SEOUL, South Korea, Aug 25 – The heir to the Samsung business empire, which includes the world’s biggest smartphone maker, arrived at court Friday to hear the verdict in his corruption trial over the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-Hye.

Prosecutors had demanded a 12-year sentence for Lee Jae-Yong, which could leave the giant firm rudderless for years and hamper its ability to make key investment decisions.

The vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics stepped from a justice ministry bus handcuffed, bound with white rope around his dark jacket, and carrying an envelope of documents as he walked into Seoul Central District Court

Lee, 49, faces multiple charges including bribery, embezzlement and perjury stemming from the scandal, centred on payments and promises by Samsung totalling 43.3 billion won (around $40 million) to Park’s secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil.

Prosecutors say the money was in return for policy favours including government support for Lee’s hereditary succession at the group after his father was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014.

The defence says it was pressured by Park to make the donations under duress and that Lee was not aware of them and did not approve them. Four other top Samsung executives are also on trial.

The demonstrators who mounted giant candlelit protests against Park last year also targeted Lee and other chiefs of the chaebols, as the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy are known.

South Korea’s GDP is still growing but social and economic frustrations have mounted over the benefits not being equally shared.

Around 800 riot police were deployed around the Seoul Central District Court to prevent possible clashes between rival sets of demonstrators, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The court refused permission for the verdict to be broadcast live, in contrast to the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Park’s impeachment in March.

It was deluged with hundreds of applications for the 30 seats in courtroom 417 available to members of the public, which were allocated by lottery.

Park’s own trial began in the same room in May, and it also saw Lee’s father Lee Kun-Hee convicted of tax and other offences in 2008, receiving a suspended sentence.

‘Ruling family’

Chaebols have long had murky connections with political authorities in South Korea, and past trials of their leaders have often ended with light or suspended sentences, with courts citing their contributions to the economy.

“The court should not apply overly lenient standards to the chaebol,” the pro-business JoongAng Ilbo newspaper which used to be a part of the Samsung group said in an editorial ahead of the ruling.

“At the same time, it must not be swayed by unidentified civic groups that pretend to reflect public opinion,” it added.

The Lee clan directly owns about five percent of Samsung Electronics shares but maintains its grip on the wider group through a byzantine web of cross-ownership stakes involving dozens of companies.

One of the favours Lee allegedly sought from Park was state approval for a controversial merger of two Samsung units in 2015, seen as a key step to ensuring his accession.

The deal was opposed by shareholders who said it wilfully undervalued shares of one of the firms. But it eventually went through after the national pension fund a major Samsung shareholder approved it.

Lee has been Samsung’s de facto leader since his father fell ill, but his lawyers and ex-members of the former elite Future Strategy Office (FSO), which dictated the vast group’s overall direction and major business decisions, sought to portray him as naive and inexperienced.

He had “never attended a single one” of the weekly FSO-led meetings for the heads of Samsung units, Lee told the court, and “rarely expressed my opinions” on issues such as the merger. Instead he “mostly listened to other executives”, he said.

Analysts differ on the potential impact of the verdict and sentence on Samsung.

Major chaebol decisions on large-scale acquisitions or investments “are often endorsed by the patriarch of a ruling family”, said Chung Sun-Sup, the head of corporate analysis firm chaebul.com, and if Lee is given a long prison term the firm “may move more slowly than before”.

But Geoffrey Cain, the author of a forthcoming book on the group, said: “Samsung will not be doomed without Jay Lee. Even if he gets a prison sentence, Samsung will be just fine. It’s up to the specialists to make their own decisions.”

Samsung appears to have been unaffected by Lee’s absence so far he was detained in custody in February with flagship subsidiary Samsung Electronics making record profits on the back of strong demand for its memory chips.

Its shares have soared in recent months but were down 0.6 percent on Friday afternoon ahead of the verdict.

The ruling is seen as a strong indicator of the likely outcome in Park’s trial, as some of the charges against the ousted head of state her are inextricably linked to the accusations Lee faced.

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug 25 – The heir to the Samsung empire was convicted of bribery and other offenses Friday and jailed for five years in connection with the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-Hye.

Lee Jae-Yong’s penalty could leave the vast conglomerate, which includes the world’s biggest smartphone maker, rudderless and hampers its ability to make key investment decisions for years.

The vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, 49, arrived at Seoul Central District Court on a justice ministry bus handcuffed, bound with white rope around his dark jacket, and carrying an envelope of documents.

Lee was found guilty of bribery, perjury and other charges related to payments Samsung made to Park’s secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil.

In total 8.9 billion won ($7.9 million) was paid in bribes in return for favours including government support for Lee’s hereditary succession at the group after his father was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014, the court found.

Lee had denied the charges, with the defence saying that he was not aware of the payments and did not approve them.

But presiding judge Kim Jin-Dong said: “He offered bribes in response to strong demands by the president.”

The court found, however, that Samsung had no alternative but to comply with Park’s browbeating in connection with another 22 billion won paid to foundations allegedly controlled by Choi.

Four other top Samsung executives were also convicted, with two jailed for up to four years, and the other pair given suspended terms.

Lee’s lawyers said he would appeal, and supporters demonstrating outside the court broke down in tears.

Samsung is by far the biggest of the chaebols, as the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy are known, with its revenues equivalent to around a fifth of the country’s GDP.

But while the economy is still growing, social and economic frustrations have mounted over the benefits not being equally shared and the demonstrators who mounted giant candlelit protests against Park last year also targeted Lee and other chaebol chiefs.

The court was deluged with hundreds of applications for the 30 seats in room 417 available to members of the public, which were allocated by lottery.

Park’s own trial began in the same room in May, and it also saw Lee’s father Lee Kun-Hee convicted of tax and other offences in 2008, receiving a suspended sentence.

‘Minimum sentence’

The verdict could add impetus to new President Moon Jae-In’s efforts to fulfil his campaign pledges of chaebol reform.

The firms have long had murky connections with political authorities in South Korea, and past trials of their leaders have often ended with light or suspended sentences, with courts citing their contributions to the economy.

But Lee’s penalty is the longest ever against a sitting chaebol controller, said Chung Sun-Sup, the head of corporate analysis firm chaebul.com.

“Considering the fact that Lee was found guilty on all the five charges, five years in prison is the minimum sentence the court was able to come up with,” he told AFP.

The Lee clan directly owns about five percent of Samsung Electronics shares but maintains its grip on the wider group through a byzantine web of cross-ownership stakes involving dozens of companies.

The court said Park was aware that Lee wanted state approval for a controversial merger of two Samsung units in 2015, seen as a key step to ensuring his accession.

The deal was opposed by shareholders who said it wilfully undervalued shares of one of the firms. But it eventually went through after the national pension fund a major Samsung shareholder approved it.

‘Ruling family’

Lee has been Samsung’s de facto leader since his father fell ill and the sentence leaves the conglomerate facing an extended vaccuum at its highest level, but analysts differ on its impact.

Analyst Chung said major chaebol decisions on large-scale acquisitions or investments “are often endorsed by the patriarch of a ruling family”, and with Lee in prison, the firm “may move more slowly than before”.

But Geoffrey Cain, the author of a forthcoming book on the group, said: “Samsung will not be doomed without Jay Lee. It’s up to the specialists to make their own decisions.”

During the trial, Lee’s lawyers and ex-members of the former elite Future Strategy Office, which dictated Samsung’s overall direction and major business decisions, sought to portray him as naive and inexperienced.

The group appears to have been unaffected by Lee’s absence so far — he was detained in custody in February — with flagship subsidiary Samsung Electronics making record profits on the back of strong demand for its memory chips.

Samsung this week unveiled a new model of its Galaxy Note “phablet” as it seeks to leave behind a debacle over exploding batteries in the previous generation of the device, although some analysts were underwhelmed by what they said was a lack of new features.

Its shares have soared in recent months but closed 1.05 percent down on Friday after the verdict.

The convictions suggest that Park is likely to be found guilty at her continuing criminal trial with Choi, as some of the charges against them are inextricably linked to Lee’s offences.

The ousted head of state, who is detained in custody, faces 18 counts including coercion, abuse of power and bribery.

Park has denied all wrongdoing and blamed Choi for abusing their friendship.

SAN FRANCISCO, United States,Mar 2 – As Snapchat’s owner makes its Wall Street debut, the key question for investors is whether the vanishing-message app is on its way to glory or despair.

Wildly popular with young smartphone users keen to share messages that don’t linger, Snapchat is alternately viewed in the social media world as a winning bet such as Facebook or a lackluster performer like Twitter.

Snap Inc. priced its initial public offering (IPO) Wednesday at $17 a share to raise $3.4 billion and give the California startup a hefty valuation of $24 billion. It’s the largest US tech firm to make a market debut since Facebook in 2012.

Analysts at the venture equity firm Goodwater Capital said in a report that the company has positioned itself “as the most significant competitor to Facebook in social networking.”

Snap has some strong credentials, Goodwater noted: more than 158 million daily active users creating 2.5 billion “snaps” per day in 20 different languages, $936 million in revenues expected in 2017, and partnerships with major brands and publishers.

“Snapchat is well-positioned to scale rapidly and take market share in the $652 billion global advertising market,” the report said.

Analyst Debbie Williamson of eMarketer said Snap has “revolutionized” the way young people communicate and been creative with features for users and advertisers.

“It has a pretty long runway ahead,” she said. “I think of it in the context of where Facebook was early on.”

Both companies got early locks on a young generation, with the potential to add older users with time.

“It always makes sense to stay in tune with what young people are doing, and Snapchat has really struck a chord with young people,” Williamson said.

Snap’s prospects outside the US market are less clear, she added, saying it faces tougher competition as Facebook and others mimic Snapchat’s features.

Scale or sink?

Some analysts are skeptical about Snap, however, pointing to the example of Twitter, which has seen only modest increases in its user base since its 2013 IPO, and now trades well below its offering price.

Lou Kerner, manager of the Social Internet Fund and a partner in the venture investment firm Flight VC, said he is avoiding the offering, concerned that Snapchat’s user engagement may have already peaked.

Snap’s IPO filing left out details about historical trends for user metrics, he said — typically not a good sign.

“We know all products have lifecycles you can look at Twitter for a lesson,” he added.

Others said potential investors should be wary of Snap’s hefty valuation.

“Snap is a great company at the valuation of $500 million,” Global Research Equities analyst Trip Chowdhry said. “It is a total disaster at anything beyond that.”

At $22 billion, he added, “it really shows the private markets are totally detached from reality.”

Investors should learn a lesson from other onetime tech-sector stars that failed to live up to expectations, Chowdhry said.

“If you are a fundamental investor, you should be on the sidelines, you should not play the IPO,” he said.

“Basically, Snap is not a durable company. The foundations are flimsy — zero technology, zero stickiness, hyper inflated, and zero governance.”

Generation gap

Whether Snapchat can expand beyond its core base of teens and millennials remains a big question mark for the company.

Goodwater said its January 2017 survey of 2,076 participants from the United States revealed that Snapchat has 16 percent share of “favorite social apps” among leading social apps for users under 30 years old, but only three percent among older users.

Snapchat’s user base is “quickly expanding into older demographics, with more than 50 percent of its US daily new users coming from the over 25 age group,” the report said.

A separate survey by the research firm eMarketer projects 70.4 million Americans will use the platform this year, and that growth will slow through 2021.

The survey noted that 6.4 percent of Snapchat’s users will be between the ages of 45 and 54, as the platform attracts users with new services such as partnerships with television networks for mini-episodes.

“Much of Snapchat’s growth is being driven by older Americans,” eMarketer said.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 4 – KCB Bank’s leading entertainment and entrepreneurship show—the KCB Lions’ Den—to the screens on September, 5, 2017, pitting 63 entrepreneurs seeking growth opportunities for their businesses.

Much like Dragons’ Den or Shark Tank, the weekly Lions’ Den show, which will air on KTN every Tuesday at 8pm offers selected entrepreneurs an opportunity to get funding for their businesses.

Competing entrepreneurs will be expected to pitch their ideas and negotiate for the capital they need to catapult to take their enterprises to the next level in exchange for a stake in their business.

The financing will come from one or more of the five Lions—renowned Kenyan business gurus who are part of the panel who will be evaluating the ideas.

KCB Director of Marketing and Communications Angela Mwirigi said of the second season: “We are promising viewers a high quality shows with much more expectation than the first season because applicants had time to learn from Season One. We can tell from the quality of applications that the standards have changed so much for the better and we certainly have great applications that will without a doubt engage the Lions and the audience intensely.”

“Our desire as KCB Bank is to see young entrepreneurs connect with successful venture capitalist who have already cut their teeth in the business world, not only at the show but also SMEs out there watching the show,” said Ms Mwirigi.

The Show received at least 5,000 applications. After the rigorous vetting process, 63 successful contestants were chosen to face the Lions. Of the successful applicants, 32% of them were women and 68% were men with businesses cutting across agriculture, design, education, energy, ICT, health, publishing, food & beverages, manufacturing, environment, entertainment and service. At least 12 counties were represented.

The KCB Lions’ Den mainly seeks entrepreneurs looking for financial, social and intellectual capital for their new and innovative businesses in the country.

Audiences will engage with the contestants as they battle in the Den.

The Lions are Kenyan-based business moguls who have risen through the business world and established themselves as trailblazers in their respective industries in their journey to grow Kenya-based businesses.

Returning for season two are Myke Rabar, CEO Homeboyz Entertainment; Darshan Chandaria, Group CEO and Director of Chandaria Industries; Olive Gachara, Founder and Publisher of Couture Magazine Africa; Kris Senanu, CEO of Blackrock Entertainment and Wandia Gichuru, Co-Founder and MD of Vivo Activewear.

The TV show is part of the KCB Group 2Jiajiri programme expected to benefit at least 500,000 youth in a period of 5 years.

The programme, which also encompasses a business challenge for start-ups, will enable young entrepreneurs to submit their business ideas for funding.

“The KCB’s 2jiajiri initiative aims creating job creation opportunities for the youth and skilling them for self-employment while at the same time providing funding, nurturing and mentoring future entrepreneurs,” Ms. Mwirigi noted.

For the first season, over 5,000 applications were received from sectors such as agriculture, design, education, energy, ICT, health, publishing, food & beverages, manufacturing, environment, entertainment and service.

At least 72 local businesses made their pitches on the show over a period of 12 weeks and 30 lucky entrepreneurs were able to convince the 5 celebrated and renowned Lions to invest their own money in exchange for equity in the local businesses. A total of Sh153million was pledged by the Lions.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany, Sep 8 – Hundreds of thousands of car enthusiasts are set to flock to Frankfurt’s IAA motor show next week where auto giants hope to show off their electric prowess as scandal-plagued diesels take a backseat.

Two years after “dieselgate” crashed the last IAA party, when Volkswagen’s public admission that it had cheated on diesel emissions tests embarrassingly coincided with the fair, organisers are hoping to turn the page by focusing on the cleaner cars of the future.

But as more automakers have come under suspicion and concern about diesel pollution has grown, industry expert Stefan Bratzel expects the mood at this year’s 10-day extravaganza to be “mixed”.

“On the one hand, the auto industry is enjoying its best years ever in terms of sales and profits, but on the other it’s wondering what’s going to happen in future,” said Bratzel of Germany’s Center for Automotive Management.

“Diesel and its harmful emissions are a topic of hot debate right now, especially in Germany, creating an image problem for the entire industry.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, eyeing a fourth term in a September 24 general election, will on Thursday formally open the 67th International Motor Show, in what promises to be a more politically charged event than in past years.

Dieselgate has wormed its way into the German election campaign as voters fret over the resale value of their cars and over diesel bans mooted by some cities.

While Merkel has said she had been “angered” by the cheating scam, she has also been careful not to demonise a sector that is the backbone of the German economy and employs more than 800,000 people.

“Diesel, and the internal combustion engine, will exist for many, many years to come,” she said in a recent interview.

But other countries aren’t so sure. Both France and Britain have announced plans to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040 to clamp down on harmful emissions.

“All this uncertainty surrounding diesel and gasoline engines will hang over the trade show,” predicted Flavien Neuvy, auto expert at France’s Observatoire Cetelem.

No shows 

Automakers around the world are responding to the challenges by dramatically shifting focus to electric and automated vehicles, belatedly joining a race started by Silicon Valley giant Tesla to take zero-emission cars into the mainstream.

In the run-up to the IAA, which alternates each year with the Paris Motor Show, German luxury carmaker BMW and Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover became the latest manufacturers to promise electric or hybrid models across all their brands in coming years.

In Frankfurt, fairgoers will get a chance to get up close and personal with BMW’s first electric Mini, while Volkswagen plans to show off an updated concept of its self-driving ID Crozz, an SUV crossover, and Daimler hopes to wow with its Mercedes-AMG hybrid “supercar”.

But lovers of gas-guzzlers need not despair, as the IAA is promising plenty of traditional fare as well with a string of urban SUVs lining up to steal the limelight, including Renault’s budget Dacia Duster.

Despite all the buzz, the year’s most-talked about car will be conspicuously absent from the Frankfurt convention centre: Tesla’s Model 3.

The much-hyped model aims to be the first electric car for the masses with a starting price around $35,000 (29,000 euros) and a battery range of 220 miles (354 kilometres).

“We’re not a traditional carmaker,” Tesla said about skipping the IAA.

But it joins a string of other noticeable no-shows, continuing a trend seen at other car shows in recent years.

Fiat Chrysler, Nissan, Peugeot and Volvo are all staying away from Frankfurt, as companies search for more innovative and less costly ways to engage with customers.

“Car shows, like cars, need to keep reinventing themselves,” Matthias Wissmann, chief of Germany’s VDA auto industry federation, told AFP.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 8 – The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has granted authority to French multinational banking institution Société Générale (SG) to open a representative office in Kenya following the fulfilment of stipulated authorisation requirements.

The move comes as eight other multinational banks eye the Kenyan market.

Headquartered in Paris, Société Générale (SG) is one of the leading financial services group in Europe and focuses on segments that include French Retail Banking, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, Global Banking and Investor Solutions.

The bank has a footprint in 66 countries in Europe, North and South America, Middle East, Africa and Asia.

In Africa, it has presence in 18 countries in North, West, Central and South Africa.

“Representative offices of foreign banks serve as marketing and liaison offices for their foreign parent banks and affiliates and are not allowed to conduct banking business,” CBK said.

The Representative Office will support the growing trade and investment links between Kenya and France and will also allow deepening of SG’s regional footprint with Kenya as its anchor in Eastern Africa.

In June the regulator issued a banking license to Mayfair Limited, paving the way to lifting of a license freeze that had been declared in November 2015.

Mayfair, which is owned by Kenyan investors, is the second applicant to get a license post the moratorium after Dubai Islamic Bank Kenya was granted an approval in principle.

HARARE, Zimbabwe Sept 12 – Zimbabwe produced enough food to feed its people for the first time since adopting a controversial policy to strip land from white farmers, President Robert Mugabe told parliament on Tuesday.

From the year 2000, hundreds of white farmers were evicted from their farms, often violently, and land was handed to allies of the ruling ZANU-PF party and in many cases became neglected and unproductive. Zimbabwe had previously been known as the “breadbasket” of Africa.

“The country has this year succeeded in regaining its food self-sufficiency status on the back of the good rainy season and the introduction of command agriculture,” Mugabe said as he opened parliament.

“Government is now working to consolidate agriculture through, among other things, investing more resources in water harvesting and irrigation development.”

A bumper harvest of maize helped Zimbabwe regain its food independence, he added.

Mugabe has previously acknowledged that handing vast tracts of land to inexperienced black owners was a mistake.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers warned just last week that the acute shortage of foreign currency could cause severe shortages of essential staples.

But on Tuesday Mugabe said he was hopeful that the rejuvenated agricultural sector would lift the nation’s moribund economy which has been plagued by a dire shortage of hard currency and soaring unemployment.

Zimbabwe’s legislators are starting their final session before presidential and parliamentary elections set for next year.

Mugabe who turns 94 next year has already been named as the presidential candidate for his ZANU-PF party.

NEW DELHI, India, Sep 13 – As India’s premier Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe prepare to break ground on the country’s first bullet train project Thursday, experts say the collaboration could signal a massive leap for its overburdened and deadly railways.

India’s colonial-era rail network carries some 22 million passengers daily, making it one of the busiest in the world. But it is also among the most dangerous.

A government report published in 2012 said almost 15,000 people were killed every year in rail accidents, describing the deaths as an annual “massacre” due mainly to poor safety standards.

Modi has pledged to invest billions of dollars to modernise the country’s crumbling railway infrastructure, which is plagued by delays, and the bullet train was one of his key election promises ahead of a landslide victory in 2014.

As New Delhi and Tokyo seek to forge closer ties to combat China’s growing regional influence, the project offers a diplomatic and economic boost.

The premiers will lay the foundation for the bullet train network in the western city of Ahmedabad — connecting Modi’s home state of Gujarat with India’s financial capital Mumbai.

Japan is a pioneer in high-speed rail transport — with its Shinkansen bullet train ranked among the fastest in the world.

With projected top speeds of up to 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour more than double the maximum speed offered by the fastest trains operating in India — it will reduce travel time between the two cities from eight hours to at most three-and-a-half hours.

The new train, which will have a capacity of 750 passengers, is also expected to be safer than the country’s creaking rail network, the world’s fourth largest by distance.

Modi recently replaced his railway minister after a series of derailments, including one last month in which at least 23 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state. Nearly 150 died in a similar accident in November.

The agreement for the 508-kilometre network was signed in 2016, with plans to make it operational by December 2023.

Nearly 85 percent of the total project cost of $19 billion will be provided by Tokyo in soft loans, with repayment over 50 years.

‘Balance China’s hegemony’

Abe’s visit to Ahmedabad comes ahead of Modi’s 67th birthday on Sunday and many have dubbed it as part of his practice of “birthday diplomacy”.

The right-wing Hindu nationalist leader hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gujarat on his birthday in 2014.

“India’s relation with Japan is designed to balance China’s hegemony,” Rajrishi Singhal, a Mumbai-based independent policy consultant, told AFP.

The two countries have close security ties and hold regular joint military exercises.

A proposed joint investment of billions of dollars in Africa is set to be the cornerstone of the relationship, Singhal said.

“India truly values the relationship with Japan and we look forward to further boosting our bilateral ties in a wide range of sectors,” Modi tweeted Tuesday.

There are more than 1,500 Japanese companies in India, including auto major Suzuki, the largest car maker in the country.

The success of Suzuki and others transformed India’s auto industry, which employs millions today.

Experts are pinning similar hopes on the bullet train project.

“Just like Suzuki changed India’s car market and brought millions of jobs, the bullet train will change the entire industry,” Singhal said.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 15 – Two Kenyan enterprises have won global recognition for actively pursuing social and environmental impact in their businesses, alongside profit.

Daproim Africa Limited, a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, and ECO2LIBRIUM, a clean energy firm, are listed in the ‘Best for the World 2017’ by B Lab, a global organization that promotes use of business as a force for good in order to generate shared and sustainable prosperity.

The two Kenyan firms are amongst 846 businesses across 52 industries from 48 countries that make up the list of 2017 Best for the World honorees.

“It is exciting to see Kenyan firms shine with the world’s best in as far as pursuing social and environmental impact is concerned. As the world pursues inclusive growth, it is critical that private enterprise lead this drive by looking beyond the profit. It is encouraging to see Kenyan businesses being part of this movement that combines profit and purpose,” B Lab East Africa Executive Director Olivia Muiru said.

Muiru added that becoming a purpose-driven enterprise is not only the good thing to do, but also makes businesses attractive to socially-conscious investors and markets.

In a statement announcing the list, B Lab lauds the businesses for being ‘a global movement of people using the power of business to achieve a higher purpose than profit maximization. They strive to use business as a force for good: good for workers, good for communities, good for the environment. They redefine success in business by competing to be not just best in the world, but best for the world’.

Muiru said that due to their exemplary performance, Daproim Africa Limited and ECO2LIBRIUM are now certified B Corps, joining a community of for-profit businesses that meet the highest standards of verified, overall social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.

In addition to the B Corp certification, other services offered by B Lab East Africa include helping businesses to measure their social and environmental footprint as a basis for managing the impact of their operations.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 9- “Think. It costs you nothing. It is the only product you can use, and use, and use and nobody will charge you. If you watch DStv, you pay, anything else you pay. But nobody will call you to pay for thinking,” says Industrialist Dr. Chris Kirubi.

He was speaking to a group of lecturers, financial experts and students at the University of Nairobi during this year’s Nairobi Innovation week.

The Nairobi Innovation week which takes place annually is aimed at creating a platform for presentation of academic papers, innovation illustrations and case studies focused on research and innovation,
as well as champion policy discussions on innovation in Kenya.

Kirubi has challenged public universities to partner with the private sector and stop depending on government financial support for growth.

“Professors have very good and clear mind. But in many of them, it remains theory. You know theory needs to be converted into action. I personally feel, you have a concentration of very intelligent people in this University, but after very many years, since we were young kids, you are still behaving like a baby relying on your parent to feed you,” he says.

In terms of partnerships with the private sector, Kirubi says it was time to bring on board directors from the business world, apart from lecturers, a move he says will help bring in innovative ideas of creating enterprises.

“Please, let us partner with the private sector so that we come here we give you ideas. Let us get on, let’s use technology, let’s be the home of innovation, because you have such great young people, who are ready and if supported they will innovate, and then you take it to the market,” he says.

The business guru notes that public universities have more than enough human capital who are the students, but laments that for the longest time, most of them graduate, half-baked, with no skills to create jobs.

The students, he argues, could be used as a tool to create huge enterprises at the universities that would not only make money of the institutions but also bring forth successful entrepreneurs.

“All students who graduate here, where do you send them? You send them to the streets to go and look for jobs. And these students are like half-baked bread. A student says, ‘I have a bachelors degree’. What can you do? Nothing. Why don’t we give them technical training, keep them here to do jobs for you under your guidance, create businesses, so that by the time they go out there, they are employable, entrepreneurs who are part of you,” Kirubi challenged the University leadership.

“If you bring me here, I would create billions for you.”

PARIS, France, Mar 6 – French carmaker PSA on Monday announced the acquisition of General Motors’ European subsidiary, which includes the Opel and Vauxhall brands, for 1.3 billion euros ($1.38 billion).

The move sees PSA regain its position as Europe’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, after Germany’s Volkswagen, overtaking rival French firm Renault.

PSA said in a statement it was also buying GM Europe’s financial operations for 900 million euros in a joint deal with bank BNP Paribas, taking the total value of the deal to 2.2 billion euros.

The takeover includes six assembly plants and five component-making facilities and some 40,000 employees.

Plans for the takeover of the Opel division by PSA, which owns the Peugeot and Citroen brands, were unveiled in the middle of February, sparking fears in Germany and Britain that the prospective new owner could cut non-French jobs.

PSA boss Carlos Tavares said the firm was “deeply committed to continuing to develop this great company and accelerating its turnaround”.

“We are confident that the Opel/Vauxhall turnaround will significantly accelerate with our support, while respecting the commitments made by GM to the Opel/Vauxhall employees,” Tavares said.

Vauxhall employs around 5,000 people in Britain. Opel operates some 10 factories in Europe spread across six countries, and had 35,600 employees at the end of 2015, 18,250 of them in Germany.

Founded in 1862, Opel, with its lightning-bolt emblem, is a familiar sight on European roads, but in recent years the firm has booked repeated losses, costing Detroit-based GM around $15 billion since 2000.

A sharp fall in the pound since Britain’s vote to quit the EU last June sank Opel’s hopes of getting back into the black in 2016, and it ended up reporting a loss of $257 million.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 7- Seventy-one percent of women entrepreneurs in East Africa finance their businesses from their own savings.  

According to a research by Graça Machel Trust and New Faces News Voices, a majority of women are still not ready to access formal financing due to lack of collateral as well as high-interest rates.

New Faces New Voices Lead Researcher and Kenya Director Andia Chakava, however, says women entrepreneurs have a negative perception towards external financing, as they do not believe they have the requirements to access financing from banks and other financial institutions.

“I would say a minimum of 50 percent of women across all the countries in the regions said they are part of a savings group. So there is a lot of ‘Chamas’ going around that is helping to support business starting and growth,” said Chakava in interview with Capital FM Business.

And due to lack of the high cost financing, Chavaka says a lot of women end up remaining at the micro and small medium enterprises compared to their male counterpart.

Most women interviewed owned enterprises with an investment of between $1,000 to $5,000 to start their businesses and only 8percent of these businesses have an annual turnover of $100,000.

“But when the business needs to go to a different level, you need additional capital and some of these amounts needed are too big. The women are saying that when it comes to expansion capital they do not find those traditional forums helpful,” Chavaka adds.

Apart from savings, other options sought include Angel Investors willing to inject capital in exchange for ownership equity or convertible debt. Others include grants or women funds.

“I think women are not just looking for money and repayment. Instead, they are saying, are you going to walk with me so that we grow this business. Is this something we are going to utilize our networks together? Are you going to be a true partner?,” she says, “Women simply wants a hustle free kind of repayment methods when it comes to credit.”

The research sought to establish the key factors that hinder growth of women enterprises from micro and small enterprises to medium and large-sized businesses.

It covered Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and interviewed women entrepreneurs across all sectors of the economy, aged between 20 to 40 years.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 – Kenya’s dollar millionaires have increased by 11 percent to 9, 400 in 2016 from 8, 500 in 2015.

This is according to a new Wealth report by Knight Frank which attributes the jump in the number of millionaires to the growth of construction, technology and real estate sectors.

The report also indicates that there are 370 individuals that have surpassed the 10 million dollar mark from 340 in 2015 while 120 Kenyans have a net worth of 30 million dollars and above.

The country is yet to record any dollar billionaire.

The Wealth Report Editor Andrew Shirley says Kenya’s diversified economy makes it as one of Africa’s top performers in wealth creation with the trend expected to continue over the next decade.

The country is yet to record any dollar billionaire.

The Wealth Report Editor Andrew Shirley says Kenya’s diversified economy makes it as one of Africa’s top performers in wealth creation with the trend expected to continue over the next decade.

Kenya’s high net worth individuals say innovative investing, capital growth, portfolio diversification, portfolio liquidity and ability to move wealth quickly around the world are the most important factors in wealth management and investment decisions.

“It seems that Kenyan millennials have the same approach to wealth creation as their counterparts from the rest of the world, but significantly different from their parents,” Shirley said.

The report identifies political uncertainty as the biggest threat to Kenyan high net worth investors’ ability to create and maintain wealth over the next five years.

Other threats include potential fall in asset values rising taxes, tighter control on movement of capital and rising interest rates in that order.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 – The Coca- Cola Foundation has set aside Sh1 million to go to empowering women economically under the women’s economic empowerment program.

The program which is a joint venture with Kenya’s Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) has so far empowered over 200,000 women since its inception in 2014.

The initiative is set hit the second phase where it targets to empower about 500, 000 women by 2019.

The Coca-Cola Company Director for women’s economic empowerment Susan Mboya-Kidero says overcoming the stubborn and numerous barriers that exist for women in capturing economic opportunity can make a tremendous difference both to individual lives but also in supporting regional economic growth.

“We are truly inspired by the passion of our partners and the 200,000 women who have participated in this program to date, and we are delighted to be expanding this program to help fulfill the dreams of even more remarkable Kenyan women over the next three years,” she said.

The initiative represents the single largest global program in Coca-Cola’s 5by20 effort to economically empower five million women worldwide by 2020.

The public-private partnership aims to address and remove barriers that women may experience in creating economic opportunity by providing access to loans and grants to enable them to start the business.

Participants in the program also receive business skills training, financial services, assets including coolers, marketing materials and products as well as providing access to peer networks through a business club for mentoring and ideas sharing.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 9- “Think. It costs you nothing. It is the only product you can use, and use, and use and nobody will charge you. If you watch DStv, you pay, anything else you pay. But nobody will call you to pay for thinking,” says Industrialist Dr. Chris Kirubi.

He was speaking to a group of lecturers, financial experts and students at the University of Nairobi during this year’s Nairobi Innovation week.

The Nairobi Innovation week which takes place annually is aimed at creating a platform for presentation of academic papers, innovation illustrations and case studies focused on research and innovation,
as well as champion policy discussions on innovation in Kenya.

Kirubi has challenged public universities to partner with the private sector and stop depending on government financial support for growth.

“Professors have very good and clear mind. But in many of them, it remains theory. You know theory needs to be converted into action. I personally feel, you have a concentration of very intelligent people in this University, but after very many years, since we were young kids, you are still behaving like a baby relying on your parent to feed you,” he says.

In terms of partnerships with the private sector, Kirubi says it was time to bring on board directors from the business world, apart from lecturers, a move he says will help bring in innovative ideas of creating enterprises.

“Please, let us partner with the private sector so that we come here we give you ideas. Let us get on, let’s use technology, let’s be the home of innovation, because you have such great young people, who are ready and if supported they will innovate, and then you take it to the market,” he says.

The business guru notes that public universities have more than enough human capital who are the students, but laments that for the longest time, most of them graduate, half-baked, with no skills to create jobs.

The students, he argues, could be used as a tool to create huge enterprises at the universities that would not only make money of the institutions but also bring forth successful entrepreneurs.

“All students who graduate here, where do you send them? You send them to the streets to go and look for jobs. And these students are like half-baked bread. A student says, ‘I have a bachelors degree’. What can you do? Nothing. Why don’t we give them technical training, keep them here to do jobs for you under your guidance, create businesses, so that by the time they go out there, they are employable, entrepreneurs who are part of you,” Kirubi challenged the University leadership.

“If you bring me here, I would create billions for you.”

HONG KONG, China, Mar 10 – Uber hit back at Hong Kong authorities Friday after five of its drivers were found guilty of operating without proper licences, in yet another blow to the ride-hailing giant.

The case comes as the ride-hailing app encounters regulatory roadblocks around the world it pulled out of Taiwan last month following an impasse with the government, which deems the service illegal.

It also on Wednesday promised not to use a recently uncovered “Greyball” software program to trick regulators trying to catch drivers breaking the law.

The Hong Kong drivers were arrested in a dramatic police swoop in 2015 after furious traditional cabbies in the southern Chinese city smashed up their own taxis with hammers and drove slowly towards the government headquarters calling authorities to act over unlicensed cars.

All five drivers were found guilty Friday at the West Kowloon Court of driving without a permit allowing them to transport paying customers and without third-party insurance, local media said.

They were fined HK$10,000 (US$1,287) each and had their driving licences suspended for 12 months, pending appeals.

“Sharing a ride shouldn’t be a crime,” Uber said in a statement in response to the verdict.

“We are very disappointed with today’s court decision, which we believe goes against the best interests of riders, drivers and the city of Hong Kong itself,” it said, adding that it would “stand by” and provide assistance to those involved.

“The transport law is from over 40 years ago,” Uber Hong Kong general manager Kenneth She told reporters after the verdict.

“We hope that the government does not only look at outdated laws but truly takes a step forward” he said.

Ahead of the verdict, She told the South China Morning Post that Uber would not withdraw from Hong Kong.

The US firm announced in February it would suspend business in Taiwan after the government raised the maximum penalty for Uber drivers to Tw$25 million (US$804,000) the highest in the world.

Uber also halted services in Hungary in July last year due to new legislation that stops drivers from making money with their own vehicles.

It has also faced stiff resistance from traditional taxi drivers around the world, as well as bans in some places over safety concerns and questions over legal issues, including taxes.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 10 – Nine Kenyan women trail blazing in their respective fields are among the 100 women honored by OkayAfrica in celebration of International Women’s Day.  

The digital media platform included multimedia artist Wangechi Mutu, author and Caine Prize winner Okwiri Oduor and musician Muthoni The Drummer Queen on the list.

Ushahidi Co-Founder and technologist Juliana Rotich, Scientist Claire Muhoro and digital storyteller Evelyn Ngugi are also honored.

In a statement, OkayAfrica says the list is in celebration of black women who are making waves, shattering ceilings, and uplifting their communities.

“We feel it’s our duty to share at least 100 dope women who hail from the continent and diaspora with you.”

Also on the list are Oscar award winning actress Lupita Nyon’go and athletes Vivian Cheruiyot and Jemima Sumgong.

Mauritius President Ammenah Gurib-Fakim, Nigerian Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and South African media personality Bonang Matheba also grace the A-list.

Maria Borges the Angolan supermodel – who was named Africa’s top model by Forbes in 2013 -, Tanzanian musician Vanessa Mdee, Nigerian musician Yemi Alade and retired supermodel who hails from Somali Iman Abdulmajid are also listed.

“Compiling this list was no easy feat….. We gathered as many African women who worked tirelessly on this list. After months of researching, learning, intense debating and listening, our hope is that you feel as empowered by and proud of the women profiled here as we do”

Happy International Women’s Day and by extension, Women’s month, to all our readers from the Capital FM Business News desk.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – General Motors EA has entered into an asset finance partnership with Cooperative Bank that will see the bank’s MSME clients in the motor industry get 95 percent financing on Isuzu vehicles. 

General Motors EA Managing Director Rita Kavashe says the partnership aims to assist their shared customers establish and sustain their businesses.

The 5-year financing deal allows Cooperative Bank customers to source only 5 percent of the cost of the asset with the bank paying the balance to be repaid within 5 years.

“Starting and sustaining a business in Keny is difficult. A recent study recently revealed that about 2.2 million SMEs have closed their businesses in the last five years because of difficulties. We, therefore, want to make life easy for our customers,” Kavashe said.

“73% of these SMEs were made up of motor vehicles and motorcycles repair businesses. To help reduce this, we have taken it upon ourselves to innovate ways that will make it easier for SMEs to access our products when they need it. This goes to show our commitment to the countryand a promise that Tuko Pamoja Safarini in their journey to success,” she added.

Apart from the 14 percent interest rate, another extra charge will be the 1 percent which will be used to process the loan.

Additionally, customers will get Sh300,000 working capital which they will be expected pay in a year.

“We admit that there is much more that is involved in running a business apart from owning the vehicle. Our customers will, therefore concentrate more on doing other things involved in running their businesses,” Cooperative Bank Retail Business Manager Maurice Motuma said.

The bank says it expects to tap into its 1 million MSME client base.

The partnership will not be affected by the Isuzu take over expected next month.

VATICAN CITY, Holy See, Mar 15 – Closing factories and cutting jobs can constitute a “very serious sin”, Pope Francis said Wednesday in his latest broadside in defence of labour rights.

His comment was made in support of staff at the Italian branch of Sky television who are currently involved in a dispute over 200 redundancies and 300 relocations.

“I spare a special thought to the staff of Sky Italia and I hope that a rapid solution is found that respects the rights of everyone, especially families,” Francis said at the end of his midweek audience in St Peter’s square.

“Work gives us dignity and lawmakers, the representatives of the people, have a duty to do everything so that every man and woman can hold their heads high and look others in the eye, with dignity,” he added.

“Anyone who, through economic manoeuvring or by negotiating deals that are not clear, closes factories or companies and takes people’s jobs away is committing a very serious sin.”

It was not the first time that Francis has intervened in an Italian labour dispute.

In September 2014 he attacked German steel group ThyssenKrupp’s plans to reduce staff numbers at a loss-making Italian plant.

The Argentine pontiff is a regular critic of capitalism.

In the first major missive of his papacy he denounced growing inequality and the “idolatory of money” while last year he described the globalised economic system as “structurally perverse.”

Such observations have led to him being branded the “Marxist” pope in some quarters.

But he has denied any sympathy for communist ideas, joking once that the Marxists had stolen all their best lines from the bible.

WASHINGTON, United States, Mar 15 – President Donald Trump is set to announce steps Wednesday to halt his predecessor Barack Obama’s future vehicle emissions limits for manufacturers, a senior administration official said.

During a visit to auto manufacturing hub Detroit, Trump is set to announce that the Environmental Protection Agency’s objectives for 2022-2025 will be put on hold during a new review period.

“We are going to hold back the EPA determination” that automakers can meet the Obama administration’s strict curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, the official said.

The Trump White House says the rules were issued in an 11th hour move by the Obama administration without taking into consideration the realities of the market, the constraints of various actors in the field and consumer expectations.

“I don’t think the public really had an opportunity to weigh in,” the official said.

In a February letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, US auto manufacturers had asked the new president to suspend the Obama administration’s restrictions, saying they could threaten employment.

Trump is set to meet with auto industry leaders and union representatives in Detroit.

“Will be going to Detroit, Michigan (love), today for a big meeting on bringing back car production to State & U.S. Already happening!” he wrote in a tweet hours before the meetings.

Since his January 20 inauguration, Trump has repeatedly indicated he wants to remove a number of federal environmental regulations he considers futile, saying they are hurting job creation in the United States.

Pruitt, the former attorney general of Oklahoma, was one of the EPA’s fiercest opponents prior to being named by Trump to head the agency.

Last week, Pruitt sparked outrage when he went against scientific consensus in claiming that increasing greenhouse gas emissions were not a determining factor in climate change.