Top 5 Best SUVs for 2018

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Top 5 Best SUVs for 2018

Special Correspondent - May 21, 2018

With even exotic brands like Bentley, Maserati, and Lamborghini now selling their own super-premium sport-utility vehicles, it seems that a not-so-subtle takeover of the...

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Stanbic Holdings Plc (“the Company”) has posted a Profit After Tax (PAT) of KES 6.5 billion and delivered a return on equity of 17.4% in the half year ended 30th June 2025. Stanbic Holdings PLC’s performance for the period was underpinned by resilient non-interest revenue generation and lower credit impairment charges, which helped cushion the impact of a decline in net interest income. The listed lender, with operations in Kenya and South Sudan, noted that while year-on-year organic growth remained subdued, its continued focus on operational excellence and robust risk management enhanced its fortitude and strengthened its long-term growth outlook. During the period, Stanbic recorded a 9% increase in active clients, driven by the continued optimization of its products and digital platforms. This growth, coupled with targeted client support initiatives, strengthened the Bank’s credit position, contributing to a 4% expansion in the balance sheet from the December 2024 closing position. Speaking on the half-year performance, Dr Joshua Oigara stated, ‘’ The Kenyan economy remained stable amidst persistent headwinds. Nonetheless, some pressures persist as evidenced by sluggish private sector credit uptake, high fiscal deficits and geopolitical risks. Our focus in this period was largely on supporting our clients navigate shifting market conditions, while fortifying our growth through robust risk management, capital strength and well managed liquidity levels. We believe that our business will continue to demonstrate resilience and keep momentum even as the market continues to post recovery.’ During the reporting period, all four business lines demonstrated robustness and strategic execution. Corporate and Investment Banking played a key role in facilitating a new USD 1.5 billion Eurobond issuance, Tender Offer for the Republic of Kenya, reinforcing our leadership in sovereign advisory. Business and Commercial Banking continued to support the real economy, disbursing KES 16.4 billion in loans to SMEs across various sectors. Personal and Private Banking achieved a fourfold increase in scheme disbursements, reflecting growing client demand and effective distribution. We also made significant strides in digital banking, with the enhancement of our Omni Channel mobile app, introducing key features that drove active users beyond 100,000 mark. The Insurance and Asset Management business maintained positive momentum, with assets under management surpassing KES 4 billion (in nine months since launch), underscoring the strength of our diversified financial services offering. Notably, Stanbic Bank, the Company’s main subsidiary, was ranked among the top 5 banks in SME lending by the Kenya Banker’s Association, with the lender allocating capital to impact sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, and trade, delivering both returns and national development outcomes in the first half of the year. The Bank was also awarded the 2nd runners up on the Best Bank to Borrow from and Best Bank in Mortgage Finance at the Think Business Awards. Commenting on the performance, Dennis Musau, Chief Financial and Value Officer said, ‘’ Our H1 2025 results signal steady progress, anchored in a stable macroeconomic climate and recovering private sector credit growth. Commercial lending to the private sector grew by 2.0% in May, up from a contraction of 2.9% in January—signalling a rebound in demand alongside easing interest rates. We continue to refine our strategic focus, leveraging our core strengths to unlock long-term value and deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders in an evolving market landscape.’’ The Bank recorded an NPL ratio of 9.5%, which is below industry levels at 17.6%, and representative of a healthy asset book. ‘’ Credit quality is a priority for us, which is why we have adopted a proactive, data-led approach to managing risk. We have strengthened our credit assessment frameworks and developed sector-specific models that enable us to better anticipate and support clients during volatile cycles," Musau added. The Bank also reduced its lending rates by 180bps cumulatively in response to Kenya’s easing monetary policy stance. Financial Performance Summary: During the first half of 2025, Stanbic Holdings Plc delivered a robust performance amidst a dynamic operating environment, with key highlights as follows: Profit after tax declined by 9% to KES 6.5 billion, largely impacted by lower net interest income and elevated operating expenses, primarily due to prior year base effects. Trading revenue contracted by 7%, reflecting the impact of narrower margins in the current period. Customer numbers grew by 9%, driven by effective market positioning and continued investment in customer experience. Other non-interest revenue excluding trading revenue rose by 9%, supported by higher customer transaction volumes and a more diverse suite of product offerings. Operating expenses increased by 16%, attributable to 2024 base effects, driven by the appreciation of the Kenya Shilling as well as investments in long-term strategic initiatives. The cost-to-income ratio stood at 48.1%, reflecting a contraction in total income alongside elevated cost levels. Credit impairment charges decreased by 26%, underlining enhanced risk management practices and improved credit portfolio quality. Customer deposits closed at KES 330 billion, a 4% increase from December 2024, while loans and advances stood at KES 233 billion, representing a 1% growth over the same period. The NPL ratio remained at 9.5%, as the Bank continues to prioritize asset quality and proactive credit management. The Bank recorded a Return on Equity (ROE) of 17.37%, supported by active capital and liquidity management across the portfolio. Strengthening Impact and Delivering Value – H1 2025 Highlights Stanbic Bank continued to advance its sustainability agenda during the first half of 2025, directing funding and capacity-building efforts across four key impact areas: enterprise growth and job creation, infrastructure development and a just energy transition, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and financial inclusion. Key sustainability achievements include: Issuance of KES 4.5 billion towards green infrastructure projects Lending of KES 1.2 billion to support climate-smart agriculture Disbursement of KES 900 million under the affordable housing program enabling over 200 new homeowners Facilitation of KES 94.8 billion in trade loans, driving economic activity Planted 30k trees as part of climate change mitigation Through the Stanbic Kenya Foundation, the Group deepened its social impact via strategic partnerships with GIZ, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, American Tower Corporation, and Microsoft Corporation. These collaborations supported job creation, financial inclusion, and youth empowerment. Notably, the Foundation disbursed KES 24 million in catalytic loans to MSMEs and delivered financial literacy and entrepreneurship training to over 33,000 women entrepreneurs across Kenya. In recognition of this performance and commitment to shareholder returns, the Group has recommended an interim dividend of KES 3.80 per share, marking a 106.5% increase year-on-year.

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Financial infrastructure firm, Tala, has launched a tokenized lending platform to cater to borrowers without a banking history in the world. It plans to deploy $50 million credit facility via the platform in USDC to power blockchain-enabled, permission-less lending for millions of global customers. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) underwritten consumer lending tool, in partnership with Huma Finance, is the first of its kind in Kenya and is powered by Solana and supported by USDC liquidity facilitated by the Huma Protocol For billions of consumers who lack access to traditional banking services and credit history systems, tokenized lending offers faster and more reliable access to credit, better rates through a global capital network, and a portable, digital reputation that enables broader participation in the global economy. Tala’s existing customer base of nearly 13 million across multiple emerging markets creates immediate scale for blockchain adoption. "After a decade operating across multiple emerging markets, we know how to translate frontier technologies into real-world financial power," said Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO, Tala. "By pairing Tala’s trusted platform with the power of blockchain technology, together with Huma and Solana, we can expand financial access, eliminate systemic inefficiencies, and help millions become active participants in the global digital economy.” The solution is powered by Tala’s proprietary credit engine, which has been trained on $7 billion in lending performance data across multiple continents. That dataset—largely invisible to banks and most AI systems—gives Tala the ability to evaluate borrowers who have historically been overlooked by the global financial system. By tokenizing these loans in an overcollateralized lending facility and connecting them to Huma’s liquidity pools, Tala unlocks a new funding mechanism for emerging market credit, bringing global capital directly to high-demand markets transparently and efficiently. Speaking during the launch, Erbil Karaman, Co-Founder of Huma Finance, said that Tala’s team has over a decade of experience in scaling high-performance lending programmes while providing financial access to tens of millions of people who need it the most.

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December 16, 2025

Kenya’s cloud and artificial intelligence boom may be entering its most consequential phase yet, as new data suggests local consultancies, AI startups and systems integrators stand to earn dramatically more from Amazon Web Services (AWS) than previously understood. A study by US-based research firm Omdia reveals that AWS partners worldwide can now generate “up to a $7.13 (Sh900) multiplier for every $1 (Sh130) of AWS sold,” a figure with enormous implications for East Africa’s technology ecosystem. The report, titled "Partner Ecosystem Multiplier: The AWS Opportunity 2025," was released on the sidelines of the AWS: Re-Invent event in Las Vegas, Nevada, which kicked off on December 1 and ends on December 5. It reached this conclusion after Omdia conducted in-depth interviews with 35 AWS partners across various geographies and partner types. The report’s central argument is blunt: in a region where businesses are hungry for automation, resilient infrastructure, and AI-powered customer engagement, the biggest revenue doesn’t come from selling cloud technology itself. Instead, it comes from the advisory, design, build, adoption, and managed services wrapped around it, the same areas where Kenyan firms have sought to differentiate themselves. “In the new era of AI, Omdia has forecasted a services opportunity tied to generative and agentic AI of $267 billion by 2030,” the research notes, positioning partners as the engines of this expansion. With Kenya’s financial institutions, telcos, and public agencies accelerating cloud migrations, the findings sharpen the conversation about who will capture the next decade of revenue. Kenyan companies already recognize the shift. For years, Kenya’s cloud market has revolved around foundational migrations: moving banks off aging data centres, helping enterprises modernize digital infrastructure, or building customer-facing platforms with elasticity and scale. But companies across Nairobi’s tech districts, from Westlands to Upper Hill to Ngong Road, are now repositioning their services for an AI-first world. The Omdia numbers help make the business case. The report states bluntly that 82 per cent of AWS partners are now delivering some form of AI as part of their transformation delivery, a seismic shift that mirrors Kenya’s adoption pattern: AI chatbots in banking, machine learning in fraud detection, recommender engines in e-commerce, and predictive analytics in agriculture and logistics. “Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to be the market-leading provider of public cloud infrastructure in terms of market share. For customers to unlock the full opportunities of AI in their public cloud environments, they lean on a wide variety of services and expertise from their technology providers, specifically the partners within the AWS Partner Network.”

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Top 5 Best SUVs for 2018

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