Category: Business Daily

We work incredibly hard to earn foreign exchange through tea, coffee, horticulture and tourism. Then we send a huge amount of it straight back out of the country to buy the fuel that powers our economy. Hence, our biggest export may actually be foreign exchange.

In 2025, Kenya imported about 5.5 million tonnes of petroleum products, valued roughly Sh511 billion, according to a survey by KNBS’s 2026 Economic Survey.

From the same survey, tea exports earned roughly Sh187 billion, cut flowers Sh103 billion, vegetables and fruits Sh100 billion, and unroasted coffee roughly Sh52 billion. Those four alone total about Sh442 billion. Petroleum imports? Sh511 billion. Read that again.

We spent more on imported petroleum than tea, flowers, fruits, vegetables and coffee earned for us combined. Perhaps Kenya’s largest export isn’t tea. It’s foreign exchange. And the fuel tank is one of our biggest collection points.

That changes the electric mobility conversation completely. Because every electric kilometre is potentially one less kilometre powered by imported petroleum but every electric vehicle is potentially less demand for imported fuel. And because our electricity is predominantly renewable, we can substitute an imported energy commodity with something we can generate domestically.

Ethiopia is getting much of the attention when it comes to electric vehicles in Africa, and rightly so but before we copy Ethiopia’s policies, we should understand why its circumstances are fundamentally different from ours.

First, electricity. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has given Ethiopia access to enormous quantities of relatively cheap renewable electricity.

Second, foreign exchange. Ethiopia has struggled with hard-currency availability for years. Import financing and the repatriation of foreign currency are longstanding business challenges.

Third, fuel. When foreign exchange is scarce, imported petroleum becomes a strategic vulnerability. Fuel shortages and those infamous queues at petrol stations are not just transport problems; they are an economic signal. If you have abundant domestic electricity but struggle to secure imported petroleum, electrification starts looking less like a climate policy and more like common sense.

Fourth, the vehicle market. Ethiopia is a left-hand-drive market. That gives it access to a completely different pool of vehicles from China, Europe and the US, including relatively young used vehicles. Rwanda has a similar advantage. Kenya does not.

Kenya drives on the left, and our traditional used-vehicle supply chain is overwhelmingly Japanese. Japan has been very good to Kenya. But there is a problem.

Japanese Original Equipment Manufacturers have historically been much more heavily invested in hybrids and other technologies than pure battery-electric vehicles. That means the supply of affordable used Japanese EVs available to Kenya remains relatively limited.

It is important to note that we import roughly 100,000 used vehicles every year compared to about 12,000 vehicles assembled in the country.

So, in reality, Kenya is a used-vehicle importing market that happens to have an assembly industry. That distinction becomes important when we start talking about the future because the global automotive industry is quickly changing underneath us and it is changing very.

Why would a global EV manufacturer establish a major manufacturing operation in Kenya when our consumers overwhelmingly buy used vehicles? Why would somebody invest heavily in charging infrastructure when a significant part of the market is effectively waiting for today’s EV to become an eight-year-old import? That isn’t criticism. It is simply the market reality and industrial policy that ignores market reality is usually just expensive optimism.

We should ask ourselves: What can Kenya do exceptionally well in the new electric-mobility value chain? My answer is simple: Electricity. Kenya’s grid is already predominantly renewable that is; geothermal, hydro, wind and solar.

So what should Kenya actually do? First, we should aggressively attract EV manufacturers and assemblers because we need vehicles in the market. Second, create demand through financing, leasing, fleet conversion, targeted incentives and tax policy, whatever works.

Third, build charging infrastructure and do it ahead of demand where it is commercially sensible. Fourth, build the ecosystem that is maintenance, battery services, software, energy management, fleet management, components, recycling and data.

Lastly, exploit the renewable-energy advantage. If we can electrify transport, reduce petroleum imports and retain foreign exchange, we can use that economic benefit to expand our renewable-energy system further. Then use that cheap, clean electricity for far more than transport in agriculture, manufacturing, mineral processing, cold storage, data centres and industrial parks. That is where the real opportunity lies.

Kenya has something different. A predominantly renewable grid, a sophisticated services economy, an entrepreneurial population and a demonstrated ability to leapfrog technology when the economics make sense.

When a fire reportedly destroyed more than 50 vehicles at a garage, many Kenyans understandably focused on one question: who will pay for the loss? That question matters.

But as the Association of Kenya Insurers, we believe the incident should also prompt a broader conversation about preparedness, responsibility and the role of insurance as a tool for resilience for both customers and garage businesses.

Insurance works best when the coverage is understood before disaster strikes. Yet too often, the policy is only examined after the unfortunate incident has occurred. At that point, individuals and businesses face losses that are difficult to absorb without the right protection in place.

For vehicle owners, the first lesson is to know what your motor policy covers. If a vehicle is left at a garage for repairs, servicing, inspection or storage, a comprehensive insurance policy covers the vehicle in the event of an accident. After the insured is compensated, the insurer may demand compensation from the garage. However, if the vehicle is insured on third party only basis, the vehicle owner can lodge his claim to the garage owner.

Before handing over a vehicle to a garage, customers may need to find out whether the garage is insured for customers’ vehicles. It is important to have a job card/vehicle intake sheet and keep written evidence of the agreed work. These simple steps strengthen accountability.

For garage owners, the lesson is even more urgent. A garage is not merely a place where vehicles are repaired; it is a business that receives, stores, moves and tests valuable property belonging to other people. Every day, garage owners assume responsibility for vehicles that may be exposed to the risk of fire, theft, accidental damage, collision, flood or other operational risks. Without adequate insurance, one incident can threaten the survival of the business.

This is why Motor Trader Insurance is a critical cover for motor trade businesses. It is designed for garages, workshops, vehicle dealers, resellers and other operators whose work involves handling vehicles that may not belong to them.

The cover has several components that help protect the business against risks arising from keeping, repairing, moving, testing or storing customers’ vehicles.

Motor Trade -Internal Risks cover is particularly important because it responds to loss or damage to customers’ vehicles while they are within the garage premises. Motor Trade -Road Risks cover is equally important. It applies where authorised garage staff need to test, move or drive a customer’s vehicle on the road.

Our appeal to garage owners is not to wait for disaster to wish you had insurance. For those already insured, do not wait for a claim to discover that your cover is inadequate.

Assess the value and volume of vehicles in your care, review your premises safety measures, disclose your operations honestly to your insurer, agent or broker, and ensure that the insurance you purchase matches the risks that you face.

The recent garage fire should therefore not be remembered only as a tragic event. It should be treated as a wake-up call for the entire motor ecosystem. Customers, garages, insurers, intermediaries and regulators must each play their part in building a culture where risks are anticipated, responsibilities are clear and protection is in place before losses occur.

As the Association of Kenya Insurers, we urge vehicle owners and garage owners alike to make insurance part of their planning, not an afterthought. Insurers have developed, and continue to develop, packaged solutions for motor traders depending on the nature and scale of their operations. The best time to understand and strengthen your cover is not after a loss has occurred; it is today.

A portable brain test that uses a smartphone to send results to specialists could help patients suspected of having epilepsy access specialised testing closer to home, reducing the need for long journeys to major hospitals, joint tests by nine organisations, including the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (Kutrrh) said.

The smartphone-linked electroencephalography (EEG) test produced recordings that specialists could assess in 96 percent of 3,036 tests carried out at 29 healthcare sites across Kenya, an outcome that could reshape how neurological diagnoses are done. Most results were available within one to two hours.

The study used the BrainCapture BC-1, a portable EEG device that records the brain’s electrical activity. It is designed for use in health facilities that may not have specialised EEG equipment or neurologists.

‘The smartphone-based EEG technology displayed high feasibility in routine clinical care, with 96 percent of recordings being considered clinically interpretable by remote EEG interpreters. The device demonstrated high interpretability rates, rapid turnaround times for interpretation, and successful adoption across rural sites, highlighting its potential for use in settings with limited resources,’ the report read.

The trial study also included researchers from Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen University, Danish Epilepsy Center, Psychiatry Hospital, Bucharest and Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, among others.

The development comes as Kenya continues to face shortages and an uneven distribution of health workers, making access to specialist services difficult for patients outside major urban centres.

According to Kenya’s health workforce assessment, there are 0.89 medical doctors, including generalists and specialists, per 10,000 people, compared with a requirement of 7.7 per 10,000 people for 70 percent universal health coverage.

The shortage is more pronounced in some specialist fields.

According to the World Health Organisation, the median number of neurological specialists in the African region is approximately 0.1 per 100,000 people.

Kenya has 18 to 20 neurologists for a population of more than 50 million, meaning each neurologist serves roughly three million people.

The EEG system uses a flexible cap fitted with electrodes that pick up electrical signals from the brain. The cap is connected to a small amplifier, which sends the recordings through a smartphone to a secure online platform.

The recording can then be reviewed remotely by a certified EEG technologist and checked by a neurophysiologist. This means that the test can be done at a health facility closer to the patient while the specialist reviewing the results can be based elsewhere.

The researchers said the technology is intended to reduce the infrastructure needed to perform EEG tests, including dedicated recording rooms and the presence of specialist personnel at the facility where the test is conducted.

‘The aim of the smartphone-based EEG technology is to reduce infrastructure requirements, including the need for dedicated recording facilities and expert personnel, while enabling data acquisition in decentralised environments,’ the study read.

The model is part of a wider shift towards using technology to bring diagnostic services closer to patients while allowing specialists to provide support remotely.

A 2026 study published in JAMA Cardiology, for example, tested an artificial intelligence system that uses electrocardiogram (ECG) readings to screen for impaired heart function in eight Kenyan health facilities.

The AI-assisted ECG achieved a sensitivity of 95.6 percent and a negative predictive value of 99.1 percent, suggesting its potential to identify patients who may require further cardiac assessment in areas with limited access to specialised testing.

President William Ruto administration plans to use borrowing and repayment behaviour records to determine who qualifies for higher Hustler Fund limits, a move aimed at converting an estimated 10 million repeat borrowers into bankable customers.

The new system will build on the Fund’s existing credit scoring by incorporating alternative data and potentially the history of borrowing from banks, Saccos, mobile lenders and other financial institutions.

The State Department for MSMEs Development says it will pilot alternative-data use by analysing the financial behaviour of recurrent borrowers to inform enhanced credit limits, new products and refinancing opportunities.

”The sub-sector will leverage on the Financial Inclusion Fund (Hustler Fund) to pilot the use of alternative data by analysing financial behaviors of recurrent borrowers with enhanced credit limits,’ the department says in its draft 2027/28-2028/29 Medium Term Expenditure Framework report.

‘Insights from this pilot will inform product innovation, graduation pathways and refinancing opportunities.’

The plan represents the next stage in a credit-scoring system that was expanded in December 2024 when President Ruto launched the Bridge Loan product. The product allowed qualifying borrowers to access up to three times their existing Hustler Fund limit at the unchanged annual interest rate of 8 percent, while extending repayment from 14 to 30 days.

Bridge borrowers were placed into nine credit-score categories based on their borrowing and repayment behaviour, with consistently good borrowers receiving the highest ratings.

Borrowers with an A1 rating were considered excellent, while C3 represented the weakest creditworthiness on the platform.

The Ruto administration now wants to move beyond Hustler Fund’s own repayment records by using wider financial behaviour to establish who can safely handle more credit.

‘The reason we came up with Bridge product is to start giving our good borrowers some banking experience, so that from there they can now graduate to the commercial banking sector,’ Principal Secretary for MSMEs Susan Mang’eni said recently.

Ms Mang’eni said the government is working with banks, the Africa Guarantee Fund and credit reference bureaus to strengthen behavioural credit ratings using alternative data.

‘We are working together, and we are seeing how we can now concretise these behavioural credit rating and building it up with alternative data mapping,’ she said.

The result is to develop to develop a national credit score that could help borrowers move into the formal financial system.

‘This national credit score is going to become a collateral to help these people to graduate to formal financial system where they can be served to higher loan limit,’ she said.

The proposed system could allow a borrower’s financial behaviour outside Hustler Fund to guide future access to credit.

The State Department is working with the Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya Bankers Association, credit reference bureaus, Safaricom, Sacco regulators and other industry players on the alternative-data framework.

The department says the exercise has identified potential sources of alternative data and proposed consumer-led, consent-based mechanisms for sharing information beyond traditional credit bureaus.

When Hustler Fund was launched, more than eight million borrowers had reportedly been listed by Credit Reference Bureaus, according to the State Department.

Ruto administration insists that 4.5 million borrowers who had previously been listed have earned A and B ratings through consistent and timely repayment.

More than 10 million Kenyans are also repeat borrowers, creating a large pool whose financial behaviour can potentially be used to assess eligibility for larger facilities.

The commercial banking sector is already using insights from Hustler Fund’s lending system to expand digital credit.

KCB Group’s mobile lending rose 30 percent to Sh544 billion in 2025, equivalent to about Sh1.5 billion a day, with the lender attributing part of the growth to the data and credit-scoring infrastructure developed around Hustler Fund.

‘We created the platform and helped with the credit scoring, and the money comes from the government because they are the ones lending,’ KCB Finance Director Lawrence Kimathi said in March.

He said the system allowed borrowers requesting mobile loans to receive funds within seconds, supported by the platform’s stability and data generated through Hustler Fund.

The government is seeking to expand this model as annual lending to women, youth and people with disabilities has declined from Sh22.27 billion in 2023/24 to Sh17.94 billion in 2024/25 and Sh16.52 billion in 2025/26.

Although each amount exceeded the department’s Sh10 billion annual target, the decline underscores the challenge of expanding credit while ensuring larger loans go to borrowers with evidence of their ability to repay.

Cumulative revolving credit issued under Hustler Fund has reached Sh88.92 billion, according to the State Department.

The new scoring system is intended to help solve that problem by distinguishing borrowers according to their actual financial behaviour rather than treating customers with limited formal credit histories alike.

For borrowers, this could make repayment records across different financial institutions increasingly important in determining how much they can access.

The ultimate test will be whether better credit information helps borrowers move beyond repeated small digital loans into larger, productive financing.

The Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s recent call for practical reforms and stronger government-private sector partnership to unlock investment in the maritime sector is timely and necessary.

Maritime transport carries more than 90 percent of Kenya’s external trade. With the Port of Mombasa’s throughput projected to reach between 52 million and 61 million tonnes by 2030, Kenya needs a clear regulatory framework for maritime transport services.

It needs rules that protect cargo owners interests, promote Kenyan participation and hold operators accountable without discouraging investment, competition or innovation.

Presently, maritime transport services are regulated under the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), Act, 2006 which established KMA as the sector regulator and the Merchant Shipping Act, 2009 which provides the framework for merchant shipping and maritime service providers.

However, provisions on KMA’s powers, tariffs, local ownership and commercial integration require greater precision. Unclear rules create compliance costs, invite inconsistent enforcement and expose regulators and businesses to litigation.

One of the most contentious issues under the 2024 regulations is local participation and ownership.

The Fourth Schedule requires local shipping lines, ship agents and cargo consolidators to operate through joint ventures with Kenyan nationals in which foreigners are minority shareholders. The practical effect is majority Kenyan ownership; although the Regulations do not state a precise percentage or clearly define how ownership, voting rights and beneficial control are measured.

Increasing Kenyan participation is a legitimate policy objective. However, rigid ownership rules could discourage foreign investment, restrict competition and create barriers to entry without necessarily improving trade facilitation. A better approach would focus on whether an operator is properly regulated, financially and technically capable, compliant with Kenyan law and able to provide efficient, competitive services.

Ultimately, effective regulation must not be anti-business. Shipping lines need certainty; cargo owners need transparent charges; logistics providers need equal treatment and regulators need powers grounded in law.

If local-content requirements are to remain, Parliament should provide clearer direction through amendments to the Merchant Shipping Act, ensuring that the framework promotes Kenyan participation while remaining investor-friendly.

Tariff regulation is another major concern. The 2024 Regulations require operators to apply tariffs filed with KMA and notify the Authority of changes. Filing promotes transparency and enables KMA to investigate undisclosed or inconsistent charges.

The regulations do not explicitly seem to confer power to approve, reject, cap or delay commercial tariffs approval. This distinction matters. Freight rates and surcharges respond to fuel prices, exchange rates, insurance, security risks, congestion and vessel capacity. Cargo owners however see an effective regulator as one that deters arbitral and frequent price increases.

For this, KMA must be mandated to approve freight and surcharges being levied and promote, support relevant training and vertical integration.

The review should therefore establish a clear and legally defensible balance between commercial freedom and consumer protection. The current tariff approval period of up to 90 days should be reconsidered, with a target of less than 30 days where possible. Faster regulatory decisions would provide businesses with certainty while allowing KMA to monitor unjustified or anti-competitive charges.

The regulations should also strengthen KMA’s authority to address service failures and poor performance by establishing performance-based oversight supported by Service Level Agreements and give KMA clear powers to sanction government agencies and private service providers for persistent service failures, delays, inefficiency or malpractice.

The Port of Mombasa will be judged not only by its infrastructure, but also by predictable costs, efficient services, fair dispute resolution and quality competition. A legally defensible framework can promote Kenyan participation, protect shippers, attract investment and reward efficient operators. Getting that balance right is essential if Kenya is to strengthen its position as the maritime and logistics hub of Eastern and Central Africa.

Things started falling apart when Edwin Mutuma woke up on September 7 to a notification on his QVSE mobile app telling him that his and fellow investors’ accounts had been frozen.

Just weeks earlier, the Laikipia-based hotelier had been watching his money grow on the online investment platform, convinced he had found a quick way to make money trading US stocks.

A friend who had been in the scheme since last year introduced Mr Mutuma to QVSE, or Quant Vest Stock Exchange, in August and claimed to have made more than Sh400,000 within months.

All Mr Mutuma needed to do, he was told, was deposit $500 (about Sh65,000) into his QVSE account and trade stocks from American tech giants such as Tesla and Apple.

He was also asked to download Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, where he could convert his gains into stablecoins before eventually cashing out to his M-Pesa wallet.

For communication, investors were directed to Bonchat, a Hong Kong-based messaging application similar to WhatsApp, where a person who identified himself as ‘Carl Grindan’ ran the groups and privately contacted members.

‘All of it seemed interesting,’ Mr Mutuma told the BDLife. ‘I used my savings to raise the initial amount. I put alerts on the trading times at 4:30pm and 8:30pm when Carl would send us a code, and we would trade and watch our money grow.’

Suspicions, broken friendships

Justus, a Kitui-based teacher who declined to give his second name, heard about QVSE in May through a family member.

‘I was suspicious at first, but seeing how strongly they believed in it, I asked to be given three months to observe how things would turn out,’ he says.

A month later, the family member offered Justus a Sh65,000 loan, saying it was money he had earned from the investment scheme.

‘I agreed.’

Regina, another teacher who asked not to be identified beyond her first name, says she needs time to process what happened before disclosing more publicly. She had put nearly Sh200,000 into the scheme, some of it borrowed.

‘It has broken friendships because we all need answers from the friends and colleagues who introduced us to it, yet they have gone silent on us,’ she says.

Copy trading

QVSE relies on what is known as copy trading, where an investor automatically mirrors the trades of another, usually more experienced, trader.

The method allows beginners to participate in financial markets without deep knowledge of chart reading or hours of research, but losses are mirrored just as gains.

In Kenya, the scheme targeted mid-level professionals such as teachers and people in the service industry, as well as small-scale traders and boda boda operators.

Carl, whom investors fondly referred to as ‘Prof Carl’, would send trading signals at specific times. Investors had five minutes to execute each signal before it expired.

Those who put in $500 (Sh65,000) were told they could earn $6 (Sh777) per trade, while those who deposited $1,000 (Sh129,480) were promised $12 (Sh1,553). With two trading sessions a day, Mr Mutuma could make $12 (Sh1,553) a day.

When investors withdrew their money, ‘Prof Carl’ took a 20 percent cut.

Several people interviewed by the Business Daily said ‘Prof Carl’ sent messages and photos purporting to show homes built and TVs bought by QVSE members who had made money from the scheme, reinforcing the impression that the investment was legitimate and profitable.

Accounts frozen

‘Prof Carl’ would also entice investors with the promise of additional earnings.

In late August, he announced what he described as a humanitarian campaign on the trading platform. Some investors said they received automatic deposits of $90 (Sh11,648) a day for 10 days.

Days later, Justus withdrew about Sh47,000. The transaction went through, briefly allaying his concerns and reinforcing his confidence in the scheme. ‘Once you see money coming out, you stop questioning a lot of things,’ Justus says.

On September 5, ‘Prof Carl’ froze the accounts of all investors, accusing them of running multiple accounts to increase the amount they could trade. Each account required a unique phone number and national ID number; investors were accused of using friends’ and family members’ details to create accounts.

‘Following the latest review by the QVSE Market Surveillance Division, severe violations involving single users operating multiple accounts have been detected within Global Investment Group,’ read a notification he sent to users.

The warning cited the US Patriot Act and FINRA Rule 3310, a 2001 rule requiring financial institutions, including broker-dealers, to establish anti-money laundering programmes.

It claimed the rules required financial institutions to verify the ultimate beneficial owner of accounts.

‘Privately borrowing, buying, or selling accounts for third-party operation will directly result in account freezing and permanent bans by the brokerage in accordance with the law.’

‘Prof Carl’ then told investors they would have to ‘activate’ their accounts by depositing an amount similar to their original principal.

‘It started dawning on me that this is a sketchy scheme,’ Mr Mutuma says, laughing at himself.

Read: App developer and the fake AI investment fund that pulled in Sh34m from Kenyans

From then on, he stopped sending trading codes. Investors could no longer withdraw their principal or profits.

‘That’s the point; I knew something wasn’t right. If the money is mine already, why should I pay again just to get it? By the time Carl froze my account, I had $870.39 (Sh112,654),’ Justus says. ‘Seeing it there but not being able to touch it is frustrating.’

Mr Mutuma had $2,100 (about Sh271,740) showing on his account.

‘I had never withdrawn any amount since I joined, which makes me sad. I wanted to wait for it to grow and grow; now all of it is stuck there,’ says the hotel manager.

He spoke of investors who had as much as Sh6 million in the scheme-money they had set aside in the hope of funding major projects.

An administrator of a WhatsApp group for Kenyan investors claimed the team had 12,005 members. If every member had paid the reported minimum contribution of Sh65,000, that would amount to Sh780 million.

The Business Daily could not independently verify the membership figure, the amount paid by individual members or the total amount raised.

Red flags

Looking back, investors say there were early warning signs.

‘The Bonchat platform was restricted; you cannot screenshot anything on the app, and ‘Prof Carl’ was the only person who could post in the group, and comments from any member had to be approved by him,’ Mr Mutuma says.

‘I once tried to screenshot chats. He flagged me and messaged me to warn me about it. Complaints like errors on my account were also not welcome, and he got agitated if you continued complaining.’

Justus noticed a similar mood.

”Prof Carl’ was often defensive and had an attitude when difficult questions were raised in personal messages,’ he says.

‘At one point, he locked my account simply because I had not responded to his message for a week,’ he says, adding that the messages were condescending.

Investors say ‘Prof Carl’ would tell them to withdraw all their cash and leave the scheme if they continued raising questions.

‘There was constant pressure to recruit new members. If the investment capital was genuinely generating profits, why such a persistent push to bring in other people?’Poses Justus.

The teacher also noticed frequent use of flattering language such as ‘friend’ and ‘family’ by strangers, which he suspected was intended to create trust and a sense of belonging among recruits.

Kenya probe

Last month, Kenya’s Parliament raised concerns over QVSE’s operations, particularly its regulatory status, investor protection measures and the legality of its activities in Kenya.

The National Assembly Speaker directed the Finance and National Planning Committee to investigate the platform and report its findings within two weeks. The findings have not been made public.

QVSE has also attracted regulatory attention outside Kenya. In July, Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission flagged it among entities promoting and offering unlicensed investment products in the country.

But QVSE is not the first online investment scheme to leave Kenyans counting their losses. In April 2025, users of cryptocurrency and forex trading platform CBEX lost fortunes after their accounts were emptied.

The platform had attracted Kenyans, Nigerians and Egyptians with promises of AI-powered profits, referral bonuses and easy withdrawals, including returns of up to 30 percent in 30 days.

When contacted by the Business Daily on September 9, the CMA said QVSE was not licensed in Kenya. A spokesperson said copy trading was not officially recognised and was therefore unregulated.

On September 12, the CMA issued a statement flagging QVSE and GIG among 15 entities operating illegally in Kenya and directed affected investors to file reports with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

‘These entities are the subject of active investigations by the DCI in collaboration with the CMA and other law enforcement agencies,’ the regulator said. ‘The Authority strongly cautions the public against dealing with entities and persons disguising their fraudulent activities as investment opportunities.’

Hours later, ‘Prof Carl’ took to Bonchat to rubbish the CMA’s ’emergency notice’ and assure followers that they should continue putting money into the scheme.

‘The content is merely performative and lacks real substance; it is simply a way for them to signal to the public that they are taking action, rather than being based on anything tangible,’ read a message sent to the investors’ group.

The verification process involved investors depositing more money equal to their principal. They were told it was the only way they could withdraw their entire holdings after the accounts were frozen.

Members suffering

However, some investors who put in additional cash say withdrawals have yet to be effected.

‘To be sincere, I can’t tolerate seeing the problem other members are facing. They deposited their money for self-verification, yet they have not received the money back. Why is this happening, Professor? You are aware that 99 percent of members who deposited have not received their money. You gave a deadline of 72hrs and now members are suffering like that; others took money for business. Tell members what is happening. No member who has withdrawn today, yet you say members should verify their account; where will the trust come from?’ One Kenyan lamented.

‘Please initiate my withdrawal. I am getting sick,’ another wrote.

‘I now accept QVSE is completely over and now only AI is managing us,’ another said.

Bonchat messages show ‘Prof Carl’ pushed the deadline by a week, the day the CMA issued its statement, giving investors more time to put in more money.

‘Let the next 168 hours prove everything. Please rest assured that I am always with you-I have never left, and I will never disappear! … Now, only GIG stands with you,’ he says.

For decades, Mombasa’s economic fortunes have been closely tied to its port, tourism and trade. Now, a new wave of investment in digital infrastructure is positioning the coastal city as a key technology hub.

Last month, Greek multinational Amaco Energy Group revealed plans to build a $1.5 billion (Sh194 billion) artificial intelligence (AI) data centre in Mombasa, seeking to tap East Africa’s growing demand for computing infrastructure.

The company has identified Dongo Kundu and Kilindini as potential locations, citing their proximity to the Port of Mombasa and the potential uptake of capacity by firms operating at the nearby Special Economic Zone.

Amaco has also partnered with US energy equipment and services company GE Vernova to provide gas turbines for the project. The Greek firm plans to integrate the turbines into its Hercules power barge, an independently powered system designed to generate electricity without relying on Kenya’s national grid.

Amaco said the proposed data centre will use an offshore liquefied natural gas-powered electricity supply, with the Hercules system processing natural gas and combining electricity generation and cooling systems into a single platform.

‘In addition, the Hercules concept has the potential to contribute significant additional power-generation capacity to support Kenya’s broader energy requirements,’ Amaco said.

The company has not announced the facility’s capacity or construction timeline, and the project awaits government approval.

Analysts say one of Mombasa’s biggest advantages in the race to attract digital infrastructure investment is its position as Kenya’s gateway to the global internet.

At least eight major submarine cable systems land at stations along the Mombasa coast, making the city a key internet gateway in the East and Central Africa region.

Mombasa is the doorway to the digital world for Kenya and its landlocked neighbours such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

This infrastructure gives the city an advantage in hosting data centres because facilities near cable landing stations can access international bandwidth with lower latency, reducing the distance data travels before reaching global networks.

The city’s coastal location also offers opportunities for more energy-efficient cooling systems.

Data centres consume immense amounts of power because they operate thousands of servers to process and store data. They also require large volumes of water for cooling systems that prevent overheating.

Large data centres can consume as much electricity as a small city.

Locating data centres at the coastline or on floating platforms can eliminate the need for fresh water for cooling.

Mombasa has also seen an increase in subsea cables, boosting Kenya’s prospects for more bandwidth and high-speed internet as demand for cloud computing, AI, digital finance and other internet services grows.

The latest infrastructure includes a 4,108-kilometre subsea fibre-optic cable running from Oman to Mombasa under a partnership between US tech giant Meta and the local telco Safaricom.

Through its subsidiary Edge Network Services Limited, Meta has signed up Safaricom as the landing partner for the Daraja high-capacity submarine cable connecting Oman and Kenya.

The cable is fully funded by Meta, supplied by French firm Alcatel Submarine Networks, and is scheduled to be ready for service this year.

The Daraja cable will be Meta’s second submarine cable connecting Kenya, following the 2Africa cable system, which was completed in November last year.

The project comprises China Mobile International, Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, Saudi Telecom Company, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and the West Indian Ocean Cable Company.

At 37,000 kilometres, it is one of the world’s largest subsea cable projects, connecting Europe via Egypt, the Middle East via Saudi Arabia and 21 landings in 16 African countries.

Submarine communications cables are laid on the ocean floor and transmit data between continents. They form the backbone of the global internet, carrying the bulk of international communications, including email, webpages and video calls.

It is estimated that more than 95 percent of the world’s internet traffic is transferred through undersea cables.

When submarine cables reach Mombasa’s cable landing stations, they are connected to terminal equipment, with signals then travelling overland through terrestrial fibre to data centres.

For Mombasa, analysts reckon that the growing number of subsea cables, its port infrastructure and access to the ocean could make similar innovations increasingly attractive as demand for computing capacity rises.

Existing infrastructure has also helped the city attract additional cable projects. Once the first cable, TEAMS, established landing station infrastructure in Mombasa in 2009, subsequent cables could share or co-locate at the same facilities, reducing the cost and complexity of new landings.

Kenya’s large and growing economy, combined with its role as a gateway for landlocked neighbours, is seen to create sufficient demand to justify multiple cable landings, giving Mombasa an edge in offering market access and infrastructure.

Fuel prices remain unchanged in the latest review released on Monday by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra).

In the review, petrol will retail at Sh214.03 per litre in Nairobi, while diesel and kerosene will retail at Sh217.86 per litre and Sh191.38 per litre respectively, in the month ending October 14.

Africa has spent decades trying to help farmers produce more. That work still matters. But it is no longer enough.

The next agricultural revolution will not be won only in fields. It will be won in the spaces between the farm and the market: in warehouses, aggregation centres, cold rooms, pack houses, repair workshops, processing facilities, logistics firms and rural service businesses.

That is Africa’s missing middle. And one of the most overlooked parts of it is not a road, a warehouse or a cold room. It is the technician who keeps the system working.

If Africa wants to reduce food loss, create rural jobs, raise farmer incomes and build competitive agrifood systems, it must stop treating skills as a social programme sitting outside agricultural transformation. Skills are part of the infrastructure of transformation.

Kenya illustrates the issue sharply. A recent World Resources Institute report estimates that about 15 million Kenyans, or 28 percent of the population, face food insecurity, while 30 to 40 percent of food is lost or wasted between production and consumption. The report estimates annual losses at about Sh72 billion, or $578 million.

Those figures are usually discussed as post-harvest loss statistics. They should also be read as labour-market and enterprise-development signals. When maize is lost in storage, farmers do not just need better bags. The value chain also needs reliable drying services, storage operators, quality management, aggregation and financing.

Likewise, when fish spoils before reaching consumers, the problem is often the absence of a functioning cold-chain ecosystem, including refrigeration, transport, maintenance and market coordination. In many cases, food is lost because the system around them remains incomplete.

Kenya’s avocado sector illustrates the point. Losses are lower in export markets because aggregation, grading, traceability and logistics are stronger. Where systems are more complete, losses fall.

Across agriculture, development investments often prioritise visible assets such as cold rooms, warehouses, dryers, trucks, processing equipment and digital platforms. Yet infrastructure alone is not enough. Without the technicians, operators, quality controllers and maintenance specialists needed to run them, even well-funded investments struggle to deliver their full value, and agribusinesses can quickly encounter labour bottlenecks.

This is why agricultural transformation is also workforce transformation. The missing middle is not only missing infrastructure. It is missing the people, capabilities and occupational pathways that allow infrastructure to generate value.

Many young people will continue to work in farming, but some of the fastest-growing opportunities in a modern agrifood economy lie around it: cooling, mechanisation, sorting and grading, packaging, logistics, processing, quality assurance, digital coordination and other rural business services.

These are practical occupations, including technicians, mechanics, processing operators, cold-room attendants, quality controllers, warehouse managers and agribusiness service entrepreneurs.

Positioned between production and consumption, they preserve value after harvest, reduce waste, improve market reliability, support climate resilience and create skilled jobs beyond farming itself.

That is why the missing middle should matter to donors, governments and private investors. It connects food security, youth employment, climate resilience, SME development and value addition in one investment space.

This is where dual apprenticeship becomes relevant to a much bigger conversation than youth employability. A strong apprenticeship system is economic infrastructure.

Agrifood systems need the same employer-led approach to develop the technical occupations that value chains require, from technicians and operators to supervisors, mechanics and quality specialists.

By aligning training with the occupations value chains need, connecting employers and training providers, and treating skills as an investment in productivity, dual apprenticeship can help make food systems transformation operational.

For donors and governments, the question then becomes: what occupations, services and enterprises are required for that production to become income, nutrition, jobs and resilience?

A solar cold room is not only a food-loss intervention. It is an energy, enterprise, climate and skills intervention. A warehouse receipt system is not only a storage intervention. It is a finance, quality and market-discipline intervention. A processing facility is not only a value-addition intervention. It is a workforce, maintenance and SME competitiveness intervention.

This also changes how success should be measured; by whether assets operate commercially, service businesses become viable, skilled employment is created, and more value is preserved after harvest.

Most smallholders will access modern infrastructure through service models rather than ownership if the services are reliable, affordable and linked to real markets.

This is where the missing middle becomes investable. Banks, Saccos, climate funds, county governments and private investors can finance service models that preserve value after harvest. Development partners can help de-risk early adoption, strengthen business models, improve market coordination and support the skills pipelines that these services need.

The difference matters. Donated equipment can solve a short-term visibility problem. Viable service models solve a market problem. They create incentives for maintenance, customer service, pricing discipline, workforce development and scale.

Kenya already knows how to manage high value produce when export markets demand it. The systems exist: aggregation, quality standards, traceability, buyer coordination, cold chain and compliance. The challenge is to bring similar seriousness into domestic and regional markets.

Food consumed in Africa should not pass through weaker systems simply because it is not destined for Europe. Domestic markets deserve the same standards of aggregation, grading, food safety, cold storage and processing as export markets.

This is not only a consumer issue but a competitiveness issue: if Africa is to retain more value from its own production, domestic value chains must become more organised, efficient and investable, supported by skilled people at every step.

First, measure losses seriously. What is not measured remains politically invisible. Better data on food loss should guide investment toward the points in the chain where value is being lost and where services can become viable.

Second, design every major agrifood investment with a workforce plan. Cold-chain, warehousing, processing, mechanisation, logistics and quality infrastructure should come with occupational standards, training pathways, apprenticeship partnerships and maintenance capacity.

Third, finance services rather than assets alone. The critical questions should be: who operates this, who maintains it, who pays for it, who benefits from it, and what makes the model commercially durable after the project ends?

Fourth, make employers central to skills development. They must help define occupations, host learners, assess competence and co-invest where the business case is clear.

Finally, coordinate policy around value chains rather than institutions. Agriculture, trade, energy, transport, education, labour, finance, cooperatives and county governments all shape whether the missing middle can grow. Coordination must become practical, funded and accountable.

Africa lacks the ecosystem that connects production to prosperity: a combination of infrastructure, enterprises, finance, services, standards, markets and the skilled people who make them productive.

Yet, the next agricultural revolution will not be defined only by what happens in fields, but by what happens after harvest, in the missing middle of the food system. This is where food is saved, value is created, SMEs grow and young people find skilled work. It is also where Africa’s agricultural transformation will ultimately succeed or fail.

The challenge is no longer just to grow more food, but to build the technicians, enterprises and services that can turn agricultural potential into economic transformation.

The number of disclosed private investment deals in the East Africa region jumped by 10 percent in the seven months to July 2026, with venture capital and private equity investors remaining bullish despite global shocks from the conflict in the Middle East.

Analysis done by investment firm I and M Burbidge Capital shows that there were 66 transactions recorded in the seven months to July, up from 60 in the corresponding period in 2025.

The analysis tracks disclosed investments across East Africa in private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, commercial and private debt, and investments by development finance institutions (DFIs).

This year, firms have transacted deals under difficult investment conditions due to the war in Iran.

I and M Burbidge Capital noted that higher inflation due to the conflict has been driving capital flows towards developed markets, making it harder for emerging and frontier economies to attract investments.

The rising geopolitical risk has also pushed up the cost of financing for those using debt to fund their investments into the region. Despite these constraints, the deals pipeline has remained resilient this year, primarily driven by private equity transactions that totalled 32 in the seven months, and mergers and acquisitions at 20 transactions.

‘Across the region, governments continued to navigate fiscal pressures, elevated financing costs and external funding requirements, contributing to a cautious investment environment,’ said I and M Burbidge Capital in its East Africa Financial Review report of July 2026.

The firm added that the flow of transactions has shown that investors retain confidence in East Africa’s long-term investment case, while highlighting a market that is becoming increasingly sophisticated, selective, and driven by strategic rather than purely opportunistic capital deployment.

In terms of disclosed value of deals, the total as at July 2026 stood at $1.03 billion (Sh132.7billion), down from $1.18 billion (Sh152.4 billion) in the same period last year.

The lower disclosed value this year relative to the higher number of deals indicates that more of the transaction values were kept private, but also that they have lower ticket prices per deal compared to the corresponding period last year. A number of PE and venture capital firms do not announce the financial value of their transactions, citing confidentiality clauses in deal agreements.

In terms of geographical spread, Kenya continued to host the bulk of the region’s transactions. Nairobi’s status as the regional financial and air transport helps attract deals to the country, including for those firms looking to establish a regional presence.

Kenya led with 43 transactions as at July, followed by followed by Uganda at 12 deals, Ethiopia and Tanzania at four each and Rwanda at three transactions.

Some of the notable deals in Kenya this year include electric motorcycle company Spiro raising $215 million (Sh27.8 billion) from a group of investors led by its Dubai-based parent Equitane and Danish DFI Impact Fund Network to expand its battery-swapping network.

Spiro separately raised $55 million (Sh7.1 billion) from Chinese investment fund NewTrails Capital for the network expansion.

In July, Indian beverage group Varun Beverages Limited acquired the dairy beverages, juices and packaged drinking water business of Devyani Food Industries Kenya Limited for $32 million (Sh4.1 billion).

In June, CFAO Mobility Kenya took a controlling stake of 99.4 percent stake in Thika-based Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) after investing Sh2.4 billion in the assembler.

In other deals this year, agriculture firm AgDevCo made a Sh1.94 billion follow-on investment in Victory Group, an East African aquaculture company producing and distributing Nile tilapia on Lake Victoria, in April.

In January, German air cargo company Celebi Cargo GmbH acquired freight handling firm Transglobal Cargo Centre Limited from businessman Peter Muthoka for Sh5.2 billion, while global fund Mirova announced a Sh2.45 billion investment in Cold Solutions Kiambu, which provides temperature-controlled warehouse and logistics services for the agriculture and pharmaceutical sectors in Kenya.