Chancellor Prof. Patrick Verkooijen Champions Investment and Entrepreneurship in African Higher Education.

In an opinion piece featured in Newsweek, the Chancellor, Prof. Patrick Verkooijen, delves into the critical need for increased investment and entrepreneurship within the realm of African higher education. Drawing from his recent immersive experience at the University of Nairobi with students and Faculty members, Prof. Verkooijen paints a vivid picture of the vibrant atmosphere pulsating through the campus—a testament to the burgeoning demand for tertiary education among the continent's youth.

HELB announces a 100pc COVID-19 penalty waiver

The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has announced a 100% penalty waiver.HELB Chief Executive Officer Charles Ringera said the 100% COVID-19 penalty waiver dubbed 'Kamilisha Malipo Ya HELB' will run until 30th April 2022.

He noted that COVID-19 affected the economy leading to unemployment, challenging business environment and inadequate funding from the National Treasury resulting into a funding challenge for students.

UoN at 50: Our History

It is a time to celebrate. The University of Nairobi marks 50 years since it was transformed into the first national University in Kenya on July 1, 1970.

The University of Nairobi owes its origin to several developments in higher education within the country and the region. The idea of an institution for higher learning in Kenya goes back to 1947 when the Kenya Government drew up a plan for the establishment of a technical and commercial institute in Nairobi.

UoN don receives Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship

Prof. Iribe Mwangi, the Chairman, Department of Kiswahili and Prof. Mungai Mutonya of Washington University in St. Louis, have been awarded the prestigious Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship.

The collaborative proposal titled ‘Collaborative Research and Graduate Training and/or Mentoring: Interdisciplinary Focus on Language Contact‚ Migration‚ Innovation‚ and Identity’ is based in the linguistics field of studies.

Locals tighten grip on KCB as foreigners sell Sh11bn shares

Foreign investors have sold Sh11.34 billion shares in KCB Group

in the last two and half years, cutting their stake to a low of 16.36 per cent as local institutional investors tightened grip on Kenya’s top lender.

The bank’s latest shareholder profile dated June 2020 shows that foreign investors now hold 525.59 million shares.

This is in contrast with the 896.79 million shares or 29.25 per cent of the total that were in the hands of foreigners at the end of December 2017.

Equity Group half-year profit down 24pc on high provision for defaults

Equity Group

half-year net profit has tumbled by 24.3 percent to Sh9.02 billion after the lender increased provisioning for loan defaults by nearly nine times to reflect the Covid-19 triggered economic difficulties facing borrowers.

The lender said on Tuesday that net profit for the six months to June has retreated from Sh11.92 billion posted in a similar period last year.

The fall in profit was despite net interest income growing by 16.9 percent to Sh24.6 billion as the lender’s loan book expanded by Sh70.7 billion or 22 percent to Sh391.6 billion.

KRA hits snag in bid to collect Sh619m from Co-op Bank

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) suffered a blow in its pursuit of Sh619.16 million in excise tax from Cooperative Bank of Kenya after a tribunal barred the taxman from collecting the money.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) stopped the taxman from enforcing the order until Co-op Bank’s appeal against tax demands for the transactions made in 2013, 2014 and 2015 is heard and determined.

The tribunal dismissed KRA’s bid to quash Co-Op Bank’s appeal saying that the taxman relied on ambiguous clauses on definition of ‘interest, fees and commissions’ to demand the arrears.

WHO raises concern over rising COVID-19 cases in Kenya

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns over the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Kenya, which they attribute to laxity and lack of compliance in observing the containment measures by most Kenyans.

Warning about the pandemic stage, the global health body called on the government to enforce containment measures to flatten the curve. This even as 679 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours bringing the national caseload to 28,104.