that enables consumers, merchants, and financial institutions to process payments seamlessly using Tap on Phone. The launch of the payment solution will eliminate physical contact with a device at the …
Naira at growing risk of devaluation in coming weeks, Absa says
Nigeria will likely devalue its local currency by about 15% after President-elect, Bola Tinubu, is sworn in on May 29 to alleviate severe trade imbalances and dollar shortages, an analyst at Absa Group Ltd. said. Africa’s largest economy operates a multiple exchange regime dominated by a tightly controlled official rate, cutting off access to many …
Nigeria lags African peers in registering business
Blessing Adebanjo (not her real name) was wedged behind her computer with stacks of documents required to register a client’s business in a two-room apartment in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. Over a five-day period, Adebanjo, a lawyer, tried to register a company on the portal of the agency charged with regulating the formation and management …
Andela Rwanda launches apprenticeship program to connect Africa’s top organizations with talent
Andela, the global network for remote technical talent, has announced the launch of the Andela Rwanda Apprenticeship Program, a 12-week program that aims to introduce global organizations to the vast potential of up-and-coming Rwandese tech talent. The apprenticeship program offers companies the chance to build their team with graduate apprentices from the Andela Technical Leadership …