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Starlink at The Kenyan Wall Street, Central Bank Lowers Rate Again
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Kenyan Wall Street
December 09, 2024
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Two Months of Starlink at The Kenyan Wall Street, Here’s What We’ve Learned
As a digital media company, a reliable internet source is priceless. Journalists are always in a race against time so periodic lapses of ‘no internet’ can disparage our effectiveness.
When the satellite internet service – Starlink – came into the Kenyan market last year, a lot was said about its speed, reliability, and costs. The Kenyan Wall Street decided to get the hardware kit and set it up on the roof of its offices at the Nairobi Securities Exchange Building along Westlands Road.
We then promised our readers that we would test the efficacy of the network over the course of a few weeks, adding relevant data that would help you judge whether it suits your business. We would also highlight our opinion, determining if the new service we got was better than our previous internet solutions.
Stay updated on this and other stories on The Kenyan Wall Street.
“Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”
-Herbert Hoover
Central Bank Slashes Benchmark Rate, But Will It Spur Growth?
Last week, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) lowered the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 11.25% at its final Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC) of 2024, marking the third consecutive rate cut in the year.
The decision follows weeks of lobbying by bankers for more rate cuts, and back and forth between the sector and policymakers on who is to blame for the lack of credit to the private sector.
“The Committee observed that short-term rates on government securities had declined sharply in line with the CBR, but that banks had not responded by lowering their rates proportionately,” Dr. Kamau Thugge, CBK Governor said.
Private sector credit growth was relatively unchanged year on year which the CBK attributes to reduced demand owing to the high lending rates coupled with effects of exchange rate valuation on foreign currency loans.
“The MPC, therefore, urges the banks to take necessary steps to lower their lending rates, in order to stimulate credit to the private sector, and thereby stimulate more economic activity,” he added.
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