For a long time, moving money across borders has been expensive, slow, and tangled in red tape. Migrant workers sending remittances lose up to 6% of every dollar to fees. Small businesses trading across continents wait days for payments to clear while watching profits erode from currency swings and correspondent bank delays. However, a new financial rail is emerging. Dollar-backed stablecoins like USDT, USDC, and EURC are turning cross-border finance on its head by delivering transfers in minutes at less than 1% of the cost. Built on blockchain infrastructure but tied to the stability of fiat, they are not just…
Author: Chelsy Maina
Ethiopia will remove its long-standing cap on bank lending, a landmark reform expected to release 1.3 trillion birr (US$ 21.9 billion) into the economy, officials at the Ministry of Finance announced. The policy shift will allow banks to expand credit supply in line with market demand, ending years of quantitative restrictions that capped annual credit growth at 18%.The new lending volume represents a 500 billion birr increase compared to last year, signaling a government push to broaden financial access for businesses and households.Finance Minister Eyob Tekalign confirmed the move, emphasizing that safeguards are in place to prevent runaway inflation. “The…
Pan-African telecommunications provider Paratus Group has expanded operations into four East African countries, providing internet services to businesses and communities while also acting as an authorized Starlink reseller in Kenya and Rwanda. The expansion is supported by the Paratus East-West fiber route, a terrestrial backbone stretching from Maputo to Swakopmund, where it connects to the Equiano subsea cable.The rollout includes operations in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania.In early September, Paratus launched Namibia’s first private nationwide mobile network, further expanding its footprint on the continent. completed its long-awaited expansion into East Africa, marking a major milestone in its mission to deliver secure,…
Ethiopia has inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, marking a watershed moment for Africa’s second most populous nation as it seeks energy independence and a bigger role as a regional power supplier. The US$ 4.2 billion project was funded entirely from domestic sources-through the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and via public bonds, donations, and voluntary contributions.With its inauguration, Ethiopia has turned a long-held dream into a concrete reality, one that could redefine both its own development trajectory and the geopolitics of the Nile Basin.The financing model, rare for infrastructure of this scale, deepened its identity…
Listed financial services group Old Mutual Holdings PLC has posted a sharp earnings decline for the half year ended June 30, 2025, weighed down by weaker profitability despite a turnaround in overall comprehensive income. Profit after Tax (PAT) plunged 98% to KShs 5 million, from KShs 249 million a year earlier, as higher costs and softer insurance performance hit the bottom line. Insurance revenue dipped 2.4% to KShs 16.40 billion, while the insurance service result worsened to a loss of KShs 303 million from KShs 246 million previously.Despite this, investment income rose 12.8% to KShs 4.20 billion, providing some cushioning…
Kenya continues to grapple with a deepening adolescent reproductive health challenge, as data from the Kenya Vital Statistics Report 2024 reveals that 125,019 live births, 11.3% of all registered births, were to mothers aged 19 and below. This translates to more than one in every ten babies born in Kenya last year being delivered by a teenage mother, a stark reminder of how widespread early motherhood remains in the country.Of these adolescent births, 1,486 were to girls under the age of 15, while 123,533 were to those aged between 15 and 19.This high proportion of teenage registered live births highlights…
Ghana has recorded over $1.17 billion in foreign exchange earnings in just one month of operations under the Goldbod gold purchase programme, according to Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson. The initiative, known as Goldbod, has seen the country export more than 11 tonnes of gold since it launched, signalling a major boost for Ghana’s efforts to stabilise the cedi and enhance local participation in the gold trade. According to Dr. Forson, the government also plans to use the MIIF and Goldbod to grow the country’s gold reserves over time.According to Ghana’s President John Mahama, the country earned just US$2.7 billion…