Category: Business Daily

I and M Group spent Sh1 billion last year to acquire an additional 17 percent stake in its Tanzanian banking subsidiary through a capital injection and the buyout of other investors.

The twin transactions increased its ownership in I and M Bank Tanzania Limited to 95.51 percent in the year ended December 2025 from 78.51 percent a year earlier.

The acquisition followed the purchase of shares held by development finance institution Proparco and Microfinance East Africa Ltd (MEAL), alongside participation in rights issues.

‘The increase from 78.51 percent in 2024 to 95.51 percent in 2025 is explained by two separate steps. First, I and M Group subscribed for the rights issue undertaken by I and M Bank Tanzania in 2025,’ Gauri Gupta, I and M Group Director for Corporate Advisory and Sustainability, said in an emailed statement.

‘This was followed by the group’s acquisition of shares previously held by the two minority shareholders, Proparco and Microfinance East Africa Ltd (MEAL) … taken together, these transactions resulted in an increase in the group’s holding of 17 percent.’

Ownership boost

I and M Group now directly owns 45.7 percent of I and M Bank Tanzania and the remaining 49.81 percent indirectly through its Kenyan subsidiary, I and M Bank Limited.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm has steadily expanded its investment in Tanzania over the past 15 years. In 2010, it acquired a 55 percent controlling stake in CF Union Bank Limited, which was later rebranded as I and M Bank Tanzania Limited.

I and M Group said the latest increase in its ownership in the Tanzanian banking subsidiary underscores its confidence in Tanzania’s financial sector and reinforces its commitment to supporting financial inclusion and economic growth in the country.

As at December 2025, I and M Bank Tanzania operated eight branches and 11 ATMs, serving more than 38,000 customers.

The increased ownership comes amid stronger earnings growth at the Tanzanian subsidiary.

I and M Bank Tanzania posted a net profit of Sh1 billion in the year ended December 2025, up from Sh879 million the year before.

I and M Group operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Mauritius. Its latest regional expansion came in April 2021 through the acquisition of privately owned Orient Bank Ltd in Uganda.

Rwanda’s commercial bank BK Group reported a 3.7 percent profit growth in the first quarter ended March, helped by higher interest income.

The company, which is cross-listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Rwanda Stock Exchange, recorded a net profit equivalent of Sh2.4 billion during the review period.

This was up from Sh2.3 billion a year earlier. The company’s functional currency is the Rwandan franc (Rwf), but it also reports its financial performance in US dollars and Kenya shillings because of its ownership by investors from different countries.

The lender’s net profit growth was higher at 6.9 percent in Rwandan francs.

‘BK Group delivered a solid revenue performance in the first quarter of 2026, with total operating income reaching Rwf72.3 billion, up 13.8 percent year-on-year,’ the company said in a statement.

‘Net interest income was the primary driver, rising 15.2 percent to Rwf57.8 billion as interest income grew 8.4 percent to Rwf71.4 billion and interest expense declined 13.3 percent to Rwf13.6 billion.’

Total recurring operating costs increased 22.6 percent to Rwf26.4 billion, outpacing operating income growth and contributing to the muted profit growth.

BK Group said the rise in operating costs was concentrated in administration and general expenses, which rose to Rwf11.2 billion from Rwf7.3 billion, while personnel costs increased 3.7 percent to Rwf11.8 billion.

‘The cost-to-income ratio nonetheless improved from 41.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Management continues to monitor administrative cost growth as it invests in the group’s operating platform,’ the company said.

Sector peers

Net loans and advances increased 7.3 percent to Rwf1.66 trillion. BK Group, which is majority-owned by the Rwandan government, has a diversified business that includes its flagship subsidiary, Bank of Kigali.

The group also offers general insurance, asset management and software services.

The performance of BK Group leaves Absa Bank Kenya and Standard Chartered Bank Kenya as the only NSE-listed lenders to post lower earnings in the first quarter.

Absa’s net income declined 13.8 percent to Sh5.3 billion as falling interest rates and reduced lending to customers weighed on interest income.

StanChart’s net profit dropped 24.4 percent to Sh6.2 billion as revenue from lending fell faster than interest expenses, narrowing lending margins.

Other rival lenders, including Equity Group, NCBA Group and Co-operative Bank of Kenya, reported higher earnings, supported by a mix of deeper cuts in interest expenses and higher income from lending and transactions.

In the modern interconnected, fast moving and dynamic world, disputes are inevitable. The fairest attempt to address disputes by pragmatic contractual documents and realistic expectations do not always avert disputes. According to Johan Galtung, disputes arise because of structural, relational, and behavioral factors. The disputes will present themselves in commercial transactions, employment relationships, family business, construction projects, or general disagreement stemming from business interactions. The conventional approaches to dispute resolution mechanisms such as avoidance, fighting, litigation often escalate into conflict, broken relationships, and costly realities for disputants.

When the real cause of dispute may be rooted in relational, situational, and structural challenges, the conventional methods of resolution such as litigation do not address these challenges satisfactorily or at all. While courts continue to give a good attempt at addressing these challenges, the Court option remains costly, lengthy, adversarial, emotionally draining and often does not address the root causes of dispute.

Aware of these, the Judiciary, through the Court Annexed Mediation project, has done a fair job in encouraging the use of mediation. Even then, parties still would prefer not to be in court in the first place. In many cases, parties emerge from court processes with damaged relationships, disrupted operations, and significant financial strain.

Mediation continues to be one of the answers to the challenges of disputes. It is a voluntary, confidential, and consensual process where parties engage with a neutral third party (mediator) to assist them in reaching a mutually agreeable solution to the dispute.

The mediator’s role is not to order parties around or direct them; instead, it is to facilitate communication between the disputants to enable them to reach a settlement that is agreeable to all. Unlike litigation or arbitration, mediation is not focused on determining winners and losers. Instead, it prioritises dialogue, understanding, problem-solving, and preservation of relationships.

With the surging numbers of cases backlog, the Judiciary came to the realisation that the solution to case backlog is not to be found by adding more Courts or Judicial officers. Instead, it is through adoption of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as a cultural practice within the Country. This explains why the Courts are encouraging the use of Mediation, Alternative justice systems with a view to create a culture of alternative dispute resolution in the Country.

Businesses and individuals are increasingly seeking faster, cost-effective, and less confrontational methods of resolving disputes. One of the foremost approaches to this is adopting private mediation as an essential tool for modern justice and commercial stability.

The recent debate between lawyers and mediators should not make us forget the value of private mediation to businessmen and women in resolution of disputes. One of the surest approaches to countering the challenges posed in the recent debate is to consider trusted and globally recognised institutions to undertake private mediation.

In Kenya, the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) continues to champion mediation as part of its broader mandate to promote Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The Centre provides a structured and credible platform through which parties can resolve disputes efficiently and professionally under internationally aligned standards.

NCIA administers private mediation proceedings under its Mediation Rules, which are designed to provide parties with clarity, flexibility, confidentiality, and procedural efficiency throughout the process. The Rules allow parties to retain control over the outcome while benefiting from the guidance of trained and experienced mediators.

One of the greatest strengths of private mediation is its ability to preserve relationships. In commercial environments, preserving business partnerships, client confidence, and institutional reputation is often just as important as resolving the dispute itself. Private mediation creates an environment where parties can engage constructively rather than destructively, enabling them to move forward without the hostility often associated with court battles.

Private mediation also offers significant cost and time advantages. Lengthy disputes can paralyse businesses, delay projects, strain resources, and create uncertainty. Through private mediation, disputes can often be resolved far more efficiently, allowing parties to focus their energy on growth, productivity, and continuity rather than prolonged conflict.

Equally important is confidentiality. Unlike court proceedings, mediation discussions remain private, safeguarding sensitive business information, reputations, and commercial interests. This is particularly valuable in sectors where trust, brand image, and ongoing relationships are critical.

As Kenya continues to position herself as a regional commercial and investment hub, efficient dispute resolution mechanisms will remain central to investor confidence, ease of doing business, and economic growth.

Private mediation therefore represents more than an alternative to litigation. It is a forward-looking approach to justice that prioritises collaboration over confrontation and solutions over stalemates. The future of dispute resolution is increasingly shifting toward processes that are practical, accessible, and relationship oriented.

Through private mediation, parties are empowered not only to resolve disputes, but to do so with dignity, flexibility, and lasting impact. At NCIA, we believe that disputes do not always have to end in division. With the right process, they can become opportunities for understanding, restoration, and sustainable resolution. Ultimately, the best disputes are not those won in courtrooms, but those resolved through understanding, collaboration, and mutual agreement.

Kenya’s inflation accelerated for the second month running in May, hitting its highest in more than two years, largely due to fuel price increases linked to the Iran war and further eroding workers’ disposable income.

Inflation surged to 6.7 percent in May ?from 5.6 percent in April, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said on Friday. The rate was the highest since January 2024, when it stood at 6.9 percent.

The jump in inflation will hit workers hard amid reports that the rising cost of living has wiped out the marginal pay rises employers have offered staff in the past five years.

Inflation is now close to the upper end of the government’s preferred range of 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent.

The spike in energy costs is expected to reduce the Central Bank of Kenya’s room for further cuts on the benchmark interest rate, potentially freezing the recent decline in lending rates.

The central bank is ?due to announce its next interest rate decision on June 9, after leaving its key rate unchanged at its April meeting.

KNBS said transport costs rose 16.5 percent, while food and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased 9.4 percent. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel costs rose 3.4 percent, driving up the overall cost of living in May.

The three categories account for 57 percent of the basket used to measure inflation.

Shrinking wages

Workers’ purchasing power has declined by up to 12 percent over the past five years due to rising taxes, multiple statutory deductions and the high cost of living, according to Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) estimates.

KBA, which is proposing a uniform five percent reduction in pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) across all income tax bands, says the purchasing power has fallen by between 10.7 percent and 12 percent, contributing to the broader slowdown in economic growth.

The statutory deductions cited by KBA include PAYE, the 1.5 percent Affordable Housing Levy, a 2.75 percent contribution to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and higher National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions, which now top Sh6,480 per month for higher earners.

Workers’ pay packets are shrinking relative to inflation, with the energy shock triggered by the Iran war derailing recovery in real wages.

Workers have seen their real wages drop to Sh56,566 last year from Sh62,256 in 2020.

Fuel shock

The Middle East conflict has worsened the cost-of-living crisis, with inflation reaching 6.7 percent, exceeding the CBK’s forecast that it would hit 6.2 percent in July amid costly fuel.

Kenyan households and businesses are feeling the weight of record-high fuel prices as the Middle East conflict disrupts global oil markets, effectively pulling the country into a crisis unfolding thousands of miles away.

Since the US-Israel war with Iran started on February 28, 2026, the price of a litre of petrol has gone up by 20.2 percent, while diesel and kerosene prices have risen by 39.8 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively.

The latest 16.5 percent increase in transport costs came despite the government halving value-added tax on fuel to eight percent during the month and reducing the price of diesel by Sh10 per litre following widespread protests.

The conflict-driven disruptions pushed the price of petrol to a record Sh214.25 per litre in Nairobi, while diesel and kerosene rose to Sh242.92 and Sh152.78, respectively. Following the protests, the government reduced the price of diesel by Sh10, while the price of kerosene increased by Sh38.60.

President William Ruto recently directed the energy regulator to cut the price of diesel by a further Sh10 in the next review on June 14. However, with global oil prices remaining elevated, the reduction may require increased use of fuel subsidies.

Ahead of the annual Business Daily Investor Education Conference on May 29, Make Money speaks to Nahashon Mungai, the Executive Director, Global Markets at Standard Investment Bank (SIB), on why diversification is becoming central to modern investing.

He explains how spreading investments across asset classes can help manage risk, improve resilience and position investors for long-term returns in an increasingly uncertain market environment.

Co-operative Bank of Kenya and the Safaricom’s M-Pesa-based stock trading platform Ziidi Trader have been recognised for their contribution to financial inclusion in Africa.

At the 20th edition of the African Banker Awards held last week in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Co-op Bank was named SME Bank of the Year in Africa. The awards ceremony was held on the sidelines of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) annual general meeting.

During the same event, Ziidi Trader, the digital platform developed through a partnership between Safaricom and the Nairobi Securities Exchange, won the Fintech of the Year award.

The award recognised the platform’s role in democratising access to capital markets.

Co-op Bank’s award recognised its expertise and commitment to serving the banking needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

‘This recognition is a powerful validation of our unique expertise and deep-rooted commitment to serving the banking needs of MSMEs across the Eastern African region. We remain dedicated to walking alongside entrepreneurs to unlock prosperity for millions of Kenyans and our neighbours in the region,’ said Gideon Muriuki, managing director of Co-op Bank.

The awards, organised by African Banker magazine, celebrate excellence, innovation, resilience and the transformative contribution of financial institutions to economic development and financial inclusion across the continent.

Continental winners

Other winners included Togo-headquartered Ecobank Group, which was named Bank of the Year for its return to growth, profitability and dividend payments.

Nigeria’s NBET Finance Company won the Deal of the Year – Debt award for its $346.7 million bond issuance, which helped address the debt crisis in the country’s power sector.

Serge Ekué, president of the West African Development Bank, was named African Banker of the Year, while André Wameso, governor of the Central Bank of the DRC, was recognised as Central Bank Governor of the Year for supporting growth in the banking sector and facilitating the country’s Eurobond issuance.

Omar Ben Yedder, chair of the awards committee, underscored the importance of financial sovereignty, saying: ‘Nothing significant will move on this continent without strong banks and strong financial institutions at the centre.’

Every investment return comes with risk, but where is the line between an informed decision and speculation?

In this episode of Make Money, Stanley Mutuku, CEO of Lofty-Corban Investment Limited, discusses how investors can assess their risk tolerance, balance potential rewards against possible losses, and make smarter long-term investment decisions.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collections have deteriorated following wider missed targets amid pressure to cut taxes on key income heads like pay-as-you-earn (PAYE), which could worsen revenue performance.

Ordinary revenues collected through nine months of the fiscal year to March 2026 missed the mark by Sh161.9 billion, extending the deficit in tax collection from Sh110.6 billion at the end of December 2025.

The missed revenue targets come amid the government’s grant of tax concessions to contain the vagaries of the US-Israel war on Iran, including the halving of value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products.

The National Treasury still faces public pressure to offer further tax incentives, including reducing payroll taxes for low-income earners.

The KRA will likely record wider missed targets if the tax concessions are adopted without a reduced revenue outlook for the taxman.

‘Ordinary revenue collection was Sh1.81 trillion against a target of Sh1.98 trillion by the end of March 2026,’ the National Treasury said in its latest quarterly economic and budget review report.

‘All ordinary revenue categories recorded below target performance during the period under review, except import duty, which surpassed its target by Sh8.6 billion, and other revenue categories, which surpassed their target by Sh4.1 billion.’

Corporation tax recorded the largest miss among major tax heads at Sh60.3 billion, ahead of PAYE at Sh50.1 billion.

The VAT collections were off the mark by Sh42.8 billion, while misses on excise duty and investment revenue were posted at Sh19.2 billion and Sh43 million, respectively.

The taxman has persistently missed its collection targets amid difficulties, including a softer economy and revenue base expansion bottlenecks.

This has forced the Treasury to plug the created deficit from domestic revenue underperformance through additional internal borrowing.

Read: KRA blocks manual VAT export entries, tightens refund claims

Ordinary revenue collected through the nine months was, however, higher than the same time last year when receipts totalled to just Sh1.58 trillion.

KRA faces a sterner test to meet revenue targets as the government is forced to give up some taxes to contain the effects of the new raging Middle East War.

The halving of VAT is estimated to cost the exchequer a revenue loss of about Sh12.9 billion over a three-month period to mid-June 2026.

The National Treasury has further warned that Sh35 billion could be lost annually if it offers income tax cuts.

The exchequer had proposed to raise the limit of untaxed income from Sh24,000 to Sh30,000 while the rate of tax for incomes between Sh30,001 and Sh50,000 would be set at 25 percent.

The consideration was made before the start of the new Middle East war at the end of February.

The National Treasury has mulled pulling the plug on the concession but says that it could see the proposal through even as the move presents a blow to State coffers.

‘When I talked on this matter previously, I said there are implications because it’s going to leave us with a budget hole. We must now make a decision and that’s now for me upwards,’ said John Mbadi, the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

‘The decision is mine to take, and I will take that decision.’

Lobbyists including the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) have proposed a five-percent uniform cut in Paye for all salaried workers.

The relief is estimated to release Sh28.1 billion into the economy every year and generate close to Sh42 billion in immediate gross domestic product (GDP) output.

KRA has a target to raise Sh2.784 trillion in ordinary revenues in the fiscal year closing on June 30 from Sh2.42 trillion previously.

The target moves higher for the financial year starting July 1 to Sh2.985 trillion.

Only days after conclusion of the landmark Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, one message emerged with unmistakable clarity – Africa can no longer sit on the side-lines of its own economic transformation.

Across conversations on trade, capital flows, industrialisation, innovation, climate finance, and intergenerational prosperity, the conference reinforced the fact that Africa’s future will ultimately be shaped not only by global partnerships, but by the confidence of its capital.

As governments, policymakers, development institutions, and global investors intensify discussions around Africa’s economic rise, its high-net-worth individuals face a choice that will define their legacy – will they be spectators of Africa’s rise, or its architects? Indeed, African wealth matters because the continent cannot sustainably industrialise, innovate, or create resilient prosperity if a significant portion of its wealth remains permanently externalised.

And herein lies the opportunity. For decades, global narratives framed Africa largely through the lens of aid dependency, commodity extraction, and risk, all overshadowed by capital flight in the form of repatriated profits.

Africa represents one of the world’s most compelling long-term investment frontiers. Today, rapid urbanisation, demographic expansion, digital innovation, and the continent-wide market being unlocked by the AfCFTA are creating the conditions for a generational wealth-building moment. But conditions alone do not build anything if the people with a long-term stake do not seize the moment.

These conversations underscore the urgency of mobilising African capital toward productive sectors capable of driving sustainable growth and resilience.

From energy and logistics to agribusiness, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, and financial services, the continent is producing scalable opportunities with increasingly sophisticated investment structures.

Nairobi continues to emerge as a strategic financial gateway for East and Central Africa, combining entrepreneurial dynamism, deepening capital markets, regulatory evolution, and growing investor confidence.

Importantly, African investors themselves are becoming more globally aware, strategic, and intentional about long-term wealth preservation and legacy creation. For years, affluent African families understandably prioritised offshore wealth preservation strategies driven by concerns around governance, political uncertainty, currency volatility, and market fragmentation.

While diversification remains prudent and necessary, Africa needs to move from dependency toward ownership of capital, innovation, infrastructure, and the economy. No region in the world built lasting prosperity through primary reliance on external investors, but by domestic wealth, betting on domestic opportunity.

There is immense value in proximity investing, where one understands the culture, consumer realities, demographics, policy environment, and market behaviour.

African entrepreneurs and wealth creators possess this contextual advantage naturally. What the continent requires now is patient, strategic, and values-driven capital toward multigenerational transformation.

That is the spirit embodied by the theme Lasting Legacy in an Evolving World, for the upcoming second edition of the Nairobi Private Wealth Conference in June 2026 and which is designed as an opportunity for African wealthy to speak among themselves about Africa’s future with conviction. There are rare moments when timing and purpose align. This is one of them.

As global investors reposition toward Africa’s long-term growth sectors, continent’s investors should not arrive late to their own party.

Globally, families are increasingly asking questions such as what survives beyond the founder? How can wealth preserve values across generations? What role should private capital play in nation-building? How can wealth become both protective and transformative? This conversation is especially urgent in Africa, where first-generation wealth creation is accelerating at historic speed.

For example, Kenya currently ranks as the fourth wealthiest country in Africa, with at least 7,200-dollar millionaires, with the number of dollar millionaires in Africa projected to grow by 65 percent over the next decade. This reflects the growing importance of structured wealth planning and global investment strategies. The challenge now is ensuring that this wealth outlives economic cycles, leadership transitions, and generational fragmentation.

With Africa’s population expected to double by 2050 to approximately 2.5 billion people, with an estimated 850 million youth demographic, the continent presents a unique opportunity for economic growth. With it comes wealth creation and preservation. Realising this potential will require strategic investments in education, job creation and skills development.

The continent’s next chapter therefore requires African wealth holders to morph from being global portfolio participants to structural wealth ecosystem builders for intergenerational returns.

Stanbic Bank Kenya has been tapped to process payments to coffee farmers, joining Co-operative Bank of Kenya, which had been the sole Direct Settlement System Provider (DSS) for the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) since August 2023.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Thursday approved the appointment of Stanbic as the second DSS provider, putting it in a strong position to benefit from increased deposits, higher payment volumes and improved customer relationships in a sector that has long been a major foreign exchange earner for Kenya.

The CMA also granted two additional coffee broker licences to Ahadi Coffee Limited and Cafforra Coffee Company Limited in a move aimed at increasing competition and efficiency in the coffee trading sector.

‘The Capital Markets Authority has granted two more Coffee Broker licences and approved the appointment of Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited as a Direct Settlement System Provider (DSS) for the Nairobi Coffee Exchange,’ said the CMA in a statement.

‘Stanbic Bank is the second DSS provider coming after Cooperative Bank, which has been the sole DSS service provider since August 2023.’

The DSS system facilitates the clearing and settlement of coffee proceeds at the auction, ensuring that funds remitted by coffee buyers are settled to service providers and ultimately to coffee growers in a timely and transparent manner.

Banks offering DSS services earn money primarily through transaction charges, float income from deposits held temporarily in the settlement accounts and broader banking relationships created with coffee cooperatives, millers and farmers.

The system also gives banks access to low-cost deposits from cooperative societies and farmers’ savings, strengthening liquidity and opening opportunities for cross-selling loans, insurance and mobile banking products.

Stanbic’s entry comes at a time when Co-operative Bank had been granted an extension to continue processing payments to coffee farmers through the DSS platform following the postponement of the transition to direct payments into individual farmers’ accounts.

The government had initially planned to migrate from the DSS model beginning July 1, 2025, with proceeds being remitted directly to farmers. However, the transition was suspended after resistance from coffee unions and co-operative societies.

The planned shift had sparked mixed reactions across the sector, with unions pushing for at least a one-year postponement to allow consultations and the resolution of operational concerns surrounding the new payment framework.

The onboarding of Stanbic now signals that the government could retain the DSS arrangement for longer than initially planned.

The NCE has historically served as the central marketplace where Kenya’s coffee is traded through weekly auctions involving licensed brokers, millers, dealers and exporters.

Coffee trading at the exchange dates back decades and was designed to promote price discovery, transparency and competitive bidding for Kenya’s premium coffee.

Under the auction system, coffee farmers deliver cherries to factories and cooperatives before the beans are processed by millers and presented for sale at the exchange, where international buyers bid for the produce.

The coffee sector remains one of Kenya’s key foreign exchange earners despite years of declining production and governance disputes over farmer payments and marketing reforms.