Category: Business Daily

Countries organise themselves into regional blocs for political and socio-economic reasons. These groupings protect shared interests and strengthen collective bargaining power. Behind the many trade principles lies the most powerful and least understood: rules of origin.

Rules of origin determine which country’s tariff, quota or sanction applies to an imported good, effectively assigning products their economic nationality. What was once a technical customs concept has become increasingly consequential.

Rules of origin fall into two categories: preferential and non-preferential. Preferential rules, embedded in free-trade agreements, decide if a product qualifies for reduced or zero tariffs in a bloc.

Non-preferential rules apply outside such agreements – governing anti-dumping duties, countervailing measures, safeguards, quotas, sanctions and trade statistics.

The criteria have been straightforward. A good is considered originating if it is ‘wholly obtained’ in one country – such as agricultural produce or minerals – or ‘substantially transformed’ there through meaningful manufacturing or processing.

However, these ‘usual criteria’ are becoming less usual. The shift is clearest in the US. President Donald Trump brings into the open what many politicians and trade specialists prefer to keep obscured. Under his influence, Washington has begun to rethink what rules of origin actually mean.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement signals a potential break with long-standing practice. A new principle is emerging; sovereign control rather than physical presence.

Under this approach, origin would depend on who owns, controls and directs the producer. The objective is to prevent Chinese firms from establishing factories in Mexico in order to gain preferential access to the US market.

Europe is moving in a similar direction. Under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, fish caught outside territorial waters qualify as ‘originating’ only if the vessels are registered, flagged and at least 50 per cent owned by nationals or companies of either the UK or the EU.

Rules of origin, once a dry customs exercise, are being repurposed as instruments of geopolitical screening.

The High Court has barred the Treasury from releasing contract payments to a firm awarded a tender linked to the State-run Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis) due to a debt of Sh212.8 million due to its business partner.

Enforcing an arbitration-backed decree stemming from the technology tender, the judge ruled that while government assets cannot be seized, the law permits attaching debts owed by the government to third parties.

The High Court has temporarily stopped the government from implementing the higher standards levy, which was gazetted in August last year.

The is after a political party challenged the imposition of the legal notice, arguing that its adoption would cripple the manufacturing sector.

Dumping of plastic carrier bags remains the most prevalent environmental offence reported to regulators, highlighting persistent compliance gaps that continue to raise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks for manufacturers, retailers, and logistics firms.

The government of Kenya banned the manufacture, importation, and use of plastic carrier bags and flat bags on March 14, 2017. The enforcement of the ban started in September the same year.

Local generation of electricity between July and October last year grew for the first time since 2022 helped by a rise in geothermal sources helping doge a deepening crisis amid increased power demand.

From gym lockers to office desks across the country, jars of pink salt and fiery red pepper are appearing as the latest wellness hack. But can a glass of warm water with Himalayan salt and cayenne pepper really flush toxins, boost metabolism, promote weight loss, and lower high blood pressure?

According to experts, the answer is no.

Patrick AlushulaThe Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has put on sale about 281 tonnes of old and unserviceable coins, marking one of the unique asset-disposals undertaken by the regulator in recent years.

In a tender notice, CBK announced that it is seeking eligible companies -mainly metal smelting foundries and coin-minting firms- to buy and melt the coins that are unfit for further circulation due to being worn out or mutilated.

Kenya’s private sector has long been celebrated as the heartbeat of the economy. It continues to power jobs and investment even in tough times.

Yet beneath the resilience lies a difficult truth: growth has not been equally shared. Many businesses, especially SMEs, remain exposed to shifting market conditions and unpredictable policies.

Kenya’s economy grew by 4.7 per cent in 2024, supported largely by strong performance in agriculture, fintech and mobile money. According to the African Development Bank’s 2025 Kenya Country Focus Report, inflation eased from 7.7 per cent in 2022 to 4.5 per cent in 2024, helped by better food supply, a 16 per cent strengthening of the shilling and lower global oil prices.

However, access to affordable credit remains a challenge. The 2024 KEPSA SME Policy Index Report indicates that private sector credit growth fell to four per cent by June 2024, from 13.9 per cent the previous year, as businesses struggled to borrow under tighter monetary policy.

To keep growth on track, Kenya needs policy stability and predictability. Businesses thrive where rules are clear and consistent. The next wave of progress will come not from more regulation, but from better, simpler enforcement of existing ones.

Kenya’s reputation as the ‘Silicon Savannah’ continues to shine. According to Ken Research (2024), the country’s mobile money and fintech ecosystem is now valued at more than $2 billion. Fintech innovations are helping firms become more efficient and resilient than before.

Still, digital finance has its pitfalls. The 2024 FinAccess Household Survey found that 16.6 per cent of borrowers defaulted on their loans, up from 10.7 per cent in 2021.

SMEs are Kenya’s real growth engine, though many remain stuck in informality. This limits their access to credit, government programmes and large contracts. Initiatives like the Credit Guarantee Scheme and digitised business registration are helping, but many entrepreneurs are still not aware of them.

Unlocking SME potential requires strong links with corporates through supplier development, mentorship and content policies that genuinely empower Kenyan firms.

Kenya’s next chapter depends on how well its businesses adapt to a fast-changing international economy. The shift towards renewable energy, sustainable manufacturing and ESG-aligned investment is no longer a side agenda.

The foundations for sustained growth of the private sector are already in motion. However, these strengths will only deliver their promise if matched with coordinated action. Policymakers must prioritise stability and smarter regulation, financial institutions need to widen access to affordable credit and corporates should deepen partnerships that help SMEs scale.

Kenyan exporters to America expect an extension of the Agoa arrangement to shield them from tariffs as much as 42 percent from 2026, preserving thousands of jobs for firms at export processing zones (EPZs).

There is a familiar exchange across Africa that carries far more meaning than it appears. When someone asks, ‘How are you?’ the answer is often simple, ‘I’m surviving.’

It is said casually, sometimes with a smile. But beneath it sits a layered truth. Surviving means things are not falling apart, yet they are not fully right either. It is an acknowledgment of pressure without inviting deeper interrogation. It is also a quiet agreement that the listener may not be ready for the whole truth.