Category: Business Daily

Restaurant chain Java House has opened two full-service branches in Uasin Gishu and Kiambu counties, amid intensifying competition in the fast-casual dining sector.

The new branches, which are located in Eldoret and Ruaka, now bring its East African footprint to 102 outlets, with 95 branches in Kenya, four in Uganda, and three in Rwanda.

The Gen Z in my family are home for the Christmas break, both from work and university. So the economics debates are as amazing as they are relentless. At dinner in Rumuruti, they grudgingly agree there has been progress in the republic.

That real per capita gross domestic product has increased 7.4 times in 22 years – from $345 in 2003, to $2,550 in 2025.

December has a way of softening even the hardest edges of leadership.

The inbox slows down and titles momentarily loosen their grip.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has started the exchange of information on the financial dealings by Kenyans in 77 foreign countries amid escalated crackdowns on tax dodgers and recipients of illegitimate wealth.

The taxman said the exchange will apply to information returns from the 77 nations beginning January 1.

The exits of Allan Kilavuka and Michael Joseph as CEO and chairman of Kenya Airways, respectively, have thrown off the national carrier’s search for a strategic investor.

The National Treasury, the airline’s single largest shareholder, has said the priority has moved from the search for a strategic investor due to the leadership vacuum created.

More than one million patients suffering from hypertension missed treatment over the past three years due to a lack of anti-hypertensive drugs resulting from inadequate funding.

The latest health sector report shows that the State Department for Medical Services (SDMS), which is responsible for clinical care and drug dispensing, was allocated just Sh2.7 billion for all non-communicable diseases over the period. This is less than Sh1 billion required per year to cover hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and all other non-communicable diseases.

The State is considering introducing insurance for mobile money deposits, such as M-Pesa and Airtel Money, to cover losses should any of the banks holding their e-savings collapse.

The Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) is in talks with mobile money operators and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) about an insurance to cover the mobile money deposits and cut the risk exposure.

As the world reflects on the conclusion of the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the spotlight falls on the 2025 theme: ‘UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls’.

This theme holds particular weight as Africa undergoes a profound digital revolution. Digital platforms are now at the heart of education, commerce, governance, and civic participation across the continent.

Ensuring these spaces are safe and inclusive is key not only for equality but also for the sustainability of Africa’s ongoing transformation.

The digital boom has powered the rise of mobile money, social commerce, and affordable technological tools, enabling thousands of small businesses to join regional and global supply chains.

Women and youth-led SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs are increasingly leveraging online platforms to connect with customers, manage transactions, and expand their operations.

Digital commerce is bringing new opportunities for business growth. However, as digital adoption accelerates, the dangers of online harassment, cyberstalking, non-consensual image sharing, algorithmic bias, and technology-driven coercion have grown, disproportionately threatening the safety and participation of women and girls.

Digital violence has outgrown its roots as a social issue; it now poses a serious economic and developmental risk.

Misuse of AI and digital platforms have enabled the creation and spread of harmful content, impersonation of entrepreneurs, and manipulation of images, all of which erode trust in the digital systems that underpin growth.

The figures are sobering globally, with between 15 and 58 percent of women and girls have been targeted by online violence. In Kenya alone, according last year’s UNFPA report, Rapid Study on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in tertiary institutions, 40 percent of female students report exposure to such violence, with nearly 90 percent witnessing it.

This not only widens the digital divide but also threatens the progress already made towards digital inclusion.

For women-led SMEs, such attacks can cause severe reputational damage.

For women-led SMEs, whose brands often hinge on personal identity, digital attacks such as deepfakes or impersonation scams can cause severe reputational damage.

Combined with existing hurdles like, limited access to capital, markets, and persistent socio-cultural barriers, online insecurity becomes a significant obstacle to sustainable growth, competitiveness and innovation. Young entrepreneurs, especially women, often face harassment after gaining visibility online.

This undermines their confidence in e-commerce and digital payments, paradoxically at a time when a robust online presence is crucial for economic success.

In this context, organisations are called upon to integrate digital safety into the core of institutional strengthening, systems design, and development finance. As the 16 Days of Activism campaign closed, the message was clear: ending digital violence is vital to unlocking Africa’s digital economy and ensuring women and girls can flourish in the future workplace.

From the United States to Saudi Arabia, new taxes are threatening to derail diaspora remittances to Kenya in 2026, unsettling an increasingly important source of foreign exchange.

The United States, Kenya’s top source of remittances, has introduced a 1 percent excise tax on money sent abroad, effectively raising the cost of sending funds back home from January 1.

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The upcoming premier sports and events destination, Talanta Sports City, is set to feature a 300-room four-star hotel and a shopping mall, as part of efforts to position the venue as a premier destination for sports, entertainment and major events.

Fresh disclosures show that the hotel and shopping mall would be developed on three- and four-acre parcels, respectively, of a Kenya Forest Service (KFS)-owned land, with the mall designed to offer a minimum of 30,000 square metres of gross lettable area (GLA). A GLA is the total floor area of a property that is available to be rented out to tenants.

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