Category: Business Daily

Centum Investment Company has announced a dividend of Sh521 million with nearly half of it being a special distribution coming on the back of several investment exits in the financial year ended March 2026.

The dividend is made up of an ordinary payout of Sh0.42 per share amounting to Sh281 million and a special distribution of Sh0.36 per share totalling Sh240 million.

Centum has proposed the dividend on the back of the group net profit falling by 8.4 percent to Sh743.91 million from Sh812.81 million posted in the previous financial year. At a company level, net profit rose 87 percent to Sh1.02 billion from Sh547.13 million.

The firm explained that consolidated earnings include businesses at different stages of their investment lifecycle and may not always match with cash distributions received by the holding company, leading to the difference in bottom-lines at company and group level.

The proposed distribution, subject to approval at the upcoming annual general meeting, is 2.5 times higher than the payout made in the previous year when it paid an ordinary dividend of Sh0.32 per share amounting to Sh210 million.

‘The increase in ordinary dividend reflects the continued growth in recurring annuity income generated across the investment portfolio, supported by increased investment in the company’s marketable securities portfolio,’ said James Mworia, managing director at Centum.

‘The special dividend reflects the successful realisation into cash of value created across the portfolio over a number of years. Centum frequently recognises increases in value through fair value movements before those gains are ultimately realised through strategic transactions or investment exits.’

Centum has in recent years sold or reduced holdings in several businesses while redirecting capital into sectors it considers capable of delivering stronger long-term returns.

Mid-March this year, Centum announced the completion of sale of the stake that had remained in Sidian Bank, effectively ending its 25-year relationship with the fast-growing lender. In June, Centum also sold a 60 percent stake in Nabo Capital.

Mr Mworia said a significant portion of cash generated during the review period arose through the repayment of shareholder loans by portfolio companies.

‘The board believes it is appropriate to return a portion of these realised proceeds to shareholders while retaining sufficient revenue reserves and financial flexibility to continue funding future investment opportunities,’ he said.

Mr Mworia added that the Centum board expects future shareholder distributions to comprise a growing ordinary dividend supported by recurring annuity income together with periodic special dividends as significant investment realisations occur.

Investment operations remained the largest contributor to the group profitability, with pre-tax earnings from this unit hitting Sh1.52 billion in the review period from Sh1.17 billion in the previous financial year.

Centum said the investment operations benefitted from continued growth in dividend and interest income as well as ‘materially lower’ finance costs following debt reduction across the portfolio.

Centum Real Estate reported a pre-tax profit of Sh199.98 million compared with Sh1.51 billion profit in the previous year.

The trading business returned a pre-tax loss of Sh399.69 million from Sh489.83 million as the loss from Two Rivers Development reduced to Sh239.64 million from Sh242.7 million loss in the previous period.

Two Rivers Special Economic Zone posted a pre-tax loss of Sh964.09 million from a pre-tax profit of Sh88.37 million. The loss before tax from Development Operations came in at Sh796.64 million.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) targets a shift to a blockchain-powered trade platform to speed up cargo movement by replacing cumbersome paperwork with instant digital records.

The taxman said it would adopt the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP), a blockchain-enabled digital platform that allows importers, exporters, shipping companies, clearing agents, and government regulators to exchange cargo information electronically before goods arrive.

The blockchain system will create a single digital record that every authorised participant in the cargo verification and clearance chain will access instead of repeatedly submitting and verifying the same documents.

Customs and Border Control commissioner Lilian Nyawanda says the platform will improve cargo visibility, reduce paperwork and processing times, while strengthening transparency and security in cross-border trade.

‘The platform connects clearing agents, logistics providers, and government regulatory agencies within a single digital ecosystem, enabling the secure exchange of trade information across borders,’ she said.

‘This integration fosters seamless collaboration among stakeholders, improves cargo visibility, reduces paperwork and processing times, and enhances the efficiency, transparency, and security of cross-border trade.’

Currently, international cargo moving into Kenya passes through multiple organisations, including shipping lines, clearing agents, customs officers, port authorities, transporters, warehouses and regulators such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards, the Port Health Service and the Agriculture and Food Authority.

Although the majority of these agencies operate digital platforms, traders usually submit the same shipping documents several times because information is stored in separate systems that do not fully communicate with one another.

The fragmented process results in repeated document verification, delayed approvals, manual reconciliations and disputes over whether cargo information has been altered after submission.

Under the blockchain-powered system, information entered once will be securely shared across the supply chain, creating what KRA customs officials describe as a ‘paperless’ trade ecosystem.

Unlike conventional databases, blockchain technology creates an electronic record in which every approved transaction is permanently recorded and time-stamped, making it difficult to alter without leaving a visible audit trail.

The system gives entities at the customs greater confidence that invoices and shipping documents have not been altered after submission, while sparing traders from repeatedly submitting the same paperwork to different agencies because all authorised users access the same trusted information.

The changes will begin next week with a new requirement for exporters shipping containerised cargo to Kenya to submit key documents electronically before their goods leave foreign ports.

Importers will from Monday be required to obtain an Advance Cargo Declaration (ACD) reference code through a new KRA digital platform before loading cargo destined for Kenyan ports. To get the code, exporters must upload a draft bill of lading, commercial invoice, freight invoice and export declaration. The ACD is a mandatory digital pre-arrival system requiring a 15-digit alphanumeric reference code for all containerised sea cargo destined for Kenyan ports before loading at the point of origin.

The new requirement will be the first operational step in KRA’s wider plan to build a blockchain-enabled digital trade corridor linking customs authorities, shipping companies, clearing agents, logistics firms and government regulators into a single electronic platform.

The declaration system is expected to give customs officials access to cargo information while shipments are still at the port of origin, allowing document verification, risk assessment and cargo profiling to begin at least five days before vessels dock at the Port of Mombasa.

The impending shift to a blockchain-powered platform will directly affect thousands of businesses involved in Kenya’s import and export industry, including manufacturers importing raw materials, retailers bringing in consumer goods, exporters shipping agricultural produce, freight forwarders, transport companies and warehouse operators.

The blockchain initiative forms part of the customs modernisation programme that also includes upgrading the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS), introducing an eCustoms mobile application and deploying body-worn cameras to improve transparency during customs operations.

The authority says the digital reforms are intended to improve compliance, while making Kenya more competitive as a regional logistics hub.

The customs department collected 12.4 percent more in revenue in the year ended June to a record Sh988.8 billion, exceeding its target by 0.8 percent and extending its streak of annual revenue growth to five consecutive years.

Non-oil taxes increased 14.3 percent to Sh618.4 billion, growing faster than the 9.5 percent growth in oil-related taxes to Sh370.4 billion, suggesting stronger imports of manufactured goods, machinery and other non-fuel cargo.

Kenya’s average year-on-year consumer inflation rose to 6.5 percent in July, the second-highest level in 30 months, largely on elevated transport costs.

Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that the annual inflation-a measure of growth in average cost of goods and services over the previous year-edged up from 6.4 percent in June.

The latest reading was only slightly below 6.7 percent in May, the highest since January 2024, highlighting the wave of price increases that began after the Middle East conflict pushed up global oil prices and domestic fuel costs.

The KNBS data shows transport remained the biggest driver of inflation, with prices in the sector rising 15.6 percent over the past year-the fastest increase among the 13 categories the state-run statistician uses to calculate the Consumer Price Index.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded annual inflation of 9.0 percent, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 3.2 percent.

The elevated transport costs from the second quarter (from April) of the year marked a steep shift from the beginning of the year.

Annual transport inflation averaged 4.2 percent in the first quarter (January to March) before accelerating to an average of 14.4 percent in four months through July as higher fuel prices filtered through the economy.

Transport costs increased 10 percent in April compared with a year earlier, and then climbed further to 16.5 percent in May before easing marginally to 15.6 percent in June and July.

The acceleration coincided with the jump in international crude oil prices following the US-Israel war in Iran, whose effects reached Kenya in April through higher pump prices.

The increase has since spread beyond fuel to public transport fares and freight costs, raising the cost of moving people and goods across the country.

Although pump prices remained unchanged in July, transport inflation stayed near its highest level in years, suggesting businesses and transport operators are still passing through earlier fuel cost increases and other operating expenses to consumers.

Diesel continued to retail at Sh224.04 a litre while petrol remained at Sh214.95 during the month.

KNBS said inter-town bus and matatu fares declined marginally between June and July. However, boda-boda charges and fares for travel within towns increased, helping keep transport as the fastest-rising component of spending by households and businesses.

Transport also became one of the biggest contributors to headline inflation. It accounted for 1.5 percentage points of the overall 6.5 percent inflation rate, second only to food and non-alcoholic beverages, which contributed 2.6 percentage points. Housing and utilities added another 0.5 percentage points.

While food remains the largest contributor to the cost of living because of its weight in household spending, transport is increasingly driving price increases across the wider economy by raising commuting expenses, distribution costs and business operating costs.

Consumers, however, received some relief from lower prices for several staple foods. Tomato prices fell 3.7 percent during the month, carrots declined 3.6 percent, while sifted maize flour dropped 1.6 percent. Beans and cooking oil also became slightly cheaper.

Those gains were offset by higher prices for beef, potatoes, onions and kale, alongside increases in electricity tariffs.

Electricity charges rose by 3.1 percent for households consuming 200 kilowatt-hours to Sh5,648.30 and by 3.5 percent to Sh1,286.84 for those using 50 kilowatt-hours, as the cost of refilling a 13-kilogramme LPG cylinder fell 1.1 percent to Sh3,432.21.

Safaricom Plc’s funding contribution to its Ethiopian startup rose by Sh1.4 billion in three months to June 2026, underlining the telecoms increased interest in the business co-owned with partners including its parent Vodacom, Sumitomo Corporation, British International Investment (BII) and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

New disclosures from Safaricom place its total funding contribution to the business at Sh159.6 billion ($1.234 billion) at the end of June 2026 from Sh158.2 billion ($1.223 billion) in March.

The disclosures however do not provide a breakdown on the type of funding for Safaricom in the three months period.

The telecoms operator raised its stake in the Ethiopian unit to 54.1 percent in March 2026 from 51.67 percent a year earlier after a funding round that was restricted to entities in the Vodacom family –Safaricom and its parent firm Vodacom Group Limited.

Total funding for the unit topped Sh345.7 billion ($2.672 billion) in the quarter and included Sh298.3 billion ($2.306 billion) in equity, Sh15.5 billion ($120 million) in local currency debt and Sh31.8 billion ($246 million) in foreign currency debt from Standard Bank and the IFC.

‘Safaricom Ethiopia is funded through shareholder equity, deferred vendor payments and third-party borrowings. Shareholders of the Global Partnership consortium for Ethiopia (GPE) contributed to US$2.306 million as of June 30, 2026,’ Safaricom said in a funding update for the unit.

‘This funding includes a license fee of $850 million (Sh109.9 billion) and the $150 million (Sh19.4 billion) M-Pesa license fee. The operating entity has also borrowed from the local market.’

The fresh disclosures come as Safaricom Ethiopia races against time to attain profitability at EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) level by March 2027.

The unit reached 14.7 million active customers in June this year to boost the drive to profitability.

Safaricom Ethiopia saw its number of three-month active customers rise by one million in the quarter to June 2026, from 13.63 million 90-day active customers as of the end of March this year.

The number of active customers on the network soared 46.1 percent year-on-year from 10.06 million in June 2025.

Safaricom and its parent firm diluted the stakes of three minority investors –Sumitomo, BII and IFC– in the unit’s funding round through 12 months to March 2026.

Stakes by the three entities stood at 23.5 percent, 9.5 percent and 6.81 percent respectively in March this year, while Vodacom’s share of the business was 6.02 percent.

The co-investors in its Ethiopia subsidiary retain powers to buy back the 2.78 percent stake lost when the latest equity investment in the unit was made in the year to March 2026.

In its latest annual report, Safaricom disclosed a shareholders’ agreement between parties, allowing the minority owners to clawback their lost stakes at a future date.

The parties could do so by acquiring shares directly from Safaricom and Vodacom, or through a proportional capital injection in cash calls that Safaricom and Vodacom sit out.

‘In accordance with the shareholders’ agreement, the non-participating shareholders retain the right to acquire their respective ‘catch-up’ shares from the group at a future date to restore their original ownership proportions,’ Safaricom said.

Businesses and households have suffered losses and inconvenience following a technical glitch in Kenya Power’s token vending system that persisted for more than 17 hours by Thursday afternoon.

The glitch, which began on Wednesday night after a widespread power outage, affected customers attempting to buy tokens via the *977# USSD code or the M-Pesa paybill. The purchase attempts were met with ‘failed transaction messages instead of confirmation of their purchases.

‘Transaction failed. M-Pesa cannot complete payment of Sh1,000.00 to KPLC PREPAID. Please try again shortly,’ read a message from M-Pesa.

Others received an ‘internal system error’ prompt directing them to try another payment method.

Unlike in previous incidents, when customers could switch to the M-Pesa paybill if the USSD service failed, this time the disruption appeared to affect both channels simultaneously. This left many prepaid customers with no immediate way of purchasing electricity tokens. A review of social media platforms revealed widespread frustrations by businesses and households as many of them reported stalled operations and inconvenience of non-functional electronic equipment such as fridges and television sets.

The outage also disrupted businesses that depend on a constant power supply, with some being unable to continue operations after exhausting their prepaid units. Households were also affected, as customers whose electricity had run out were left unable to recharge their meters.

Kenya Power acknowledged the disruption, stating that it was experiencing technical issues affecting its token vending system. However, the company has not released a formal notice regarding the issue.

‘Good morning. Please note that our token vending system is currently facing a technical issue. Our team is already working on it to restore normal services. In the meantime, please keep trying. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,’ the utility company responded to a customer complaint on X.

Safaricom also acknowledged the problem, informing one customer that an issue affecting electricity token purchases was being resolved.

‘…there is a system issue affecting token purchases, but we are working on a resolution. We apologise for the inconvenience,’ Safaricom said in a response on X to a customer.

The payment system failure occurred just hours after a nationwide blackout plunged much of the country into darkness on Wednesday evening.

Technical disturbance

Kenya Power attributed the outage to a technical disturbance on the national grid. The blackout began shortly after 8:30 pm and affected Nairobi, the Coast region, Mt Kenya and parts of the Central Rift. Meanwhile, the North Rift and Western regions remained supplied with electricity.

Electricity was restored in phases throughout the night, with Kenya Power announcing that power had been fully restored to all affected customers by around 2 am on Thursday.

This latest disruption is similar to one experienced in July 2023, when prepaid customers were unable to purchase electricity tokens for several hours due to a network disturbance affecting Kenya Power’s payment channels. At the time, Kenya Power advised customers to use banks and Airtel Money as alternative payment methods before services were restored later that day.

Kenya has also experienced several major nationwide blackouts in recent years. In December 2025, a disturbance on the Kenya-Uganda interconnector triggered a nationwide outage, while in December 2023, another blackout disrupted operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. In August 2023, the country experienced one of its longest power outages.

More than 1,700 packages of power line hardware, accessories, and meter boxes imported by a contractor on behalf of Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) risk auction due to a tax standoff with the taxman.

The packages, contained in some seven containers held at the Syokimau Inland Container Depot, are meant for use in the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LCMP), targeted at improving inclusion of households in the national grid and ultimately achieving universal access.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said the goods, which arrived in the country in April 2026, have overstayed at its depot and will be auctioned next month to reclaim unpaid customs taxes if not cleared within the stipulated deadline.

KPLC, however, claims the goods are tax-exempt, as they’re meant for a last-mile electrification project it is executing on behalf of the government, and is funded through donors.

‘The goods listed in the KRA notice could have been imported by an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor engaged to implement a last-mile project,’ a KPLC spokesperson told Business Daily in an emailed response.

‘Under the terms of the project, the contractor bears sole responsibility for the procurement, supply, and installation of all materials necessary for the execution and completion of the works. This includes clearing of the goods from the port upon issuance of the exemption letter by the government.’

According to the spokesperson, the exemption letter, issued by the National Treasury, has already been provided to KRA for the commodities, but the taxman is yet to release the goods.

KRA did not respond to questions on why the goods continue to be withheld, nor did it confirm whether the exemption letter for the KPLC consignment has been received.

Items used for grid connection under the project, including metre boxes and transformers, are exempt from customs and value-added taxes.

KPLC, therefore, seeks exemption letters from the National Treasury for its contractors under the project, to facilitate duty-free importation of materials.

Typically, KRA holds imported goods deposited at its customs warehouses for 90 days pending payment of taxes, after which it publishes a notice alerting owners to collect them.

If the goods remain uncollected 30 days after the notice, KRA is allowed by law to dispose of the items at a public auction to recover unpaid customs taxes. The uncollected KPLC consignment could face a similar fate if the tax standoff isn’t resolved soon.

KPLC is currently executing the sixth phase of the last-mile connectivity project, which is financed by the African Development Bank.

The government has been implementing the project through Kenya Power and the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation.

Under the programme, households close to or within 600 metres of an earmarked transformer are connected to power at subsidised rates of an average Sh15,000.

Beneficiaries initially paid Sh30,000 for the job. In the year ended June 2025, Kenya Power reported 163,092 last mile customers.

The first phase, funded by the AfDB, connected 314,200 customers in all 47 counties and was completed in 2020.

The second and third phases, funded by the World Bank and AfDB, respectively, were completed in 2022 and added a further 598,500 connections across 46 counties.

Ongoing phases launched in 2023 are targeting an extra 260,000 customers through funding from the European Union, European Investment Bank, French Development Agency and Japan International Cooperation Agency, with a combined investment of Sh24.2 billion.

A sixth phase funded by the AfDB started in 2025 and focuses on strengthening electricity network through substations and medium-voltage lines, while benefiting an estimated 150,000 customers.

Separately, the Government of Kenya, through Kenya Power and Rerec, has connected more than 163,000 customers under an ongoing programme covering all 47 counties.

A tattoo often tells a story. It may commemorate a milestone, honour a loved one, express personal identity or simply reflect one’s sense of style. For many young people, tattoos and piercings have become an accepted form of self-expression.

But not every tattoo tells a good story. Some become lifelong reminders of a decision made without considering one critical question: Was it done safely?

As the world marks World Hepatitis Day under the theme Hepatitis: Let’s break it down, we must break down one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding tattoos and piercings; that every procedure is safe.

The reality is that when body art is done using improperly sterilised kits, it can expose individuals to life-threatening infections, including Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are viral infections that attack the liver. They spread when infected blood or certain body fluids enter another person’s bloodstream. Hepatitis B can also be transmitted via unprotected sex and from an infected mother to her baby during childbirth, while Hepatitis C is most commonly spread through injection drug use, sexual transmission and use of contaminated equipment.

These infections rarely make headlines, yet they remain among the leading causes of chronic liver disease globally. Often referred to as “silent infections,” hepatitis can live in the body for years without obvious symptoms while progressively damaging the liver.

By the time many people realise something is wrong, the disease may have advanced to liver cirrhosis, liver failure or even liver cancer. The danger is not the tattoo itself. The danger lies in unsafe practices.

Every time a needle pierces the skin, there is potential for blood exposure. If equipment is reused or inadequately sterilised after being used on someone carrying the hepatitis virus, the infection can easily be passed to the next client. Unfortunately, this risk is significantly higher in unlicensed tattoo and piercing parlors that operate without proper infection prevention and control standards.

As tattoos become increasingly popular among young adults, conversations about safe body art should become just as common.

Choosing where to get a tattoo or piercing should involve more than comparing prices or artistic talent. It should involve asking important health questions. Is the establishment licensed? Are new, single-use needles opened in front of the client? Is the equipment professionally sterilised? Are practitioners wearing fresh gloves for every procedure? Any reputable studio should be transparent about its hygiene practices.

The same vigilance applies to anyone offering tattoo services at social events, festivals or informal settings. Convenience should never come at the expense of safety.

Fortunately, hepatitis is preventable, detectable and, in many cases, treatable.

Vaccination remains the most effective protection against Hepatitis B. While the vaccine is routinely administered to children as part of Kenya’s immunisation programme, many adults may not know whether they completed the vaccination schedule or remain protected.

Knowing your vaccination status is an important step in safeguarding your health.

Equally important is testing. One of the greatest challenges in eliminating hepatitis is that many infected individuals feel perfectly healthy.

Without testing, they may unknowingly live with the virus for years while also risking transmission to others. Early diagnosis allows timely treatment, reduces complications and significantly improves long-term health outcomes.

This year’s World Hepatitis Day theme reminds us that eliminating hepatitis is not only about medicine; it is about removing barriers to information, testing, vaccination and treatment. It is also about challenging the myths that prevent people from protecting themselves.

For young people especially, protecting your health should never be seen as limiting your freedom of expression. You can still get the tattoo that tells your story or the piercing you’ve always wanted. The difference is ensuring that your story is one of confidence, creativity and informed choices; not one of preventable illness.

As Kenya works towards eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, each of us has a role to play. Ask questions before getting inked.

Get vaccinated against Hepatitis B if you are not already protected. Know your status through testing. Encourage your friends to do the same.

And the reason is simple, while tattoos may last a lifetime, so can the consequences of unsafe choices.

Your body tells your story. Make sure it is one of expression, confidence, and good health.

‘Food with character.’ That is how Emmanuel Akinmoyero, founder of Yakoyo, a Nigerian restaurant in Nairobi, describes their cuisine.

‘I have been around the world and tasted food from many different places, so I say this with confidence. Nigerian food isn’t just quickly thrown together; its flavour profile is carefully built. A vegetable dish, for example, won’t just have onions, salt and greens. It will also have tomatoes, capsicum, and fish or chicken, with each ingredient contributing to the depth of the final dish.’

That conviction is what led Emmanuel to open Yakoyo Restaurant in Nairobi.

‘We started in 2016 because there was demand for West African cuisine. I saw an opportunity to serve authentic Nigerian food, not only to homesick Nigerians, but also to curious Kenyan diners.’

Another motivation came from watching other cultures successfully commercialise their cuisines.

‘I’ve seen how different countries have turned their food into commercial assets, and I felt West African cuisine deserved the same recognition,’ he says.

While Yakoyo has since expanded to three branches in Nairobi’s Kindaruma, Lavington, and Kiambu Road, Emmanuel says the journey has been marked by growing pains.

When he started, he realised West Africans and Nigerians come here and go.

‘They may be here for school, work or a conference, but eventually they return home or move elsewhere.’

That reality meant the restaurant could not rely solely on the diaspora. Instead, its long-term growth has depended on winning over Kenyan diners, whom Emmanuel describes as curious and adventurous.

‘This is where Nollywood and social media have really helped us,’ he says. ‘People may never have eaten a Nigerian meal, but because of the movies, they know about fufu or okra, and that sparks their curiosity. The same goes for the online jollof wars.’

Today, they serve a diverse customer base of Kenyans, West Africans, and visitors from around the world. But growth has not come cheaply.

According to Emmanuel, one of the biggest hurdles has been the high cost of establishing and maintaining a business in Kenya. Beyond the initial capital required to invest, recurring expenses such as work permits place significant pressure on the business.

‘It is expensive to start a business in Kenya,’ he says. ‘To invest here, you need a minimum of about $100,000 (about Sh12 million).

Additionally, you must renew permits annually, which is also significant cost. Sometimes, when you compare what you are paying for the permits with the revenue the business is generating, you begin to wonder whether it is worth it.’

Maintaining authenticity has also proved costly. While some ingredients can be sourced locally, others have to be imported from Nigeria, pushing up the operating costs.

‘We bring in things like poundo, amala, egusi, and spices from Nigeria. Spices used to make jollof rice, for example, cannot be found here. Even when we find similar ones, they taste different.’

The restaurant has also grappled with high staff turnover, particularly in front-of-house roles.

‘Kenyans move around too much, especially within the hospitality sector,’ he says.

‘You find someone with the right attitude, invest time in training them and helping them understand how you want the business to run, then a few months later they’re gone and you have to start the process all over again. That constant retraining takes time and resources.’

Despite these challenges, demand for Nigerian cuisine continues to grow. Emmanuel says the restaurant now enjoys a steady stream of customers, with occupancy typically reaching between 70 and 80 percent on Fridays and Saturdays, its busiest days.

Their customers’ favourites?

‘Jollof rice, poundo, and pepper soup are some of our best-sellers,’ he says.

‘I must say the pepper soup is particularly popular with people recovering from a night out. It works very well with hangovers. Kenya has a strong drinking culture, and having two of our branches in areas with a vibrant nightlife has definitely boosted sales.’

Pot of Jollof Kitchen

Yakoyo is not an outlier. In recent years, Nairobi has seen a growing number of Nigerian restaurants open their doors, each betting on the city’s increasingly adventurous diners.

Among them is Pot of Jollof Kitchen, which launched in 2020 as a cloud kitchen serving only online orders.

‘Our goal was to raise awareness and educate the masses on what goes into preparing these dishes,’ Ukeme Udofia, one of the co-founders says.

‘We also wanted to introduce a quick-service concept, where customers could enjoy authentic Nigerian meals in under 30 minutes.’

The cloud kitchen has since grown into a physical outlet, with its customer base expanding beyond Nigerians and other West Africans, including a growing number of Kenyan diners.

‘Watching Kenyans return again and again for meals that were once unfamiliar to them is one of the most satisfying parts of our job,’ he says.

The restaurant’s best-sellers include jollof rice with fried chicken, sweet fried plantain, egusi soup, goat meat pepper soup and a variety of swallows, including pounded yam.

Debunking one of the most common misconceptions about the cuisine, he says people often assume Nigerian meals are spicy and filled with chilli.

‘Customers can decide their preferred level of heat when it comes to chilli in their meals,’ Mr Udofia says. ‘That’s the only adjustment we make to our recipes.’

The restaurant has also discovered an unexpected crossover with Kenyan cuisine. According to them, ugali pairs remarkably well with almost all Nigerian soups.

Which of his dishes does he feel best represent Nigerian cuisine?

‘If Nigerian food had a passport, jollof rice would be the photo on the front cover,’ he says.

The growing popularity of Nigerian cuisine, Mr Udofia believes, is closely tied to the wider influence of Nollywood, Afrobeats and social media.

‘There has been a rise in expatriate migration to Kenya. Many of our movies have been watched by Kenyans, Afrobeats has become a shared African cultural language in which you hear phrases such as, ‘I love you like my Jollof rice’. Then there is social media which continuously fuels the interest and curiosity in Nigerian food long before people taste it for the first time.’

The Ugandan government has appointed directors to the board of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Plc, reviving the stalled recruitment of the firm’s chief executive under a new charter that gives Kampala veto powers over the hiring and firing of the company’s next boss.

In a notice on Thursday, the Ugandan government picked two of its senior officials, including the permanent secretaries in the Finance and Energy ministries, to represent it on KPC’s board.

This paves the way for the resumption of the recruitment process, which stalled midway after KPC directors differed over the legality of the CEO search without a reconstituted board in line with the company’s revised Articles of Association.

Under the revised articles, Kenya gave Uganda concessions, including two board seats, after the neighbouring country threatened to walk away from buying shares in KPC’s initial public offering (IPO) because of a lack of authority in the running of the company.

The articles followed Kenya’s sale of a 65 percent stake in the firm and its listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

While on the board, Uganda will have the powers to approve the hiring and firing of the CEO, KPC fuel transport tariffs, part of the board changes and changes to the firm’s dividend policy.

KPC’s board on May 7, 2026, put out an advertisement seeking to recruit a managing director following the resignation of Joe Sang, just weeks after the company’s shares started trading on the NSE.

Mr Sang left amid a fuel scandal that saw three senior public officials step down. The company’s chief finance officer, Pius Mwendwa, is the acting managing director.

The search for the new CEO triggered cracks in KPC’s boardroom over whether the firm should have initiated the recruitment of a new managing director without a fully reconstituted board that includes Uganda’s representatives.

The split froze the hiring after the firm failed to shortlist and interview the tens of candidates who sought the job.

The firm on Thursday confirmed that the entry of Uganda to the board will restart the process of getting Mr Sang’s replacement.

On Thursday, KPC announced the appointment of five non-executive directors, including Ramathan GGoobi, Uganda’s Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and Irene Pauline Bateebe, who serves in the same position in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

‘The Board of Directors of the Kenya Pipeline Company… hereby notifies shareholders, the investing public, and all stakeholders that it has appointed the following individuals as Non-Executives of the Company from July 28, 2026,’ reads the public announcement.

Others appointed to the board include Samson Kipkemboi Burgei, who will be the alternate director to the Kenyan government’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning.

Meshack Otieno Kidenda, the first Director-General of the Kenya National Highways Authority, and Ronald Kenyanya Nyamosi, who will be the alternate director to the Managing Trustee/CEO of the National Social Security Fund, have also joined the KPC board.

In May, five KPC board members are said to have expressed discomfort with proceeding with the hiring of the CEO before Uganda’s representatives were appointed as directors.

In minutes seen by the Business Daily, the board insisted that nothing stopped it from proceeding with the exercise despite the reservations, noting that the Ugandan representatives would join them later.

Uganda spent over Sh30 billion to acquire the 20.15 percent stake in KPC.

In exchange for its significant IPO anchoring, Uganda received key powers, including a veto to hire and fire KPC’s chief executive officer.

Uganda secured further concessions in the operations of the company, including the approval of tariff increases, dividend policy, employee restructuring and rights issues.

‘So long as the CST and GoU (Government of Uganda) are eligible to nominate a CST director and a GoU director respectively, the following matters shall require the approval of a CST director and a GoU director… (a) the appointment of the managing director,’ reads Section 21 of the memorandum of association.

The section adds that the two directors should also be involved in “the appointment or removal of the chief executive officer, where such office is distinct from that of the managing director.”

Uganda will invest and hold a strategic stake in KPC through Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), the state-owned oil company that imports fuel into the landlocked country.

The country says its participation in the IPO was a deliberate strategic decision aimed at strengthening regional energy cooperation and safeguarding national interests.

The push for Kampala’s influence in KPC affairs comes less than two years after Kenya allowed the landlocked country’s state oil firm to import petroleum products through the Port of Mombasa, ending a row between the two neighbours.

About 90 percent of the top owners of KPC bought their shares through proxies during the IPO, keeping the identity of the investors anonymous.

Regulatory filings show that 18 of the top 20 shareholders of KPC are under nominee accounts after demand from Kenyan institutional investors and Uganda government helped the IPO become oversubscribed.

Two funds that allow investors to buy gold and top global firms like Nvidia, JPMorgan Chase, and Apple at the Nairobi bourse have made returns of up to 24 percent in the past year.

The Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) traded at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has benefited from volatile global markets despite underperforming the rest of the local equities market.

The two listed funds, the Absa NewGold EFT and the Sanlam-owned Satrix MSCI World ETF, which have their primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, expose local investors to global assets.

The Satrix ETF was cross-listed at the NSE 12 months ago at an introductory price of Sh761 per unit, and is now trading at Sh941.

The Absa NewGold ETF is now trading at Sh4,945 per unit, compared to Sh4,080 in July 2025.

In that period, investor wealth or market capitalisation at the NSE has appreciated by 55 percent or Sh1.41 trillion to Sh3.954 trillion.

The bourse has been boosted by gains of between 40 and 100 percent on blue chip stocks such as Safaricom, Equity Group, KCB Group, and Co-operative Bank of Kenya.

Rising demand for shares by local investors, including fund managers, has driven the equities gains, allowing them to outperform the alternatives such as bonds, real estate and ETFs.

The two ETFs, however provide access to global assets for local investors, allowing them to diversify their portfolios and hedge against losses in case of the shilling weakening against the dollar.

An ETF is an investment instrument of fund that holds underlying assets, in which investors can buy and sell units, much like they do with ordinary equities. ETFs can be structured to track a wide array of assets, including commodities, currencies, indices or a collection of stocks.

The Satrix MSCI World ETF captures over 1,300 large and mid-size cap stocks across 23 developed market countries, including the US, the UK, Japan, Switzerland and Germany.

The companies included in the fund all comply with size, liquidity and free float criteria of the closely watched MSCI World Index, whose top constituents comprise global giants such as Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, JPMorgan Chase and Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

The Satrix ETF rose to touch its all-time high price of Sh948 per unit earlier this month, underlining the improved prices of the global stocks.

A number of the US blue chips have gained on the back of capital flight to the world’s largest economy due to the geopolitical risk caused by the war in the Middle East.

‘Despite experiencing the direct effects of heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East during the second quarter of 2026, global equity markets demonstrated remarkable resilience, recording their strongest quarterly performance in six years,’ noted the Capital markets Authority (CMA) in its second quarter 2026 market soundness report published on Thursday.

‘According to the MSCI World Index, global equities delivered a positive return of 13.9 percent during the quarter, representing a significant recovery from the 3.47 percent decline recorded in the preceding quarter.’

The Absa NewGold ETF, which was listed on the NSE in March 2017, is a gold derivative fund whose price in the local market is linked to the real-world price of the precious metal.

In the last one year, the war in the Middle East has caused the price of gold to rise as investors sought the metal as a hedge against inflationary losses.

A succession of global economic shocks in recent years such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia -Ukraine war, the Middle East conflict between Israel and Hamas and the US tariffs on imports have led to a steady appreciation in the value of gold, and underlying assets such as the Absa NewGold ETF.

The ETF hit its highest ever price of Sh6,800 in late January, in line with the rise in the price of gold to $5,328 per troy ounce.

The stability of the shilling at Sh129 to the dollar has meant that he ETF has not made and exchange gain or loss this year when translating to the local currency, tying its gain neatly to that of gold in the market.

After holding at the elevated levels through to March, the price of gold has eased back to about $4,017 per ounce after the US and Iran agreed a ceasefire.

Despite the resumption of airstrikes between the two countries two weeks ago, the price of gold has remained fairly stable this month.