In this episode, Director of Business Banking at Absa Bank Kenya Plc and Angaza Awards Top 10 Finalist Elizabeth Wasunna-Ochwa shares her experiences in scaling her career, the challenges she faced and how she overcame them. She further delves into the challenges women face in business and how improving market access, supporting young ventures and business continuity plans complement offering access to finance. Elizabeth closes the episode with words of advice on the importance of recognizing the achievements of women and creating a support system that allows women to seek opportunities both in and outside the country. 

This episode features:

Elizabeth Wasunna-Ochwa - Director of Business Banking at Absa Bank Kenya Plc

Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli – Business Writer & Host, Hisa Technologies

Audio Production by Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli

In this episode of the weekly markets update, the Hisa team and community discuss details of the Transcentury rights issue, looking to raise about Ksh 600 million from the action. We also discuss the Williamson Tea profit warning, following blows of COVID, and the depressed property market. Finally, we close the discussion with other movers and gainers in the market and the week's indices performance. 

In this episode, we chat with Jukka Blomberg, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at LocalBitcoins, the oldest and the largest P2P bitcoin marketplace in the world serving users in more than 190 countries.

Jukka Shares insights on the growth of the platform across Africa, emerging opportunities and trends as well as crypto use cases in the continent.

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

In this episode, Hisa CEO Eric Asuma chats with Absa Kenya Chief Strategy Officer Moses Muthui on how Kenyan banks can play an active role in driving the economy's recovery from COVID-19. Moses details Absa's steps to be part of the solution through its lending efforts despite the subdued environment, among other initiatives like payment holidays. He further talks about what to expect in terms of Absa's results after normalization in light of rising economic activity.

This episode features:

Moses Muthui - Chief Strategy Officer & FD, Corporate & Investment Banking at Absa Kenya

Eric Asuma - CEO, Hisa Technologies

Audio Production by Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli – Business Writer & Podcast Host, Hisa Technologies

Snippet Artwork by Muteti Munyambu – Hisa Technologies

For the first time in a few weeks, Safaricom did not emerge as the leading stock trading on the exchange. In this episode, we discuss how the market performed last week, touch on Jubilee's plans for the buyback awaiting its AGM and review top gainers and losers for May 2021. 

In this episode, the Hisa Team explains the reasons behind the ban of humanitarian flights to Somalia and other things fueling the deteriorating relations between Kenya and Somalia. We also discuss the risen May inflation and how June is likely to record higher rates, with the Ksh 3.6T budget waiting around the corner. Finally, we close the discussion with highlights on Ghana's planned digital currency and how the E-Cedi, backed by the Central Bank, could finally inspire African regulators to adopt crypto. 

In this episode, MOriental Bank CEO Alakh Kohli talks of harnessing digital banking opportunities for business continuity, going into detail about how mobile banking changing the Kenyan banking space through innovations like Pesalink and why USSD banking is important for the financial sector deepening. He also talks of the importance of initiatives like Kaa Chonjo, promoting a two-way approach towards protecting banks and clients against cybersecurity threats like phishing and identity theft. Finally, Kohli talks about cryptocurrencies in the banking space and the need of adopting the right framework which protects clients, banks and stakeholders over the proclivity to be the first mover.

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 and community discuss the details of Safaricom's entry into Ethiopia, including the investments, possible risks, costs, and short and midterm outlook. We also talk about Equity and KCB's Q1 results and Equity's regional expansion. 

Highlights

• The consortium led by Safaricom has committed $8.5 billion over ten years in one of the largest single foreign direct investment into Ethiopia.
• The capital outlay is likely to weigh down on the company's free cash flows, as Safaricom is likely to include the Special Purpose Vehicles' books into its books, given that it owns more than 50% share.
• Without a Mobile money licence at present, Safaricom will have to reduce its telephony charges to compete favourably with Ethio Telecom as it is not a market leader in the Ethiopian market, which could incur losses from voice, data and messaging, likely to be borne by the parent entities of the SPV.
• At early stages, Safaricom needs to increase its market share significantly to obtain pricing power in a market likely to be price competitive.
• Operations in Ethiopia are slated to begin in 2022, awaiting final clearance from the Ethiopian government.
• The Ethiopian market is, however, a massive opportunity given its population estimated at 112 million.

In this episode, Lami Technology Insurance CEO Jihan Abass talks to Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli on the gaps in access to insurance in Africa and how the Lami's embedded insurance technology solves the distribution problem in Kenya and Africa. She also discusses the pandemic's challenges and how COVID-19 pushed insurance companies towards digital distribution channels and challenges and milestones the company has made since its founding. The Founder further explains how efficient collection and verification of KYC documents fasten the claim process and mitigates fraud. 

Jihan closes the episode sharing her experience in fundraising and some tips that could improve access to funds for female business, including encouraging more women to start businesses at a young age and what startups can consider before picking investors. 

This episode features: 

Jihan Abass - Founder and CEO of Lami Technology Insurance

Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli – Business Writer & Host, Hisa Technologies

Audio Production by Ally Mwakaneno Gakweli

Snippet Artwork by Muteti Munyambu – Hisa Technologies