Power Utility Distributor Extends Internet to Homes

The fibre to the home partnership between electricity distributor Kenya power and telecommunication services providers like Safaricom is a novel approach to cost cutting efficiency and universal access. 

On cost efficiency, apparently it costs about KSh 7,000 to bury a meter of fibre optic cable, but the cost of hanging the internet cables on power poles is significantly lower.  Kenya Power also says that it will make savings by using its existing labour force to connect fibre cables to homes. 

See more here.

Retail Distribution Services in Kenya

This is an interesting piece on the retail distribution services sector and the inflow of foreign brands into Kenya.  The growing retail sector has attracted international brands such Foshini Group, French supermarket chain Carrefour and fast-food companies like Pizza Hut, Subway and Burger King.  

Read more here.

Can Africa Feed Africa?

A new World Bank report Africa Can Help Feed Africa: Removing barriers to regional trade in food staples ―says that Africa’s farmers can potentially grow enough food to feed the continent and avert future food crises if countries remove cross-border restrictions on the food trade within the region. According to the Bank, the continent would also generate an extra US$20 billion in yearly earnings if African leaders can agree to dismantle trade barriers that blunt more regional dynamism. The report was released on the eve of an African Union (AU) ministerial summit in Addis Ababa on agriculture and trade.

According to the report “Africa has the ability to grow and deliver good quality food to put on the dinner tables of the continent’s families, however, this potential is not being realized because farmers face more trade barriers in getting their food to market than anywhere else in the world. Too often borders get in the way of getting food to homes and communities which are struggling with too little to eat.”

With many African farmers effectively cut off from the high-yield seeds, and the affordable fertilizers and pesticides needed to expand their crop production, including unpredictable weather patterns, the continent has turned to foreign imports to meet its growing needs in staple foods.

See full report here for some policy considerations.