Category: Business Daily

There is a particular kind of validation that arrives not through applause, but through an invitation.

When the international geothermal community decided that the 2029 World Geothermal Congress, the most prestigious gathering in the global geothermal calendar, held once every five years, would convene in Kenya, it was not simply a scheduling decision. It was a verdict.

The world looked at what this country has built beneath the surface of the Great Rift Valley and said, “You have earned the right to lead this conversation”.

Kenya should sit with that for a moment before rushing to logistics.

The World Geothermal Congress brings together thousands of scientists, engineers, policymakers, investors, and energy professionals from more than 100 countries.

It is the forum where the direction of geothermal energy is debated and decided, where breakthroughs are announced, partnerships forged, and investment flows redirected. Previous hosts include Reykjavik, Bali, Melbourne, and Melbourne again. In 2029, they come to Nairobi. That sentence alone rewrites something fundamental about how Africa is perceived in the global clean energy order.

Kenya ranks seventh in installed geothermal capacity worldwide.

More significantly, it stands first in Africa, not by a narrow margin, but by a wide and growing one. This achievement has been built over decades of deliberate, technically demanding work at Olkaria, in the heart of Hell’s Gate, where steam has been converted into electricity since the early 1980s.

The Kenya Electricity Generating Company has been the engine of that transformation, drilling wells, building plants, training engineers, and steadily expanding its geothermal fleet, which today powers millions of Kenyan homes and businesses.

Olkaria has become something of a geothermal pilgrimage site, a place that government delegations, development finance institutions, regional energy ministries, and international researchers visit not out of curiosity, but out of the desire to replicate what works.

Ethiopia, Djibouti, Tanzania, Rwanda, and others across the Rift Valley have looked eastward to Kenya for a model.

That positioning gives Kenya a profound responsibility as 2029 approaches, one that goes beyond organising a successful conference.

The Congress is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to convert technical credibility into geopolitical influence.

For policymakers and energy regulators across East and Central Africa, it offers a chance to compress years of learning into a single week of high-density exchange with the world’s foremost practitioners.

The Rift Valley system that runs through Kenya extends into Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia, a subterranean endowment that could, if properly developed, dramatically alter the energy security calculus of an entire region.

Kenya’s experience navigating everything from geothermal exploration risk to steam field management to community relations around geothermal sites could form the foundation of a regional knowledge-sharing architecture. The 2029 Congress is the ideal moment to plant that institutional seed.

For investors and development finance institutions, the Congress will shine a spotlight on the African geothermal frontier with an intensity that no bilateral meeting or project prospectus can replicate.

The challenge for Kenya and its neighbours has never been a lack of geothermal resource; the Rift is extraordinarily well-endowed, but rather the perception of risk that attaches to early-stage exploration drilling. Hosting WGC 2029 gives Kenya the platform to make the case, with four decades of operational data behind it, that African geothermal is a proven, investable, and scalable asset class.

The conversations that begin in Nairobi’s conference rooms could translate into exploration commitments across the region within years.

For the Kenyan government, the implications extend further still. Energy transition commitments under the Paris Agreement and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 both demand a dramatic scaling of clean baseload power. Geothermal, unlike solar and wind, produces electricity around the clock regardless of weather, a characteristic that makes it foundational, not supplementary, to any serious decarbonisation strategy.

Kenya’s WGC hosting rights arrive at precisely the moment when the global conversation about energy transition is shifting from aspiration to implementation, from nationally determined contributions to nationally delivered outcomes.

The Congress offers Kenya’s leadership a moment to articulate a national geothermal vision that is not merely reactive to international pressure, but genuinely ahead of it.

None of this happens automatically. The period between now and 2029 is not a waiting room; it is a preparation ground.

Kenya must use these years to deepen the scientific and policy thinking it will present to the world, to expand its geothermal capacity so that the story told in Nairobi is one of forward momentum rather than past achievement, and to build the regional convening infrastructure that makes the Congress a catalyst rather than a celebration.

The steam rising from Olkaria has long told a quiet story about what African ingenuity, patience, and technical rigour can produce. In 2029, that story will be told loudly, in one of the world’s most consequential energy forums, to an audience that will carry it home to every geothermal frontier on earth.

Kenya did not stumble into this moment. It was built, well by well, megawatt by megawatt. The task now is to be worthy of it.

Kenya’s monthly domestic exports to the US jumped to a record Sh10.5 billion in March after President Donald Trump renewed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), restoring duty-free access and reversing the threat of new tariffs on Kenyan goods.

The rebound followed months of uncertainty after Trump announced tariffs on imports from 180 countries, including a 10 percent duty on Kenyan products that was set to take effect when Agoa expired at the end of September last year.

Latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows exports to the US rose sharply from Sh6.7 billion in February, making March’s value the highest monthly earning ever recorded.

The surge offers fresh relief to exporters after months of uncertainty following the expiry of the Agoa arrangement last September before its renewal in February 2026.

According to Ken Gichinga, chief economist at Mentoria Economics, the March spike largely reflected a release of export orders and shipments that had accumulated during the months when Kenyan firms faced uncertainty over continued duty-free market access.

‘The retroactive Agoa extension removed the uncertainty overhang for many exporters, especially textile and apparel. Exporters could now confidently fulfill larger orders knowing duty-free treatment was back,’ says Mr Gichinga.

‘Also, exporters are likely front-loading shipments ahead of any future policy risks. Agoa’s short extension to December 2026 means uncertainty returns soon.’

Agoa grants eligible African countries duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products, with Kenya remaining among the programme’s biggest beneficiaries, especially in textiles and apparel exports.

The latest renewal has eased fears among exporters and manufacturers who had warned that expiry of the programme would trigger factory closures, job losses and cancelled export contracts across Kenya’s export processing zones.

Kenya’s textile and apparel sector remains the single largest beneficiary of Agoa, supplying American retailers with garments, jeans, uniforms and fashion products manufactured in local export processing zones.

The sector supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, with factories concentrated mainly in Nairobi, Athi River, Mombasa and other export processing zones.

In the months to the September expiry, government officials had intensified lobbying efforts in Washington amid concerns that prolonged uncertainty around the agreement would weaken Kenya’s competitiveness against Asian textile manufacturing countries.

Besides garments, Kenya exports farm produce including coffee, tea, macadamia, fruits, vegetables, cut flowers and processed agricultural products to the US market under the Agoa arrangement.

The US remains one of Kenya’s most important export destinations outside Africa, providing critical foreign exchange earnings at a time the country continues battling a widening trade imbalance.

Trade between Nairobi and Washington has also increasingly become strategically important as Kenya pushes to diversify export markets beyond traditional destinations such as Uganda, Pakistan and the European Union.

The renewed agreement has revived optimism among manufacturers that Kenya could attract fresh investment from global firms seeking lower-cost export bases targeting the American consumer market.

The fresh export momentum comes as Kenya continues separate negotiations with Washington for a broader bilateral trade agreement that officials hope could eventually replace Agoa.

Kenya’s export processing zones have, over the years, become heavily dependent on the US market, making the textile sector particularly vulnerable to changes in Washington’s trade policy direction.

Kenya has been pushing for expanded market access covering additional sectors including agriculture, mining, fisheries and value-added manufacturing as part of efforts to deepen commercial ties with the US.

The discussions had initially started during Trump’s earlier administration before slowing under subsequent policy changes and uncertainty around Washington’s broader trade approach toward African economies.

Electric motorcycle company Spiro has raised $215 million (Sh27.8 billion) in fresh funding to expand its battery-swapping network, local manufacturing and enter new African markets.

The equity funding round, where a firm raises capital by selling ownership shares, was led by Impact Fund Denmark, Denmark’s development finance institution, alongside Spiro’s Dubai-based parent company, Equitane.

Spiro said it would expand its battery-swapping infrastructure, strengthen its industrial and assembly footprint, accelerate technology development and support expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Ethiopia.

It comes just days after the company announced the acquisition of UK engineering and design firm Coexlion, as it seeks to boost its motorbike development and localise design for African markets.

The raise is also one of the largest recent capital injections into the region’s e-mobility sector as venture capitalists scramble to invest in companies working to reduce fuel import dependence and cut transport emissions.

‘Supported by our global pool of investors, we are entering our next growth chapter to deliver clean, cost-effective energy and transport alternatives to millions of riders across the continent,’ Gagan Gupta, Spiro’s founder and chairman of Equitane, said in a statement shared with the Business Daily.

Founded in 2022, Spiro is a subsidiary of Equitane, an investment vehicle, and has its operational headquarters in Nairobi. The company operates in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Cameroon, where the majority of its electric motorcycles are used by commercial motorcycle taxi operators, popularly known as boda bodas.

Spiro assembles its motorcycles in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda from knockdown kits imported from China, with some components sourced from India.

Its Nairobi assembly plant has an annual production capacity of up to 50,000 motorcycles. The firm also has a battery recycling facility in Nigeria.

With the new funding, Spiro plans to expand local production capabilities across vehicle manufacturing, battery-swapping infrastructure, maintenance services and technology development.

Last week, Spiro announced the acquisition of Coexlion as part of plans to establish its first African research and development (RandD) centre in Nairobi.

RandD centres are innovation hubs where engineers, scientists and researchers develop new technologies, build prototypes and improve software and hardware products for commercial use.

Spiro said the acquisition boosts its ability to design, develop and manufacture electric motorcycles tailored to African road conditions and customer requirements, while helping it build its technology, engineering and manufacturing capabilities in-house.

The company says it has deployed more than 100,000 electric motorcycles across Africa and operates over 2,500 battery-swapping stations, making it the continent’s largest e-motorbike firm.

‘We see potential for significant commercial growth in Spiro and electric mobility across Africa, as well as measurable climate impact,’ said Lars Bo Bertram, Chief Executive of Impact Fund Denmark.

The latest fundraising adds to Spiro’s string of major capital raises over the past year.

In February, the firm secured $50 million (Sh6.5 billion) in debt financing from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), climate-focused financier Nithio and the Africa Go Green Fund.

Last October, the company also announced a $100 million (Sh12.9 billion) venture funding round led by the Fund for Export Development in Africa, the impact investment arm of Afreximbank.

The latest investment round brings to $502 million (Sh65 billion) the total funding the company has received to date, according to data from the global business portal Crunchbase.

There has been increased investor appetite for electric mobility ventures like Spiro, Arc Ride, Roam and BasiGo in recent months.

These firms seek to reduce fuel import dependence, cut transport emissions and develop local manufacturing industries around emerging clean energy technologies.

Investors are drawn to Kenya’s high motorcycle density, a power grid largely supplied by renewables and a policy environment that has signalled support for electric mobility.

There is a proverb often shared across our continent: ‘However long the night, the dawn will break.’

But there is a quieter truth beneath it-those who prepare for the night weather it better than those who simply wait for dawn. Today, Africa finds itself in another long night.

The ongoing Iran crisis and disruption through the Strait of Hormuz-one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints-has triggered one of the largest energy supply shocks in modern history.

The strait normally carries roughly 20 percent of global oil supply and nearly 25 percent of global seaborne oil trade. Around 80 percent of these flows are destined for Asian markets, with China, India, Japan and South Korea among the largest importers.

In recent weeks, oil prices have surged past $110 per barrel, with peaks reaching as high as $126 during the height of the disruption. For Africa, this is not just a geopolitical event. It is a direct economic shock.

Across the continent, rising oil prices are feeding into transport costs, food inflation, and currency pressures.

In Kenya, the Central Bank projects inflation could rise to 6.2 percent in the coming months-above its 5 percent midpoint target-driven largely by higher fuel prices.

We are already seeing second-order effects. Transport operators are adjusting fares upward, supply chains are tightening and households are absorbing the cost of a crisis they did not create. This is not new. It is a pattern. And that is precisely the point.

What Africa has always needed is patient capital-and this is much clearer today than ever before. Because the challenge before us is not just volatility. It is structural exposure. Over 40 African countries are net oil importers, meaning external shocks translate almost immediately into domestic instability.

When capital is short-term, risk-averse, and priced for quick returns, it retreats at precisely the moment it is most needed. Businesses stall. Investments pause. Growth becomes fragile.

Patient capital does the opposite, it stays. It absorbs shocks, provides continuity, enables businesses to continue investing even when input costs rise and it allows governments and institutions to think beyond the immediate crisis and invest in long-term resilience.

We have seen this model work-decisively-elsewhere. Singapore offers one of the clearest examples. Through Temasek Holdings, which manages over $300 billion in assets, the country has consistently deployed long-term, state-backed capital into strategic sectors-from energy to logistics to technology. During global shocks, these institutions do not withdraw; they stabilize.

Similarly, Canada’s pension funds, including CPP Investments, deploy over $500 billion globally with investment horizons measured in decades. They invest heavily in infrastructure and energy systems, often taking counter-cyclical positions when markets are under stress.

These are not just funds. They are shock absorbers. Closer to home, Kenya’s newly established National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) signals a shift toward this same philosophy.

At its core, the NIF represents an opportunity to move from reactive policy to proactive resilience. Because if oil prices can spike above $110 per barrel due to disruptions thousands of kilometres away, then the real question is not how we respond-but how we reduce our exposure. This is where the NIF becomes critical.

Strategically deployed, it can channel long-term capital into renewable energy, reducing dependence on imported fuel. And if we get this right-if we align institutions like the NIF with a broader ecosystem of long-term, resilient capital-then moments like this will no longer define us.

For the NIF to succeed, it must embody these same principles. Across Africa, the infrastructure financing gap exceeds $100 billion annually.

At the same time, the cost of capital remains among the highest globally. Bridging this gap will require more than traditional financing models. It will require capital that is willing to wait, capital that is comfortable with complexity and one that measures success not just in quarterly returns, but in long-term transformation.

The Iran crisis is a reminder-perhaps a costly one-that Africa cannot afford to build its future on short-term foundations. We cannot control global oil prices. We cannot control geopolitical tensions.

As the proverb reminds us, dawn will come. The question is whether we will have built enough through the night to meet it.

But we can control how we prepare. Patient capital is not a luxury. It is a necessity. And we will be ready.

Long before President William Ruto arrived with an apology and a bag of goodies for the people of northern Kenya to mark the 63rd Madaraka Day on Monday, Wajir had already made history.

Residents began arriving at the new 10,000-capacity stadium as early as 4.30am, many from far-flung parts of the county, to witness the first national celebrations held in the north.

By 6.30am, all the seats had been occupied and thousands more stood on the terraces as the sweltering heat intensified.

Hawkers, children, elders and local leaders mingled in an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, aware they were witnessing a moment that would be etched into the region’s history.

In one of the most striking displays, the children assembled themselves into the shape of the map of Kenya before seamlessly transforming into the word ‘WAJIR’ and later ‘ELIMU’ – the Kiswahili word for ‘education’.

The formations drew applause from the crowd and reinforced the central message of the day that education would be the foundation of Kenya’s development.

When he stood to speak, the President repeatedly returned to the themes of inclusion and equal opportunity as he confronted the legacy of policies that consigned northern Kenya to the margins of national development.

He singled out Sessional Paper 10 of 1965, which prioritised investment in perceived high-potential areas while leaving swathes of northern Kenya underdeveloped.

‘Communities were pushed to the fringes of their own republic. Their patriotism was questioned, their citizenship doubted and their aspirations undermined,’ he said.

He then offered an apology: ‘On behalf of the people and the Republic of Kenya, I offer sincere apology for the marginalisation you have endured over the years. Poleni sana ndugu zetu (We are very sorry our brothers). It was never meant to be this way.’ The crowd was euphoric.

The Kenya Air Force conducted an elaborate fly-past and the performance concluded with a helicopter flying over the stadium with a giant ‘Happy Madaraka 2026’ banner.

Diageo expects to complete the sale of its 65 percent stake in East African Breweries Limited (EABL) to Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings in the second half of this year, ending a 26-year ownership stint during which the value of its holding grew more than tenfold to Sh305 billion.

In a call with investors, the British drinks giant said the transaction is expected to close between July and December.

Diageo, which acquired majority control of EABL in 2000 when the brewer was valued at about Sh30 billion, announced plans on December 17, 2025, to sell its entire stake and its 53.68 percent shareholding in Kenyan spirits maker UDV Kenya (UDVK) to Asahi Group Holdings.

The disposal forms part of The London Stock Exchange-listed brewer’s broader ‘asset-light’ strategy, which has seen it divest businesses in several markets.

‘USL (United Spirits Limited) announced the sale of its RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) business on 24 March 2026 and the disposal of our shareholding in EABL is expected to complete in calendar H2,’ Diageo said in its third-quarter trading update for fiscal year 2026.

‘These transactions will support reducing leverage and increasing financial flexibility.’

Diageo will receive $2.354 billion (Sh305 billion) for its EABL stake and $646 million (Sh83.6 billion) for its shares in UDVK, bringing the total gross proceeds to $3 billion (Sh388.4 billion).

New brew

The transaction ushers in a new chapter for East Africa’s largest brewer, whose portfolio includes Tusker, Guinness, WhiteCap and Pilsner.

Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Asahi Group Holdings produces alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages as well as food products. The company operates across Japan, East Asia, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, generating annual revenue of about $19 billion (Sh2.45 trillion).

Following completion of the acquisition, Asahi is expected to introduce some of its flagship brands, including Asahi Super Dry, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, to the Kenyan and wider East African markets.

Diageo’s exit will also be accompanied by a long-term licensing and distribution agreement that will allow EABL to continue producing selected Diageo brands, including Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Smirnoff Ice, Orijin and Guinness.

Capital markets regulators in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have already granted Asahi an exemption from making a mandatory takeover offer to minority shareholders.

Under East African capital markets regulations, an investor that acquires control of a listed company is ordinarily required to make an offer for the remaining shares, although regulators may waive the requirement in exceptional circumstances.

Asahi has indicated that EABL will remain listed on the securities exchanges of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania after completion of the transaction.

Strategic shift

Diageo was formed in 1997 through the merger of Guinness Plc and Grand Metropolitan and acquired majority control of EABL three years later, cementing its influence over the region’s largest brewer.

Before the acquisition, Guinness East Africa, incorporated in Kenya in 1965, operated primarily as a regional marketing and distribution arm for Guinness brands, working closely with EABL through licensing, brewing and distribution arrangements.

Diageo has since resolved to exit EABL and other African investments as part of its cost-cutting programme and asset disposal strategy. The asset-light model is designed to reduce earnings volatility in Africa and improve returns.

The brewer has in recent years grappled with slowing alcohol consumption among Gen Z consumers, weaker demand in key markets such as the United States and China, and growing investor concerns about the long-term growth prospects of the global spirits industry.

Those pressures forced the maker of Johnnie Walker and Guinness to cut its sales and profit forecasts despite reporting organic sales growth of 1.7 percent in 2025.

A parliamentary committee has backed the creation of a Sh5 billion public participation fund to finance projects proposed by citizens during budget hearings, opening a new spending vote even as the government implements austerity measures.

The allocation, included in the National Treasury’s 2026/27 budget estimates, will finance projects and policy interventions raised during parliamentary public participation forums, including stalled development projects, teacher recruitment and medical staffing.

The new spending vote, dubbed Strategic Response to Public Initiatives/Public Participation, has been approved by the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning after its review of the Treasury’s budget estimates.

Treasury officials say the programme is intended to ensure proposals made by citizens during annual budget consultations are not ignored once public hearings conclude.

‘This relates to projects identified through public participation through the parliamentary process. This list is normally approved by Parliament,’ Albert Mwenda, director-general for Budget, Fiscal and Economic Affairs at the National Treasury, told the Business Daily.

Citizen proposals

Each year, Parliament’s Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC) compiles recommendations collected during public hearings held across the country while reviewing budget estimates.

The submissions typically include fiscal proposals, policy directives and development priorities raised by citizens, lobby groups, professionals and community organisations.

In previous budget cycles, many of the proposals adopted by Parliament remained unimplemented because of funding constraints despite being incorporated into committee reports.

In its report on the current 2025/26 budget, for instance, the BAC directed the Treasury to conduct a comprehensive audit of stalled and slow-moving projects by March 2026 to determine whether they should be terminated, consolidated or fast-tracked.

The committee also backed funding for the Teachers’ Service Commission to transition intern teachers to permanent and pensionable terms to address staffing shortages in junior secondary schools. The proposal was not implemented after the Treasury cited a lack of funds.

Read: Paradox of teacher shortage despite record recruitment

Similarly, the Ministry of Health had been directed to prioritise the deployment and funding of medical interns and confirm more than 8,500 Universal Health Coverage workers employed on contract terms.

Spending scrutiny

‘The committee recommends an allocation of Sh5 billion under Strategic Response to Public Initiatives/Public Participation,’ the Finance and Planning Committee, chaired by Molo MP Kuria Kimani, said in its report.

The proposal now awaits debate and approval by the National Assembly as part of the 2026/27 budget estimates.

If passed, attention will shift to how the Treasury operationalises the fund, including project selection criteria, accountability structures and oversight mechanisms governing expenditure.

The allocation has, however, drawn scrutiny over the Treasury’s spending priorities at a time when ministries and State agencies are facing deep cuts in travel, training, hospitality and office operations as part of efforts to contain expenditure amid below-target tax receipts and rising debt-servicing costs.

The Finance and Planning Committee has consequently reduced the Treasury’s training budget from Sh250 million to Sh9 million, while expenditure on office supplies has been cut from Sh485 million to Sh12 million.

Hospitality spending was similarly reduced from Sh232 million to Sh12 million as lawmakers intensified pressure on ministries to curb recurrent expenditure and redirect resources towards development priorities.

Jagat Shah has a few things to say about money. ‘It is only a commodity.’

‘Money buys experience; experience winds up with the money.’ Money, he says, adds no real happiness to life. He should know. As the driving force behind Mitsumi Distribution, he has made plenty of it. ‘Enough for my children’s children not to run out of,’ he says.

But he hopes his children choose differently. He knew only work. Nearly 200 days a year in the air. Living out of suitcases. Chasing growth across continents.

Has it been worth it? ‘It has,’ he says, yet there are moments when he hears the bell tolling. He cannot stop. But he can spend more time with family.

He still lives with his brother, his right-hand man, Mitesh Shah, since their days back in a living room on Mutithi Road – a stone’s throw from where Mitsumi stands today.

The bill for success, he admits, is often paid at home. ‘My daughters say, ‘Dad, you have not been giving us time.” This, he does not deny. He is not so much a guilty man in torment as an innocent man tormented by guilt.

Jagat, when I pop open the hood, what will I find?

I am an electronics engineer who came to Kenya in 1994 as one of the first Windows engineers in the country. I worked for a company for three years before starting my own repair shop, Mitsumi Computer Garage.

As we built relationships and repaired people’s computers, customers started giving us orders. Slowly, I moved into selling computers.

In 2007, we diversified into distribution. That gave us a chance to expand into East Africa, then West Africa and later the Middle East. We put up a team in Dubai and shifted the headquarters there. I built a strong management team that is now running the business, and that has worked very well for our expansion.

You started in a living room on Mutithi Road. What do you miss about that man now?

Oh, that man was freer. Today I am so tied up. I cannot give time to myself. I came here when I was 25 years old. Of course, life was different. You had less of everything, but there was much more me-time , which is not there anymore.

But I am really happy because we have more than 1,000 employees. Their families are growing. Their children are joining us. I am proud of what we have built.

What were you worried about then?

How I would succeed because there was no capital. I came to work for somebody else. My monthly pay started at about Sh8,000 and I was wondering how I would grow and meet my monthly expenses.

Opportunities came along the way, but I worked very hard and people appreciated the ethical way we did business. That is what brought repeat customers and success.

What are you still worried about now?

[Chuckles] Health. The way we keep travelling and running around without giving ourselves enough time. Health is one of the things I worry about.

How are you keeping healthy?

I am currently healthy, but I have some lifestyle diseases, such as high blood pressure. That comes with age, but it is also part of business. You need to spend time on yourself to maintain yourself.

Speaking of that, how do you spend time on yourself?

There are social moments with friends. I meet them once a week for Koroga.

As far as health is concerned, I do not get enough time. I try to go to the gym once or twice a week. Saturdays and Sundays are family time.

Most of my happy moments are spent with friends.

Do people ever tell you no?

Yeah. Even my team tells me no. We like people who tell you face-to-face and say, ‘No boss, this is wrong’. And then correct us. Because you do not know everything.

What can you tell me about success that only you can?

There is no shortcut to success. You need to work hard. Most importantly, you need to be ethical. As people grow and become bigger, they want to work with ethical companies and ethical people. There is no substitute for ethics.

We see the successes, what do we not see?

The failures. I started call centres, which failed. I started a shoe manufacturing company and a textile business, which failed. I started an internet company, which actually did well and we sold it to Zuku. We succeeded in distribution, but many other businesses failed.

What is your view of a good life?

The reason I left Dubai and came back to Kenya is that life there felt very artificial. It is first-world living. But the closeness I see among people here and the friendships we have built in Kenya are what I value most. That is why Mitesh and I stayed here, despite our management team being based in Dubai. I want to meet people, make friends and spend time with them. Life is not only about business and money.

What is the best thing a friend has done for you?

There are many so many down times a businessman faces, when you are stressed and need somebody to talk to. That is when your friends help, you know. My friends are very close to me. Whenever we are down, I say, ‘Okay, don’t worry.’ Sometimes you need connections. Your friends may know somebody who knows somebody. It is not one thing. Friends do everything.

If I were to read only one chapter of your life, what would it be?

I was born in Uganda. My father was a school teacher. But when I came to Kenya, that is when my life really started – the struggles, the twists and turns of business and the growth that followed. And, of course, many friends helped along the way.

Your father was a teacher. What kind of father are you?

I am a businessman, but I spend a lot of time in the evenings with my children. I really love them. We are now training Mitesh’s son to take over.

What do you wish you had done differently as a father?

Give more time to my children. [Chuckles]

If you did that, you would not be here, right?

That is the balance we need to strike. When children have school activities, you are often stressed and distracted by work. I do not remember a single day when I dropped my children at school. I have never done that. I may have attended one or two school meetings, but it was mostly my wife who handled those responsibilities.

Is that a regret?

Of course.

What do you hope your children remember about you when they are your age?

I have given them a platform. They should balance their lives better than I did. Not like me, rushing and rushing. They should give more time to their own children.

Do you think you can stop?

No, stopping is not an option. Because I, Mitesh, or most businessmen, are not the type who would sit back and do nothing. I want to spend more time giving back to society. We have started many charitable initiatives and CSR programmes. I want to spend more time on those.

If I stripped away all your titles, what remains?

My identity is tied to my work. That is what my life has been about. Outside work, there is very little. In fact, when I am free at home, I still want to do something – whether it is charity, education or community work. So, if you take work away from me, there is very little left.

How has your meaning of life evolved?

What we could not do ourselves is what we want our children to do. Spend more time with people, friends and family. Have a balanced life.

Success is not only measured in business. It can be measured through community, society and giving. There are many ways to define success. When we did not have money, we did not understand that. Now that they do, I hope they understand it.

Were you always an ambitious child?

My father was a primary school teacher. We had a very thin budget. We were expelled from Uganda and left everything behind. The ambition to do something big was always there. Mitesh and I started our first business while we were still in school. He was in Year 10 and I was in Year 12. We bought and sold things. That early, we understood that you needed to earn.

How lonely is success?

My life is not lonely at all. I am always with my work, my family or myself.

When you look back at your 54 years, what feelings come to you?

Well, I am very happy with what I have done. I could not have done better. I have no regrets. In every phase of life, for myself, for society and for my children, I am proud of what I have achieved. The only thing missing is the time that was never given.

What life lessons do you swear by?

Have a balanced life. Give more time to your children. Show them the value of life, not only the value of money and business.

What have your children taught you about life?

It is this one thing: ‘Dad, you have not been giving me time.’ One of my daughters got married a year and a half ago.

How does that make you feel?

You know, every time my daughter leaves, I do not like it. They have been with me all my life. Of course, I want to see them get married and settle down, but I still do not like it [chuckles]. In our Asian community, children do not really leave home. They stay with us.

You run this business with your brother. In most family businesses there is always infighting. How have you managed?

We still live together in one house. It is a big house in Kyuna. We still have one kitchen and one dining room. He has two daughters and a son. I have three daughters and a son. Everybody is one family.

Is this something you decided?

Yes. It comes from childhood. We have always been like that. Mitesh and I never fight. Of course, he respects me a lot. Sometimes we may disagree, but he takes it positively.

Sometimes we do not get time to meet during the day, but every evening, after dinner, we sit together, watch television and discuss work.

How has that been for both your families?

They love each other. They do not like being alone.

What matters less to you now?

Money. I cannot spend what I have in this lifetime. So I am not earning for myself anymore. Of course, I still have more than 1,000 families depending on the business, so I have to continue. But even if I retired, I think the next generation would do well.

What does money mean to you now?

It has become a commodity. It is no longer a need. I have come to understand that money comes and goes. It does not add any real happiness. Once you get it [chuckles], you realise that.

When we were struggling and starting out, money was the only thing that mattered. Today, I know it does not add even a single thing to your happiness.

What is a mistake you made about money, and what did you learn from it?

Well, I made many bad investments. I tried to make money very quickly and got conned. Somebody comes and tells you, ‘I will multiply your money.’ You give it to them and they disappear [chuckles].

I have learned that only hard-earned money grows.

What do you have that money cannot buy?

Friendship, happiness and family time.

When money comes, family time goes. To manage money, you must give it time, and that time is usually taken from your family.

With all this money, how did you know who to trust?

That is a bit of a problem. Take a charity organisation, for example. If you want to donate, you are not always going to the ground to verify everything yourself. You look at the person running it. If you believe they are ethical and trustworthy, then you trust them and move forward.

But what if it is someone who wants to be a friend?

You know what? I think I am losing more and more friends as I become more successful. My circle keeps shrinking.

Why?

That is what success brings. People assume you are busy. They say, ‘Let us not call him.’ So you end up having to look for your friends rather than the other way round.

How is that for you as a man?

My inner circle is made up of four or five very close friends. Those are the people I spend most of my time with now.

Of course, you know many people in the market. But when you are out, it is usually those same four or five faces you see every day.

Have you kept the promises you made to yourself as a young man?

When I was young, my only goal was to be successful. I did not have anything else in mind because I came from very humble beginnings. If you had asked me 15 years ago, I would still have said the same thing: work, work, work. Business, business, business. Money, money, money.

What has success not fixed?

Success does not fix many things.

It brings its own problems, your health, the lack of time and not being able to do what you actually want to do. If I wanted to play golf every day, I could not. I have the money, but I do not have the time.

Why is there no time? I imagine you can delegate.

It is always like that, but my mind keeps asking: ‘What is new? What is next?’

It has become a habit. You cannot just sit and do nothing.

What tips do you have for surviving adulthood?

You need to be very focused on what you want to do.

Life gives you many opportunities, some good and some bad. The choices you make in your 20s define who you become.

I have seen many friends choose different paths. Mitesh and I chose work, work, work. I think that decision created a huge difference between where they are and where we are today.

Decide what you want from life.

What is something most people misunderstand about leadership?

Haha! People often think that if you are sitting at the top, you must be arrogant. They assume all you think about is money and that success automatically makes you arrogant.

What is the most important question someone has asked you?

‘When are you retiring?’

Haha! I do not think I ever will. I love working. I may slow down and focus on different things, but I cannot sit back and do nothing.

What do you think that 24 or 25-year-old boy in that living room on Mutithi Road is telling the man sitting across from me today?

He would probably say that the excessive pressure and running around was not necessary.

Every other day I was on an international flight. For nearly 200 days a year I was out of the country. Looking back, a lot of that was not needed.

Covid slowed us down and taught us that work can still happen without constant travel. These days we have reduced that to about 150 days a year.

And what would you tell that boy?

Organising your life is more important than money. Once you become successful, you understand that.

Jagat, what do you wish people understood about you more?

I am very strict when it comes to management. I have more than 50 companies. If I ask you to do something, it is your responsibility to come back and report on it. It is not my job to chase you for updates.

I am tough on that, and some people are genuinely afraid of that side of me.

Do people ever see you beyond the money?

Yes. I have many friends.

For years, informal ‘lifting’ has quietly existed across Kenyan estates and highways. Neighbours heading in the same direction share rides, motorists stop to pick stranded commuters, and lately, WhatsApp groups are coordinating transport during peak hours.

Now, a Kenyan mobility startup is attempting to formalise that culture into a structured

Investors have been urged to tap offshore investment opportunities on the back of technology that has opened doors for individuals to diversify away from Kenyan government securities and local stocks.

The Business Daily’s fourth investor conference turned the spotlight on the future of investing, with industry leaders highlighting technology and artificial intelligence as key drivers in the assets diversification push.

Local fund managers have created applications that allow investors to directly buy foreign assets such as shares and commodities, including gold, oil and silver.

The technologies also allow local investors to buy Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), a pooled investment vehicle that holds a basket of securities-such as stocks, bonds or commodities-and trades on a stock exchange just like a regular company stock.

Buying a single ETF allows investors to instantly spread their money across hundreds or thousands of different assets, lowering their risk.

Mobile and web trading platform Hisa’s Chief Operations Officer, Leah Wakarima, said technology has lowered barriers to entry and has widened the investment options for ordinary Kenyans through smartphones.

‘Technology has done for investing what M-Pesa did for payments. It has created access to investment,’ she said at the conference.

The conference, themed ‘The Future of Investing: Diversifying Portfolio in a New Era,’ brought together investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs and financial market players to discuss emerging investment opportunities amid the shifting global economic and trends.

Ms Wakarima said investment in assets such as ETFs was no longer limited to wealthy individuals, adding that digital tools had enabled younger and first-time investors to tap the global financial markets.

M-Pesa was one of the global pioneers of mobile-phone-based money transfer services in 2007. The mobile money platform’s user base has grown to 35 million customers in Kenya, and it now offers an array of financial services, including savings, banking, investment products and direct trading shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange without the need to open a brokerage account.

Nation Media Group CEO Geoffrey Odundo said the conference had evolved over the last four years from a financial literacy forum into a major platform for conversations around investment, economic transformation and market trends.

‘Business Daily has continued to provide trusted reporting, analysis and insight that helps readers understand not only what is happening in the economy, but what those developments mean and how they should respond to them,’ said Mr Odundo.

Centum Investment CEO James Mworia said the future investment growth would come from financing productive ecosystems tied to the global demand.

Participants at the conference urged Kenyan investors to think global.

He argued that Kenya and Africa stood to benefit from the shifting global supply chains, digitisation and changing geopolitical dynamics, which are pushing manufacturers and investors to seek alternative production and investment destinations.

He also cautioned against policy unpredictability, saying frequent tax changes risk undermining investor confidence and long-term capital allocation.

The rise of digital investing platforms has also transformed how fund managers acquire and interact with clients, according to Arvocap Asset Managers’ Head of Business Development, John Kamau.

‘Today, a lot more people can participate in the investment space. Thank God for technology and access to information,’ said Mr Kamau.

He revealed that nearly all of Arvocap’s clients currently join through their digital onboarding platforms, reflecting the growing shift towards technology-driven investing.

‘As a company, 98 percent of our clients have come from self-onboarding, digital onboarding,’ he said.

With artificial intelligence increasingly influencing financial markets globally, panelists also debated the opportunities and risks presented by AI-powered investing tools.

‘AI is a tool. It is not a pilot, it is a co-pilot,’ said Mr Kamau.