WINKER

Even before COVID-19, Ruth Wanjiru and her two children knew the sound of pangs of hunger because her job as a laundry woman did not provide enough to ensure that there was enough food in the house. Now, experts fear that the partial lockdown in Kenya that restricted movement from 7pm will damn her and other poor people to starvation. The opportunity has opened for innovation in social entrepreneurship such as Voucher for Food which ensures that people make money as they solve societal problems. The Voucher for Food pays local shopkeepers in Mathari slum where local people can go pick their daily supplies. The government imposed a dawn to dusk curfew as well closure of produce markets as a means to slow down the spread of the virus but this disrupted food supply and has already threatened fragile food security situation in Kenya. This is because many people do not have work now and cannot afford food. Ms Wanjiru is a single mother who made a living from washing clothes to t...

Manufacturers have cited reducing costs and maintaining jobs as top priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to findings of a KAM, KPMG report on the impact of Covid-19 on manufacturers in Kenya. Despite fears of the impact of the pandemic on local industry, 81% of manufacturers say they are not likely to close down as a result of the impact of COVID-19. However, this number reduces to 76% for manufacturing SMEs. From the survey, 78% of manufacturers’ top priority is reducing costs, 61% are keen on job retention with 53% giving precedence to improving cash flows. On employment, 40% of surveyed manufacturers have reduced their casual employees whereas 17% have reduced the permanent workforce. On the other hand, 91% of non-essential manufacturers have seen a significant decrease in demand for their products compared to 74% of essential goods manufacturers. 42% of manufacturers are operating at less than half of their operating capacity, whereas 37% of SMEs hav...

The need for information has never been more important today with the outbreak of an epidemic of global magnitude. Despite the media being at the forefront in the fight against the Covid-19 virus, it has not been spared either. From the time the first case was reported in the City of Wuhan in China towards the end of 2019, the virus has wreaked havoc across the world leading to massive financial losses. Countries have come up with a raft of measures including lockdowns to contain the highly contagious virus. Recent survey by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance on Business Perspectives on the Impact of Covid-19 on Kenya’s economy paint a gloomy picture. As reporters work diligently to give the world daily updates, they are equally mulling over the effects of the pandemic on their organizations which are dependent on advertisements. Social distancing and stay at home aspects have seen increased demand for alternative news sources with digital media filling the gap. Th...

When the world was busy developing technology some decades ago, Africa slumbered and was left into the analogue world. Fast forward, the continent is forming its own revolution in technological development as it tries to catch up with the rest of the region. In Kenya for example, M-Pesa, Kenya's mobile payment system, has revolutionized mobile technology solution for millions and thereby providing many people with access to banking services wherever they are. The local innovations have since propelled Kenya to be ranked third in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2018 coming after South Africa and Mauritius and 80 globally. Catherine Kimani, a software engineer at Andela is in agreement that young developers have the potential to create solutions for Africans if encouraged to use their skills and intelligence. Catherine is a beneficiary of the Andela programme that identifies and nurture talent in software development. A first class BA graduate in computer...

After completing his Strategic Management Masters Degree course at the Kenya Methodist University (Kemu) in 2011, Mr. Abdul Aziz Omar applied for a government job and made it to the 30 shortlisted to attend the interview. He waited for interview dates and three months down the line, he received no communication. It is only through his trip to the local post office that he realized his appointment letter had been sent through the postal address. Abdul, now Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at M-Post sadly lost the job as the letter had indicated that if they didn’t hear from him in a week’s time; it would be assumed he was not interested. “It is through this disappointment that led us to co-found M-Post,” Says Mr. Twahir Mohammed, a Bachelors of Science degree in information Technology holder, a Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), with whom they schooled together at Sheikh Khalifa Secondary School in Mombasa. M-Post is a service that turns mobile phones into formal pos...

Voi, the largest town in Taita Taveta county in Kenya, has increasingly become a major tourist attraction place with both local and foreign tourists trooping to sample the major attraction places, with the greatest being The Tsavo East National Park, one of the largest parks in Kenya. Visitors also like to sample the traditional diet of the Taita (Main tribe in Voi), called Kimanga (a mashed combination of beans plus either cassava, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, or bananas), which is normally prepared during special occasions like weddings. This is accompanied by Mbangara, a Taita traditional drink made out of sugarcane, corn and cassava. “I just fell in love with the local delicacy, Kimanga during my visit to the town. Interestingly they use a special sauce called Mwachaka, to spice up the food” says Fred Maina, Founder and Incharge of Production at Mwachaka Group. Mwachaka is a Taita word meaning hot chili. The pepper is ground, mixed with natural spices and cooked to make a s...

Mark Twain, a renowned American comic writer once said “Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. This saying goes a long way in confirming Kenya’s over reliance on Ugali ( a corn or maize flour meal prepared by stirring in hot water till it hardens ) as their main staple food, that every family puts on the table at least once every day. A research done by Assistant professor at Premier University in Bangladesh, Haradha Kumar on Food and Nutrition Scenario of Kenya in 2014 reported that maize is the basic staple of the Kenyan diet, accounting for about 65% of total staple food caloric intake. However, even as citizens continue to prefer the readily available meal, reports indicate that Kenyans eating Ugali are at high risk of malnutrition. The report by the Ministry of Health’s Safety Food Unit released in July 2018 shows that consumers are being deceived by manufactures who label their products as fortified- contain e...