The Akamai Global Money Page

It is said that the authorities in 1920s and early 1930s Chicago knew that Alfonse “Scarface” Capone, commonly known as Al Capone, was involved in illegal activities but they could not prove it because no witness could come forward to provide the necessary evidence. Those who were close enough to Al Capone were either very loyal or feared death and therefore kept quiet. Al Capone was also a very careful man who left little or no trace of any link between the criminal activities committed by his gang and himself. It is said that Al Capone only signed one cheque in his whole life and conducted the rest of this financial activities using cash. That one cheque was useful in convicting Al Capone on charges of income tax evasion. He was sentenced to a total jail term of 11 years. The successful conviction of Al Capone, inadvertently led to the phenomenon of money laundering. People with money from illicit sources now had to find ways of passing it through legitimate channels. The man ...

1. Introduction For the purpose of this message I define business as a commercial activity engaged in as a means of livelihood or profit, or an entity which engages in such activities. Our reference to business includes both self employment as well as owning an enterprise which employees other people to work on behalf of the business owner(s). We could also stretch business to include employment. The bible is not a business book just as it is not a health or family book. However there are principles in the bible that apply to business just as there are principles that apply to health or family or other aspect of life. Business is the most common means of livelihood in the bible. Biblical time vocations comprised: Priests; Levites; Self employed & Owning an enterprise employing others; Servants and slaves – equivalent to today’s salary earner  Church emphasis on employment at expense of business. Over the years and centuries the church has (perhaps unintentionally put a l...

Target Group:  Adults between 20 and 55 years Course Approach:  Classes meet in 2 hr sessions, spaced a week apart, over a period of 8 weeks. Group or Corporate Classes can be scheduled at your location. Enrolment Details: Start date: April 16, 2012 Fees Shs 260,000 per person. Book with Akamai Global, B209, 2nd Floor, Amber House Email: info@akamaiglobal.co.uk Tel. 0414573506/0751516118/0754472109

In his teenage years, my elder brother got into trouble at school and daddy was asked to go over to the school to meet the headmaster and agree on appropriate disciplinary measures. Apparently, Alan had skipped class purportedly for health reasons and was caught smoking in the dormitory by none other than the headmaster. What irked the headmaster most is that Alan did not attempt to hide his cigarette and simply continued to smoke as he lay on his bed? When he was told that he had committed a grave offense and that the school would have to call in his parents the young man did not appear perturbed -there was a good reason for his indifference. Daddy was a chain smoker. Have you noticed that Sovereigns or countries that are heavily in debt have citizens that are heavily in debt? Majority of populations in the developed nations in the West (with the Americans taking the lead) are in debt up to their eyeballs and guess what? These western governments are also heavily in debt and keep bo...

My very first memorable experience of earning money was at the age of four when my tooth was exchanged with money from the “rat”. After that, every time I felt a lose tooth, I got to work immediately and used tools like sugar cane to get it out and then got help to put it where the rat would find it; the business was not sustainable so I moved on to washing the car and made it a hobby to visit (once or twice I got donations). Financial management grows with us and the habit and principles learnt in the process shapes our financial future; the headstart class coming in at the take off stage has a life transforming effect in various ways. Previously, my inspiration for making money was the pleasure of spending the money I got  which vice grew as I became older. The course introduced me to the different money concepts such as saving, personal financial statements and investment which helped to break the “earn to spend” habit some of us had formed. Mindset dictates how you view, un...

I have been working with young people in what we call “The Money Headstart” course for over 3 years. This was an endeavour that I took on quite reluctantly because sometime I really was not convinced there was much impact on the children. A number of incidents however made me change my mind and have seen me take this noble activity to another level. I met a mother who commented that whatever I had instilled in her daughter was incomparable and that even at high school her daughter was not the same person. She was not only responsible but very industrious with regard to money. Then I met a father whose twins had only been in my care for a few weeks. He told me his boy and girl now put him to task to be more accountable for the family resources something he found very useful though challenging at the same time. The cream on the cake was when I observed my 5year old boy hanging onto every word his dear teacher said. At that point I realized that as the adult and mentor for these young...

“Where is the newsletter?” This has been a common question for several months. It was pleasing to know that many people had been quietly following the newsletter. We look forward to the time when readers post comments and replies so that the newsletter becomes an active platform for sharing business and financial information and knowledge. SInce the year began, Akamai Global has undertaken a number of activities with clients which provide pointers to the hot issues and opportunities pertaining in our economy. One of those activities is a research into business opportunities resulting from the nascent oil and gas sector in Uganda. The research report has not yet been formally released and I will only point out two findings, namely: a) the business opportunities arising from oil and gas developments are enormous; b) Ugandans are mostly unaware of and unprepared for these opportunities. We have also been busy providing training and orientation to boards for non profit organisations as...

People at the top of every profession share one quality — they get things done. This ability supersedes intelligence, talent, and connections in determining the size of your salary and the speed of your advancement. Despite the simplicity of this concept there is a perpetual shortage of people who excel at getting results. The action habit, the habit of putting ideas into action now, is essential to getting things done. Here is the first of seven tips on how you can grow the action habit: Don’t wait until conditions are perfect  If you’re waiting to start until conditions are perfect, you probably never will. There will always be something that isn’t quite right. Either the timing is off, the market is down, or there’s too much competition. In the real world there is no perfect time to start. You have to take action and deal with problems as they arise. The best time to start was last year. The second best time is right now.

The news coming out of north eastern Africa is that The Republic of South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya have joined hands to implement a massive infrastructure programme that includes design and construction of a new sea port and airport at Lamu, installing oil pipelines to South Sudan and Ethiopia and building new rail and road networks radiating from Kenya into South Sudan and Ethiopia. The news of the tripartite efforts to develop infrastructure hit Uganda like a tootache that comes right in the middle of a feast. For years Uganda bore the aggression from Khartoum as it doggedly supported the self determination efforts of the people of South Sudan. Now that South Sudan has got independence, one would expect that Uganda would now settle down to enjoy the pieace dividend together with its neighbour only for the ‘meat’ to be snatched by Kenya. Ugandans talk big then fail to act. In 1995 Uganda and Kenya signed a memorandum of understanding to extend an oil pipeline from the Kenyan town ...

When we wrote about this topic in February 2011we predicted that the election year spending would drive the inflation above the 10 percent mark. That prediction came to pass but even in our wildest imagination we never expected that the inflation rate would go up as high as 30 percent! We predicted that the Treasury bill rate would go up to 15 percent. While we were right about the upward movement in Treasury bill rates, we were way off the point on the percentage – the rates went up to 23 or 24 percent in the course of 2011. The other prediction was that Libyan firms operating in Uganda would have difficulties as the Gaddafi regime got battered by internal rebels and allied aerial bombardment. During 2012 the key economic issues for Ugandans and Uganda will be driven by three things: Oil, Government Accountability and Electricity Power. Oil boom? Tullow Oil has already earned US$ 2.9 billion from farming down 67% of its Ugandan licenses. One fact that this transaction brings out...

Financial literacy was not taught in school which was the only source of learning for many people. They did not know anybody who had applied principles that made them financially better off. The examples they had were of people who stumbled from one financial crisis to another or people who pulled themselves from one financial hole to the next. They therefore concluded that becoming financially content, stable or successful was impossible. They knew people who were financially better off than they were but these people might be unwilling to explain how they got to where they were. That made their watchers conclude that financial success was a matter of luck – being at the right place at the right time; ( yateba dilo ne kafumbe )   – being the child or spouse of a wealthy person or having the right connections. Man was said to be a creature of habit. For instance, we take particular routes to and from work, eat particular foods, and sleep in particular positions. There were peop...

Learn how to beat inflation and more... Akamai Global is happy to invite you, your family, friends and colleagues to the July 2011 intake for the Personal Money Management Course. Benefits of attending the course            Achieve your life goals and stop being frustrated by unfulfilled New Year resolutions            Take control of your money            Understand the real difference between the rich and the poor            Know how to succeed with debt & escape the debt trap            Learn how to invest whether you have little or much            Understand and speak the language of money Classes run from 6pm to 8pm for eight (8) consecutive Mondays. The course fee is Shs 260,000 per person. Booking and payment:...

There is a lot of gloom around, courtesy of the roaring inflation that hit 11% during the period February to March 2011. The cost of living is going up as households lose purchasing power. A litre of petrol is costing Shs 500 more now than what it cost at the beginning of the year. The cost of food and other things such as transport has gone up too. A story is told that one day mother bed bug and her children were resting in a mattress when they were suddenly hit by scalding hot water. A young bed bug was so scared by the water attack and cried out to mother bed bug who gave it this assurance, "every hot thing will eventually become cold." We can also take heart that the inflationary pressure will eventually ease of. Economic challenges are like cold winds blowing into a room. An Arab proverb provides useful wisdom in response to this, "Close the door from which the wind blows and relax." Let us take encouragement from the current economically difficult times an...