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By Michael Armstrong (FCA) [ICAEW Regional Director for Middle East, Africa and South Asia] The current account balance is primarily the difference between a country’s total exports and imports of goods and services, usually measured as a share of GDP. Surpluses tend to be reported as “good” or “healthy”, while deficits are often regarded as “bad”. The importance of an economy’s balance of payments can never be overstated as it reveals various aspects of a country’s international economic position and presents the international financial position of the country. In the case of a developing country like Kenya, the balance of payments shows how much its economic development depends on financial assistance from developed countries. The Kenyan economy is currently on a rebound. According to a report by the World Bank, real GDP growth is estimated to rise gradually to 6.0 per cent by 2020. This is thanks to improved rains, better business sentiment and the easing of political unce

Michael Armstrong By Michael Armstrong, (FCA) [Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia at ICAEW) Unemployment is a crisis that faces every economy globally. Closer home, latest statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that seven million Kenyans are unemployed. Out of these, 1.4 million have been desperately looking for work. The rest have given up on job hunting, either opting to go back for further studies or venturing into entrepreneurship as a means of economic empowerment. One reason why job seekers may have trouble finding a job is that the hiring firms are unaware of the specific skill sets that are available within the talent pool but this is changing today due to the establishment of numerous job sites which have made it easier to look for a job. Despite this, it is still hard to figure out which firms you’re applying to work for as many agencies don’t include the name of the brand in the advert. How then do you know you

From Left:  Prudential Africa Kenya CEO-Andrew Greenwood, the company's Chief Commercial Officer-Gwen Kinisu, Head of Operations-Irene Kamau and Daniel Beresford Senior  Prudential Life Assurance has today announced the launch of Pru Dahari-Dumu, the first insurance product in Kenya  with a “Never Lapse Guarantee”, a feature that guarantees policyholders will keep their product, and its benefits, irrespective of life’s circumstances. The “Never Lapse Guarantee” alleviates one of the major concerns Kenyans have about insurance. This is that unforeseen circumstances might lead them to miss some premium payments on their insurance policies which results in these policies “lapsing” and the savings & protection benefits of the policy being lost. Data compiled by the Association of Kenya Insurers indicates that in Kenya, 1-in-3 policies lapse in the first year. By the end of the third year, 6-in-10 policies will have lapsed.  Pru Dahari-Dumu is a 5-10 year savings product

Phatisa is pleased to announce the first close of its successor fund to the African Agriculture Fund (AAF) – Phatisa Food Fund 2 (PFF 2), which has received capital commitments in excess of US$ 120 million. Given the strong interest, and with subsequent investors in different stages of their processes, Phatisa will continue with rolling closings and expects to reach a final close target of  US$ 300 million by mid-2019. For PFF 2, Phatisa will continue its focus on the team’s core skill set  –  the African food value chain – considering investments in mechanisation, inputs, poultry and meat production, food processing and manufacturing, logistics, aggregation and distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. Targeting buy-out and expansion transactions with an investment size of between US$ 15 million and US$ 25 million, building and exiting regional platforms. As with AAF, by raising international capital to be invested into Africa’s food value chain, PFF 2 is aligning itself wi