For a majority of Kenyans, a conversation on spending within their means, increasing their productivity at work, borrowing wisely and investing prudently makes for a very uncomfortable talk full of hard facts.

Equity Bank has always hoped to go big on mobile phone banking as one of the cheapest routes to deliver financial services to its eight million account holders.

In the Bible, the number seven is associated with completion and perfection. In the telecoms sector, the number appears to be pretty lucky, too.

Business Beat went in search of some of the members of TNA who helped craft President Uhuru Kenyatta’s campaign but remained unknown. Some have started their own businesses, others have opted to stay in the civil service. For those in business, the work they did for the President has opened so many doors, that in some cases, they have to turn away clients. These are their stories:

With yuMobile’s exit due to be finalised and its assets stripped, another key mobile operator may be following in its steps and could soon announce its way out from the Kenyan market.

The UK-based Robinow brothers will be in town this week. The two own 57 per cent of Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Rea Vipingo, the largest sisal producer in Africa, and want to buy out the other shareholders.

The tale of KCB and Equity Bank is bound to get most interesting this year as the two largest Kenyan banks by assets race to dominate business in the region.

Essar Group’s sale of a stake in yuMobile to raise Sh8.5 billion for the teleco’s operations is said to have attracted bids from its competitors such as Safaricom and Airtel.

That there has been a property boom in Kenya goes without saying. It is plain for everyone to see. Real estate agents across the country have made money. Land speculators have bet big, and so far it is paying off.

The talk of town is that Kenya’s middle class is growing. On the face of it, it is evident — the display of affluence is conspicuous.

There have been a lot of undercurrents in Kenya’s cement sector the last three months.

It has been six months since Aliko Dangote announced plans to set up from scratch a Sh34 billion cement plant in Kenya.

The strong rally of shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange has reignited debate as to whether the government has missed out on billions of shilling in tax revenue by not introducing capital gains tax on shares traded at the bourse.

In November last year, the Society for International Development released a report on the state of East Africa.

On Friday, Safaricom shares touched an all-time high of Sh12.80. The mother of all stock market questions is whether the stock that started trading at the Nairobi bourse more than five years ago has the momentum to get to Sh15 in the coming weeks, if not days.

With the new NSSF Act, workers will have to give the State-run fund more money from June, but it’s not all bad news

British currency printer, De La Rue is wooing the Government with the promise of a quick return on investment to push through a joint venture currency printing agreement.

British currency printer De La Rue has boxed the Kenyan government into a corner to push through a partnership deal by next month.

The gloves are off for a new round of mudslinging and messy fight for the local mobile phone services market.

In 1964, a year after Kenya’s independence, Somchand Devji Shah, won a Government tender to operate a large sisal plantation and factory in Embu on lease

Will the conflict that has broken out in South Sudan force Kenyan companies to rethink their regional expansion plans that have enjoyed the fruits of peace dividends?

The African telecoms landscape is staring at a major shakeup, with the recent revelation that US-based telecom giant AT&T is laying the groundwork for a possible takeover of Vodafone Group next year.

For the next few months, Rea Vipingo shareholders, and Kenyan investors at large, should acquaint themselves with one of the best business books published in the last 30 years, Barbarians at the Gate.

The announcement by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) last week that the price of power for most households will drop beginning next month was met with a lot of confusion.

There is an interesting trend emerging from companies bidding farewell to the Nairobi Securities Exchange when strategic investors acquire them and take them private.

The window through which the flamboyant billionaire Chris Kirubi can make a purchase of Sh1billion worth of shares in Centum opened last week.

Keith*, 26, has worked in the finance department of two government ministries over the last three years.

KCB plans to use its recently launched mobile banking platform to grow its customer deposits to Sh316 billion by the end of the year

Adding one million people every year piles significant pressure on Kenya’s resources

As Kenya finally kicked off its largest mining project this month, there was a mixed sense of hope and uncertainty about the newfound mineral wealth.

When the government sold Telkom Kenya to the French in December 2007, the main objective was to stop the perpetual pumping of taxpayers’ money into what had evolved into an inefficient monolith.

The KenolKobil chief executive officer faces up to six months in jail if he does not appear in court to hear a case filed by the oil marketers’ employees, court documents show.

Devolution: A behind-the-scenes look at the men tasked with running counties and managing their resources.

Kenya’s global competitiveness may be up, but its ‘worrisome’ security continues to deter greater foreign investor interest

Kenya’s chief taxman John Njiraini has put local audit firms on the spot for their role in helping multinational firms evade paying billions of shillings in taxes.

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Chief Executive Officer Joshua Oigara is a shrewd manager. During a media interview in December last year, after being appointed KCB’s group chief executive, he demonstrated his embracing of technology as the modern way of doing business.

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has reported a 38 per cent drop in profits after tax in its full year results ending June 2013.

“This was a simple fire gone bad,” with those words President Uhuru Kenyatta ruled out the possibility of terrorism on the fire that broke out on August 7, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Airport officials expect several months of security and logistical challenges as they struggle to offer “normal” passenger services with limited facilities.

The devastating damage to a section of the country’s biggest airport by a fire witnesses said spread fast because of poor response, put the Kenya Airport Authority’s emergency response on the spot.