Monthly Archives: December 2009

2009 Kenya Bank Rankings Part III – Other Intermediaries

In Part 1 was a list of all banks and Part 2 had the top 10 banks in Kenya this year. There are other financial intermediaries of note including:
UBA: launched in Kenya With a capital base of about 1.1 billion and now have 3 branches in Nairobi. UBA is reaching out to customers, embracing new media like blogs and twitter, – (@ubagroup and has gotten new funding – would rank in the low 20-soemthign of Kenyan banks after just a ½ year of operations
Faulu: Faulu Kenya Was licensed in July 2009 as the first deposit taking micro finance institution by the central bank of Kenya. Its balance sheet today would be about 6.5 billion, with over 2 billion in loans (last accounts seen are 2007)
KWFT: even larger than Faulu, is the Kenya Women Finance Trust. Its assets would be in the region of Kshs 15 billion, with about 12 billion in loans (extrapolating from 2008 accounts).
KWFT which is in government plans to convert to a women only commercial bank already has a national footprint or branch network that rivals any of the larger commercial bank and would rank somewhere in the teens of bank rankings

other intermediaries

SACCO’s: The Central Bank of Kenya estimates assets of the entire banking sector at Kshs. 1.18 trillion ($17 billion – CBK Governor speech in September 2009) while the Ministry of Cooperative Development estimates assets of the cooperative sector (SACCOS), with 12,000 societies and 8 million members at about 200 billion ($2.7 billion) – whose members save funds and borrow against these along with guarantees from other members in lieu of traditional bank collateral.

Some of the notable large SACCO’s (comparable in size to small & mid-size banks, but with larger customer bases) in the country are:
1. Harambee SACCO: (mainly civil servants) –with assets of 12 billion ($160 million), and loans of 7.5 billion and said to be the laregst SACCO in Kenya
2. Mwalimu SACCO: (mainly school teachers) with assets of 10.2 billion and loans of 9.2 billion
3. Afya SACCO: (mainly health industry workers) – assets of 4.75 billion, and loans of 3.79 billion
4. Kenya Bankers SACCO: bank industry workers with 3.3 billion in assets 2.8 billion in loans

Kenya Exam Results Online

This morning, embattled officials of Kenya’s Ministry of Education will release results of primary school education performance for over 700,000 students who sat the KCPE exam last year – and these will be posted at the Exams Council website (corrected site)

The exams council has also gazetted some rule changes that have been in effect for some years now, covering KCSE which is the next level of exams (high school) these students will take in four years time:

  • Kenyans may sit for may sit for the exam outside the country if an embassy/mission makes an application on their behalf, the exam is administered by a local exam body, and the candidate meets costs related to facilitating the exam
  • Students must do at least 7 subjects (best 7 will count)
  • Examined subjects can include sign language, aviation, drawing & design, building construction, Hindu religious education, and 2 alternatives of mathematics paper. Also, there are special papers in Braille and question papers for the hearing impaired.
  • Exams may be remarked at the request of school head teacher with justification.
  • The rules have been updated to cover exam offences and consequences such as exam results may be withheld or canceled – and students are given grade Y (as opposed to A B C D E) and may not sit exams for a subsequent two years. Exam centers can be de-registered if wide-spread malpractices are shown.
  • Allows students of other East African counties to take the exams.
  • Candidates may use calculators and state the type used (silent, non-programmable ones)  that may not store formulas or algebra, draw/store graphics, have dictionaries etc. If schools provide calculators, they shall be of the same make.
  • Candidates may re-sit exams as many times as possible.

Twitter Week Top 10 December 22

Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that is really nifty for doing mini-posts, forwards and other remarks that (are on any subject) and are maybe not worthy of a full blog post. Here’s a summary of my week on Twitter in a Dave Letterman top 10 format covering tech events, new planes, sluggish car sales, strange naiorbians and other topics

10 Mainstream Blogging: #F1 blogger quits work to blog full time-best wishes @f1fanatic_co_uk! http://tinyurl.com/yegm5l3
– Great reads: the 75 best business-blogs of 2009 http://www.businesspundit.com/the-75-best-business-blogs-of-2009/ includes @emeka_okafor

9. Tech Nairobi @whiteafrican is live blogging from @AfricaGathering today, refresh this post for the latest: http://bit.ly/75WgJ3 #agathering #agnairobi09
– Look out for @afromusing’s guide to buying solar gadgets.(via @sciculturist) <-----it's about time! #giftsforocha
– Stealth Startups, Get Over Yourselves: Nobody Cares About Your Secrets http://goo.gl/fb/hLw6 (via @rafiq)
– R/t: on the @ushahidi blog – 3 misconceptions about #ushahidi

idle castle brew facility

8. Brew Chatter SA giant beer brewer SAB considering re-entering kenya market after Deal with EABL in tanzania sours (Via @Nairobi star)
– konyagi vs waragi http://chickabouttown.com/2009/12/20/konyagi-vs-uganda-waragi/

7. GoK Absurdities 1. We dont accept sealed letters for PS, unless you have delivery book 2.This gate is locked between 9am and 4pm
– Harambee house is a corruption free zone, @SupremeGREAM – and so is a police roadblock #nyayohouse
– So new Police comm. Iteere got the 3rd class Moran/Golden Heart of Kenya; but so did Pauline & Ida
– Labour leader Atwoli sermons on #citizentv opposes privatization of #nationalbank #KCB #newKCC and kenya ports authority

6. Plane Chatter– know everything about today’s maiden boeing 787 flight (weather permitting) http://tinyurl.com/yewg5pl (via @flightblogger)
– 787 has taken off, take that copenhagen. R/t @coldtusker #787 is supposed to have a lower carbon footprint so supports #Copenhagen goals
– via @FlyingEmirates a Kenyan wins Emirates A380 dream prize (to Bangkok, Sydney or Seoul ) <----i'm so jealous! http://bit.ly/8yKvNA
– @coldtusker @alykhansatchu crown will fight to keep emirates independent as long as it can (perhaps pare down new plane buys to do so)
– #onejetone among airlines appying for licenses again – mombasa, harare, london
4:43 PM Dec 18th from web

5. Investor Awareness – ICT Kenya board tender for digitization of court records http://www.ict.go.ke/images/pdfs/6593719R_2.pdf @kenyanpundit
– Securities Industry Training Institute launched in Uganda-progs on capital markets,corp.fin, asset-mgmt, entrepreneurship, corp.govnance etc
– Send Nairobi Stock Exchange complaints by SMS to 8485, cost 10/= (also to receive) http://www.nsecomplaints.co.ke/ (via @NSEKenya)
– r/t @alykhansatchu Kenya Economic Update 2009 from the World Bank http://bit.ly/90sYCp simply definitive and full of Data that will surprise
– On CitizenTV ‘how to be rich’ is a golden dream prod .i.e @alfredmutua – they had ad for cobra squad season 2 DVD as perfect x-mas gift

4. Cars, Cars, Cars – r/t @SupremeGREAM today i was at biggest car yard on ngong rd and the only people there were salesmen, wash guyz and suppliers-grim(econ)! are you seeing some slowdown in autos? soe eyards have KBE and KBH that are gathering dust. – got a KBC Mark II been in the yard that long. today took it for a random drive. 780k bring the money. down from 1050k @inexes – Wambie wapunguze bei ya hizo magari! lol @bankelele
– r/t @Shitawabah saw a LAMBOGHINI today morning at 8;59 a.m yellow KBK 001A… ! eeeiy ! * but nid t say it was hot! <--wow! really? pics?
– r/t @karuoro If you own a Toyota-use toyodiy.com to look up part numbers so you know what to order (thanks-1/2 cars in kenya are toyota)

3. Peculiar Nairobi – @mountainous nation wrote that the only 3D theatre in kenya to watch #Avatar is in Nyali. Also #F1 off-season more
– Reading sundaynation about kayamba africa new album: ‘ KA is made up of 45 members who were all present. It has 6 band members’ (huh?)
– My dad was scandalized by the food portions at ONami, full house though
– Labour leader Atwoli sermons on #citizentv opposes privatization of #nationalbank #KCB #newKCC and kenya ports authority
– Family bank atm’s are so f’n unreliable these days. Spend some of that rights issue cash propely will ya? #gotissuez
– Peculiar habits of Nairobians http://sogomo.blogspot.com/2009/12/ten-nairobi-pecularities-i-could-do.html

2. Credit Crunch – @coldTusker wouldn’t be uchumi be a better pick for al-waleed ‘distressed asset’ philosopy? @coldtusker – I think Al-Waleed looks for management as well. Kingdom doesn’t supply management. Maybe he will look at Uchumi as well
– At empty local; not sure if its mid-month economy or competition from new joint up the road with #kidum playing tonight
r/t @siphojanuary More than 8 million South Africans are 3 months behind on their debt repayments – National Credit Regulator
Dubair/t @ coldtusker Read the signs. The day Emirates stops serving alcohol means the new owners are in control. Dubai may keep Emirates in name only. Who knows who owns it now? Not for public consumption. – There is no free lunch. Something has to give. I think Emirates is the ‘guarantee/collateral’
r/t @alykhansatchu Dubai = Ozymandias Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’ Nothing remains http://bit.ly/1wWz2g

1. Phone Woes
Safaricom I thought my phone had gone schitso calling me every minute! But its some dude who sent big #mpesa to wrong number one digit off (not me!)
– dear #safaricom there are black hole spots (no service) in Nairobi CBD #gotissuez
– Safaricom have had a really crap network in Nairobi CBD all week. Only way to call their subscribers is by using zain or orange
– #barclays call centre number works and calls picked up instantly 3900000 #safaricom should learn http://www.moseskemibaro.com/?p=763
Zain #ogilvy media clarify that they are NOT repsonsible for advertising & PR of #zain africa #passthebuck #itwasntme (via @NationMedia)
– R/t @JustDes – #Zain PR and Advertising is handled by #ZKAdvertising. #Zain Media will be handled by #OgilvyAfricaMedia. @PeterNjenga – Any URL for this #Ogilvy media #Zain Africa #advertising thingie? Wanna know who’s getting paid but screwing up Zain #marketing?
– @JustDes thanks for clarifying about ZK and Zain http://www.zekgroup.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=10 @peternjenga
mobile phones need messengers – Paying telkom,kenya power and safaricom bills this morning-if you are post-paid anything,you need a messenger to hoof around Nairobi – Where can one pay safaricom post pay bill on sunday, other than westgate?
– r/t @tmsruge True, because banks won’t allow transfers to mobile, which I think is another missed rev stream 4 banks – Sounds to me like a biz opportunity to me! Kenyan mobile $$ innovations are a bit one-track minded!
r/t @zulusafari even with mobile $ you still have to physically visit an office to put $ in ur account – seriously! it’s ridiculous. And why can I not pay by cc’d online!!!! @whiteafrican
r/t @ kahenya @whiteafrican @bankelele it keeps messengers busy and employed
r/t @whiteafrican which makes absolutely no sense in this day and age of digital money transactions locally.
competition for MPesa r/ @ Obopay Essar Telecom Kenya & Obopay Launch Mobile Money Transfer Service http://su.pr/21Vq0y

Urban Inflation Index December 2009

Comparing changes to three months ago – September 2009 and a year ago – December 2008

What’s gotten more expensive

Fuel: A litre of petrol is Kshs 83.5 (~$5.0/gal) up slightly from 80.9 three months ago, but still about 10% lower than the 92.7 of last December.

Entertainment: A bottle of Tusker beer (at local pub) is now Kshs. 140. This is up from 120 price of three months ago and also a year ago. There is a proliferation of new pubs all the time in Nairobi – and as others shut down, more entrepreneurs step up (with a new name, coat of paint and furniture) to take their turn behind the bar counter. The median price in Nairobi now seems to be 150 shillings ($2) for a beer, as Tusker brewer east African Breweries (EABL) remains untroubled by Summit of Keroche (what’s to blame? – poor distribution, dirty tactics by EABL, poor marketing?) or by the reports that South African giant SAB Miller may choose to re-enter the re-enter the Kenyan market following collapse of an EABL-SAB agreement in Tanzania.

Electricity/utilities: this month’s electricity bill is Kshs 2,100 ($28) compared to the 1,900 of three months ago, as well as last December. 2009 has been a year of harsh reality checks for Kenyans with the failure of rains, drying of dams and water & electricity rationing programs. And while electricity rationing has ended, water rationing is still on in urban areas, and in rural areas, water sources are diminishing and the usage of water is becoming a cause for tension among communities and neighbours. The government has set out to reclaim and restore water towers in the country, notably the Mau Forest, and has made investment in geothermal energy and is linking up with neighbouring country grids (Ethiopia, Tanzania) ; unfortunately wind and solar energy are not considered to be viable large scale avenues worthy of requisite investment.

about the same

Food: though the inflation impact of food items has been played down by the Central Bank (CBK) who said food prices distorted inflation figures, there has not been much change in the last quarter.

food is bad for inflation

Staple Food: Maize flour which is used to make Ugali that is eaten by a majority of Kenyans daily. A 2 kg. Unga pack at Uchumi today costs Kshs. 83 compared to 84 three months ago. But this is much better for consumers than the 97 shillings of a year ago.

Other food item: Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) is Kshs. 200 up, unchanged from 3 months ago, but 25% higher than the 160 shillings of a year ago.

Consensus among farmers and traders is that 2010 will be a worse year for food production in the country, so we’ll see where prices are next year.

Gotten cheaper

Communications: there have been lots of developments towards reducing the cost of communications as competition in the sector heats up.
– Mobile giant Safaricom, who told institutional investors that they aim on becoming the ISP of choice for Kenyans, have been pushing out internet devices at a rapid pace. The company earned 7.2 billion ($96 million) from SMS and data in H1 of 2010 (up from 2.1 billion a year ago). They have now partnered with Equity Bank to get laptops computers (with free modems) to thousands of consumers by way of bank loan
– Both Safaricom and Orange (Telkom Kenya) are selling 3G modems’ at a cost of Kshs 2,000 (~$26) – these used to cost 4,00 before. And with Safaricom you can cash in just 2,000 bonga (loyalty) points and get the modem, which used to cost 15,000 bonga points a year ago.
– ISP’s respond Wananchi have lowered Internet prices of their broadband zuku packages since the arrival of fibre cable connection in Kenya. Meanwhile KDN is offering free butterfly service over Christmas and have a program with family bank to offer free wifi services to their customers.

Foreign Exchange: 1 US$ equals Kshs. 75.62 compared to Kshs. 75.93 three months ago and 79.08 a year ago.

African Business Outlook for 2010

Africa Practice: A survey of business executives conducted by Africa Practice, a consulting firm, reveals some interesting perspectives for the coming year:
– 68% of the interviewees expect to expand their businesses significantly
– 100% expected FDI to increase in 2010 (mainly from china) (up from 69% in 2009)
– Leading business challenges are access to credit (30%) and availability of talent (35%)
– No change in US administration impact on Africa
– Increased intra-African business and moving away from a reliance on international exports was cited as key in Africa’s private sector development
– The most significant development will be technology investments and reduced costs communions costs (56%)
– But, just 54% believe that economic benefits from the 2010 world cupwill be felt only in South Africa itself.

Economist: Also writing on the World Cup is the Economist which notes

the more pressing question is whether South Africa will benefit from the World Cup. New airports and roads will attract more foreign investment to provincial cities, …but the boost in tourism in poorer country areas will hardly offset the broken promises of investment by the crony-ridden African National Congress. And the newly built stadiums will be filled only occasionally by the national rugby team.

A worry for FIFA is that the tournament will not be African enough…There will not be many fans travelling from qualifying African countries. Many black South Africans will not be able to afford even the subsidised ticket prices for matches; gifts of tickets to nurses and teachers will be needed. So Africa’s moment may be uncomfortably white.


The article is part of their annual the The World In (2010),and this issue also has an article crowning neighboring Somalia as the worst country on Earth and which reads like it was conjured up for the satire in the onion

Standard Chartered: Also an interesting read is this future wealth report from Stanchart.