Category: Business Daily

The National Treasury has allocated Sh1.125 billion to shore up capital for Consolidated Bank of Kenya, offering a boost to the State-owned lender that is currently in breach of regulatory capital requirements.

The 2026-27 draft programme-based budget shows the Treasury has earmarked the allocation to the lender in which it owns 93.5 percent stake.

The money, added to Consolidated’s plan to dispose of non-core assets, including select buildings, will boost the lender’s race to raise over Sh3.54 billion required to comply with revised capital law.

‘Amount of funds injected to shore up capital for Consolidated Bank of Kenya Limited,’ Treasury disclosed under the planned allocation to the State Department for Public Investments and Assets Management.

The lender is awaiting fresh State injection by the end of June and has also been cleared to dispose of some assets.

The bank is among those yet to comply with the requirement to boost minimum core capital to Sh3 billion effective January 1, 2026. It closed December 2025 with core capital at negative Sh546.07 million, leaving it requiring at least Sh3.54 billion in order to comply with the minimum required core capital of Sh3 billion.

Consolidated was already struggling to comply with the old minimum core capital requirement of Sh1 billion and the enhancement introduced through the Business Laws (Amendment) Act 2024 piled more pressure on the lender.

Under the Business Laws (Amendment) Act 2024, banks were required to increase the minimum core capital in the banking sector to Sh3 billion from Sh1 billion by the end of December 2025.

The law requires banks to boost their minimum core capital further to Sh5 billion by the close of 2026, Sh6 billion by the end of 2027, Sh8 billion in 2028 and Sh10 billion by the close of 2029, pointing to the fundraising roadmap facing banks such as Consolidated.

In March, Consolidated said that part of its core capital boost will come from internally generated revenue. However, this will require that it posts sustained profits to erase accumulated losses of Sh4.22 billion.

In the financial year ended December 2025, the lender posted a net profit of Sh198.18 million, marking an improvement from Sh155.22 million net loss in a similar period in 2024. The latest profit is the first one in 11 years, with the previous net profit coming in 2014 at Sh44.42 million.

The net profit came in the period net interest income grew 38.4 percent to Sh1.3 billion and non-interest income rose 28.1 percent to Sh1.93 billion. The increased income more than covered the 4.3 percent rise in operating expenses to Sh1.74 billion.

‘This performance demonstrates the impact of the strategic efficiency measures we implemented across the business, which have enabled significant cost savings. Maintaining these efficiency levels will remain a priority going forward,’ said Dominic Murage, the acting CEO at Consolidated Bank.

Apartment prices in Nairobi’s high-end areas and satellite towns have declined in the past three years in the wake of increased supply and a shift in buyers’ preference for stand-alone units.

The price of a top three-bedroom apartment in Eastlands and towns like Mavoko and Kiambu was Sh18 million as at the end of 2025, down from Sh21 million three years earlier, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Apartments in high-end areas such as Lavington, Riverside and Karen reflected a similar pattern with a typical three-bedroom flat selling at Sh18.9 million down from Sh20 million three years earlier.

Prices of typical standalone houses across the different areas were higher, with the trend signalling a shift from apartments in favour of private units.

‘Apartments exhibit sustained downward pressure, which may be partly due to subdued market performance, weaker demand, possible oversupply in some urban segments and shifting buyer preferences,’ said KNBS.

Notably, a stand-alone house serving the same income classes rose over the same period. A three-bedroom house in upper Nairobi was selling at Sh23.5 million at the end of 2025, up from Sh20.25 million, while those in mid-income areas rose to Sh8.25 million from Sh8 million.

‘This increase reflects strong demand for standalone homes in suburban and peri-urban areas, supported by strong buyer preference and limited supply in some urban segments,’ added KNBS.

Analysts reckon the index does not indicate a change in price for developments that were already in the market, but lower entry prices for new projects in the middle of increased supply and lower demand, as the profile of residents in the areas changes.

‘Over time, we have had a price correction driven by oversupply in some segments. Land prices on the upper end have been high, so the only way to recoup has been through densification, resulting in the oversupply,’ said Johnson Ndenge, a real estate consultant.

‘Uptake of the upper end for investments has slowed down with fewer expatriates taking residency, and the locals buying in that segment prefer residing rather than renting,’ added Mr Ndenge.

As Kenya convenes global innovators, investors and partners at this week’s Africa Forward Summit, one issue should frame the conversation: how Africa builds health manufacturing capacity.

Africa carries roughly 25 percent of the global disease burden, yet accounts for only about 3 percent of global pharmaceutical production.

African countries still import most of the health products they rely on, including up to 95 percent of diagnostics and 99 percent of vaccines. This is a significant gap that represents both a vulnerability and an opportunity. This dependence is not just a supply chain issue, but an economic and governance choice we can change.

Fortunately, Kenya has made a start. At the very heart of this shift is the government’s imminent strategy on local manufacturing of health products and technologies. It is our first, and it links health sovereignty, industrial growth, and investment opportunity.

If Kenya gets it right, we will not only produce medicines, vaccines, medical devices, and diagnostics, but also create jobs, build skills, and strengthen economic resilience.

There is, however, a danger of getting stuck in a cycle of ambition and rhetoric that leads to either no new capability or to policy frameworks that miss the ‘hard edge.’

Other sectors like mobile money, fintech and broader digital infrastructure have shown what is possible when policy, innovation and investment are aligned.

Kenya is well-positioned to serve as a manufacturing hub for East Africa. It is currently the largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the Comesa region, with more than 40 local manufacturing companies supplying an estimated 50 percent of the regional market. Kenya’s pharmaceutical market is valued at over $1 billion and continues to grow.

The nation stands to lose this advantage if we fail to confront an important truth: our local factories will not thrive without the right incentives, reliable markets, and credible regulation.

Today, Kenya’s pharmaceutical sector faces several key constraints. Production costs remain high, demand is unpredictable and fragmented across public and private sectors, and imported medicines continue to dominate the market.

This includes those that can easily be manufactured locally. Therefore, the strategy must address three underlying, interconnected structural issues.

First, market demand must be driven by government policy and procurement decisions.

Second, Kenya must anchor its strategy in regional integration, coordination and harmonisation and third, Kenya should be pragmatic about where to compete.

As Kenya steps onto the global stage at the Africa Forward Summit, it has an opportunity to do more than signal intent. If done right, its local manufacturing strategy can position her as a credible destination for investment in health manufacturing.

Rather than attempting to replicate the entire pharmaceutical value chain, there is a strong case for focusing on specific categories of diagnostics where production barriers are lower and demand is growing, such as rapid diagnostic test kits. This offers a practical entry point for local manufacturers, enabling faster scale-up, job creation, and more rapid gains in health security.

Kenya can differentiate itself by streamlining regulatory pathways, providing predictable procurement commitments, and offering targeted incentives for manufacturers. These are the signals that turn ambition into investment decisions. Progress depends on aligning policy, regulation, financing, and market demand.

The Treasury has set aside Sh1.1 billion to fast-track the rollout of AI-powered traffic lights and surveillance cameras to cut reliance on police officers at busy junctions in Nairobi, promising relief to motorists frustrated by chronic gridlocks and long commuting hours.

Budget documents tabled in the National Assembly show the State plans to spend Sh1.18 billion in next financial year on the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Phase III, a nearly tenfold jump from the current Sh116.1 million allocation.

The cash will help install intersections with cameras and sensors to make sense of traffic patterns in real time and ease congestion.

With the help of artificial intelligence, the system will count the number of cars and passengers and capture vehicles’ direction and movements, such as turns and violations, and relay live data to a central command centre at City Cabanas on Mombasa Road.

The system, being implemented by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura), is designed to work like smart traffic management networks used in cities in developed economies such as Singapore and London, where cameras, sensors and AI-controlled traffic signals are used to ease congestion and improve traffic flow.

Under the project, Nairobi will deploy intelligent traffic lights capable of adjusting signal timings in real time depending on congestion levels at specific junctions.

The Treasury plans to use a portion of $185 million (Sh23.9 billion) concessional loan that Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi signed with Export-Import Bank of China in November 2025 to finance the broader smart traffic management programme.

The budget documents show that the bulk of the funds, about Sh1.1 billion, will come from external sources, with the exchequer shouldering a measly Sh75 million of the planned spending in the next financial year.

‘The third phase of ITS marks the full integration of Nairobi’s traffic ecosystem,’ Kura said in project documents. ‘It will encompass 125 intersections, linking them to the central control system at Cabanas.’

The increased funding is expected to support expansion of the ITS network as the government targets 20 percent completion in the 2026/27 financial year, which starts in July, rising to 50 percent in 2027/28 before full completion in 2028/29.

Treasury projections show the State plans to spend at least Sh5.3 billion on the project over the next three financial years, underlining a growing shift towards technology-driven traffic management instead of relying solely on road expansion.

The project is also expected to gradually replace roundabouts with synchronised traffic signals and intelligent monitoring systems along major roads in the capital.

Among the intersections targeted are Moi Avenue/Kenyatta Avenue, Koinange Street/Kenyatta Avenue, Raila Odinga Way/Lang’ata Road and Limuru Road/Muthaiga Road – junctions notorious for severe rush-hour congestion.

The technology uses smart cameras and road sensors to continuously analyse vehicle movement and congestion patterns across the city.

Using artificial intelligence, the system automatically changes signal timings to ease traffic build-up at overloaded junctions without requiring officers to manually direct vehicles.

‘You don’t have to walk into a junction to adjust signal timings any more,’ Kura wrote. ‘Everything happens from the control room.’

The rollout could significantly reduce the presence of traffic police officers at intersections as automation takes over traffic coordination during peak hours. Every smart junction will be equipped with cameras capable of detecting vehicles and recognising automated number plates.

The system will also identify red-light violations, speeding offences and helmet compliance among boda boda riders. It will further determine the number of passengers inside vehicles and automatically transmit detected offences for enforcement, paving the way for digital traffic policing.

Cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms will be required to report their identity and transactions of their clients to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) if MPs back proposals in the Finance Bill that seek to make it harder for investors in the digital assets to hide their gains from the taxman.

Through amendments contained in the Finance Bill 2026, virtual asset service providers will be required to disclose full transaction records for Kenyan customers via annual filings to the KRA.

The records include how much they paid, how much they sold their assets for, and any profits made, as well as those making payments for goods using cryptocurrencies.

Local traders are increasingly using crypto to pay for imports and Kenyans in the diaspora use the digital assets to wire cash to family.

Multinationals are also tapping stablecoins to repatriate billions of shillings, bypassing local commercial banks.

The KRA will seek to nail cheats exploiting the anonymity offered by crypto exchanges to evade the taxman’s net.

The Finance Bill 2026, which has been tabled in the National Assembly, proposes amendments to the Tax Procedures Act through the introduction of Sections 6C and 6D, effectively pulling Kenya’s crypto economy into the formal tax net.

It will compel digital asset trading platforms to annually disclose users and their transactions to the KRA, while also paving the way for automatic exchange of virtual asset information with foreign governments.

‘Each virtual asset service provider shall file an information return with the Commissioner in respect of all the virtual-asset users with which it maintains a relationship in every calendar year and that are identified as reportable users or as having controlling persons that are reportable persons,’ reads the proposed Section 6C.

Information sharing

Section 6D allows the KRA to enter into information-sharing agreements with foreign tax authorities, similar to existing arrangements under which Kenyan authorities share banking details such as account balances, interest income and beneficial ownership information with foreign counterparts.

‘Kenya may enter into an agreement with another country for the automatic exchange of information relating to transactions involving virtual assets,’ says the Finance Bill 2026, which will be subjected to public participation before being debated by lawmakers.

Kenya seeks to be part of the global trend that is bringing crypto trading mainstream.

New global reporting rules came into force on January 1, 2026, and made it harder for crypto investors in more than 40 countries to hide their gains from international tax authorities.

As part of the rules, from 2027, tax authorities in tens of countries will automatically share information received from exchanges with other participating tax authorities, which include all EU countries, as well as the Channel Islands, Brazil, the Cayman Islands and South Africa.

The global rules on reporting crypto dealings were developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), known as the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (Carf).

Overall, 75 countries have committed to implement the Carf rules, with crypto hubs such as the UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland set to implement the rules from 2027 and start exchanging information from 2028.

The US is set to implement the rules from 2028 and start exchanging information from 2029.

In Kenya, giving false information will attract a fine of Sh100,000 for each false entry, imprisonment for three years or both. Those who omit information will be fined Sh100,000 for each omission.

This is part of a strategy to catch tax dodgers in the largely secretive market segment, which criminals can also exploit to support illicit activities such as theft, fraud and money laundering.

The taxman estimated that between 2021 and 2022, Kenya’s cryptocurrency market transacted about Sh2.4 trillion, representing close to 20 percent of the country’s GDP.

Crypto use

Analysis by Chainalysis, a New York-based blockchain data platform that tracks crypto use, found that Kenya made Sh426.4 billion ($3.3 billion) worth of transactions in stablecoins in the year to June 2024.

A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency backed by assets considered reliable, such as the US dollar.

Buying and selling of digital assets is done on crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase, which are the targets of the proposed law change.

Kenya had at first been reluctant to embrace trading in digital assets, with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) fearing that they would spawn money laundering schemes and compromise the integrity of the country’s financial system.

But as the reality of these virtual assets dawned and many countries accepted them, Kenya was forced to soften its hard stance and even introduced a digital asset tax, which is deducted by exchanges from traders at a rate of three percent and remitted to KRA.

Now, these exchanges will additionally be expected to undertake customer identification, identify beneficial owners and track all transactions, ending the anonymity that has been the hallmark of crypto trading.

Anonymity has not only been attractive to tax cheats, it has also made virtual assets such as Bitcoin the preferred currency for criminals dealing in dirty money, including drug traffickers, terrorists, fraudsters and arms smugglers.

Carf also requires tax authorities to share information on the legal and beneficial owners of assets, companies and accounts.

The global tax transparency framework that Kenya seeks to align with through the Finance Bill 2026 already facilitated the exchange of information on 123 million bank accounts holding assets worth pound 12 trillion in 2022, underscoring the growing international crackdown on hidden wealth and offshore tax evasion.

Although Kenyans have been trailblazers in the adoption of cryptocurrency on the continent, the country has lagged behind its peers in putting in place a proper regulatory framework that gives comfort to investors in virtual assets.

A 2025 report by audit firm PwC revealed that South Africa and Mauritius have introduced extensive crypto legislation and regulation, including requirements for exchanges and service providers to share sender and recipient information for transfers as part of anti-money laundering rules.

The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz reaches further than most headlines suggest. As crude oil pushed past $100 a barrel for the first time in four years, and urea prices rose by more than a quarter within days of the conflict in Iran, the immediate concern in most capitals was energy, security and inflation.

In Africa, the calculation is different. Nearly a third of the world’s traded fertiliser passes through that narrow strip of water, and the sharpest agricultural consequences are projected to arrive in the second half of this year, when farmers across our continent will be making planting decisions for the season ahead.

Africa has lived through this script before. Over the past two decades, numerous external shocks – from the 2008 global food price spikes to Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine – have impacted the price of bread and the cost of fertiliser in our markets.

Each time, hunger and displacement followed. This time, however, the consequences could even be more severe. If the conflict persists beyond the middle of the year and oil prices remain above $100 a barrel, an additional 45 million people could be pushed into acute hunger, adding to the 318 million people around the world who are already food insecure.

The more important question, however, is not whether Africa is exposed or vulnerable because we are. The real question is how we respond. We can continue reacting to each crisis through emergency imports and humanitarian appeals, or we can seize this moment to build the long-term resilience our economies, and especially our rural economies.

Kenya is choosing the second course. Three in four Kenyans are under 35, and a similar profile defines most of the continent. These young people are not a problem to be managed; they are the most productive resource our economies have ever held.

Whether they become a source of stability and growth, or one of frustration and migration, will be decided in this decade and largely in our rural areas.

The most resilient answer to a fertiliser shock is not a fertiliser shipment. It is a productive rural economy that no longer relies on imported inputs as the only path to a harvest.

That is why we are anchoring the transformation of our rural economies through the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks, which are central to Kenya’s value-addition and industrialisation agenda. These industrial parks are designed to serve as integrated hubs, where farmers can deliver their produce, access cold storage, warehousing, and modern processing facilities, and connect directly to both local and international markets.

Kenya’s expanding domestic fertiliser market shows what this means in practice: Treating agriculture for what it is already becoming in much of Africa, an innovation-driven industry. It means agribusiness, value chains and market integration in place of subsistence and aid.

It means a generation of young Africans entering not the queues of the unemployed, but the boards of cooperatives and the supply chains that connect a farm in Bungoma to a buyer in Nairobi, Mombasa or beyond.

We are already seeing what is possible. Under the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme, supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), digital e-voucher systems have placed improved seed, fertiliser and advisory services in the hands of nearly 150,000 smallholder farmers.

More than 86 percent of participating households report higher incomes. Almost two-thirds have moved above the poverty line. Post-harvest losses have fallen by 85 percent. Ten new agro-ecology service hubs are now run largely by young people, turning extension and mechanisation into rural businesses, not government handouts.

The same logic is reshaping rural finance. A new Rural Credit Guarantee Scheme, built on $20 million of public investment, is on course to leverage close to $80 million in private bank lending into agriculture, changing how financial institutions price risk in rural areas.

A Green Finance for Youth Employment facility will channel a further $15 million in affordable green credit to young entrepreneurs in agri-business and climate-smart agriculture.

What ties these initiatives together is what is increasingly known as ‘first-mile’ investment, the unglamorous but decisive work of unlocking the earliest stage of an agri-food value chain, where smallholder farmers and producers meet markets, finance and technology. It is at the first mile that production gains are made or lost; that young entrepreneurs either find an opportunity or board a bus to the city; and that resilience to shocks of the kind now spreading from the Gulf is built or broken.

This is why the next few months matter. At the Africa Forward Summit this week, African heads of State, business leaders, young people and civil society have come together to chart solutions to food security, economic competitiveness and other common challenges.

At the same time, IFAD’s member States have just launched the IFAD14 replenishment, one of the most consequential global decisions of the year on financing rural transformation. African leaders have an opportunity to come together to collectively commit to invest in our rural areas, and the young people who live there, at the scale and ambition this moment demands.

The case is straightforward. Every dollar of core IFAD resources translates into around $6 of investment on the ground. Growth originating in agriculture is roughly two to three times more effective than other sectors at reducing poverty, particularly in the poorest countries.

Improved financing of agrifood systems could unlock up to $4.5 trillion a year in global business opportunities. This is not aid in any traditional sense; it is shared investment, with Africa carrying its share of both the risk and the reform.

I argued last year, with my fellow leaders from Ghana and Zambia, that the global financial architecture must work better for our continent. The conflict in Iran has stripped away any remaining excuse for delay. We can pay for rural collapse later in higher humanitarian budgets, sharper migration pressures and more volatile food markets, or we can invest in rural transformation now.

Africa is not asking for charity. We are offering a partnership. The ambition is here. The opportunity is demonstrable. The solutions are working. The moment to scale them up is now.

Mauritius’s SBM Holdings injected an additional Sh405 million into its subsidiary SBM Bank Kenya in the financial year ended December 2025, reflecting a race by commercial banks to comply with the Central Bank of Kenya’s new capital requirements of Sh10 billion by 2029.

The latest capital injection is in addition to Sh819 million and Sh471 million that SBM Kenya received from the parent firm in 2024 and 2023 respectively, pushing the lender’s core capital to Sh7.68 billion at the end of 2025. The capital grew further to Sh7.78 billion at the end of March this year.

This core capital is however lower compared to Sh8.03 billion recorded in 2024.

“From a balance sheet perspective, loans and advances increased moderately from MUR (Mauritian Rupees) 16.5 billion to MUR 16.9 billion, while deposits grew strongly from MUR 25.2 billion to MUR 29.7 billion, enhancing the funding base and liquidity position,” the multinational said of its Kenyan subsidiary in its latest annual report.

“Total assets rose from MUR 37.2 billion to MUR 38.1 billion and shareholders’ equity improved from MUR 3.3 billion to MUR 3.7 billion, supported by a capital injection of MUR 146.6 million (Sh405 million) from SBMH.”

The support from the parent firm comes against higher capital requirements starting with Sh3 billion by December 2025, up from the previous Sh1 billion.

The Kenya Business Laws (Amendment) Act adopted by parliament in 2024 increased the minimum core capital requirement for banks from Sh1 billion to Sh10 billion in five years (from 2025 to 2029) to bolster financial stability, absorb systemic risks, and create lenders with larger balance sheets.

Under the staggered capital increment plan commercial banks were required to increase their minimum core capital from Sh1 billion to Sh3 billion by December 31 2025.

Afterwards the banks are required to gradually increase their minimum core capital to Sh5 billion in 2026, Sh6 billion in 2027, Sh8 billion in 2028 and Sh10 billion in 2029.

‘When need for more capital arises ,the group explores various recapitalization options including injection of share capital ,raising tier capital as well as optimization of the total risk weighted assets ,’ SBM Bank Kenya says through its latest annual report.

The lender’s core capital to total risk weighted assets ratio stood at 13.8 percent compared to CBK minimum of 10.5 percent in 2025 , while liquidity ratio of the bank stood at 47.6 percent compared to CBK minimum of 20 percent.

‘Both ratios imply that the bank has sufficient headroom for more business,’ the lender says.

SBM Bank Kenya made a net profit of Sh444.21 million in 2025 from a net loss of Sh1.21 billion in 2024 largely driven by increased interest and non-interest incomes, coupled with prudent cost containment measures.

SBM Holdings entered Kenya in May 2017 by acquisition of Fidelity Commercial Bank for a token $1 (Sh128.17) consideration in a rescue deal and renamed it SBM Bank Kenya before making a $20 million (Sh2.56 billion) capital injection.

The Mauritian-headquartered lender in August 2018 also acquired certain assets and liabilities of Chase Bank Kenya which was then under receivership for MUR 162,158 (Sh434, 642) and added to SBM Bank Kenya.

The group committed to inject $60 million (Sh7.69 billion).

Last year (2025) SBM Bank Kenya operated 33 branches spread across the country with customer deposits increasing by 20 percent from Sh69 billion in 2024 to Sh82 billion in 2025.

The Treasury has set aside Sh4.6 billion for vaccines in a bid to prevent a funding crunch that previously triggered shortages of child immunisation supplies, as donors continue to cut funding.

Budget documents tabled in Parliament show the allocation for the financial year starting July 2026 represents a 130 percent increase from the Sh2.0 billion earmarked for the vaccine programme in the current financial year ending June.

The increased funding follows repeated stockouts that have left millions of children vulnerable to diseases like measles, polio, and whooping cough, which can resurge quickly when coverage falls below protective thresholds.

In June last year, stocks of BCG and polio vaccines dropped to just a two-week supply, with 12 of Kenya’s 47 counties reporting complete stockouts.

More recently, a nationwide shortage of the rotavirus vaccine was triggered by production delays at manufacturer Bharat Biotech, which left the country with only 4,000 doses, less than a month’s supply.

The national immunisation coverage currently stands at about 80 percent, below the government’s target of 90 percent, leaving an estimated 300,000 infants unvaccinated each year.

The impact is most severe in marginalised regions due to facility-level stockouts and disrupted outreach services. The rising domestic allocation also reflects Kenya’s gradual transition away from donor support.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has supported Kenya’s immunisation programme for over two decades, is expected to fully phase out its support by 2030.

Meanwhile, external funding has already declined by about 30.8 percent, from Sh2.6 billion to Sh1.8 billion, as the country moves towards self-financing, despite Sh1.6 billion in unpaid co-financing arrears owed to Gavi.

‘Kenya knew as early as 2003 that Gavi funding for childhood vaccines would eventually come to an end. The plan was to gradually increase domestic financing so that, by the time Gavi exited, we would be adequately prepared. However, this did not happen, and we remained dependent,’ said Dr James Nyikal, chair of the National Assembly Health Committee.

The country continues to struggle with co-financing obligations, under which the government is expected to cover about 15 percent of the cost of new vaccines and injection supplies.

‘We have two systems for procuring vaccines in Kenya: full government financing for some vaccines and a co-financing arrangement with Gavi. We faced a temporary challenge due to delays in exchequer releases, but the National Treasury has committed to settling the Sh930 million as part of its outstanding obligation,’ said Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.

Kenya’s immunisation schedule covers diseases including tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumonia, rotavirus diarrhoea, measles, rubella, and cervical cancer.

The programme is implemented by the Ministry of Health through the Kenya Expanded Programme on Immunisation (KEPI), delivered via public health facilities and community outreach services.

Overall, combined government and donor contributions will raise total vaccine programme spending to Sh6.4 billion in the financial year starting July, up from Sh4.6 billion currently-an increase of 39.1 percent.

Spending is projected to remain at Sh6.4 billion in the 2027/28 financial year before declining slightly to Sh5.8 billion the following year, a trend that could complicate Kenya’s transition to full self-financing.

For over six decades, Kenya’s pursuit of prosperity has been defined by massive infrastructure. We have laid the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Mombasa to Nairobi and look forward to its extension to Busia.

We have built the Nairobi Expressway and are now on to dualing the Nairobi – Mau Summit carriageway.

That comes after the dualing of the Nairobi-Nyeri highway that has greatly eased transport in the Mt Kenya region. The government has great interest in transforming the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport into a regional air transport hub. Yet, while these projects move our people and goods, they are consumers of energy, not the source of it.

As we stand at the threshold of a new industrial dawn, it is my firm belief that the Siaya Nuclear Power Plant-set to break ground in March 2027-will be the crowning jewel of President William Ruto’s legacy. It is the project that finally moves Kenya from a “moving” economy to a “producing” one.

Kenya Vision 2030 identifies energy as the key enabler of our national transformation. However, our current renewable mix, while impressive, cannot alone meet the projected 60,000 MW demand required for full-scale industrialisation.

Nuclear energy will undoubtedly provide, in the medium term, the 3,000 MW baseload that hydro and solar, which are prone to weather changes, simply cannot. This strategy aligns perfectly with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

By slashing electricity costs from 9 US cents to as low as 4 US cents per unit, the country will be well on course to giving the “hustler”, the small-scale manufacturer and the Jua Kali artisan the power to compete globally in a world where energy is everything – literally speaking.

After careful evaluation, Siaya emerged as a premier site for the construction of Kenya’s first nuclear power plant due to its proximity to Lake Victoria which will provide the essential water cooling required for its operations.

This multi-billion shilling project will transform the Lake Basin into a high-tech industrial corridor, creating over 10,000 jobs during construction and thousands of permanent roles for our scientists, engineers, artisans, plumbers and all manner of professionals in the long run.

While the SGR and the Expressway are monuments of logistics, the Siaya Nuclear Plant is a multiplier. Unlike a road that requires constant maintenance, a nuclear plant provides reliable, zero-carbon energy for close to 100 years.

It is the infrastructure of infrastructures. The foundational energy that will finally make our industrial parks to be set up in all counties truly viable.

The Siaya nuclear power plant project is about more than just volts. It includes a nuclear research reactor to support cancer diagnostics, food irradiation to stop post-harvest losses, and advanced engineering.

Nuclear Power and Energy which I have been leading since 2023 will be partnering with key educational institutions in the Western region namely; Jaramogi Odinga Oginga University of Science and Technology and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology as well as Kisumu Polytechnic, to ensure our youth are ready for this atomic decade.

Across Africa, the conversation on artificial intelligence (AI) has shifted from curiosity to urgency. Governments are developing national AI strategies, private sector players such as healthcare providers and insurance players are investing in innovation, and development partners are positioning AI as a driver of economic growth.

Yet, despite this momentum, adoption across the continent remains uneven-fragmented in execution and, in many cases, confined to pilots rather than scaled systems. The missing link is not ambition. It is policy.

Research by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation highlights that digital technologies, including AI, achieve scale and impact only where enabling regulatory frameworks, institutional capacity and investment environments are aligned.

AI does not scale in isolation; it scales within the guardrails, incentives and direction set by policy. In an Africa context where markets are diverse, regulatory environments are evolving, and infrastructure gaps persist – policy is not merely an enabler; it is the primary accelerator of adoption.

AI holds immense potential to transform key sectors across the continent but without clear policy frameworks, this potential is theoretical.

Policy performs three critical functions that determine whether AI moves from concept to impact.

First, it creates certainty; businesses invest where there is clarity.

Second, it aligns priorities; AI must be directed toward solving real, systemic challenges and third, it builds trust; AI systems rely on data that is often sensitive and high-stakes. In essence, policy transforms AI from a technological capability into a scalable public good.

To accelerate adoption, three critical shifts are required. First, from policy announcements to policy execution. Strategies must be accompanied by clear implementation frameworks, defined timelines, and accountability mechanisms. Second, a move from siloed efforts to ecosystem collaboration and third, a move from short-term pilots to scalable systems.

The future of AI in Africa will not be determined solely by technological capability. It will be shaped by the quality, clarity, and adaptability of policy.

AI solutions must move beyond proof-of-concept and integrate into core institutional processes, whether in insurance automation, clinical decision support, or claims management.

The Kenyan Context: Legislative Momentum and the AI Bill, 2026

To understand how policy accelerates adoption, let’s look at Kenya, often called the Silicon Savannah. We have moved beyond conversation into concrete legislative action. In March 2025, the Ministry of ICT published a National AI Strategy (2025-2030), requiring an investment of Sh152 billion to position Kenya as a leading AI hub.

The strategy explicitly recognizes “a need for comprehensive AI-specific regulations to address ethical implications and potential harms.”

Building on this foundation, the Artificial Intelligence Bill, 2026, on the floor of senate, is currently undergoing public participation. The Bill proposes a risk-based framework similar to the EU AI Act, classifying AI systems from “unacceptable risk” to “minimal risk.”

However, the African context demands unique solutions. As the Bill undergoes debate, stakeholders have cautioned that rigid frameworks risk unintended consequences.

One observer noted, “The developer in Nairobi is not asking for exemption from accountability. She is asking for a framework designed with her in mind. A framework that governs everyone except the most powerful is not governance.” This tension captures the essence of Africa’s AI policy challenge: how to regulate without stifling innovation.

The Role of Business Leaders: From Participants to Co-Creators

For too long, the private sector has been positioned as a recipient of policy rather than a co-creator of it. In the context of AI, that model is no longer viable.

Business leaders operate at the frontlines of implementation. They understand where systems break, where inefficiencies persist, and where innovation can deliver measurable value. This insight is indispensable in shaping policies that are both practical and effective.

Technology adoption accelerates when policy and practice are aligned and achieving this alignment requires deliberate engagement.

Business leaders must actively contribute to policy development by engaging regulators, providing evidence-based insights, advocating for balanced frameworks, and supporting capacity building within public institutions. In doing so, the private sector evolves from stakeholder to strategic partner in national development.

Bridging the Gap

Africa does not lack AI conversations. Conferences, summits, and policy frameworks are increasingly common. The challenge lies in translating dialogue into delivery.

To accelerate adoption, three critical shifts are required.

First, from policy announcements to policy execution. Strategies must be accompanied by clear implementation frameworks, defined timelines, and accountability mechanisms. Kenya’s shift from a national strategy to the AI Bill, 2026, represents progress, though critics warn of potential regulatory overreach if not carefully calibrated to local realities.

Second, a move from siloed efforts to ecosystem collaboration. The Bill’s proposal for an Advisory Committee on AI, comprising government, non-governmental, and private sector stakeholders, is a step toward coordinated governance.

Third, a move from short-term pilots to scalable systems.

AI solutions must move beyond proof-of-concept and integrate into core institutional processes, whether in insurance automation, clinical decision support, or claims management.

A Call to Action

The future of AI in Africa will not be determined solely by technological capability. It will be shaped by the quality, clarity, and adaptability of policy.

If we get policy right, AI will drive efficiency across critical sectors, expand access to essential services, and unlock new economic opportunities. If we get it wrong, adoption will remain fragmented, trust will erode, and the full value of AI will remain unrealized.

The responsibility, therefore, is collective.

Governments must lead with clarity and intent. The private sector must engage with purpose and accountability.

And together, stakeholders must build policy frameworks that are not only enabling but also transformative. Because ultimately, AI is not just about technology. It is about how we design and govern the systems that will define our future.