VenturesNow

Busy Boda launches to disrupt Kenya’s motorcycle hailing passenger and courier services

Published

5 years ago

August 21, 2018

Busy Boda is a motorcycle hailing startup which has launched in Nairobi with plans to bring order in this highly informal sector by focusing primarily on making boda boda riders digital entrepreneurs and not just survivors.

Though its launching to take on established services such as Taxify Boda, Sendy, Safeboda which launched recently in Kenya and the yet to be launched Uber Bike, Busy Boda says to it will focus on both passenger and courier services allowing users to use the app to get a ride for themselves, or for safe delivery of a parcel or even get a cheque banked.

Founded by 20 and 22 year-old siblings Atharva Tembhekar and Vaidehi Tembhekar, Busy Boda is also promising to provide financial planning training to riders so they can manage their money and save money to eventually buy their own motorbikes. All Busy Boda riders will also access value added services at affordable rates, with payment plans in the form of installments, which also helps riders save costs significantly in the long run.

Speaking to TechMoran, Vaidehi, who is a Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Sheffield and Atharva who is in his final year of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom said having heard of multiple situations where boda boda riders were exploited, they wanted to give back to the community they grew up in by creating an app that could create jobs, empower riders and help them grow into digital entrepreneurs.

“Busy Boda is a platform created to ensure riders don’t spend time waiting for clients at boda boda stages,” Vaidehi told TechMoran. “We want to encourage riders to be busier by doing more trips per day. This will increase their daily income.”

With a team comprising of tech-savvy millenials, Busy Boda says it takes only a small commission from the riders based on whether the ride was a passenger or courier ride.

“We have matatus that are a cost effective way of commute. We also have taxis that are a more expensive option but provide comfort. But what happens when you’re in traffic? Due to ever increasing congestion and traffic in Nairobi, productivity is being compromised therefore Busy Boda wishes to fill the gap with our innovative boda boda hailing Mobile App,” Vaidehi, told TechMoran.

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VenturesNow

Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

17 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

VenturesNow

Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

17 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.