Category: Business Daily

The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has stopped Speedaf Logistics Limited from declaring some of its employees, including courier officers, riders and drivers, redundant.

This is pending the hearing of a case filed by the Communication Workers Union of Kenya (CWU), which accuses the courier and delivery services company of using mass layoffs disguised as restructuring to thwart unionisation efforts.

In court documents seen by the Business Daily, CWU says Speedaf’s July 9 redundancy notice was a ploy to dismantle union representation, just months after 35 workers had joined the union.

In its verdict, the court noted that the union had demonstrated a prima facie case (sufficient evidence at first glance to support its claims) and that the affected employees risked total job loss if the process continued before the case was heard.

It ordered Speedaf to halt all redundancy actions under the July 9 notice.

‘Pending the hearing and determination of this claim, the respondent is hereby restrained from declaring the claimant’s members and unionisable employees redundant pursuant to the notice dated July 9, 2025,’ reads the October 31 ruling.

Further, the court directed CWU and Speedaf to file their responses within 21 days.

The union claims the company neither consulted it nor notified the County Labour Officer as required by law, and was using restructuring as an excuse to replace some of its staff with outsourced labour under a new franchise model.

‘Respondent expressed its intention to close its business and transfer operations to several other entities described as enfranchises,’ CWU submits.

According to Speedaf’s replying affidavit, its total workforce comprised 114 employees at the time of the redundancy notice, 34 of whom CWU had recruited, representing 29.82 percent of the total workforce.

The company, however, argues that this figure falls short of the statutory threshold required for recognition per the Labour Relations Act, which stipulates that a union needs a simple majority of the unionisable employees (at least 50 percent plus one) to be legally recognised.

Speedaf holds that it was restructuring to improve efficiency, reduce parcel losses and resource theft, and ensure sustainability. It maintains that it informed the union about the restructuring before sending out redundancy notices.

Additionally, the company accuses a CWU recruiter of coercing employees, including those in management positions, to join the union.

On its part, CWU says the company has since been recruiting new employees; the union claims it confirmed the engagement of nearly 20 new staff within a month of declaring redundancies.

It terms the purported redundancies as retaliatory, targeting its members for their trade union activities and aimed at undermining the ongoing recognition dispute.

The TelPosta Pension Scheme has activated a nationwide disposal of 64 houses and plots of land in a bid to correct a massive breach of investment limits that has left the fund overexposed to real estate.

The scheme is selling 16 flats, 14 vacant plots and 34 bungalows spread across Nairobi, Naivasha, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Kericho, Karatina, Isiolo and other towns, in one of the biggest single pension property disposals seen in recent years.

The current real estate exposure currently stands at 82 percent of its total asset base, which is nearly three times above the legally set limit of 30 percent.

Trustees of the scheme said the sale of the properties is necessary to restore compliance and free up liquidity to settle benefits for pensioners who were members of the old State-owned telecoms and postal sector before the liberalisation era changes at the turn of the millennium.

The firms included the defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation, Telkom Kenya Limited, Postal Corporation of Kenya and the Communications Commission of Kenya (now Communications Authority of Kenya).

The pension scheme inherited most of the assets more than two decades ago during the government’s restructuring of the postal and telecommunications sector.

‘In November 1999, the government vested in TelPosta Pension Scheme trustees various properties for purposes of discharging pension liabilities in respect of any person who on June 30, 1999, was entitled to receipt of a pension,’ wrote the trustees in a public notice.

As the cash demands on the scheme grew, especially from retirees whose pension rights stretch back to the late 1990s transition period, the mismatch between physical assets and liquid income-generating assets appears to have reached a breaking point.

‘The scheme’s property portfolio currently stands at 82 percent, which is above the 30 percent limit set by law. The board of trustees sought and received concurrence to dispose of the properties to ensure compliance,’ added the trustees.

The properties have now been formally placed on tender, with bids closing on December 1 this year.

Real estate has been among the top attractive holdings for many legacy pension schemes, especially those that inherited land and housing stock during State restructuring phases in the 1990s.

This has, however, created liquidity hitches for funds that require cash to meet pension payment obligations.

The High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the widow of former Finance Minister Arthur Magugu, over a contested land worth Sh17 billion in Muthaiga North.

The court dismissed the petition saying issues raised by Margaret Wairimu Magugu, touched on land and should be handled by the Environment and Land court.

‘The matters raised in the petition are issues preserved for the Environment and Land court. The court is therefore, precluded from assuming jurisdiction in matters reserved for other courts,’ said the judge.

The widow had accused Karura Investment of illegally hiving off part of her 82.4-acre land in Muthaiga North and was in the process of subdividing and disposing the disputed land.

Karura Investments Limited, which claims to own the land, asked the court to dismiss the case arguing that it was a fresh attempt by Ms Magugu to litigate the matter after failing in previous occasions.

Evidence presented in court showed that Magugu obtained the title deed for a 101-acre piece of land in Muthaiga from Joreth Ltd on December 16, 1982. Magugu used the land, registered as LR number 12422/9, as collateral when his company Commercial Commodities Ltd borrowed Sh25 million from Grindlays Bank, now trading as Stanbic.

In November 1988, Magugu allegedly instructed his surveyor to initiate subdivision of the property into two parcels – one measuring 88.6 acres and another 12.9 acres. On October 25, 1993 the land was eventually subdivided into LR number 12422/203 measuring 12.9 acres and LR number 12422/204 measuring 88.6 acres.

But on the same morning, another application to subdivide the larger portion was made, and the subdivision process completed within three-and-a-half hours. The application was given the same computation number as Mr Magugu’s from five years earlier – 23380.

Ms Magugu said the family discovered the changes when she filed a succession case. The court, allowed Ms Magugu to appeal against the ruling.

Art lovers in Nairobi splashed nearly Sh30 million as they fought for a chance to grab some of the rarest artworks from the region and beyond.

When the dust settled, a 1968 painting ‘Baobab under the Red Moon’ by Tanzanian artist Francis Msangi, who died in 2003, emerged the most coveted item of the evening, fetching Sh3.5 million.

The painting sparked a six-minute bidding war, making it one of the night’s most fiercely contested lots.

With its auction value put at between Sh1 million and Sh1.5 million, the painting shattered the fences of its valuation as the bidding war raged on.

The Tanzanian artist also had the second most expensive artwork of the night. His 1961 oil-on-canvas painting ‘Lusiki’, which features a woman in the nude lying on her side, sold for Sh1.6 million after five minutes of topsy-turvy bids. This was the first time ‘Lusiki’ was up for grabs at the event.

The Art Auction East Africa, organised by the Nairobi-based Circle Art Agency in conjunction with South African auction house Strauss and Co, saw collectors and enthusiasts gather in Nairobi’s Kilimani for a night of cut-throat bidding.

With the auction generating more than Sh29 million, it became the highest-grossing art sale of the last three years. In 2024, the organisers said, the auction generated more than Sh27 million.

In 2023, the total sales were Sh23.3 million. Sales for 2022 were above Sh30 million while the 2021 auction netted Sh25.25 million.

During Wednesday’s auction, 66 artworks were up for grabs, with the sales target being Sh27 million. Not only was the target surpassed by at least Sh2.7 million, but also there was a surge in the valuation of some of the items available.

Tanzanian artists bagged the top three slots of the most prized artworks of the night. With Francis claiming the first two, the third spot was taken by Sam Joseph Ntiro with his oil-on-canvas painting ‘Working in the Fields’ estimated to have been done in the 1970s. Sam, who died in 1993, posthumously saw his painting fetch Sh1.3 million.

Francis, on the other hand, studied art at Makerere University, where he was awarded the Trowell Prize for top performance.

He taught art at Nairobi and Kenyatta Universities from 1968 to 1973 before moving to California for 12 years to study on a scholarship. Studying art up to PhD level, he later returned to Kenyatta University where he lectured at the arts department.

The fourth most prized artwork was ‘Still Life’ by Ugandan artist Geoffrey Mukasa, who died in 2009. It sold for Sh1.2 million.

According to the auction organisers, Geoffrey is a Ugandan royalty. He spent part of his childhood in the King’s palace in Buganda. Following the coup of Idi Amin, Geoffrey left Uganda to study fine art at the Lucknow College of Arts and Crafts in India.

Coming fifth was the 2021 acrylic-on-canvas artwork ‘The Movement of Daisies’ by Sudanese artist Miska Mohammed that fetched Sh1.1 million.

The top four top-grossing artworks were in the ‘rare works’ category.

Speaking to the BDLife before the auction, Strauss  and  Co managing executive director, Susie Goodman, said: ‘We’re hoping to sell about Sh25 million to Sh26 million worth of art.’

Alastair Meredith, a senior art specialist at Strauss  and  Co, said there has been little exposure of some of the artists whose works were on offer, meaning not all in the audience appreciated ‘what artists, what modernists they were’.

Danda Jaroljmek, the director of the Circle Art Agency, who established Art Auction East Africa in 2013 as a platform to cultivate a secondary market for East African artists, said in a press release ahead of the auction that the works on sale, especially those from East Africa, ‘underscore the breadth of artistic practices over the past six decades’.

While it had earlier been indicated that the oldest item at the auction would be ‘Lusiki’, buyers were treated to a surprise treat of three paintings from 1926 by South Africa’s Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, who died in 1957.

Two of his works did not meet the reserve price, but one of them, ‘Mombasa’, sold for Sh446,120. It was done with watercolour and pencil on paper.

Kenyan artists had a night of mixed fortunes at the auction. The Kenyan artist with the most sought-after item for the evening was Justus Kyalo, whose 2021 painting ‘More Light a Little’ fetched Sh1 million after three minutes of bidding.

Justus, who is trained as an illustrator, is a celebrated artist whose work can be found in many collections including KPMG, the French Embassy, Ford Foundation, Safaricom, and the World Bank in Washington.

The second most successful Kenyan was Beatrice Wanjiku, whose 2010 ‘We Are Who We Are’ snapped Sh938,200. Beatrice, an alumna of the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts, has created works that have been exhibited and collected widely.

Another unique Kenyan project was a sculpture made collaboratively by Kenyan sculptor Gakunju Kaigwa and Zimbabwean sculptor Tapfuma Gutsa. Titled ‘Mami Wata’ and made just this year, it fetched Sh692,660, making it among the top 12 sellers of the night.

This was the first time that Strauss and Co was involved in the auction.

‘We are especially excited to deepen our engagement with artists, collectors, and institutions in East Africa. Strauss and Co has a global client base, and we are excited at the prospect of taking our clients on this exciting journey,’ said Ms Goodman ahead of the auction.

This year’s auction also saw the coming in of an art insurer – iTOO Insurance – that was brought in by Strauss and Co. Gail Bosch, the iTOO Artinsure Product Head, said in a press release that the firm is exploring the East African market.

‘With the worldwide popularity of African art, we are looking forward to offering our specialist cover for collectors and fine art dealers to the broader East African and African market and sharing our expertise,’ she noted.

Safaricom reported a 52.1 percent rise in its half-year profit to Sh42.7 billion, helped by a smaller loss in Ethiopia and M-Pesa’s double-digit growth.

Its net profit grew from Sh28.11 billion the previous year, and it expects to declare an interim dividend in February.

The Kenya business continued to be the main profit driver on the back of M-Pesa, the firm’s largest unit and on course to generate half of the telco’s revenues.

Its reported loss in Ethiopia dropped by 59 percent compared to the first half of the previous financial year, which was heavily impacted by a depreciation of the birr currency.

The loss in Ethiopia that is attributed to Safaricom dropped to Sh15.2 billion from Sh19.4 billion in the same period a year earlier, translating to a gain of Sh4.2 billion.

Safaricom launched in Ethiopia in 2022 as the Addis government opened up the tightly-controlled economy to foreign competition and is hoping its presence in Africa’s second most populous country will power future growth.

Its diversification from the saturated voice and SMS business is paying off, with M-Pesa, mobile data and fixed internet emerging as sales drivers.

Revenue growth

Safaricom’s revenue rose to Sh199.9 billion in the six months to September, from Sh179.9 billion in the same period a year earlier, reflecting a 11.1 percent growth.

Revenue from mobile financial service M-Pesa rose to Sh88.1 billion from Sh77.2 billion previously, reflecting a growth of 14 percent.

‘In Ethiopia, currency reforms are starting to create a more liquid market and losses in our business have reduced by 20 percent as our business matures, even as current and pricing reform challenges persist,’ Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said at a briefing.

‘New areas like insurance and investment have allowed us to add more value to the M-Pesa base we have. So, if you have a boda boda rider with a connectivity solution, and then we provide insurance, they will see more value from Safaricom.’

At 2.30 pm, the firm’s shares were trading at Sh29.70 compared to Wednesday’s closing price of Sh29.90 at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, where it has gained 81.76 percent since the start of the year.

Safaricom is also ramping up its data business to offset a decline in mobile calls on increased investments in 4G and 5G networks, as voice saw a small revenue fall due to saturation and rivals like WhatsApp.

The voice business recorded a 0.5 percent decline in revenues to Sh41 billion, marking a big shift as mobile data for the first time overtook sales from calls.

The telco has, in the past five years, raced to convert millions of 2G and 3G users to 4G and some to 5G.

This has come through partnerships like the one with Google, where they are offering affordable smartphones, with customers paying as little as Sh20 a day for nine months.

Besides M-Pesa, data is one of Safaricom’s fastest-growing revenue lines, and it hopes that increased smartphone usage will boost it further.

Revenue from mobile data, where Safaricom has been aggressively fighting for market share, rose 18.2 percent to Sh44.4 billion, while fixed internet to homes and offices rose 10 percent to Sh9.1 billion.

‘We have seen a shift during the first half, indicating changes in customer preference where we have seen voice and messaging revenues drop, but this has been compensated by the growth in mobile data,’ said Dilip Pal, Safaricom chief finance officer.

‘Mobile data revenue has for the first time surpassed voice revenue and now accounts for 21 percent of total service revenue. The number to look at is 4G devices within our network and from that, the number of customers using more than 1GB (one-gigabyte) of data per month has increased.’

Revenues from SMS dropped 10.9 percent to Sh5.5 billion as messaging apps like WhatsApp continue to munch its market share.

The shifts in earnings reflect Safaricom’s alteration from a telecom firm to a technology and financial services company offering loans to insurance and unit trusts.

Safaricom expects to make a profit in Ethiopia in the year ending March 2027.

The Senate has asked the High Court to dismiss a petition by techies who are opposed to a law granting immunity to global tech firms such as Meta and Google, from prosecution for labour and human rights violations.

Senate says the case challenging the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024 is speculative and premature.

The Bill, which grants tech companies immunity from being sued in Kenya for labour and human rights violations, has since been transmitted to the National Assembly for consideration.

There are ongoing court cases where workers including content moderators have sued Meta- the owner of Facebook, for alleged human rights violations and toxic work environment.

The techies are apprehensive that if passed into law, the Act will prevent future legal action against global tech firms, for similar abuses.

‘The orders sought in the application and the petition further violate the principle of separation of powers that requires each arm of government to carry out their roles independently and without interference from the other arms of government,’ the Senate said in response.

The Senate added it was not necessary to grant the orders stopping the processing of the Bill, as the court can still exercise its powers in the event it is passed into law.

According to the Senate, the lawmakers passed the Bill pursuant to their constitutional mandate and the orders being sought were therefore, an affront to the legislative role of Parliament.

The court directed the tech workers to serve the court documents on the National Assembly and set the case for mention on November 25, for directions.

The 34 tech workers stated that while the Senate had asked the public to submit memoranda on the Bill, no real effort was made to consider the documents.

Further, they said a public participation report was not presented to the Senate, and the tech workers were, therefore, denied an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the legislative process.

Tech workers said of interest to them is Clause 10 of the Bill, which provides that in cases where tech workers have been engaged through Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies acting as agents for tech companies, it is the BPO that would be liable for any claim raised by tech workers regardless of whether another party (the tech company) was responsible for providing the tools of trade and was the sole beneficiary of the tech worker’s labour.

The impact of the provision, argued tech workers, is to cushion tech companies from being held accountable for violations of Kenyan laws.

‘While the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill has yet to be considered by the National Assembly and therefore yet to become law, the harm addressed by this Petition has materialised, making this Petition one that is ripe for consideration by the court,’ stated the petition.

The petitioners pointed out that the extensive use of these technology services in Kenya and in Africa has created a huge appetite for tech workers to power their operations.

The High Court this week quashed the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra) guidelines that had compelled saccos to start making provisions on the billions of shillings invested in Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (Kuscco).

The directive, issued mid-January 2025, came after a forensic audit revealed Kuscco suffered a Sh13.3 billion heist under the watch of former officials who have since been charged in court.

Sasra acting CEO David Sandagi spoke to the Business Daily on his reading of the court’s judgment and the way forward for the sector, given that the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are applied globally.

What is your reading of the court’s decision to quash Sasra’s guidelines on making provisions following the discovery of fraud at Kuscco?

That is the position of the law in interpreting our guidance note, and we respect it. At the end of the day, the Statutory Instruments Act requires statutory instruments, as defined, to be canvassed in a manner that befits what public participation ought to be.

Where does this judgment leave the sector, given that IFRS 9 is global and this standard is one of its guidelines to the accounting profession when making decisions and preparing financial reports?

Our guideline was just an emphasis of the IFRS 9-a standard which cannot be waived. We are talking about the standard on ensuring fair statement of assets in financial statements are made.

In the context of finance professionals, whose practice is dictated by standards and law, they cannot stop using the standard.

There is the interpretation through the courts about the accounting and reporting standards, and there is the expectation of directors in ensuring that the firms they oversee prepare and provide financial statements that reflect a true and fair view.

What are the next steps now?

Reporting standards go beyond just impairment. Even for comparison, when we want to compare how the sector in Kenya is performing versus Canada, we rely on IFRS for comparisons. Our engagements with saccos will continue. The standard exists, and the law exists. I don’t want to reinterpret a judgment, but I want to state that the financial reporting standards remain standard.

And maybe what that [court judgment] could imply is that whereas there was an agreed-upon period [from Sasra] where these impairment losses would be recognised, it would hit saccos a bit harder because they would now be required to make a one-off impairment provision in line with IFRS 9.

Sasra came under criticism for issuing the guidance for staggered provisioning as opposed to one-off provisioning in line with IFRS 9. Was your guideline a misstep right from the beginning?

Not really. That [one-off provisioning] would have left so many saccos in challenges if they were to do that.

Regulators come in to guide the methodology of adopting standards. As regulators, we have the responsibility to assess the status of the industry and provide a certain path that does not expose the industry to many more macroeconomic risks.

It is our prerogative to ensure stability. So, it was about assessing the realities and making reasonable trade-offs. For instance, right now we are required to have adopted IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures), but it is phased.

What will be your take on any sacco that may deem this judgment as something that tells them not to make provisions as is required by IFRS 9?

The standard has not been waived. The judgment has nothing to do with the standard. It has everything to do with our guidance note. The standard remains. The law remains.

It is not just about Kuscco. It is about the impairment losses and the requisite accounting treatment that the industry ought to comply with in terms of standards, laws, policies and regulations.

Finally, provisioning does not mean that when saccos are eventually able to realise returns from their investments – such as inflows generated from those investments- they are forfeiting those assets. In other words, making a provision does not mean letting go of the investment.

There are activities that the ministry [of co-operatives] is pursuing to help bring back and steady Kuscco. It is not a lost cause. It’s not a write-off and forget situation. When conditions improve, saccos have a chance to book the money back in their books-again in line with the standard.

How will you handle saccos that read this judgment to mean no provisioning for the Kuscco hit?

The point is that the reporting standard, the legal requirements and the legal expectations of the board of directors are not as discretionary as they would be made to appear.

The sacco business is not a Shylock arrangement. There are very clear tenets, and they will guide how we interact beyond this judgment. At the end of the day, the law remains as is, and the standard has not been waived.

Some entities have already made 100 percent provisions, and their boards are comfortable with the decisions that they made from their level of assessment of the likelihood of loss from Kuscco and other transactions.

We are not opposing the judgment. This will accord us an opportunity to engage while acknowledging that the standard and the law remain. Some entities have made 100 percent provisions from their level of assessment of likely losses, and their boards are okay with it.

The judgment does not contradict the standard. It leaves it to the leadership of the board and management of each sacco to assess and make provisions in line with the standard. And the standard says ‘one-off.’

So it cannot be that saccos won’t apply it.

In Kenya, we are also guided by the Accountants Act, the Sacco Societies Act and the International Financial Reporting Standards.

The determination of whether an asset is likely to generate future cash inflows – and consequently, whether it should be impaired – is not a vague or subjective exercise. It is guided by clear criteria. An entity cannot continue to recognise an item as an asset for years when it no longer meets the definition of an asset, particularly in terms of its ability to generate cash flows and satisfy other recognition criteria.

Given the vibrancy of Kenya’s sacco movement in Africa and globally, what measures are being implemented to ensure the sector remains competitive and aligned with financial best practices?

We are coming to a place where, through the ministry and the guidance and leadership of the Cabinet Secretary [Wycliffe Oparanya], the focus is to strengthen the regulatory standing of Sasra as well as the compliance levels within the sector.

We are talking about a country with the largest sacco sector in Africa and the seventh in the world. We need to ensure we fully comply with all overarching reporting standards, including sustainability. As we head there, we have a roadmap through the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya.

The market value of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) closed above Sh3 trillion for the first time in the wake of a remarkable rally that began last year and was then turbocharged by Safaricom’s profit announcement on Thursday.

The value of all stocks at the Nairobi bourse rose to Sh3.044 trillion at the close of trading yesterday, up from Sh2.991 trillion on Wednesday.

Analysts say the 2025 market rally has ridden on the back of lower returns on fixed income assets, including Treasury bills and bonds.

This has pushed investors to pour cash into shares, with the NSE posting a return of 56.9 percent since the start of the year and increasing equity owners’ paper wealth by Sh1.1 trillion.

The return beats other asset classes like bonds, real estate and fixed bank deposits.

On Thursday, Safaricom and KCB helped lift the market above the Sh3 trillion mark after threatening for days to hit the milestone.

Safaricom’s value grew Sh16 billion on Thursday to Sh1.213 trillion after its stock rose to Sh30.30 from Sh29.90 from Wednesday’s close on the day it reported a 52 percent jump in half-year profits.

Safaricom’s net income rose to Sh42.7 billion in the six months through September from Sh28.1 billion a year earlier after narrowing losses in its Ethiopian operations and double-digit growth in M-Pesa revenues.

KCB’s share price rose from Sh63.25 to Sh69 on Thursday, adding Sh18.5 billion to the market.

Gains in blue chips, including Safaricom, Equity and KCB, are behind the surge in the market valuation.

Small caps like Sameer Africa, Home Afrika and NSE have chalked gains of 515 percent, 205 percent and 236 percent, respectively.

‘It has to do with investors turning on risk as interest rates come down. As the returns from fixed income fall, investors seeking higher returns have had to re-profile their portfolios towards equities,’ said Wesley Manambo, a Senior Research Analyst at Standard Investment Bank (SIB), in an earlier interview.

Investors have taken advantage of long periods of market undervaluation to pile into stocks on the expectation of a recovery and higher gains.

Corporate earnings are expected to sustain the momentum of stocks into the end of the year and early 2026 in what could favour blue chip counters that are largely preferred by foreign and local institutional investors because of their profits and dividends track record.

Banks are expected to continue growing their profitability on the back of cost containment measures as they find efficiency in digital investments and lower their loan-loss provision costs.

‘For as long as there is liquidity in the market, the demand for stocks will always outstrip supply, sending share prices higher,’ Mr Manambo added.

The return of foreign investors who have remained net sellers for most of the year could also fuel the extension of the rally.

Of the Sh1.1 trillion gain, the top five counters-Safaricom, Equity, KCB, East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) and NCBA -accounted for over 72 percent of the gains.

This reflects the outsized influence of the counters, which makes it difficult to gauge the performance of the NSE.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has raised alarm over the dominance of a handful of counters on the market and has been seeking interventions to ease their stranglehold.

My cousin’s job was winding down, so I met him briefly at Kettle House on Nairobi’s Muthangari Road to offer moral support-with a few beers, of course. He’s not one to lament, this cousin. Very stoic. He talks about losing a job the same way you’d talk about losing a sock-mild inconvenience, nothing personal. And those are the ones to watch; the ones who don’t show emotion.

I hadn’t been to Kettle House since pre-Covid. The last time I was there, a woman was beating a man with her purse outside by the roadside at 2am. That was fun to watch. The whole place has mutated.

There’s now a massive tented section that looks like another bar altogether, flashing lights and a deejay going by the name Me Super Fly. I found parking inside, a big mistake, as I’d soon learn. Cars were packed like sardines. [Pro tip: don’t park inside unless you plan to leave at dawn.

He comes here often, my cousin, and he’d warned me that the place doesn’t pick up until much later. At that hour, the deejay was just stretching, warming up, testing the limits of our patience.

Our waitress was a young Congolese girl with an opaque smile. ‘You are very far from home,’ I told her. She tried to talk us into ordering Ugandan food. The irony didn’t escape me, a Congolese selling Ugandan cuisine in Kenya.

Later, I spotted a friend I hadn’t seen in dog years. She was drinking cider with another lady. They joined our table. Mid-conversation, her friend leaned in and said, ‘That man over there looks familiar. I can’t place him.’

Four men sat at a table nearby. One had that kind of face that you are sure you have seen but can’t recall where. My friend squinted. ‘That’s Sudi,’ she whispered. Her friend groaned. ‘Oh boy.’

The music got better, or maybe it was the drinks. The crowd swelled with night’s usual suspects: everyone chasing something they wouldn’t find. Kettle House, I noticed, isn’t for the fainthearted. It’s for people who take fun seriously, who go home at sunrise, or sometimes, not at all.

Walk into a film set in Lagos, a music studio in Nairobi, or an editing suite in Johannesburg, and you’ll witness something extraordinary: Africa is bursting with creativity.

Young people are telling stories, producing films, animating worlds, and composing music that resonates far beyond our borders. The question is no longer whether Africa has talent; it’s whether we’re doing enough to harness it.

The global creative economy is booming. It contributes over $2.2 trillion to GDP and employs over 30 million people. Africa, with a population of over 1.4 billion, most of them under the age of 25, is uniquely positioned to claim a big share of this opportunity. But to do so, we must invest in our most powerful resource: our people.

For decades, Africa’s film, television, and entertainment industries have been celebrated for their potential but held back by a persistent skills gap.

Passionate creatives often lack access to structured training, mentorship, and the tools needed to bring their visions to life. Without these foundations, talent risks being stifled before it ever reaches the global stage.

Encouragingly, change is underway. Across the continent, organisations are building platforms that nurture the next generation of African creatives.

These initiatives offer hands-on training, mentorship, and exposure to global industry standards. The result? Not just better films and music, but stronger industries that create jobs, drive innovation, and fuel economic growth. Consider the ripple effect of supporting just one filmmaker.

A well-trained director assembles a team of editors, costume designers, set builders, sound engineers, and other professionals.

Each project becomes a small business. Multiply that across the continent, and you have an ecosystem capable of rivalling Hollywood, Bollywood, or South Korea’s K-wave.

But talent cannot thrive in isolation. Governments, private sector players, and educational institutions must collaborate to build sustainable creative industries.

That means policies that support local content, tax incentives for productions, and investments in modern studios and equipment. It also means recognising the creative economy as a serious contributor to national development, and not as a side hustle.

Mindset matters, too. Too often, creative careers are dismissed as impractical or unserious. That must change. When nurtured, these industries have the power to shape global perceptions of Africa, tell authentic stories, and generate significant economic returns.

African music already dominates global charts. Nollywood is one of the largest film industries in the world by volume.

Streaming platforms are commissioning African content at unprecedented rates. The next step is ensuring our creatives are not just participating, but competing.

Technology is a powerful enabler. Digital platforms have democratised access to audiences, allowing creators to bypass traditional gatekeepers.

But access alone isn’t enough. Creatives need training in digital literacy, marketing, and intellectual property rights to protect and profit from their work.

Inclusivity must also be central to this transformation. Women, rural youth, and marginalised communities deserve equal opportunities to lead and create.

Diversity fuels innovation, and a truly competitive workforce must reflect the richness of Africa’s cultures, languages, and perspectives.