Category: Business Daily

Middle East Bank Kenya has been sued for failing to transfer a piece of land to a buyer from whom it had received the full transaction price of Sh195.2 million.

Hussein Alibhai Pirbhai and his firm Tranquility Holdings Limited filed an application at Nairobi’s Environment and Land Court seeking to compel the bank to complete the land sale.

In response, the bank sought to have the case dismissed on grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction to resolve the dispute.

The lender argued that it is the High Court that should hear the matter. The Environment and Land Court, however, rejected the bank’s argument, stating that the dispute lies in its domain.

‘In applying the predominant purpose test, it is clear that the intention of the contract in the present case was the sale and purchase of land, which will govern the ownership, occupation and title to the suit land, exactly what this court was designed to hear and determine,’ the court ruled.

‘From the above, I find the notice of motion dated November 25, 2025 misplaced and misconceived. The same lacks merit and it is thus dismissed with costs to the plaintiffs/respondents,’ the court said in the decision issued on February 5, 2026.

Mr Pirbhai told the court that he bought the land in an auction conducted on November 21, 2023, paying a 10 percent deposit amounting to Sh19.5 million and signing a sale agreement with the bank on the same date.

He subsequently instructed Tranquility Holdings on February 20, 2024, to remit the balance of Sh175,750,330 to the bank, which had communicated that the transfer documents were ready for completion.

Mr Pirbhai said he fully discharged all obligations as the purchaser by paying the total of Sh195.2 million, which was the highest successful bid in the auction.

The court heard that the bank did not inform the buyer that there was a pending suit at the High Court that prohibited completion of the sale of the land.

The bank won the High Court case on July 31, 2025 but still failed to transfer the land to Mr Pirbhai.

‘The said (High Court) suit was dismissed on 31st July, 2025 thereby allowing parties to complete the transaction, but the defendant/applicant is yet to complete the sale and transfer the suit property to the 1st plaintiff/respondent,’ the court was told.

The court said that land disputes including on processes like sale and transfer fall within its ambit.

‘Thus, the suit herein arising out of a contract regarding the sale, ownership and title to and use of the suit land falls squarely within the jurisdiction of this court, contrary to the defendant/ applicant’s contention,” the judge said.

An M-Pesa user in Ethiopia on average spends Sh0.50 a month in transaction fees, dimming the power of the mobile money service to grow Safaricom’s profits.

Investor disclosures for the nine months ended December 2025 show M-Pesa revenue in Ethiopia stood at measly Sh12.2 million, translating to a monthly average of about Sh1.4 million from the active 2.36 million users.

This translates to an average user revenue of 50 cents, paling in comparison to the Kenyan monthly average of Sh374.83 in the year to March 2025.

Safaricom had hoped to emulate the success of M-Pesa in Kenya to drive profits in Ethiopia when a consortium it led paid Addis Ababa $150 million (Sh19.4 billion) for the mobile money licence.

But instead of sending money to family and friends via M-Pesa, subscribers in Ethiopia are using the mobile money platform to buy data and airtime -services that don’t attract transaction fees.

‘M-Pesa users in Ethiopia are mainly buying airtime products and data. 20 percent of the sales (bundles and airtime) go through the M-Pesa channel initiated by self-top ups,’ said Wim Vanhelleputte, CEO of Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC, in a past interview.

Safaricom has previously acknowledged that cash remains the default payment instrument in Ethiopia, especially for small-value transactions -the very segment that powered M-Pesa’s early success in Kenya.

‘Banking penetration in urban areas is relatively high but 99 percent of small value transactions are in cash,’ the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm said in a past investor briefing.

Kenyans generate significant revenue for Safaricom by actively using the platform for daily financial transactions, including person-to-person transfers, Lipa na M-Pesa payments, agent withdrawals and digital financial products like Fuliza overdrafts.

During the year ended March 2025, M-Pesa in Kenya generated Sh161.1 billion in revenue supported by a base of 35.82 million monthly active customers, making the platform Safaricom’s single most important business.

Mobile money accounted for 44.2 percent of the telco’s total service revenue that stood at Sh364.3 billion during the year, cementing its position as the company’s primary earnings engine.

The M-Pesa revenue contribution dominance was followed by that of voice at 22.2 percent, data at 20 percent, while messaging services contributed 3.4 percent during the period. In 2010, when M-Pesa was three years old in Kenya as it is in Ethiopia now, the monthly revenue per user averaged Sh79.

In Ethiopia, M-Pesa contributed just 0.13 percent of the total service revenue of Sh9.7 billion for the nine months ended last December, highlighting a stark imbalance between customer adoption and monetisation.

Data revenues accounted for 66.97 percent of Ethiopia’s service revenue at Sh6.5 billion during the period under review, followed by voice and messaging revenues which contributed 21.99 percent and 1.2 percent respectively.

A 2021 report by the World Bank on financial inclusion and digital payments showed that cash in Ethiopia remains an overwhelmingly dominant payment method for the population, a sharp contrast to other markets in the region, including Kenya where non-cash payments have gained a foothold.

‘Most people still rely on cash to pay utility bills and receive payments. Almost all adults at 99 percent pay utility bills with cash, compared to 12 percent of people in Kenya and 59 percent in the region as a whole,’ the report noted.

Kenya’s M-Pesa scaled rapidly after its launch in 2007 by riding urban-to-rural remittance flows, as workers in cities sent money to relatives in villages.

Safaricom launched M-Pesa in Ethiopia in August 2023 as part of a phased rollout strategy prioritising scale before monetisation.

At the end of the first full month of operations, the platform had acquired 1.1 million customers and recorded transactions worth Sh43.7 billion. However, early revenues from the mobile money platform stood at just Sh7.2 million, underscoring initial monetisation challenges.

Financial inclusion indicators have further constrained the scaling of digital financial services, as the World Bank report indicated that only 11 percent of Ethiopians have accessed a loan from a formal financial institution.

Many Ethiopians rely on informal savings groups, family networks or community-based arrangements for borrowing and saving.

Safaricom has positioned M-Pesa as a long-term infrastructure investment aligned with Ethiopia’s ongoing financial sector reforms.

In October last year, M-Pesa was integrated with EthSwitch, Ethiopia’s national payment switch regulated by the National Bank of Ethiopia, connecting the Safaricom-owned platform to more than 30 banks and wallets through a single interface.

This, the telco reports, has enabled real-time wallet-to-bank and bank-to-wallet transfers, reducing fragmentation in the payments ecosystem.

The integration has also enabled interoperable QR (quick response) payments, expanding acceptance across more than 50,000 M-Pesa merchants nationwide, as part of Ethiopia’s National Digital Payment Strategy 2026-2030 launched in December 2025. For M-Pesa, interoperability removes a key bottleneck that previously limited usefulness beyond closed-loop transactions.

Ethiopia’s large population positions it as one of Africa’s biggest long-term growth opportunities for mobile money. The country is Africa’s second-most populous market after Nigeria.

During the six months ended last September, a 59 percent contraction in Ethiopia losses helped raise Safaricom’s half-year profit 52.1 percent to Sh42.7 billion.

The Kenya business continued to be the main profit driver on the back of M-Pesa whose revenue rose 14 percent to Sh88.1 billion up from Sh77.2 billion in a similar period the previous year.

State-controlled National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will take a Sh9.59 billion stake in the 236-kilometre Nairobi-Rironi toll road that has been split between two Chinese firms.

The NSSF is participating in the Sh170 billion public private partnership (PPP) project through a consortium with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on an ownership split of 40 percent and 60 percent.

CRBC and the pension fund will invest $743 million (Sh95.86 billion) in their section of the highway that comprises the 81 kilometres stretch between Rironi and Gilgil, and the separate 58-kilometre Rironi-Maai Mahiu-Naivasha section that is known as A8 South.

The pair is projecting to make an annual dollar return of about 13 percent on their investment via user fees or toll charges.

They will fund their investment through a 25 percent equity injection of $185.75 million (Sh23.97 billion) and debt of $557.25 million (Sh71.89 billion), with the NSSF contributing 40 percent of the equity component.

‘We are only contributing equity. The Chinese partner will go and borrow the 75 percent debt component at low interest rates and bring it to the road,’ said NSSF general manager for finance and investments Ronald Nyamosi last week.

‘On this particular investment, we are targeting between 13 and 15 percent in dollar terms, which when converted to Kenya shillings could rise to 18 percent-which will be there for 28 years.’

The NSSF had initially projected an equity investment of between Sh20 billion and Sh25 billion when its consortium was initially awarded the contract for the entire road project, but has now had to halve the expected outlay due to the split.

The investment marks the first time the NSSF will put money in a public road project as the fund continues to diversify its earnings from bonds and listed equities, which account for 85 percent of its Sh558.1 billion investment assets.

The government brought back the losing bidder Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International Engineering (SDRBI) of China to avoid scrutiny and lengthy approval from the Chinese government due to the large size of the contract.

SDRBI will now construct the 94-kilometre Gilgil-Mau Summit section of the highway, which also includes a viaduct through Nakuru City.

Beijing usually demands approval for overseas projects exceeding $1 billion (Sh129 billion) that are handled by State-owned Chinese firms.

This rule would have likely subjected the Kenyan highway project to a lengthy delay of more than a year awaiting approval, hence the decision to split it into two sections each valued at less than the $1 billion threshold.

President William Ruto is keen to see the project completed before the next General Election in 2027, viewing it as a key selling point to residents of the Rift Valley, western Kenya and Nyanza, where motorists often endure long traffic snarl-ups, especially during the festive season. The project was launched on November 28, 2025.

The road is expected to significantly reduce travel time and ease congestion on the main artery from Nairobi to western Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

An estimated 40,000 vehicles use the Rironi-Mau Summit road daily and are expected to become paying customers once tolling starts.

The Jubilee administration under Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta Kenya had awarded the contract for the construction of the highway to a different consortium led by French firm Vinci SA for 1.3 billion euro (Sh197.9 billion), but the deal was cancelled by his successor and tendered afresh, bringing in the two Chinese firms.

The Ruto administration sought to revisit the terms of the agreement, which the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) said put the risk from insufficient traffic demand on the government.

According to the government, the new contracts awarded to CRBC and SDRBI have no minimum revenue guarantees, which would require the exchequer to compensate the operators if toll collections fall below an agreed level -effectively insulating the project from demand risk.

Instead, the government has written in a clause known as a revenue cap agreement that will see the toll road operators share with the State any revenues generated beyond an agreed threshold, effectively limiting their potential for excessive profits during the concession period.

The road is expected to significantly reduce travel time and ease congestion on the main artery from Nairobi to western Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

An estimated 40,000 vehicles use the Rironi-Mau Summit road daily and are expected to become paying customers once tolling starts.

The Jubilee administration under Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta Kenya had awarded the contract for the construction of the highway to a different consortium led by French firm Vinci SA for 1.3 billion euro (Sh197.9 billion), but the deal was cancelled by his successor and tendered afresh, bringing in the two Chinese firms.

The Ruto administration sought to revisit the terms of the agreement, which the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) said put the risk from insufficient traffic demand on the government.

According to the government, the new contracts awarded to CRBC and SDRBI have no minimum revenue guarantees, which would require the exchequer to compensate the operators if toll collections fall below an agreed level -effectively insulating the project from demand risk.

Instead, the government has written in a clause known as a revenue cap agreement that will see the toll road operators share with the State any revenues generated beyond an agreed threshold, effectively limiting their potential for excessive profits during the concession period.

2026 is not a recovery year for Kenya’s tourism sector. It is a decision year, one that will shape our competitiveness for years to come.

The question before the industry is no longer whether demand exists. It does. The more important question is whether Kenya is prepared to meet that demand with the standards, systems and leadership expected of a globally competitive destination.

Globally, tourism has entered a more disciplined phase. International travel has stabilised, competition among destinations has intensified and expectations have risen.

Research by leading global tourism institutions shows that destinations that perform best over time are those that prioritise service quality, skills development, sustainability, and reliability alongside growth. Volume alone is no longer a strategy.

Kenya enters 2026 with measurable momentum. According to the Tourism Sector Performance Report 2024 released by the Tourism Research Institute under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, the country welcomed approximately 2.4 million international visitors in 2024, marking one of the strongest years on record for inbound travel. These figures confirm renewed confidence in Kenya as a destination. They also raise the stakes.

Travellers today are more discerning, and corporate decision-makers even more so. They are choosing destinations not only on natural appeal or price, but on reliability, professionalism, and values. In this context, it is no longer enough for hospitality businesses to deliver a comfortable room and a good meal.

Global travel research supports this shift. Industry studies referenced by the World Travel and Tourism Council show that majority of travellers now factor sustainability and responsible business practices into their travel decisions, with many actively preferring brands that demonstrate social and environmental accountability. Quality in hospitality is no longer defined by physical comfort but by experience, integrity and trust.

For leaders in the hospitality sector, this raises the bar. Service excellence in 2026 must be consistent rather than occasional. It must be delivered by teams that are trained, supported and motivated, because human capital remains the most important differentiator in hospitality. Sustainability must be practical.

Nairobi has a particularly important role to play in this next phase. As a regional centre for business, diplomacy and conferencing, the city often forms the first and last impression of Kenya.

Leadership in tourism must therefore look beyond short-term performance indicators. Reputation is built gradually and lost quickly.

Trust is earned through consistency, transparency, and accountability across the entire tourism value chain, from airports and transport to hotels, attractions, and service providers.

Kenya has the foundations to lead in this next chapter. The destination is compelling. The talent exists. The global interest is real. What matters now is the discipline to make deliberate choices about the kind of tourism economy we want to build.

If the past few years were about restoring momentum, then 2026 must be about intention. Intention to raise standards. Intention to invest in people. Intention to grow in a way that strengthens, rather than strains, the destination.

The decisions taken this year will determine not only how many visitors Kenya welcomes, but how the country is experienced and remembered.

In an increasingly competitive global market, destinations that lead with trust are the ones that endure.

The share prices of East African Breweries Plc (EABL), Kenya Power and Safaricom have rallied after all three firms declared higher interim dividends to shareholders this past week.

The price rally is attributable to increased demand for the stocks as investors seek to lock in the early cash payout.

Safaricom’s stock has risen the most, growing by 4.57 percent from Sh30.60 on Wednesday before the dividend announcement to Sh32 at the close of trading on Friday last week.

The firm raised its interim dividend payout by 54.5 percent to Sh0.85 per share, up from Sh0.55 per share for the last two comparable financial cycles.

The telco’s share price reached a one-year high price of Sh32.50 in Thursday’s trading session.

The company is set to close its register of shareholders on February 25 ahead of the payment of the dividend by March 31, 2026.

The announcement of the higher interim dividend follows the company realising a 52.1 percent net profit growth to Sh42.7 billion in the half year ended September 2025, buoyed by a double-digit growth of the financial services platform M-Pesa.

Safaricom traditionally declares its interim dividend in the month of February.

EABL and Kenya Power have marked modest share price appreciations of 2.3 and 1.6 percent respectively after also declaring larger interim dividends.

Utility Kenya Power saw its share price rise to Sh15.45 on Friday last week from Sh15.2 on February 2 before the interim dividend disclosure while EABL’s share price increased to Sh250 from Sh245.25 on January 29, a day before the payout disclosure.

The electricity distributor increased its interim dividend by 50 percent to Sh0.3 per share for the half year to December 2025 from Sh0.2 previously.

Kenya Power saw its net profit rise to Sh10.4 billion from Sh9.9 billion.

The interim dividend will be paid on March 27 to shareholders on its register as at February 23.

The company attributed its stronger performance in the half year to improved electricity sales which grew by 6.9 percent from Sh107.42 billion to Sh114.87 billion on higher electricity demand and improved distribution efficiency.

EABL raised its interim dividend by the largest margin of 60 percent after posting a 37.6 percent growth in profit after tax to Sh11.6 billion in the half year ended December 2025.

The firm will pay an interim dividend of Sh4 per share, up from Sh2.50 paid out last year.

The brewer will close its register of shareholders on February 20 before paying out Sh3.16 billion in dividends on April 30.

The higher payouts have lifted Safaricom and Kenya Power year-to-date share price gains to 12.87 percent and 13.6 percent respectively, beating the average performance of the bourse so far in 2026 which sits at 8.65 percent as presented by the Nairobi all-share index (Nasi).

EABL’s share price however remains underwater, marking a year-to-date contraction of 4.94 percent from Sh263 at the end of December 2025 to underline volatility in the stock after the disclosure of a stake sale by Diageo in the company to Japan’s Asahi Group.

The stock price of a company paying an interim dividend increases as more investors buy into the counter to lock in the cash payment.

Share prices however often drops after book closures to reflect the fact that new investors in the stock would not qualify for the payment.

Streaming has become a preferred way to access entertainment. With increasing smartphone penetration, improving internet connectivity, and more flexible data options, streaming offers immediate, accessible and affordable content discovery.

The platform is set to further cement its popularity in 2026. Here’s what lies ahead for streaming audiences across the region.

Content value

As more streaming platforms enter the market, audiences are becoming increasingly selective about where they spend their money. In 2026, platforms that fail to demonstrate depth and consistency in their content libraries risk losing audience loyalty.

For streaming to remain relevant and resilient, content offerings must be both broad and regularly refreshed.

Homegrown and hyperlocal

There is a growing appetite among East African audiences for content that reflects local culture, language and lived experiences. Viewers are increasingly drawn to stories that feel familiar and authentic.

Personalised experiences

As streaming matures across the region, audiences are also expecting more personalised viewing experiences. In 2026, AI will continue to power content recommendations, targeted advertising, and user-specific algorithms that better reflect individual preferences.

This will enable viewers to discover relevant content more easily, while opening up opportunities for interactive formats, dynamic advertising, and e-commerce integrations built around user behaviour.

Sports

Sport remains one of the strongest drivers of streaming adoption in Kenya and across East Africa, with football in particular commanding massive, highly engaged audiences. Given the premium nature of sports content, fans will continue to seek high-quality, reliable viewing from official platforms such as SuperSport.

Streaming security

With the growing popularity of streaming, particularly live sports, content piracy remains a persistent challenge. Sports content continues to attract illicit streaming networks seeking to capitalise on high demand.

In response, cybersecurity providers such as Irdeto have continued to strengthen their anti-piracy capabilities. Technologies such as high-frequency key cycling enable real-time tracking, rapid takedowns, and the redirection of viewers to legitimate streams.

Product innovation

Streaming platforms are innovating to ensure legitimate content remains accessible to users across different income segments. Pricing flexibility, platform bundling and technology-driven enhancements are now central to platform growth strategies.

Bundled offerings that bring together platforms are becoming increasingly common, allowing users to access multiple services through a single subscription.

User education

A more informed cohort of streaming users is emerging across East Africa, one that understands the risks and long-term impact of streaming piracy.

These viewers are increasingly making intentional choices to support legitimate platforms, local creators and the broader content ecosystem. Practising conscious viewing involves being able to identify illicit streams.

The recent collapse of a multi-storey building in Nairobi’s South C is yet another grim reminder of Kenya’s long and painful history of preventable building failures.

Sadly, this tragedy is not an isolated incident, but part of a recurring pattern that continues to claim lives, destroy livelihoods and erode public trust.

A few years ago, a building under construction collapsed at the junction of River Road and Ronald Ngala Street in Nairobi, killing scores of workers and passers-by. Before that, in 2016, a six-storey residential building came down in Huruma Estate, killing at least 49 people, many of them women and children. We could go on and on.

Across these incidents, the warning signs have been strikingly similar: poor workmanship, use of substandard materials, blatant disregard for approved designs, and most critically, regulatory failure. These are not acts of fate; they are failures of systems, discipline and accountability.

While insurance does not prevent buildings from collapsing, it plays a critical role in mitigating the consequences when things go wrong. Before issuing covers such as Contractor’s All Risks, Public Liability or Workers’ Compensation, insurers typically require a project to undergo technical risk assessments.

These assessments review key aspects of a project, including approved architectural and structural designs, soil and geotechnical reports, contractor qualifications, construction methodology, safety procedures and regulatory approvals.

If a project fails to meet minimum risk and compliance standards, insurers may decline coverage, impose exclusions, or require corrective actions before granting coverage.

This creates a strong incentive for developers and contractors to comply with approved designs and statutory requirements, since operating without insurance exposes them to severe financial and legal risk.

This gatekeeping role is vital. It helps minimise, or altogether eliminate, the kind of chaos witnessed in South C, including shortcuts such as bypassing approvals to vary designs during construction.

Crucially, insurers assess design variation controls. Any changes to approved plans-such as adding floors, altering structural elements or modifying load-bearing components-must be supported by revised approvals and engineering certifications.

Projects that bypass approvals or implement unauthorised design changes are flagged as high-risk and may be rendered uninsurable.

In the words of the Architectural Association of Kenya, the 14-storey South C building was an unavoidable tragedy caused by persistent non-compliance in the development control process.

Construction is inherently a high-risk business. Every project is unique, with its own set of technical, financial, environmental and operational challenges.

Identifying and managing these risks is not always easy, but it is far from impossible with careful planning and disciplined execution. When risk turns into reality, it can derail an entire project, damage reputations and, tragically, cost lives. That is why construction risk management is not optional, but essential.

Effective risk management requires the ability to properly assess, control, and continuously monitor risks once they are identified. Importantly, risks are not always negative, and when well-managed, they can lead to increased profitability, stronger client relationships, repeat business and expansion into new markets and sectors.

At its core, risk management in the construction industry is planning, monitoring and controlling measures designed to prevent risk exposure.

This involves identifying hazards, assessing the extent of the risk, implementing control measures and managing any residual risks. It is a fundamental part of project planning and execution.

Keep in mind that construction projects are exposed to a wide range of risks, including financial, environmental, socio-economic and construction-related.

The industry’s volatility is heavily influenced by external factors such as design changes, logistics challenges, physical site conditions, operating environments, environmental concerns and socio-political dynamics. Any of these can derail a project or create dangerous deviations if left unchecked.

Risk management, therefore, becomes a pivotal instrument for identifying these threats, analysing their potential impact and implementing remedial measures before disaster strikes.

The benefits of effective risk management include streamlined operations, enhanced safety, building confidence among investors and clients, and ultimately improving profitability.

In an industry where workers routinely operate at heights, handle dangerous machinery, and perform tasks in hazardous environments, robust risk management procedures are critical to protecting employees, contractors, and site visitors.

A dispute over amounts of carbon credits Koko Networks sought to sell in the global markets and what Kenya was willing to authorise fuelled the collapse of the clean energy startup backed by the World Bank.

Trade Cabinet Secretary (CS) Lee Kinyanjui said Kenya denied Koko Networks licences to sell carbon credits after it emerged that the company would take up the entire share Kenya could claim from the global markets, locking out other firms.

‘The business model did not align. It was not possible to allow everything they wanted to claim because it would mop up everything that Kenya would otherwise do,’ Mr Kinyanjui said on Wednesday.

‘If we took up all the carbon credits that Kenya would get and gave only one company, what would we tell the 10 or 20 other companies that are also eligible for the same, including those in agriculture and manufacturing that would also want to claim?’

Koko filed for administration on February 1 after a dispute with the Kenyan government over the sale of carbon credits.

The company was unable to sell credits into compliance markets under Article 6 of the UN Paris Agreement after failing to receive letters of authorisation from Kenya’s government, denying the firm revenues needed to keep it afloat.

Kenya reckons that Koko wanted approval to sell carbon credits that would have exhausted Kenya’s share of the lucrative compliance markets, adding that the authorisation of the sale would have dented Kenya’s credibility.

Under the UN-supervised compliance market, Nairobi has a limit of carbon credits it can sell to other countries or what companies trading in Kenya can transfer to other nations to help meet the global emission targets.

Those credits cost about $20 in the compliance markets, as much as 10 times the price fetched in the largely discredited voluntary carbon markets-which could not help Koko Networks break even.

Kenya has also questioned the authenticity of the carbon credits generated by Koko Networks, linking the collapse of the firm to several factors, including ‘lack of transparency in the firm’s business model.’

The credits are generated through calculations about how much deforestation – and therefore carbon emissions – are avoided by low-income households switching from cooking with charcoal to using bioethanol made from sugarcane.

In June 2024, the Kenyan government signed an investment framework agreement with Koko that would allow it to sell credits into compliance markets under Article 6 of the UN Paris Agreement. However, the government has not issued the letters of authorisation needed to complete the sale of credits.

This is the first time a State official has publicly offered details on the circumstances leading to the sudden collapse of Koko, which has operated in Kenya for nearly seven years.

Mr Kinyanjui’s comments provide a peek into Kenya’s anticipated defence in in the event of a legal spat with Koko overcompensation.

An agreement inked with the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga), which offers political insurance, legally binds the country to compensate investors if officials block or interfere with trade.

Koko is expected to file a claim for insurance from Miga, alleging breach of contract by the Kenyan government.

Last March, Miga insured Koko’s investment for $179.6mn (Sh23.1 billion), in what was the world’s first carbon-linked political insurance coverage.

The policy explicitly covers government breach of contract.

The World Bank unit is expected to push Kenya for compensation.

The company announced its exit through messages to its 700 staff last week, leaving a market it had invested about $300 million (Sh38 billion), with about 3,000 bioethanol fuel refilling machines and a customer base of about 1.5 million homes.

The company’s business is premised on a model that allows it to supply clean cooking fuels and stoves to low-income households at subsidised rates, then selling carbon credits in global markets to get funds to keep it afloat.

Kenya has set strict control of carbon credits sold from the country through a rigorous criterion on the eligibility of projects that benefit.

Countries buying the carbon credits also set limits to those selling to ensure that activities of the companies claiming the carbon credits have indeed contributed to prevention of emissions.

Kenya issues letters of authorisation to companies selling the carbon credits through the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

To access global markets for sale of the carbon credits, Koko needed to get letters of authorisation from Nema and the two disagreed over the amount of carbon credits it should be authorised to sell, without crowding out other companies.

‘In the tabulation of numbers, there was no concurrence because if Kenya gave in and authorised the numbers they were claiming, no other company in Kenya would have been able to claim. They would have taken everything that Kenya is entitled to,’ Mr Kinyanjui said, citing insights from the meetings he participated in.

The State reckons that the business Koko operated, which played a crucial role in reducing reliance on firewood and charcoal for cooking, was important, but blames the company’s business model for the fallout.

The Trade Cabinet Secretary said Kenya lacks an infinite access to the global carbon credits markets, thus authorising only one company to utilise all the available limits would be detrimental to other companies and industries.

‘If it was allowed, then it would have meant that others would not have space to also claim,’ he said.

Koko is estimated to have raised more than $100 million since it started operations in 2013 in debt and equity.

Its ethanol refills were priced from as little as Sh30 and the stoves at about Sh1,500, making them cheaper than charcoal for poor households.

Following the company’s exit, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on Wednesday announced that its administrators, Muniu Thoithi and George Weru, assumed control of the troubled firm on February 1.

‘Notice is hereby given that Muniu Thoithi and George Weru of PwC Limited were appointed the joint administrators of Koko Networks Limited and Koko Networks Global Services (Kenya) Limited from February 1, 2026 by the directors of the companies,’ PwC said in a public notice.

The company’s exit, however, exposes taxpayers to a Sh23.1 billion bill since it had secured a guarantee from the World Bank to cover its operations against breach of its contract, civil strife and seizure of its land for public use.

Mr Kinyanjui on Wednesday alluded to there having been several attempts to address the issue and avoid a fallout, but the attempts flopped.

‘When the business model is not workable, even if you push the journey at some point it will stall. What the company needs is a rethink and to reconfigure its business model,’ he said.

The network latency on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service in Kenya fell sharply in 2025 following the activation of local network infrastructure, significantly improving the user experience.

Latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel from one point on a network to another.

According to speed-test data from US-based network intelligence firm Ookla, latency on Starlink’s network in Kenya dropped by 87 percent after the company deployed a local point of presence (PoP) in Nairobi in January 2025.

Latency, typically measured in milliseconds (ms), strongly affects the responsiveness of digital activities such as video conferencing, online gaming and streaming. Lower latency improves the quality of real-time services, while high latency can result in delays, buffering and slow page loads.

In 2025, latency for Starlink users in Kenya improved from 296ms at the beginning of the year to an average of 39ms – one of the sharpest reductions recorded on the Starlink network, according to Ookla.

Starlink’s local infrastructure in Nairobi serves as a relay between its satellites and terrestrial fibre networks. By shortening the distance data must travel over satellite links and avoiding routing through distant overseas ground stations, the PoP reduces round-trip times for internet traffic.

‘Kenya best illustrates the importance of nearby ground stations when it comes to Starlink’s latency,’ said Mark Dano, Ookla’s lead research analyst, in a research article.

‘A number of East African countries saw a significant improvement in Starlink latency early this year, likely linked to the deployment of a new Starlink PoP in Nairobi in January 2025,’ he added.

The deployment of the Nairobi PoP marked a strategic move by Starlink to address capacity constraints that had led to a temporary freeze on new sign-ups in urban centres from late 2024 until early 2025.

During that period, the company paused registrations in Kenya and several other African countries to prevent network congestion, before reopening sign-ups after the infrastructure upgrades.

While latency has improved significantly, download speeds for Starlink users in Kenya remain variable. Median speed tests reported by Ookla in September 2025 showed average download speeds of about 44 megabits per second.

Starlink’s latency in Kenya is expected to improve further as the company rolls out additional software and infrastructure upgrades globally.

‘You can expect latency to continue to improve as we prioritise software changes, build additional ground infrastructure and launch more satellites,’ Starlink said in a public communication last year.

Agricultural firm Sasini is set to sell a coffee estate in Kiambu County for Sh7.9 billion in a transaction that is expected to result in a substantial profit in the form of capital gains.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm has disclosed the ongoing disposal of the property, which has a carrying value of Sh3.7 billion, in its latest annual report.

‘On 17 September 2025 the group agreed to sell the Gulmarg Division in Mweiga Estates Limited. For this reason, the results of the operations have been disclosed as discontinued operations and the assets classified as current assets held for sale,’ Sasini said in the report.

At Sh7.9 billion, the value of the transaction dwarfs Sasini’s market capitalisation of Sh4.6 billion as of Friday. This demonstrates that the company is trading at a fraction of its assets, a discount that has been seen in other agricultural firms listed on the NSE.

Pending transaction

While the value of the land held by the companies continues to grow, the firms keep swinging from profits to losses in line with cycles in the commodities they grow and sell including coffee, tea and macadamia.

This has seen them post record earnings and dividends and also losses and dividend droughts, making their financial performance among the most erratic on the NSE.

Sasini says it had not received payment for the property as of the time of the release of the annual report. The company added that there are no liabilities related to the disposal of the asset, meaning it will bank nearly all of the sales proceeds.

The pending transaction is the latest asset sale by Sasini which has over the years disposed of divisions and non-core properties.

The operations it is selling now had a net profit of Sh10.6 million in the year ended September, helped by growth in the value of its plantations.

The division had posted a net loss of Sh6.3 million the year before. Other assets that Sasini has sold previously include its former building on Nairobi’s Loita Street, which it disposed of for more than Sh600 million in 2015.

In the same year, it sold 513.7 acres of its leasehold land in Nyeri for Sh1 billion. The land housed its two coffee estates in Nyeri, which it said had been running losses for years.

Coffee trading

The coffee business, which has underperformed in recent years, had the largest net profit of Sh237.2 million in the year ended September 2025 while Avocado and macadamia made losses to weigh down the group’s earnings which stood at Sh177.3 million.

‘The coffee trading unit was the standout performer, achieving its highest ever profits,’ said Sasini.

‘Despite a decline in the production volumes in coffee estates due to adverse weather, price realisations at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange were exceptional, averaging $6.19 per kilogramme [compared to $4.65 per kilogramme in 2024].’