The Hackathon, which opened for registration on 4th February, saw a total of 663 students register and compete to be among the top 120 shortlisted participants to take part as innovators.

Equity Group, in partnership with Microsoft, brought together hundreds of students for the virtual Hackathon which ran from the 17th of February to the 17th of March this year. The initiative challenged the students to be innovative and collaborate to build proofs of concept and minimum viable products for predefined business problems and social issues.

Speaking during the closing ceremony, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. James Mwangi appreciated the participants for the creativity and innovation that they displayed during the competition, he said, “This initiative has enabled us to see firsthand the wealth of innovation and creativity that we have in young people.

We are in a world needy to find innovative solutions, it gives me great pleasure to see the Academia and industry partner to find solutions to real-life challenges. I appreciate the students from Meru University and the University of Nairobi who accepted to take part in the Equity Hackathon.

”Microsoft Kenya ADC Program Manager, Irene Githinji noted that Kenya is emerging as an innovations hub, especially in the financial sector, and organizations need to start looking internally for solutions that will give them an edge in the market.

“We are indeed not surprised by the ideas we have seen these young students work on during the Hackathon. The spirit of innovation is ripe in Kenya and it is time for Kenyan corporates to start looking at local education institutions and technology hubs for the development of unique solutions for their business needs,” said Irene Githinji.

Commenting on the Hackathon, The University of Nairobi Dean of Students, Dr. Johnson Kinyua said, “such competitions provide our students with an opportunity to apply the theories that they have learnt in class into solutions that the world is looking for today, thereby preparing them to align their knowledge and skills to the demands of the job market.

”Further, Meru University of Science and Technology Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Romanus Odhiambo added that “Victory comes from finding opportunities in solving problems. I urge the students who have participated in the Equity Hackathon, to make the most out of this opportunity that they have been given.

The seeds planted today can blossom into global solutions. As institutions of learning, and through partnerships with the private sector, it is our duty to hone these skills for the benefit of our students and society at large.”

The Hackathon was phased into 4 stages, the first phase involved instructor-led and self-paced training of the participants on Microsoft Azure and the Business Problem Statements.

In the second stage, the students went through the coding with mentorship from representatives from Equity, the University of Nairobi, Meru University of Science and Technology and Microsoft. Their solutions then went through a 1st and 2nd knock off stage, which culminated in the selection of the 4 winners.

• The winner was team Rutela, from the University of Nairobi
• 1st runner up – team Jazia, from Meru University of Science and Technology
• 2nd runner up – Hubert Kimani, from the University of Nairobi
• 3rd runner up – Team Code Ninjas, from the University of Nairobi

The Hackathon winners walked away with exciting prizes; the winning group got a cash prize of Kes. 600,000, 3 months mentorship opportunity from Microsoft, Technical Cloud certificates for all team members and a gift hamper.

In addition, the 1st and 2nd Runners Up took home a cash prize of Kes. 250,000 and Kes. 150,000 respectively, a 3 months mentorship opportunity from Microsoft and a gift hamper. The 3rd Runners Up won Kes 100,000 and a gift hamper for each team member.

Maluki Muthusi from team Rutela which won first place in the competition stated that, “The Hackathon has enabled us to sharpen our skills and align them to the demands of the marketplace.

We are grateful for the guidance given to us by our lecturers and the teams from Equity and Microsoft throughout the competition and we look forward to applying the principles even beyond this competition, “he said.

Equity through the Hackathon seeks to tap the potential of participating students, encouraging them to be innovative, collaborate and create new design thinking while still in school.

The Bank has formed a linkage with universities to ensure that the collaborative effort by the two entities, academia and industry, will share their resources effectively and efficiently to attain mutually compatible goals of technological innovation, enhancing global competitiveness and performing as an engine for economic growth.

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It will also be available for online purchase through Jumia, Kilimall and SkyGarden. Pre-orders for the OPPO Reno 7 start on 25^th April 2021 as the first official sales will start on May 5^th.

OPPO will unveil the Reno7 at a virtual event that will be streamed live on the OPPO Kenya YouTube Page from 7.00 PM.  OPPO brand ambassadors, Bahati, Diana Marua and Wabosha Maxine will showcase the phone’s features and extensive capabilities.

The Reno 7 is powered by the world’s first ultra-sensing selfie IMX709 sensor manufactured by Sony and designed by OPPO. This guarantees sharper clearer and brighter unlimited selfie portrait images.

The rear triple camera set up provides a 64MP AI triple camera, a 2MP Depth Camera and a 2MP Microlens with 15x to 30x magnification.

The inclusion of the Microlens on the OPPO Reno7 involves more than simply making room for an additional lens on the phone. At the structural level, OPPO has made the decision to install the Microlens module on the back cover of the phone, rather than directly mounting it on the motherboard.

As the short focal length of the Microlens requires the phone to be placed very close to the objects being photographed, OPPO has also added a new Orbit Light underneath the Microlens to provide additional illumination while the Microlens is enabled.

Leveraging this flagship-level hardware, The Reno7 comes packed with impressive imaging features including Bokeh Flare Portrait, Selfie HDR, AI Portrait Enhancement, and many others so that users can capture the world in stunning, professional-quality portraits.

To create the colour and texture of the Sunset Orange Reno 7, OPPO makes use of its own Fiberglass-Leather design, bringing an entirely new tactile sensation to the Reno series in the process.

This texture is combined with a bright orange colour tone to make Sunset Orange a sophisticated choice in style. Lively, bright, extravagant, and at the same time suitable for both men and women, the passionate Sunset Orange makes the phone instantly recognizable while creating a premium feel with its leather texture.

The Reno 7’s other eye-catching colour finish; Cosmic Black, makes use of the iconic OPPO Glow effect to create a back cover that is glossy in appearance with a fingerprint-resistant matte texture.

The classic Cosmic Black model presents an immersive pondering black that is simple and pure in its design which creates a mesmerizing appearance as vast as the universe.

Also on the phone’s back cover, the spliced design of the camera module uplifts the premium appearance of the entire device, drawing eyes towards the high-tech camera module.

Reno7 5G has been created by the innovative use of the Laser Direct Imaging (LDI) manufacturing process on the exterior of a smartphone. The use of LDI technology is the first time LDI has ever been applied to the exterior design of a mobile device.

It is also the first time that OPPO itself has used laser engraving technology to perform additional precision processing on top of the OPPO Glow layer.

OPPO has applied LDI processing to draw 1. million micro-rasters, and each raster has been created with a precision of just 20 microns. This creates a visual and textural illusion of shooting stars streaming across the device that shine and fade into the black galaxy as the phone is held in the hand.

Available versions will include the 6GB RAM + 128 GB ROM, the 8GB RAM+128GB ROM and lastly, the 8GB RAM + 256GB ROM (available in 4G and 5G versions) will be priced at KSH 42,999 (4G) and KSH 59,999 (5G).

Keep it here for more details on specs and user reviews.

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OPPO Reno 7 series is expected to be a stunner in all aspects of design, performance and experience along with offering state-of-the-art portrait photography and videography capabilities. It aims to bring a new experience to consumers by combining innovative technology and stylish design.

“The OPPO Reno 7 brings out the latest styles and design technology to users through the introduction of the self-developed Fiberglass-Leather Design with a simple but effective spliced camera design,” reads a statement from OPPO.

The OPPO Reno 7 series will serve as a Portrait Expert with both enhanced camera capabilities and a myriad of features to turn everyone into a professional, allowing them to truly express themselves to the world. It will be equipped with a Professional-level imaging system and unparalleled DSLR-like performance.

Not only this, for the first time in the Reno Series, Reno 7 introduces the Microlens feature that helps you capture the smallest details that your eyes can’t see. The Reno7 is also the first smartphone to launch a Microlens feature in Kenya.

The phone also features the smart design that users have come to expect from the series, with a thin and lightweight body and other practical features to provide a new level of user-friendliness.

With these design innovations and more, Reno7 is a portable device built for young users around the world to express their world on their own terms.

Reno 7 includes two fresh colours; Sunset Orange and Cosmic Black. To create the colour and texture of the Sunset Orange Reno 7, OPPO makes use of its own Fiberglass-Leather design, bringing an entirely new tactile sensation to the Reno series in the process.

This texture is combined with a bright orange colour tone to make Sunset Orange a sophisticated choice in style. Lively, bright, extravagant, and at the same time suitable for both men and women, the passionate Sunset Orange makes the phone instantly recognizable while creating a premium feel with its leather texture.

Reno7 5G has been created by the innovative use of Laser Direct Imaging (LDI) manufacturing process on the exterior of a smartphone. The use of LDI technology is the first time LDI has ever been applied to the exterior design of a mobile device.

It is also the first time that OPPO itself has used laser engraving technology to perform additional precision processing on top of the OPPO Glow layer.

OPPO has applied LDI processing to draw 1.2 million micro-rasters, and each raster has been created with a precision of just 20 microns. This creates a visual and textural illusion of shooting stars streaming across the device that shine and fade into the black galaxy as the phone is held in the hand.

Keep it here as we unpack more details on specifications, pricing and user review.

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Since December 2019 when the first COVID-19 case was reported, the globe has oscillated from seasons of low incidences to high incidences. To date, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported various variants such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron, each with different levels of transmissibility and manifestation.

This has led to various forms of lockdowns and restrictions with some governments implementing stringent measures ranging from suspension of international flights, mandatory quarantines, night curfews, closure of businesses, schools, and international borders.

Some of these actions to mitigate the spread of the virus have impacted supply chains and reduced economic activities across the globe. Recently, we have noted increases in interest rates while inflation is becoming a concern in many countries, causing investors to rethink their investment strategies and asset allocations.

The arrival of vaccines brought about the much-needed relief from the adverse effects of the pandemic, however, the rollout has not been without its challenges especially their availability in developing countries.

This seesaw nature of the pandemic has increased the level of uncertainty in the environment and made the process of applying judgment related to estimates about the future more complex.

This has in turn increased the potential of material adjustments to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements. Users of the financial statements are therefore focusing more on disclosures that affect an entity’s future cash flows, particularly their timing and certainty.

IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements, is the accounting standard that provides guidance on the disclosure requirements for the assumptions an entity makes about the future and the sources of estimation uncertainty. In the current environment, users of financial statements are also paying more attention to the cashflows, liquidity and resilience of the balance sheet as the pandemic unfolds.

For instance, liquidity risk heightens where new variants of the virus result in further restrictions, thereby affecting the levels of cash inflows from operations. Information about the expected credit losses (ECL) including the judgements and assumptions in estimating the expected future cash flows is vital.

New and emerging risks could be captured within ECL by adding scenarios, updating weightings, and revisiting customer segmentation.

Additionally, information about loan covenants that might have not been a focus pre-covid will become critical now.

Users of the financial statements will seek to understand the impact of the current environment on the covenant breaches, and the likelihood of potential breaches or near-breaches of those covenants. Such breaches impact the classification of the loans, especially where no waivers have been obtained from the lenders before year-end.

Furthermore, as this pandemic poses a risk to the existing business model and the survival of the businesses, users of financial statements will seek information about the sensitivity analysis of the various estimates applied in financial reporting. Information on the future scenarios applied like what the base scenario, and upside or downside scenarios look like is vital.

The scenario analysis should provide insights on whether the entity will remain a going concern if there are changes to the current scenario and assumptions applied by management. Given the significant economic downturn, revenues and profitability could decline, including other factors that could cast doubt on the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern, these uncertainties should also be disclosed in the financial statements.

Therefore, management should take full advantage of the provisions in IAS 1 in estimating and disclosing these uncertainties. Paragraph 129 of IAS 1 requires entities to disclose information about the nature of assumptions, the sensitivity of carrying amounts to the methods, assumptions and estimates underlying their calculation, the expected resolution of uncertainty and the range of reasonably possible outcomes including changes made to previous assumptions.

Incorporating assumptions about the pandemic and its effects can be complex and subjective as the variables affecting possible future outcomes keep changing as the pandemic moves through different phases.

While management is provided with the opportunity to make assumptions and estimations, IAS 1 requires disclosure of the uncertainty in these estimations and the sensitivity of those assumptions.

Even though estimates are developed with a level of uncertainty, these should not be purely opinions but rather factual and documented with a process in place to monitor and update the data inputs. They should also be consistent from one period to the next and in principle, there should be no use of hindsight.

Finally, although the entity may still be a going concern, the pandemic has heightened the business risks entities face.

Sometimes it may be a ‘close call’ to conclude that an entity is a going concern thus additional disclosures on the judgements and material uncertainties including which scenarios and forward-looking information has been included in the going concern assessment will be required.

The correct application of these disclosures yields significant benefits to the users of an entity’s financial statements; therefore, management should make a conscious effort to ensure that information provided to users is relevant.

Akinyemi Awodumila is an Associate Director, Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services at PwC Kenya.  Esther Kimeu is Manager, Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services at PwC Kenya.

This article was first published on Pg 24,  Business Daily,  08/04/2022.

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Speaking on the initiative, Saadia Madsbjerg, President, The Coca-Cola Foundation said, “We recognize the challenges faced by the women in Mombasa and in so many communities across Africa; and we are proud to be part of the solution that will help them not just survive but thrive. We are excited about building economic resilience for these women, and we look forward to the testimonials of changed lives and renewed hope that will follow from this program.”

Most residents of Kenya’s slums are deprived of access to basic services like education, healthcare, and sanitation, and become more susceptible to economic hardship and domestic and community violence, particularly for women and youth. At the forefront of the challenges lies the high unemployment rate, which is estimated to be double the national level of unemployment. Furthermore, these economic deficiencies are further perpetuated in informal settlements where opportunities are scarce and, oftentimes, low paying and inconsistent.

“One of the enormous challenges faced by urban slum dwellers in Kenya is lack of consistent and/or dignified work. SHOFCO has been working with women and youth in the slums for more than a decade. We seek to combat the systemic challenges that perpetuate urban poverty. With additional resources from TCCF, we will be able to scale our work across additional slums and support more women and youth,” said Kennedy Odede, CEO SHOFCO

SHOFCO aims to improve economic opportunities and dignified work for slum dwellers.  The “Economic Empowerment for Youth and Women Living in the Urban Informal Settlements of Mombasa” program offers a range of opportunities focused on entrepreneurship and employability, based on the different educational and professional backgrounds of individuals in the slums. SHOFCO’s holistic approach to improving livelihoods is key to achieving their vision of a world where slum dwellers, particularly women and youth, have access to finance and the opportunities to tap into their full potential. As part of their vision to make dignified work and economic empowerment available for all, this project will serve to scale the Sustainable Livelihoods program over the next 12 months as slum entrepreneurs and small businesses continue to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19.

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This year, and for the first time since its 2006 inception in East Africa, the program introduces the ‘Superbrands Personality of The Year Award’. The accolade was presented to leading Kenyan sporting hero Kipchoge Keino. 

Receiving the award, the esteemed Keino noted that his hard work and focus made him a world-class competitor and urged brands to come together and support sports in the country.

“Let us work and improve sports in this country. Sports unite the youths of this country and the world and I’m sure we have a lot of talents in this country. Let us prepare and build facilities in various schools to support our youth. We can do it if we’re united and build facilities for our youths”

Amongst the many brands awarded with the Superbrand 2022 seal of excellence: are Safaricom, Betika, Elgon-Kenya, Kenya Red-Cross, Supaloaf, The Guardian (TZ) and Bank of Baroda (UG).

*Full listing shared below*

Brands recognised in this 7^th edition were derived from a 100% consumer insights survey conducted by TNS Kantar. Insights from the survey reflect current consumer sentiment of:

1. Opting for more affordable brands because of budget constraints brought about by job losses or pay cuts related to COVID19. More than 60% opting to go out of their way in search of best prices.
2. 77% of consumers were driven towards brands ‘with purpose’. Those that were committed to supporting communities in a meaningful capacity.
3. Gravitation towards betting and gambling in search of ‘quick money’ despite local industry turmoil and crackdown.

The sixth bi-annual Tribute Awards ceremony hosted over 150 captains of industry, CEO’s, decision makers and influencers. Amongst those attending included: Dr Vimal Shah of Bidco, Patricia Ithau of WPP Scangroup, Abbas Gullet of Red Cross and Darshan Chandaria of Chandaria Industries. The evening was hosted by MC personality Sheila Mwanyigah.

Speaking on the 2022 awards Jawad Jaffer, Project Manager Superbrands East Africa noted “The brands we pay tribute to in this 7^th East African edition have shown resilience and fortitude through the uncertainty of the pandemic. They have found focus in these extraordinary times to emerge as industry and category leaders through the lens of their consumers. They evolved with their customers without getting left behind and today they stand as examples of best practice. Superbrands is glad to recognize those embracing change. We salute you’.

The 2022 Listing

(The above listing is arranged in alphabetical order)

The post Superbrands Anounce East Africa’s Top 40 Brands appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

The donation worth over Ksh 36.8 million includes video switchers, a high definition audio-visual recorder, routing matrix, playout servers, and a Media Asset Management (MAM) Storage System among other TV studio items.

The donation cements the two institutions’ pioneering, 27-year-old, public-private partnership that began in 1995.

MultiChoice Kenya Limited was established in 1995 as a joint venture between KBC owning 40% stake locally and MultiChoice Africa Holdings (60% stake), a subsidiary of the MultiChoice Group to provide Subscriber Management Services (SMS) under the DStv brand.

Speaking when she presented the MultiChoice Africa Holdings donation, MultiChoice Kenya managing director Nancy Matimu lauded KBC for its support over the years.

“As a business, we thank you for the partnership that we have both enjoyed over the past 27 years and MultiChoice Kenya fully appreciates and supports your public broadcasting service mandate in Kenya. We appreciate that our business has grown hand-in-hand with the Kenyan economy by forging long-term partnerships with the Kenyan Government, the national broadcaster of which you are and entrepreneurs,” she said.

On his part, KBC Acting managing director, Samuel Maina lauded the 27-year-strong partnership that keeps getting stronger.

“In our quest to improve our picture and sound quality, KBC has in the recent past upgraded the video and audio formats to achieve an overall HD signal from content management to transmission. As part of the improvement process, KBC has been in partnership with Multichoice Kenya which has acquired modern broadcasting facilities to aid in the achievement of more efficient content and news management processes,” said Maina.

Maina says the equipment will greatly enhance the company’s automation of process workflows, storage of content, and archiving the content in digital formats.

The newsroom management system is also expected to transform KBC’s newsroom by re-engineering the editorial processes and setting the pace for convergence.

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Halal Pesa becomes the first Shariah-compliant mobile and digital financial solution in the country. Customers accessing financing through the service will receive the amount requested in full with a repayment period of 30 days at a 5% commodity Murabaha margin.

“Kenya is now a highly innovative, interconnected and fast-paced community that requires solutions on the go. All our digital offerings, including Halal Pesa, seek to directly address this aspect. Our current strategy is focused on digitization for financial inclusion. Our aim is to provide instantaneous access to interest-free credit through Halal Pesa. We are glad that we could partner with a like-minded partner like Safaricom limited to advance this vision,” said Abdalla Abdulkhalik, MD – Gulf African Bank.

Halal Pesa will empower M-PESA customers who have previously been locked out of access to financing due to barriers such as the lack of Shariah modelled mobile facilities.

“We remain keen on partnerships that enable us to provide a wide variety of financial solutions that meet the diversified needs of our customers further broadening financial inclusion to ensure that we leave no one behind. Gulf African Bank is a strategic partner that will enable us to deliver affordable and convenient M-PESA services such as Halal Pesa that are Shariah-compliant in accordance to the Islamic faith,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO -Safaricom.

All M-PESA customers can access Halal Pesa as a Mini App under the “Grow” option on the M-PESA Super App and by dialling *334# under “Loans and Savings”. Customers will initially be provided with a personalised facility limit based on their M-PESA usage. The limit can be increased based on a customer’s usage of Halal Pesa.

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The Coca-Cola Foundation has invested a total of Kshs. 25.7 million in the program which is designed to provide long-term interventions to boost the income and nutrition of the slums households through mothers living in slums. It targets mothers in three informal settlements in the Coastal region: Kongowea, Kisauni & Changamwe and will provide beneficiaries with training on urban farming, food processing training, business development skills, briquette making and gardening kits.

“This program addresses a fundamental pillar for our company, which is the economic empowerment of women. We are delighted to be a part of this program because the benefits will be shared by the families and communities as well and therefore uplifting the standards of living for the communities,” said Saadia Madsbjerg, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation said.

The focus on a small scale and vulnerable farmers in Kenya resonates with the Big 4 Agenda and the Zero hunger sustainable development goals. Agriculture currently contributes 26% of Kenya’s GDP. The sector accounts for 65% of export earnings. It is, therefore, crucial to address the core of this fundamental pillar. Food security and economic empowerment for these women. The Covid 19 pandemic has decimated these efforts and more so in the informal settlements.

“The effect of the Covid 19 pandemic on the informal settlement households has increasingly been devastating. Recovery at the national level is gradually taking shape and we have taken it upon ourselves to assist communities to come out of the aftershocks of the pandemic and its effects on their livelihoods,” said Judy Matu, Founder and Chairperson of the Association of Women in Agriculture, Kenya (AWAK).

She added, “The Coca-Cola Foundation and AWAK have a shared interest in the economic empowerment of our women and communities. The beauty of this program is that it not only addresses the issue of economic empowerment of our women, but also the nutrition of their families which is essential for the general wellbeing of our communities.”

The 12-month program will offer economic empowerment to the women and their families, contribute to the food security in the settlements by offering readily available, affordable, and healthy food options as well as improve the livelihoods of the families by providing them with an alternative source of income.
The mothers will be trained on how to process superfoods like cassava, sweet and Irish potatoes into nutritious flours. They will also learn baking skills with the flour processed and also sell the flour.
Gardening groups will receive gardening kits which will comprise gardening bags, seedlings, and other inputs.

Another group will be trained on how to convert biomass waste into briquettes to help solve the pollution and waste management crisis in the communities.
The 2500 mothers will be expected each to train 3 other mothers bringing the total trainees to 7500 and indirect beneficiaries to 37,500.

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Natbank Trustee & Investment Services Head & Principal Officer, Victor Odendo said: “Despite a challenging year, we achieved an impressive funds and earnings growth.  The growth mirrors our continued commitment towards delivering solutions that resonate with our clients.”

The Principal Officer added that Natbank would continue to review opportunities in high growth areas of the business.

“Looking into 2022, we intend to dedicate our resources to enriching our range of investment products to make them attractive and accessible to both existing and potential investors.  Further, the rollout of our improved ICT platform will significantly serve to enhance our service delivery and customer experience in line with the Group’s digital leader and digital to the core agenda” said Mr. Odendo.

“Our primary ambition is to differentiate our offering by way of realigning ourselves towards delivering an unparalleled investment proposition to all our clients supported by superior customer experience.  We will therefore continue to operate as a responsible brand and we will discharge our professional mandate for the best interest of our clients.’’

Natbank offers a variety of products and services tailored to meet clients’ demand and risk profile.  Our private wealth management services is available to private investors who would like to have a unique portfolio that best suits their investment needs.  We also extend our services to the pensions sector through segregated fund management and also easier access to our registered retirement benefits schemes that is the Natbank umbrella fund, the Natbank individual pension plan and the Natbank income drawdown to help clients build wealth for their retirement.  Natbank recently received regulatory approval to offer unit trust products consisting of equity fund, balanced fund, bond fund and money market fund.

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