Category: Business Daily

In little more than a decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has transitioned from an obscure terminology to a central component of global business discourse. Hardly any corporate strategy, product launch or policy speech is complete without reference to AI.

But as the term proliferates, its meaning risks dilution. For many consumers – particularly in emerging markets – AI is yet to transform into tangible improvements in their daily lives.

This matters because we are entering a period in which technology will increasingly shape the way societies respond to fundamental pressures, including population growth, urbanisation, constrained resources and rising expectations for quality life.

By 2050, Africa’s population is projected to approach 2.5 billion, exacerbating existing pressures. The choices we make now about how technology is designed, deployed and governed will determine if innovation becomes a force for inclusion or another layer of inequality.

Against this backdrop, we need to question whether AI should be powerful or meaningful. Meaningful AI starts from lived realities. In Africa, like many other parts of the developing world, solutions generally gain traction when they are affordable and clearly useful.

Mobile connectivity, digital payments like M-Pesa and off-grid energy systems have scaled rapidly across the region because they addressed real constraints with practical outcomes.

The same discipline must apply to Artificial Intelligence. An AI-enabled product that adds cost and complexity without addressing a concrete need does little to advance human progress. By contrast, intelligence that quietly improves efficiency can have outsized impact.

Energy is a case in point for Africa.

Across much of the region, electricity supply remains uneven and expensive. In such an environment, meaningful AI is about optimisation.

Technologies that learn usage patterns, stabilise appliances against voltage fluctuations or reduce power consumption during peak hours directly strengthen household and business resilience. We have seen this at LG through several of our products.

However, efficiency alone is not enough. For these gains to translate into lasting impact, AI must be deployed in ways that are transparent, context-aware and worthy of public trust.

Trust is foundational as AI systems increasingly rely on data and consumers are rightly asking how information is collected, used and protected.

Where regulatory frameworks are still evolving, companies must take the lead in embedding privacy, security and accountability into product design.

There is also a broader economic consideration that is often overlooked in AI discussions. Much of the prevailing narrative assumes abundance of data, computing power and capital.

However, regions like East Africa operate under different conditions. Here, meaningful AI must be efficient by design with solutions that run on-device, function offline or extend the lifespan of existing hardware standing out.

This is the direction LG is pursuing, with the products we introduce into the region intentionally designed to operate even in rural homes and workplaces, making them more livable and productive.

Cash sent home by Kenyans living and working abroad grew 1.9 percent in 2025 to $5.04 billion (Sh649.5 billion), marking the slowest annual expansion in diaspora remittances since the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.

New data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows remittance inflows rose from $4.9 billion (Sh631.9 billion) in 2024, extending a decade-long growth streak, but at a pace unseen since 2009.

The subdued growth underscores rising pressures on migrant incomes and transfer channels, even as diaspora inflows remain Kenya’s largest and most stable source of foreign exchange earnings.

The latest remittance slowdown to comparable levels was in 2009, when inflows dipped 0.4 percent to $609.2 million (Sh78.6 billion at current conversion rates), down from $611.2 million (Sh78.8 billion) the prior year, following the global recession triggered by the 2008 financial crisis.

The inflows have surged consistently over the past 15 years, often posting double-digit growth rates as Kenya’s diaspora expanded and digital transfer platforms reduced transaction costs.

CBK data shows Kenyans abroad sent home an average of about $420 million (Sh54.2 billion) per month in 2025, keeping inflows above the $400 million (Sh51.6 billion) mark despite tightening global economic conditions.

‘Total remittances increased by 1.9 percent in 2025 to $5.04 billion compared to $4.9 billion in 2024. Remittance inflows remain a key source of foreign exchange earnings and continue to support the balance of payments,’ said the CBK in its latest release.

The slowdown comes at a time when other external inflows, including foreign direct investment (FDI) and export earnings, remain under strain from weak global demand and elevated financing costs.

The sluggish growth in inflows reflects mounting uncertainty in key labour destination markets, particularly the United States, which accounts for the largest share of remittances into Kenya.

The US economy faced slower job creation in several migrant-heavy sectors in 2025, as policy uncertainty continued to weigh on income security for foreign workers.

The return to office of President Donald Trump coincided with stricter immigration enforcement and labour market scrutiny, raising anxiety among migrant workers and dampening remittance momentum.

US lawmakers further approved legislation introducing a 3.5 percent excise tax on outbound remittances, a move expected to increase the cost of sending money abroad once implemented.

A recent Business Daily analysis shows the levy could see the US government collect about $131.5 million (about Sh17 billion) annually from remittance transfers linked to Kenya alone.

The money wired home continues to finance common household needs such as food consumption, school fees, healthcare costs, housing construction, as well as small business activity across the country, among others.

The inflows also help to cushion the local currency by boosting foreign exchange supply, aiding the country meet external debt repayments and foot import bills.

Besides the US, other key remittance source countries include Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia, Canada, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom.

The President William Ruto’s government has continued to push labour export programmes, positioning overseas employment as a tool to ease domestic joblessness and support foreign exchange inflows.

The government plans to shift to a targeted registry for poor and vulnerable farmers to improve the flow of subsidised fertiliser, following mounting complaints over long queues, uneven access and inefficiencies in the current distribution model.

Farmers have in recent years complained of congestion at the National Cereals and Produce Board’s (NCPB) depots and difficulties accessing fertiliser at critical planting periods, largely during the long-rain season between March and May.

The pressure to improve the distribution of subsidised fertiliser mounted during last November’s public sector hearings on the budget for the next financial year, starting July.

The Agriculture, Rural and Urban Development sector working group plans to address the challenge through a proposed Vulnerable and Marginalised Groups (VMGs) system-a government database used to identify and support poor, disadvantaged and hard-to-reach households.

‘Plans are underway to use the Vulnerable and Marginalised Groups (VMGs) system to support targeted distribution of the fertiliser,’ the National Treasury wrote in the Draft 2026 Budget Policy Statement, highlighting the response from the agricultural sector group.

The proposed shift towards more targeted support within the subsidy programme, comes against the backdrop of fresh criticism from findings of a joint World Bank and Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) study, which questions the effectiveness of the current fertiliser distribution framework.

The report, titled From Barriers to Bridges and published in November 2025, singled out the role of the NCPB and the design of the State-funded fertiliser subsidy programme in discouraging competition and efficient delivery.

The World Bank and CAK found in their study that the subsidy programme relies on a narrow distribution chain controlled by leading suppliers Yara and ETG.

This creates geographic distortions, the study adds, reducing the availability of high-demand fertiliser blends and locking out many private sector players.

Weak competition in the subsidised input market has, in turn, suppressed agricultural productivity, the World Bank and CAK argue, slowing growth in formal jobs across agri-processing, logistics, and retail value chains.

Kenya currently operates the second National Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (NFSP-2), introduced after the 2020 fertiliser crisis triggered by Covid-19 disruptions, global supply shocks, and rising input costs.

Under NFSP-2, the government negotiates framework agreements with select importers to supply fertiliser at fixed, below-market prices. Importers are compensated per bag sold, with distribution largely handled through NCPB depots on a consignment basis.

As of June 2025, subsidised fertiliser accounted for an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of all fertiliser sold in the country, the study established, meaning the subsidy influences the entire market rather than targeted smallholder farmers.

Before this shift more than five years ago, fertiliser support was delivered under the National Value Chain Support Programme (NVSP), which used vouchers with cash values redeemable at private agro-dealers. That decentralised model allowed farmers to choose products and suppliers, while banks reimbursed agro-dealers in real time.

The World Bank and CAK recommend revisiting elements of the earlier approach. They suggest modifying NFSP-2 to allow more last-mile retailers to participate, strengthen price signals, and boost agri-tech solutions for extension services.

Early evaluations of NVSP, the report notes, showed positive impacts on access, productivity, market engagement, and overall value for money.

The Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) has opposed the proposed law in which the State wants to create a single body to coordinate engagement between government and the private sector.

The Public Sector-Private Sector Engagement Bill, 2025, which has been fronted by the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, proposes the establishment of the Business Council of Kenya (BCK).

The State wants the council to act as the primary vehicle for structured dialogue between policymakers and private sector’s business interests on issues such as taxation, regulation, investment facilitation and trade policies.

However, the proposal has continued to come under criticism, with the latest being from AKI, which says the arrangement will not promote timely, sector-specific and technically informed engagement engagements in its current format.

‘While the intention, to improve engagement, investment and overall business climate, is commendable, the approach risks achieving the opposite. A single, centralised channel for engagement is more likely to reduce interaction, weaken quality of dialogue and undermine effective policy making,’ said AKI.

AKI’s concerns follow that of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) which said last December that the formation of BCK should have been ‘private-sector led and private-sector regulated’ to adequately address the needs of the private sector.

Under the proposed framework, industry associations and lobby groups would be required to register with BCK before engaging the government. Private sector actors would channel their policy proposals through quarterly submissions.

AKI has warned that the proposed centralised model could undermine, rather than enhance, effective public-private sector engagement. The insurers’ lobby argued that Kenya’s economy is too diverse and specialised to be adequately represented through a single coordinating entity.

‘Having all engagement through one entity restricts the range of voices reaching policymakers and limits diversity of perspectives necessary for sound and balanced policy development,’ said AKI.

AKI cautioned that consolidating dialogue under one body risks diluting the quality of input reaching decision-makers.

According to the association, different sectors face unique regulatory, operational and risk-related challenges that cannot be squeezed into a one-size-fits-all framework.

‘A banker cannot effectively speak to insurance-specific regulatory challenges, just as an insurer cannot fully represent banking concerns. Expecting a single representative to adequately articulate the policy needs of an entire sector risks misrepresentation,’ said AKI.

They also raised concerns about the potential bureaucratic barriers the Bill could introduce. For instance, AKI warned that the requirement for industry bodies to register with the proposed council before engaging the government could end up excluding smaller, niche or emerging sectors.

Commenting on the proposal for quarterly submissions by private sector actors, AKI argued that such timelines are incompatible with the realities of business operations given that urgent issues frequently arise and require immediate engagement.

‘Imagine a challenge at the port of Mombasa with congestion having to wait for quarterly submissions . delayed responses translate to lost opportunities, disruption and real economic costs,’ said AKI.

The structure of the proposed council has also come under scrutiny. The Bill envisions a governing board made up of representatives from major sectors of the economy. AKI cautioned that this approach risks misrepresentation, particularly in complex sectors such as financial services.

‘Public-private sector engagement should be the direct responsibility of each Cabinet Secretary, within their respective mandates. Ministries should identify and engage with relevant industry and lobby bodies before, during and after policy formulation,’ said AKI.

Kawangware announces itself before it explains itself. The road narrows, with the smell of open trenches competing with the calls of hawkers balancing tomatoes, phone chargers and second-hand shoes on wooden carts.

Tin-roofed shanties lean into each other alongside the interruption of half-finished stone buildings that look lost in the surrounding.

The drainage channels double as footpaths, and when it rains, residents admit that the surrounding sinks into chaos of mud and stagnant water.

However, Kawangware is located on one of Nairobi’s most strategic corridors. Just off Naivasha Road are gated apartments and other desirable real estate, putting the settlement uncomfortably close to the city’s middle-class ambitions. Sleek developments are rising up, facing away from the slum’s reality.

Even the public transport tells the story, ageing Kenya Bus Service (KBS) buses and battered matatus dominate the route. Major hospitals, supermarkets and lifestyle amenities are scarce, reinforcing the estate’s image as a place people pass through, not settle into.

When you ask a resident of the upcoming estates where they live, they will most likely have you know it is, ‘Along Naivasha Road,’ not Kawangware.

Building value in the village

Christine Njoki has never known another home. Born and raised in Kawangware, she has watched the settlement evolve from a forested land into one of the city’s most densely populated and commercially active neighbourhoods.

Ms Njoki, married with six children, lives in Kawangware 56, an area she describes to be both social and economic.

‘In Kawangware, I have done so many businesses, and all of them do well. People are many here. Whatever business you put up, there are people who want to buy,’ she says

Her current venture is a small food outlet selling chips and soft drinks. Over the years, she has sold clothes during festive seasons, fruits when in season, water when supply allows, and food year-round.

The land she lives on was not bought, but inherited. ‘This place was given to me by my grandfather after my parents died. He is the one who took care of me.’

The appreciation has been dramatic. Her land, measuring 100 by 100 feet, was originally bought for Sh200,000.

‘Land does not depreciate, it appreciates, so if I decide to sell this land today, I can sell it for Sh22 million or maybe Sh18 million if I decide to go lower,’ she says.

For Ms Njoki, Kawangware’s appeal lies in affordability and community.

‘Life is cheap in the slums. Food is fresh, water is cheap, and people support each other. People here promote each other. This is where the money is hidden,’ Ms Njoki says.

From his post as caretaker, John Mbithi has a front-row view of Kawangware’s changing housing market. Standing outside the apartment block he oversees, he looks past a line of iron-sheet shanties toward a building that, at first glance, appears unremarkable but appealing compared to its surrounding.

It has no elevator, no polished lobby but it affords some modern fittings and a bit of decorative finishes that would normally justify the rents it commands. However, a bedsitter here goes for Sh14,000, while a one-bedroom unit costs Sh24,000, prices that rival more established neighbourhoods with far better finishes.

‘The location of the building has a very big advantage, we are not in the middle of the slum and we are also just beside the road,’ he says.

Strategic positioning

The building sits directly along the road, a strategic position that allows tenants to avoid navigating the area’s inner informal paths which gives them immediate access to public transport and nearby businesses.

‘Most of the tenants are working people, young professionals who have just started their careers, small business owners, and young couples looking for space they can afford without moving too far from their places of work,’ Mr Mbithi says.

‘Many of them do not commute daily to the Central Business District (CBD), they work around Dagoretti, Ngong Road and Westlands and this makes proximity more important than luxury finishes,” he adds.

Despite sitting just beyond a stretch of shanties, the demand is high because the building offers what tenants value most, which Mr Mbithi explains to be convenience, security through visibility and ease of movement.

According to Mr Mbithi, two factors consistently keep the units occupied. ‘The rooms are big, and we don’t have water problems,’ he says.

Kawangware remains one of Nairobi’s most complex real estate paradoxes, a settlement that has been long labelled a slum, but sitting on some of the city’s most strategic land, just minutes from Westlands, Ngong Road and the CBD.

According to real estate investment expert, Johnson Denge, the area’s reputation is still crucial to the buyer behaviour, even as new developments technically position themselves ‘along Naivasha Road’ rather than within Kawangware itself.

‘Kawangware is also segmented into various parts and to a larger extent it still carries the tag of a slum,’ Mr Denge says. ‘There are areas like Kawangware 46 along Naivasha Road that are considered a bit upper lower-middle, and then there are areas like Kanunganga, Stage Two and the lower parts toward Kangemi that are still much considered as low-end,’ he adds.

Uneven gentrification

This internal segmentation, he explains, means that gentrification is happening unevenly. While some pockets are attracting modern apartment developments, others are still informal, holding the perceptions that continue to influence pricing, demand and investor appetite.

One of Kawangware’s advantages, Mr Denge says, lies in its land tenure history, something that mostly distinguishes it from other informal settlements.

‘Unlike other slums that had no clarity on land, had no ownership or titling, Kawangware was actually well surveyed, well titled, and the land belongs to actual people or landlords,’ he says.

For decades, much of that land remained locked in the hands of families who were unwilling to sell.

‘This was ancestral land, and the old guard would not want to release land for investment. Over time, with a new generation coming in, they are willing to engage investors, joint ventures and financing for the purpose of gentrification.’ Mr Denge says.

‘Just like the normal demand-and-supply aspect in business, there is enough demand for housing, and that attracts developers and investors who are coming in to take advantage of that,’ he adds.

Proximity, not aesthetics

Despite its stigma, Kawangware’s pricing logic is based on proximity rather than its perception. Mr Denge says properties in and around the area are still cheaper than comparable locations offering similar access to jobs and amenities.

‘If you compare Kawangware to areas offering similar access, like Kilimani, the prices are about five times lower,’ he says.

That affordability, he adds, gives developers flexibility.

‘You have more leeway to do smaller units and higher densification in Kawangware, and you are almost sure of the lower and lower-middle-income market coming to rent,’ he says.

Land prices currently stand at Sh80 million to Sh100 million per acre, a level Mr Denge says is comparable to areas like Ruaka, despite Ruaka being far from the CBD.

‘Kawangware is not necessarily doing a lot of sales, it is doing a rental market,’ he says.

Rentals drive the market

Rental demand remains the estate’s strongest anchor. Mr Denge says some affordable housing developments are already active in the area.

‘There are developers doing houses ranging between Sh1 million to about Sh3 million. Rent ranges between Sh10,000 and Sh25,000 for one- to two-bedroom units, which is relatively affordable,’ he says.

He attributes the fast uptake to improving access and rehabilitation works.

‘Rehabilitation has been ongoing, giving easier access, and because of the changing perception, there is enough demand that these houses are occupied very fast,’ he says.

However, he points our that Kawangware’s transformation is still constrained by infrastructure and social challenges. ‘There is still a lot of work to be done on infrastructure, especially social amenities, water, roads and security,’ he says.

While large hospitals and shopping malls are scarce within Kawangware itself, he argues that surrounding neighbourhoods partially fill the gap.

‘You’ll find good education facilities around Dagoretti Road, Ngong Road and Uhuru Highway, which are able to serve this population,’ he says.

‘Compared slums like Kibra, Dandora or Mukuru, Kawangware offers better access to amenities though not as sophisticated as they should be,’ Mr Denge adds.

Insecurity, he says, continues to suppress rental growth in certain pockets.

‘Rents don’t grow as much as expected, especially on older units and in interior areas. The areas are segmented, attracting different categories of dwellers,’ he says.

The price gap between perceived ‘secure’ and ‘insecure’ zones is stark.

‘You’ll find that prices in areas perceived to have insecurity are almost half of similar units in areas like Kawangware 46 and along Naivasha Road,’ he says.

Loans to farmers and agricultural co-operatives from State-run Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) rose by 16.8 percent to Sh1.1 billion in the three months ended September 2025, signalling firmer demand for subsidised credit as input costs remain elevated.

The increase shows a continued rebound in lending at the corporation, reversing years of subdued disbursements that had constrained access to long-term financing in the sector.

According to internal portfolio performance data, the agency disbursed Sh936 million in the similar quarter of the prior year, translating to a Sh157 million upturn in the review period.

The growth builds on a strong performance posted in the financial year ended June 2025, when AFC lending rose to a record Sh4.7 billion, breaking a three-year decline that followed tighter credit conditions.

Agriculture remains the pillar of Kenya’s economy, employing more than half of the population, with constrained access to affordable financing often cited as the main barrier to productivity growth.

AFC operates as a development institution mandated to provide long-term and affordable credit to farmers, co-operatives and agribusinesses underserved by banks due to perceived risk.

The corporation lends at a fixed interest rate of 10 percent, making its loans a key financing channel for small and medium-scale agricultural producers.

AFC’s total loan portfolio grew by two percent during the quarter to September last year, to hit Sh12.3 billion, up from Sh12.08 billion at the close of June.

Cumulative repayments rose 13 percent to Sh1.24 billion during the quarter, compared with Sh1.1 billion a year earlier.

AFC has struggled with elevated defaults, with non-performing loans peaking at 31 percent in the year ended June 2022 before easing to 16 percent last year.

The Auditor-General has in the past flagged the agency for failing to apply due diligence in the disbursement of funds, putting its control mechanism into question.

The auditor questioned the quality of collateral the corporation used in loan agreements amid strains in recovery.

AFC’s improved lending performance also comes amid broader efforts by the government to crowd in development finance to agriculture as commercial banks scale back long-tenor lending.

In 2024, the corporation secured a Sh600 million facility from Kenya Development Corporation for onward lending to pastoralists and small enterprises in the agriculture value chain.

The funding was aimed at deepening credit access in arid and semi-arid areas, where climate shocks and limited financial infrastructure continue to constrain production and incomes.

A court has ordered a Chinese road contractor to halt quarrying operations and blocked the launch of an asphalt plant after finding that the projects posed environmental and safety risks, such as flying rocks, to nearby residents.

The Environment and Land Court restrained China Henan International Cooperation (CHICO) Group and its Kenyan partner, Aztec Infrastructure Kenya, from continuing quarry works in the Bosinange area, Kisii County, pending the hearing of a constitutional petition lodged by 31 residents.

In a ruling that places renewed scrutiny on foreign-backed infrastructure projects, the judge said the court was persuaded that the operations threatened the community’s right to a clean and healthy environment.

The court added that the quarry operations exposed residents to dust, flying rocks and other hazards.

‘It will be unfair to have the residents bombarded with dust and pollution from the quarry for the duration of this litigation. Such activities can lead to long-term health hazards, which can even lead to loss of life,’ the judge said.

The dispute centres on a quarry initially operated by the Chinese contractor after it won major road and bridge construction contracts across Kisii, Homabay, and Migori counties.

It leased three land parcels in South Mugirango, Bosinange, for the purpose of operating a quarry.

However, the residents argued that the environmental impact assessment license issued for the quarry was unlawful and that the operations caused damage to homes, noise, vibrations and persistent pollution.

After quarry activities were transferred to Aztec Infrastructure Kenya Limited, the petitioners said conditions worsened.

They accused the firm of expanding stone-crushing activities and installing an asphalt plant on adjacent land without first securing the required environmental license.

The court agreed that the asphaltplant had been unlawfully established.

It said the law was explicit in stating that no development should be put up without an environmental impact assessment and approval.

The court dismissed arguments that the plant was not yet operational, stating that the breach occurred at the installation stage.

Evidence before the court showed that the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) had issued improvement and restoration orders in January 2023 after site inspections found unsecured quarry pits, dust pollution, and a lack of rehabilitation plans.

While reinforcing the court’s role in enforcing environmental safeguards where community rights are at risk, the judge noted that the respondents failed to clearly address compliance with a key improvement order issued in August 2025.

‘I do not see any acknowledgment of the improvement order. yet it is a very vital issue in the case,’ the court observed, adding that confirmation of compliance could only come from Nema.

The environment regulator, together with its Director General and the Kisii County Director, acknowledged complaints made by residents, particularly regarding flying rocks. They said that the asphalt plant was illegally installed.

The court found that the residents had established a strong case and demonstrated irreparable harm.

It ordered an immediate stop to all quarrying, crushing, and stone processing until Nema is satisfied that the operations are environmentally safe or until the case is determined.

The asphalt plant was also barred from commencing operations until the petition is determined, and if any operations have begun, then the same must cease forthwith pending the finalisation of the legal dispute.

If you are a regular reader of this column, you will have heard me pour my farming lamentations onto this page once. I purportedly rear sheep and goats somewhere deep in the sticks of eastern Laikipia.

I love and hate my farming life in equal measure for no other reason than it is the one aspect of my life where all my academic and corporate qualifications mean absolutely nothing. Farming is where thoroughly uneducated city slickers and their wallets go to die an ignominious death.

Two years ago, I made the sensible decision to become food secure after the drought of early 2023 almost brought my sheep and my wallet to starvation point. You see, those four-legged critters need to eat. A lot. My hay stocks rapidly depleted, and I had to start buying bales of hay that were being sold for three times the price of a Tusker beer at a local pub when, pre-drought, they were going for the price of a Cocacola can in the refrigerator at Shell Select.

Carol Musyoka: From farming travails to victory

I got tired of figuring things out from my Nairobi-based desktop and decided to hire a farm manager. Prior to a manager, I had a farm supervisor who fired himself when he got run out of the village for dipping his hand into other men’s honey pots. Turns out he liked the local married female population more than he liked my sheep, and the villagers were not enamoured by his amorous motivations. Which worked out well, to be honest, as now I could look for someone who had the right end-to-end animal husbandry skills.

Having learnt the painful lesson, I leased land from a neighbour, and our new farm manager got us to plant sorghum and maize for silage storage so that we could have at least a year’s supply of animal feed without fear of renting all the rooms in my head. He also advised that we plant sunflowers because they provided an alternative source of energy for the feed. I thought they looked particularly pretty in the sun, to be honest, and would add much added colour to the drab green of maize and sorghum. Yes, I had a blond moment, and I own it.

What farm manager didn’t tell me is that the sunflower seeds are highly valuable for oil, and you only feed animals the crushed sunflower cake after the oil has been pressed out.

What farm manager also did not tell me is that birds love sunflower seeds more than they love to fly. After patiently waiting for the sunflower to mature, those pesky little vagrants landed on the crop and leisurely embarked on a three-course meal that consisted of puréed seed for starters, Laikipia sun-baked seed for the main course, and, for dessert, 2 seed parfait. I bought those kites you see being sold by street hustlers in Nairobi traffic, believing they would make perfect scarecrows. Four of them were in the shape of what I thought looked like a menacing eagle. We mounted them on some poles. They worked.

Miraculously, actually. For all of 10 minutes. We got a worker to stand in the sunflower field with a catapult and chase the birds when they came. It worked. For all of the 30 minutes the worker would pretend to be working when I was around.

In summary, I ended up harvesting about 50 percent of the planted sunflowers. But if I ran for an elected seat in bird parliament, I would quite likely get a landslide win. Now, what farm manager conveniently forgot to tell me is that sunflower seed pressing machines cannot be found on aisle 5 at Quickmart Nanyuki.

For the last eight months, we have been looking for anyone with the machine, and it turns out they are harder to find than an honest politician. However, a wonderful soul has eventually helped me find one located in Laikipia. But it is apparently so heavy that I have to take my seed to the machine, which is jointly owned by a community about 40 kilometres away and administered by their local Member of County Assembly.

So, I’ve decided to wait until I harvest the current crop of sunflower and then consolidate my seeds for the onward jaunt to the mystery machine. And the birds have not gotten to this crop because, wait for it, I bought protection, and no, not the mafia kind. I had to buy bags to cover each sunflower head. Each and every one of those suckers. Which means I had to get casual labourers to come in and bag each head.

So, add the cost of the bags, plus the cost of the labourers, and what do you get? A very broke and uneducated city slicker. And what is likely to be the most expensive sunflower seed oil and crushed sunflower cake in Laikipia East. If you’re thinking of farming, don’t. Stay in your educated, rich lane.

The Treasury has granted the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPC) a four-year moratorium on the repayment of a Sh1.94 billion loan the cement maker borrowed 36 years ago, revealing the firm’s financial difficulties.

EAPC borrowed Japanese yen (JPY) 7.67 billion from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (JICA) in March 1990 but defaulted in 2016 after making partial payments, forcing the government to step in and clear the loan on its behalf. The government cleared the company’s loan with JICA in March 2020.

New details now reveal that Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi entered an agreement with the company in July 2025, pushing forward repayment dates for the outstanding loan to start in September 2029.

‘The government, through the National Treasury, has since entered into an agreement with the company setting out the terms and conditions for the loan repayment. The agreement was executed on behalf of the government by the CS, National Treasury and Economic Planning, John Mbadi Ng’ongo, on July 24, 2025,’ EAPC notes in its 2024/25 annual report.

The agreements were entered into when the government was the controlling shareholder of EAPC. The cement manufacturer, however, got a new majority owner in December last year when Kalahari Cement, part of Tanzania’s Amsons Group, acquired a 68.7 percent ownership after multiple transactions.

It is not clear whether the change of control will have an impact on the agreements the cement producer has with the Treasury.

EAPC’s outstanding loan of Sh1.94 billion includes an accrued interest of Sh459.8 million that the EAPC will have to repay the Treasury, with the outstanding principal loan standing at Sh1.48 billion by the end of June last year.

The extension of repayment periods will see the company continue servicing the loan for more than 40 years since it borrowed it to facilitate a cement plant rehabilitation project.

‘Subsequent to year-end, the National Treasury and Economic Planning, through an agreement executed on July 24, 2025, granted the company a four-year moratorium, with the first repayment due on September 30, 2029,’ Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu noted.

While the company has been facing financial difficulties in recent years, its performance in the year ending June 2025 improved with a 377 percent jump in profits, to hit Sh5.5 billion.

The EAPC notes that the JPY 7.67 billion loan had a 2.5 percent interest rate and had been guaranteed by the government, which later took over when the company defaulted.

While the government intervened and started repaying the loan to JICA on behalf of EAPC since 2017, it left it in trouble with the Stanbic Bank, with which it had entered into a contract to handle repayments through currency conversions.

EAPC sought Stanbic Bank’s services after incurring exchange rate losses since it paid the loan to JICA in JPY while its revenues were in Kenyan shillings.

Under the EAPC contract with Stanbic Bank, the cement maker would make repayments to the lender in US dollars, then the bank would make payments towards resettlement of the loan to JICA in JPY.

‘To mitigate the exchange rate risk, the company entered into a cross-currency swap with Stanbic Bank in 2011. The swap converted the JPY loan into a United States dollar (USD) obligation, allowing the company to make payments in USD to the bank, while the bank settled the company’s JPY obligation with JICA,’ the Auditor-General notes.

The company made the payments to the bank as agreed between 2011 and 2016, but later defaulted, forcing the government to step in.

The default, which caused the EAPCC to terminate its currency swap contract with Stanbic Bank, caused the lender to slap it with a Sh192.8 million bill that the two parties are still in dispute over.

‘The company considered the price valuation given by the bank as inadequate as it was not justified with parameters and therefore referred the matter to CBK/CMA for investigation and /or arbitration, ‘ Ms Gathungu said.

‘On 15 May 2018, the bank notified the company of prelisting with credit reference bureau pursuant to Regulation 50(1) (a)- the Credit Reference Bureau Regulations, 2013, unless the company settles the amount of Sh192,855,802.’

The amount Stanbic Bank is asking for would push the loan to over Sh2 billion should the arbitrators rule in its favour.

Isuzu East Africa has tightened its grip on Kenya’s new vehicle market, racing further ahead of CFAO Mobility Kenya as unit sales rebounded in 2025 on the back of easing financing costs and a stable shilling.

Data from the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMIA) shows that new vehicle sales rose to 13,583 units in 2025, up from 11,352 the previous year, a 19.65 percent increase.

The recovery marks a turnaround after three years of subdued demand on a raft of shocks, including high interest rates, currency volatility, increased taxation and delayed payment to government contractors.

Isuzu was the biggest driver of rebound in showroom vehicles, growing sales of its pick-ups, buses, trucks and SUVs from 5,390 units in 2024 to 6,494 in 2025 – a jump of 20.48 percent.

This marginally lifted its market share to 47.81 from 47.48 percent, meaning nearly one out of every two new vehicles sold was an Isuzu model.

The gains have widened the gap between Isuzu and CFAO Mobility Kenya, underscoring the strength of the commercial vehicle segment relative to private cars.

CFAO – the dealer for Toyota, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Hino – posted a 16.39 percent increase in sales, from 3,789 units to 4,410 in the period under review.

However, its market share slipped from 33.4 to 32.5 percent, as Isuzu expanded at a faster pace and smaller players like Scania East Africa and Salvador Caetano Kenya posted growth.

Industry players say the turnaround has been underpinned by improving macro-economic conditions. The shilling enjoyed its most stable run against the dollar in decades in 2025, hovering around the Sh129 level for 16 months since August 2024.

The stability reduced pricing uncertainty for imported vehicles and parts, while improving business confidence.

Borrowing costs also eased, with the average lending rate by banks falling to 14.88 percent in November 2025 from a recent peak of 17.22 percent in November 2024.

That followed successive benchmark interest rate cuts by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), which has trimmed its key lending rate from 13 percent in mid-2024 to nine percent currently, easing the cost of financing vehicle purchases.

Isuzu EA Sales and Marketing Director, Wanjohi Kangangi, said in November last year that the improving environment had unlocked demand, particularly among businesses.

‘Interest rates have gone down, so many businesses are taking loans. Some of the payments that had been stuck for government contractors have begun coming through,’ he said.

Mr Kangangi added that customers who could not invest were now expanding operations.

‘By and large, we are in a good spot. People feel they are more stable than they were in recent years,” he said.

He added that Isuzu had intensified customer engagement to support the recovery.

‘There is some stability and this is what businesses want. We have held events across the country to meet customers and ensure things are okay. We wanted to ensure the financing programmes we crafted were working for them,” he said.

Simba Corp grew sales from 977 to 1,134 units, Tata from 432 to 558 and Scania from 201 to 286.

Brands focused on private passenger vehicles continued to struggle.