Category: Business Daily

The National Treasury is considering restructuring government loans to water-sector firms after obligations crossed Sh140 billion in June 2025, hurting prospects of offsetting the debts.

Treasury officials warned that mounting arrears are undermining the financial sustainability of water institutions, and called for tougher loan recovery measures, closer monitoring and changes to how the sector’s obligations are financed.

‘The continued accumulation of arrears in the sector constrains the debt-servicing capacity of the affected entities and may further weaken the financial sustainability of water sector institutions,’ the Treasury said in a brief.

The officials say the response should include ‘appropriate debt restructuring or recovery measures’ to align repayment obligations with the revenues available to water institutions, signalling that existing arrangements may not be working for some water utilities.

Debt restructuring could involve changing repayment schedules or other loan terms to make obligations more manageable, while recovery measures could include closer monitoring and more forceful follow-up on overdue payments.

The Treasury has not disclosed which options it intends to pursue or whether any principal or interest would be written off.

The warning comes as outstanding loans owed by 16 water-sector firms rose Sh6.6 billion, or 4.9 percent, to about Sh142.1 billion at the end of June 2026 from Sh135.5 billion a year earlier.

Several firms have recorded no repayments over the years, pointing to a growing cash flow challenge.

Athi Water Works Development Agency accounts for the largest share of balances, with Sh61.96 billion in loans as of June 2026. This represents about 44 percent of the combined balances of the 16 institutions.

Athi Water plans, develops and manages public water and sewerage infrastructure in Nairobi, Kiambu and Murang’a counties.

Coast Water and Lake Victoria North Water Works Development Agency follow Athi Water, with outstanding balances of Sh18.89 billion and Sh16.49 billion, respectively.

Coast Water is tasked with developing and managing bulk water and sanitation infrastructure across six counties, including Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale, following its transition from the former Coast Water Services Board.

Lake Victoria North oversees bulk water infrastructure in counties including Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia and Trans-Nzoia, while Lake Victoria South serves Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Migori and other counties in the western region.

The report shows outstanding balances for most institutions in the sector increased during the review year, with a handful of the 16 firms making repayments.

Kwale Water and Sewerage Company’s loan balance nearly doubled to Sh2.77 billion from Sh1.39 billion, while Kilifi Mariakani Water and Sewerage Company’s balance rose to Sh1.69 billion from Sh1.26 billion.

Mombasa Water and Sanitation Company’s outstanding loans increased to Sh1.85 billion from Sh1.30 billion.

Malindi Water, Sewerage and Sanitation Company’s balance rose to Sh1.86 billion from Sh1.58 billion, while Tavevo Water and Sewerage Company’s outstanding loans climbed to Sh1.56 billion from Sh964 million.

Northern Water Works Development Agency owed Sh4.73 billion, up from Sh4.23 billion, while Tanathi Water Works Development Agency’s balance remained unchanged at Sh5.38 billion.

The repayment records suggest that recovering the loans may require more than routine follow-ups, particularly where institutions lack sufficient revenue to meet their obligations. The report does not specify how much of the increase reflects new disbursements, accrued interest, or other adjustments.

It shows that water institutions in Nyeri and Eldoret have made substantial repayments of the loans the Treasury borrowed on their behalf.

The scale of the debts puts pressure on the Treasury to balance loan recovery with the financial viability of utilities tasked with delivering and managing water infrastructure.

The Treasury officials have called for ‘stronger enforcement of remittance obligations, clearer intergovernmental financing arrangements and appropriate restructuring of sector debt’.

Nyeri Water and Sewerage Company cut its outstanding balance to Sh303 million from Sh353 million during the review period after repaying Sh857 million over the years, while Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company’s balance fell to Sh187 million from Sh210 million after cumulative repayments of Sh872 million.

Lake Victoria North, Lake Victoria South and Central Rift Valley have recorded repayments of Sh97 million, Sh5 million and Sh302 million, respectively. Athi Water has repaid Sh657 million, although its reported outstanding balance remained unchanged at Sh61.96 billion.

The emphasis on intergovernmental financing arrangements points to the need to clarify repayment responsibilities and funding flows between the national government, counties and water-sector institutions. The Treasury brief, however, does not identify specific institutions for restructuring or spell out the terms under consideration.

The Netherlands’ Embassy in Kenya has lost a bid to block a former cook from suing and claiming Sh2.7 million from the mission while citing diplomatic immunity.

The ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the embassy argued that diplomatic immunity protects them from civil suits.

The embassy denied being the employer of the cook, Rachael Jambiha Ulira, arguing her employment contracts were signed by the ambassador.

However, the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that it had the power to hear the case because the cook was locally employed and her contract was under Kenyan law.

Ms Ulira sued in September 2025, claiming she was unfairly terminated and sought terminal dues.

She is seeking Sh2.7 million compensation, a certificate of service and interest on the claimed amount.

Court documents show she worked as a cook from January 2019 to June 20, 2025.

The legal dispute will examine the rights of locally hired staff at foreign missions against diplomatic immunity, which provides a cover for diplomats.

‘I make a finding that this court is seized of the requisite jurisdiction to entertain, to hear and to determine the suit,’ said Justice Agnes Nzei, clearing the way for the cook to pursue her claim. The court dismissed the preliminary objection and ordered the case to be fast-tracked for hearing.

The envoy and the embassy faulted the suit and asked the court to drop the case. They argued that the ambassador was protected by Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The embassy and the envoy said Ms Ulira’s employment and termination were done by the ambassador in his official capacity as head of the mission, arguing the action did not constitute a “professional or commercial activity” outside diplomatic duties.

They argued that the ambassador could not be compelled to give evidence and that the embassy lacked legal capacity to be sued.

“A diplomatic agent and head of mission, is shielded by this absolute testimonial immunity. This renders any attempt to litigate the facts against him fundamentally unfair and procedurally untenable, as the court would be unable to receive his evidence, thereby confirming the jurisdictional bar,” said the embassy.

They disputed that an employer-employee relationship existed between Ms Ulira and the embassy, saying her contracts were signed with the ambassador. They maintained that neither respondent had waived immunity.

Ms Ulira’s claim says she earned a basic monthly salary of Sh108,294, paid into her bank account.

She also alleges that the ambassador and the embassy did not provide housing or pay a housing allowance, and failed to pay her for overtime worked on June 16 and 17, 2025, during an official luncheon.

She further claims payment for 16 outstanding leave days. The court has not decided whether the dismissal was unfair or whether any money is owed.

But the court found the employment documents placed both respondents at the centre of the dispute.

The ruling notes three contracts issued to the cook, beginning on January 21, 2019, September 14, 2020, and July 1, 2024. The latest contract named Ambassador Henk Jan Bakker as employer and said it would end when his tour of duty in Kenya ended.

Ms Ulira’s NSSF statement, however, identified the embassy as her employer, while her payslips were issued in the ambassador’s name.

“It is worthy noting that the claimant was locally employed, and that her contract of employment falls within the purview of the Kenyan law, and in particular the Employment Act,” said Justice Nzei as she declined to uphold the concept of absolute immunity.

It also relied on the Court of Appeal’s position that immunity is restrictive, not absolute. It classified the employment contracts as private transactions.

The legal approach follows earlier Court of Appeal decisions involving locally recruited staff at the Swedish and Belgian embassies, which also considered whether employment disputes could proceed despite immunity claims.

The case is scheduled for mention on December 16, 2026.

Tourists from New Zealand, the US and Canada are the biggest daily spenders in Kenya, pointing to the tourism source points of high economic value to the country.

A new survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) established that in June 2025, tourists from New Zealand were the highest daily spenders in Kenya at Sh78,095, followed by those from the US (Sh60,141), then those from Australia (Sh48,230). The least spenders were those from the East African Community (EAC) region who spent Sh7,130.

In December 2024, residents from New Zealand were the highest spenders, spending Sh39,771 daily, followed by those from West Africa spending Sh30,820, then those from Canada spending Sh29,714, while the lowest were those from the EAC region spending Sh8,090.

‘Overall, residents from New Zealand were the highest spending Sh47,755 daily, followed by those from the USA spending Sh40,355, then those from Canada spending Sh29,473, while the lowest were those from the EAC region spending Sh7,631. On average, an inbound tourist spends Sh19,306 per day in Kenya,’ KNBS said.

Highest-spending tourists are important for a country because they generate significant foreign exchange revenue, drive high-margin local businesses, and place less physical strain on public infrastructure per dollar spent than mass-market budget travellers.

High spenders frequently buy high-end local crafts, art, and specialised services, directly supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and local artisans.

‘Tourist expenditure is a central component of inbound tourism as it reflects the actual economic impact of international visitors on the host country. It comprises spending on a wide range of goods and services, including accommodation, transport, food and drinks, shopping, entertainment, tour services, and other travel-related activities,’ the statistics agency said.

‘The level and pattern of tourist spending are influenced by factors such as purpose of visit, length of stay, type of tour (package or non-package), country of residence and season of travel.’

The survey revealed that package tourism drew bigger spending compared to individually arranged visits. Inbound tourists can travel either as part of a packaged tour or independently.

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Packaged tours are organised by tour firms and typically include flights, accommodation, transfers, meals, guided excursions, and entry fees, offering convenience and structured itineraries at an inclusive price, which are particularly attractive to first-time visitors or those seeking hassle-free travel.

Non-packaged tours, on the other hand, allow tourists to plan their own transport, accommodation, and activities, providing greater flexibility and personalised experiences while often dispersing expenditure across a wider range of services and regions.

The KNBS survey revealed that in December 2024, the daily average expenditure for package tours was Sh40,702, while for non-package tours it was Sh10,883. The daily average expenditure for package tours in June 2025 was Sh49,444, while for non-package tours it was Sh8,796.

‘When considering the overall performance across the two months, the daily average expenditure for package and non-package was Sh43,879 and Sh10,119, respectively,’ KNBS said.

Kenya’s tourism sector earnings, including domestic and international visitors, hit a record Sh564 billion against a target of Sh529 billion in the year to June 2026, the State Department for Tourism revealed. This was after the earnings jumped by Sh105.8 billion from Sh458.2 billion in fiscal year 2024/25, marking an increase of 23.09 percent in a year.

International tourism provided the biggest boost to the sector, with 2.79 million visitors recorded in the review year, a growth of 15.29 percent, or 370,000 foreign guests, from 3.42 million the year before.

The department said the international target of 2.8 million visitors was narrowly missed because of ‘global economic headwinds’, including the Middle East crisis, which started at the end of February, resulting in cancellations of flights and hotel bookings.

A tribunal has ordered the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to review a Sh972.9 million tax demand against the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Kuscco), citing an assessment based on unreliable financial statements.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal set aside the KRA’s decision on February 18, 2025, against the troubled Kuscco and ordered a fresh review using reconstructed financial statements.

The dispute covers corporation tax, withholding tax, value-added tax, and pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) for 2019 to 2022. The ruling does not cancel the tax demand permanently or declare Kuscco tax-free.

Kuscco told the tribunal its forensic audit had identified discrepancies in financial statements for 2018 to 2022, requiring reconstruction after alleged mismanagement by a previous management team.

It said it notified KRA and sought more time to provide corrected accounts. The union argued the authority relied on disputed statements to calculate additional taxes and rejected its objection.

“The respondent erred in relying on financial statements with material misstatements to assess tax on and variances between the erroneous financial statements and tax returns despite having been informed of the same and requested to grant the appellant time to regularize its financial statements,” Kuscco advocates argued.

The Tribunal heard that Kuscco had requested an extension on November 25, 2024, to complete the forensic audit, but KRA declined and issued its assessment four days later for Sh972.9 million.

Kuscco objected on December 24, 2024. KRA confirmed the assessment on February 18, 2025, prompting the appeal, which was filed in April against the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes.

In response, KRA maintained it assessed the union using available records and that Kuscco had not provided enough evidence. It said the union failed to provide schedules for marketing commissions, shared VAT inputs and exempt income.

The authority also said Kuscco had not reconciled withholding tax paid on legal and professional fees, separated interest paid to individuals from interest paid to financial institutions, or supplied details of costs recorded under work in progress for its Kitengela housing project.

Kuscco argued that residential property sales and rent were VAT-exempt, training conducted outside Kenya should not attract local VAT, and withholding tax had been wrongly charged on construction materials, marketing costs and interest payments.

It challenged PAYE on allowances paid to directors and delegates, saying they were not its employees. KRA maintained the payments were compensation for services and subject to PAYE.

The tribunal said the dispute had shifted from whether Kuscco kept records to whether those records were reliable. It noted the union’s financial statements did not reconcile with underlying ledgers and transaction records.

‘The respondent was informed in a timely manner of the inaccuracies identified in the financial statements following a forensic audit,’ the tribunal said.

It found KRA proceeded despite being told the accounts were unreliable. The tribunal said the authority could assess tax using available information, but a taxpayer could complete its records where a genuine, independently supported problem had been shown.

‘The respondent was not justified in confirming the additional assessments on the basis of financial statements it had been informed were erroneous and unreliable,’ the tribunal ruled.

The judgment records that KRA filed written submissions on August 19, 2026, eight days after the deadline. The panel said it did not consider them.

The tribunal allowed Kuscco’s appeal, set aside KRA’s objection decision and sent the matter back for a fresh decision. It ordered Kuscco to submit signed audited financial statements within 14 days of the October 9 judgment.

KRA must then consider the documents and issue a fresh objection decision within 60 days of receiving the signed statements.

The case comes as Kuscco faces scrutiny over its finances following a forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The audit identified Sh9.3 billion in misstated accounts, which it attributed to understated costs, including commissions and interest expenses, and overstated income that allowed Kuscco to report profits that did not reflect its true financial position.

The report said Sh24.8 billion deposited by 247 saccos was at risk, while Kuscco faced an estimated Sh12.5 billion insolvency. The audit also identified Sh6.5 billion in interdepartmental lending that had not been reported in its books.

Having covered the unfolding Tata Sons boardroom saga over the last two weeks on this column, today let’s unpack the listing question itself: why the regulator wants it, and how the Tata Trusts are trying to engineer their way out of it.

Start with why Tata Sons is caught up in a banking regulator’s rules in the first place, even though it looks nothing like a bank. In October 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced scale-based regulation for non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), sorting them into four layers by size, complexity and systemic importance.

Tata Sons is registered as a Core Investment Company (CIC), a type of NBFC whose entire business is holding equity stakes in group companies, which is precisely what Tata Sons does with its shareholdings in Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consulting Services and the rest.

Because of its sheer size, the RBI placed it in the upper layer on September 30, 2022, and upper-layer NBFCs must list on a stock exchange within three years of that classification.

The RBI’s logic is straightforward. An entity this large, even one that never touches a retail bank depositor, is systemically important: group companies borrow on the strength of its name, and its own borrowings ripple through markets if something goes wrong.

Listing forces the public disclosure, quarterly reporting and independent scrutiny that RBI believes an entity of this size and interconnectedness should carry, rather than letting it operate as an opaque private holding company answerable mainly to itself.

Tata Sons missed the September 2025 deadline after applying to surrender its CIC registration altogether, hoping to argue it no longer needed the classification since it had repaid over 21,000 crore, about $2.2 billion, in debt. RBI rejected that application on September 11, 2026, and told Tata Sons to comply with upper-layer rules.

The Tata family were not trying to sign up to the exposure that lifting up its governance skirts would require through a forced listing. Now here’s why expensive lawyers get paid. RBI regulates that a CIC must hold at least 90 percent of its net assets as investments in group companies, with at least 60 percent of that in equity. Tata Sons met that definition because almost everything it owns is shares in other Tata companies.

On September 28, 2026, Tata Trusts proposed merging two operating businesses, Tata Electronics Systems Solutions and Tata Consulting Engineers, directly into Tata Sons. The operating word here is ‘merger’. The two companies would cease to exist as separate legal entities, and everything they own and earn would move directly onto Tata Sons’ own books, with Tata Sons as the sole survivor.

Right now, when Tata Motors sells a car, that revenue belongs to Tata Motors, and Tata Sons only ever records a dividend, which counts as a financial asset. After the merger, when Tata Consulting Engineers bills a client for an engineering project, that fee would sit directly on Tata Sons’ own income statement as operating revenue, because Tata Sons would literally be the company doing the work.

There is no subsidiary left in between, and therefore no investment and no dividend to count toward the 90 percent test. Owning shares in another company, however many companies, keeps you on the financial-assets side of that line. Absorbing the company itself moves you onto the operating side.

The amalgamated entity would reportedly post operating revenue of about 1.05 lakh crore, roughly $10.9 billion, which works out to 64.3 percent of its total income, against roughly 40,072 crore, about $4.2 billion or 35.7 percent, from financial assets such as dividends.

A company that is now majority an operating business by income, rather than overwhelmingly an investment vehicle, no longer resembles the kind of entity the RBI’s financial company tests, on both assets and income, were written to catch.

Two things stand in the way. The Tata Sons board has to approve the merger, and RBI has to grant a no-objection certificate, the same regulator whose listing requirement this plan is designed to escape. There is also a governance question tucked inside the restructuring itself.

Corporate lawyers have pointed out that a move of this magnitude would ordinarily need the backing, if not unanimous agreement, of the Tata Trusts’ own trustees, and reports suggest it is not clear everyone was consulted before the proposal was announced.

In a saga already defined by trustees fighting about who gets to decide things, deciding to restructure the company without first agreeing among themselves would be a strange way to make the case for good governance.

For East African family businesses watching this unfold, the lesson is a legitimate counter argument to setting up trusts and company boards with independent-thinking trustees and directors. They may one day vote against the very family that appointed them in the first instance! Governance, my friends, is a double-edged sword.

Africa’s connectivity challenge is changing. For years, the focus was on expanding network coverage and connecting communities beyond the reach of broadband services. Today, the greater opportunity lies elsewhere.

According to a recent GSMA and Partnership for Digital Access in Africa (PDAA) roadmap, around 906 million people across Africa already live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet, compared to approximately 122 million who remain outside broadband coverage altogether.

The report argues that the next phase of digital growth will depend not only on expanding networks but also on enabling more people to use them meaningfully.

The implication is significant.

Accelerating migration from legacy 2G and 3G connections to smartphone-based participation on 4G and 5G networks has emerged as one of the most important priorities for Africa’s digital future.

The roadmap estimates that more than 600 million legacy mobile connections across the continent could be converted into meaningful internet use through smartphone adoption and access to broadband services.

In Kenya, this transition is already underway.

The Communications Authority of Kenya has reported a continued decline in 2G and 3G subscriptions as customers migrate to 4G and 5G technologies, while smartphones now account for 63.7percent of all devices connected to mobile networks in the country.

The trend is reflected across the broader digital ecosystem. Data shows smartphone connections have surpassed 52 million, while mobile broadband subscriptions have exceeded 64 million. More than 85percent of mobile internet traffic now runs on 4G and 5G networks, reflecting growing demand for faster, more capable broadband connectivity and digital services.

These developments point to a broader reality: the next phase of digital growth will be driven not simply by network availability, but by helping more people adopt smartphones and make full use of broadband services.

This is why connectivity must be viewed as an ecosystem. Affordable devices, reliable energy, digital skills, online safety and relevant digital services all influence whether people can participate meaningfully in the digital economy. In many communities, the challenge is no longer access to a network, but the barriers that prevent people from fully embracing digital opportunities.

Overcoming these barriers will require continued investment across the broader digital infrastructure ecosystem. For instance, fibre networks are a foundational component of digital connectivity. Beyond connecting homes, businesses and institutions, fibre serves as the backbone of mobile networks, linking thousands of 4G and 5G sites across the country.

As digital connectivity becomes increasingly important to economic activity, access to public services and everyday life, there is a strong case for recognising fibre as critical national infrastructure.

Disruptions caused by fibre cuts, vandalism and accidental damage can affect communities, businesses and essential services, with impacts extending far beyond the telecommunications sector. Protecting fibre infrastructure should therefore be a shared priority for industry, policymakers and other stakeholders.

However, networks are not an end in themselves. Their value lies in the opportunities they create, from access to information and financial services to education, healthcare and economic participation.

Progress should be measured not only by the infrastructure deployed, but by the opportunities it creates for people and businesses. This belief is reflected in Safaricom’s purpose of transforming lives, recognising that the true value of digital infrastructure lies not in what is built, but in what it makes possible.

Africa’s next phase of digital growth will require investment in 4G, 5G, fibre and emerging technologies, alongside collaboration among governments, operators, technology providers and development partners.

Success will not be measured by coverage alone, but by how effectively connectivity improves lives, strengthens businesses and expands opportunity.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) recorded a Sh58.2 billion revenue shortfall in the first quarter of the current 2026/27 financial year, even as ordinary revenue growth accelerated from the same stage last year.

Ordinary revenue receipts, which cover both tax and non-tax revenues, were recorded at Sh655.8 billion, 14.4 percent for the three months to September, higher than the Sh573.5 billion collected in a similar period in 2025, according to data from the National Treasury.

In contrast, domestic revenue collection significantly recovered compared to the previous year when ordinary revenue receipts contracted by 2.9 percent.

The revenue underperformance in the open quarter signals unrealistic tax targets, as the taxman persistently misses the mark despite mostly recording growth in receipts. Collections from all major tax heads, except import duty, were below target despite growth.

‘By the end of September 2026, revenue collection was below target by Sh40.4 billion mainly on account of shortfalls in ordinary revenues of Sh58.2 billion while ministerial appropriations in aid (A-i-A) surpassed target by Sh17.8 billion,’ the National Treasury said in a presentation.

‘Revenues grew by 15.9 percent by the end of September 2026 compared with a growth of 1.4 percent at the end of September 2025. Ordinary revenues grew by 14.4 percent compared to a contraction of 2.9 percent over the same period.’

Income tax recorded the largest shortfall at Sh25.4 billion, with receipts at Sh297.9 billion against a target of Sh323.3 billion, while excise duty receipts were off the mark by Sh16.3 billion.

The recorded revenue shortfalls are expected to widen the budget deficit, forcing the National Treasury to borrow more to fund government spending.

The underperformance in revenue collection has been exacerbated by expenditure pressure as the government surpasses spending limits.

By the end of September 2026, expenditure had surpassed the target by Sh116.9 billion, largely on account of above-target absorption of recurrent expenditure by Sh59.3 billion and development expenditure by Sh34.7 billion. Transfers of equitable share revenues to county governments were above target by Sh22.9 billion.

The fiscal deficit including grants reached Sh329.1 billion in the first three months or 1.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), surpassing the target of Sh174.8 billion or 0.8 percent of GDP.

The National Treasury has identified revenue erosion, debt and rising spending needs as fiscal pressures on the budget.

The exchequer expects cost rationalisation and revenue base expansion to remain the key reforms to improve domestic revenue, which has seen an erosion, falling from 18.1 percent of GDP in the 2013/14 fiscal cycle to 13.9 percent of GDP as projected in the current 2026/27 fiscal year.

‘The strategy aims to progressively strengthen tax revenue mobilisation by simplifying and harmonising tax laws, rationalising and targeting tax expenditures and creating a simple, predictable and fair tax system,’ the National Treasury said.

The Treasury is also betting on scaling up non-tax revenues by enhancing the capacity of ministries and State departments (MDAs) to effectively generate income from public services and strengthen their operational systems to improve service-based revenue performance.

On the spending front, the Treasury expects some of the heavy capex development projects to be shifted from the national budget as the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) takes shape, serving to reduce budgeted expenditures.

The NIF, which was established in March 2026, was capitalised with Sh310.6 billion from Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and divestiture proceeds from Safaricom Plc.

The reforms are expected to strengthen the fiscal position and reduce the fiscal deficit from 6.8 percent of GDP in the 2025/26 fiscal year to 5.5 percent in the current fiscal year.

The sustainability implementation journey in most organisations is marked by tensions that pull in different directions and challenge effective adoption. These tensions are thematic and cut across work streams, from climate adaptation and sustainable finance to resource utilisation and other risk management enhancements.

Organisations must identify and navigate these tensions carefully to avoid an unhealthy balance that could jeopardise long-term financial viability. By understanding these tension points, sustainability leaders can proactively engage stakeholders to deliver win-win solutions during implementation.

It also helps employees and other stakeholders adopt the right mindset when navigating these challenges, rather than simply wishing them away, which can be naive at best or, at worst, destructive to the organisation. Some of these tensions that organisations must manage in delivering value include the following.

The short-term versus long-term view is a major tension most organisations must balance. It fundamentally involves the risk of sacrificing long-term organisational goals for short-term financial targets. It remains a core component of the sustainability business case because organisations understand that, in the long run, investors have an interest in planning beyond the short term.

Organisations must strike the right balance between long and short-term priorities to maintain their competitive advantage and deliver value to their shareholders over time. An important tension is the silo versus integrated view of how an organisation should perform.

While a siloed, hyper-focused approach may seem cheaper, it often creates a dysfunctional environment that is less well-tuned to manage market uncertainty, long-term planning and effective strategy execution.

Therefore, organisations must consciously integrate the business to build trust and foster collaboration, enabling better planning and strategy execution to deliver sustained value for shareholders.

The concept of value should extend beyond financial capital and incorporate synergies from other capitals within the organisation. Another notable tension is the economy-versus-resilience view of sustainability. Organisations must embrace a hybrid approach that blends just-in-time (JIT) and just-in-case (JIC) resource planning.

Therefore, organisations must incorporate scenario planning for climate and other material sustainability topics into long-term thinking to avoid disruptions to a purely cost-effective, JIT-only planning approach. Organisations must balance these tensions to create sustainable value for the organisation and its stakeholders.

Zipporah Wanjiku Kinuthia’s most difficult job when starting the retail shop that would ultimately become Quickmart supermarket was convincing her husband John Kinuthia that the venture made financial sense.

The family had been sustained for nearly two decades by their bar, lodging and butchery business in Mang’u, Nakuru, and he saw no need to sink capital in a venture that had lower margins than his existing enterprise.

After all, business was good, with additional income flowing in from a posho mill and kerosene pump.

In the late 1990s, Zipporah asked a family friend, Tusky’s Supermarket founder Joram Kamau, to help sell the idea to Kinuthia. She aspired to follow a similar path to that of Tuskys, which grew from a general shop in nearby Rongai town into a multi-store supermarket.

Having finally convinced him, they set up their retail store in Nakuru town, and it was beyond Zipporah’s dreams that the business would grow to leave the family with a Sh9.5 billion wealth.

The store started small, and by 2006 had grown into a small 3,500 square foot supermarket that they named KIDS Supermarket after Kinuthia and his son Duncan Muiruri Kinuthia, who would later play a lead role in the expansion of the business into a multibillion-shilling enterprise they renamed Quickmart.

‘We had started out as farmers, before going into the butchery and restaurant, but I did not like that business as much. My dream was to own a supermarket,’ says Zipporah, a mother of three.

Twenty years later, the business that started as a single shop in Nakuru town has grown into a 72-store supermarket chain with an annual turnover of Sh50 billion, and which is listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) with a Sh30 billion valuation.

Although John Kinuthia did not live to see his shop join the stock exchange, -he passed away in 2016- his family is set for a Sh4.8 billion pay day when they offload half of their 31.83 percent stake or 1.27 billion shares in Quickmart’s IPO that opened last week.

The road from a single shop to a retail chain has come with its fair share of tough decisions and risk taking, explains Zipporah.

The first big move came in 2010, when Duncan asked to move to Nairobi and establish a second branch of the retailer in Ruai from scratch. The other family members remained in Nakuru running the first shop.

Getting to this point, she says, was a result of a decision years earlier to involve their children in the business from an early stage and incrementally handing them responsibilities.

In the same vein, Zipporah and John brought in their daughter Gladys Wambui Kinuthia into the retailer, where she started as a cashier before graduating to stock and store management. Today, she sits on Quickmart’s board of directors, and is also a shareholder in the business.

‘It is important to bring in the children into the business early, so that as it grows, they grow with it. That’s what we see with the successful Asian entrepreneurs,’ said Zipporah.

The expansion of the business could not have been possible without allowing Duncan to venture to the capital and actively grow the brand and outlets.

Despite being the co-founder of the business, Zipporah’s direct stake within the wider family ownership is now smaller than that of her children Duncan and Gladys.

Ahead of the NSE listing, Duncan directly controls a 20.73 percent stake in Quickmart, equivalent to 829.2 million shares, while Gladys’ stake stands at 4.79 percent, equivalent to 191.5 million shares.

Zipporah and her other son William Gitau Kinuthia currently hold stakes of 3.16 percent each in the retailer, equivalent to 126.4 million shares apiece.

Having seen the retailer expand to multiple branches, the next big decision came in 2019, when Quickmart brought on board a strategic investor in the form of private equity fund Adenia Partners.

Adenia bought a 51 percent stake in Quickmart in 2019, shortly after acquiring a 55 percent holding in Quickmart’s fellow homegrown retailer Tumaini Supermarket.

The fund then merged the two businesses under the Quickmart brand in January 2020, retaining 50.8 percent stake while the founders of Quickmart and Tumaini remained with minority stakes of 31.83 percent and 12.02 percent respectively.

The remaining 5.36 percent held by the merged entity’s CEO Peter Kang’iri, who previously served as a financial consultant for both supermarkets and was a key player in bringing in the PE investment and merger.

According to Duncan, his mother took some convincing to agree to hand over control of the business to a new investor, a common feature of founder-led enterprises.

The merger with Tumaini was easier, since the founders had known each other for years.

Like Quickmart, Tumaini was founded in 2006 by business partners Moses Nditika, Joram Njoga and Elijah Okello.

Nditika, who had experience in retail as a store manager at Nakumatt Mega in Nairobi, had actually helped Duncan set up the Ruai outlet by giving him his first retail software, and helping him arrange merchandise in the store.

However, for a family that had spent years carrying out hands-on management of their retail business, handing over the day-today running of the enterprise also came with personal changes for the Kinuthia family.

Suddenly, they could take time off and enjoy vacations and holidays, without worrying about manning the shop.

‘We never took time off for days like Christmas and Easter, until Adenia came in. When we stopped going to the shop on Sundays, it felt like were sinning,’ says Gladys.

Looking back at the Ruai store launch, Zipporah remembers her late husband insisting that she took the scissors and cut the ribbon. He told her to learn how to do it since she would be opening many more in future, and at some point some would be opened before she found out they were in the pipeline.

‘Today, I sometimes get hear of new branches after they have been opened,’ says Zipporah.

‘We now have shops where the staff don’t know me, where I go in as a customer, do my small shopping and leave without being recognised.’

With African leaders reaffirming their ambitions for mineral beneficiation, industrialisation, financial reform and a greater role in shaping emerging-technology rules at the 81st UN General Assembly, attention now turns to implementation.

For investors, these priorities point to opportunities, but also to the policy, regulatory and financing conditions that will determine whether they can be realised. The challenge is to translate these ambitions into a pipeline of well-structured, finance-ready projects.

The need is immense. The African Development Bank estimates that Africa requires $181 billion to $221 billion in infrastructure investment each year through 2030.

Nearly 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity, while 10-12 million young Africans enter the labour force annually. With more than a third of Sub-Saharan African countries in, or at high risk of, debt distress, much of this investment must come from private and institutional capital.

That capital exists, but it is selective. Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area and national development plans show where Africa wants to go. However, investors also need project-level information to commit capital. Investment follows when ambitions become projects with credible revenues, enforceable contracts, allocated risks and a clear path to financial close.

The positions set out at the 81st UNGA have practical consequences for project finance. Financial architecture and debt reforms affect the cost and availability of capital, and government’s capacity to provide guarantees or payment commitments.

Beneficiation requires integrated infrastructure: reliable power, transport, water, ports and industrial capacity. Standards governing data, AI, cybersecurity and interoperability will increasingly shape the regulatory environment.

Bankability depends on the wider financial, industrial and regulatory environment and, ultimately, whether a project can generate sufficient long-term revenue to service debt.

Four factors are critical: legal and policy alignment, sound risk allocation, project structure and financial viability.

Many projects stall long before construction because the legal groundwork was never laid. Lenders typically require enforceable security over project assets, step-in rights if the project company defaults, and the ability to convert local currency and repatriate returns.

If land, foreign exchange or procurement rules cannot accommodate these requirements, negotiations can drag on for years.

Sponsors and contracting agencies can prevent many of these delays through a legal gap analysis before commissioning feasibility studies.

The analysis should be tested against intended lender’s requirements and map all approvals from land acquisition and environmental approvals to planning, regulatory and construction consents in the sequence required for financial close.

Where a project is developed under a specific framework, such as a public-private partnership, it should also identify any additional framework-specific approvals and clearances.

Governments can reinforce this work by regularly publishing project pipelines, standardising contracts and assessing how new policies may affect neighbouring sectors.

Kenya’s electric-mobility transition illustrates the importance of policy coordination: EV incentives need to align with import policy, charging infrastructure, financing, electricity regulation and the interests of workers connected to today’s transport market.

Infrastructure projects run for decades, so contracts must anticipate evolving risks and allocate each to the party best placed to manage or mitigate it, with clear consequences and remedies. Parties should agree on the risk matrix before the term sheet, and address land title and resettlement before financial close.

Change-in-law and specified political risks should be allocated explicitly, with the state assuming risks within its control and private parties retaining those they can better manage stabilisation and compensation provisions, supported where appropriate by political risk insurance and World Bank Group or AfDB guarantees, can provide additional protection.