Business News
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Africa Stock Markets Post Mixed Performance In First Week Of June
African stock markets exhibited a mixed performance in the first week of June, with notable gains in Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco, while Ghana and Malawi posted significant losses, according to data from African-Markets.com. The Weekly African Markets Performance report for Week 23 (June 1–5) revealed divergent trends across the continent’s four regions East, Southern,…
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Sidian Bank Seeks Sh500 Million in Funding to Boost Capital
Sidian Bank has launched the final tranche of its Sh3 billion rights issue, aiming to raise an additional Sh500 million by the end of June 2025. The lender secured regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to proceed with the final phase, which marks the conclusion of a three-part capital-raising exercise initiated to…
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UAE Overtakes Sudan as Key Market for Kenyan Tea
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has displaced Sudan among the top importers of Kenyan tea, marking a significant shift in the country’s tea export landscape. n February 2025, the UAE imported 4.22 million kilograms of Kenyan tea, surpassing the United Kingdom’s (UK) 4.2 million kilograms. This makes the UAE the third-largest importer of Kenyan tea.…
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CBK Licenses 41 More Digital Lenders, Raising Total to 126
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced the licensing of 41 additional Digital Credit Providers (DCPs), pushing the total number of licensed firms to 126. This latest round follows the licensing of 27 DCPs in October 2024, and forms part of the regulator’s ongoing efforts to streamline and supervise Kenya’s digital lending sector. The…
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Treasury To Overhaul Housing Levy Over Concerns
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 5 -Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has indicated that the government may review the Affordable Housing Levy amid growing dissatisfaction from Kenya’s salaried employees. READ Jubilee Insurance Uncovers Sh400 Million Fraud Using AI Appearing before senators on Wednesday, Mbadi acknowledged the levy’s original intent to address the country’s housing crisis but admitted…
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UAE And Kenya Strengthen Financial Ties with New Agreements
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) have signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening the use of local currencies in cross-border trade and enhancing the interlinking of payment and messaging systems. READ Mbadi set to present the budget statement for the upcoming fiscal…
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Moniepoint Inc. to Acquire 78 Pc stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank
Moniepoint Inc. Lagos-based private limited liability company is set to acquire a 78 percent shareholding in Sumac Micro-finance bank Limited. The acquisition has received unconditional approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), which concluded the deal is unlikely to harm market competition or public interest within the country’s microfinance banking sector. READ: ARC Ride…
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Access Bank Finalizes NBK Takeover, Eyes Regional Growth
Access Bank Plc has completed its acquisition of National Bank of Kenya (NBK) from KCB Group Plc.The agreement, announced in March 2024, closed on May 30, 2025,following approvals from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), and Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). “This follows the receipt of all regulatory approvals customary for a transaction of this…
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Chinese Company To Invest Sh13 billion in Kenya’s Tea Industry
A Chinese company is set to inject Sh13 billion into boosting Kenya’s orthodox tea exports. Zhang Chaobin, Chairperson of Benny Tea met with President William Ruto in Nairobi where the two agreed on thee investment. The initiative aims to strengthenn the presence of Kenyan tea in the Asian market. The company will focus on modernizing…
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Jubilee Insurance Uncovers Sh400 Million Fraud Using AI
Jubilee Insurance has revealed that it thwarted fraudulent insurance claims amounting to Sh400 million through the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The company utilized AI-driven systems to detect and prevent these fictitious claims, enhancing its fraud detection capabilities. Group CEO Julius Kipng’etich said that the adoption of AI has drastically improved the insurance company’s…
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Equity Bank Fires 1,200 in Sh1.5B Fraud Case
Equity Bank has terminated the contracts of 1,200 employees across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania after a forensic audit linked them to a complex Sh1.5 billion internal fraud scheme. The mass dismissal, which represents roughly 9 percent of the lender’s workforce, is the largest single-day staff action in the bank’s history. According to Equity Group CEO…
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Mass Revolt: Firms Sue KRA in VAT Blacklist Dispute
More than 5,000 Kenyan companies have filed a class-action suit against the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over what they describe as an unlawful and abrupt blacklisting from the Value Added Tax (VAT) system, triggering a legal showdown now scheduled for hearing on June 9, 2025. The case, filed at the High Court in Nairobi, challenges…
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Former Employees Charged in Invesco Insurance Fraud Scheme
Seven former employees of Invesco Assurance and Compliant Insurance Agency have been arraigned in connection with a Sh309 million fraud case, in what prosecutors describe as a coordinated scheme to siphon customer premiums. The accused, Albert Muhavani, Daniel Nalyanya, Michael Kibara, and four senior staff members from Compliant Insurance Agency, appeared before the Milimani Law…
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KRA Unveils New CRSP for Used Car Imports Effective July 1
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced the implementation of a new Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) schedule for used motor vehicles imported into the country, effective July 1, 2025. The CRSP schedule is a critical component in determining the customs value of imported used vehicles, which directly influences the calculation of import duties and…
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Gov’t Acts to Shield Mwea Farmers from Rice Import Impact
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has taken swift action to protect local rice farmers under the Mwea Irrigation Scheme following concerns over the impact of rice importation on domestic sales. During a high-level meeting held on May 29, 2025, at the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Cooperative Society offices, government officials and key stakeholders…
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Afya Sacco Writes Off Sh361M Lost in KUSCCO Collapse
Afya Sacco Society has confirmed it has written off Sh361 million lost through investments in the embattled Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (KUSCCO), as part of its end-of-year financial review. The loss, which appears under the “receivables” section of Afya Sacco’s 2024 annual financial report, represents a significant financial hit. The Sh361,625,466 write-off…
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Gov’t Unveils Stringent New Rules to Regulate Gambling Ads
The Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) has introduced a fresh set of stringent guidelines aimed at regulating gambling advertisements across all media platforms in Kenya. In a statement issued Thursday, the regulator said the new measures are designed to address the growing concerns over gambling addiction and the increased exposure of young people to…
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CBK Raises Sh43.7B in T-Bills Auction, Beats Target by 82%
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) raised Sh43.69 billion in its latest Treasury bills auction, surpassing its Sh24 billion target by 82 percent, signaling strong investor appetite for government securities despite a slight uptick in interest rates. According to the auction results released by CBK for the 91, 182, and 364-day Treasury bills dated June…
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NCBA Hits Sh1 Trillion in Mobile Loans, Led by Fuliza
NCBA Group has crossed Sh1 trillion in mobile loans for 2024, driven largely by its Fuliza overdraft service and M-Shwari. The bank’s Fuliza overdraft service, run in partnership with Safaricom, accounted for Sh906.4 billion, a 14.8 percent jump from 2023, while M-Shwari disbursed Sh98.8 billion. Speaking on the milestone, NCBA Group Managing Director John Gachora…
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Ecobank Withholds Dividends to Strengthen Capital Base
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has announced that it will not pay dividends to its 641,000 shareholders for the 2024 financial year, despite reporting record revenues exceeding Sh258.5 billion (US$ $2 billion) and a return on equity of 32.7 percent. The pan-African lender, headquartered in Lomé, reported Sh75 billion (US$ $333 million) in attributable earnings, but…
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