Category: Business Daily

We often discuss rights in terms of education, healthcare, or access to clean water. While these are all critical to our survival, and indeed our development, one of the most powerful enablers of dignity and opportunity is access to credit. Unfortunately, this is rarely framed as a human right, and yet, it should be.

Credit is not merely a financial instrument. For millions of Kenyans, it is the difference between survival and progress; between operating at the margins of the economy and building a livelihood with dignity.

Without access to finance, a farmer cannot expand production, a small trader cannot stock inventory, and a young entrepreneur cannot scale an idea into a thriving business.

Kenya has made strides in financial inclusion. According to the 2024 FinAccess survey, 84.8 percent of the population now has formal financial access, with credit usage rising to 64 percent of the total population.

Yet beneath these gains lies a stubborn gap: Many Kenyans, especially women, and those in the informal sector still depend on unregulated sources like chamas (savings and investment groups), relatives, or even shylocks.

While these informal systems are important, they cannot provide the scale or sustainability required to unlock long-term opportunity. For women, rural communities, and micro-enterprises, the barriers are even higher.

This exclusion is not trivial. It systematically denies people the agency to grow, invest, and participate fully in the economy.

A key way of boosting financial inclusion is the adoption of lending models tailored to women, youth, and informal workers. Products designed for chamas, agribusiness collectives, and youth start-ups have made it possible for those without traditional collateral to access financing.

These inclusive models matter in a country where women-led enterprises face a $2 billion credit gap, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, and the informal sector employs over 80 percent of Kenya’s workforce. Credit, designed inclusively, is the bridge.

The future of credit is not only inclusive but also green. Increasingly small loans are already being extended to households and small enterprises for solar home systems, clean cooking solutions, and water access projects. These not only reduce emissions but also cut household energy costs and improve resilience.

As Kenya positions itself as a green economy leader, community-level green lending will be critical. A small loan for a solar irrigation kit may seem minor in the national balance sheet, but for a farmer, it is the difference between food insecurity and surplus. For a village, it can mean the difference between vulnerability and resilience.

Access to credit must be reframed as a human right. If we can guarantee education, water, or healthcare, why not guarantee financial access-the very thing that allows individuals to pay for these services and improve their lives?

As Kenya works toward inclusive growth and climate resilience, the ability of ordinary people to access and use credit must be treated not as a privilege for the few but as a right for all.

As debates intensify over how Kenya can create quality jobs, strengthen SMEs, and build climate-resilient local economies, development partners are under growing pressure to rethink the way they design and deliver their plans.

For most, the traditional project-based approach has sufficed, with jobless youth, for example, plunged into the deep end of entrepreneurship in a one-size-fits-all approach that assumes everyone is cut for business.

Investment bankers and lawyers who guided Treasury’s sale of a 15 percent stake in Safaricom to South Africa’s Vodacom will pocket nearly Sh2.3 billion in fees, reflecting the advisory earnings surge in the wake of heightened deal-making in Kenya.

Vodacom executives told analysts, in a conference call, that the Safaricom share purchase deal will yield transaction costs of between 200 million rands (Sh1.51 billion) and 300 million rands (Sh2.27 billion), the bulk of which will cover brokerage fees and stamp duty charges.

If pain had a voice, Kahare Miano would express it through his chords. He would sing like a griot, sharing a philosophical story shaped by experiences of going through hell and back. Kahare, however, is an architect and a painter, and the language that best captures his experience is found in the spaces where colours and parallels intersect.

At his current exhibition Pirikania, Pain and Progress at One-Off Contemporary Art Gallery, Kahare lets that language take physical form. The works feel lived-in, touched by both restlessness and restraint.

The Kenya Chamber of Mines (KCM) has warned that growing political interference and mounting tensions in the Kakamega gold belt could undermine investor confidence at a time when the country is seeking new capital for the extractive industries.

The lobby on Thursday sounded the warning after British-owned Shanta Gold Kenya Limited announced plans last month for underground gold mining in Kakamega, sparking deadly confrontations over likely displacement and proposed compensation for residents.

The World Bank says high market concentration and regulatory inaction in Kenya’s telecommunications sector have made mobile data prices high compared to regional peers.

The multilateral lender points to Safaricom’s dominance as a possible factor behind persistently high broadband internet prices.

Kenya has built an economy around mobile money and for good reason. M-Pesa alone touches tens of millions of lives daily, making mobile wallets a critical lifeline for both consumers and businesses.

Traditional card-based systems, however robust in other markets, often fail to address these local realities. Businesses that ignore mobile money risk losing sales or frustrating their customers.

Connectivity is another persistent challenge. From roadside kiosks to small retail shops, many businesses operate where internet access is patchy or unreliable. A payments system that depends on a constant connection isn’t just inconvenient, it’s unusable.

Off-line capable solutions, where transactions are captured locally and reconciled once connectivity returns are essential.

Beyond connectivity, markets demand simplicity and clarity. SMS notifications, OTP confirmations and basic messaging remain the lowest common denominator for reaching customers.

They expect instant confirmation that their payments went through and businesses expect a system that reduces reconciliation headaches and speeds operations.

But payment systems in Africa aren’t just about technology, they’re about trust.

Customers want assurance that their money is handled securely, while businesses want systems that don’t leave them second guessing whether a transaction truly went through.

Building trust requires consistency; consistent uptime, consistent settlement cycles, consistent user experiences.

Without that reliability, even the most sophisticated platform will struggle to earn loyalty in a market that still keeps one foot in cash. And then there’s scale.

As Kenyan businesses increasingly expand into regional markets such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia the payment challenges multiply. Each country has its own mobile money ecosystem, its own regulatory landscape and its own consumer behaviours.

A Kenyan company operating across borders cannot afford to juggle fragmented systems for every territory. They need are platforms and service providers that would ensure seamless experience in cross border transactions by integrating local mobile money rails and accommodating multi-country operations.

For businesses navigating Kenya’s diverse payment landscape, the lesson is simple; technology must meet users where they are, not where we imagine them to be.

And when it does, both businesses and consumers win.

Improved payment infrastructure helps businesses to access new international markets and facilitates critical transactions.

Tanzanian conglomerate, Amsons Group, is seeking to build power generation plants in Kenya after completing the multibillion- shilling purchase of Bamburi Cement and East Africa Portland Cement (EAPC).

The firm, which Tanzanian tycoon Edhah Abdallah Munif owns, says it will enter large-scale power generation in Kenya.

The government is banking on pan-African financial institution Shelter Afrique to fund the affordable housing project (AHP) amid disclosures that no developer has sought State backing to secure loans from local banks.

The new plan follows a resolution to turn the housing financier into a development bank, a move expected to boost its access to funding in the international markets.

The disclosures were made at the Parliament’s Finance and Planning committee during proceedings to ratify a decision establishing the Shelter Afrique Development Bank (SHAFDB). The Cabinet ratified the decision on February 11.

The search for funding to the AHP is despite the State collecting about Sh6 billion monthly from the Housing Levy that was imposed on formal workers. In the 2024/25 fiscal year, the government collected Sh73.2 billion from the 1.5 percent levy.

The government, however, maintains that it is using the Housing Levy to develop infrastructure such as constructing roads and sewerage services where AHP projects are, rather than funding actual construction of the houses. The committee’s report observed the government’s position that ‘by ratifying the SHAFDB Agreement, Kenya will enjoy access to financing for affordable housing and urban infrastructure development.’

In a presentation to the committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government targets to tap increased funding through SHAFDB to bankroll affordable housing projects.

‘The partnership will strengthen intra-African trade in building materials and financial services and support the government’s affordable housing agenda,’ the Ministry said.

The State Department for Housing yesterday said Kenya wants to take advantage of the fact that it is the biggest shareholder in Shelter Afrique to tap funding for the housing projects.

Housing PS Charles Hinga said the government wants to secure long-term funding through the development bank, since funding to AHP so far has been on a ‘deal-by-deal basis.’

‘All transactions as with any other bank are on a deal-by-deal basis. We are in talks with them on how they can support AHP but it’s still in early days with nothing specific on the table,’ Mr Hinga said.

The PS revealed that an initial plan by the government to issue off-take guarantees to developers in the AHP for use in securing financing from local banks remains untapped, with no developer having come forward.

The guarantees were meant to offer comfort to banks that funding developers who get affordable housing contracts would be secured, since the government would buy the houses once completed.

‘The guarantees are available on a deal-by-deal basis. We don’t have any application from a developer at the moment,’ Mr Hinga said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that Kenya had $21 million (Sh2.7 billion) as its share in Shelter Afrique’s paid-up capital by December 2023.

At least 44 African countries, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Reinsurance Corporation (African-Re) are shareholders at Shelter Afrique.

The company has funded projects valued at $319.5 million (Sh41 billion in current exchange rates) through project finance, lines of credit and equity investments since 1993, the government says.

‘Shelter Afrique also advanced Sh540 million and a standby facility of Sh128.3 million to Karibu Homes for affordable housing in Athi River, and entered its first joint venture in Kenya in 2010 through the Everest Park project, featuring 440 housing units,’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

In its 2024 annual report, Shelter Afrique acknowledged that major public housing initiatives such as Kenya’s have been major drivers of expanding housing across the continent.

The company, however, did not directly address any discussions towards funding Kenya’s AHP.

‘Kenya’s Affordable Housing Programme, Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Housing Plan, and Morocco’s 250,000-MAD Social Housing initiative stand out for their scale and structure,” Shelter Afrique said.

“In 2024, Kenya made notable strides under the AHP, a key pillar of the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. Over 42,000 housing units were either completed or under construction across major cities including Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, and Kisumu.”

Shelter Afrique has over the years funded projects such as the 76 townhouses by Stima Investment Cooperative in Syokimau (Sh395 million) and Qwetu student residences in Ruaraka and Jogoo Road (Sh800 million).

The number of cybersecurity threats reported in Kenya has decreased to an all-time low this year after a sustained spike in malware, web, and mobile application attacks since January.

Communication Authority (CA) data shows that 842,320,667 malicious activity cases were reported between July and September, an 81.6 percent decrease from the staggering 4,586,682,277 cases reported between April and June.