The Mwango Capital Podcast

In this episode hosted by Ramah Nyang, we are joined by Prof. XN Iraki - Economist at the University of Nairobi, Dr Lucy Muthoni - Mathematics and Actuarial Science Senior Lecturer at Strathmore University, Dickson Magecha - Executive Director, Africa FX Trading at Standard Chartered Bank DIFC, and Ken Opalo - Political Scientist at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service to discuss subsidies and their effectiveness.

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Show Notes

00:01:40 What are subsidies?

00:04:01 Effectiveness of subsidies

00:09:14 Govt’s resistance to cutting taxes

00:13:11 Make agricultural subsidies effective

00:28:15 Tax burden created by subsidies

00:37:28 Making Kenyan farmers competitive

00:45:53 Expanding the tax base

00:53:09 Structures to ensure that subsidies work

01:00:19 Restructuring local debt

01:08:54 Tax policy

01:16:47 Warehouse receipt systems

01:21:53 Translate research ideas into viable market solutions

01:29:38 Closing remarks

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode, we are joined by Solomon Kariuki - Research Analyst at AIB-AXYS Africa and Ronak Gadhia - Director, Frontier Banks at EFG Hermes as we look at Kenyan banks' first half of 2022 results.

We also discuss the key aspects of bank financials to pay attention to, the aggressive expansion by banks across the region, the implementation of the risk-based lending model, and banks’ poor performance in Tanzania and South Sudan.

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Show Notes

00:01:58 Becoming an analyst

00:04:01 Bank financial statements and business models

00:14:41 Non-performing loans (NPLs)

00:27:28 StanChart's growth in loans and advances

00:31:34 Aggressive expansion across the region

00:43:15 Investment in government securities

00:48:23 Risk-based lending

00:50:55 Fair value losses

00:57:40 Dividend payouts

01:04:36 Privatizing poorly performing government-owned banks

01:06:12 Poor performance in Tanzania and South Sudan

01:09:57 H2 ‘22 outlook

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode in partnership with EFG Hermes Kenya and hosted by Joy Doreen Biira, we are joined by Lilian Olubi - EFG Hermes Nigeria CEO, Diane Karusisi - Bank of Kigali CEO, Phyllis Wakiaga - Industrialization Expert, and Rosie Ngure - Sustainability, ESG, and Impact Independent Consultant.

We talk about women making money moves in business. We also discuss the journey to the top, challenges that women face in pursuit of excellence, the gender pay gap, and opportunities available in business and finance.

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Show Notes

00:07:13 Is being referred to as ‘women in business’ condescending?

00:15:34 The journey to the top

00:47:24 Building a career + challenges women face

01:15:28 Handling disrespect in the workplace

01:20:43 Gender pay gap

01:25:15 Unconscious biases

01:26:51 Driving organizational culture

01:30:22 Opportunities available in business and finance

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode, we are joined by Adam Fitz - Regional Manager Camco Clean Energy, George Aluru - Chairperson ESAK and MD Ecoener Kenya, and Abubakar Ali - CFO Gulf Power to discuss Independent Power Producers (IPPs). We also discuss the key players in Kenya’s power sector, setting up and funding of IPP projects, as well as the future of the energy sector.

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Show Notes

00:02:40 Kenya’s power sector + key players

00:09:15 Setting up an IPP in Kenya

00:19:13 Funding of IPP projects

00:22:14 Impact of currency and policy on IPP projects

00:24:02 Tariffs

00:34:05 Kenya Power challenges

00:56:19 Capacity payment model and the future of the energy sector

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode, we are joined by Charlie Robertson - Global Chief Economist at Renaissance Capital, and Martin Mwirigi - Sovereign Debt Analyst at Standard Investment Bank to discuss Eurobonds. We also discuss how to invest in Eurobonds, the process of issuing a Eurobond by a country, and the crowding-out effect of the Governments’ local borrowing.

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Show Notes

00:00:00 Defining Eurobonds and Kenya's participation

00:08:14 Eurobonds across Africa

00:16:37 Investing in bonds in Kenya

00:23:51 The bond issuance process

00:35:38 Demand for Eurobonds in the Kenyan market

00:49:08 Ghana’s situation

00:54:24 Policy implications and crowding out

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode hosted by Ramah Nyang, we are joined by NCBA Bank CEO and Kenya Bankers Association Chairman, John Gachora, on a discussion on the dollar shortage the country is currently facing. Mucai Kunyiha, Chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, also joins us to share the perspective of manufacturers who have raised concerns about the unavailability of dollars.

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Show Notes

00:01:30 Is there a dollar shortage?

00:03:47 Price discovery

00:12:18 Speculative accumulation of dollars

00:17:44 Net foreign assets and capital flight

00:22:41 How do we fix the shortage?

00:30:38 Raising interest rates

00:40:21 Supply of dollars by CBK

00:50:55 Inflation

00:53:46 Impact on manufacturers

01:02:20 Balance of payment problem

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode, we host Centum CEO James Mworia to discuss the firm’s sale of its 83.4% stake in Sidian Bank to Access Bank. We discuss the performance of the investment, what informed the exit, Centum’s capital allocation strategy, the depressed share price, and GEM’s investment in Centum RE.

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Show Notes

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:13 Investment, performance, and exit from Sidian Bank

00:19:35 Capital allocation and bonuses

00:28:24 Future acquisitions and share buybacks

00:36:09 GEM’s investment in Centum RE

00:39:13 Dividend policy

00:41:54 Marketable securities and Centum’s NAV

00:45:19 Other businesses

00:48:34 The macro environment

00:56:32 Real estate and renewable energy

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode, we host Geoffrey Odundo - CEO at the NSE, Tim Staermose - Founder African Lions Fund, Kevin Ngige - Equities trader at Genghis Capital, and Johnson Nderi - Corporate Finance & Advisory at ABC Capital on a discussion on how to revitalize the NSE. We also cover the performance of the Kenyan capital markets, the investors’ calendar, NSE’s training programs, and high trading fees at the bourse.

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Show Notes

00:00:00 Introduction

00:07:30 Key players in the Kenyan capital markets

00:11:05 Role of NSE, CMA, and CDSC

00:17:11 The Tanzanian capital markets

00:19:38 East African vs Australian capital markets

00:22:54 Performance of the Kenyan capital market

00:39:42 Trading fees

00:44:43 Investors calendar, NSE training, and reporting of earnings

00:56:49 Retail bonds

01:08:14 Enforcement of regulations

01:24:15 Impact of policy

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode, in partnership with Market Map, we are joined by Sunil Sanger - MD Orion Advisory Services, Churchill Ogutu - Economist IC Group, and Kasiva Mutisya - Fixed Income Analyst as we deep dive into the East African bond markets. We discuss the details of investing in a government bond, trading in the secondary market, M-Akiba, and the impact of inflation on the bond market.

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Show Notes

00:00:00 Introduction

00:04:37 Bonds

00:07:59 Infrastructure bonds

00:08:53 Investing

00:14:54 Bidding

00:16:35 Other markets

00:25:59: M-Akiba

00:29:33 Corporate bonds

00:37:03 Amortization

00:42:48: Definition of terms

00:46:34 Clean vs dirty price

00:57:58 The secondary market

01:01:54 Impact of inflation on the bond market

01:08:00 Encumbered outstanding amount

Welcome to the Mwango Capital Podcast where we discuss topical issues on African capital markets.

In this episode, our host, Soud Hyder, is joined by Phares Kariuki - CEO Pure Infrastructure Limited, Eunice Kariuki - ICT Consultant, Wayne Gakuo - Google Developer Expert for Angular, and Conrad Akunga - Founder Innova, to discuss the scramble for tech talent in light of the arrival of Microsoft, Google, and Visa in Kenya.

We also discuss the role of policy in talent retention, the place of self-taught developers in the tech ecosystem, stock compensation, and the need for collaboration among tech stakeholders.

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Show Notes

00:00:00: Introduction

00:02:23: Tech evolution in Kenya

00:22:29: Tech talent shortage

00:29:53: Role of policy

00:38:48: An SME’s perspective

00:44:00: A developer’s perspective

00:54:28: Self-taught developers

01:06:39: Tech talent in the gig economy

01:08:43: Collaboration among tech stakeholders

01:22:11: Demand for software skills and skills drain

01:24:22: Binding work contracts

01:30:01: Andela effect

01:33:13: Stock compensation and valuations

01:30:03: Expectations for the next administration