Business

Washington, United States | AFP | Florida insurance companies appear to have avoided what could have been a catastrophic hit after damage estimates from Hurricane Irma on Monday fell sharply due to last-minute shifts in the storm’s trail of destruction. The storm spared cities on Florida’s eastern coast, which analysts …

Anwar Soussa, who supervised the record performance, quit the telecom company Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Telecom service provider, Airtel Uganda, ended the 2016 financial year with 85.6% growth in net profit to Shs 160.45bn on the back of improved uptake of mobile money, value added services and data. …

Will 80% supply hole in Uganda’s polythene bag market be crisis or opportunity? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Ugandan environmentalists are renewing their fight against the manufacture of polythene materials in the country following the Aug. 28 enforcement of a ban on plastic carrier bags by the Kenyan government. …

Lack of major growth in sales remains an issue Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Uganda Clays Limited has recorded a 70% growth in net profit to Shs2.17 billion for the six months ending June 30. The stellar performance comes on the back of its majority shareholder, the National Social …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The Tanzanian government said Sunday it had confiscated diamonds worth nearly $30 million after accusing British company Petra Diamonds of having declared a lower value when trying to export the gems. Speaking on government television channel TBC 1, Finance Minister Philip Mpango said the diamonds extracted …

Norway’s wealth fund – a jumbo piggy bank to be used prudently Oslo, Norway | AFP |  Norway has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund — a treasure chest nearly $1 trillion (830 billion euros) to be set aside for rainy days but also to help fund today’s election promises. …

Nairobi, Kenya | THIS WEEK |   Kenyan-based Direct Pay Online Group, an online payments processing solution in Africa, has acquired Virtual Card Services (VCS) South Africa. VCS is said to have over 20 years of experience in developing and implementing credit, debit and smart card processing systems for major card issuers in …

Kampala, Uganda | THIS WEEK | New East Africa Business Council (EABC) boss Kassim Omar on Sept.05 passed on following a blood clot operation at Nakasero hospital. Omar was elected as chairman of the regional private sector body in June taking over from Mr Audace Ndayizeye, of the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry …

Kigali, Rwanda | THIS WEEK |  The entry of Burera Garment Factory in Rwanda is expected to tighten competition in the country’s textile industry. The firm that plans to start its operations in Burera District soon, is a joint venture by Burera District and Noguchi Holdings, a Japanese venture capital firm as …

Kigali, Rwanda | THIS WEEK |  In an effort to promote Rwanda as a conference hub, a South African firm, Crystal Events Africa,  has entered into an   agreement with Ikaze Professional Conference Organisers  to market the east African country as a top conferences centre and must-visit tourist destination on the continent. “The …