In the six months leading up to December 2023, Kenya Power gained 256,206 new consumers to the national electrical grid, increasing its total customer base to 9,454,819, the power company announced on Tuesday.

According to the firm, this amounted to 13.87 percent higher than the 225,000 clients it had targeted for grid connection during this time.

The electrical supplier expedited the installation of meters for new connections by launching the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) across the country in October of last year.

At the time, Kenya Power ascribed the 236,924 outstanding new connections to lengthy legal disputes that delayed the delivery of meters and other supplies.

Meter availability has subsequently improved, according to Kenya Power CEO and managing director Joseph Siror, who also stated on Tuesday that the corporation hopes to add 4 million more subscribers to the national grid by 2030 and 400,000 new customers by the end of the current fiscal year.

To meet its yearly connectivity goals, Kenya Power also hinges on the execution of other initiatives like the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP).

The LMCP, which is supported by the Kenyan government and development partners including as the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), AFD, European Union (EU), European Investment Bank (BIB), and JICA, has reportedly connected 1,431,423 users to the grid thus far.

The community-led draft Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) bill has an extended feedback period, according to the Blockchain Association of Kenya (BAK), Kenya’s top lobby group for the digital asset sector.

The association received a mandate from the National Assembly’s Finance and National Planning Committee in November 2023, which led to the development of the VASP Bill.

The BAK was given the responsibility of creating a framework to regulate the cryptocurrency market as the absence of one had allowed questionable coin scams to proliferate and steal millions of Kenyans.

On February 14, 2023, the VASP Bill was expected to be delivered to the National Assembly Committee. However, in consultation with its members, the association decided to extend the feedback period due to the increased interest from new stakeholders, including government agencies and other stakeholders affected by bill elements.

The Executive Board of the association declared at a stakeholder breakfast on the 16th at the Sankara Hotel that the feedback time would be extended to a later date in the future. The bill is open for review and comment from interested parties.

Should the bill pass, it would have an impact on a wide range of stakeholders, some of whom might not even be directly associated with the digital asset industry. Thus, the purpose of the extended feedback time is to obtain feedback from all parties impacted, either directly or indirectly, by the provisions of the Virtual Asset Service Providers law.

“The Virtual Asset Service Provider bill is a significant milestone towards curbing the rampant crypto currency-related scams that thrive and continue to defraud Kenyans of millions of shillings because there are no frameworks to protect the public,” Board Chairman Michael Kimani said during the breakfast meeting.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) issued a warning to Kenyans last week about the rise in con artists preying on people through cryptocurrency schemes.

The association was tasked with drafting a bill that outlines licensing requirements and consumer protection principles in order to guarantee that Kenyans are protected to the fullest extent feasible. This is one of the reasons behind this responsibility, among others.

Since the Central Bank of Kenya advised banks not to cooperate with cryptocurrency companies in 2015, a significant portion of the cryptocurrency industry has moved underground, operating unchecked and making it challenging for law enforcement and government agencies to deal with.

The yen held constant near the psychologically significant level of 150 per dollar, while the dollar remained stable on Monday following data released last week that indicated U.S. inflation remained sticky and raised questions about when the Federal Reserve would begin its easing cycle.

In recent days, the yen has been trading close to 150, which has caused officials to discuss the currency movements and alerted markets to the possibility of Japanese government intervention.

The yen rose 0.20% to 149.94 per dollar in early trade on Monday, but it is still down 6% for the year. Against the euro, the yen was trading at three-month lows of 161.925.

Speaking against swift moves and threatening action even outside of its time zone, Ministry of Finance officials “took the first step onto the intervention escalation ladder,” according to Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex.

Chandler stated that there doesn’t seem to be much in the charts to prevent a test of the 152 per dollar level from last year.

Due to the Presidents’ Day holiday, U.S. markets are closed on Monday. As a result, trading volumes are probably going to be low all day.

After recording five straight weeks of increases, the dollar index, which compares the value of the US dollar against six major rivals, began the week down 0.058% at 104.14. This year, the index is up 3%.

Data released last week revealed that both U.S. producer and consumer prices rose more than expected in January, elevating the potential of a delayed start to the Fed’s rate cuts.

Compared to March at the beginning of the year, traders are now predicting that June would mark the commencement of the easing cycle, according to the CME FedWatcg tool.

In addition, the markets have removed two quarter-point rate cuts for this year, implying less than 100 basis points of easing as opposed to the 150 basis points of reduction first anticipated.

Citi strategists said data released this week proved that an economic soft landing has not occurred and “makes us more convinced that one will not be.” According to their note, declining retail sales and the ongoing increase in unemployment claims are indicators of a weakening economy.

This week’s attention among investors will be on the Fed meeting minutes from last month, which are due out on Wednesday. This week, a number of Fed representatives are scheduled to speak, including Raphael Bostic and Christopher Waller.

The majority of the market’s hawkish adjustment may have already occurred, according to OCBC currency strategist Christopher Wong, who believes the dollar will stabilize in the absence of new catalysts.

Eleven of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies will be in Africa by 2024, according to the African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB) 2018 Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook of the continent, which was released on Friday.

In 2024 and 2025, respectively, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth across the continent is predicted to average 3.8% and 4.2%.

According to the research, this is greater than the estimated global averages of 2.9% and 3.2%.

After Asia, the continent is expected to continue increasing at the second-fastest rate.

Niger (11.2%), Senegal (8.2%), Libya (7.9%), Rwanda (7.2%), Cote d’Ivoire (6.8%), Ethiopia (6.7%), Benin (6.4%), Djibouti (6.2%), Tanzania (6.1%), Togo (6%), and Uganda (6%) are the top 11 African nations predicted to have excellent economic performance forecasts.

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB, stated, “15 African countries have posted output expansions of more than 5% despite the challenging global and regional economic environment.” He called for larger financing pools and a number of policy initiatives to further promote Africa’s growth.

Every year, in the midst of dynamic global economic developments, Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and perspective is released in the first and third quarters. It offers an evaluation of the continent’s recent macroeconomic performance as well as a short-to medium-term perspective.

The most recent report urges cautious optimism in light of the difficulties presented by regional and global dangers.

These risks include political instability, escalating geopolitical tensions, and an increase in regional wars; all of these could impede trade and investment flows and exacerbate inflationary pressures.

President Adesina emphasized that the faster-than-anticipated recovery from the epidemic has helped shore up revenue, which has improved the budgetary shortfalls.

He issued a warning, saying that as long as the world economy remains unstable, the financial standing of the African continent will remain susceptible to shocks from around the world.

The analysis demonstrates that the five regions of the continent have gradually improved medium-term growth prospects.