Category: Business Daily

Drivers on ride-hailing platforms such as Uber and Bolt could get a reprieve on how fares and commissions are set under proposed new competition rules aimed at curbing the abuse of market power.

The government has proposed new legislation to crack down on online platforms that exploit businesses that depend on them by unilaterally slashing prices, imposing unfair commercial terms or using their influence to dictate trading conditions.

The proposals, contained in the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2026, are expected to place ride-hailing companies under greater regulatory scrutiny following years of disputes with Kenyan drivers over fare reductions and commission structures that the latter say have steadily eroded their earnings.

The Bill introduces the concept of a strategic market position, defining it as a situation where a company is able to influence market prices, quality, service, output or innovation to an appreciable extent independently of competitors, suppliers, users or consumers.

“A person has a strategic market position in a market if the person influences market prices, quality, service, output or innovation to an appreciable extent independent of competitors, suppliers, users or consumers,” says the Bill.

In determining whether a person holds a strategic market position, the CAK will consider factors including the firm’s presence across digital markets, control of data, network effects, switching costs, barriers to entry, financial strength and the degree of dependence by business users and consumers on its platform.

A bruising price war involving American ride-hailing company Uber, Estonia’s Bolt and local start-ups Little and Faras has driven fares down to a level that many drivers say is unsustainable, prompting some of them to defy algorithms and to set their own higher rates.

Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania – with their growing economies and relatively low car ownership rates – are among the most important markets for Uber in Africa.

Drivers have repeatedly accused the multinational technology firms of using algorithms to determine fares in a manner that favours the platforms at the expense of those providing the transport service.

The concerns have fuelled frequent standoffs between drivers and the companies, with some motorists resorting to negotiating fares directly with passengers instead of accepting the prices generated by the applications.

Through the proposed amendments, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) is seeking to regulate businesses that, although they may not necessarily dominate a market, wield disproportionate bargaining power over businesses that have few viable alternatives.

It also introduces the concept of superior bargaining position, recognising that companies can exploit trading partners because of economic dependence, even where they do not enjoy a dominant market share.

Under the Bill, “a person has a superior bargaining position in a market if the person creates an imbalance in the rights and obligations relating to its commercial relations with a counterparty and the counterparty cannot find a viable and satisfactory alternative in the market.”

Unlike existing competition law, which primarily focuses on dominant market positions, the amendments seek to regulate commercial relationships where one party possesses overwhelming negotiating leverage even in competitive markets.

The competition watchdog says the reforms are necessary because digital platforms have created new forms of market power that are not adequately addressed by the current law.

In its submission to Parliament, the agency says the digital economy has introduced unique competition concerns arising from the growing influence of large online platforms.

“The increasing prominence of large digital platforms has created risks associated with the concentration of market power, unfair trading practices, economic dependence, exclusionary conduct, and barriers to market entry,” the CAK director-general, David Kemei, told the National Assembly’s Finance and National Planning Committee.

According to the regulator, online platforms derive competitive advantages from strong network effects, access to vast amounts of user data and integrated digital ecosystems, allowing them to acquire and entrench market power more rapidly than traditional businesses.

The authority argues that this has created regulatory gaps because the existing Competition Act does not expressly provide for the regulation of competition in digital markets despite virtual marketplaces becoming a critical part of the economy.

The amendments, therefore, introduce a framework for determining whether a business holds a strategic market position in the digital economy.

The competition watchdog will also examine whether a platform acts as a gatekeeper between businesses and consumers, whether competitors require access to that platform to compete effectively, whether the company controls the rules governing the digital ecosystem and whether network effects have caused the market to tip overwhelmingly in favour of a single platform.

The concept, it says, mirrors approaches adopted in major jurisdictions that have had to grapple with the growing influence of internet giants.

In Europe, competition regulators have already relied on similar concepts in regulating companies such as Google, Apple and Meta, leading to billions of dollars in penalties over practices including self-preferencing, anti-steering rules and restrictions on competition in digital markets.

The proposed amendments would also significantly strengthen enforcement powers.

The Bill proposes a fine of up to Sh10 million, imprisonment for up to five years, or both, for a person found to have abused a strategic market position or superior bargaining position by imposing unfair trading conditions on another undertaking.

The proposed reforms come as the Ministry of Roads and Transport moves to introduce a new minimum compensation per trip for ride-hailing drivers and motorcycle operators, setting the stage for yet another showdown between the government and technology companies over pricing.

The Competition Authority is keen to address the wider imbalance in bargaining power between digital platforms and businesses that depend on them.

To address such situations, the Bill empowers the Competition Authority to develop codes of practice governing commercial relationships in sectors where abuse of strategic market position or superior bargaining position is likely to occur.

Once issued, the codes would become binding on businesses operating within those sectors, providing a framework for resolving disputes over pricing, commissions and other commercial terms.

The Authority says this flexibility will allow it to respond to rapidly evolving digital markets without having to seek fresh legislation whenever new business models emerge.

The proposals closely mirror reforms already adopted in several advanced economies.

The European Union has introduced rules targeting large digital “gatekeepers” whose platforms have become indispensable to businesses and consumers.

Companies including Google, Apple and Meta have faced regulatory action and multibillion-shilling penalties over practices ranging from self-preferencing their own services to restricting competition on their platforms.

Ride-hailing platforms have also come under increasing scrutiny.

When I assumed leadership of the Central Bank of Somalia, one question drove much of my thinking: how can we build an economy that matches the aspirations of our people?

Part of the answer lies in the financial infrastructure that allows money to move securely, businesses to trade and citizens to participate.

For years, Somalia’s payments landscape was fragmented. Banks and mobile money operators ran closed-loop, non-interoperable systems, preventing seamless transfers across providers and creating costly inefficiencies and financial exclusion.

In 2021, the Central Bank connected commercial banks through the National Payment System for large-value transfers, enabling reliable real-time gross settlement and automated clearing of interbank transactions.

However, the system did not fully address the need for a 24/7 infrastructure capable of supporting everyday retail economy. SIPS fills that gap.

Launched in January 2025 and built on ISO 20022, Somalia’s instant payment system (SIPS) enables instant, interoperable payments across participating institutions. When fully integrated, it will connect 14 commercial banks and eight mobile money and e-wallet providers through a single network.

SIPS supports person-to-person transfers, merchant payments, payments to government and government disbursements to citizens. Business-to-person, business-to-government and business-to-business services are also being developed.

Its integration with SOMQR, Somalia’s standardised QR code, will make digital payments easier for merchants, including informal businesses that drive much of daily commerce.

SIPS did not emerge from a government mandate alone. The Somalia Payment Switch, which operates SIPS, was established as a partnership between the Central Bank and 13 commercial banks. That structure was deliberate.

I believe that shared infrastructure built through collaboration is more resilient than infrastructure fully operated by the Central Bank.

The next priority is integrating mobile money operators, which serve most Somalis in their daily financial lives. Once connected, the real scale of this system will become visible, making every Somali with a mobile wallet is part of the same interoperable network, turning SIPS into a powerful engine of financial inclusion.

Somalia’s ambitions also extend beyond its borders. As the newest member of the East African Community, we intend to contribute to modern regional payment infrastructure.

We are also working to connect SIPS to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System before end of 2026. For a country where remittances are a major source of household income, payment efficiency is an economic, social and strategic priority.

SIPS demonstrates that modern financial infrastructure can be built even in fragile context when policy direction, institutional commitment and market collaboration align. We are laying the foundation for a more connected, inclusive and competitive digital economy.

A network of shell companies, international remittance services, intermediary bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets has landed two Kenyans in the crosshairs of investigators, who have frozen Sh115 million linked to them after tracing what they believe was a sophisticated money-laundering operation involving more than Sh300 million.

The frozen cash includes stablecoins in Binance wallets; $751,853.70 USDT (Sh97.2 million) linked to Glory Kithure and $896 USDT (Sh115,852) linked to Michael Machimbo.

It also comprises Sh17.6 million in cash, spread across nine accounts in Equity Bank, Stanbic, NCBA, KCB, and Absa.

Court documents obtained by the Business Daily detail how Michael and Glory allegedly received millions of shillings through a multi-layered network of intermediaries, shell companies, and crypto exchanges.

In an affidavit filed by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), investigators detail how the scheme operated through two parallel channels. The first involved six people and two companies, who carried out money transfers into Kenya via international remittance services.

Two people, Justice Gaturu and Richard Mwangi, and two companies, DigitalMall Global Ltd and Bitflux Fintech Ltd, were the source of funds. Money from the duo was wired through two other individuals identified as Patrick Mwendwa and Purity Michael, before eventually ending up in Michael and Glory’s bank accounts.

Money from the two companies was wired directly to their accounts.

Between October 2022 and January 2024, for instance, Michael is said to have received Sh80.7 million to his Equity Bank accounts from Purity and another intermediary identified as Kevin Kipngeno.

Some Sh17 million was also wired to his Stanbic Bank account from Bitflux Fintech Ltd during the same period.

Between July 2022 and May 2025, Glory received Sh53.6 million, where investigators pieced together 57 bank transfers, all between Sh10,000 and Sh550,000, well below the reporting threshold.

In Kenya, cash transactions of $15,000 (Sh1.9 million) or more must be reported to the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC). Cross-border transfers of $10,000 (Sh1.3 million) or more also require reporting.

This is to assist the State agency in identifying the proceeds of crime and combating money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.

‘The repeated use of amounts just below the reporting threshold is consistent with the structuring of transactions to avoid regulatory reporting requirements,’ the ARA says in the court filings.

‘When considered together with the subsequent movement of the funds through additional intermediary accounts before reaching the respondents, it constitutes a recognised indicator of the layering stage of money laundering.’

In one example, Justice received two payments of Sh454,769 and Sh454,259 from the US payments platform Chime Inc. into his Equity Bank account on November 3 and 6, 2023.

He then transferred Sh1.1 million in three instalments to Patrick’s Equity Bank account between November 4 and 7.

Patrick subsequently forwarded the money to Purity in three transactions of Sh300,000, Sh300,000 and Sh400,000 between November 6 and 8. Purity then transferred Sh500,000 each on November 6 and 7 to Glory’s Equity Bank account.

According to investigators, Glory withdrew Sh100,000 to M-Pesa and used the remaining funds for purchases, spending and transfers to other bank accounts, including Michael’s.

Court documents further show that Glory later transferred Sh5.25 million to Aristocars Ltd on December 2, 2023, in what investigators believe was the purchase of a motor vehicle.

Detectives cite the transaction as part of a pattern in which funds were allegedly moved through several accounts before being spent or invested in assets.

In a separate illustration, Justice received Sh453,029 from the international money transfer app Sendwave and Sh890,000 from one Cosmas Gatuyu before transferring Sh1.4 million to Patrick, who in turn sent Sh900,000 to Purity.

Purity then transferred Sh950,000 to the first respondent’s Equity Bank account, which investigators say later accumulated sufficient funds to pay Sh9.38 million to Ace Prestige Auto Ltd on July 18, 2024, ostensibly to purchase another motor vehicle.

‘Investigations are underway to obtain documents and records of transactions traced to international remittance services, including a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request to the United States of America dispatched in May 2026,’ reads court papers.

An MLA request is a formal, government-to-government process used to gather evidence or legal documents from one country to aid in a criminal investigation or prosecution in another country.

The second money-laundering channel relied on USD Tether (USDT), a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. The digital currency was moved through multiple accounts on the Binance crypto exchange platform to distance the funds from their origin.

The crypto scheme involved Michael, Glory, Kevin and three others identified as Samuel Simiyu, Wanza Mutuku and Eliud Korir.

Investigators say the stablecoins were transferred from an account on the crypto app NoOnes, operated and controlled by Samuel and registered through Wanza’s identification details, to a Binance wallet Michael and Glory controlled.

The two then transferred most of the stablecoins to a Binance wallet Kevin controlled, and he converted the cryptocurrency into Kenyan shillings through Binance transactions before remitting the cash to the duo’s bank accounts.

Between June 2024 and September 2024, court papers show that Michael’s Binance wallet address received a total of USDT 220,508, equivalent to Sh28.5 million at current exchange rates, in 10 transactions.

From February 2023 to November 2025, meanwhile, the account withdrew or transferred a cumulative sum of USDT 899,130 (Sh116.3 million) through 107 transactions.

Glory’s Binance wallet was found to have received USDT 930,597 (Sh120.5 million) in 62 transactions between January 2023 and November 2025 and withdrawn or transferred USDT 178,491 (Sh23.1 million) between February 2023 and January 2026.

Investigators said they interviewed Samuel in May 2026, where he said he was a cryptocurrency trader. He admitted owning and controlling a NoOnes crypto exchange account registered using his wife Wanza’s identification details and email address, according to the affidavit.

Samuel told investigators that he also owned and operated a crypto wallet on the global exchange platform OKX registered in his name. He admitted to owning an account on Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto marketplace that allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies directly with each other.

Both accounts were linked to the same email address.

“He averred that Michael approached him with a deal to use his OKX, NoOnes and Paxful accounts to transfer crypto to [Michael and Glory]’s Binance wallets. However, he claimed that he did not know the sources of the crypto that [Michael] was laundering through his crypto accounts or wallets,” the ARA says.

Wanza said while she had allowed her husband to use her email address to trade cryptocurrency on the Paxful and NoOnes platforms, she did not know the origin of the cryptocurrency that passed through those accounts.

‘The evidence discloses a deliberate, multi-layered scheme through which large sums of money, whose origin the respondents have refused to explain, were received, moved through a chain of intermediary accounts designed to obscure their source, and ultimately deposited into the respondents’ Binance exchange accounts and bank accounts,’ the affidavit says.

Neither Michael nor Glory offered any explanation for the transactions when interviewed. ‘Both exercised their right to remain silent, declining to offer any explanation, innocent or otherwise, for the funds they received,’ the agency says.

While only Sh115 million has been frozen so far, the assets recovery body estimates that the combined value of property traceable to the two exceeds Sh300 million.

The court on July 3 granted a 90-day preservation order on the funds while investigations continue.

‘In addition, the respondents are being investigated for tax evasion, having transacted cumulative sums of more than Sh300 million but have consistently filed nil returns in their tax records at the Kenya Revenue Authority,’ said the ARA.

The problem is that when you come from certain families, it becomes impossible to introduce yourself without people asking, ‘Oh, you’re so-and-so’s daughter?” The trouble, at least for Arjaa Shah, is that her name is an easy stick people use to beat her with.

She is part of the family behind the Kingsway Group of Companies, which owns Village Market Group, Tribe Hotel and Trademark Hotel. She currently serves as (acting) General Manager for Trademark Hotel and Village Market, and Deputy Corporate General Manager for Tribe Collection.

A graduate of Cornell University and Les Roches International School for Hotel Management, Arjaa does not deny her privilege; she just doesn’t want to be defined by it.

But she chose to prove herself.

She started at the bottom-first as a housekeeper in London cleaning 16 rooms a day, waiting tables in Italy, which she had to quit because she was just not as good at it, and a stint at the front desk and concierge in the US.

‘I knew I had to start from the bottom because if I don’t understand the bottom, how will I ever be great at the top?’ she says. ‘Everyone thought I was nuts. I got paid 300 euros (Sh44,300) as a waitress in Italy. That’s not even enough to get rent.’

She speaks about stepping into her father’s shoes and challenging stereotypes about daughters taking over the family business. ‘My father will never look at me any differently as a daughter,’ she says. “But today he’s forced to look at me as a professional who’s running one of his businesses.’

Growing up, did you always know hospitality would become your life, or were there times when you wanted something entirely different?

I knew from the age of 13. My father had many issues in his life, but at the age of 13, we had to move to India for about six weeks, and we were staying in a hotel. Now, given the nature of what happened to my dad, I was basically left in this hotel as a child by myself, and the front desk was like, ‘Okay, let’s teach you how to check in someone.’

Or the chef would show me how to cook. That was my first education in hospitality. It was quite fun because they adopted me; and for six weeks with my parents not around, I couldn’t leave the hotel. Something clicked in me that everyone thinks hospitality is just service, but it can actually change your life.

Your father was away at an age I presume girls get much closer to their fathers. What was that like growing up in a hotel?

It was difficult. My father’s the oldest in our family, the patriarch. He became the patriarch at a very young age, 19, because his father got sick and passed away.

So he dropped out of university and had to look after the 25 people in our family. At that age, I never really understood it, because he was never around; it was his responsibility to make sure there was food on the table, which wasn’t always the case.

We weren’t born with this; we built it. Well, he built it [chuckles]. But as you grow older, you understand the importance of it, and the importance of family and community. It’s a joke when everyone says that children are not brought up by parents; they’re brought up by community. But in our life, that was true. I have seven moms, seven dads, and they all played a role in looking after me.

Family businesses often struggle with the question of merit versus bloodline. How do you ensure people see Arjaa the executive before they see Arjaa the family member?

That’s actually quite a tricky question. I am a director, and even to some of our staff who don’t engage with me on a day-to-day basis, they see me as a person who was placed instead of earned. I’ve worked internationally, and I made sure I worked professionally for a very long period of time, so if I ever wanted to come back, I came back with a standing of experience and not placement.

I work extremely hard, but you will never fully get over whether you got a job through blood or through credit. I worked twice as hard to prove myself that I am working based on credit, experience, and value that I’m giving, and if I no longer bring value to anything I do, family or otherwise, it’s just not worth being there.

It’s a testy subject, but do you think the proving yourself will ever end?

With age comes wisdom. When I was here at 26, I felt I had to prove myself a 100 times over. I know my worth and what I bring to the table, so I no longer try to prove myself.

If I work for a Tribe Hotel Group, or JW (Marriott), or Hyatt, or Hilton, I know my worth. My family gave me the leg up with the best education in Hotel Management; I got put in the right circles, and I don’t discount that that didn’t help me get to where I am. I count myself very grateful for everything my family has managed to give me, because even when we didn’t have a lot of money, my parents somehow figured it out to get me the education and exposure that I had.

But what I did after university, that was a lot of effort and grit. I used to work 100-hour weeks in the US. I started from the ground up; I’ve been a housekeeper in London, cleaning 16 rooms a day, a waitress in Italy, which I was horrible at and quit after six months. [chuckles].

The truth is I never cleaned my bed when I was growing up, and when you come from privilege, sometimes you just want to go into a position. I knew I had to start from the bottom because if I don’t understand the bottom, how will I ever be great at the top?

It’s easy to deny your privilege and coat it in grass-to-grace stories that discount the impact of luck and background. Why was it important for you to own that?

It would be wrong of me to say I came from the grassroots.

I didn’t, but my dad did. He went to a local school, but he got me into British schools to give me a leg up. I don’t see myself as Indian, but as Kenyan, and to pretend that I’ve gone through what most Kenyans have gone through would be wrong.

What expectations come with carrying a family name that has already been built?

Expectations. Lots of people want handouts, especially when they know who you are. Most people don’t know I am part of the Kingsway family, because I wanted to make a professional name for myself.

I own the fact that I am part of my family, but I shouldn’t be seen as a family member in this organisation, but as an employed professional who reports to an external CEO.

But I think there is a lot of expectation that because of who I am, or where I come from, people want a lot, and sometimes we’re unable to give it.

I’ll only do what I can within my own capacity. It’s a very tough question, isn’t it? I’m a very nice person, so I just kind of do everything I can, to be honest. I think we’re all born with different advantages in life, and I was given a lot, so I try and do as much as I can for people who weren’t given a lot.

Does your name weigh you down?

I can only empathise, because there are a lot of young people in Kenya today who want to make a difference and do something, but their names are tying them to a lot of expectations.

People expect me to be the visionary that my father is. I’m not even close. My father was a visionary. He knew that China and Korea would come in, so he brought them in first. I’m an executor. You give me something, I will make it work; I know how to make things work.

Have you always been this sure of yourself?

Our family has one motto: the only thing in life that will never change is you educating yourself. You don’t have to do a Master’s degree; that’s not how you educate yourself, but you have to be aware, you have to read, you have to grow.

Covid-19 was a time when everyone was firing everyone, and as an organisation, we didn’t, but we gave everyone small stipends to pay for food. But when you look inwards, you have to start realising you have value that you can give and you have value that you can’t give. It wasn’t about me doing it all, but knowing what I’m good at and then pulling other people’s resources to make it work. And that’s where I learned who I was.

How do you negotiate for your worth financially in a family business?

I earn a family business salary. So in my family, you have to give a portion of your salary back to the business; therefore, I don’t earn market rates. I know that sounds stupid because it’s usually the other way around: you get market rates and then you get a stipend for being in the business. Money is not my end goal, but it is important because it helps you survive. I come to work. After all, I like being here because I have 800+ staff who make me smile in the morning. I have enough that I can pay my rent and buy myself food and drink once in a while. I’ve always thought money would come as long as I do a good job.

Did you have money conversations at the dinner table growing up?

Yes. From the age of 14, we were given an allowance, and the only way to come back and get next month’s allowance is to submit receipts. I’ve been doing that for a very long time.

How has that influenced the way you relate to money now?

I’m very conscious about how I spend cash. Say you earn Sh20,000. What most people do is say spend Sh10,000 on rent, Sh5,000 on food, Sh2,000 on children. What we do in our family is as a percentage.

If you earn Sh20,000, you have to give 10 percent of your time or your money to the community; that’s charity or funds. I do 5 percent in kind, and 5 percent of funds in a pot to make a difference. Then I allocate 10 percent of my salary to travel and 10 percent to shopping. Always 20 percent goes into savings.

It seems that it’s important for you to be seen first as a professional before any other metric. When you look back over your career, which investment in your professional career was a smart move?

The investment of not chasing the position. The university I went to, I got three job offers to be an assistant manager straight out of college. But I chose to be a housekeeper, a waitress, a reservations agent-living hand to mouth in London with no money. I could eat out maybe once a month because you don’t earn that much, but that to me was an investment in myself to be who I am today.

What career move would you say has brought you the biggest-be it monetary or professional-growth?

I worked in a hotel called Penn Gardens. I was a reservations agent and a meeting and event agent. I was earning revenue on the side, but I was never given an official role. I needed change. So I went within the group first, and I said, which jobs are out there? I got three offers. I got an assistant meeting and events manager at a five-star property. I got an assistant GM at a small property, 52 bedrooms. And I got an events assistant position with 560 bedrooms.

So I went to my GM, who was a good mentor. I wanted the assistant manager position at 23 years old.

He said no. And he’s like, ‘I have watched you in my organisation, and you have moved three times in a year because you just crave more. You will be so bored in a small property. I know the position looks good. Take the meeting and events assistant role, because that’s the role that’s going to challenge your mind.’ He was right.

How are you demanding more from yourself now?

Nobody is perfect. If you think you’re at 100 percent, then you need to take a serious look at yourself. I’ve never thought I’ve done any better than 80 percent ever in my life. It’s a good mentality to have because you’re always pushing for more, always asking, ‘Where’s that 20 percent and how am I getting there?’ I want to be the best, and there’s no way I’m ever going to be the best because there are so many great people around me.

What’s a significant loss that has shaped who you are today?

My two grandmothers. They taught me the values that we have in our lives today. We are a vegetarian family; we don’t drink, but I drink and eat meat. I’m not a typical Indian girl, but to have two matriarchs who are so strong and who tell you, ‘Forget what your parents think. Go drink.

Go eat meat. We don’t hate you for it.’ My grandma told me at the age of 16, you will never marry an Indian. To have people who are that open in your life allowed me to find this journey in being who I am today.

What conversation did you have with yourself to turn your back, metaphorically, on the family way and be your own person?

I value my family. If you saw me when I moved here 10 years ago, I was the perfect daughter. It wasn’t a conversation with myself; it was a conversation with all seven of my parents. I am always going to strive to be the perfect daughter for this family, the best version of myself for my business, but for me to do that, I have to be the best version of me.

And the best version of me drinks, eats meat, and wants to live on my own as a single person. It’s unheard of in Indian families for girls to live on their own, unmarried. But I do it. What I chose to do was hide it for a period of time because I wanted to be who they wanted me to be.

The first time I said it, my father was like, ‘No. It’s not our way.’ But they sent us around the world, and for them to think that they could give us so much exposure and we would be the same coming back was never going to be possible [chuckles].

What has that cost you?

Nothing. Do you know why? If you don’t want to be who you are because you’re scared of losing your friends and family, those friends and family were never yours to begin with. Because the people who love you the most will love you regardless of who you choose to be. The cost of authenticity is nothing, but your option to be authentic is based on fear. And it’s fear of loss. When you realise that you lose nothing that was of value, then you always choose to be yourself.

What has success made harder?

Every time you grow in your role, you get more responsibility. And then you get into leadership, and balance becomes hard. You have to balance your personal life, your family, your friends, and your work. I’m not good at balance. I give anything a 100 or zero, but there’s no such thing as balance, because balance means you give everything equal amounts of time. Impossible. You can have an integrated lifestyle, however. You don’t have to make cupcakes for your daughter at home, but you can promise her homemade cupcakes, and ask someone else to make them at home. I will never have balance, but I can have an integrated lifestyle.

Do you think you’ve made the most of your life?

Yeah. Everyone judges your life on pillars. You graduate from high school, then university, get a job, be a manager, get engaged, get married, have a child. Nobody talks about the ones who don’t want every pillar.

Everyone looks at me and says, ‘Arjaa, you spend so much time at work. What about a husband and a child?’ It’s not that I don’t want those things, but the life I’m living right now fulfils me. Through my work, I travel, meet people, and I set and surpass boundaries. My priority today is not husband and child, and that doesn’t make me any less fulfilled.

Is that something that comes up a lot?

Oh, all the time. I’m 35, single, which is unheard of in the Indian community for people to be unmarried at this age. Usually, I ask people if they’re happy because they’re married [chuckles]. There is no linearity in life. One day, I’ll wake up, and I’ll be like, I have no husband and no child. And that day, I will go and find one. But until the day comes, it’s not necessary.

What’s a family business lesson that has remained true over the years?

You will never be over-educated, and you should always strive to educate yourself further. And education doesn’t mean learning finance more. It could be learning how to meditate, or how to do your inner child work or even a new skill like knitting.

What is one thing you would splurge on?

My car. I may work in a fancy hotel, but my favourite thing to do is camp. So next, we need to add in a shower extension and a little cooking unit at the back of my car. This will be easier than cooking on campfires. I already have a snorkel, a front bumper, and a back bumper; it’s already raised. Slowly by slowly, I keep adding to it. You should have time for anything important to you.

Advise your future self.

You often take life too seriously and don’t. Life is supposed to be enjoyed. Otherwise there’s no point in living.

Now that you are here and work in hospitality, what is the right percentage to tip?

Tipping has come from American culture, and American waiters earn nothing, so their entire livelihood comes from tipping. I’m not saying don’t tip. I’m saying, whatever you feel comfortable with, and whatever you can afford. We’re an aspirational brand. So we’ll see young Kenyans save up Sh5,000 to come eat with us. And then forget they need Sh500 more. But anywhere you go where people enjoy their jobs. Sh100, Sh200, Sh500, Sh5,000 anything makes the difference. But don’t do it outside of what you can afford.

Thousands of users were, as at Friday evening, still reeling from inconvenience due to an outage on the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) electronic business invoicing platform, eTIMS.

What started as a 20-hour-long scheduled maintenance between Wednesday 6pm and Thursday 2pm ended up prolonging into the weekend as KRA left taxpayers at a loss on what to do regarding the generation of invoices to support their transactions and make claims on deductible expenses.

All parties engaged in business in Kenya, including companies, partnerships, and sole proprietors, are required to use eTIMS to generate invoices.

On Friday at 3.58pm, KRA issued a second notice to taxpayers, citing inability to resuscitate eTIMS on account of a technical hitch.

‘The Kenya Revenue Authority notifies all stakeholders that the eTIMS online portal is currently experiencing a technical hitch. Our technical team is actively working to restore the service as soon as possible,’ KRA said in its Friday notice.

The Finance Act 2023 amended the Income Tax Act, providing that effective January 1, 2024, only expenses backed by eTIMS invoices are deemed eligible for tax deduction, therefore locking out anyone who will seek to reduce their tax burden using invoices generated outside the eTIMS system.

The Finance Act 2026 has tightened eTIMS enforcement by introducing new penalty floors for non-compliance such that failure to use the system attracts a minimum penalty of Sh100,000 for companies and Sh10,000 for individuals.

The use of eTIMS invoices has been instrumental in widening KRA’s quest to widen the tax base in the economy by enhancing its visibility of transactions taking place.

‘Some of the technological milestones that KRA has made include enhancement and expansion of the Electronic Tax Invoice Management Systems (eTIMS) to strengthen transaction visibility and improve VAT compliance. As at June 30, 2026, a total of 750,915 taxpayers had onboarded on eTIMS,’ KRA said on July 10, 2026, as it released its 2025/26 full year revenue outturn.

The prolonged downtime of the system is likely to trigger mismatches between what was actually transacted and what is captured in the system during the downtime period.

In 2026, many taxpayers faced challenges as KRA undertook an Incomes and Expenses Validation exercise starting January 1, an exercise designed to ensure that what taxpayers self-declared while filing their income tax returns tallied with what was captured in the auto-populated eTIMS system.

Kenya has one doctor for more than 5,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of one doctor for every 1,000 people. The shortage continues to widen as trained clinicians migrate abroad while the country’s population keeps growing.

Yet millions of Kenyans access healthcare not through hospitals or specialist clinics, but through neighbourhood pharmacies.

This reflects how healthcare already functions in practice. Across urban, peri-urban and rural communities, pharmacies are often the most accessible, affordable and immediate point of care. They operate without appointments, lengthy queues or referral letters, making them the first stop for many seeking treatment.

Not every illness requires a hospital visit. Many common, self-limiting conditions can be managed safely with the support of qualified pharmacists, allowing doctors to focus on patients with more complex needs.

Recognising this reality, Kenya’s Pharmacy and Poisons Board issued Good Pharmacy Practice guidelines in May 2024. The framework expanded pharmacists’ role beyond dispensing medicines to include patient counselling, disease management support and broader clinical care, laying the foundation for the Pharmacy First model.

The principle is simple. Community pharmacists are often a patient’s first contact with the healthcare system. Minor illnesses, medicine-related concerns and chronic disease support can frequently be handled at this level before referral to a doctor or hospital becomes necessary.

In effect, pharmacies become frontline triage centres. Pharmacists can identify patients who require specialist attention while offering treatment advice, reassurance or monitoring for less serious conditions. Early intervention helps prevent complications, shortens waiting times and improves access to timely care.

The economic benefits are equally important.

Kenya’s healthcare system faces rising demand, overstretched public facilities and increasing treatment costs. Medical insurers are also grappling with escalating claims. Enabling pharmacists to manage appropriate primary healthcare cases can reduce unnecessary hospital visits, ease congestion and lower costs for households, insurers and government.

A stronger Pharmacy First culture would improve access to affordable care while allowing hospitals to concentrate resources on more serious cases. It would also reduce avoidable insurance claims and improve efficiency across the health system.

This approach does not diminish the role of doctors. Instead, it creates a more integrated health system where every professional works at the top of their expertise.

Countries such as the UK have already demonstrated the value of Pharmacy First. Kenya now has an opportunity to adapt the model to strengthen primary healthcare and make better use of its limited medical workforce.

A new analysis warning that a Super El Niño could threaten 500 million farmers worldwide and wipe $342 billion from global agricultural output may sound like a future crisis.

For many Kenyan farmers, it is already today’s reality. The warning underscores a lesson the agricultural sector can no longer ignore: climate resilience is no longer an environmental add-on. It has become the foundation of agricultural productivity.

About 98 percent of Kenya’s agriculture is rain-fed, meaning a failed rainy season can determine an entire harvest.

Drought has already devastated livestock herds in Turkana and Marsabit, while climate stress in Tana River has reduced pasture, milk production and household food security. Families recovering from one climate shock are often hit by another before they regain their footing.

The old distinction between productivity and resilience no longer holds. Productivity depends on resilience, and so does access to finance. Farmers who cannot withstand climate shocks become riskier borrowers, making it harder to secure the credit needed to invest in their farms.

The effects quickly spread beyond the farm. Poor harvests reduce household incomes, affect children’s education and nutrition, and leave farmers without resources to buy inputs for the next season. Floods often destroy both crops and the roads needed to transport them to market, compounding losses.

Smallholder farmers produce up to 80 percent of the food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa. When their resilience weakens, the consequences ripple through food supplies, inflation and national economies.

Livestock-dependent communities face even greater risks. While crops may recover with better rains, rebuilding herds can take years. Protecting livestock through better animal health, water access and drought preparedness is therefore central to safeguarding livelihoods.

Kenya has already begun investing in locally led climate action, supporting community projects that strengthen agriculture, water and environmental management. The next step is to treat water harvesting, drought-tolerant crops, livestock health services, climate information, solar-powered cold chains and agricultural insurance as productive infrastructure rather than optional development projects.

Stocks of bottled water manufactured or imported before July 1, 2026 have been exempted from a directive requiring traders and manufacturers to surrender all unused excise stamps after the commodity was removed from the list of excisable goods through the Finance Act, 2026.

‘Taxpayers holding unused V4 excise stamps for bottled water as at 1 July 2026 are required to return the stamps to the Kenya Revenue Authority in accordance with these guidelines,’ the Kenya Revenue Authority said.

‘However, taxpayers should note that bottled water lawfully manufactured or imported and stamped before July 1, 2026 may continue to be sold with the affixed stamps.’

The exemption is expected to provide relief to traders and manufacturers who may now avoid the logistical challenges of a multiple-step procedure of surrendering unused stamps.

A schedule by KRA showed that those returning excise stamps would initiate the process by logging in to the Excise Goods Management System (EGMS). Upon submission of the excise stamps return request in the EGMS system, KRA shall process the application and either approve or reject the request.

This would be followed by a physical surrender of the paper stamps before any reimbursements would be processed.

Excise duty on bottled water was charged at Sh6.41 per litre until late last month, when it was abolished by the Finance Act, 2026.

This marked the end of nearly a decade of excise taxation on one of Kenya’s fastest-growing consumer products.

As an excisable product, every bottle of water sold in Kenya was required to bear an excise stamp to track production and confirm that the requisite tax had been paid.

An excise stamp is a revenue marker affixed to excisable goods to demonstrate that excise duty -popularly referred to as the “sin tax”- has been paid by the manufacturer.

The removal of the tax came against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding bottled water market, fueled by growing health consciousness, rapid urbanisation and persistent concerns over the quality and safety of piped water supplies.

The government first introduced excise duty on bottled water through the Excise Duty Act, 2015, as part of broader tax reforms aimed at widening the tax base and increasing domestic revenue collection. The move also reflected an expansion of excise taxation beyond its traditional focus on alcohol and tobacco to include selected non-alcoholic beverages and other consumer goods.

To safeguard revenue collection, KRA requires all licensed manufacturers and importers of excisable goods to purchase digital excise stamps, which are affixed to products before they leave the factory.

The stamps, administered through the EGMS, enable the taxman to monitor production volumes, verify tax payments and curb tax evasion and illicit trade.

Initially introduced for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, the digital stamps were later extended to bottled water, juices, soft drinks, energy drinks and cosmetics as the government intensified efforts to plug revenue leakages.

Funders such as multilateral lenders, donors and bilateral partners are increasingly demanding that businesses demonstrate returns beyond financial performance on investments supported by their capital.

The owners of capital are pushing local startups and other businesses to begin tracking their social impact, including metrics such as job creation, poverty reduction, access to credit, and affordable healthcare and clean water.

Financiers and philanthropists backing multilateral lenders such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and donors like the Gates Foundation are increasingly insisting that investments generate more than profits.

Social impact reporting is emerging as a key disclosure for businesses seeking to attract funding, particularly from external sources such as development finance institutions.

“Impact reporting is quite important for visibility to both global and regional investors, and it goes beyond the assessment of financial metrics,” said Isis Madison, an independent non-executive director at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), who also advises global investors and philanthropic institutions on entrepreneurship and the digital economy.

“From an investor’s perspective, it is important that the capital you are deploying not only delivers financial returns but also has a wider impact on the communities where the enterprises operate.”

Acumen, the global impact investment firm, says wealthy donors and social impact investors are increasingly demanding data that measures both the financial return and the human impact of their investments.

The organisation has identified key gaps, including inadequate funding for data collection and the absence of a standard framework for measuring social impact.

Its State of Social Impact Reporting in East Africa report found that reporting is largely driven by the need to satisfy external funders rather than to improve business performance or social outcomes.

Among the 40 organisations assessed, all had a history of impact reporting, but few were using the findings to strengthen investment decisions or maximise social impact.

“SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) indicators dominate framework adoption for social impact definitions and explanations, but qualitative evidence reveals this is largely communicative rather than operational. SDGs are cited in reports, not used to drive documentation and measurement design,” the report states.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals comprise 17 global objectives aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and promoting prosperity.

Social impact experts argue that businesses can no longer separate social impact from financial sustainability, even though profitability remains the primary performance measure for most enterprises.

Wealthy donors and philanthropists have also been challenged to provide both funding and technical expertise to help businesses measure and manage their impact on communities.

Poverty alleviation remains the leading social impact indicator in Kenya and across Africa.

“Most of the impact we have seen is income improvement because unemployment and poverty remain major challenges in Kenya and across Africa,” said Chris Maranga, Acumen’s Regional Director for Africa.

The 40 organisations covered in the report operated across six sectors, including financial services, agriculture, education, healthcare and retail.

Most of the firms said their funding came from multilateral institutions, development partners, bilateral donors and private investors.

Kenya Breweries Ltd (KBL) has returned to court seeking to stop publication of an arbitral award in a dispute over the refurbishment of its Sh3.4 billion Kisumu brewery project, just days after the High Court lifted a 19-month freeze on the award.

In fresh filings before the High Court in Nairobi, the brewer argues that a recently concluded investigation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) uncovered what it describes as “grand corruption” in the arbitration process. However, the court yesterday declined to issue immediate orders halting publication of the award pending determination of the application.

KBL is asking the court to review its July 16 ruling, arguing that the DCI investigation produced new and important evidence that was unavailable when the earlier application was heard. The company says the findings justify reinstating conservatory orders that had barred publication of the arbitral award since December 2024.

The dispute stems from refurbishment contracts awarded between 2017 and 2019 to Jilk Construction Company for works at KBL’s Kisumu brewery under the “Project Nafasi” initiative. Jilk maintains that it completed the contracted works and handed over the project, but disagreements later emerged over payment and implementation, prompting arbitration.

KBL argues that releasing the arbitral award before its review application is determined would undermine both the review proceedings and its constitutional petition challenging the arbitration process.

“The publication of the arbitral award will render both the review application and the petition nugatory,” the brewer says in a supporting affidavit.

The company relies on call data and communication records obtained during the DCI investigation, claiming they reveal contact between the arbitrator and individuals associated with Jilk Construction. According to KBL, the records support allegations that the arbitration process was tainted by corruption, misconduct and extortion.

However, a DCI affidavit filed by Police Constable Alex Wekesa paints a different picture. While investigators confirmed communication between the arbitrator and persons linked to Jilk Construction, they found no evidence of criminal conduct.

“Based on the evidence obtained, no prima facie case was established against any person,” Mr Wekesa states. He further adds that there is no evidence demonstrating that the communications amounted to a criminal offence.

The affidavit, dated July 10, 2026, says investigations have been completed and the inquiry file forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for review and directions.

The High Court declined to certify KBL’s application as urgent. Although the application alleges corruption and malpractice by both the arbitrator and the respondent, the judge ruled that he did not discern any immediate danger warranting urgent intervention.

The court directed KBL to serve the application, gave the respondents 14 days to file responses and scheduled the hearing for September 21 after the court recess.