09-01-2023 13:58:00 | by: Pie Kamau | hits: 135 | Tags:
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), granted a ‘No Objection’ to Acorn Investment Management, to roll-out a retail investor aggregator platform ‘Vuka’ to the mass market upon the successful completion of the test in the CMA Regulatory Sandbox. Retail investors are onboarded to Vuka by registering and pay joining and annual membership fees. Once on the platform, investors contribute funds into Acorn Capital Partners LLP (ACPL) through a CMA-licensed custodial account. ACPL purchases units in asset-backed and CMA-approved products such as the Acorn Student Accommodation Income Real Estate Investment Trust (ASA I-REIT) and allocates them to investors in Vuka, in proportion to their investments. Investors can trade amongst themselves on the platform by placing buy and sell orders. Whenever excess buy or sell orders are recorded, the additional units are purchased from the Nairobi Securities Exchange Unquoted Securities Platform. Wyckliffe Shamiah, CEO, CMA: ''This innovation has demonstrated the ability to mobilize retail investor participation in REITs, in addition to enhancing financial literacy by providing a tangible platform through which investors can buy and sell units among themselves and learn how trading in the capital markets works. Retail investors in Vuka are encouraged to hold their investments for the long-term as that is the nature of real estate.'' The innovation also provides liquidity for retail investors, as a response to the illiquid nature of real estate investments. The fintech was admitted to the Regulatory Sandbox live-testing environment on 20 August 2021. The CMA has noted that the firm will be required to comply with continuous obligations established by the Authority including continuous reporting on a quarterly basis.

[Kenya] CMA exits investment platform Vuka from the Regulatory Sandbox

Brastorne has implemented disruptive solutions to dissolve the barriers to digital inclusion in Africa
The Challenge More and more aspects of modern life have moved online. Access to information, economic opportunities, and how we interact with our social circles are all reliant on access to the internet. Access to this near-limitless online world leads to empowerment for those with ready access. However, digital inclusion is not universal and a growing digital divide is excluding entire segments of our society from the potentially limitless benefits. This is certainly the case in Africa, where 650 million of the continent’s one billion people own mobile phones, but the majority lack meaningful digital access. There are a startling 760 million unconnected people in Africa. Economic realities are driving this digital divide. Africans use feature phones in large numbers, leaving only a few people who have both smartphones and the data plans required to be online. When they have a smartphone, digital access comes at a crippling cost. One gigabyte of mobile data costs an average of $6.44 in Africa, which is equivalent to a week’s wages for the majority of the continent’s rural poor. There are many efforts globally to promote digital inclusion, but Africa is still left behind. Brastorne acknowledges these realities and has implemented disruptive solutions to dissolve the barriers to digital inclusion in Africa. The Solution
Brastorne is dedicated to connecting the 760 million Africans who currently lack meaningful access to the digital world. Using existing infrastructure, standard telco networks, Brastorne’s technology turns the continent’s ubiquitous feature phones into internet portals for less than $0.05 per day. For these feature phone users, Brastorne’s solutions provide an experience similar to that of a smartphone mobile app. This is accomplished through a suite of technology solutions including USSD, IVR, or Voice to promote digital inclusion through Brastorne’s applications Mpotsa, mAgri and Vuka. Mpotsa, which translates to “ask me how?” in English, is a two-way telephone-based question/answer platform that aims to provide users with information on almost anything. It provides information to users by acting as a Google-like service that uses the user-friendly technology of Voice/IVR. Farmers use mAgri to access advisory services, wikipedia, weather/pest alerts, crop prices, and financial services, as well as trade, chat, and email in their native language. Vuka facilitates and accelerates convenient communication through USSD, allowing users to chat, send in-person messages, or broadcast messages on both low-end phones and smartphones. These solutions empower numerous communities that rely on feature phones by giving them access to essential information such as employment opportunities, health advice, and legal services. Related Posts
The Impact
Brastorne has brought the power of the internet to millions of people, improving their lives. Through Brastorne’s flagship product Smallholder Farmers experience increased access to communications and Women Smallholder Farmers see increased Crop Yield and increased revenue. In 2021, 36 000 farmers gained access to information, markets, & communication in Botswana through mAgri. Furthermore Brastorne users realized 85% Monthly Savings in costs of information and communication access compared to alternatives (data bundles, physical travel costs etc), which can cost $15+/month. Brastorne users in total have realized $3.4 million total annual savings across all 60,000 subscribers in 2021. These savings can now be put to use to improve their farm, feed their families, or buy much-needed personal items. Brastorne’s information access service Mpotsa has brought the power of the internet to new users, giving them increased access to information, medical treatment, COVID vaccinations, and access to jobs. The service is a literal lifeline with an estimated 60% of Mpotsa subscribers who cannot otherwise afford digital information. In 2021, Mpotsa connected 25,231 total youth, over 15,000 of whom would otherwise have remained unconnected. This resulted in $60,554 total information access cost savings. The Future
With its mission of connecting 760 million Africans who lack meaningful access to today’s digital world, Brastorne plans to expand its solutions to 19 different African countries. Brastorne is currently operational in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and most recently Cameroon having launched in October through partnerships with mobile network providers such as Orange. It plans to address the realities of Africa’s lack of connectivity by enabling digital inclusion and its dividends through mAgri and Vuka.

Brastorne Connects the Unconnected in Africa

The Traveling Work Diary of a Master Distiller
Marianne Eaves has traded the distillery life for travels with her partner’s circus, connecting to clients in the spirits business from all over the globe. Marianne EavesCredit...Rahim Fortune for The New York Times
Supported by
April 11, 2021
Marianne Eaves, a whiskey expert and entrepreneur, is all about “the journey.” She calls Eaves Blind , her new subscription-based blind-tasting kit, a “yearlong journey through eight different bourbons.” And she says the key to a good bourbon blend is not just its warm finish, but the journey through different flavor profiles that leads you there. Ms. Eaves, 34, has been called Kentucky’s first female master distiller, an honorific that carries a lot of weight in the whiskey world. To her, the title simply means “someone who’s responsible for the quality of what goes in the bottle.” That includes overseeing research and development, equipment installation, marketing and tasting, all skills she honed while interning at the Louisville spirits company Brown-Forman and working at the distillery Castle & Key in Frankfort. Now flying solo, the whiskey enthusiast with a chemical engineering degree creates recipes and consults for spirits brands around the globe, while starting ventures of her own. Her life also revolves around journeying in a very literal sense. Since 2019, Ms. Eaves has resided in an R.V. trailer — a 42-foot fifth-wheel toy hauler, to be exact — with her partner, Kevin Venardos. Along with their 1-year-old daughter (and another baby on the way), the family roams from city to city with Mr. Venardos’s circus . In November, the tent hosted its last socially distanced event, in Buda, Texas, and the family has been parked there ever since. While waiting for live-event restrictions to ease up across the nation, Ms. Eaves blends spirits at her kitchen table and conducts taste tests at a temporary office in nearby Austin. “I think people are surprised to hear I left what seemed like a fairy-tale job at a bourbon castle in Kentucky and ran away with the circus,” she said, adding that her pivot has been a “great adventure.”
“I see this as a musical interlude to the next big step for me in spirits.”
Keeping with her nomadic streak, Ms. Eaves is converting an old circus Freightliner truck into a mobile spirits laboratory, where she can experiment with new ingredients and techniques, visit distilleries and schmooze with fellow booze enthusiasts. She calls the new project “bourbon jet-setting.” With a debut set for late 2021, it’ll roll alongside the circus. During a phone call in early March, she talked about both her mobile and mail-order endeavors, as well as staying safe while entering her second trimester of pregnancy. “As long as I pace myself, I’m swishing with water and it doesn’t enter my bloodstream, I’m OK,” she said. “I can’t sit there and swallow it. Swish and expectorate!”
Interviews are conducted via email and phone, then condensed and edited. Monday
6:30 a.m. Today, I’m moving bourbon samples out of the private office I’ve been renting at Vuka , a co-working space in Austin. I meant to do it the previous day, but I fell behind schedule after the winter storms closed Texas, and I’ve been busting my butt playing catch-up ever since. Being pregnant also doesn’t help my energy levels. 8:30 a.m. After we take our daughter, Andi, to her nanny’s house, Kevin drives me to Vuka. On the way, I call my distribution partner in Canada to discuss introducing Eaves Blind to that market. We’re having a hard time securing the licenses we need for spirits sales because the tasting program doesn’t meet their government’s standards. 9:30 a.m. Kevin assembles moving boxes, and we pack all 260 samples. I’ve approved various lots for my Tennessee bourbon client, Sweetens Cove , based on six different barrels ranging from three different ages, four to six to 16 years old. 11:30 a.m. We head to lunch at this vegan spot, Casa de Luz , then back home to unpack the remaining spirits, plus my graduated cylinders, beakers, scales and other tools. 1 p.m. Start compiling a long list of to-do items for a Chinese client who is constructing a distillery in Fujian. I’m creating a timeline of everything that needs to happen before they whip up their first run of single-malt products, including equipment cleaning and testing, as well as ingredient sourcing. I also review all of the instrumentation diagrams their Scottish engineering firm provided. I love the technical side of the industry! 3 p.m. Time to pick up the baby. On the way, I call an Australian-based design firm about a collaborative project with Lindsay Hoopes of Hoopes Vineyard in Napa. We discuss names for a smoked brandy we created using grapes affected by the 2017 and 2020 wildfires. I’m excited about the name we all like — it’s sexy and provocative. 4 p.m. Head home for our nighttime routine with Andi — dancing, lots of funny faces, plus some walking and “talking.” She’s got the hard “k” sound down. She tries to say “truck,” “rock” and “duck,” but it just sounds like she’s sitting there cussing. 7 p.m. Kevin and I spend a little time alone together watching “The Last of the Mohicans,” because he’s on a Daniel Day-Lewis kick. Today in Business
Tuesday
6:30 a.m. I pluck our sweet morning angel from her crib and give her a diaper change, a bottle and some cuddles, then it’s playtime. 8:30 a.m. With Kevin and the baby off to the nanny’s, I eat breakfast, take a shower and start thinking about rum. 9:30 a.m. I set rum samples out in the kitchen and develop blends for a taste test. I try an addition of sugar (or a “dosage”) but find I prefer the samples in their natural state. Once I finalize the blends, I bottle them and get them ready to send to a client in Florida. Noon Call Sarah Perez, a Black female brewer in Wasilla, Alaska, who reached out to me via Instagram . She recently spearheaded a local chapter of the Pink Boots Society , a nonprofit that helps women brewing professionals. We talk about a possible collaboration, and I learn that the society has expanded to include all fermented beverages, meaning I’m now eligible to join. 1:15 p.m. I clean up after my blending exercise and tune the TV to “Bridgerton” for some background noise while I review orders for the tasting kit. They were initially intended to ship March 1, but that’s been delayed to April because of Covid-related issues in the supply chain. 2 p.m. Exchange emails with my box and label manufacturers to ensure that I can stay relatively close to my budget and timeline for my kits, but everything is going over budget. I should have expected as much — it’s my first time doing a release completely on my own. 3:30 p.m. On my way to pick up the baby. 7:30 p.m. After Andi goes to sleep, I have a quick update call from a partner in California to discuss a Kentucky-produced bourbon that will hopefully be launching in 2022. Then I get in bed to read “ The Science of Storytelling .” It’s giving me ideas for the book I want to write about becoming a distiller, something in the vein of “ Lab Girl .”
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Eat breakfast and do a few dishes, then put on “real” clothing for a Zoom call. 9 a.m. Talk with my partners in a Kentucky bourbon venture using a special recipe I developed and produced for them about three years ago. We look at nine exciting bottle designs done by the Ohio-based firm Holotype . One of these will be our bottle! 10:30 a.m. Respond to an email from a larger-scale distillery in Australia looking for help with managing their quality-control system as they scale up. They have a successful team of in-house blenders, but they need someone experienced who can help them set up smart methods for operating effectively and efficiently. Noon After lentil soup for lunch, I start packing up the house. We’ve been parked behind Buck’s Backyard , but the bar is hosting a BBQ competition this week, so we have to move to a new location temporarily. 2 p.m. After settling in our new spot, Kevin heads out to collect Andi while I try to make some headway on work. More emails with my label manufacturer, then I have a call with a client in Illinois to discuss a new recipe. 6:45 p.m. After her nightcap bottle, the baby is ready for bed early, so I lay her down and keep working. Thursday
9:30 a.m. Zoom call with a Holotype designer, Dale Doyle. I bring him up to date on my Covid-related delays, and we talk about what’s left to be done for the tasting-kit launch, including finalizing the label design and product photography. 10 a.m. Start blending the same set of rum that I prepared on Tuesday; the client wants it prepped for some key players on their team to try. Noon Head out to send a few shipments and get a change of scenery from the inside of our R.V. The terrain here is so different from what I’m used to in Kentucky. It’s a lot more vast. There are so many species of oak trees that grow here, which fascinates my “bourbon brain.”
3 p.m. I hop in the car and take my weekly update call with the Sweetens Cove team to talk about upcoming product launch events in Texas, Colorado and Louisiana. 3:45 p.m. I’m back at Vuka — using their public space now — and I hop on a call with a single malt distillery expert, Jordan Via. We chat about malt production for almost two hours while I take vigorous notes. I decide right away that I need to get into a malt whiskey distillery and start brewing beer at home (the processes are similar). My mind is spinning thinking about setting up a mini-brewery in my mobile laboratory. 6:30 p.m. Back home, Kevin and I call my mom to let her know the news that Andi is going to be a big sister. She’s the first family member we’ve told. Friday
8:30 a.m. I tinker with images on the Eaves Blind website, then curl my hair and try to get this GoPro camera figured out so I can record some videos at the office. 10 a.m. I head into Austin with bourbon, tasting glasses, graduated pipettes, my ring light, GoPro and makeup in tow. I plan to record video of the blending process to use as marketing content. Then I’ll create “Welcome” videos for members-only website pages. I want to give more details about what they’ll experience and get them excited. 11 a.m. For the first video, I unwrap 45 bourbon samples on camera, thinking I’ll do some kind of “fast-forward” effect when I edit it. This is my first time creating this kind of content on my own, but I’m excited to get outside my comfort zone and learn some new tricks. Noon All my gadgets die, and I’m hungry. I’ve successfully recorded six videos, and I’m hoping I have enough quality content for the site. I pack everything and go home to get power and some food. 1 p.m. As I’m eating leftover Singaporean tofu, Kevin calls his mother to break the news. 2 p.m. I start downloading the videos, while handling business emails on my phone. One message is from a videographer that Sweetens Cove hired to shoot a video of me discussing their next whiskey release. We schedule the shoot for the coming Tuesday. 4:30 p.m. After picking Andi up from the nanny’s, we’re ready for some family time. 7:30 p.m. The baby’s in bed, and I’m still trying to figure out how to download the videos from earlier. I realize that, while I’ve always enjoyed winging these kinds of clips, I really should put some effort into writing a script over the weekend, then try to reshoot on Monday. Advertisement

The Traveling Work Diary of a Master Distiller

Mi 05.08.2020 - 13:22
In unserer volatilen, unsicheren, komplexen und ambivalenten «VUKA»-Welt gibt es auch für Ihr IT-KMU nur mit echt agiler Führung reelle Zukunftschancen. Doch bilden Sie sich als Führungskraft nicht fälschlicherweise ein, bereits agil zu sein. Ich zeige die 3 Erfolgsfaktoren für mehr Agilität und damit signifikant grösseren Unternehmenserfolg. (Source: Ledergerber und Partner)
(Source: Ledergerber und Partner)
Seit etlichen Jahren geistert der Mythos agiler Führung umher. Alles müsse agil sein. Agilität verkam vielerorts zusehends zum Unwort – zu Recht, wie ich finde. Zu oft wurde Agilität als Feigenblatt verwendet, um Altlasten und Missstände zu verdecken. Aber ebenso wissen wir, wie wichtig Agilität in der Führung von IT-KMUs ist. Ohne proaktive, dynamische, flexible Führung haben sie keine reellen Zukunftschancen mehr. Und wir sehen klar, wie viel erfolgreicher IT-KMUs sind, die eine effektiv agile Unternehmensführung haben. Unternehmer und Führungskräfte finden ihr KMU agiler als die Mitarbeitenden
Unsere tägliche KMU-Praxis und breit abgestützte Studien* zeigen das weit verbreitete Problem: Unternehmen bilden sich ein, agil zu sein. Dabei sieht es vielerorts ganz anders aus. Man ist (noch immer) weit weg, KMUs proaktiv, dynamisch und flexibel zu führen. Meine Erfahrung in IT-KMUs zeigt, dass es 3 Erfolgsfaktoren sind, die KMUs letztlich wirklich agiler machen:
1. Unternehmensleitbild und Strategie beharrlich ­kommunizieren und umsetzen
Wenn die Agilität noch nicht in den Köpfen all Ihrer Mitarbeitenden verankert ist, die Unternehmenskultur noch nicht dort ist, wo sie sein sollte. Dann ist es an der Zeit, das Leitbild und die Strategie zu entwickeln, fortlaufend zu kommunizieren und konsequent umzusetzen:
Warum gibt es unser Unternehmen überhaupt (die ­Daseinsberechtigung, Mission)? Wie tun wir, was wir tun? Und wie führen wir (Werte und Führungsgrundsätze)? Wohin wollen wir – wie soll die Situation dann aus­sehen (Vision)? Und wie kommen wir konkret dahin (Strategie)? 2. Organisationsstrukturen systematisch weiterentwickeln
60 Prozent der Mitarbeitenden wünschen sich flachere ­Hierarchien, mehr Verantwortung und stärker selbst­bestimmtes Arbeiten. * Immer wieder berichten mir Unternehmer und Geschäftsführer im gleichen Atemzug von Agilität und radikaler Selbstorganisation von Unternehmen – dem selbstorganisierten Paradies. Das aber gibt es so nicht! Wichtig und absolut erfolgskritisch ist, das optimale Mass an Demokratisierung systematisch auszuloten und zu leben. Denn «die» perfekte Organisationsform gibt es nicht! Denn sie ist stets ein Kompromiss verschiedenster, teils auch ei­nander widersprechender Anforderungen:
zwischen Dynamik (Flexibilität) und Stabilität ­(Effizienz),
zwischen Dezentralisierung (Unabhängigkeit) und Zentralisierung (Abhängigkeit) und vielem mehr. So entwickeln Sie Ihre Unternehmensorganisation systematisch und umfassend weiter. Genau auf den Kontext und den Zweck Ihres Unternehmens abgestimmt. 3. Führung und Unternehmenskultur gezielt weiterentwickeln
70 Prozent der Führungskräfte sagen, dass sie ihre Mitarbeitenden aktiv motivieren, neue Ideen auszuprobieren, Fehler zu machen und daraus zu lernen. Aber nur 16 Prozent der Mitarbeitenden erleben das auch so von ihren Vorgesetzten. * Change in Organisationen muss immer zuerst in der Führung passieren. Denn Veränderung muss vorgelebt werden. Und Veränderung muss auch wirklich verstanden und auch tatsächlich angenommen werden. So gilt es zuerst, die Führungskultur systematisch weiterzuentwickeln. Denn die Unternehmenskultur ist letztlich einfach ein Abbild der gelebten Führungskultur. Und eben: Unternehmen mit einer sehr guten Führungskultur haben letztlich signifikant grösseren Unternehmenserfolg. Wo stehen Sie und Ihr Führungsteam bezüglich agiler Führung Ihres IT-Unternehmens und Ihrer Mitarbeitenden? Welche Erfahrungen haben Sie gemacht? Welchen Herausforderungen stehen Sie gegenüber? Tags

KMU-Erfolg steigern: Führungskräfte und der Irrglaube, agil zu sein

U blizini Plitvica otvorene staze koje prate korake Vuka, Risa i Medvjeda
Autor: Poslovni.hr , 31. srpanj 2020. u 13:09
Foto: Press
Nove staze prolaze kroz veći kompleks mještovite listopadne šume koja nudi dom velikom broju biljnih i životinjskih vrsta. Današnjim otvorenjem u lokalitetu Baraćevih špilja brojnim turistima koji posjećuju plitvičko područje na raspolaganju je nova, vrlo zanimljiva turistička atrakcija – pješačke staze koje slijede korake Vuka, Risa i Medvjeda. Ovo područje bogato je kako biljnim tako i životinjskim svijetom, a trasiranjem koraka životinja posjetitelji će moći doživjeti jedinstveno iskustvo kretanja velikih divljih zvijeri. Radi se o zaštićenom području kojim upravlja Javna ustanova Baraćeve špilje, a osim avanturistima i ljubiteljima životinja, ova ponuda će sigurno biti zanimljiva šetačima, rekreativcima, ljubiteljima prirode i nordijskog pješačenja,
„Pri samoj ideji i uređenju staza, imali smo na umu posjetitelje Baraćevih špilja, kojima prije ili nakon samog obilaska špilje, nudimo dodatan, vrlo atraktivan sadržaj. Otići duboko u šumu i slijediti korake divljih zvijeri nešto je što ćete svakako pamtiti čitav život i što će vas dobuko povezati s prirodom.“, ističe ravnateljica Tihana Oštrina. Staze su kružnog oblika ukupne duljine 11,5 kilometara, uz markacije u obliku šapa dodatno su označene putokazima na važnim raskrižjima, a start i cilj je na izletištu Baraćevih špilja. Vučja staza je najkraća i za obilazak je potrebno tek 20 minuta hoda, tako da je pogodna i za šetače početnike. Vukovi, kao i ljudi vole se kretati u svom ”čoporu”, a za trasiranje ove staze bilo ih je potrebno pomno pratiti. Risja staza duga je 3 kilometra i slijedi korake euroazijskog risa koji je u Hrvatskoj ugrožena vrsta sisavca. Za život treba i koristi velika područja, u tom smislu jedne je od najzahtjevnijih i najizazovnijih vrsta za očuvanje, a njegova prisutnost znak je izvrsne očuvanosti ekosustava. Kretanje risa zabilježeno je na području Baraćevih špilja te posjetitelji na stazi mogu otkriti posebnost šumskog ekosustava u kojem je upravo on pronašao svoje povremeno utočište. Medvjeđa staza uređena je za šetače željne izazova koji na raspolaganju imaju barem 3 sata, obzirom da je duga 7,5 kilometara. Staza slijedi korake smeđeg medvjeda, diva naših planinskih šuma i krije najljepše vidikovce i okrijepe na šumskim izvorima i potocima. Nove staze prolaze kroz veći kompleks mještovite listopadne šume koja nudi dom velikom broju biljnih i životinjskih vrsta. Nove staze prolaze jednim djelom i po travnjacima. Radi se o suhim i polusuhim travnjacima koji predstavljaju važna staništa brojim rijetkim i ugroženim biljnim i životinjskim vrstama. Zbog napuštanja sela i tradicionalnog načina gospodarenja, mnogi brdski travnjaci nestaju zbog postupnog obrastanja drvenastim i grmolikim vrstama iz obližnjih šuma te spadaju među najugroženije ekosustave u Hrvatskoj. Zbog korištenja staze, travnjaci će se redovito kositi i tako će se očuvati vrijedno stanište, što je jedan od najvažnijih ciljeva upravljanja zaštićenim krajobrazom Baraćeve špilje. Posjetitelji su pozvani da izaberu stazu sukladno svojoj fizičkoj pripremljenosti, ponesu adekvatnu obuću i odjeću te  prošetaju Vučjom, Risjom ili Medvjeđom stazom!

U blizini Plitvica otvorene staze koje prate korake Vuka, Risa i Medvjeda

KeHE provides natural, organic and specialty products to natural food stores, chain grocery stores, independent grocery stores and other specialty product retailers throughout North America.

KeHE

`` KeHE is excited to engage in a new partnership with Vuka '' , said Alex Marx , KeHE for Coffee , Tea and Beverages .

Vuka’s Distribution Expands with KeHE Distributors

Vuka develops, produces, and sells energy and vitamin drinks. It is based in Del Mar, California.

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