Category: Business Daily

The Kenyan business scene has always been a leader in adopting new tech. From the way M-Pesa changed how we pay for groceries to the rise of tech hubs in Nairobi, we aren’t afraid of the future. But the latest arrival, artificial intelligence (AI), is different. Unlike other tools that stay the same once you buy them, AI grows and learns every single day.

In my years working with digital systems, I’ve seen many trends, but nothing as big as this. AI isn’t just a new app for your staff; it’s a complete shift in how businesses run.

However, there is a catch that many local leaders are starting to realise: your AI is only as good as the digital “pipes” (your network) that carry it. If those pipes are old or clogged, even the smartest AI won’t help you.

To understand why we need to rethink our office networks, we have to look at what AI actually does. First, it is “hungry” for data. Whether you are a bank in Nairobi using AI to spot fraud or a farm in Naivasha using it to track crop health, AI moves massive amounts of information. The old setups many of us use, designed just for emails and basic web browsing, simply can’t handle this heavy lifting.

They become slow and choke under the pressure.

Another issue is flexibility. Traditional networks are rigid; they do one thing and don’t change. But AI needs a network that can breathe and adapt. We are moving toward software-defined systems. Think of this like upgrading from a fixed train track to a smart road where lanes can open or close automatically depending on traffic. This is the only way to keep up with the fast pace of modern business.

Then there is the issue of security. In Kenya, we are unfortunately seeing more cyber attacks than ever before.

AI makes these attacks smarter. Hackers can now use AI to try and “poison” your data or steal your business secrets. Because of this, our security can no longer just be a digital “fence” around the office. It has to be built into the network itself, checking every single connection in real-time to make sure it’s safe.

The good news? AI is also the cure. We are entering the age of “self-healing” networks. Imagine a system that notices a problem like a slow connection or a minor glitchand fixes it before your employees even notice something is wrong.

This takes the pressure off your IT team. Instead of spending their whole day “firefighting” and fixing broken connections, they can focus on projects that actually grow the business.

We also need to change how we measure good service. For years, IT departments talked about uptime, basically, whether the internet was on or off. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The internet can be “on,” but if a video call is blurry or an app takes forever to load, your staff can’t work. We are shifting towards measuring the user Experience. This means looking at how productive your people actually are and how smoothly your digital tools are running for them.

When things go wrong, AI helps us stop the blame game. Usually, when the system is slow, the internet provider blames the hardware, and the hardware person blames the software. AI acts like a digital detective, pointing exactly to where the problem is so it can be fixed immediately.

In the end, your network is no longer just “the plumbing” hidden in the walls; it is the foundation of your growth. Kenyan businesses that upgrade their digital foundations now aren’t just keeping up with a trend-they are making sure they aren’t left behind. The future isn’t just about having AI; it’s about having a network strong enough to let that AI work for you.

Efficient Value Added Tax (VAT) collection can sustainably inform a reduction in income tax.

International experience shows that economies which shift the tax burden from labour to consumption record higher compliance, stronger household spending, and broader revenue bases.

The resulting increase in disposable income places extra savings directly into citizens’ pockets, improving economic wellbeing while sustaining government revenues.

Countries such as New Zealand and Singapore deliberately structured their tax systems around low-income taxes and efficient consumption taxes.

High compliance

New Zealand relies heavily on a broad-based goods and services tax (GST) with minimal exemptions, allowing personal income tax rates to remain moderate while maintaining high compliance.

Singapore complements low PAYE rates with a consumption-driven tax model, enabling strong household savings and sustained public investment.

The experience of Estonia further demonstrates the benefits of reducing labour taxation.

Expanded tax base

By flattening and lowering income tax while strengthening VAT administration, Estonia expanded its tax base, reduced evasion, and improved economic participation. The outcome was higher overall revenue despite lower headline tax rates.

In Kenya, payslip deductions currently total approximately 40.25 percent, with 6.0 percent allocated to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) savings, leaving an effective tax burden of 34.25 percent.

This level of labour taxation discourages productivity, savings, and formal employment.

If the housing levy were progressively reduced to a minimum sustainable floor of 0.3 percent to support the revolving fund, total deductions would fall to 33.05 percent.

Housing funds

Comparable housing funds in countries such as Germany and Austria operate successfully with minimal payroll deductions supplemented by consumption and employer contributions, proving sustainability does not require excessive salary levies.

Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) deductions and voluntary contributions are projected to generate between Sh133 billion and Sh157 billion annually, yet collections remain below Sh70 billion.

This mirrors early challenges faced by South Korea’s health insurance system, which only achieved full funding once contributions were partially shifted toward consumption and indirect taxation, reducing resistance from wage earners.

Reducing VAT from 16 percent to 14 percent while introducing a 2.0 percent Social Health Authority (SHA) levy on goods and services would align Kenya with models used in Japan and France, where health and social insurance are partially financed through consumption-based levies rather than payroll alone.

This approach spreads the burden across the entire economy, including the informal sector and non-wage earners, while improving payslip outcomes.

Under this model, total deductions would settle at approximately 36.03 percent inclusive of NSSF savings, improving disposable income without undermining social funding.

The next strategic phase should be the progressive reduction of PAYE, currently capped at 30 percent.

A reduction of 0.5 percent every six months would lower PAYE to 20 percent within ten years.

Ireland and Poland adopted similar gradual PAYE reductions, achieving higher employment participation and expanded tax compliance without revenue collapse.

Payslip taxation

At a 20 percent PAYE ceiling, Kenya’s maximum payslip taxation would decline to approximately 26.03 percent within a decade. This would place Kenya closer to emerging low-tax economies that prioritise consumption, savings, and productivity over punitive labour taxation.

Through efficient VAT collection, moderate consumption levies, and gradual PAYE reduction, Kenya would transition toward a low-tax economy characterised by strong spending power, improved income retention, broader compliance, and sustainable public financing.

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) reported a paper or revaluation gain of Sh46.06 billion on its assets in the 12 months to June 2025, up from Sh2.98 billion the previous year, reflecting the higher market prices of its bonds and equities holdings.

This fair value gain is a measure of capital gains on assets such as bonds, equities and property that remained in the fund’s books over the period. These gains remain unrealised until a time when the fund sells the assets.

The fund rode on these revaluation gains and an increase in investment income to Sh55.8 billion from Sh39.6 billion to report a 152 percent jump in net investment income to Sh105.3 billion in the period, setting up pension savers under the fund for higher returns when they are declared for the year.

Overall, the State-owned pension fund’s net assets rose to Sh572.77 billion in June 2025, from Sh400.2 billion in the previous year.

‘The fund recorded 22 percent return on investment in 2025 financial year compared to 12.02 percent in June 2024, which is an 83 percent growth,” read the NSSF in financial filings published in the Kenya Gazette.

NSSF invests in a mix of assets which include blue chip stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), property, fixed deposits and offshore investments but its largest exposure is to long-term government bonds.

The fund’s bond holdings were valued Sh355.39 billion in June, having appreciated by Sh101.6 billion from Sh253.8 billion over the one-year period.

The gain in value was derived from a mix of new purchases in the primary market (new bond sales by the Central Bank of Kenya) and price gains in the secondary market at the NSE on papers it already holds.

Interest rates or yields on new bonds fell last year in line with the CBK cutting its base rate to nine percent from 13 percent in August 2024, triggering a rise in prices and demand for older, more lucrative papers.

There is an inverse relationship between bond prices and yields in the secondary market, where an increase in one results in a fall in the other.

As a result, investors who sold their bonds at the NSE last year were able to command a premium on prices as buyers sought to incentivise them to sell. Investors booked a profit of Sh176 billion on their bond transaction valued at Sh2.71 trillion, representing a return of seven percent on their initial outlay or face value of Sh2.53 trillion on the securities.

In the equities market, investor wealth grew by 51.8 percent or Sh1 trillion to Sh2.94 trillion in 2025, handing major investors like the NSSF significant paper gains on their investments.

The NSSF, like other pension funds, mainly invests in the larger blue chip stocks such as Safaricom, KCB Group, EABL and Equity Group, which were the key drivers of the valuation gains at the bourse with share price appreciation of between 30 percent and 65 percent.

The NSSF was also able to call on a wider pool of cash for its investment activity in the period after remitted member contributions jumped to Sh81.9 billion in the year to June 2025 from Sh59.14 billion in 2024, courtesy of the enhanced statutory deductions.

Contributions to the fund were enhanced starting February 2023 following the implementation of the NSSF Act 2013 after a decade-long court battle.

The new rates kicked in with an increase of a member’s ceiling contribution from Sh200 per month to Sh1,080 -matched by the employer- in the first year.

In the second year, starting February 2024, the rate was raised to Sh2,160, before going up again to Sh4,320 starting February 2025. This month, the monthly contribution cap will go up further to Sh6,480, and finally to Sh8,640 per month in 2027.

The estranged wife of William Oguda Osewe, the proprietor of Ranalo Foods, has suffered an early setback in her fight for control of the city business, after the court declined to grant her temporary restraining orders.

Ms Stella Mutheu, who co-owns Ranalo Foods with her former husband, wanted the High Court to compel her reinstatement into the management of the firm, grant her joint control over the company’s bank and M-Pesa accounts, appoint an independent auditor to scrutinise the firm’s finances and order the disclosure of the company’s financial records and information.

However, High Court Judge Njoki Mwangi declined the orders, noting that Ms Mutheu had not established a strong enough case to warrant the reliefs sought.

‘…I find that the plaintiff’s Notice of Motion dated April 8, 2025 lacks merit and is hereby dismissed with costs to the first defendant,’ said Justice Njoki in a ruling delivered on Friday.

Ms Mutheu-a 50/50 co-owner of the business trading as K’Osewe-also wanted the High Court to restrain her former husband from selling the assets of the company and reinstate her into the management of the restaurant.

She further sought orders barring Mr Osewe from disposing of company assets or altering shareholder details at the Registrar of Companies.

Ms Mutheu, who separated from Mr Osewe in 2022, wanted the hotelier restricted from opening new bank accounts and mobile payment wallets, arguing that he had sidelined her from the management of Ranalo Foods, which operates outlets on Nairobi’s Kimathi Street, in Parklands and on Kiambu Road.

She also wanted to be restored to active management, alleging she had been excluded from operations despite her 50 percent stake.

Justice Mwangi found that Ms Mutheu had failed to demonstrate that she had been unlawfully excluded from the management of Ranalo Foods.

The judge noted that evidence placed before the court showed Ms Mutheu continued to access company documents, M-Pesa transaction receipts and customer invoices, long after she claimed to have been sidelined, undermining her assertions of exclusion.

The judge further observed that Mr Osewe had been medically incapacitated for a long period following a near-fatal shooting in 2016, a fact supported by medical reports and not contested by Ms Mutheu, and that during this period the business was largely managed by the his ex-wife and children.

On the request for joint signatory powers, appointment of an auditor and disclosure of financial records, the judge held that these amounted to mandatory and intrusive orders that would interfere with the internal management of the company at an interlocutory stage, without proof of fraud, mismanagement or irreparable harm warranting such intervention.

Mr Osewe rose from hawking njugu karanga and mishikaki in Nairobi’s Kaloleni estate to build Ranalo (K’Osewe) into a celebrated brand known for Luo delicacies such as brown ugali and tilapia.

But his business later ran into headwinds that he linked to a near-fatal shooting which left him incapacitated for more than three years, compounded by stringent Covid-19 rules that hit hospitality revenues.

In a previous interview with the Daily Nation, he said the shooter had an affair with his wife, a personal ordeal that overlapped with the growing financial strain.

The shareholder wrangle between the two separated lovebirds also took a twist after Mr Osewe sought criminal charges against his ex-wife, alleging that she orchestrated his ouster from one of their businesses by forging minutes and a share transfer document, thereby transferring his 250 shares in Ranaldo Foods Dala Limited to herself. The case is ongoing.

As the disputes have raged on, financial difficulties have continued to dog their businesses. Auctioneers invited bids for Blue Waters Hotel, an incomplete three-star development in Kisumu’s Milimani area linked to Mr Osewe, even as apartments in Nairobi’s South C were also listed for sale over an unpaid Sh300 million loan to GT Bank.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has opened up the supply of electronic cargo tracker seals to more vendors and user-owned gadgets, increasing competition in a traditionally closely guarded industry and boosting efficiency for traders.

The taxman said on Friday that it is transitioning from the single-sourcing of seals used for monitoring transit cargo to a new multi-vendor and user-owned model, opening up supply to more providers.

The move is expected to boost competition in the sector, improve price competitiveness for traders in Kenya and the wider region who rely on the Port of Mombasa, and increase efficiency in cargo clearance. ‘The proposed model is intended to provide a secure, tamper-proof, and auditable cargo monitoring solution, while addressing existing challenges such as seal availability and turnaround times,’ said KRA commissioner for customs and border control Lilian Nyawanda.

Open market

Currently, KRA is fully responsible for sourcing electronic seals from selected suppliers of its choosing, locking out other vendors and restricting traders to the trackers provided by the authority.

The e-seals help the taxman track cargo transiting through the country from the Port of Mombasa, ensuring goods reach their declared destinations and helping to prevent tax evasion and smuggling.

They are attached to cargo container doors, fuel tankers or cargo compartments, ensuring they are not opened before reaching their final destination and allowing KRA to track shipments in real time.

Under the new arrangement, KRA will procure seals from multiple vendors while allowing traders and shippers to use their own devices, increasing the supply of the critical tracking gadgets.

Clearing delays

The taxman has previously said the shift would address ‘persistent shortages’ of the seals, which have contributed to congestion at the Port of Mombasa as shipped cargo takes longer to be cleared for transit to final destinations.

Shipping industry players last week warned that congestion at the port, which has persisted since last October, was causing financial losses and called for an urgent resolution to the factors behind the delays.

At least five countries-Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo-rely on the Port of Mombasa for merchandise trade, making it one of the busiest ports on the eastern African coastline.

For seamless tracking across the East African Community (EAC), member states adopted the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) seals in 2020, which are used uniformly across the bloc.

There are two ways the rich stay rich: one is by making a lot of money. The second is by not spending any. Pius Muchiri once spent Sh500 on pizza back in 2001, but he couldn’t wash the taste of guilt out of his mouth. ‘That 500 bob was my weekly allowance, and I spent it all on one meal,’ he says.

So he decided to make a lot of money, first for others, then for himself. ‘Because when you solve someone’s problem, you make money,’ says the CEO of Nabo Capital.

Pius, which, by the way, is pronounced PIE-us and not pew-s, recently had a baby, which makes him feel young again. He is a father of six with unmistakable youth-pastor swag. His first marriage was heaven on earth.

His second? Well, something better than heaven on earth. ‘She’s made me a better human being,’ he says, because in your second marriage, you know where all the bodies are buried – and sometimes, lightning does indeed strike twice.

Do people often tell you that you look like a pastor?

I go to places and people who’ve never even seen me say, pastor. [chuckles] There’s a guard here who calls me, Mtumishi! Initially, it used to disturb me. Not in a bad way, but I was like, what is it that people see? I have no clue.

But then I came to understand that everybody has a gospel, and your story is your gospel. So, I may not be a pastor on the podium, but I have a gospel. My gospel is simple: helping people achieve financial redemption. Helping them retire early so they can live their purpose. Work is not just to pay bills. When work is connected to purpose, it affects people positively.

What was your relationship with money growing up?

Mysterious. My dad was a banker at KCB. We were living the good life and the envy of society, and then one day the job ended. Everything stopped. Bills went unpaid, auctioneers showed up, and I stayed home for lack of school fees.

I started buying my own clothes in Standard Six and never stopped. I kept asking: Why was our entire life dependent on a job? Why did everything collapse when it ended? That curiosity pushed me to study accounting at university. I was searching for answers.

Did you find them?

Not in accounting. I was busy doing reconciliations when the salespeople were having fun and making more money than me. Accounting looks backward; money is about the future. That’s why I moved into investment.

We do not go to work to pay bills but to mobilise capital. When capital is invested, it generates passive income, and over time, you stop depending on a salary. All of that was preparation for my purpose: helping people avoid what I experienced.

You come off as quite composed. Where does that come from?

Partly personality, partly circumstance. I was always calm, even as a child. As the firstborn, my mum leaned on me a lot. So, before I was 10 years old, my mother used to share many of the pressures and stresses she was going through, and I had to listen and be there for her.

In leadership, I learned that once you lose your calm, you lose your ability to make hard decisions. Yet there is no unsolvable problem. What’s the worst that can happen? Death, and you will not be here to experience it [chuckles]. Wealth comes with a lot of challenges; embrace them.

Did you get the firstborn tax, where you feel you had to sacrifice something in your childhood so your siblings could have it better?

[long pause] I probably just matured faster. But I wouldn’t rewrite my story any differently. My younger siblings can get away with things I can’t [chuckles], but I don’t feel like I missed out. I enjoyed life, but I was forced to grow fast; I paid the price of adulthood sooner than my peers.

Which of your father’s financial anxieties did you inherit after he lost his job?

That experience made me conservative about debt. I use debt only when I believe I’ve used my own money very well. A loan must generate more returns than what I’m paying. Even when I’ve taken a loan, I always have a plan B.

Second, it also took time to shed the poverty mindset. Fear of poverty affected how I enjoyed life. To me, financial freedom means knowing that even if everything collapsed, I could start again and succeed.

Third, having come from that environment and then succeeded, I’ve had to carry a lot of dependence with me. There was this guilt of spending a thousand shillings on pizza when that money could change someone’s life back home.

Do you still feel guilty?

Not anymore, but I used to. The first time I ate pizza, it was Sh500 at Pizza Inn back in 2001, when I had just left university. I felt like I had done something really terrible. Sh500 used to be my weekly allowance. And how did I just spend it in one sitting on one meal? Haha! Those are things I’ve had to shed because wealth and poverty both start in the mind.

It seems you are the kind of man whose stability affects the stability of many other people. But what part of your life don’t you have a handle on?

Nothing is out of control, but everything is under constant refinement. I defined success at 26, and it’s guided me ever since.

Success, for me, has several dimensions. I must be spiritually healthy so that my relationship with God is right. Physically healthy. This body should be without illness and should be fit. Mental health-I read like five books at the same time. Then career. It was important that whatever path I take in my career, I’m successful and reach the apex of that career.

Family and relationships-I would never consider myself successful if I were wealthy but had a broken family. That’s not success to me. And finally, legacy. Who will remember me when all is said and done, beyond my wife and children? What impact did I have? Maybe people perceive me as a pastor because I see those pillars through the lens of God.

What struggles do you go through that not many people get to see?

Because of the values that I subscribe to, it’s not easy to do business in this city. If I become a multi-billionaire through corrupt means, I will consider myself a failure.

Second, losing my first wife in 2022 and being left with five children nearly broke me. I called myself a special dad, but being present in all pillars of my life with such things going on was very challenging. Another very difficult time was when I had to remarry, which I did pretty fast, contrary to public opinion. I had to do what was right, not what was popular, because as a CEO, you’re an easy target.

In your new marriage, where does your late wife live?

My late wife and I had dreams together-how we would see our children grow, get married, have their children, and how we wanted to celebrate. When she left us, that responsibility fell on me. Now I have to carry that legacy forward.

When I entered the new marriage, one of the things we agreed on with my God-sent wife, Joyce, was that we would now carry this burden to represent her. Interestingly, she was a ‘surrogate’ mother to my new wife because she wanted seven children.

When I married Joyce, she was 38 years old. She wondered, God, I wanted seven children. At 38, it’s not possible. But it dawned on her how God had answered that prayer very differently. She was starting with five and only needed two more. She took that responsibility, God gave her five, and now he’s given her one more. So there’s one more to go [chuckles]. My late wife is still part of our family. Her photos remain, and her social media is now a legacy page for our children.

How do you hold the two marriages together emotionally?

I don’t see my second marriage as parallel to the first but as a continuation. And I’m very blessed that Joyce has such a pure heart.

Is this marriage proof of your idea of wealth, wealth being the ability to start again from zero?

It is not proof of wealth. It is proof of the power of God. Because I could remarry, start a new family and get a wife. We agreed with Joyce that we would not tell our children what to call her. Our revelation was that the name mother or father is a revelation. The love that the children have for her is also not something any human being could manipulate. It is God who teaches me how to do everything in my life because I’m his blueprint.

Are you the father you always thought you’d be?

I think I’m a very good dad. But I still feel there is more. We had a Bible study with our children recently, and God was offended with Eli because he was unable to restrain his sons. So the anointing passed to Samuel instead of Eli’s sons because he failed as a father. What scares me as a parent is that God can actually punish me if I fail to restrain my own children. But from what my children say, I think I’m a great dad, though I can be better.

What is the one weakness you show your children that permits them to be themselves?

I apologise to them when I make mistakes.

Did your father ever apologise to you?

Haha! No. But I show my children the real me. I struggle with prayer sometimes. I break promises sometimes. The other day I took them to school late because my preparation took too long, and I had to apologise. The more real I become to them, the more I prepare them for the future. My idea of parenthood is not to pull children toward you, but to wean them off you.

What do you miss about your younger self?

The many responsibilities I carry, haha! They have only grown. The stakes are higher, and many lives are affected because of how God has placed me in the community. But I have a mindset where I embrace every season I’m in.

When I became a single father, I realised my children had never seen me date. So I promised them, and myself, that I would model dating for them. The first time Joyce ever slept in our home was after the wedding, when we returned from our honeymoon, because that is what I wish for them. They warmed up to each other, trusted each other, and eventually everyone just started calling her mum.

At the risk of making this a marriage conversation, why was remarrying quickly important to you?

I live a Spirit-led life. Where God says go, I go. Second, I had a very good first marriage; we never fought. That’s hard to believe. I had a heaven-on-earth marriage. When I was single, I wondered if it was even possible to replicate that. The risk was high, but trusting God led me to Joyce.

I understand my first marriage now that I am married to Joyce. She has totally made me a much better human being, and that translates into every other sphere of my life. Even my social media exploded, haha! What every man needs when they go home is a peaceful haven where they are not judged by their performance. I experienced that with my first wife, and I’m experiencing it again. I’m realising that when you are married to the right person, you can overcome anything.

Has marriage been the platform for your stability?

Absolutely. A CEO’s life is lonely. You need a place to recover. You need a voice that tells you, ‘By the way, it’s going to be okay.’ And now, with a newborn, I feel young again [chuckles].

Is there any sibling envy now that you have become too soft?

No. I’m a very present father. I love them the same, but I don’t treat my children exactly the same. You have to tailor yourself to every child. Some children are soft, others are hard. My firstborn is like a father to the last one, so he has no reason to compare himself [chuckles].

When you tested success, however you define it, what did not feel as good as you thought it would?

I used to think that when I had money, I would have all the good things in life. I’d walk into a restaurant and have whatever I wanted [chuckles]. Eat all the junk food. But now I’m eating nduma, ngwaci and boiled eggs, haha! When you don’t have, you wish for the things you would have. When you have, you eat the things you ate when you didn’t have. Resolve to enjoy every season you are in, be very present, and squeeze everything out of it.

What’s your insecurity now, as a man, a father and a husband?

Two things: can I be sustainably present for my family, and can I provide for them? No man can say that it is 100 percent secure because things happen in life. My top priority is to distinguish myself as a gift to them.

What part of your identity do you protect the most?

The person. I want people to see the authentic me all the time, not the best version of me. I don’t want to present a perfect picture to anyone.

Ten years from now, what do you hope to regret the least?

I hope I will have raised my children well and that they will be citizens of good standards. Everything else can be corrected, but your children? That’s on you.

What’s your superpower?

God.

Which part of your faith is weak?

Obedience. Walking with God is like being a soldier, where sometimes you’re recalled from places you think you’re thriving. The real test is in the surrender.

How do you measure a life well lived?

Your relationship with God and your relationship with people. If those are in good standing, then you have lived a good life. The rest are details.

What are you looking forward to doing this weekend?

Shoot pool with my wife. She was a better player than I was, but I have since earned my stripes. We also swim with the children and exercise.

Which is the family sport?

Swimming, but we all shoot pool.

East African Breweries Plc (EABL) is integrating International Financial Reporting Standards for Sustainability (IFRS S1 and S2) into its reporting framework as it plans to go to market with a sustainability-linked debt facility in the medium to long-term.

A sustainability-linked bond refers to a debt instrument issued by an organisation with the proceeds dedicated purely to meeting defined green or environmentally friendly objectives that are in line with growing efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

IFRS S1 and S2 are financial reporting standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which compel organisations to disclose material sustainability-related risks that are likely to impact their operations.

Whereas IFRS S1 is specific to environmental, social, and governance-related disclosures, IFRS S2 is specific to climate-related risks and their likely impact on the operations of an organisation.

The listed alcoholic beverage manufacturer says that, whereas it had considered issuance of a sustainability-linked bond in its October 2025 return to market, the time it would take to structure the facility presented a challenge and compelled it to opt for the traditional issuance.

In October 2025, EABL Plc raised Sh16.76 billion through its latest corporate bond, registering a subscription rate of 154.0 percent for the five-year note that is priced at 11.8 percent.

‘It is quite challenging on the manufacturing side to land a sustainability-linked facility. Doing it is easy, but it’s making sure the measures are met, and you have to lay down a whole infrastructure. We looked at it, we knew it was an option, but it would have taken a lot more time, and the timing of striking a deal is just as important as the deal itself,’ EABL’s Chief Finance Officer and Head of Strategy, Risper Genga Ohaga, said.

‘So, when we have IFRS S1 and S2 integrated from a manufacturing point of view, it will be very easy to issue a sustainability-linked facility,’ she added.

Among the company’s credentials on the sustainability and lower carbon footprint front is EABL’s rollout of three biomass plants, two at Kenya Breweries Ltd and one at Uganda Breweries Ltd, in 2022. EABL said it is currently undertaking a gaps assessment to evaluate the extent to which operations align with the requirements of IFRS S1 and S2, including greenhouse gas emissions.

‘I think there will come a time when that will be hugely attractive. We are doing a lot of work in implementing S1 and S2, and when those are in place, from a manufacturing point of view. It is indeed an option, but you have to be sure that you have the governance, the controls, and the infrastructure that you need to be able to support that issuance. In the latest issuance, which happened in October 2025, we were weighing timing versus perfection, and in the end just opted to go with the conventional bond,’ said Ms Ohaga.

Seven public universities are struggling to collect more than Sh3 billion in unpaid school fees from current and former students, new disclosures show, signalling their huge exposure even as they face financial difficulties.

The universities are reported to be owed Sh3.17 billion by students, exposing them to potential losses since some of the defaulters have already graduated.

Reports by the Auditor-General reveal that by the end of June 2025, the University of Eldoret was owed Sh890.9 million – the highest amount of unpaid school fees among the seven public institutions.

‘Further review of the records revealed that out of the student debtors’ balance of Sh890,879,661, an amount of Sh222,645,414 had been outstanding for a period of more than one year. Management did not explain the measures being taken to recover the long outstanding receivables from the affected student debtors,’ Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said.

Ms Gathungu observed that debts owed to the university increased by more than half a billion shillings, or 172 percent, during the year ending June 2025, casting doubt on the institution’s ability to recover them.

During the year, the university management made provisions of Sh17.8 million, underlining concerns that part of the unpaid fees could turn into bad debt.

Policy breaches

A separate audit of Maasai Mara University shows that students owed the institution Sh596 million by the end of June last year, contrary to its fees payment policy, which requires all students to clear fees at the beginning of the semester, ‘and any student who shall not have settled all fees by that period shall automatically defer the semester.’

‘However, review of the supporting documents provided for audit review indicates that the students, despite having fee balances, were allowed to graduate, attend classes, and sit for end-of-trimester exams,’ the public auditor revealed.

While it is unclear how many students were allowed to graduate with fee balances and how much they owed individually, auditors noted a clear risk that the balances may not be recovered.

Besides unpaid school fees, Maasai Mara University also had issues with unallocated Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) funds and bursaries from various public entities amounting to Sh12.26 million.

‘These balances were received from various National Government Constituency Development Funds (NG-CDFs), counties, and the national government but were not posted into the students’ accounts and therefore remain unallocated in the records and not being put into proper use as initially intended,’ Ms Gathungu said.

Nyeri-based Dedan Kimathi University recorded school fees arrears of Sh584.2 million, with records showing that 21.4 percent of the unpaid fees date back to 2010, exposing weaknesses in the institution’s collection system.

The university’s debt management policy requires all fees to be paid in full before the start of the semester, or in instalments.

‘In the circumstances, the university’s failure to implement the debt management policy may lead to losses to the Institution and can adversely affect cash flow and the ability to fund ongoing operations,’ the public auditor warned.

Mounting pressure

Unpaid school fees at Chuka University hit Sh482.9 million by the end of June 2025, with more than three-quarters of the debt, amounting to Sh380.3 million, accumulated in just one year.

At Turkana University College, student debtors had a balance of Sh161.85 million by the end of June last year, accounting for 88 percent of the institution’s total debts.

‘The student debtors increased by Sh84,089,886 or 108 percent from Sh77,764,434 reported in the previous financial year,’ Ms Gathungu said.

The public auditor noted that the number of student debtors has been growing steadily at the institution over the years, warning that the trend could plunge the university into financial distress if not addressed.

Tharaka University also recorded delays by some students in paying school fees, with unpaid amounts reaching Sh136.76 million, although the university allowed them to sit examinations.

At Machakos University, management blamed delayed fee collection for a 134 percent rise in debts owed to the institution, bringing the total to Sh558 million.

The university management explained that the increase in debtors was mainly driven by ‘fees collection from the student-centred model of funding.’

‘As at 30 June, 2025, Sh135,234,394 was due from the Universities Fund for scholarship and Sh178,689,223 from Helb for loans relating to the students-centred funding model,’ Ms Gathungu said.

The university said it had been unable to lock out students with fee balances due to a conservatory order issued in August 2024, which prohibits public universities from denying admission or learning to students who fail to pay fees under the new higher education funding model.

Refund claims

Audits did not provide an account of unpaid school fees at Garissa University, but noted that students with outstanding balances were allowed to register for subsequent semesters before clearing arrears.

‘This led to the accumulation of students’ fees debts contrary to the fees policy that requires students to have cleared their fees balance before the start of the semester.’

As universities are faulted for lacking effective measures to collect fees, some students have also struggled to recover excess amounts paid, with audits revealing that two institutions owe former students Sh145 million.

Dedan Kimathi University is holding Sh47.5 million paid by former students between 2007 and 2020, despite the students having graduated long ago.

Maasai Mara University also owes former students Sh97.8 million in fee prepayments, including Sh53.9 million dating back to between 2009 and 2020 that had not been refunded.

‘This was contrary to the University’s fees payment policy, 2018, which stipulated the process of refunding school fees and states that refunds due to overpayment will be paid in full (100 percent) to the sponsor after completion of studies and clearance from the University,’ the public auditor observed.

Today, as the world marks World Wetlands Day, attention turns to the vital role wetlands play in sustaining life, culture, and livelihoods. Marked this year under the theme ‘Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage,’ the day resonates strongly in Kenya, where national celebrations are taking place in Isiolo County.

These observances underscore the fact that wetlands are not only ecological systems but also cultural landscapes shaped by generations of community stewardship. In Kenya, wetland protection is anchored in both statutory governance and indigenous knowledge.

The National Environment Management Authority, mandated to oversee environmental protection, wetland conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources, works alongside organisations such as Wetlands International to safeguard these ecosystems.

However, long before formal environmental laws existed, communities had developed rules, taboos, and spiritual practices that ensured wetlands were respected and sustained.

Travel along Kenya’s rivers and you realise that they tell a different story, one you miss if you only travel by its highways. Wherever water gathers, culture gathers with it. In western Kenya, the wetlands of Lake Victoria, fed by the Yala, Nyando, and Nzoia rivers, hold deep spiritual meaning for the Luo community.

Fisherfolk seek ancestral guidance before major fishing seasons, while sacred papyrus zones remain untouched. Selective harvesting of reeds reinforces cultural discipline and ecological balance while sustaining livelihoods.

In the Rift Valley, Lake Naivasha’s wetlands are woven into the traditions of the Maasai, Kikuyu, and Luo communities.

Elders perform rituals for health, fertility, and protection in designated papyrus swamps and islands, practices that regulate access and prevent ecological degradation. Along the Tana River Delta, Pokomo and Orma communities conduct planting and harvest rituals within mangrove forests, protecting fish breeding grounds and maintaining biodiversity.

On the coast, mangroves in Gazi Bay are preserved through taboos and spiritual customs that recognise their role as nurseries for marine life and buffers against storms.

Further north, wetlands along the Mara and Ewaso Ng’iro rivers are governed by customary laws that restrict grazing, fishing, and harvesting in sacred areas. In Isiolo, Borana and Somali elders safeguard seasonal wetlands through prayer ceremonies seeking rain, livestock protection, and communal harmony.

Even the ephemeral Lorian Swamp in northern Kenya is protected through ancestral practices that preserve vital water points during drought.

From Dunga Swamp near Kisumu to wetlands used in initiation rites in Siaya and Bungoma, these ecosystems remain central to culture, identity, and survival. As Kenya marks World Wetlands Day today in Isiolo, the message is clear: Wetlands are a living heritage.

Protecting them is both an environmental duty and a cultural responsibility, ensuring indigenous knowledge continues to guide sustainable livelihoods for generations to come.

For banks globally, the journey toward sustainability has been influenced by two main factors. First, sustainability is used to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, and second, a unique responsibility borne by banks and other players in the financial services industry focuses on addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

Therefore, for banks, sustainability and business are not mutually exclusive goals but rather complementary towards building an enduring business.

In addressing these dual objectives, banks recognise the need to apply sustainability to catalyse innovation, green finance and renewable energy transition across economies.

Executing and delivering results on these objectives requires a robust understanding and integration of climate-related financial risk management practices into existing risk frameworks.

However, banks face unique challenges when integrating climate-related financial risks.

These challenges range from developing the required competencies and skills for these complex analyses to determining the appropriate level of investment suited to each bank context, to reflecting the impact of long-dated climate risks on short-term decision-making and the lack of data.

To overcome these unique challenges, banks should consider the following. One important but often overlooked aspect is ensuring that climate-related financial risks are integrated into existing risk management processes and frameworks.

It results in a more robust and comprehensive risk management practice at the bank, enabling the identification of climate-related financial risk exposures and their impacts over a specific time horizon.

Climate scenario analysis is an important tool that provides banks with insights to take proactive steps to mitigate losses and develop tailored responses.

Banks need to be proportional in their investment in this area, as this should be motivated by the demand for pertinent analysis that feeds into the decision-making process, rather than as an end in itself.

For example, some banks began with qualitative analysis and have gradually incorporated quantitative analysis as their information requirements evolved with maturity. Banks should also ensure that climate-related financial risks align with an institution’s overall strategy.

There should be clarity on the targets applied to measure progress on climate-related opportunities and risks. Finally, for accountability, banks should ensure that roles and responsibilities are defined at the board and management levels.

Banks should also invest in capacity-building and training to empower their teams to fulfil their responsibilities.