Category: Business Daily

In 2024, the country welcomed 2.4 million international visitors, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and reclaiming its status as East Africa’s leading tourism destination. Tourism earnings soared to Sh452.2 billion, while the wider travel and tourism sector contributed an estimated Sh1.2 trillion to the economy and supported 1.7 million jobs.

These figures represent more than recovery. They reaffirm Kenya’s global standing as one of the world’s premier wildlife and nature destinations.

Yet beneath this impressive resurgence lies a dangerous contradiction. The wildlife that powers Kenya’s tourism success is increasingly under threat.

Northern Kenya’s vast network of community conservancies has been one of Africa’s most celebrated conservation achievements.

Across the northern rangelands of Samburu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Garissa, and neighboring counties, local communities have protected fragile ecosystems, dramatically reduced poaching, restored wildlife migration corridors, and safeguarded iconic species, including elephants, rhinos, and reticulated giraffes.

This model did more than preserve biodiversity. It became central to Kenya’s tourism identity.

Wildlife remains the backbone of Kenya’s tourism appeal, with nearly 80 percent of international visitors drawn to conservation-driven destinations such as Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo, and related ecosystems.

Kenya’s tourism future increasingly depends on eco-tourism, Northern Keny is poised to provide unique conservation experiences, and authentic natural heritage.

But that foundation is beginning to weaken. A disturbing rise in giraffe poaching across northern Kenya is exposing a broader collapse in conservation systems. In counties such as Samburu, Isiolo, Marsabit, and Garissa, carcasses of reticulated giraffes, stripped of meat and left as little more than skin and bone, are being discovered with growing frequency.

Giraffes in the Northern Rangelands are now under serious threat from poaching for bushmeat, a shift that reflects a changing illegal wildlife trade once dominated by elephants and rhinos hunted for ivory and horn.

While global attention and enforcement efforts have significantly reduced large-scale ivory and rhino horn trafficking, this pressure has in some areas displaced illegal hunting toward less protected species such as giraffes.

Their meat is now traded in local and regional markets as far as Somalia, often overlooked in conservation enforcement frameworks that have historically prioritised iconic megafauna.

This emerging trend underscores how poaching patterns are evolving rather than disappearing, shifting conservation risks to species that have not traditionally been the focus of high-profile protection campaigns.

We have learnt that giraffe meat is processed into suqaar, making it easier to handle and less detectable during cross-border transportation.

The reticulated giraffes, largely concentrated in northern Kenya and parts of Ethiopia and Somalia, are officially classified as Endangered, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are in a vulnerable position, and we as conservationists consider them a high-priority species.

Yet these killings are not isolated incidents. They signal deepening institutional failure.

Leadership disputes, lack of community cohesion, donor withdrawals, governance breakdowns, and the collapse of key support structures have left many conservancies struggling to function. Rangers have gone unpaid for months, surveillance systems have deteriorated, and communities that once actively protected wildlife are losing both capacity and motivation.

As these systems unravel, bushmeat poaching is resurging. The consequences stretch far beyond conservation. Kenya’s tourism economy depends on thriving ecosystems.

According to the Tourism Research Institute’s 2024 Annual Tourism Sector Performance Report, wildlife parks and conservation areas remain among the country’s strongest tourism assets, with destinations such as Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara, and other protected areas driving substantial visitor traffic.

If northern Kenya’s giraffes continue to be slaughtered at the current rate, Kenya risks undermining one of its most valuable competitive advantages in an increasingly sustainability-conscious global tourism market.

And giraffes are not the only victims. Smaller ruminants and other wildlife species are also being slaughtered on a large scale for the bushmeat trade.

This comes at a particularly critical moment. Kenya’s National Tourism Strategy for 2025 to 2030 aims to double international arrivals to five million, expand domestic tourism beyond ten million bed nights, and generate Sh1.2 trillion in tourism revenue.

Such ambitions may prove impossible if the ecological systems underpinning Kenya’s tourism brand are allowed to erode.

Conservation, therefore, is no longer simply an environmental issue. It is economic policy.

A collapse in northern conservancies could damage investor confidence, reduce tourism competitiveness, threaten rural livelihoods, weaken donor support, and tarnish Kenya’s international image as a conservation leader.

For a country increasingly marketing itself as a sustainable tourism destination, visible conservation decline presents a significant economic risk.

Kenya now faces a critical choice.

The government must move urgently to stabilise community conservancies, restore ranger funding, rebuild governance credibility, and ensure conservation remains deeply integrated into local economies.

Kenya cannot continue promoting itself as a world-class wildlife destination while the systems protecting that wildlife quietly collapse.

Northern Kenya’s giraffes are more than victims of poaching. They are indicators of a broader national challenge.

The future of Kenya’s tourism economy, worth billions and supporting millions, depends not only on attracting visitors, but on protecting the ecosystems those visitors come to experience.

Safeguarding wildlife is no longer just about saving species.

It is about protecting one of Kenya’s most valuable economic engines and preserving the natural heritage that defines its place on the global stage.

On any given afternoon at Kamakis Corner, smoke curls out of busy nyama choma joints, waiters hurry between wooden tables, balancing trays of roast meat and beer. A few metres away, trucks loaded with construction materials squeeze past shoppers and boda bodas before disappearing into new gated estates where workers put finishing touches on new maisonettes.

Just behind one of the modern homes, however, pigs roll in the mud beside a small kitchen garden, and chickens cluck in a nearby coop.

Welcome to Kamakis, a rapidly growing settlement along the Eastern Bypass in Ruiru, which has become one of Nairobi’s hottest property markets, attracting developers, middle-class families, and investors chasing space outside the city.

Yet unlike many satellite towns that have completely shed their rural past, Kamakis still lives in two worlds. Here, multimillion-shilling homes rise beside chicken coops. Glass balconies overlook lush maize gardens. Residents drive top-of-the-range cars through neighbourhoods where livestock still roam behind perimeter walls.

For some of the area’s earliest settlers, the transformation from a muddy farmland to a development hotspot has been almost unbelievable.

Bishop Samuel Mbugua says when he first moved to Kamakis in 1998, the place looked nothing like it does today.

‘There was almost nothing here,’ he recalls. ‘No proper roads, no piped water, no development.’ Life, he says, revolved around farming, land ownership and survival with hardly any public infrastructure and amenities.

Back then, residents fetched water from River Ruiru, while heavy rains often cut off sections of the area completely. Most people grew crops or kept livestock, partly for survival, and partly to protect their land from grabbers.

‘There was a lot of land grabbing at the time,’ Samuel says. ‘If you bought land and left it idle, somebody else could come and claim it. So people farmed it or built small structures to show ownership.’ ‘We focused on farming. My wife and I used to grow maize, beans and sweet potatoes. We made it our home.’

From Sh18,000 to Sh60 million

The land had originally been subdivided by the Githunguri Ranching Company and allocated to shareholders. In 1986, Samuel bought his share for Sh18,000. At the time, he says, it felt like a remote gamble.

Today, that same land sits in one of Nairobi’s fastest-appreciating real estate corridors. Samuel says a one-and-a-quarter-acre roadside share can now fetch as much as Sh60 million.

‘A 50-by-100 plot along the road can go for about Sh45 million,’ he says.

The numbers still surprise even longtime residents.

Samuel Mwai, another early settler, remembers when buyers could still acquire plots for about Sh60,000 in the early 2000s.

Then came the Eastern Bypass.

The road project, which began around 2009, transformed Kamakis from an overlooked farming settlement into a strategic investment zone almost overnight. Suddenly, the area was connected to Nairobi, Thika Road and key transport corridors. Developers arrived. Investors followed. Land prices surged.

‘As you can imagine, it has grown a lot,’ says Mwai.

That growth is now impossible to miss. Along the main roads, hardware stores, liquor outlets, butcheries, mini shopping centres and restaurants compete for space. Construction trucks move constantly through the area, feeding what feels like a permanent building site.

Behind the busy roadside businesses lie rows of gated communities filled with modern homes designed for a growing class of Nairobians searching for what the city increasingly struggles to offer: space.

Many of the houses feature rooftop terraces, paved driveways, high perimeter walls and flat-roofed contemporary designs that sharply contrast with the semi-rural environment that still lingers around them.

Attractive compromise

For many middle-class families, Kamakis offers a compromise between urban convenience and suburban calm. Mwai, popularly known as ‘Mwai wa Tours’ because of his travel company, arrived in Kamakis in 2006.

‘When I came here, there were very few people,’ he says. ‘Most residents were farmers or people keeping livestock.’

Security was also a concern. ‘Livestock theft was common,’ he recalls.

Mwai bought four 50-by-100 plots for Sh600,000, an investment that would later multiply in value many times over. Like several early settlers, he became involved in pushing for development in the area.

‘We were among the first people advocating for electricity and piped water,’ he says.

Today, he watches as estates continue spreading deeper into what was once open farmland.

‘There have been a lot of developments, especially gated homes. Investors are coming in every day.’

Nyama choma identity

Yet housing is only part of the Kamakis story. The area’s nyama choma culture has also become central to its identity.

On weekends especially, hundreds of Nairobi residents stream into Kamakis looking for roasted meat, open-air entertainment and a break from the congestion of the city. ‘People love Kamakis because it feels peaceful,’ says Mwai.

That leisure economy has created another layer of commercial growth.

Anthony Kariuki, a hospitality investor, saw the opportunity early. ‘I started this business in 2020 after retiring,’ he says.

He strategically bought a roadside plot in Kamakis in 2014 for Sh6.2 million.

‘At the time, this place was mostly farmland,’ he says.

Today, his property sits in one of the busiest commercial stretches in the area.

‘Kamakis has really expanded. Hardware stores are doing very well because people are constantly building.’

But despite the rapid urbanisation, farming has not disappeared.

Inside some compounds, residents still rear pigs and chickens even after building expensive modern homes. Small vegetable gardens survive behind electric fences and cabro-paved driveways.

Poor planning

Still, beneath the booming property market lies a growing frustration. Residents say infrastructure has failed to keep pace with development.

‘The bypass opened up the area, but internally we still have very poor roads,’ says Samuel.

During the rainy season, some feeder roads become muddy and difficult to navigate. ‘When it rains, school buses sometimes cannot even access homes,’ says Samuel.

Poor drainage has also become a growing concern as more land is covered with concrete and paving.

Fuel tax cuts following the Iran war and fear of Sh35 billion revenue hole forced the Treasury to backtrack on the pledge to include income tax cuts for salaried workers earning below Sh50,000 in the Finance Bill.

The National Treasury says it has been forced to pause the payslip relief after it cut value-added tax on petroleum products to eight percent from 13 percent for three months to cushion consumers from a surge in fuel prices following the Middle East conflict.

It reckons that the cuts on VAT and the Sh35 billion personal income tax relief posed risks to Kenya’s public finances.

The State promised that salaried workers earning Sh50,000 and below would enjoy income tax cuts of between Sh731 and Sh2,127 under proposed changes to Pay-As -You- Earn (PAYE) tax brackets aimed at cushioning low-income earners from inflation.

The Treasury shelved a special Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2026 that would have facilitated the tax cuts and signalled the reliefs would be included in the Finance Bill 2026.

The proposal to cut payroll taxes for low-income earners had been mulled before the start of a new Middle East war at the end of February 2026.

‘We are looking at the impact of the war and are unclear on how long that lasts. Already, we have reduced VAT on petroleum products,” Mr John Mbadi, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, said on Monday.

‘The first simulation was that we are going to lose revenue of about Sh35 billion per year (from the Paye reduction). We are looking at the economic situation as it is.’

The promise to include income tax cuts for low-income salaried workers is missing from the Finance Bill, 2026 despite both Mr Mbadi and President William Ruto popularising the intervention recently.

The freezing of the PAYE revision has dealt a blow to more than one million employees who expected the measure to be adopted as a cushion to the rising cost of living.

The halving of VAT on petroleum products, which is expected to be in effect for at least three months from April 15, has presented another headache for the Exchequer which is under pressure to improve domestic revenue mobilisation and cut its dependency on debt to plug the fiscal deficit.

The halving of VAT on fuel is expected to deliver a revenue loss of about Sh12.9 billion in the next three months. The emergency measure was in response to a public outcry that followed the sharp jump in pump prices in the April 14 pricing review.

VAT on petroleum products account for about one third of annual value added tax collections or Sh100 billion. Without the VAT cut, the State would have risked a fall in collections due to reduced consumption of fuel on account of higher pump prices.

The National Treasury says it is still keen on having both the cut on fuel VAT and Paye cuts to ease consumers burden.

‘We are looking at records from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on the impact of personal income tax reforms realised in March, April and May to assess the final impact,’ added Mr Mbadi.

‘The consideration is being made to include the (Paye) adjustment in this (Finance) Bill. We have agreed with the Head of State (President Ruto) that this is an amendment we may carry regardless of the impact it will have on our revenues because we feel it is important for the economy.’

Payroll taxes were the largest revenue head for the Exchequer in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, netting Sh560.5 billion for State coffers from Sh488.1 billion previously, underlining the impact of personal income taxes on Kenya’s public finances.

The Iran conflict has left Kenya scrambling to ?stave off shortages of essential commodities like fuel, and the war’s ripple effects are ?expected to spur inflationary pressures that could dampen Kenya’s growth prospects.

The National Treasury has revised its growth projection for 2026 from 5.3 percent to five percent and expects output to be much lower if the conflict persists.

Mr Mbadi, in February, said that his ministry had prepared a Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill that would raise the threshold of untaxed income from Sh24,000 to Sh30,000, while income falling between Sh30,000 and Sh50,000 would be taxed at 25 percent. Under the promised changes, workers earning Sh30,000 would have seen a Sh731.25 increase in their monthly net pay to Sh26,925-after statutory and PAYE deductions.

Those earning Sh35,000 per month would see a Sh1,500 jump in net pay to Sh31,059.38, with their PAYE falling to Sh353.13 from Sh1,853.13.

According to the now delayed plans by the Treasury, the net pay for those on a gross salary of Sh50,000 would have risen by Sh2,127.10 to Sh41,156.25 per month.

The government has recently come under intense pressure to review the recent statutory deductions, specifically the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the Affordable Housing Levy (AHL).

The Kenya Bankers Association proposed a uniform 5.0 percent reduction in PAYE rates across all existing tax bands.

Last year, real wages, which have been adjusted for inflation, rose marginally to Sh56,566 from Sh55,450 in 2024. The earnings are, however, still lower than in 2020, when they stood at Sh62,256.

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.

The family of Titus Muya’s combined stake in Family Bank shrunk by 9.3 percentage points following its decision to sit out the bank’s recent capital raising as it seeks to comply with regulatory requirements.

Mr Muya and members of his family previously held eight of the top 10 shareholder positions in the mid-sized lender with a combined stake of 43.3 percent.

Following the Sh8 billion private placement in December 2025, their combined ownership fell to an estimated 34 percent, with five of the related investors falling off the top 10 list.

The bank, scheduled to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange before the end of June, sold 357.4 million new shares last year in a capital raising venture that brought on board 184 new shareholders to bring its ownership roll to 6,345 investors.

This saw current shareholders who chose not to participate in the capital raising venture diluted.

Mr Muya’s direct stake of 5.6 percent was diluted to 4.4 percent, disclosures in the bank’s annual report show.

The dilution brought down his shareholding into compliance with the Central Bank of Kenya’s regulation that caps individual ownership in a bank at five percent.

Daykio Plantations, a real estate company owned by Mr Muya, saw its shareholding shrink to 9.53 percent from 12.1 percent.

The estate of the late Rachael Njeri, also associated with the Muya family, had its stake drop to ten percent from 12.8 percent.

Persons associated with the bank’s founder such as Brian Muyah, Ann Muya, Mark Keriri and Sheila Kahaki Muya fell off the list of the top ten, meaning their 2.6 percent shareholding each had fallen below 2.07 percent.

Mr Keriri, the vice-chairman of the bank, was disclosed to have a 2.01 percent stake, down from 2.6 percent.

Kenya Tea Development Agency Holding Limited, the largest single shareholder, increased its stake to 18.9 percent from 16.2 percent, having participated in the capital raising.

Others who participated in the private placement include the bank’s chairman, Lazarus Muema, who increased his shareholding by one million shares.

Kenya Orient Life Assurance Limited debuted on the bank’s list of top owners with a 2.12 percent shareholding.

Family Bank, which has already contracted advisers to guide it in the listing process, will be listing by introduction, meaning it will not be raising new capital in the process.

‘For existing shareholders, the planned listing creates an opportunity for improved liquidity and better price discovery of the stock, including a dilution pathway (if it involves fundraising), for investors looking to comply with maximum shareholding requirements by the Central Bank of Kenya,’ said Standard Investment Bank in a note to investors.

Currently the bank’s shares are traded in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, limiting their liquidity. Listing by introduction will provide liquidity for the shares and bring onboard other investors who would otherwise not invest in the stock while in the OTC market.

Last month, hundreds of athletes converged on the Cape Town International Convention Centre for HYROX Cape Town 2026. Reggie Mboya, a Kenyan trainer, was among the 717 men who lined up for the challenge.

He finished top in the men’s open and 20th overall, completing the race in one hour and nine minutes. Not only did his performance demonstrate his physical capacity, but it also highlighted the discipline and sacrifice that had guided him to this remarkable level.

HYROX is a standardised indoor race that fuses running with functional strength training. Competitors must cover eight kilometres, which are broken into segments by eight challenging workout stations.

Each kilometre of running leads directly into a test of resilience, whether through the ski erg, sled push, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmer’s carry, lunges or wall balls. These exercises are designed to disrupt rhythm and force athletes to draw on their reserves of strength.

‘The workout tests how you handle high pressure. You learn how to balance your body, how to cover the distance and how to complete the workout,’ explains Reggie.

HYROX has surged in popularity across Europe and North America, attracting athletes from diverse disciplines such as CrossFit, swimming and obstacle course racing. Elite competitors often finish in under 60 minutes, combining speed, stamina and strength to achieve an unrelenting standard.

Reggie’s journey to HYROX began in Nairobi after finishing high school, when he looked for ways to raise money for his university education. Having played a bit of rugby in high school, he started looking for jobs in the fitness industry. ‘Although I also earned money playing rugby for clubs, I decided to stop and focus on fitness.’

Preparing for HYROX required him to reshape his body and lifestyle. He lost seven kilograms, trained twice daily and committed to a gruelling schedule that included 21-kilometre runs on Saturdays, 10 kilometres every morning and strength training every evening.

‘You really have to be mentally prepared for it,’ he says.

‘I had to change my sleeping schedule to ensure I got eight hours of sleep a day. Running for three hours each evening meant that I had no social life and couldn’t go out.’

His primary focus was lower body strength, involving squats at 100 kilograms, lunges with 25-kilogram dumbbells, sled pushes and yoga for mobility. His diet was equally strict, consisting of carb-loading with chapatti and sweet potatoes in the morning, protein shakes during the day, and protein-heavy dinners.

‘I avoided junk food and focused on natural foods.’

Reggie also talks about the challenges of training for a global sport in a developing fitness ecosystem. Access to proper Hyrox-standard facilities is still limited in Kenya.

“Currently, Kenya doesn’t have an arena big enough for us. International HYROX requires a running track that is about one kilometre long and 150 metres wide, as well as a mat for sled pushes and pulls. I had to improvise a lot while preparing for the competition.’

Reggie, who was participating in the sport for the first time, noted the need for Kenya to invest in HYROX competitions.

One of the sport’s strengths is its accessibility, with categories ranging from Open to Pro, Doubles and Youth divisions, which allow younger athletes to safely experience the sport while developing their fitness.

‘HYROX is open to anybody, even children,’ says Reggie.

After winning the Men’s Open, Reggie is now going to try to win the Pro Division. In this division, the weights are heavier, the qualifying times are faster, and the competitors are stronger from all over the world.

‘I want to challenge myself to reach an elite level. The elite level is on the pro stage, and it really requires a lot. I now have to decide how to balance working eight-hour days with training.’

Sustainability reporting provides a medium for organisations to communicate their value-creation and impact stories to stakeholders. At a time when stakeholder demands for sustainability reporting are increasing, organisations should be mindful of the information needs that are driving this demand.

One of these requirements is for stakeholders to understand how an organisation creates value and the impact it has on society.

Sustainability reporting can help provide this understanding by offering readers a holistic picture of an organisation’s combined value.

Stakeholders can get a full picture of the organisation’s value beyond the traditional balance sheet. A perspective that extends to broader societal impact and to the value created for shareholders and other stakeholders.

Sustainability reporting provides stakeholders with forward-looking information about an organisation’s value creation and impact, addressing limitations of financial reporting and speaking to the financial viability of an organisation beyond the immediate financial performance.

Another important insight from sustainability reporting is the ability to provide stakeholders with a clear understanding of an organisation’s value chain.

A view of the dependencies and impact outside the organisation’s traditional boundary of reporting. For example, an organisation can highlight the number of indirect jobs it provides across its value chain within a community, indicating the value it creates and the impact it has on the community beyond profits.

Through sustainability reporting, organisations can report on their material sustainability topics, providing stakeholders with an opportunity to understand the enablers of the organisation’s business growth strategy that create value over time and deliver impact.

An organisation’s material sustainability risks and opportunities are the non-financial catalysts and capabilities that enable it to maintain its competitive advantage over time. Sustainability reporting can also provide a balanced view of an organisation’s performance, helping its stakeholders understand the trade-offs considered to achieve value creation.

Understanding these trade-offs is so important today, as stakeholders are keen to ensure that a business-minded approach to sustainability is applied, one that balances business and sustainability to create value and impact for society. Lastly, with sustainability reporting, stakeholders obtain decision-useful information.

Investors are keen to obtain financial and non-financial information when weighing investment decisions because credible sustainability information enables them to evaluate investment opportunities more comprehensively.

Organisations must move beyond compliance and utilise their sustainability reports to provide stakeholders with an understanding of their value creation and impact on society.

Kenyan consumers are likely to dig deeper into their pockets to buy locally assembled smartphones as a global scramble for artificial intelligence (AI) chips sends the price of critical memory components soaring and squeezes manufacturers targeting low-income buyers.

The price of memory chips, largely sourced from China and used in smartphones, laptops and other electronics, has increased up to fourfold in the past year as technology giants such as OpenAI, Google and Meta ramp up investment in AI infrastructure and data centres.

The AI boom has tightened global supplies of memory chips used in consumer electronics, piling pressure on Kenya’s smartphone assembly industry and threatening the affordability model that has helped expand smartphone access among low-income households.

The price of Random Access Memory (RAM), once among the cheapest components in electronics manufacturing, has more than doubled since October 2025 and is expected to rise further this year, hitting local assemblers such as M-Kopa, East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Limited, and Sun King hard.

For now, most manufacturers say they are absorbing part of the increased costs by trimming expenses elsewhere in the production chain to protect their low-cost, pay-as-you-go business models. They have, however, not ruled out raising handset prices if chip costs remain elevated.

‘Demand for AI memory is very high, which means manufacturers are dedicating the majority of their capacity to AI. That has pushed up the cost of memory for us significantly,’ says Ismael Abisai, head of manufacturing at M-Kopa.

‘The cost for memory has gone up three to four times. A memory type that you used to buy for $19 (Sh2,454) is now $65 (Sh8,394),’ he adds.

RAM is a critical smartphone component used to temporarily store data, run operating systems such as Android and manage active applications. As AI-powered features become more common in devices, demand for high-performance memory chips has intensified.

Most smartphones rely on dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash memory chips. However, AI data centres require more advanced (and profitable) variants such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM), prompting manufacturers to prioritise supply to major cloud service providers over consumer electronics firms.

This shift has seen leading chipmakers including Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology channel production capacity toward AI-focused clients such as Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI and Google, tightening global supplies for smartphone manufacturers.

Nairobi-based M-Kopa assembles about 7,500 smartphones daily using parts sourced from Chinese original design manufacturers before installing Android software licensed by Google.

The company targets low-income consumers through hire-purchase arrangements, allowing customers to pay deposits before settling balances through daily, weekly or monthly instalments.

Industry analysts now warn that rising memory prices threaten the economics underpinning low-cost smartphones globally. Market research firm TrendForce estimates that DRAM prices rose between 90 percent and 95 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while NAND flash prices increased by up to 60 percent due to surging AI demand.

According to Counterpoint Research, some low-end smartphones could disappear from the market altogether as shrinking margins force manufacturers to either reduce device specifications or shift focus to higher-end products.

Meanwhile, International Data Corporation forecasts that the average global smartphone price will rise 14 percent this year to a record $523 (Sh67,597), while devices priced below $100 (Sh12,925) may disappear entirely. Global smartphone shipments are also projected to fall to their lowest level in more than a decade.

Although leading memory producers have pledged billions of dollars in investment to expand output, industry experts warn that new semiconductor production lines can take at least a year to become operational. The sector’s challenges have also been compounded by logistical disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East, which has affected shipping routes and air freight capacity.

Since fighting escalated in late February, air cargo operations through major hubs such as Dubai and Doha have faced restrictions, with airspace closures across the Gulf forcing airlines onto longer and more expensive routes.

‘Shipping timings have changed,’ says Martin Kingori, M-Kopa Kenya General Manager. ‘Flights through Dubai are hard. We are not able to fly anything in because costs are going up and space is limited.’

Manufacturers have increasingly shifted to sea freight, extending delivery timelines from roughly two weeks to as long as a month.

‘For us who source our components from China, freight costs have gone up by about 10 percent,’ Mr Kingori adds.

The global supply crunch comes at a sensitive moment for Kenya’s emerging smartphone assembly industry, which has expanded rapidly since 2023 following government incentives aimed at localising production. In June 2022, Kenya introduced a 10 percent excise duty on imported phones in addition to an existing 25 percent import duty.

Since entering the assembly business in January 2023, M-Kopa says it has produced more than 3.2 million devices and refurbished over 300,000 others.

‘The good thing with having a factory is that you can optimise different parts of the operation,’ Mr Abisai says, adding that some components had been secured earlier at lower prices through long-term supplier agreements.

Other firms have also entered the market. Sun King last year established a manufacturing facility in Tatu City, with its first locally assembled smartphone launched in February.

Meanwhile, East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Limited, a joint venture involving Safaricom, Jamii Telecommunications and Chinese firm Shenzhen TeleOne Technology, has been producing low-cost 4G smartphones from its Athi River plant. The company reported producing 360,000 devices in its first year of operation in 2024.

Kenya’s local smartphone assembly industry has largely been built on the promise of affordable devices financed through instalment plans to reach first-time users. Some locally assembled smartphones are sold with deposits as low as Sh2,600 and daily payments from Sh55.

But as AI-driven demand reshapes the global semiconductor market, manufacturers are increasingly being forced to choose between absorbing higher production costs and passing them on to consumers.

‘That’s why financing becomes a solution for us,’ Mr Abisai says, referring to the pay-as-you-go model that spreads costs over time.

Global electronics brands, including Dell, Asus, Acer and Xiaomi, have already warned of possible price increases, while Sony has temporarily halted sales of some memory card products because of chip shortages.

The buzz surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in East Africa’s financial sector is undeniable. Yet, when I speak with regional banking leaders, there is a subtext of caution. While the excitement for efficiency is real, there is a growing realisation that for AI to work in our unique context, the ground beneath it must be solid, ethical and deeply rooted in the local reality.

The most urgent question facing East African banking today is not how quickly we can automate, but how responsibly we can embed these technologies into our institutions.

In a region where banking is built on hard-won trust and personal relationships, AI must be an augmentation tool rather than a substitution strategy. This is not just an ethical stance; it is a business imperative. Our markets are high-risk and high-trust, and AI cannot succeed unless our clients understand it.

In East Africa, responsible AI begins long before a single line of code is written. We must ask ourselves what problems we are truly solving. Is the goal to drive financial inclusion for millions of unbanked Kenyans, Tanzanians and Ugandans, or is it merely to save costs?

We must be clear about the data driving these models. In a region where formal credit histories are often sparse, the data we use must be fair and representative. Without this clarity, even the most advanced systems become liabilities.

We must also stop tiptoeing around the challenge of bias. Bias is not just a technical glitch; it reflects our history and our social systems. In East Africa, where ethnic, gender and geographic differences can affect access to money, AI might make these biases worse.

Statistics from the World Bank and other regional central banks often highlight gaps in credit access for women-led Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and rural farmers.

If an algorithm is trained on historical lending data that favours urban, male borrowers, it will naturally penalise others. We must take an engineering-first approach to this, using diverse datasets and explainable AI tools that uncover the “why” behind a loan rejection or a credit limit.

The current landscape also reveals a governance vacuum. Many regional institutions are encouraging their teams to “lean into AI” without providing the necessary guardrails. This creates risks ranging from the misuse of sensitive customer data to the over-automation of judgment-driven decisions. We do not necessarily need more AI; we need better governance.

Good governance requires clear playbooks on where AI can operate and, more importantly, where it must stop. For high-stakes decisions, human oversight must be a nonnegotiable part of the workflow.

We also have a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between our legacy banks and our thriving fintech ecosystem. Legacy banks in East Africa bring decades of regulatory experience and deep customer trust, but they struggle with integration.

Fintechs bring the agility of “Silicon Savannah,” yet they eventually face the challenge of scaling governance. Both must borrow strengths from each other to create an AI ecosystem that is transparent and accountable.

Thriving financial institutions will be those that treat AI not as a shortcut, but as a long-term commitment to responsible innovation. The path to a prosperous digital future for East Africa begins with a simple, foundational belief: AI must remain human at its core.

Furthermore, we must change how we communicate AI to our own people. If a bank teller in Nairobi or a credit officer in Entebbe feels that AI is a threat to their livelihood, they will resist it.

However, if they see AI as a tool that handles low-value, repetitive tasks, leaving them free to focus on complex relationship management, they will embrace it. Transparency is the only way to build this internal trust.

TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya has installed 30 charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) and motorbikes as the oil marketer diversifies from fossil fuels in a bid to tap into the fast-growing uptake of electric mobility.

The French oil major revealed that it has partnered with e-mobility firms to set up 28 charging stations for motorbikes and two for motor vehicles.

The setting up of the stations underscores TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya’s shift from its traditional stronghold of fossil fuels to tap into the growing popularity of electric vehicles and two-wheelers. The company is the second-biggest player in Kenya’s fossil fuel market, with a 14.01 per cent share.

Kenya, like other economies globally, is experiencing a surge in electric mobility in the wake of a global push to cut fossil fuel emissions in the transport sector. Escalating prices of diesel and petrol are also expected to further drive uptake of EVs as consumers seek to reduce fuel costs.

Increased adoption of e-mobility is expected to eat into fossil fuel sales, highlighting why oil marketers such as TotalEnergies are seeking a share of the nascent market.

‘Strategic partnerships have been established with leading e-mobility companies, including Ampersand, Roam and Arc Ride, resulting in the development of 28 electric mobility sites that offer battery charging and swapping services for electric motorbikes,’ TotalEnergies said in its latest annual report.

‘Additionally, two EV charging stations have been installed to support four-wheel vehicles.’

TotalEnergies did not disclose the value of sales made to EV consumers last year. Globally, oil marketers are increasingly converting space within their retail stations into EV charging hubs to capture emerging demand.

Industry data from the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya shows there were 9,144 new registrations of vehicles, motorcycles, bikes and three-wheelers in 2024, more than double the 4,048 registered the previous year.

Motorcycles dominate the figures, with 4,862 new registrations in 2024, accounting for more than half of all EV registrations, according to the data. However, growth in electric motorcycles remains gradual, with 247 units registered in 2024 compared to 99 the previous year.

Rising fuel prices have been a key driver of EV adoption, particularly among public transport operators. Consumers currently pay about Sh16 per kilowatt-hour during peak charging hours and Sh8 per kilowatt-hour off-peak.

Meanwhile, a litre of petrol and diesel recently rose sharply in Nairobi, reaching Sh197.60 and Sh196.63 respectively, driven by global supply disruptions and higher import costs.

Prices are expected to remain elevated in the coming months, further reinforcing the shift towards electric mobility as consumers seek cost-saving alternatives.