Category: Business Daily

Attend any fintech conference or read the latest report about trade financing gaps in developing economies including Kenya and you will notice that the debate is about the same wall: Micro, small and medium enterprises’ struggle to access affordable credit.

We love to point fingers at both our mainstream and alternative financial systems. We accuse commercial banks of being risk-averse, elitist, and detached from the realities of informal trade. We accuse fintechs of predatory lending.

But spend some time analysing and working within the financial ecosystem and you will come to a humbling realisation: while systemic gaps exist, the biggest bottleneck to MSME financing is not always bank rigidity or risk over pricing by fintechs. It is a deficit of institutional structure.

Available estimates indicate that only 1.56 million out of over 7.4 million Kenyan MSMEs are officially licensed or registered.

Globally, no lenders including more risk tolerant fintechs lend on grit, good intentions, or historical hustle. They lend on transparency, predictability, and risk mitigation. Until our MSMEs bridge that psychological and operational divide, any form of timely, affordable and sustainable credit will remain out of reach.

The typical Kenyan enterprise is born out of brilliant survival instincts. When an MSMEs is fighting to put food on the table, any form of governance and financial record keeping can feel like an expensive luxury.

Consequently, millions of businesses operate out of a back pocket. Revenues flow into the same mobile money account used to buy food and pay school fees. Bookkeeping lives in a physical counter book or, worse, entirely in the business owner’s head.

To an owner, this agility is strength. But to a bank’s credit manager or a fintech’s AI powered credit scoring algorithm, this looks like a big black box. With no or weak financial records and no clear legal boundary between the owner and the business, the risk is unquantifiable.

Hence when the loan application lands at the bank or fintech, it is rejected or risk priced so aggressively through short-term, expensive credit facilities that they choke the business anyway.

If we want to move from begging for micro-loans to negotiating growth capital, MSMEs must drive a deliberate culture shift towards formalising and professionalising their businesses. Professionalisation is not about renting a fancy office or rolling out the latest tech platform; it is about institutional hygiene.

First, MSMEs must stop combining personal and business funds. They should open a dedicated business account, route every single shilling through it, and adopt digital tools that generate clean, verifiable cash flow records.

Second, MSMEs must stop viewing tax and business registration and subsequent compliance as unnecessary bureaucracies.

Formalisation is their armor. It transforms their businesses from temporary hustles into legally recognisable counterparties that capital providers can legally partner with. Furthermore, tax registration enables businesses to benefit from tax deduction of expenses incurred in generation of taxable income.

Third, MSMEs must build a baseline management structure to avoid every single business decision requiring their personal thumbprint.

Doing so proves to investors that the business can survive and thrive beyond its owner.

Of course, the burden of culture shift cannot rest solely on the MSMEs navigating our ever challenging macroeconomic environment. The financial sector must continue to evolve past rigid, legacy credit appraisal models designed for businesses and individuals with regular and structured incomes.

We need more relationship-driven credit assessment, innovative productive or purpose driven financing, and embedded financial tools that meet micro-entrepreneurs where they are. Institutions like Juhudi Kilimo are already putting this into practice through asset-financing models built specifically for rural realities.

Kenya’s economic future won’t be secured by wishful thinking; it will be built by millions of MSMEs brave enough to step out of the shadows of informality. When we treat professionalization not as a bureaucratic chore, but as the master key to institutional scale, we stop chasing survival and start building legacies.

The amount of money sent home by Kenyans living and working in the United States dropped by nearly Sh22 billion in the first half of 2026, as the fallout from President Donald Trump’s tax policies and the economic shocks of the Iran conflict took its toll.

New Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows remittances from the US fell 12.6 percent to $1.178 billion (Sh152.50 billion) in the six months to June 2026, down from $1.348 billion (Sh174.50 billion) a year earlier.

This was the sharpest decline since Kenya began publishing remittance data by country.

The decline wiped out $169.5 million (Sh21.94 billion) from Kenya’s biggest source of diaspora cash and pushed US inflows to their lowest first-half level since 2021.

The US fall was more than twice the $76.4 million (Sh9.9 billion) decline recorded in Kenya’s total diaspora remittances, underlining America’s outsized role in the first-half contraction.

This means the US accounted for more than the entire drop in remittances, with stronger inflows from other countries such as the UAE, the UK and Australia cushioning what would otherwise have been a much steeper decline in money sent home.

The double-digit retreat pushed America’s share of Kenya’s total remittances to 48.24 percent from 53.51 percent a year earlier, taking its contribution below the 50 percent mark for the first time in the seven years since the CBK started making such data public in 2019.

The US had accounted for between 50.74 percent and 58.63 percent of Kenya’s first-half diaspora earnings in each of the previous six years, with its share peaking at 58.63 percent in 2022.

Overall diaspora remittances fell 3.03 percent to $2.442 billion (Sh315.75 billion) in the six months to June from $2.518 billion (Sh325.58 billion) a year earlier.

The decline marked the sharpest January-to-June contraction since the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, when widespread job losses across advanced economies cut remittances to Kenya by 11.4 percent in 2009.

The latest slowdown came in the wake of the Iran war, which disrupted economic activity across the Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, where thousands of Kenyans work, while fuelling inflation and slowing growth in major economies like the US.

The slide also coincided with the introduction of a one percent US tax on money sent abroad and tighter labour policies in Saudi Arabia, adding pressure to two important sources of Kenya’s diaspora earnings.

The new US levy took effect on January 1, raising the cost of transferring money for millions of migrants, including Kenyans working in America.

Read: Trump levy cuts US remittances to five-year low

Before the tax took effect, Shem Ochuodho, global chairman of the Kenya Diaspora Alliance and president of the Africa Diaspora Alliance, warned that higher transfer costs could push some Kenyans towards alternative channels.

‘This may push the Kenyan diaspora in the US to alternative channels. Remember tax evasion is illegal, but tax avoidance is not,’ he said.

‘So some people will likely move to cryptocurrencies-and the world is moving towards that direction.’

The first-half figures show the deterioration accelerated as the year progressed, suggesting global shocks intensified after the conflict in the Middle East deepened.

Isuzu East Africa booked revenues of Sh1.49 billion from the sale of 159 units of the Kipchoge Limited Edition D-Max pick-up whose production has ended after 40 months.

It marks the most successful and quantifiable product marketing built on a celebrity endorsement in the Kenyan market.

Sales of the pick-ups started in May 2023, with the units priced at a premium of Sh9.4 million though they pack more safety and luxury features than the standard D-Max models.

Isuzu said the special pick-ups were produced to honour its brand ambassador Eliud Kipchoge who has inspired millions through his marathon feats.

Besides the marathons he has won in his career, Mr Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours in October 2019 in Vienna in what was a non-official record.

He finished the marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 40.2 seconds, inspiring the production limit of 159 units of the pick-ups bearing his signature.

‘We thought this is the best way to honour Eliud Kipchoge and we are grateful to our shareholders for supporting us in this project,’ Isuzu’s chief executive Rita Kavashe said when the pick-ups were launched.

The company last week brought together buyers of the pick-ups after hitting the target of 159 units, with data from the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMI) showing that 13 units were sold in the seven months to July as the project came to a close.

The limited edition pick-ups are expected to increase Isuzu’s brand visibility in the core commercial vehicle segment, which it also serves through sale of buses and trucks.

The company’s major clients include the government, manufacturers, traders, schools, construction firms and public transport operators. The company is also keen on attracting individual buyers to the Isuzu mu-X, a sport utility vehicle (SUV).

The Kipchoge-branded pick-ups were assembled at the dealer’s plant in Nairobi. This is the first time a custom-built edition model of a vehicle has been produced by a Kenyan dealer.

Global automakers occasionally produce limited editions of their models for various reasons, including to mark anniversaries or events of a famous person associated with the brand.

Limited edition models are typically priced higher than the standard ones.

Manufacturers of ultra-luxury and high-performance cars, which target a relatively smaller group of wealthy buyers, are the most frequent producers of limited edition models.

Audi AG and Toyota Motor Corporation are among the automakers that have announced limited edition models for 2026. Buyers seeking to own distinct models are the main targets of the one-off production vehicles, with some becoming collectors of the rare units.

This week the national carrier announced yet another leadership transition. An acting chief executive stepping down, the company secretary stepping up in an acting capacity, a substantive search promised.

Our founders’ forum lit up. One member traced the cycles of which discipline gets the corner office: legal ruled once, gave way to finance, marketing and operations, and now returns. Another argued the business needs start-up energy at the top, not a steady hand.

This column is not about the airline. It is about the mirror it holds up to every founder and custodian. I kept asking the founder’s question: if I owned this business, how would I have managed this transition? The founder in this case is a government, whose shareholders change with every election.

The questions underneath face every builder. When do you know it is time to exit? And who is the right person for the season the business is actually in?

Leaders almost never leave too early. We leave too late. The cruellest part: the person overstaying was once the best tool the enterprise had.

Yesterday’s best tool becomes today’s wrong tool without changing at all. The business changed. Fit for purpose is a moving target, and the occupant of the seat is usually the last person invited to notice.

Call it the overstay tax. It is the price an enterprise pays for every season a leader remains past usefulness. Decisions slow because everything still routes through one desk. Successors stall because the seat they were promised never empties.

Strategy calcifies around the last good idea, defended now as doctrine. The invoice never carries the leader’s name, which is why the leader rarely sees it.

So how do you know? The operating system this column keeps returning to offers five mirrors.

Strategically: Can I still think and execute at the level this business now demands? Capacity thins. Decision quality dips. Health intervenes without asking permission. Sometimes the leader’s own reputation becomes a risk the balance sheet can no longer carry.

In mindset: Am I governing today’s business with the software of old victories? Past success is the most convincing liar a founder ever meets because it was once true.

Emotionally: Who is making my decisions, my judgment or my fatigue, my fear or my grievance?

Socially: Have the founder and the business become one person? When every room addresses you as the company, letting go stops feeling like a transition and starts feeling like social death.

Spiritually: Is this still a mission, or has it quietly become a throne? The seat answers to different gods than the calling did.

Then comes the court, because no leader overstays alone. Around every past-date founder stands a circle with excellent reasons to say nothing. Advisers whose relevance retires the day you do.

Board members who benefit from proximity and have learned that truth is career-limiting. Family whose income, and pride, ride on your remaining. Everyone knows the limit has been reached. Everyone is paid, in money or reputation, not to say it. The louder your cheerleaders, the later your exit.

The elders say that when the music changes, so does the dance. A business changes its music every few seasons, and either the dancer changes or the dancer must be changed.

Even the choice of successor is a season question. A lawyer’s order suits one chapter, an engineer’s invention another, and a turnaround calls for founder energy that no title guarantees. The discipline on the CV matters less than whether its music matches the company’s current song.

The paradox does not resolve. Leave too early and the enterprise can lose its fire before the creed has set. Leave too late and it loses its future while applauding you politely. Sometimes the honest answer is not to leave but to pivot: to change seats before the company must change you.

Which brings us to a board meeting no founder ever schedules. One attendee, one agenda item, both of them you. Hold it anyway, once a year, before the market, the board or the ballot convenes it for you. An exit is either an act of leadership or an act of nature. The first you design.

The second is done to you, late, expensively and in public.

The last thing a founder builds is the door he leaves through.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) rejected Sh20.4 billion offered by investors in the two reopened September bonds as it sought to keep a lid on the government’s borrowing costs in a highly liquid market.

The State’s fiscal agent accepted Sh47.7 billion out of the Sh68.1 billion offered by investors, some of whom are looking to reinvest funds received from maturities and coupon payments worth Sh172.9 billion last month.

The CBK was looking to raise Sh60 billion from the reopened 15-year and 30-year bonds which have 7.9 and 14.4 years left to maturity respectively.

Investors bid Sh57.1 billion on the 15-year paper, seeking average returns of 12.8290 percent incorporating a discount on the bond’s coupon or fixed interest rate of 12.34 percent.

The CBK rejected Sh15.96 billion of the offers, accepting Sh41.13 billion from which investors will earn returns of 12.7631 percent.

‘It’s a cost management approach and also a way of restructuring because we have seen most of the papers that are being issued are long-term papers, which are not less than six years,’ said Shadrack Manyinsa, a research analyst at Pergamon Investment Bank.

‘So, it’s a debt management issue where we are seeing the government trying to manage short-term obligations while pushing maturities ahead,’ said Shadrack Manyinsa, a research analyst at Pergamon Investment Bank.

The 30-year security was largely snubbed, receiving bids of Sh11.09 billion at an average rate of 13.7991 percent against the paper’s coupon of 12 percent.

Only Sh6.6 billion was accepted at a rate of 13.6937 percent, contributing to the underperformance of the auction.

Analysts say the longer-dated bond was not attractive to investors as it features a lower coupon rate and carries more future price risk compared to the 15-year security.

‘We didn’t expect much attention on the 30-year reopened bond just because it’s a long-term paper and the coupon is quite low,’ Mr Manyinsa said.

The lower coupon on the longer bond saw investors get a larger discount, lifting their returns to 13.6937 percent.

Investors in this paper will pay Sh90.3598 per Sh100. Those who went for the shorter security paid close to full price at Sh99.5615 per Sh100.

The state’s rejection comes at a time when it has no pressure to take new cash as it has no maturities during the month and it is running ahead of its domestic borrowing target.

The state’s net domestic borrowing in July and August stood at Sh406 billion against the full year fiscal year target of Sh987.4 billion. This means that the National Treasury has already tapped 41.11 percent of its annual domestic target easing pressure on it to take in additional cash.

The state mainly borrows from the domestic market through Treasury bonds, with a smaller share coming from Treasury bills and overdrafts from commercial banks and the CBK.

CBK efforts of keeping interest rates low have started bearing fruit with private sector credit growth touching double digits for the first time in two years in June at 10.28 percent. CBK has been aggressive in lowering interest rates in the market so as to spur lending to the productive private sector.

Looking forward, interest rates will be on the upside given prices of goods as reflected by inflation rates have been on the rise in the last three months which will be compounded by low food harvest reported in Kenya’s productive regions.

Business Daily.

Sources said this tussle prompted the airline to revert to a tender system to recruit a strategic investor, further delaying the turnaround plans.

Consultancy firm KPMG was picked to prepare an investment memorandum to guide the tender, with the KQ board approving the document.

The international tender for a strategic investor is, however, yet to be floated nearly seven months after the earlier investment offer was scuttled.

KQ board chairman Kiprono Kitonny said the tender plans remain on course and denied claims of fallouts over the strategic investment following Mr Kamal’s abrupt exit.

‘We are all on the same page. We have the investor memorandum that has been done by KPMG, and now we’re in the process of appointing a transaction advisor,’ Mr Kittony told the Business Daily, adding that the open tendering process is the ideal situation since KQ is a publicly listed company.

KQ has been searching for a strategic investor for years, with the latest push coming as the airline grapples with mounting financial pressures and negative equity. The carrier posted a Sh17.2 billion net loss in 2025, reversing a Sh5.4 billion profit a year earlier, while its first-half loss widened further to Sh16.1 billion in 2026.

The plan has also evolved from a search for a single cash investor into a broader exercise that could involve different forms of capital and strategic support.

President William Ruto’s government had previously sought a strategic investor for its 48.9 percent stake in KQ. In December 2022, Dr Ruto met executives of Delta Air Lines in Washington, amid efforts to attract the US carrier as a potential strategic investor. The discussions crumbled as the carrier explored a merger with South African Airways, which also failed to materialise.

Former CEO Allan Kilavuka subsequently continued the search. In August 2024, he said KQ was close to concluding negotiations with a potential investor, although the talks did not result in an investment.

The latest capital target has grown from an initial $500 million (Sh65 billion) to roughly $1.2 billion (Sh155 billion), reflecting the scale of the airline’s balance sheet and fleet requirements. The Treasury has said the strategic investor is expected to provide capital and help strengthen the airline as the government seeks to reduce the burden of supporting the carrier.

Mr Kamal disclosed in March that KQ was already talking to at least four potential strategic investors and was open to bringing in more than one investor rather than relying on a single partner.

In an interview with NTV last week, he said interest had increased after an initial investor emerged in January.

‘Up to March, we had only one investor, and we thought that was a single source, but after that investors started to come one after the other,’ he said.

This followed the reconstitution of KQ’s board, which saw Mr Kittony appointed chairman and the addition of David Ndii, Chris Diaz and Winnie Nyamute as directors.

Mr Kamal told Business Daily that one of the investors had offered the airline airplanes in exchange for equity, while another was offering cash, and another debt that is convertible to equity. He said the airline was open to all of them.

His abrupt departure now leaves the board to oversee the next stage of a process that KQ says remains on course.

Read: Kamal pushed out of KQ after 8 months

Mr Kamal denied that his resignation was linked to the investor search.

He told the Business Daily that he was leaving because of a personal matter that required him to take a leave of absence and return home.

Traders of gym apparel and specialised running footwear report rising demand from recreational runners, gym enthusiasts and consumers embracing athleisure as a fashionable everyday choice.

Kenya’s wellness craze is also proving irresistible to multinational sportswear brands such as Anta, a Chinese sportswear manufacturer, Nike, Puma and Adidas, which have deepened their presence in Nairobi.

“We have seen tremendous growth,” says Caroline, the founder and director of Gerry Running Shoes, adding that Kenyans now seek out renowned brands such as Oc, Asics, Nike, Hoka, Brooks, and Mizuno.

For budget-conscious consumers, cheaper brands offer an entry point. Others, however, are willing to spare no expense for premium footwear and apparel.

The retailer says imported footwear attracts a raft of costs, including import duty, VAT, railway development levy, import

declaration fees, shipping and clearing charges, all of which ultimately influence retail prices.

Original shoe brands cost as high as Sh60,000, however, what is ailing legit sellers is the influx of knock-off.

“The biggest challenge we face is counterfeits. Customers sometimes struggle to distinguish genuine shoes from fake ones, yet quality running shoes are designed to reduce the risk of injury.”

3,000 pieces monthtly

Benson Muchiri, proprietor of BND Fashion and Fitwear, has also had to increase his imports to cater for the growing demand.

In 2023, he says, he used to bring about 900 pieces of athleisure wear a month, but this year he increased to 3,000 pieces monthly.

‘ I’ve seen a 30 per cent growth over the last two years,’ he says. “Fitness is now so ingrained in people’s lifestyle. Others are running, joining gyms and becoming more fitness-conscious.’

Some entrepreneurs have set up physical shops, but many say social media has become their biggest sales driver, helping them reach customers beyond their immediate neighbourhoods.

“More than 90 percent of our sales come through social media,” says Benson, adding that consumers are increasingly influenced by fitness creators and international fashion trends.

He mostly sources from Asia, particularly Thailand and Vietnam, while some items are manufactured locally.

Like many import-dependent businesses, he is grappling with rising import costs and changing policies.

“Regulations keep changing, so the cost of importing today is different from tomorrow,” he says.

Becoming an activewear founder

For Ruth Akinyi, the opportunity in Kenya’s growing fitness market started with a problem she experienced.

The certified personal trainer and teacher by profession founded Adore Active after struggling to find gym wear that could offer both a good fit and style. One pair of leggings she bought kept sliding down during squat exercises and became loose after a single wash, pushing her to create her own activewear brand.

‘I wanted to create a brand that solves these issues and empowers women to feel confident, supported and stylish, both in the gym and when running their daily errands,’ Ruth says.

Since then, she says the market has changed significantly, with more Kenyans warming up to local activewear brands. ‘Activewear is no longer just for the gym. Women have embraced it as an everyday fashion,’ she says.

Rught says Adore Active initially catered mainly to dedicated gym-goers, but its customer base has expanded. ‘Women are building their daily wardrobes around matching sets, flared leggings and jumpsuits,’ she says.

The changing tastes have influenced what sells. Ms Akinyi says flared leggings sets are among Adore Active’s best sellers because they offer light compression, do not roll at the waist and are not see-through.

Social media, she says, has also become an important driver of these trends, with styles sometimes gaining traction almost overnight.

‘Social media dictates style, colour and silhouette almost overnight,’ Ruth says. ‘If a specific trend like flared yoga pants goes viral on Instagram, we instantly see an increase in inquiries.’

But while demand has grown, running the business has also brought its share of challenges.

‘Sourcing and logistics are definitely our biggest hurdles,’ she says, citing the difficulty of finding high-quality fabrics, international shipping costs and customs delays.

Some of the shoes sold at BnD Fashion and Fitwear in Nairobi CBD, Tea Room, Accra Towers, by Benson Muchiri, in this on August 17, 2026.

Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group

Challenges

Another challenge is competing with cheap, low-quality product sellers, forcing her to seek partnerships to help drive sales and ensure brand visibility.

She now works with female trainers and other women in fitness while creating content around fitness and health, a strategy Ruth says allows it to engage customers beyond simply selling.

Looking ahead, Ms Akinyi plans to open physical stores and take the brand beyond Kenya, betting on the continued growth of the country’s wellness economy.

‘Kenya’s wellness culture is growing fast, from running clubs and CrossFit gyms to Pilates studios,’ she says. ‘I believe the demand for activewear will continue to increase.’

An estimated five million households will be connected to electricity under a Sh114 billion ($880 million) World Bank-backed project that mainly seeks to light up rural Kenya.

The project, dubbed Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Transformation (ASCENT-Kenya), is funded by the World Bank and other financiers and marks Kenya’s latest efforts to achieve universal electricity coverage by 2030.

ASCENT-Kenya will also see 7,500 public education institutions and 2,500 public health facilities linked to electricity, which will significantly boost their service delivery.

Kenya’s electricity coverage stood at 74 percent in 2024, and disclosures from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum show that 13 million, mostly in semi-arid and remote regions, still lack reliable power, a gap that ASCENT-Kenya seeks to plug.

The project will involve solarisation of existing diesel-powered mini-grids, building new mini-grids, subsidisation of clean-cooking appliances to bolster uptake, and setting up battery storage for renewable energy.

‘Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Transformation (ASCENT-Kenya) will aim at assisting Kenya in achieving universal electricity access ahead of 2030 and significantly scale up access to clean cooking technologies and fuels,’ the ministry notes in disclosures.

‘More than 13 million people, mostly in arid and semi-arid and remote regions, still lack reliable power, and the pace of new connections has slowed. Achieving universal access by the year 2030 will therefore depend on scaling Distributed Renewable Energy solutions, alongside continued grid expansion.’

The new connections are expected to open up new economic fortunes, improve the quality of life and boost Kenya Power’s electricity sales and earnings.

International Development Association (IDA), the arm of the World Bank tasked with helping low-income countries to expand universal energy access via concessional loans and grants, will provide $450 million (Sh58.23 billion) or slightly more than half of the $880 million for the project.

Co-financiers will top up the remaining $430 million, helping Kenya to move closer to its ambitious plan of lighting up more homes and public institutions in the areas outside the national grid.

Kenya had targeted to achieve universal energy access by 2030, but a slowdown in new connections and reduced funding from the Treasury have hit the ambitions.

There are currently over 10.2 million customers connected to Kenya Power, and this number is set to increase significantly through ASCENT-Kenya.

Last Mile Connectivity project and the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), which are heavily funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), have been the key drivers of new connections in the last few years.

Customers within 600 metres of the marked transformers automatically qualify for Last Mile Connectivity, where they pay a subsidised fee of Sh15,000 while KOSAP links customers to mini-grids that are either solar or diesel-powered.

Under Last Mile Connectivity, 50 percent of every purchased token by a beneficiary goes towards paying the Sh15,000 loan.

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum estimates that some $1 billion (Sh129.4 billion) is needed to achieve universal electricity access in Kenya, highlighting the funding gap that has forced the country to rely on development partners like the World Bank and AfDB.

The value of loans tapped from Kenyan banks for which borrowers have not serviced for at least three months fell by Sh40.1 billion in the year to June 2026 amid a decline in borrowing rates that have eased pressure on customers.

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows gross non-performing loans (NPLs) fell to Sh688.2 billion by the end of June from Sh728.5 billion a year earlier even as the banking sector expanded lending.

Gross loans increased by Sh498.2 billion or 12 percent to Sh4.65 trillion from Sh4.15 trillion over the period, pointing to an improvement in asset quality as lenders grew their loan books.

The decline in bad loans came as CBK eased its monetary policy stance, cutting the Central Bank Rate (CBR) to 8.75 percent at the end of June, from 10.75 percent a year earlier. The rate was last reduced in December 2025 from 9.25 percent to 8.75 percent and has remained at that level to date.

Lenders say the lower policy rate has gradually reduced borrowing costs, offering relief to households and businesses servicing loans and easing repayment pressure. CBK data shows average lending rates fell to 14.37 percent in June, compared with 15.28 in the same period last year.

The sector’s improvement in asset quality coincided with improved profitability across the banking sector. CBK data shows banks’ cumulative profit before tax rose 16.4 percent to Sh172.4 billion in the six months to June 2026, up from Sh148.1 billion in the same period last year.

The latest figure represents the fastest growth in half-year net profit performance in four years. It is dwarfed by a 24.1 percent rise in pre-tax earnings to Sh119.7 million that the sector posted in six months ended June 2022 on recovery from the dip posted in the previous period due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions.

The reduction in the stock of non-performing loans was more pronounced among large banks, with KCB Bank Kenya and Equity Bank Kenya on top. This came in the period the two banks stepped up recoveries especially from large corporates.

‘NPL improved as targeted resolution initiatives, including recoveries, rehabilitations, full and final settlements, government engagements on associated entities, and strategic write-offs, delivered positive outcomes,’ said KCB.

Data on the 11 Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed banks, which includes all the nine lenders classified as large, showed combined gross NPLs from Kenyan banking operations fell by Sh51.56 billion, or 8.8 percent, to Sh534.18 billion in June this year from Sh585.74 billion a year earlier.

The larger decline among the listed lenders compared with the Sh40.1 billion sector-wide reduction suggests the figure was offset by increases in defaults among some medium and small-sized lenders during the review period.

Kenya’s pesticide use has reached a record high, highlighting the country’s growing dependence on chemical crop protection even as health and environmental risks rise.

Data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) shows pesticide use in Kenya increased to 6,953 tonnes in 2024, up from 444 tonnes in 1990.

This places Kenya ninth in Africa for pesticide use and second in the region, behind Uganda’s 11,293 tonnes.

Fungicides and bactericides accounted for the largest share at 3,133 tonnes, followed by herbicides at 2,476 tonnes and insecticides at 1,335 tonnes. Rodenticides made up only nine tonnes.

The figures underscore the central role pesticides play in protecting crops from pests, weeds and diseases. For farmers, chemicals remain essential to prevent losses and maintain yields. But the huge use comes with pressures such as surging illegal import markets and hazardous chemicals.

A recent report by Route to Food Initiative (RTFI), a programme of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, showed that more than two-thirds of Kenya’s pesticides were classified as highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs).

According to FAO, HHPs are a class of pesticides acknowledged to present high levels of acute or chronic hazards to human health and the environment.

‘Maize, wheat, coffee, potatoes, and tomatoes in Kenya require the largest volumes of pesticides, with a heavy reliance on HHPs,’ the Route to Food report notes.

According to the report, maize, a staple food for most Kenyan households, relies on 40 different active ingredients for pest, disease, and weed control, with 83 percent of the pesticide volume categorised as HHPs.

In 2020, the National Assembly Committee on Health highlighted the complex problems that emerged due to increased exposure to agrochemicals.

The Committee’s report, in response to a public petition, was a political statement about the serious public health concerns and environmental consequences of pesticides and their misuse.

This is a key issue in Africa, where many countries hold stockpiles of obsolete or highly hazardous pesticides that remain a risk long after use has ended.

The costs of relying on pesticides extend beyond the direct expenses farmers incur for chemicals.

Long-term pesticide exposure has been linked to a range of health concerns. In the Caribbean, high rates of prostate cancer and multiple myeloma have been reported, with prolonged pesticide exposure identified as a contributing factor.

Environmental costs are significant. Weed killers can contaminate rivers and coastal waters, harming fish and damaging sensitive ecosystems such as coral reefs. Discarded pesticide containers also pose risks to livestock and wildlife.

The persistence of some pesticides highlights the scale of the challenge. In Guadeloupe and Martinique, contamination from the insecticide chlordecone remains decades after its use was banned.

To reduce the use of HHPs, the report recommends implementing integrated pest management strategies such as biological controls, crop rotation and reduced reliance on synthetic pesticides.

Also, promote access to knowledge and information to support informed decisions about sustainable agricultural practices, including pest and disease management.

Lastly, support research efforts to develop and promote biopesticides and biocontrol methods as alternatives to highly toxic pesticides.