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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 3 – The Commission for University Education has approved an application by Zetech University to offer its inaugural Doctorate Degree Program.

The university, which has its main campus in Ruiru, Kiambu county, said the newly approved Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration & Management (PhD. BAM).

The Program aims to produce doctoral graduates who are problem solvers and innovative change agents both in academia and in the practical field of business administration and management.

”After a robust assessment and engagement, the Commission for University Education was satisfied that Zetech University has adequate facilities, human, library and financial resources, and consequently approved the university’s request to offer a PHD Program. This approval comes as Zetech University celebrates 25 years of scholarly excellence,’’ Zetech University Vice Chancellor Prof. Njenga Munene said in a statement yesterday

Prof. Munene said the PhD in Business Administration and Management Program targets professionals, scholars, and executives who would want to advance in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology, Strategic Management, Procurement, Supply Chain and Logistics, Financial Management and Investments, Human Resource Management, Business Intelligence, and Data Analytics.

The program is scheduled to commence in January 2024 and will be hosted in the School of Business and Economics at the University.

Prof. Munene noted that the approval of the program by the commission, cements its commitment to provide innovative and market driven programmes that are market driven.

“The approval of this program by the CUE is a public acceptance and confirmation that Zetech University is committed to meeting the standards of academic excellence set by the Commission for University Education,” the VC added

He said the program will enable doctoral students to analyze contemporary business management and administration issues within their areas of specialization.

The institution said the students will also be expected to conduct solution-based research, analyze business problems and craft suitable alternative solutions.

The university hopes the program will prepare the learners to develop relevant networks and associations at the local and global fora of academic communities for the advancement of knowledge where the students will be prepared to analyse large quantitative & qualitative data sets for data driven decision making.

By BUSINESS DAILY

Billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite internet firm Starlink has appointed e-commerce platform Jumia Technologies as its first distributor of satellite terminals and connectivity kits in Africa.

Jumia said the agreement will see it start selling the kits on its sites and through agents, using Nigeria and Kenya as a launch pad before rolling out the distributorship to the rest of the continent.

The products will be in the Nigerian market before the end of this month while Kenya will wait a little longer.

Read: Kenya to connect remote villages to internet

“For Kenya, it will take some time as there is no supply yet inside the country, so we would not commit on a date for now; we will work together with Starlink on that,” Jumia global head of communications Abdesslam Benzitouni said in an email response to Business Daily.

Mr Benzitouni said the partnership will not introduce a new pricing model, but that Jumia will sell the hardware kits, which consist of the Starlink dish, a mounting stand, cables and a power source, at the Ksh89,000 ($600) price indicated on Starlink’s website.

The pact is set to help Starlink sell terminals in areas that lack formal addresses and city mapping, while Jumia will reap from being the first to bag the distributorship deal on the continent.

The Elon Musk-owned internet firm operationalised its services in the Kenyan market in July this year, setting the stage for intensified competition with local players such as Safaricom, Jamii Telecommunications and Zuku.

Read: Elon Musk’s satellite data firm enters Kenya market

At the time, the firm which is an outgrowth of Musk’s space technology company SpaceX, appointed local internet firm Karibu Connect as its first authorised reseller in the country.

The Starlink satellite technology supports services that are not possible with traditional terrestrial solutions, allowing unmodified smartphones to connect to satellites in areas with coverage gaps.

Fears about uptake, however, arose after it emerged that subscribers would require Ksh100,000 ($674) upfront to install in addition to Ksh6,500 ($43.84) monthly.

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A customer attendant serves a client at Rubis Energy along Koinange Street Nairobi on June 14, 2023. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG

Fuel consumption between January and June dropped to the lowest levels in more than five years, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, amid high pump prices that depressed demand and pushed the middle class to keep their cars at home.

Official data show that consumption of super petrol dropped five percent to 1.01 billion litres from 1.074 billion litres last year while that of diesel fell four percent to 1.31 billion litres compared to 1.36 billion in the same period.

This is the lowest consumption of the two fuels in five years, excluding 2020 when restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus led to reduced demand from the transport and manufacturing sectors.

Read: Government now takes up to Sh79 in tax for every litre of fuel

The drop is likely to impact the growth of the country’s gross domestic product since fuel consumption is one of the major drivers of the economy.

Consumption is expected to dip even further in the second half of this year when the impact of the doubling of Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel to 16 percent and discontinuation of the price stabilisation scheme that has since sent pump prices to historic highs is captured.

“We are dealing with several governments and the suppliers of these products. We are likely to be going to even harder times,” Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said last month.

A litre of super petrol is currently retailing at Sh211.64 in Nairobi while that of diesel is going for Sh200.99 following the last pricing review in mid-September, with the government warning of even higher costs in the coming months.

Consumers had been grappling with costly fuel even before the record-high prices announced two weeks ago after the State started a phased withdrawal of a subsidy scheme that was used to cushion Kenyans for two years.

In the monthly pricing review that kicked in from March 14, a litre of super petrol rose to Sh179.30 from Sh177.30 the previous month.

Prices of diesel jumped to Sh168.40 in that monthly cycle from Sh162 the previous month, hitting consumers in Kenya’s largely diesel-run economy.

Consumption of diesel stood at 1.16 billion litres while that of super petrol was 868.68 million litres in the first six months of 2020 after the country imposed restrictions following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Diesel consumption dropped sharply in the months of April, May and June in 2020 in the wake of an economic shutdown due to the stringent measures imposed by the government to curb the spread of the virus.

Diesel is the dominant fuel for public transport service providers and the agricultural sector for powering machinery such as tractors and harvesters. The fuel is also used by thermal power plants to generate electricity.

Kerosene, the other fuel that has been under the subsidy scheme since 2021 and which is used for lighting and cooking by low-income homes, also posted a drop in the first half of this year.

Consumption of kerosene dipped to its lowest, including the coronavirus period, with homes using 43.59 million litres between January and June this year, a 27.6 percent drop from 60.21 million litres in a similar period last year.

Between January and June 2020 when the country was thrown into a Covid-induced lockdown, homes used 119.1 million litres of kerosene — the highest in a similar period since 2019.

The State scrapped the fuel subsidy in the monthly pricing schedule to October 14, sending fuel prices to sky-levels and hitting demand, with traffic snarl-ups significantly going down in the past two weeks.

Kenya had since 2021 been subsidising pump prices to ease the impact of high global prices of refined fuel, but pressure from the International Monetary Fund and struggles by the Exchequer to compensate oil marketers prompted the withdrawal of the scheme.

The impact of the high pump prices will be reflected in the consumption data for the period between July and December.

Businesses have already warned that they may be forced to lower production or hike prices in the wake of a spike in energy costs, setting up Kenyans for tougher days ahead.

Kenya and Uganda now have the joint highest prices of diesel and super petrol in East Africa, significantly higher than those of Tanzania, Rwanda and DR Congo.

Read: Ruto’s fuel cushion U-turn unsettles investors

A litre of diesel is going for the equivalent of Sh189.38 in Tanzania, Sh177.72 in Dr Congo and Sh180.64 in Rwanda.

Super petrol is retailing at Sh186.47 in Tanzania, Sh179.18 in DR Congo and Sh198.12 in Kigali, Rwanda. Prices of refined fuel have been on the rise since the beginning of this year, a situation that has been worsened by the decision by major oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, to cut supply.

This has had a knock-on effect on economic activities in non-oil-producing countries such as Kenya, which imports all of its fuels.

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From left: Twiga Group CEO Peter Njonjo and Incentro Africa CEO Dennis De Weerd. PHOTOS | NMG | POOL

Agritech firm Twiga Foods has blocked the push by a cloud services provider to liquidate it over an alleged Sh39 million debt.

The firm owned by billionaire Peter Njonjo has obtained temporary orders blocking Incentro Africa Ltd from proceeding with the liquidation plan after disputing the debt.

Twiga informed Justice Josephine Mong’are that the liquidation petition was being motivated by an ulterior motive and that it was filed in retaliation after it reached out directly to Google Ireland, the ultimate provider of the cloud services, to protest how the billing account was entered into, structured and managed.

Justice Mong’are directed the matter to be heard on Tuesday morning.

“That Incentro Africa is acting unreasonably in pursuing liquidation of the company instead of pursuing other remedies as set out in the agreement between the parties,” the firm said in the petition.

Read: Twiga tycoon Peter Njonjo transfers Ruto’s 20,000-acre deal to private company

Twiga moved to court after it was served with an undated demand for $261,878, which was also lodged in court on September 4.

The agritech firm’s head of legal, Daniel Ngugi, said the demand was defective because it had been presented prematurely.

Mr Ngugi further said the Google Cloud services provider made the demand in bad faith and in an attempt to compel Twiga to settle a non-existent debt.

“That in the event that Incentro Africa is allowed to file and publish a liquidation petition, it will cause extreme damage to the company because of the wrongful impression to its employees, business partners, bankers, creditors and partners and the Kenya Revenue Authority that the company is insolvent,” he said.

Mr Ngugi said any liquidation proceedings would trigger cross default for all the company’s lenders for all its loan obligations, which it is currently servicing.

Twiga is a business-to-business marketplace platform that sources produce directly from farmers and delivers it to urban retailers, through a mobile-based cashless (B2B) supply platform, to access distribution into the millions of small and medium-size vendors in urban markets.

To operationalise and optimise its business, the firm had to engage a cloud services provider and the distributor has been using Incentro’s Google Cloud platform reseller account.

“For its suppliers, the threatened liquidation proceedings would extinguish the credit terms the company has, putting the company in a negative working capital position,” Mr Ngugi said.

He said the cloud services contract was executed between Twiga and an entity known as Incentro Africa BV, which is a separate legal entity from Incentro Africa Ltd.

Incentro Africa, whose CEO is Dennis De Weerd, cannot therefore benefit or claim from the terms of that contract and the statutory demand is therefore defective and unmerited, Mr Ngugi said.

The company was registered on December 19, 2013, and it says it currently employs 600 permanent and 1,500 temporary workers. It provides off-take service to 7,000 registered farmers and distributes products to 40,000 vendors registered under the platform.

The cloud services agreement was purportedly amended through an undated Google addendum, and executed between Incentro Africa BV and Twiga.

However, Twiga says the addendum is invalid and unenforceable, as Incentro Africa BV is a distinct and separate legal entity from Incentro Africa Ltd.

In the addendum, Twiga allegedly committed to a minimum obligation in its expenditure for Google platform services and technical support services.

The minimum commitment allegedly totalled to $3,034,007 and was spread through a three-year period. The minimum commitment obligation was purported to service termination of the cloud services agreement.

It also introduced a partner services fund, through which Twiga committed itself to use authorised partner services from Incentro Africa BV and in return, Google would pay to Incentro Africa $168,000.

The amount demanded includes unutilised and accrued partner services funds plus interest and professional totalling to $244,008.

A month later, Mr Ngugi said, Twiga was served with another demand for payment of $261,878 arising from Google cloud services and partner service funds.

Read: Twiga Foods fires 130 sales agents

The food distributor says a reconciliation of its account with Incentro reveals that the only outstanding amount for usage of Google cloud services is Sh13.2 million.

The firm says in a two-year period, it has paid Incentro Africa Sh95 million, which goes to demonstrate good faith and intention to honour its contractual obligations.

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Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has today unveiled the online auction as part of its technological strategies aimed at streamlining tax administration procedures to enhance service delivery and improve revenue collection.

While announcing the shift on Monday, the taxman says the move follows a successful piloting of the online auction, through which KRA collected Kshs 37.5 million.

“The process will boost government efforts to decongest ports and ensure cargo is cleared in a timely and efficient manner,” KRA Commissioner General, Humphrey Wattanga said

Speaking during the Taxpayers’ Month Launch at Customs House, Mombasa, Wattanga noted that the online auction will give taxpayers the opportunity to appreciate transparency of the bidding process.

He noted that the negotiation process will be faster and accessible to registered taxpayers countrywide and globally.

“In the spirit of giving back to taxpayers, we are calling on those who have accrued interests up to December 2022 to take advantage of our Tax Amnesty programme and pay up the principal taxes due, so that we can write off the penalties and interests accrued.” said Mr Wattanga.

The Commissioner General said KRA is constantly determined to enhance voluntary compliance among taxpayers and urged taxpayers to embrace the programme before it closes in 30th June, 2024.

“All taxpayers are welcome to apply for waiver; for those who did not file their returns and accrued penalties for non-filing, they automatically qualify, and should go ahead and file their returns,” he said

The taxman says the agency expects to collect approximately Kshs. 50 billion from the tax amnesty programme.

Speaking during the unveiling of the online auction, Cabinet Secretary, of National Treasury And Economic Planning, Prof Njuguna Ndung’u said the Tax Amnesty programme is one of the government’s fiscal policy measures aimed at cushioning Kenyans and strengthening economic resilience during the adverse domestic and external headwinds being experienced globally.

The CS said that the Government is cognizant of the current changing environment and will continue to support private businesses’ capacity to adapt through reforms.

“Tax amnesties are projected to bring in additional revenue as taxpayers voluntarily report and pay taxes that may never be collected by the Government. The amnesty programme is expected to improve tax compliance as tax administrations learn from taxpayers’ previous behaviours, thereby allowing them to plan better.” said the CS.

The KRA Commissioner General said the authority will continue embracing technology in its quest to enhance tax compliance. He said the taxman has embraced a collaborative business model which incorporates taxpayers’ feedback.

Among the technologies that showcase this is the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS), rolled out in February 2023. A total of 95,732 VAT registered taxpayers had onboarded eTIMs by the end of FY 2022/23. according to KRA, eTIMS has helped minimise VAT fraud and increased tax revenue.

At the same time, Mr Wattanga said KRA has also integrated its systems with betting and gaming companies, with the aim of streamlining tax remittances from the sector and scaling up revenue collection.

“The programme has enabled KRA to make significant improvements in the sector’s tax administrative processes, with the daily visibility of the firms providing trends that inform compliance measures,” he said

Board Chair of the Digital Lenders Association of Kenya (DLAK), Kevin Mutiso speaks at a past event on September 12, 2023, at Movenpick Hotel in Nairobi. PHOTO | BILLY OGADA | NMG

Digital lenders have raised the minimum loan value to above Sh1,000 on the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) regulations that barred them from negatively listing defaulters on small ticket mobile phone credit.

This is after the lenders were spooked by default rates on loans below Sh1,000, making them to effect the review to be able to list defaulters with the credit reference bureaus (CRBs).

Read: CBK licensing unlocks funding nightmare for digital lenders

Digital Financial Services Association of Kenya (DFSAK) says its members have had to evolve with the CBK (Digital Credit Providers) Regulations, 2022 which, among other things, barred them from listing defaulters on below Sh1,000 debt.

“The law is very clear that amounts below Sh1,000 cannot be reported so the limit for most of our loans is now closer to Sh2,000. We are very strict on the type of customers we give loans to nowadays,” said Kevin Mutiso, chairperson at DFSAK, on phone.

“Customers are still similar but what we have done is reduce the probability for default. So those who used to borrow say Sh500 on our platform now can’t.”

The CBK had by March licensed 32 digital credit providers, binding them to the regulations that also bar them from using obscene or profane language or making “unauthorised or unsolicited calls or messages to a customer’s contacts” in the name of recovering defaulted loans.

DFSAK, formerly the Digital Lenders Association of Kenya, previously found that 55.5 percent of its borrowers use the loan amount to boost the working capital for small businesses while 24.8 percent use it to cover unexpected expenses. Another 13 percent use it to pay school fees.

Read: Ten more digital lenders get the go ahead from regulator

Digital lenders have been keen to shield themselves from high default rates, having seen this trend from April 2020 to part of last year when the CBK blocked them from listing defaulters with CRBs due to the misuse of the credit information platform.

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