Category: Business Daily

US energy firm Ormat Technologies has flagged delayed payments from Kenya Power, even after the utility paid it $21.1 million (Sh2.72 billion) earlier this year as part of overdue obligations for electricity purchases from its geothermal plants in Olkaria, Naivasha.

Ormat said collections from Kenya Power have slowed in recent times, with the American firm owed $8.4 million (Sh1.08 billion) as of the end of February 2026.

‘There has been a deterioration in the collection from Kenya Power that became slower than in the past, and as of December 31, 2025,’ the US firm revealed.

‘The amount overdue from Kenya Power in Kenya was $29.5 million, of which $21.1 million was paid in January and February of 2026,’ it added.

Payment lag

Ormat did not, however, provide a comparison of the number of days Kenya Power is currently taking to pay for electricity and the period it took to settle payments in the past.

Kenya Power owed Ormat $29.5 million (Sh3.8 billion) for electricity supplied in 2025. The utility, however, paid $21.1 million (Sh2.72 billion) in January and February this year.The State-owned electricity distributor has, in recent times, grappled with overdue payments to independent power producers (IPPs). The delays were exacerbated in 2023 at the peak of the dollar crunch.Kenya Power’s agreements with power producers are backed by letters of support from the Government of Kenya. The letters act as security in case of non-payment tied to political strife or government actions.Ormat sells electricity to Kenya Power under three 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) covering four plants. One of the PPAs will lapse in 2033, two in 2034, and the last in 2036.Under the PPAs, power producers can trigger punitive interest clauses contained in the agreements. These penalties are treated as operational costs and are factored into electricity tariffs.Ormat, through its wholly owned subsidiary OrPower 4, operates geothermal plants within the Olkaria III Complex in Naivasha. The plants have a combined maximum production capacity of 150 megawatts (MW).The American power producer is one of 30 firms currently contracted by Kenya Power to supply electricity under varying wholesale prices. These prices are key in determining retail power costs.Read: Ministry seeks tax breaks to hold geothermal power below Sh9 a unitProfit reboundConcerns from the American firm come at a time when Kenya Power is reporting improved performance, boosting the utility’s ability to service loans and pay for electricity supplies.Kenya Power recorded consecutive net profits in the past two financial years, with the latest at Sh24.47 billion in the year ended June 2025, down from a record Sh30.08 billion a year earlier.The profits, driven by increased electricity sales, have strengthened Kenya Power’s ability to pay for electricity supplied by producers, alongside paying dividends to shareholders.Read: Kenya Power raises interim dividend 50pc on profit growthKenya is the third-largest market for Ormat in terms of revenue, after the US and New Zealand.For example, Ormat’s revenues in Kenya stood at $117.422 million (Sh15.16 billion) as at December 31, 2025, accounting for 11.86 percent of the $989.54 million (Sh127.79 billion) the company generated globally during the period.

Patients in Kenya continue to pay higher prices for original or non-generic medicines years after patents expire, driven by entrenched prescribing habits, weak regulation, supply gaps, and market incentives that favour costlier products.

A spot check across Nairobi pharmacies shows significant price differences between branded and generic medicines.

For example, a course of the widely used antibiotic Augmentin, originally produced by GlaxoSmithKline, retails at around Sh1,400 to Sh3,000 depending on the dosage unit, while its generic equivalent, amoxicillin-clavulanate, can cost as little as Sh180 despite containing the same active ingredients.

The patent on Augmentin expired more than 20 years ago.

Price gaps

Industry data indicates that such pricing gaps persist across multiple therapeutic categories. A 2023 survey by the Kenya Healthcare Federation, covering pharmacies in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, found that branded medicines accounted for between 40 and 60 percent of sales in categories including antibiotics, antihypertensives and diabetes drugs.

In private hospital pharmacies, branded medicines accounted for more than 70 percent of sales, with prices often three to eight times higher than generics.

Health insurers say this reliance on branded medicines is inflating healthcare costs. Drugs account for around half of all medical insurance claims in Kenya.

“Heavy reliance on branded drugs means half of all medical insurance claims in Kenya go towards drugs alone,” said Njeri Jomo, chief executive of Jubilee Health Insurance, in a past interview. ‘On average, generic drugs cost 30 to 80 percent less than their brand-name counterparts.’

Habit bias

According to international pharmaceutical regulations, once a patent expires, other manufacturers can produce equivalent versions of the drug at lower cost.

In high-income markets, generic drugs can account for up to 90 percent of sales within a year of patent expiry, often at prices up to 85 percent lower.

Experts partly attribute Kenya’s trend to prescribing practices, where doctors tend to prescribe specific brand names and pharmacists often dispense exactly what is written.

‘You train with a drug; you trust a drug,’ said James Nyawade, a general practitioner based in Nairobi. ‘I have been prescribing Lipitor since medical school. Switching feels risky, even though I know that atorvastatin is atorvastatin.’

Lipitor’s patent expired in Kenya in 2011.

Concerns over drug quality have also shaped patient and provider preferences. Past incidents involving substandard medicines in the region have contributed to a long-standing mistrust of generics, which pharmacists say has been reinforced over time.

‘The mistrust surrounding generics is partly real and partly manufactured,” said Anjeline Kyalo, a pharmacist at the Medchem retail chain. ‘And the originator companies are very good at keeping it alive.’

Policy gaps

Patients often perceive higher prices as an indicator of better quality, particularly in a system where most healthcare spending is out-of-pocket. This perception has sustained demand for more expensive branded medicines.

Vimal Patel, managing director of Cosmos Limited and chair of the Federation of Kenya Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, described this as a failure of both perception and policy.

‘A shift to local generics could reduce healthcare costs by more than half. We will not achieve universal health coverage with originals,’ said Dr Patel.

Market incentives further reinforce the trend. Retail pharmacies earn higher margins on imported branded medicines than on lower-cost generics. Industry figures show that although local manufacturers sell higher volumes, they account for only around 30 percent of the market by value, indicating that most revenue is generated by higher-priced imports.

At the same time, regulatory gaps have limited the uptake of generics. Although Kenya permits pharmacists to substitute prescribed brands with cheaper alternatives, this is not mandatory, and enforcement remains weak.

The government target set out in the Kenya Health Sector Strategic and Investment Plan 2013-2017 to achieve full generic prescribing was not met, and no binding legislation was enacted.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board reportedly has fewer than 40 inspectors to oversee thousands of pharmaceutical outlets nationwide, limiting its oversight capacity.

Wairimu Mbogo, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, said the issue extends beyond market dynamics to constitutional rights.

‘Article 43(1)(a) guarantees every Kenyan the highest attainable standard of health. If we compromise this, we are failing the public,’ said Dr Mbogo.

Supply strain

According to stakeholders, the absence of a legal framework mandating generic prescribing has left insurers with limited influence.

The Association of Kenya Insurers has called for legislation requiring doctors to prescribe by chemical name, noting that medicines account for around 45 percent of hospital bills and are a key driver of rising insurance premiums.

Supply issues in the public sector have compounded the problem. The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa), responsible for providing public hospitals with affordable generic medicines, has experienced repeated shortages, forcing patients to turn to branded options in private pharmacies.

Price differences between Kenya and other markets remain significant. Industry data shows some antibiotics are sold at several times international prices, while certain cancer drugs cost more than three times as much as in countries such as India.

Kamamia Wa Murichu, chairman of the Kenya Pharmaceutical Distributors Association, said pricing distortions and perceptions about quality continue to disadvantage patients.

‘Some Kenyans have been led to believe that expensive drugs are more authentic and of better quality. They do not realise they are being exploited.’

Unlike countries such as India, South Africa and Morocco, Kenya does not currently regulate retail medicine prices for essential drugs.

The country’s reliance on imports is a key structural factor. Local manufacturers supply around 30 percent of the pharmaceutical market, valued at more than $1 billion, while more than 70 percent of essential medicines are not produced domestically.

This dependence leaves Kenya vulnerable to exchange rate volatility, global supply chain disruptions and external pricing pressures.

Principal Secretary for Medical Services Ouma Oluga has acknowledged that reliance on imported medicines has left the country exposed to global shocks.

‘Kenya’s heavy reliance on imported medicines has left the country vulnerable to global supply disruptions. A stronger regulatory system is essential for both patient safety and economic growth,’ said Dr Oluga.

However, efforts to introduce mandatory generic prescribing and strengthen local manufacturing have faced delays due to resistance to policy changes and trade provisions that could extend exclusivity periods for branded drugs.

‘We are not protecting business interests. We are protecting public health,’ said Dr Mbogo.

The Kenya Meteorological Department has forecast above average rainfall across Kenya in the final weeks of April, warning of intense downpours in key agricultural zones.

In recent years, such forecasts signal disrupted flowering, increased disease pressure, and uneven yields, especially for coffee farmers.

Weather patterns are increasingly becoming less predictable. Seasons arrive earlier or later than expected, rainfall is more concentrated, and dry spells are more severe, reminding farmers that climate change is real and is increasingly reshaping how coffee is grown.

This is why the conversation around climate change in coffee needs to change. It is no longer sufficient to frame it as an environmental concern.

For farmers, it is a question of cost efficiency and operational sustainability. The key issue is how production systems can adapt without becoming prohibitively expensive.

Water management sits at the center of this challenge. Traditional irrigation methods, including flood and sprinkler systems, are increasingly difficult to justify in the context of rising input costs.

They tend to use more water than necessary and require significant energy to operate. As electricity prices rise and water becomes less predictable, these inefficiencies translate directly into higher production costs.

On the other hand, drip irrigation delivers water directly to the root zone of each plant through controlled, low-pressure systems.

Unlike conventional methods, it minimizes water loss through evaporation and runoff, ensuring that nearly every drop contributes to plant growth.

Studies show that drip irrigation can reduce water use by between 30 and 50 percent compared to traditional systems. For farms that depend on pumped water, this reduction also lowers electricity consumption, cutting energy costs in a meaningful way.

At the same time, more consistent water delivery improves performance. Farmers know that coffee is highly sensitive to moisture stress, especially during flowering and cherry development. Irregular water supply, whether due to delayed rains or over-saturation, can lead to poor fruit set and uneven maturation.

By stabilising water availability, drip irrigation helps maintain more uniform growth conditions, which in turn supports both yield and quality. This combination, lower input use and improved output, is what makes smart irrigation economically relevant.

In a productive environment where margins are tightening, reducing costs without sacrificing yields is critical. Smart irrigation does both. It allows farmers to produce more with less, while also reducing exposure to the risks associated with erratic weather. Yet adoption across Kenya remains limited.

The upfront cost of installing drip systems can be a barrier, particularly for smallholder farmers. There are also knowledge and maintenance considerations that require support.

However, when evaluated over time, the savings in water and energy, combined with yield improvements, make a strong case for investment.

This is where sector-wide coordination becomes important. If Kenya’s coffee industry is to remain competitive, greater emphasis must be placed on enabling farmers to adopt efficient technologies.

This could include targeted financing, extension services, and practical training focused on water management. The broader point is that coffee farming in Kenya is entering a more complex and cost-sensitive phase. Weather variability is increasing, input costs are rising, and production systems must evolve accordingly.

Continuing with inefficient practices is no longer sustainable, particularly for farmers already operating under tight margins.

The recent forecast of heavy rains is a reminder of how quickly conditions can shift. Whether the season turns out wetter or drier than expected, the underlying challenge remains the same: unpredictability.

In this environment, resilience is built through systems that can manage variability efficiently and at lower cost. And smart irrigation is one such system.

If the sector is serious about sustaining its recovery, then investment in technologies that reduce costs and stabilize production must be central to the future of coffee farming. Because in the end, the question not just how Kenya grows coffee, but how efficiently it can continue to do so in a changing climate.

Salary rises in 2025 surpassed inflation or cost of living measure for the first time in six years despite employers having offered workers a smaller pay increase.

Inflation-adjusted earnings or real wages – a barometer for measuring employees’ purchasing power- grew by 2.0 percent last year, marking the first time since 2020 that growth in workers’ earnings has surpassed the increase in consumer prices, says the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Workers’ real wages had fallen for five consecutive years, including a negative 0.3 percent in 2024.

The positive growth, however, masks the impact of increased statutory deductions-including contributions to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), housing levy and enhanced remittances to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) – that ate into employees’ payslips for the better part of last year.

This is because the KNBS uses gross income rather than take-home pay that hits workers’ accounts to compute real wages. However, much slower growth in consumer prices-the main factor that erodes the purchasing power of money-helped push real wages into positive territory for the first time since 2020.

The positive real wages came in a year when the economic growth slowed to 4.6 percent, little changed from 2024’s 4.7 percent, pulled down by reduced activity in the agriculture sector. The statistics office on Wednesday forecast GDP ?growth of 4.9 percent in 2026, but it said sub-Saharan Africa remained highly vulnerable to shocks caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

‘Real average earnings depicted a positive increase of 2.0 percent in 2025, in contrast to a decline of 0.3 per cent recorded in 2024,’ says the Economic Survey 2026, which was released on Wednesday by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi.

Consequently, a regularly paid worker, or wage employee, saw their monthly real earnings increase marginally to Sh56,566 last year from Sh55,450 in 2024.

The earnings are, however, still lower than in 2020, when they stood at Sh62,256. This means workers’ earnings have suffered an erosion of Sh5,690 compared to six years ago.

Public employees continued to bear the brunt of the high cost of living, with their real wages falling further to Sh50,041 last year from Sh51,191.67 in 2024.

Experts reckon that real wages turned positive mainly because inflation-the overall increase in prices of goods and services in the economy-fell faster relative to wages, not because wages surged.

In fact, nominal wages, or the money employees received in their bank accounts at the end of a working period, slowed by 3.5 percentage points, from 7.8 percent in 2024 to 4.3 percent in 2025. This shows employers remained reluctant to offer bigger pay rises.

Inflation, which is measured using a cost-of-living index known as the Consumer Price Index, eased significantly, rising at a much slower rate from 4.6 percent in 2024 to 3.8 percent in 2025. A sharp decline in inflation helped offset slower growth in average earnings among wage employees-those with a regular paycheck-boosting workers’ purchasing power as real wages turned positive.

‘The nominal growth rate is actually lower than the previous year, but because inflation has been coming down, it makes the real wage difference go up,’ said Ken Gichinga, the founder and chief economist at Mentoria Economics.

Inflation had touched a two-year high of 9.6 percent in October 2024 before it began to stabilise, following a combination of factors including favourable weather that brought down food prices and easing energy costs.

The decline in inflation has also been attributed to lower interest rates, following cuts by the Central Bank of Kenya, which reduced borrowing costs.

‘The government has also been mopping up excess money from the economy by floating bonds, which has stabilised inflation,’ said Dr Scholastica Odhiambo, an economics lecturer at Maseno University.

Dr Odhiambo, however, noted that these standardised macroeconomic numbers do not paint a true picture of employees’ purchasing power, as they do not take into account the impact of several statutory deductions on disposable income.

Instead, when computing real wages, sources at KNBS told the Business Daily that they use income reported by employers-or gross earnings-rather than what workers actually take home, or disposable income.

‘If you net off, it will not reflect the average earnings,’ said a source at KNBS.

This may have overstated the purchasing power of Kenyans in a year when they faced additional statutory deductions.

‘What was affected by the statutory deductions was disposable income, which still left households in a precarious position,’ added Dr Odhiambo, noting that the increased deductions pushed some employers to breach the one-third rule.

Contributions to SHIF have seen workers whose salaries range from Sh100,000 to Sh1 million part with an additional Sh1,050 to Sh25,800 for the State-backed insurance, making it the second-largest payslip deduction after personal income tax.

These additional deductions, together with the rise in NSSF contributions-from as low as Sh200 to up to Sh4,320 per month under the new rates-and the introduction of a 1.5 percent housing levy on gross pay from July 2023, have significantly cut workers’ take-home pay.

Mr Gichinga also noted that in some sectors such as banking and telecommunications, which have been extremely profitable, there has been substantial growth in earnings that could have skewed the average.

‘In such industries, the lower cadres have also been replaced by technology,’ said Mr Gichinga, noting that reporting median earnings, as is done in the US, would have given a more accurate picture.

‘My main concern is that we are witnessing widening inequality in our economy.’

The reprieve of positive real wage earnings is less likely to extend to 2026 as the economy starts to feel the impact of the Middle East crisis, which is pushing up prices of fuel and fertiliser as the Strait of Hormuz-a passage through which a fifth of the global fuel supply transits-remains disrupted.

Fuel prices, which carry significant weight in the computation of inflation, have risen sharply in the latest pricing cycle due to supply shocks emanating from the war involving Iran, the US and Israel.

Consequently, inflation in April rose sharply by 1.2 percentage points to 5.6 percent from 4.4 percent in March, reflecting higher fuel prices, according to the latest report by KNBS.

Higher fuel prices have had an immediate knock-on effect on transport costs, with boda boda fares increasing by 6.1 percent. County bus and matatu fares for inter-town travel rose by 9.7 percent, while city bus and matatu fares within towns and surrounding areas increased by 7.1 percent.

Positive growth in real wages also came during a period of slightly weaker economic growth of 4.6 percent compared to 4.7 percent in 2024.

‘A lower inflation rate also points to very weak demand in the economy,’ said Mr Gichinga.

President William Ruto’s government has cited stable inflation and exchange rates as some of its key achievements, noting that they have laid a sound macroeconomic foundation for growth.

However, the fallout from the Middle East crisis threatens to disrupt his administration’s plans as the country heads into a General Election year.

The World Bank has downgraded Kenya’s growth forecast to 4.4 percent from 4.9 percent for 2026, weakening the economy’s ability to generate jobs and pay higher salaries, even as inflation is expected to eat into workers’ earnings.

Workers are betting on President William Ruto increasing the minimum wage on Friday in line with the trend that has seen the State raise salaries every two years.

Kenya last increased minimum wages in 2023 after a two-year lull and unions expect the raise to happen this year to cover rising inflation.

In 2024, the average minimum wage rose six percent after a 12 percent rise in 2021, in line with the two-year cycle.

Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary General Francis Atwoli reckons that workers want a 23 percent increase in minimum wages, citing high living costs.

This comes in a year when workers on average saw their salary increases overtake inflation for the first time in six years on account of a drop in the cost of living measure.

Inflation-adjusted real wages in Kenya rose to two percent compared to a negative 0.3 percent in 2024. This improved because average inflation dropped to 3.8 percent last year compared to 4.6 percent in 2024. Salary rises increases slowed to 0 4.3 percent compared to 7.8 percent in the year under review.

‘Right now, we are negotiating for a salary increase and we are hopeful that the President will increase salaries during this year’s Labour Day,’ Mr Atwoli said.

In Nairobi, the minimum wage for househelps is Sh16,113, night watchmen (Sh17,976), drivers (21,748), clerks (Sh24,818) and Sh36,330 for a cashier.

Enforcing the minimum wage has, however, been problematic to the government despite the law having a jail term of up to two years for those in breach or a fine of Sh100,000 for each case.

Employers have previously opposed the minimum wage increases.

The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) said workers’ compensation to cover inflation will resume when productivity starts growing faster than the cost-of-living measure.

The employers’ lobby said productivity in Kenya was ‘not just low, but is actually decreasing.’

Cotu says changes in Kenya’s labour market are suppressing wage growth.

The rise of casual and informal employment, he noted, is undermining job security and making it harder for workers to achieve stable and predictable incomes.

Over 83 percent of the 824,100 new jobs added in the economy last year were in the informal sector.

Kenya’s electronic waste rose to a record high in 2025, raising the alarm over mounting environmental and health risks from discarded devices such as mobile phones, kettles and printers.

New data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that total e-waste generation jumped by 4.5 percent to 55,956 metric tons last year, up from 53,559 metric tons in 2024.

This extended a steady upward trend from 48,461 tonnes in 2021.

The largest share of last year’s waste came from small household and consumer equipment such as microwave ovens, electric kettles, radios, toys and medical devices, which rose by 11.2 percent to 21,942 tonnes.

These were followed by temperature-exchange equipment such as refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners at 10,996 tonnes. Small IT and telecommunications equipment like mobile phones, computers, routers and printers were the country’s third-largest e-waste contributor at 6,608 tonnes.

The development raises concern about exposure to toxic chemicals from electronic waste, which, when improperly disposed of, releases toxic substances into the soil, water and air. These toxins have been linked to cancer and other health hazards.

‘The total e-waste generated increased by 4.5 percent to 55,956 metric tons in 2025…electronic waste from small equipment increased by 11.2 percent to 21,942 metric tons in 2025,’ KNBS said in its Economic Survey 2026.

E-waste refers to discarded electrical or electronic products that are obsolete, broken or no longer wanted. Analysts link the rise to increasing uptake of electronics, shorter product lifecycles and limited repair options, which are accelerating disposal rates.

Improper handling of such waste poses significant environmental and health risks. Burning or chemically processing discarded electronics, for instance, can release up to 1,000 toxic substances into the environment, including lead, mercury, cadmium and flame retardants, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Exposure to these materials has been associated with cancer, respiratory illnesses like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, birth defects, spontaneous abortions, and reduced intelligence quotient (IQ) in children.

Kenya’s e-waste challenge is compounded by the country’s heavy reliance on electronics imports.

About 70 percent of electronic equipment used in the country is imported, much of it second-hand or nearing the end of its lifespan.

The old electronics ride on the favourable pricing to grow market share. Most are refurbished goods from markets such as the US and the UK, and others arrive under the guise of donations, only to quickly become waste.

Yet despite the rapid turnover of digital devices, Kenya’s recycling capacity remains limited.

Estimates by the ICT Authority indicate that less than five percent of the country’s e-waste is formally collected and processed through safe recycling channels, leaving the bulk to informal handlers.

The government recently moved to restrict the importation of electronics older than 12 years, unless destined for approved refurbishment facilities or museums.

Proposed regulations published in November also classify equipment as waste if it remains unused for over a year, fails functionality tests or is too costly to repair.

The measures aim to align Kenya with stricter global standards. Rwanda in 2016 banned computers older than eight years and refrigerators older than 10 years, leading to a sharp decline in non-functional imports from 45 percent in 2015 to 18 percent by 2020, according to UNEP.

In Europe, Switzerland was the first country to establish a formal e-waste management system with a mandatory system where producers and retailers take back electronics, while in Asia, Japan is known for its advanced recycling and a law that mandates the recovery of precious materials from electronics.

Over the years, as demand for perfumes has risen, getting your favourite scent as become as easy as walking into any one of the hundreds of cosmestic shops in Nairobi’s city centre.

New shops are now opening, promising a different experience. It is not the kind of shopping you stumble into.

An appointment is booked in advance. The pace is unhurried. There are no glass counters crowded with dozens of bottles, no aggressive sales pitches. Instead, a consultant guides you through a curated selection of scents, some rare, some limited, many unfamiliar. The process is as much about discovery as it is about purchase.

‘This is a niche category,’ says David Oremo, General Manager at Maven Luxury, a Kenyan distributor and retailer of luxury fragrances in East Africa. ‘This is where you find the real exclusivity. It is not for the mass market,’ he emphasises.

For a growing number of well to do Kenyan women, this is how perfume is now bought.

Niche perfume houses, such as Maven Luxury, are taking up prime space in the city, eyeing the growing circle of wealthy C-suite executives and urban business women. For these women, David says, price as high as Sh500,000 are nothing to raise eyebrows about.

This shift toward slower, more deliberate consumption is quietly reshaping Kenya’s fragrance market, with women at the centre of the change. What was once a largely functional purchase, smelling good, has evolved into something more expressive: identity and status.

‘Fragrance is very personal. At the end of the day, it has to smell right to you,’ says Peter Gitau, a brand lead at Cierra Perfumes. ‘But at the top end, it is also about the story, the craft, and what that scent says about you.’

From mass to meaning

David says the fragrance market is layered. At the base are what industry players describe as ‘consumability’ fragrances, basically widely recognised brands retailing between Sh2,000 and Sh8,000. These include sports and celebrity labels, designed for accessibility and broad appeal.

Above that sits the ‘affordable luxury’ tier, ranging from about Sh8,000 to Sh20,000, where consumers begin to seek stronger identity and differentiation without stepping fully into high-end territory.

But it is the tier above, niche perfumery, that is drawing increasing attention, particularly among affluent, urban women.

Here, prices start at around Sh20,000 and climb steeply. Unlike designer fragrances built for scale, David says niche houses operate on the opposite logic: limited production, rare ingredients, and minimal visibility.

‘These are not mass-market products,’ says David. ‘If you know them, you know them. The appeal is in rarity, craftsmanship, and controlled supply.’

Brands in this category-such as Parfums de Marly, Xerjoff, Nishane and Roja-rarely rely on billboard campaigns or influencer marketing. Some releases are produced in small quantities, reinforcing both scarcity and desirability.

The experience economy of scent

But that exclusivity extends beyond the product itself to how it is sold.

Rather than walk-in purchases, many high-end customers are served through appointments. The idea is to slow down the buying process, allowing for deeper engagement with the product.

‘The appointment helps clients understand the uniqueness of the scents and build a relationship with the brand,’ David explains. ‘It is about curation. Luxury is always in the curation of the experience.’

According to Joe Simon Zakour, marketing director at L’Oréal Luxe Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya ranks among the top three consumers of luxury perfumes on the continent, alongside Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

‘Fragrance is the fastest-growing category in Africa’s luxury beauty market,’ he notes, accounting for roughly 80 percent of the segment.

Why women are leading

While men are present in the high-end fragrance space, industry players say women are driving the momentum. Part of this is behavioural. Women tend to rotate scents more frequently, treating fragrance as an extension of mood, occasion, or personal style.

But there is also a deeper shift at play, one tied to exposure and evolving tastes.

‘Kenyans are very well travelled and informed,’ says David. ‘They already know these brands. That exposure creates a desire for individuality.’

In a market where many mainstream fragrances can feel interchangeable, niche perfumes offer something different: a more personal, less predictable olfactory identity.

That distinction, he says, matters, particularly for consumers seeking to stand apart.

‘If I tell you I’m wearing a Roja or Xerjoff, and you understand that world, it signals something immediately,’ David adds. ‘It’s not just about smelling good. It’s about what that choice represents.’

Niche perfumery also differentiates itself through formulation.

Unlike designer brands, where fragrance is often one of many product lines, niche houses are singularly focused. This allows for deeper investment in research, ingredient sourcing, and composition.

‘They use high-quality, often rare raw materials to create more complex scents,’ Peter explains. ‘For them, fragrance is the core business, not an extension of something else.’

A market in transition

The growth of Kenya’s luxury fragrance segment is also being shaped by a younger working demographic.

These consumers may not yet be buying into the highest tier, but they are increasingly active in the affordable luxury range, and moving upwards.

‘This is someone who has just gotten a promotion, is more exposed, and wants to reflect that change,’ Davud says. ‘They are intentional about how they present themselves.’

At the same time, competition is intensifying.

Arabian fragrance houses, once seen as budget alternatives, are gaining ground with bold compositions and more accessible pricing.

Their rise is reshaping consumer expectations and challenging traditional European dominance.

Still, at the very top of the market, the logic remains consistent.

‘The goal is not just to smell good,’ David says. ‘It is to stand apart.’

And for a growing number of Kenyan women, that distinction is worth every shilling.

Microfinance lender Platinum Credit has been ordered to pay a mobile subscriber Sh400,000 for repeatedly sending unsolicited promotional messages and calls without his consent.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) said the digital credit provider was found liable after Samuel Waweru filed a complaint on November 27, last, accusing the firm of persistently contacting him with loan advertisements without his knowledge or authorisation.

The ODPC found Platinum Credit in violation of Article 31 of the Constitution, which protects the right to privacy, as well as several provisions of the Data Protection Act governing the lawful processing of personal data.

‘The Respondent is hereby ordered to pay the Complainant Sh400,000 as compensation; an enforcement notice is hereby issued to the Respondent,’ Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait said in her determination.

The ODPC also recommended the prosecution of Platinum Credit’s directors for providing ‘false or misleading’ information to the regulator during the investigation.

‘A recommendation for prosecution is hereby made against the Respondent’s directors for furnishing to the Data Commissioner information which they knew to be false or misleading, an offence under Section 57(3) as read with Section 73 of the Act,’ Ms Kassait said.

The directors could face penalties of up to Sh3 million or jail terms of up to 10 years, or both.

Kenyan mobile phone users have recently raised concerns over a surge in spam and unsolicited trivia alerts, quizzes, motivational quotes, betting platform notifications and digital lending offers.

Last month, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) acknowledged the rising anger, calling the matter a priority.

‘We have also noted consumer frustration over spam messages, unsolicited subscriptions, unauthorised use of phone numbers and unauthorised premium services,’ the CA said in a statement.

‘These concerns are a priority for the Authority.’

As per the Data Protection Act, data controllers must only send direct marketing messages if they collected the customer’s data legally, notified them that marketing is a purpose of collection, obtained consent, and provided a working opt-out mechanism.

The law also requires marketers to include clear contact information through which consumers can request that the communications stop, without incurring charges.

Consumers also have the right to ask a data controller not to process their data for all or part of a specific purpose, including direct marketing.

‘A data subject may request a data controller or data processor not to process all or part of their personal data, for a specified purpose or in a specified manner, such as direct marketing purposes,’ the Act states.

An aggrieved mobile subscriber can complain to the ODPC through an online submission, and the ODPC investigates within 90 days.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has ordered Goodtimes Africa, the company behind the popular Blankets and Wine events, to pay Sh300,000 in compensation for unlawfully using a woman’s image in promotional materials without her consent.

In a determination dated April 8, Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait found the company liable for violating the Data Protection Act, 2019.

The complaint, filed in December 2025 by Antonate Rombo Aiko, centred on the use of her image in advertisements for the ‘Blankets and Wine Tupatane Onja Onja Summer Events 2025’ across the organiser’s social media platforms.

Aiko argued that the use of her likeness falsely implied endorsement, harmed her professional reputation, and denied her the opportunity to commercially license her image.

Goodtimes Africa, through its lawyers, maintained that consent had been obtained via terms and conditions issued to event attendees, and that any alleged infringement was neither ongoing nor intended for improper commercial gain.

However, the ODPC found that while the respondent relied on general event terms, it failed to demonstrate that the complainant had given express, specific, and informed consent for her image to be used in advertising and promotional content.

‘The Respondent has not demonstrated that such consent specifically extended to the use of the Complainant’s image for commercial advertising and promotional purposes,’ the determination states.

The regulator held that the use of Aiko’s image to promote a revenue-generating event amounted to commercial processing of personal data, which requires clear, express and provable consent under the law.

The ODPC further noted there was no evidence that the complainant was informed her image would be used in marketing materials or that she took any affirmative action to approve such use.

The fallout from two months of war in Iran has stopped the bull run at the Nairobi bourse, helped shrink Kenya’s foreign currency reserves and ushered in increases in cost of items from petrol to fertilisers and freight.

Disruptions to shipping routes linked to Iran have left millions of kilogrammes of tea stuck in warehouses in Mombasa, threatening export earnings and farmer incomes.

In just eight weeks – less time than it takes to finish a school term- the Kenyan economic outlook has been knocked sideways.

The World Bank has downgraded Kenya’s growth forecast to 4.4 percent from 4.9 percent for 2026, weakening the economy’s ability to generate jobs and pay higher salaries as inflation is expected to eat into workers’ earnings.

The worst economic pain will be felt in poor countries like Kenya, where consumers cannot afford higher energy prices, and governments cannot afford to provide aid or subsidies for prolonged periods to offset the costs.

And as financing tightens, the cost of desperately needed borrowing for these countries increases.

The loss of some 20 percent of the world’s energy supplies in the wake of the war, which has seen Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure has already been called the ‘greatest global energy security threat in history’ by the International Energy Agency.

In the April-May fuel price review, Kenya raised petrol and diesel prices by Sh19.32 and Sh30.09, respectively, to Sh197.60 and Sh196.63, reflecting the impact of the higher global crude prices.

Besides higher pump prices, Kenya is also facing disruptions in remittances from the Middle East, impaired exports and imports to and from the region, and volatility for the shilling and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Kenya carries out trade worth Sh700 billion with the Gulf, while remittances from the region account for about 10 percent of the annual flows of $5.1 billion.

Kenya’s exposure to these global geopolitical shocks has now forced the Treasury to seek emergency funding of $300 million (Sh38.8 billion) from the World Bank to cushion the economy.

Food production will be damaged by fertiliser shortages, which will lead to further inflation on costly meals. Fertiliser costs have nearly doubled weeks into the war.

In the financial markets, the war has nudged the shilling into increased volatility.

In early April, the shilling slipped to the 130 level against the dollar for the first time since August 2024, but it has now regained some ground to trade at Sh129.27 to the greenback.

At the Nairobi bourse, investor wealth has grown 0.5 percent or Sh17 billion since the war began, compared to a growth of Sh453.5 billion or 15.3 billion in the first two months of the year.

The slower growth in March and April came despite the listing of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) on March 11, which added Sh166 billion in new value to the bourse.

Excluding KPC, the market dipped 4.4 percent.