Fie Insights

Read our latest insights & news from Africa
airtravel

The better a country’s air connectivity and development is, the greater its ability to reap the economic and social benefits that come with such connectivity. Air connectivity in Africa is currently focused on international routes, primarily to Europe and the Middle East; whereas intra-Africa connectivity is much more limited. African aviation exploded in the early...

MNE

Kenya through its proposed Finance bill 2021, introduced documentation guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) operating locally through their subsidiaries. This comes at a time when globally jurisdiction members under Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are racing to implement Inclusive framework on BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) to combat illicit financial flows, tax...

Neobank

The 21st century has brought with it advancements in technology that have affected how people work and operate, and this effect has triggered disruptions across different sectors. One sector that is facing the technology onslaught currently is the banking sector. Technology has moved banking from the traditional banking halls to the customer’s mobile phone or...

TAX

Globally, countries especially across Middle East (Gulf countries) and Africa like Tunisia, Uganda and Egypt are racing towards implementing electronic tax invoice. The wave is already being felt locally with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) rolling out the hardware-based electronic tax invoicing which commenced on 1st August 2021; with a deadline for complying extended to 31st...

Shopping

In many business environments, consumers are always exploited through overpriced products, artificial scarcity, substandard goods, and misleading advertisements among other ways. Traders leverage on the consumer’s lack of knowledge about the price and quality of commodities, their indifference attitude towards purchase decisions and insufficient market information to take advantage of them. Such business practices are...

Recycling

Economic circularity seeks to transform the current linear model of production and consumption by focusing on three main principles: reducing consumption of finite material resources, recovering materials from waste through recycling, and extending product life through reuse. It examines the transition from a linear to a circular economy, which provides a value chain approach to...

Cottage

Cottage industries are small-scale manufacturing operations that operate out of residential areas including people’s homes. These industries are characterized by the small financial resources needed to set them up and the limited number of employees and output that they generate. Prior to the first and second industrial revolutions, production of consumer goods such as bags...

Shop

The retail market in Kenya is characterized by both formal and informal developments. Despite significant investments by Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) multinational giants; the informal sector particularly micro-retailers known colloquially as “dukas” remain to be the true drivers of the sector. It is estimated that the micro-retailers sell a total of USD 11 trillion...

Machine learning

E-commerce industry has garnered a lot of popularity among consumers since 2010. Consumers are getting more comfortable with to shop online. Looking back from 2014, the e-commerce global market has grown from USD1.3 trillion to USD 4.9 trillion in 2021; partly due to induced demand as a result of Covid – 19 restrictions. E-commerce platforms...

3d printing

The term industrial revolution used to represent the economic transformation that Britain went through in the 18th to 19th Century. However, as time went by, the term started to represent the process of economic transformation as opposed to a period of time. This economic transformation that the term represents is characterized by technological, cultural and...

crypto

In the recent years, the global financial sector has experienced rapid development of new financial products and intermediaries such as Decentralized Finance (DeFi). This is in a bid to meet the varying needs for investors and consumers in different demographics; with countries racing to bridge the financial inclusion gap. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is a fast-developing...

Marketing

The emerging niche of green consumers across the globe is forcing organizations to rework their marketing strategies. Green marketing has become a key differentiator for businesses incorporating environmental conservation measures in their activities. Not only has it helped firms become more competitive by tapping into new markets but also, but it has also helped businesses...

Competition

Competition policies help facilitate trade and economic development through protection of consumers and businesses. They lay a foundation for fair play and take into consideration the health, price and quality concerns that consumers have. Additionally, these regulations set the guidance on how intellectual property rights will be respected and enforced. Over the recent years more...

kanairo

Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) has been designed as a public finance management tool to facilitate decision making based on the evaluation and management of public debt related risks and fiscal deficit financing through a cost-risk analytical framework. To that extent, the MTDS is required to provide the following information: The total of debt...

Pareto

Corporate goals are founded on the fundamentals of people and resource productivity, as well as long-term growth. As a business scales and expands, it focus shifts to serving its market with maximum efficiency through process optimization. The Pareto Principle also known as the 80/20 principle, states that inputs and outputs are always skewed and not...

Solar energy

According to IRENA, the African continent receives an annual solar irradiation of 2,119 kilowatt hours per square metre (kWh/m2); with most countries in the North, West and Southern Africa receiving more than 2,100 kWh/m2 annually. Cumulatively, Africa has a solar PV technical generation potential of 7,900 GW; and this capacity has barely been scratched yet....

ecommerce

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), digital trade has been impactful in connecting many businesses to consumers at a global level.  Digital trade has significantly cut the costs of cross-border transactions, promoted coordination amongst value chains globally, and encouraged diffusion of technologies and ideas through innovations. By definition, digital trade entails...

digital MNE

The digital economy has gained significant importance within the global economy as a driver of innovation and competitiveness. In Africa, Kenya has positioned itself as a leader in access to digital infrastructure; with 98% of its citizen owning sim cards, and 65% of the population having access to the internet. The high internet penetration in...

Smart city

Smart Green Infrastructure (SGI) presents a huge investment opportunity globally, with an estimated USD100 trillion worth of climate action infrastructure required by 2030; in order to meet the Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets. However, there is a shortage of finance as well as a shortage of identifiable, investment-ready, and bankable projects. There is also lack...

tax

In January 2022 the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) released a final version of the transfer pricing guidance on documentation and other important sections pertaining to transfer pricing. As per OECD 2022 guidance on documentation, it provides guidance for tax administrations to take into account in developing rules and/or procedures on documentation to...

GHG

The carbon credit market was established in 1997 as part of the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse gas emissions. It is a market-based system that allows investors and corporations to trade both carbon credits and carbon offsets simultaneously to reduce their environmental carbon footprint. Emission trading is one of the key mechanisms outlined in Article...

Risk

Private companies exist to create and grow value for their shareholders.  Some of the ways to achieve this core mandate is by growing the business operations through expansion to new markets, developing new products or services or through mergers and acquisitions. When seeking new avenues for growth, most companies  conduct outward looking feasibility studies that...

Kenya

Dampened by the negative impacts of Covid-19, the Kenyan economy experienced a 3% contraction in 2020, from an annual growth of 5.8% in 2019.  However, in 2021, the economy rebounded and recorded a growth of 2%, 11.9% and 9.9% in the first, second and third quarters in 2021; with the fourth quarter estimated to grow...

Angel

In African traditional culture, people lived in communities and they looked after each other’s affairs communally. When one person had a misfortune, the community led by the village elders mobilized resources from the community and people came together to support one of their own. Fast forward to post-colonial Kenya, the spirit of Harambee continued the...

FMCG

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) also referred to as consumer packaged goods can be defined as products that sell quickly          in large quantities at a relatively low price because of their high demand or perishability and are consumed on a regular basis.  They are categorized into processed foods, prepared meals, beverages, baked goods, fresh foods, frozen...

tax

Taxation plays a critical role in modern states by enabling provision of public services (roads, justice system, defense, healthcare and education among others), spur economic growth, harmonizing unfavorable competitive environments and protection of the population’s well-being. Kenya thrives as an economic powerhouse in East Africa and the home of innovations popularly referred to as the...

Budget

In today’s world, most businesses focus on the day-to-day activities of their operations and lose sight of the internal progress tracking and performance review. Without a well-thought-out budget, a company risks being lost in a dark alley of utter chaos with no clear action plan to guide it. The budget tool links strategies to objectives,...

Trade

World Trade Organization (WTO) estimates that about 80% of the trade conducted globally relies heavily on trade finance. The annual global trade finance market is valued at about USD 5.2 trillion; and it  forms the backbone upon which international business transactions are carried out. Trade finance can  simply be described as financing of international and...

thin cap

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) thin capitalization refers to the situation in which a company is financed through a relatively high level of debt compared to equity. The Kenya Finance Act 2021 introduced new provisions governing interest payments that are not deductible for corporation tax purposes. The Act, provides for...

Hacker

The world of cyber security is changing rapidly with new threats and remedies coming up every day. Employees are not able to keep up with these technological advancements every day; especially those without a technology background and not working within the information technology (IT) departments in their organizations. It is therefore paramount for organizations to...

Team (2)

The workplace is a distinct environment characterized by policies and culture that promote effective work ethics and standards. Employees must follow the rules and regulations established by management to guide their workflow, and any violations can result in disciplinary action; which in extreme cases can lead to termination. However, a workplace that is only defined...

Mawingu

Air travel is a powerful economic growth and development catalyst, facilitating integration into the global economy and providing critical connectivity on a national, regional, and international scale, supporting 7.7 million jobs and $63 billion in African economic activity. According to Aviation Benefits Beyond Borders, this represented 2.2% of total employment and 2.7% of total GDP...

tax

The finance bill 2021 was tabled in National Assembly on 11th May and passed on 29th June 2021. The bill proposed the following amendments to the following statutes that took effect in 1st January 2022; Income Tax Extractive Industries Taxation: The Act grants an allowance of 50% in the first year of use of machinery...

CFO

Sustainable business growth is nurtured in a peaceful and productive environment for capital multiplication and market expansion to accommodate additional capital investments. A company’s capital multiplier comes from its retained earnings or from capital gains for its shares; which are two key value creation drivers that are closely linked with prevailing business environment conditions. Since...

strategic risk

The core mandate for businesses across the world is to maximize their shareholders’ wealth through strategies meant to increase their revenues, while maintaining an efficient operation; in order to optimize their bottom lines.  To boost their top lines, businesses make strategic decisions such as development of new products, expansion into new markets or mergers and...

Liquidity

Within the financial services sector, liquidity risk  is closely monitored by sector regulators to avoid jeopardizing the stability of the sector and the economy at large. Central banks around the world require that banks maintain a certain level of liquidity in order to meet expected and unexpected withdrawals from customers. The destructive nature of liquidity...

pollution

The transportation sector accounts for nearly 25% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions globally. The transportation sector relies heavily on the combustion of fossil fuels, making it one of the most significant producers of both urban and regional air pollution. According to the “Used cars and the Environment” report by UNEP used vehicles exported from...

grocery

Market Overview The growth of Kenya’s e-commerce ecosystem has been on an upward trajectory, thanks to mobile connectivity which has improved internet access, online payments systems that have facilitated transactions and the logistical infrastructure that is slowly taking shape in the country. According to Statista, revenue in the e-commerce market in Kenya was projected to...

waste-management

The city of Kigali generates about 600 tons of Municipal Solid Waste per day, which is projected to grow over time as the country undergoes significant economic transformation to become a lower middle income country. Currently the city of Kigali is struggling with its Solid Waste Management (SWM) system because of its limited waste minimization...

road

A proper transport network is a major catalyst to economic development and growth for any developing or developed country. Transport and logistics enables movement of economic commodities through different economic zones. In Africa, transport plays a critical role in not only facilitating growth but also in the integration of the region. It provides vital links...

trade

The aspirations of the founding fathers of the African continent post-independence converged on a united Africa under the spirit of Pan Africanism and Ubuntu. Fast forward about six decades later, trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched in January 2021; marking the beginning of trade liberalization across the continent. As Africa...

Understanding the Nexus around Entrepreneurship & Economic Growth in Africa

Coming from a premise of factor-driven economies, Africa has not in the past explored extensively the relationship that exists around entrepreneurship, economic growth & structural transformation. However, as we highlighted in our article on Fusing Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Economic Growth in Africa; the tide is quickly changing, and now it’s the right time for...

Path To Civilization: The Industrial Revolution Simplified

Coming immediately after the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution was characterized by mechanization of production processes, use of new sources of energy and rapid urbanization. The Agricultural Revolution led to increased food production which lowered the cost of food and shifted the focus of communities into demanding other goods and services that could improve their...