Across many nations, the arrival of the pandemic came at a time that they were experiencing some degree of economic stress or political tension, which has resulted in a significant adverse impact on the customers, employees, investors, and governments. The study sought to assess the effect that impact of COVID-19 pandemic on performance5of Kenyan5banks. Specifically, the study5sought to5determine the5impact of COVID-19 pandemic on loans advance; establish the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on deposits and determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on profitability of Kenyan banks. The research5employed a descriptive5research design. The target5population of this5study was 42 Kenyan commercial5banks. This research involved all the 37 banks in Kenya between 2019 and 2020. The researcher collected quarterly secondary data from individual financial reports from CBK using data5collection sheet. The data5was collected for a period5of two5years. The researcher adopted an event study methodology in collecting data. The event window was two years from 2019 to 2020. This was done one year before the event (COVID 19) and one year during COVID 19. Quarterly data was collected for the variables. The5data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. The study utilized descriptive and inferential statistics. The researcher checked the performance before and during COVID-19. Comparison was done to establish the impact of Covid-19 on performance of Kenyan banks. The findings showed that the mean loans advances in the pre-Covid period was less than the mean loan advances in the Covid-19 period. This shows that loans advances increased with the onset of Covid-19. The study concludes that Covid-19 has a positive effect on loans advanced by Kenyan commercial banks. This shows that the Kenyan commercial banks have experienced increased level of loans advanced in the Covid-19 period. From the descriptive statistics, the mean deposits in the Covid-19 period was5higher than5the mean in the pre-Covid period. This shows that customer deposits increased with Covid-19. This leads to the conclusion that Covid-19 has a positive effect on deposit levels in Kenyan commercial banks. This shows that Covid-19 increased the level of deposits across the Kenyan commercial banks. The findings showed that Covid 19 reduced the profitability of Kenyan banks since the profits in the pre-Covid period was5higher than that5in the Covid-195period. The study, concluded5that Covid-19 has a negative impact on the profitability of Kenyan commercial banks. This shows that the banks experienced reduction in their profitability levels during Covid-19. The study recommends that Kenyan commercial banks come up with relevant strategies that would ensure that they manage covid-19. This study recommends that the commercial banks come up with programs that would support the fight against Covid-19 in order to reduce the negative effects on profitability.

Any country's economic progress is dependent on its public debt. Its usage is also critical for the country's economic development because it is the first payment made with all of the money accumulated over time. The goal of the study was to see how debt affected interest rates in the EAC. The goal of the study was to see how external debt and local debt affected interest rates. A descriptive research approach was used in this study, and secondary data on variables was acquired. A timeframe and amount of natural data were collected. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the data. The correlation analysis was used to analyse the association between the variables, while the regression analysis was used to identify the strength of the independent variable in comparison to the dependent variables. Debt Service, Home Debt, and External Debt were three unique independent factors that were postponed in relation to dependent variables: Interest rates are used to determine the length of your connection. Time series models were employed in the study to examine the influence of public debt and its subsequent service level on Kenya's Gross Domestic Product Growth. Budget deficit is crucial in deciding economic expansion, budget deficit has a significant but negative connection with a 5% risk premium and it has no effect on short-term wealth creation, and loan repayment has made a contribution to short-term population development, but the result is not significant, according to research. The finding was that, in the near run, public debt has minimal impact on the country's economic development. Financing from developing infrastructure, as outlined in Vision 2030, to ensure that the country achieves a middle-income economy, should be promoted, according to the report, and foreign debt should be managed properly (With infrastructure development and infrastructure development social and external debt levels controlled and limited).

Organization across different sectors globally have lately embraced the concept of corporate diversification. Commercial banks in the last ten years have entered into new markets, engaged in product lines or operate in a new geographical area to enhance their revenue streams, increase sales and boost their profitability. Despite all these, most commercial banks enlisted at NSE reported huge losses in their financial reports and hence the study would like to investigate whether there is any relationship between corporate diversification and financial performance of quoted commercial banks at NSE, in Kenya. The study applied panel survey research design approach and gathered secondary data study from 11 commercial banks enlisted at NSE. The study period ranging between 2014 and 2019. The corporate diversification indicated highly concentrated market. From the random effects model, corporate diversification had a negative and significant linkage with the performance of listed commercial banks at NSE in Kenya. As indicated by the empirical evidence, there is a negative and significant linkage between corporate diversification and performance of commercial banks listed at NSE, and a corresponding large value of HHI indicated excess diversification. The study therefore recommends for dynamic ways of being competitive in the market with an ultimate goal of increasing their performance. Top management teams need to define clearly the corporate purpose by outlining the direction in which they want to move.

Globally, transport and infrastructure development are significant in establishing the whole development and productivity of a nation’s economy. Investments that are focused on constructing advanced infrastructure act as main catalyst in attracting investors both local and foreign. The development assistance was at US$100 billion by 2011 globally. Despite the large volume of development help, development projects and programs funded by donors continue to experience some problems that threaten the attainment of intended objectives. The problems of development projects are that they are neither efficient nor effective and do not support the ownership of the development process by the receiving countries. Donor funded transport and infrastructure support projects in Kenya are facing problems of delays in their life cycle of implementation therefore not successfully completed. The study objective was to investigate the determinants of implementation of donor support transport and infrastructure projects in Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to determine the influence of project planning, conditions imposed by donors, procurement related factors and stakeholders’ involvement on implementation of donor support transport and infrastructure projects in Kenya. This study was anchored on theory of constraints. The study used a descriptive survey research design. The study population consisted of 142 members of staff in different managerial levels who work under Kenya National Highways Authority. The census technique was used to select 142 respondents. Collected data was the primary data using questionnaires. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data. Tables were used to display the information. Data obtained from open ended questions were analysed using the content analysis method. The Pearson correlation was used to find out the strength of the link between the predictor and response variables. Multiple regressions were used determine the determinants of implementation of donor support transport and infrastructure projects in Kenya. The study found that project planning, conditions imposed by donors, procurement related factors and stakeholder’s involvement had a positive influence on implementation of donor support transport and infrastructure projects. The study recommends that project managers should a holistic plan for projects. Further the project plan should be strictly adhered to. This would ensure minimal mistakes and hence success in the implementation of transport and infrastructure projects. Further, project managers should strictly adhere to conditions imposed by donors. They should also change their procurement guidelines and procedures as the procurement needs change. This would ensure effectiveness in the procurement process. Also, stakeholders should be involved in all areas in the implementation of projects. This would ensure that their opinions and suggestions are used to ensure effective implementation of transport and infrastructure projects.

For decades, researchers have attempted to interrogate why microinsurance can attain such high insurance penetration. The expansion of microinsurance may have an impact on other strategic decisions, such as the level of insurance penetration. The insurance sector thus has to undergo a significant transformation in order to acquire market share, penetrate new markets, and expand its current market share. The study's overarching goal was to determine the impact of Kenya's growing microinsurance market on the country's overall insurance penetration. Two theories were used in this research, risk theory, and resource-based theory, respectively. There were 32 insurance companies in the research that provided microinsurance services. Only one unit manager in each micro insurance company was surveyed to get the data. Linear regressions and correlations were used to conduct the research. Legal and regulatory framework and national culture have been found to have a significant impact on the growth of micro insurance, while many insurance companies have taken a more moderate approach to client education and distribution channels. Insurance penetration was found to be positively significant with the growth of micro-insurance. Insurance penetration was found to be positively significant with factors such as client education, legal and regulatory framework, distribution channel, and national culture. According to the findings, all insurance companies should host public education events to help clear up misconceptions about insurance policies and benefits.

Projects are usually considered successful regardless of the outcome of the project so long as the expectations and needs of the stakeholders are met during the project’s lifetime. Under the guidance of its corporate strategic plan, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has been implementing various ICT projects to realize its strategic objectives and align most of its functions to its broader corporate strategy. However, despite the automation of its systems and structures challenges have emerged regarding the use of the automation systems thereby preventing prevent the delivery of service and mandate to help achieve a vibrant aviation industry. The authority has sought to include various stakeholders both internal and external to get their inputs and consequently build an effective automated safety and security oversight system. The study examined how stakeholder engagement influenced the performance of safety automation projects at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. The objectives were to examine in what way engaging stakeholders in the project initiation, planning, execution, and monitoring and evaluation have influenced the performance of the civil aviation safety automation project. The study relied on both stakeholder theory and institutional theories that argue that everyone who has a genuine interest in participating in a project does so because of the interest and benefits they will obtain from participating in the project and by managing their interest in a strategic manner they generate maximum benefits for the project as well as improving project performance and success. The study relied on a case study research design of the explanatory type in this endeavor sampling 220 respondents from a target of 870 staff and affiliates of KCAA composed of steering committee members, project managers, airworthiness inspectors, personnel licensing inspectors, flight operation inspectors, air traffic controllers and flight dispatchers using random stratified sampling techniques. Questionnaires and key informant interview were used in the study and the collected data cleaned and formatted before conducting analysis using SPSS software. Inferential and descriptive statistics including a multivariate regression to check how stakeholders engagement influence the performance of the civil safety automation project. The study results show that engaging stakeholders in project initiation positively influences the performance of the safety automation project even though the influence was not significant (β=0.13, p-value > 0.05). Stakeholder engagement in project monitoring and evaluation positively affects (β= 0.081, p-value > 0.05) the performance of safety automation project even though, the effect is not significant. In addition, having stakeholders in project execution has a significant negative effect (β=-0.103, p-value < 0.05) on the performance of the safety automation project. Similarly, having stakeholders engaged in project planning negatively impacts the performance of the project (β= -0.079, p-value > 0.05) even though the effect is insignificant. The study concludes that, engagement of stakeholders in initiation, planning, execution and monitoring and evaluation of the safety automation project at KCAA influences its performance. Recommendations from the study are that it is essential to involve stakeholders in project initiation and project monitoring and evaluation of automation projects due to the positive relationship with the performance of safety automation projects. The study also recommends that measures and guidelines aimed at reducing or eliminating the negative impacts associated with engagement of stakeholders in project execution and project planning of automation projects be implemented at KCAA.

Dividend payment has been more popular in the past half-century as companies seek to increase their value in today's interconnected society. There have been claims in regard to paying dividend does not impact valuation of company, however this argument has been debunked since it is based on the premise of perfect markets. Other proponents of dividend payments argue that paying dividends may increase the value of a company. This study aimed to ascertain if dividend payout impact on the valuation of NSE-listed companies. The study's population consisted of all 63 NSE-listed businesses. Dividend payout was evaluated using the dividend payout ratio, leverage was measured using the debt ratio, managerial efficiency was measured using the ratio of total revenue to total assets, and company size was calculated using the natural logarithm of total assets. The dependent variable was firm value, which was calculated by dividing book valuation of equity and market valuation of equity. Secondary data was collected yearly throughout a five-year period (January 2016 to December 2020). The study used a descriptive cross-sectional research methodology, with multiple linear regression used to determine the connection between the variables. The data was analyzed using the SPPS program. The analysis yielded an R-square value of 0.138, indicating that the independent variables studied can explain 13.8 percent of the changes in the value of listed firms on the NSE, while the remaining 86.2 percent of the changes in firm value is attributed to variables outside the scope of this study. It was also discovered that the study's independent variables were modestly associated with the business value (R=0.371). The F statistic was significant at the 5% level with a p0.005 in the ANOVA results. As a result, the model proved adequate in explaining the relationship between the variables. Dividend payout, company size, and management efficiency all produced positive and statistically significant results, while leverage produced positive but not statistically significant results for this research. This research suggests that listed companies should increase their dividend payment, asset levels, and managerial efficiency since these factors have a substantial beneficial impact on company value. Future research should concentrate on the variables that affect dividend payments among publicly traded companies, according to the report.

Over the years, practicing dairy goat farming has emerged as a profitable venture, particularly for small-scale farmers. Goat’s milk demand is currently on the upswing and a perfect alternative to cow milk due to its nutritional value. Goat rearing is very beneficial not just for milk production but also for goat meat, acts as a delicacy for many households. For the small-scale farmers to maximize the performance production of dairy goats there is a need to monitor and evaluate the project until it breaks even continually. In this study, tools like logical framework, Gantt charts, routine monitoring, and project indicators were used to evaluate, determine, and establish how such tools influence this project’s performance. This observation brings a gap for further studies on monitoring and evaluation tools by farmers venturing into small dairy goat farming and trying to reduce this gap. Objectives considered in this study are to examine the extent to which the use of Logical Framework influences the performance of small-scale dairy goat farming project, determine how the use of Gantt charts in scheduling influence the performance of small-scale dairy goat farming projects, establish how routine monitoring influence performance of small-scale dairy goat farming project and assess extent at which project performance indicators influence the performance of small-scale dairy goat farming project. A total of 80 dairy goat farmers were recruited from four different areas in Kitui County for this project, which targeted 100 small-scale dairy goat producers. A semi-structured questionnaire was issued directly to small-scale dairy producers to obtain primary data. Secondary data sources included reports, relevant journals, books, the internet, and another literature review. The instruments' reliability was assessed using the test-retest procedure. For each variable, descriptive statistics were calculated. The data was presented using percentages and the mean. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the correlation between the independent variables (SPSS). There was a strong link between logical framework and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.182, p<0.05); there was a strong link between Gantt chart and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.272, p<0.05); there was a strong link between routine performance monitoring and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.229, p<0.05); and there was a strong link between logical framework and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.229, p<0.05 According to the findings, the performance of small-scale dairy farming operations is influenced by a logical framework.. The performance of small-scale dairy farming projects is substantially connected with Gantt charts; regular monitoring is significantly correlated with the performance of small-scale dairy farming projects. Finally, the study found that project monitoring indicators had an impact on small-scale dairy farming project performance. According to the study, small-scale dairy farmers should pay attention to how these efforts are planned and implemented, without disregarding the need of using a logical framework approach. Project monitoring and evaluation should be stimulated since it advances performance of a project to the greatest extent feasible.

The study sought to conduct a comparative study on opinion polls that were done on the coronavirus pandemic in Kenya. It focused on opinion polls conducted by two pollsters – Trends and Insights for Africa Research, and Infotrak Research and Consulting. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: To compare the key themes TIFA Research and Infotrak Research focused on in their opinion polls on the coronavirus pandemic in Kenya; To describe the communication strategies TIFA Research and Infotrak Research used to conduct opinion polls on the coronavirus pandemic in Kenya and; To explore the key findings of the opinion poll conducted by TIFA Research and Infotrak Research on the coronavirus pandemic in Kenya. The study was grounded in three theories; spiral of silence theory, social representations theory and social cognitive theory. A descriptive survey research design was employed to achieve the objectives of the study. The target population of the study was made up of two market research firms; TIFA Reseach and Infotrak Research and Consulting. Purposive sampling was used to draw up a sample of four respondents, two from each company, and six opinion poll reports – three from each company. An interview guide was used to obtain information from the respondents, while a code sheet was created to analyse the opinion poll reports. The findings revealed that the two pollsters had comparable objectives while conducting opinion polls on coronavirus. The other key finding was that they both put in place similar communication strategies, and the results were largely the same

In the past decade, two commercial banks have been placed under receivership in Kenya: Chase Bank and the Imperial Bank. The Imperial Bank was placed under receivership due to poor banking practices that led to declining financial performance. Five years later, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) approved KCB bank to acquire Imperial Bank in 2020. The main objective of the study was to determine the effects of mergers and acquisitions on financial performance of Kenyan commercial banks listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange. Gibrat’s theory of growth, financial synergy theory and Modigliani-Miller Theory (M&M Theory) guided the study. The researcher adopted and used a cross-sectional research design for this study. The study population consisted of the six relevant cases for listed commercial banks on NSE that have merged or/and acquired others for the study period. The study focused on all these six cases, three years preceding the merger and three years’ post-merger. The study relied on open-access secondary data derived from published audited financial reports of the selected banks. Other sources were financial statements filled to the Capital Markets Authority, and the Nairobi Securities Exchange as obtained from their online databases. Quantitative data analysis was undertaken. The study concludes based on the data presentations in chapter four and the summary of the findings above that commercial bank financial performance improves with the merger and acquisition. Based on the data presented in Chapter 4 and the summary of the conclusions above, the study indicates that mergers and acquisitions increase commercial banks' financial performance. According to the findings, the firm size of publicly traded commercial banks has grown because of mergers and acquisitions. Based on the facts, it can also be stated that when corporations join forces, they accumulate more assets. The study found that after a merger and acquisition, the net interest margin improved dramatically. Improved operational performance can be the outcome of initiatives such as improving banking personnel's competence and professionalism, as well as increasing management efficiency to boost banking institutions' competitiveness. Mergers and acquisitions result in a larger bank and a pool of experience, both of which are critical factors in a company's success. On organization synergy, the study concluded that the cost-to-income ratio improved by registering a huge reduction after merger and acquisition. The lower cost-to-income ratio is due to increased efficiency and economies of scale within xii commercial banks, both of which are critical to properly managing a bank's financial situation. Financial synergy has also improved resource use and financial resource mobilization within banks, according to the study. Commercial banks with a weak and unstable capital base should strive to integrate their operations through mergers and acquisitions, according to this report. Commercial banks will be able to increase their profitability by expanding their market share and revenue base through mergers and acquisitions.