Category: Business Daily

This week, Kenya hosts the 7th African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF) Forum, bringing together governments, qualifications authorities, the African Union, development partners and education experts to advance a common qualifications system for the continent.

The meeting marks a major milestone as the ACQF shifts from policy to implementation. A key outcome will be the launch of the Qualifications and Credentials Platform, a trusted continental database that will make it easier to verify qualifications, reduce fraud and support the recognition of credentials across Africa.

For decades, African integration has focused on roads, railways and ports. While these remain vital, the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will depend just as much on the movement of skilled people as it does on the movement of goods.

Millions of Africans have faced barriers because qualifications earned in one country are often difficult to compare or recognise in another. This has forced professionals into costly re-certification, limited labour mobility and made it harder for employers to recruit talent across borders.

The ACQF addresses this challenge by providing a common reference framework that enables countries to compare qualifications while respecting national education systems. It creates greater trust in qualifications and opens opportunities for students, professionals and employers alike.

The forum also recognises that the future of work is changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence, automation and the green economy demand qualifications systems that recognise lifelong learning, workplace experience, micro-credentials and digital certifications.

Kenya has positioned itself at the forefront of these reforms through the Kenya National Qualifications Authority, which has strengthened recognition of prior learning, digital qualifications and credit transfer systems.

Ultimately, Africa’s greatest competitive advantage is its people. When qualifications become trusted and portable, education translates into opportunity, opportunity into labour mobility, and labour mobility into shared prosperity. The ACQF is laying the foundation for a continent where talent-not geography-determines opportunity.

Kenya is one of seven countries in the world on track to reduce new HIV infections by 90 percent by 2030, a new analysis has shown, highlighting the country’s remarkable progress in curbing new infections over the past decade.

Analysis by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) shows that Kenya has cut new HIV infections by at least 78 percent since 2010, one of the steepest declines recorded globally, placing it alongside Benin, Eswatini, Lesotho, Nepal, Rwanda and Zimbabwe as one of only seven countries currently on course to meet the 2030 target.

Kenya’s success is attributed to sustained investment in HIV prevention programmes, particularly those that prevent mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy and childbirth. The country has surpassed 90 percent coverage of these services, alongside expanded HIV testing and treatment programmes that have helped drive down new infections over the past decade. ‘In 2025, seven countries achieved at least a 78 percent reduction in the number of new HIV infections since 2010, placing them well on track towards the goal of a 90 percent reduction by 2030,’ the report said.

UNAids has named Kenya as being among a small group of countries that are increasing their domestic HIV funding as donor support shrinks. It is one of 55 nations that have reported raising their public HIV budgets since 2025, signalling a shift towards greater domestic financing to sustain HIV programmes as external aid declines.

Kenya has committed to providing about $850 million (approximately Sh110 billion) in domestic funding over five years under its new HIV partnership with the United States.

Kenya has achieved this progress despite being hit by shrinking international funding. The country’s response to HIV has historically relied heavily on donor support, particularly from President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) and the Global Fund, both of which have reduced funding in recent years.

In Kenya, we hold a very strong culture. Since colonial invaders long ago clumsily decided on our national boundaries, we have developed a strong sense of national identity as well as of maintaining our ethnic and other diversities.

In the investment space, different nations favour different stores of value for their hard-earned savings. Russia and Central Asia tend to prefer precious metals, the United Kingdom holds pensions, while in the United States people strongly prefer stock equities. But here in Kenya, we prefer and love our real estate investments.

Holding property is extremely important to us. However, given that our main store of savings value is in real estate, it foments a litany of scammers and unscrupulous developers. Buying off-plan developments carries significant risk, with very little recourse if a project falls through. Even existing homes, plots and apartments come with title deed fraud risks. Consequently, buyers have become increasingly careful, relying on legal advisers to ascertain a property’s legitimacy before purchase.

However, what about real properties coming up all over Nairobi, Mombasa and in several county headquarters such as Eldoret, Kisumu and Nakuru? Internationally, investors tend to look at the projected return on investment (ROI) for real estate. In Kenya, developers also show projected monthly rental income as the ROI for a project.

But what developers often do not show would-be buyers are the annualised ROI figures for prospective projects and comparisons with nearby rental incomes and ROIs of similar developments. Since there is no national database of real estate projects or rental prices, it is hard for individual investors to conduct due diligence on a property’s anticipated ROI.

But our ROI on real estate rental returns is staggeringly low. In the United States, one can easily get a 12 percent annual ROI on residential real estate investments, and the tax regime there allows investors to write off mortgage loan interest and repair expenses to drastically reduce taxes, which is much harder to do here in Kenya.

In Nairobi, an investor might put Sh3 million into purchasing a studio apartment in Kiambu and receive only Sh18,000 a month in rent. Unfortunately, that gives a 7.2 percent gross annualised ROI, but after the 7.5 percent flat tax on rental income and an assumed 10 percent agent fee, depending on the building and project, the investor is left with only a 5.9 percent net return. Conversely, one could spend Sh6.5 million buying a one-bedroom apartment in Kilimani that may sit vacant because of oversupply before the rent is lowered to attract a tenant. One might then achieve Sh55,000 a month in rent, yielding a gross ROI of 10.2 percent, but after income taxes and agent fees, this falls to 8.4 percent.

Sadly, though, when one drives through Westlands Road or Ring Road, Kilimani, we see numerous vast, upscale new one- and two-bedroom apartment blocks going up everywhere. Many of the buildings block sunlight from neighbouring apartments. In a slowing economy, as any developing nation progresses towards middle-income status and beyond, who will fill those new units, and at what rents?

Supply and demand will eventually fill the apartments, but at what monthly rental price points, and will investors be satisfied with the resulting ROI? Even the unexpected 2025 collapse of USAID caused the loss of tens of thousands of middle- and high-income NGO jobs in Kenya that could have occupied some of those buildings. As artificial intelligence starts to reach its grubby fingers into our service sector and cause massive job losses, which industry or sector will employ the newly unemployed who can rent those units?

Ironically, though, we do have an investment vehicle in Kenya that provides fantastic returns compared with other countries. While in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, savings account interest rates range from 0.5 percent to 4.9 percent in annual ROI before taxes, here in Kenya we can achieve a staggering 6 percent to 11.5 percent annual ROI on bank savings accounts or fixed-term deposits. Further, our annuity sector, run by our big insurance companies, offers annual returns of 10 percent, 11.5 percent and beyond.

All the while, the Kenya Revenue Authority gives us favourable tax rates on savings income at 15 percent, rather than earned income tax rates. If someone is disciplined and will not touch their principal investment, one can earn far better returns on savings, fixed-term and annuity investments than in the residential rental real estate market.

As Kenya’s savings ROIs remain notably higher than those in many other countries while rental income ROIs remain lower, one cannot help but ponder whether we will start to see a shift in our preferred store of value over the next five years. It also leaves one asking what further steps the Central Bank of Kenya can take to enhance trust in savings accounts and fixed-term deposits, and what the Insurance Regulatory Authority can do to improve trust in insurance companies’ annuity products.

The High Court has temporarily halted recruitment of at least 12 senior management and professional positions at the Kenya Reinsurance Corporation (Kenya Re) pending determination of a case challenging the exercise on claims of non-transparency.

The court barred the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurer from processing applications, interviewing candidates or issuing appointment letters.

The frozen recruitment relates to vacancies advertised on June 4, 2026, including three general manager positions for reinsurance business, legal services and corporate services.

The recruitment also covers the positions of two chief financial officers for Kenya Re Tanzania and Zambia, and chief executive officer/principal officer for Kenya Re Tanzania.

Other positions include: assistant manager for internal audit, assistant manager for risk and compliance, senior underwriter for life, treaty and facultative business, and executive assistant to the group managing director.

The High Court granted the interim injunction after petitioner Brian Ochieng argued that Kenya Re had already started inviting shortlisted applicants for interviews and risked completing the process before the constitutional dispute could be heard. The freeze order will remain in force until October 1, 2026, when the case is scheduled for mention.

Mr Ochieng told the court that Kenya Re, through a contracted recruitment agency, had invited candidates for interviews beginning July 15, creating urgency for intervention.

He alleges that the recruitment lacked transparency, saying job applications were being processed through an email account accessible only to the group managing director, creating room for “canvassing, compromising and interference.” Those allegations have not been determined by the court. He argued that allowing the process to continue would undermine the pending petition.

“If the respondents are allowed to proceed with the said interviews and issue letters of employment to successful candidates, the substratum of the application… and the Petition herein will be defeated,” Ochieng’s advocate said.

He further argued that “the actions will be irreversible as successful applicants will be confirmed as employees of the respondent.”

He alleged lack of transparency, saying applications were being processed through an opaque system vulnerable to meddling.

The petitioner insisted that the balance of convenience favoured preserving the recruitment until the court determines whether it complied with constitutional and statutory requirements.

The application relies on a recent Supreme Court decision affirming that the High Court has authority to hear constitutional challenges involving pre-employment recruitment processes where no employer-employee relationship exists.

Mr Ochieng said he was neither an employee of Kenya Re nor an applicant for the advertised positions.

The High Court earlier certified the matter urgent and directed the respondents to file responses within seven days.

The constitutional petition underlying the injunction seeks declarations against Kenya Re Group Managing Director Hillary Wachinga and general manager for finance and credit control Ruth Ngugi and Kenya Re over alleged violations of constitutional rights, procurement law and public service principles.

Kenya Re is a publicly listed reinsurer in which the Kenyan government holds a majority stake. It provides reinsurance services in Kenya and several African markets, making the halted recruitment significant for the corporation’s senior management and professional staffing.

The court has warned employers that they cannot fire workers based on suspicion alone, ordering I and M Bank to compensate a former employee after finding it dismissed him without proving he had done anything wrong or following the proper disciplinary process. The ruling highlights the need for employers to have evidence and observe fair procedures before dismissing staff accused of misconduct.

Consequently, I and M Bank has been ordered to pay a former staff Sh1.1 million after a court ruled that it dismissed him without proving misconduct or right procedures.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that I and M Bank unfairly dismissed a credit analyst accused of improperly accessing a joint US dollar account belonging to one of its directors and the director’s spouse.

Justice Ocharo Kebira said the termination of Tom Mongare was unfair, as the bank relied on an incomplete investigation that left critical questions unanswered.

Mr Mongare joined I and M Bank in 2019 as a credit analyst in the personal and business banking division at its Mombasa Nyerere Avenue branch. He earned a gross monthly salary of Sh105,688 before his dismissal on May 20, 2024.

The dispute arose from him accessing a joint US dollar account held by one of the bank’s directors, who also serves as group executive director of Coast Bottlers, and the director’s spouse.

The bank argued that the employee had no legitimate business reason to access the account and alleged the customer’s spouse was later contacted by strangers who appeared to possess confidential banking information.

Mr Mongare denied wrongdoing. He told the court he was conducting preliminary due diligence after the bank’s relationship manager informed him Coast Bottlers was considering acquiring vehicles through financing or leasing arrangements that could involve the bank.

He testified that reviewing links between a corporate borrower and its directors formed part of his work as a credit analyst and insisted he never disclosed any customer information to anyone. He told the court that his work required him to verify account turnover and transactions between the company and its directors.

Justice Kebira found the explanation remained largely unchallenged because the relationship manager, identified only as Zadock, was never interviewed during investigations or called to testify despite the bank’s own human resources manager describing him as ‘a vital witness.’

‘It is a well-established evidentiary principle that where a party fails to call a witness peculiarly placed to speak to a fact material to the dispute, the court may draw an adverse inference,’ the judge said.

The court also found no evidence connecting Mr Mongare to the alleged disclosure of confidential information.

‘There is nothing beyond suspicion connecting the claimant to the disclosure of the customer’s private details to any third party,’ the judgment said.

Justice Kebira noted the bank never identified the alleged callers, produced evidence tracing any communication to Mr Mongare or called the customer to testify.

The court further found there were serious procedural failures during the disciplinary process.

It said the bank did not issue a show-cause letter, withheld the investigation report from the employee, fixed a disciplinary hearing while investigations were supposedly continuing and failed to interview a witness central to the employee’s defence.

‘The sensitivity of an allegation, if anything, calls for more scrupulous observance of an employee’s procedural entitlements, not their suspension,’ the judge said.

Justice Kebira also cited contradictory testimony from the bank’s own witnesses over whether other employees had accessed the same account on the material day.

Mr Mongare was awarded notice pay, accrued leave, seven months’ salary as compensation, interest and legal costs. The court also ordered I and M Bank to issue him with a certificate of service.

Every person who has sought medical care knows that treatment rarely begins with a doctor. It often starts at a registration desk, with an identity check, an eligibility verification, or a pre-authorisation request. These steps may appear administrative, but they often determine how quickly care is received and how confidently providers can deliver it. They remind us that healthcare is shaped as much by the systems behind it as by the care itself.

According to the World Health Organization, sub-Saharan Africa has approximately 0.2 doctors per 1,000 people, one of the lowest physician-to-population ratios in the world. Expanding healthcare workforce remains essential. But even if every country doubled its number of doctors tomorrow, healthcare would still struggle if systems supporting those professionals remained slow, fragmented and disconnected.

Behind every successful consultation is an invisible system. It verifies a patient’s identity, confirms insurance eligibility, authorises treatment, processes claims, reimburses providers and generates the information needed to make better decisions. When these systems work well, patients rarely notice them. When they fail, everyone does.

The importance of these invisible systems is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Across the world, healthcare leaders are recognising that sustainable healthcare depends not only on hospitals, healthcare workers and financing, but also on the digital infrastructure that connects them.

Kenya’s transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA) reflects this broader shift. Beyond financing, it signals a growing recognition that connected digital infrastructure is becoming just as important as physical infrastructure. Modern healthcare increasingly depends on systems that enable faster decisions, greater transparency, and more reliable information across the healthcare ecosystem.

The transition has also demonstrated that health financing reform cannot succeed without modern administrative capability. As healthcare becomes more digital, citizens increasingly expect the same speed, transparency and convenience they experience in banking, telecommunications and other services. Healthcare can no longer afford to operate differently.

Digital infrastructure is quietly becoming healthcare’s operating system. When patient identity, eligibility verification, provider management, pre-authorisation and claims processing operate as one connected ecosystem information moves more quickly, decisions become more consistent, and trust grows across the entire healthcare ecosystem.

The next breakthrough in healthcare may not be a new treatment. It may be the ability to connect every stage of care into one trusted system. The real opportunity lies in connecting every administrative touchpoint from patient registration to provider for reimbursement into one intelligent ecosystem.

Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as the future of diagnosis. Its immediate impact may prove to be far less visible, but just as significant. Intelligent claims adjudication, automated pre-authorisation and predictive fraud detection are helping health systems make faster, more consistent and more transparent decisions. The objective is not to replace professional judgment. It is to strengthen it.

This shift also changes how we should evaluate innovation. Success should not be measured by how sophisticated a technology appears, but by whether it removes unnecessary complexity for patients, providers and funders. The most valuable innovations are often the ones people barely notice because they simply make healthcare work better.

Across Africa, there is already compelling evidence that this transformation is underway. Rwanda has integrated telemedicine into its national health system, extending specialist care to underserved communities. In Kenya, digital financing platforms have demonstrated how technology can improve transparency, strengthen financial inclusion and simplify healthcare payments. These innovations address different challenges, yet they all point towards the same destination: healthcare systems that are more connected, more responsive, and more centred on the people they serve.

What is encouraging is that many African countries are building these capabilities without decades of legacy infrastructure. Rather than modernizing outdated systems, they have an opportunity to design connected healthcare ecosystems from the outset. That is an advantage the continent should not underestimate.

One lesson has become increasingly clear through years of working across healthcare technology and administration: healthcare rarely struggles because clinicians lack expertise. More often, it struggles because the systems surrounding clinical care cannot keep pace with the demands placed upon them. We often think of delayed claims, fragmented information, and disconnected workflows as operational issues. In reality, they influence patient confidence, provider sustainability, and ultimately the quality of care itself.

The strongest health systems will not necessarily be those with the newest technologies. They will be those that use technology to remove friction instead of creating it, connect information instead of isolating it and replace uncertainty with trust. Technology, on its own, is never the destination. It is the infrastructure that enables healthcare to become more responsive, more transparent, and ultimately more human.

As governments, healthcare providers, insurers and technology partners continue investing in healthcare transformation, three priorities deserve greater attention. Healthcare systems must be designed to communicate with one another rather than operate in isolation. Investments should simplify patient journeys rather than merely digitize existing processes. And above all, every technological advancement should strengthen trust because healthcare ultimately depends on confidence as much as capability.

Better hospitals will always matter. Better medicine will always matter. Outstanding clinical care will always matter. But the healthcare systems that define the next decade will be distinguished by something less visible: their ability to connect people, information and decisions in ways that make care more accessible, more efficient and more trusted.

The High Court has barred the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) from impounding unregistered imported vehicles held by used-car dealers, handing a major relief to the traders.

The court, however, upheld the legal requirement that imported vehicles be registered before sale. It ordered the NTSA to give a fresh notice of at least 60 days to the dealers before enforcing the 2024 rules. The court found the NTSA’s earlier seven-day compliance deadline was procedurally unfair.

The ruling followed a petition by the Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) challenging NTSA’s December 2024 directive requiring dealers to register imported vehicles before sale or risk impoundment and prosecution.

The association argued that immediate registration reduced resale value because buyers preferred newer registration series.

But Justice Ngaah Jairus backed the NTSA requirement and said that the authority’s decision was legal under the Traffic Act.

However, he found the authority failed to meet constitutional standards of fair administrative action after abruptly enforcing the notice following years of tolerating a different practice.

‘The Petition succeeds in part only,’ the judge said, declaring that the registration requirement was lawful and ‘is not displaced by any legitimate expectation or estoppel.’

The dispute arose after NTSA announced a multi-agency exercise involving Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Financial Reporting Centre, immigration officials and security agencies targeting unregistered vehicles held by car dealers.

The notice warned of impoundment and criminal charges after December 16, 2024.

Ruling on the CIAK’s case, the court restrained NTSA from impounding vehicles or prosecuting association members solely for missing the December 16, 2024 deadline until it first gives reasonable notice and a fresh 60-day compliance period.

CIAK represents used-car importers with showrooms across Kenya. It said members import second-hand vehicles from Japan and Dubai through Mombasa.

Dealers said they have long paid duty, cleared vehicles from customs areas and kept them in showrooms before registering them after finding buyers.

It also claimed franchise dealers of new vehicles could hold stock pending sale while registering later, amounting to discriminatory treatment.

NTSA defended the notice as enforcement of mandatory Traffic Act provisions, not a policy change. It argued no public authority could be prevented from enforcing statutory duties through legitimate expectation or estoppel. The authority also cited security concerns over unregistered vehicles.

The court agreed statutory obligations could not be overridden by administrative practice. ‘No representation could have had the legal effect of permanently exempting the Petitioner’s members from registration requirements,’ the court said.

The court nevertheless found procedural unfairness. It said NTSA gave dealers seven days to comply, spanning a weekend and public holiday.

The association met NTSA officials on December 10, 2024, and requested three months to comply, but received no response before the deadline.

Justice Jairus said Article 47 and the Fair Administrative Action Act required ‘prior and adequate notice’ and ‘a reasonable opportunity to be heard.’

He found regulators should not abruptly terminate a settled commercial practice without allowing sufficient adjustment time.

The court also rejected CIAK’s discrimination claim and accepted NTSA’s argument that used-car dealers and new-vehicle franchise dealers operate under different customs regimes.

Used imports enter the domestic market after duty is paid, while new vehicles may remain under bonded warehousing until sale.

Kenyans living in the US have been asking friends to confirm whether the Rironi-Mau Summit road is indeed being expanded into a dual carriageway. Earlier, news of the Isiolo-Mandera road generated many sceptical memes. Both large-scale projects are ongoing.

On the Rironi-Naivasha segment, construction is continuing day and night. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has mobilised 38 teams and 1,200 trucks to work on structures, interchanges, and earthworks. About 3,000 people are currently employed on the project. This number will increase to 6,000. The segment is already 25 per cent complete. Tarmac is expected to be laid on various sections by October this year.

While not sceptics by nature, Kenyans are doubtful about government projects. Culturally, we are warm, communal, and optimistic. However, decades of zero-sum politics, unfulfilled promises on jobs and infrastructure, corruption, and economic volatility have cultivated a sharp trust deficit.

Afrobarometer surveys show that we do not trust institutions. We doubt the honesty of elections and the independence of the courts. It is no surprise, then, that we greet announcements of development projects with doubt rather than applause.

We are collectivist, hospitable, and readily cooperate with and support each other. Religious faith plays a central role in our identity. But even here, scepticism is emerging. Rogue, profit-driven preachers have made us increasingly cynical about religious leadership. We are entrepreneurial, resilient, and cheerful. Our scepticism is therefore not permanent pessimism. Rather, it is a vital, street-smart survival strategy.

How can the broken social contract be repaired? The state must prove it is serving the public interest rather than protecting political elites or prioritising creditors. Trust cannot be built while public officials operate above the law. It requires swift, visible legal penalties for abuse of office. We should compel officials implicated in the misappropriation of public funds or wasteful spending to repay those public resources from their personal wealth. The rule of law must apply universally.

At the core of the trust deficit is a subtle yet deep issue. A physical project is not proof of a clean process. The scepticism is not directed at the project itself but rather at how much it costs, who is profiting from it, and whether it will be finished.

Projects often mask deeper institutional issues. Behind-the-scenes dealings lead to significant cost escalations. Project cancellations result in massive breach-of-contract expenses for taxpayers. Cancelled projects are later awarded at significantly higher contract sums. Many projects have been promised for generations. When timelines shift, citizens see this as political campaign machinations.

Kenyans can see the physical tarmac, stadium canopy, or building, but they doubt the “software” part. Contracts, interest rates, and procurement have historically been corrupted, hidden, or manipulated. The scepticism is not a denial of facts; it is an interrogation of the price tag.

Paradoxically, Kenyans follow politicians not because they trust them, but because they view them as vital communal shields and resource gatekeepers in a flawed system. With weak state institutions and scarce resources, political alignment is a matter of community security. Roads, schools, bursaries, and state jobs are not seen as universal rights distributed equally by an objective state. They are seen as part of a pie divided by whoever holds power.

A voter will readily admit that their tribal kingpin is corrupt, but still vote for him or her, believing that a corrupt politician who brings some resources home is better than an honest one from a rival community who might direct everything elsewhere.

Poverty means we live hand-to-mouth. Politicians exploit this, positioning themselves as personal financial saviours rather than policymakers solving problems. Donating towards medical bills, school fees, or the local church builds immediate, transactional loyalty.

Voters may suspect that the politician is using public funds that could have built a working healthcare system in the first place. However, because the system is broken today, voters cannot afford to alienate the person providing immediate financial relief.

When every political option feels compromised, voting on ideology breaks down, resulting in the illusion of choice. Voters have stopped looking for honest leaders. Instead, they cynically choose the politician who is most familiar, predictable, or most likely to defeat a perceived external political threat.

Loyalty to tribal kingpins is entirely transactional, defensive, and pragmatic. Politicians use the public as shields to secure power and immunity. The public uses politicians as battering rams to extract resources from the state. It is a system driven not by blind faith, but by a mutual, hyper-sceptical understanding of how power works on the ground.

Kenya seeks to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) models used in the country or affecting residents, even when the companies that own them do not have local operations.

A new proposal by the ICT Ministry extends the government’s control to overseas tech firms such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Facebook’s parent Meta, whose AI systems are increasingly being adopted by Kenyan businesses, government offices and private users.

It gives the government powers to hold tech firms accountable if their products, services, or data systems are accessed or used in Kenya, regardless of where the company is headquartered.

The regulatory model, technically referred to as extraterritorial jurisdiction, is similar to that adopted by the European Union (EU). The regional bloc routinely fines tech giants whose products infringe on Europeans’ privacy and safety.

‘This policy applies to any entity outside Kenya that provides AI or other emerging technologies systems or services whose outputs are used within Kenya, or which have direct and foreseeable effects on individuals, rights, or public interests in Kenya,’ reads the draft AI policy.

The guidelines cover software vendors, cloud service providers, compute providers, AI model developers, data intermediaries, data annotation providers and public-sector technology suppliers used locally.

‘This policy adopts an effects-based jurisdictional approach, consistent with international best practice in data protection and consumer protection law,’ says the policy.

Such an approach allows a government, regulator, or court to exercise legal authority over companies or individuals located outside its physical borders, as long as their action causes direct consequences within the regulating country’s territory.

This means international AI companies whose products are used in Kenya – including OpenAI’s GPT models, Anthropic’s Claude and Meta’s Llama – could be required to comply with Kenyan AI rules even if they have no physical presence in the country.

Google, which owns the Gemini AI model, and Microsoft, the developer of the MAI series of models, already have Kenyan offices.

Depending on the type of AI system, Kenya will require tech companies to conduct risk assessments of their AI products, ensure transparency for users – including explicit labelling of AI-generated content – implement human oversight measures, and meet cybersecurity standards.

The government says it will classify all AI systems according to the level of risk they pose, maintain a central register of high-risk AI systems requiring oversight, and periodically review risk classifications as technology evolves.

Kenya’s AI policy does not spell out which systems are considered ‘high risk.’ But it borrows from the European AI Act, which classifies systems used in critical infrastructure, education, healthcare, law enforcement, border management or elections as ‘high-risk’.

Such systems face stricter rules.

Kenya’s draft policy also requires AI system vendors to disclose information on data sources, model limitations, cybersecurity measures, human oversight arrangements, auditability and redress mechanisms.

It further seeks to compel international companies bidding for government AI contracts to forge partnerships with local tech firms.

Meanwhile, public institutions would be required to conduct AI impact assessments before deploying high-risk systems in areas such as healthcare, education, taxation, policing, justice, employment and public services.

The government also plans to maintain a public register of AI systems deployed across the public sector, except where national security considerations apply.

The policy further introduces labour protections for AI content moderators and data annotators employed by outsourcing firms serving international tech companies.

It proposes minimum standards for written contracts, access to mental health support, and a fair pay framework benchmarked against international rates.

‘Support the development and integration of fair and transparent pay standards for AI and other emerging technologies value chain workforce,’ reads the draft policy.

This follows years of complaints by Kenyan content moderators working on projects for companies such as OpenAI and Meta over psychological trauma and low pay.

Read: How AI can work for everyone in Kenya

Kenya has not yet specified the regulatory obligations or penalties that will apply to the tech companies.

The EU enforces compliance with its AI and data protection laws by levying huge fines calculated as a percentage of a company’s total worldwide annual turnover, which can reach up to 20 percent.

In some cases, non-EU companies must designate a formal physical or legal representative inside an EU member state to act as a point of contact for regulatory authorities.

Safaricom Ethiopia reached 14.7 million active customers in June this year, boosting its drive towards attaining profitability at the EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) level by March 2027.

The telecoms operator saw its number of three-month active customers rise by one million in the quarter to June 2026, from 13.63 million 90-day active customers as of the end of March this year.

The rise in the number of customers mirrors the underlying momentum of the startup, which is expected to achieve break-even at the EBITDA level in the next eight months.

The number of active customers on the network soared 46.1 percent year-on-year from 10.06 million in June 2025.

The increased number of active customers improves the operator’s ability to generate revenue across its telecoms business, including voice, data, SMS and mobile money services (M-Pesa).

Data customers increased to 11.52 million three-month active customers, while voice closed the period with 12.03 million active customers, registering 37.02 percent year-on-year growth.

M-Pesa continued to show traction, albeit trailing voice and data uptake, and reached 5.69 million three-month active customers during the same period.

Safaricom noted that its mobile money service is still laying the groundwork for a broader digital ecosystem, supporting merchant payments, enterprise solutions and advancing financial inclusion.

‘Overall, the growth across total, voice, data and M-Pesa customers underscores Safaricom Ethiopia’s sustained commercial momentum and its role in advancing digital and financial inclusion,’ Safaricom said in a quarterly update of its Ethiopia business.

The strong momentum for the unit was delivered against the backdrop of a challenging macroeconomic environment defined by a resurgence in inflation and currency weakness, albeit at a slower rate.

Ethiopia’s inflation rose to 13.4 percent in May from 11.7 percent in April, reflecting renewed price pressures as food and transport costs rose due to higher global oil prices following the conflict in the Middle East.

The inflation rate, however, remains benign and is far removed from previous periods of hyperinflation, when changes in consumer prices persistently remained above 20 percent.

The Ethiopian birr (ETB) depreciated 16.8 percent between June 2025 and June 2026 against the US dollar.

Safaricom’s Ethiopian unit more than halved its losses in the year to March 2026 to Sh21.2 billion, supported by an improved macroeconomic environment and tariff reviews on voice and data services implemented in late 2025.

‘The breakeven projected is on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA),’ Dilip Pal, Safaricom Plc Chief Finance Officer, said previously.

‘If you look at the second half of FY26 (October 2025-March 2026), the loss reduction is greater than in the first half, and it shows that we are geared for positive EBITDA breakeven in FY27 (March 2027).’

The unit, known as Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia (STE), posted Sh14.08 billion in service revenues in the year ended March 2026.

Voice revenue was recorded at Sh3.01 billion, rising 156.3 percent year-on-year, while data revenues were up 69 percent to Sh9.56 billion.

Messaging revenues grew by 106.6 percent over the same period to Sh170 million, while the fixed service business posted Sh200 million in revenues. M-Pesa lagged behind all major revenue heads for the unit, posting revenues of Sh100 million, but grew by 15.2 percent during the review period.

The slow uptake of M-Pesa in the market has been attributed to cash dominance, with the telco previously noting that the widespread use of cash, especially for small-value transactions, remained a challenge even as it saw an opportunity to digitise payments.

According to a 2021 report authored by the World Bank, cash in Ethiopia remains an overwhelmingly dominant payment method, a sharp contrast to other markets in the region, including Kenya, where non-cash payments have gained a foothold.