Category: Business Daily

Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink has finally regained the subscriptions it lost in Kenya when its capacity was strained, but it has yet to reclaim the market share it shed amid stiff competition from local firms.

In the quarter to September, Starlink added 2,045 new subscriptions, raising its total user base to 19,470 and surpassing the previous peak of 19,146 recorded in December 2024, which had given it a 1.1 percent share of Kenya’s fixed internet market.

Although this marks the fastest positive growth Starlink has reported in Kenya since January, the rebound has not lifted its market share, which had slipped to 0.8 percent in June after six consecutive months of declining subscriber numbers.

Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya shows that Starlink’s share of the fixed internet market stagnated at 0.8 percent in the quarter to September, tying with Vijiji Connect, as some local competitors expanded their presence.

Market leader, Safaricom, added 79,288 fixed internet customers during the period, raising its market share to 35.6 percent from 34.3 percent in June.

Others, including Jamii Telecoms (Faiba), Ahadi Wireless, Vilcom Network, and Mawingu, also significantly increased their subscriber numbers, strengthening their market positions and posing stiff competition to Starlink, which had disrupted the Kenyan internet market upon entry.

Overall, total fixed internet subscriptions in Kenya rose by 147,150 in the three months to September, from 2.14 million to 2.29 million, but more than half of the new customers joined Safaricom, with Starlink accounting for just 1.4 percent of the additions.

Starlink initially recorded rapid growth after entering the Kenyan market, claiming 0.5 percent market share by September 2024, and doubling it within three months.

However, this swift expansion strained its capacity, forcing the firm to pause new sign-ups in November 2024, not only in Kenya but also in other fast-growing African markets, including Nigeria and South Sudan.

With capacity stretched, Starlink’s browsing speeds in Kenya dropped to around 45 megabits per second (Mbps) from highs of over 200 Mbps when the firm launched in July 2023. The pause in new sign-ups, coupled with the sharp decline in speeds, caused the company to lose subscribers and market share.

In the quarter to March, Starlink’s users fell by over 2,000, while its market share dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 0.9 percent. In the quarter to June, its user base grew marginally by around 400, but its market share slipped further to 0.8 percent amid stiff competition from local players.

Meanwhile, the satellite internet segment has attracted new entrants, including Safaricom, which has partnered with Starlink as a reseller of its satellite internet in Kenya.

Courts will soon have more leeway to strike down contracts containing oppressive or excessively one-sided terms if Parliament passes the newly proposed law that could reshape business and consumer agreements across the country.

Parliament has received the Law of Contract (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which aims to give judges powers to intervene in agreements where one party is clearly at a disadvantage.

This will mark a departure from the current practice where several courts have ruled that it is not their business to rewrite contracts for individuals who commit to bad deals. For instance, any contract that absolves a party from liability for death caused by their negligence will be rejected. Likewise, sale agreements that seek to absolve the seller from responsibility if the goods prove defective will be struck out.

‘The principal object of this Bill is to amend the Law of Contract Act to protect parties to a contract against unfair and unconscionable terms,’ reads the memorandum of the Wajir East Constituency MP Aden Daudi Mohamed-sponsored bill.

‘The Law of Contract Act provides for the application of English common law principles in contract law which has resulted in the use of unfair and unconscionable terms. Therefore, the bill seeks to prevent parties from relying on such unfair and unconscionable terms.’

Passage of the bill into law could reshape how contracts are drafted, enforced and contested across sectors ranging from finance and real estate to retail and services.

Currently, the country’s contract law primarily follows the principles of English common law, which emphasises the doctrine of freedom of contract. Parties are generally bound by the terms they sign, and courts intervene only in exceptional circumstances such as duress, misrepresentation, undue influence or fraud.

Under the proposed law, judges would be able to invalidate or modify contract provisions that are deemed grossly unfair, thereby enhancing protections for consumers, small businesses and other vulnerable parties.

Parties to a contract will not be permitted to include terms that exclude or limit liability for death caused by negligence of the other party.

Similarly, any clause that seeks to exclude or restrict a party’s liability for loss or damage arising from their negligence will be invalid unless the term is reasonable.

The bill clarifies that where a term attempts to limit liability for loss or damage resulting from negligence, a person’s agreement to that term will not in itself amount to a voluntary acceptance of risk.

‘Where a contract term excludes or restricts liability for loss or damage resulting from negligence, an agreement to the term by a person shall not indicate the person’s voluntary acceptance of risk,’ reads the bill in part.

In contracts involving a consumer, the supplier will be barred from excluding or limiting liability for loss or damage caused by a breach of contract. The supplier will also not claim to be entitled to render a contractual performance that is ‘substantially different’ from which was ‘reasonably expected’ of them.

The bill also prohibits suppliers from drafting contracts that exclude them from liability in case they sell defective goods.

‘In the case of goods supplied for consumer use, liability for loss or damage shall not be excluded or restricted by reference to a contract term contained in or operating by reference to a guarantee of the goods where the loss or damage arises from the goods proving defective while in consumer use; and results from the negligence of a person concerned in the manufacture or distribution of the goods,’ reads the bill in part.

The bill states that goods will be deemed to be in consumer use when a person is using them or possesses them for purposes other than exclusively for business.

Further, the bill says ‘anything in writing is a guarantee if it contains or purports to contain a promise or assurance that defects will be made good by complete or partial replacement or by repair, monetary otherwise.’

About 63 percent of patients made out-of-pocket payments for medicines following stockouts in public and private health facilities between April and May 2025 after the US government withdrew funding to Kenya, a survey said.

The survey was conducted by the State-owned National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC), and focused on evaluating the impact of service disruptions caused by the withdrawal of cash support by US President Donald Trump early this year.

NSDCC is mandated to manage syndemic diseases, including HIV, sexually transmitted infections, malaria, leprosy, tuberculosis, and lung disease. The survey revealed that the monthly average out-of-pocket spending on healthcare rose from Sh420 to Sh1,150-nearly a threefold increase that made healthcare unaffordable for many households.

The assessment, done in over 5,000 healthcare facilities across the country, also showed that about 18 percent of patients sold assets to pay for treatment, while others delayed care or abandoned treatment altogether.

For families already navigating economic pressures, the sudden shift from free or subsidized medicines to full retail prices has created impossible choices between medication, food, and school fees.

‘Furthermore, people living with HIV reported overwhelming fear (92 percent) of antiretroviral therapy interruption, with 18 percent resorting to selling assets just to afford their life-saving medications, highlighting the extreme financial and psychological burdens imposed,’ the report read.

The financial burden was severe for patients managing chronic conditions. Those living with HIV, who previously accessed antiretroviral therapy at no cost, faced increased monthly medicine bills that consumed a big portion of their household income.

Similar pressures affected TB patients and those who required long-term management of conditions like hypertension and diabetes.

Meanwhile, over 40 percent of public health facilities experienced drug and commodity stockouts during this period, especially the essential public health programmes, largely triggered by the sudden disruption of donor-funded procurement systems.

More than one-third of affected facilities reported stockouts of cotrimoxazole, a critical medicine for preventing opportunistic infections among people living with HIV.

HIV test kits were unavailable in 17 percent of facilities, which undermined early diagnosis and linkage to treatment. Tuberculosis services suffered similar disruptions, with nearly 15 percent of facilities lacking GeneXpert cartridges, delaying diagnosis and increasing the risk of undetected transmission.

The shortages expose how quickly Kenya’s medicine supply chains can fracture when donor-supported pipelines stall at a time when about 83 percent of counties rely entirely on the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority.

In malaria-endemic regions, 16.2 percent of facilities ran out of rapid diagnostic tests, forcing clinicians to rely on symptoms rather than a confirmed diagnosis. Reproductive health services were equally affected.

Family planning commodities were out of stock in 19 percent of disrupted facilities, while contraceptive implants were unavailable in 17.4 percent. Adolescents and young women were also affected, as they were turned away or offered substitute methods.

The elderly and people affected by chronic conditions are the worst hit by the OOP expenditure that has continued to rise over the years despite increased budgets by the State for healthcare.

On June 25, 2024, Kenya witnessed a moment that will be remembered for years to come.

Across cities and towns, a youthful voice rose, and it is undisputed that this Gen Z awakening was a powerful reminder that citizens expect fairness, accountability, and transparency in the management of public finances.

The moment challenged the way public policy is conceived, communicated, and executed. The protests were more than a reaction to specific tax proposals; they were a call for a new social contract, demanding that public sentiment serves as the compass guiding national decisions.

The rejection of key revenue measures forced a recalibration of Kenya’s fiscal framework. In response, the National Treasury unveiled MTP IV, 2023-27, initiating a fiscal consolidation agenda focused on broadening the tax base, reducing reliance on debt, and adopting innovative, sustainable approaches to financing national development.

This was not a mere technical adjustment but was a pivotal shift, aligning planning and resource mobilisation with economic realities and societal expectations, anchored in zero-based budgeting.

The government recognised the limits of fiscal headroom. The moment demanded decisive action that balanced prudence with innovation. From this assessment emerged a revitalised privatisation agenda.

Kenya’s development ambitions require capital volumes that borrowing and taxation alone cannot provide. Several State-owned enterprises had become persistent burdens on the Exchequer, underperforming despite repeated fiscal support.

Modernised privatisation offered a practical path to unlock dormant value, drive efficiency, and redirect resources toward transformative projects, creating fiscal space for sectors that directly impact citizens’ lives.

At this inflexion point, Kenya needed a vision grounded in courage and disciplined leadership.

The President’s State of the Nation Address on November 20, 2025, signalled precisely that. The Road to Singapore framework articulated by President William Ruto provides a benchmark for the discipline and ambition required to transform Kenya.

Singapore’s ascent rested on prudent financial management, targeted investment, and deep public trust. Kenya is embracing a similar ethos: resource discipline, long-term planning, and strategic capital allocation.

It is within this context that the State’s long-standing shareholding in Safaricom must be understood. Safaricom has been central to Kenya’s technological and economic ascent, delivering consistent dividends and bolstering national development.

Yet the current context requires a shift. Responsible stewardship sometimes necessitates releasing value to redirect it where it can generate the greatest national impact. The decision to partially divest the government’s stake in Safaricom reflects a measured, strategic transition.

This decision is neither abrupt nor politically motivated. It is informed by a sober evaluation of national priorities, fiscal constraints, and critical infrastructure needs. Kenya’s economic fundamentals remain solid, with projected growth of 5.3 percent in 2025.

Fiscal pressures, however, are significant. Public debt stands at about Sh10.6 trillion, or 68 percent of the gross domestic product. More than half of all tax revenue is consumed by debt servicing, limiting investment in healthcare, education, social protection, climate resilience, and essential infrastructure.

A responsible state cannot rely indefinitely on debt to finance development. Sustainable prosperity demands innovative, disciplined, and strategic fiscal choices.

The partial divestment from Safaricom is designed to unlock value and channel it to sectors with the highest multiplier effect. Kenya requires more than Sh 1.8 trillion in new infrastructure investment over the next five years to advance the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

Roads, water systems, energy grids, digital infrastructure, and industrial parks form the backbone of a modern, competitive economy. Traditional financing has reached its limits and must be complemented through alternative mechanisms.

The Government is strengthening instruments that attract private capital while safeguarding national interests.

These include Public-Private Partnerships, blended finance models, and capital deployment through the twin funds: The National Infrastructure Fund and the Sovereign Wealth Fund. Resources released through divestment will be catalytic, enabling layered co-investments by local and international partners.

The aim is to translate fiscal prudence into productive power and turn disciplined financial management into tangible economic outcomes.

The partial divestment also responds directly to concerns Kenyans have voiced about the cost of living, public debt, and accountability. The Government has listened. It has chosen a path that expands domestic capital mobilisation, empowers local investors, and strengthens national ownership of development projects.

This approach signals a new public finance philosophy anchored in transparency, efficiency, and responsiveness to citizens.

Proceeds from the Safaricom divestment will flow transparently through the National Infrastructure Fund, complemented by the Sovereign Wealth Fund to preserve part of the value for future generations.

The Infrastructure Fund will invest in projects that expand opportunity, integrate markets, and strengthen competitiveness. Both Funds operate under robust governance and accountability frameworks to safeguard public value, and Parliament will ensure this.

Kenya’s progress has historically depended on citizens, institutions, and the private sector acting in concert.

The partial divestment is an invitation for all stakeholders, pension funds, county governments, diaspora communities, private investors, and citizens, to participate in building a resilient, competitive nation. The aim is to generate prosperity through shared responsibility and sustain it through disciplined national investment.

Kenya is not stepping back from past achievements. It is repurposing its successes to unlock new frontiers of opportunity.

The divestment represents a deliberate act of national renewal, aligning prudent financial management with long-term ambition. The moment for decisive action has arrived, and we must seize it with unity, resolve, and purpose.

Factories run by the giant Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) are soaked in Sh26 billion debt following a borrowing spree that flouted financial guidelines, an audit by the tea industry regulator has revealed.

The audit by the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) flags several blunders, including KTDA sanctioning inter-factory loans at the headquarters and over-valuing assets to get bigger loans, while factory managers took loans not approved or beyond the limits approved by their respective boards of directors.

The blunders left KTDA-managed factories with a combined Sh26.06 billion debt by June 2025, with processors located in the Rift Valley and Western Kenya holding more than three-quarters of the loans, TBK says.

The regulator audited KTDA-managed factories to evaluate their financial sustainability and address challenges facing the sector, following a directive by the Ministry of Agriculture last month.

In a presentation to a committee of Parliament, TBK says it analysed amounts borrowed by factories, utilisation of the loan proceeds, and loan balances for factories.

The regulator found that of the Sh26.06 billion loans by the end of June, factories located West of the Rift (WoR) owed Sh21.61 billion while those in the East of the Rift (EoR) owed Sh4.45 billion.

‘From the audit on loans, TBK established that there were no Board resolutions approving the lending/borrowing from/to factories, as these arrangements are done at the KTDA head office,’ TBK says about inter-factory loans.

KTDA factories have loaned each other to the tune of Sh10.36 billion, but there lacks a policy guideline on inter-factory financing, which has led to arbitrariness in issuance and repayment of such loans, the Board observes.

‘Several factories are experiencing cash flow constraints, which have hindered their ability to repay inter-factory loans within the stipulated one-year period,’ it adds in its report to the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock.

Last month, KTDA phased out the decades-long inter-factory loan programme in favour of factories borrowing from commercial banks and revealed that WoR factories had borrowed more from EoR factories.

KTDA’s East Block factories are located in Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Embu, and Meru counties.

The West Block, on the other hand, includes factories in Kericho, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisii, Nandi, Vihiga, and Trans Nzoia counties.

KTDA manages 71 tea factories with an estimated 700,000 smallholder farmers across the country, and TBK regulates the tea industry on behalf of the government.

The Board also analysed Sh12.8 billion worth of commodity loans, finding that they were used to finance operations and not to pay bonuses released in October 2024, as earlier indicated.

It said KTDA lacks details on specific factories that benefited from the Sh12.8 billion ($99.7 million) commodity loans, which were procured against expected incomes for the period running from July 2024.

‘Closing stocks as at 30th June 2024, which KTDA-MS used as a guarantee for the commodity loans to finance the second payment in October 2024, were overvalued, especially for the factories in the WoR,’ TBK said.

The audit also found that some factories lacked board resolutions sanctioning the loans for use in paying bonuses, raising concerns about whether they had asked for the money or the decision was made in the boardroom in Nairobi.

Holes poked in the borrowing of some Sh2.59 billion through asset-based financing included cases where several factories borrowed amounts exceeding board-approved limits and over-quoting of equipment prices.

‘Equipment supplied to factories like Kambaa and Sanganyi was significantly more expensive than similar units supplied in other factories,’ the audit says.

The audit further faults some factories for stating that they were borrowing to finance projects, only to use the cash on unrelated issues.

Kebirigo, Ragati, and Chinga factories borrowed Sh300.17 million under project financing that would ideally go to capital-intensive uses, such as withering expansions, acquisition of automatic withering machines, and installation of orthodox lines, but they ‘spent the money on other items’.

On fertiliser financing, TBK established that the government owes KTDA Sh4.67 billion, being a subsidy refund for the importation of fertilizer between July 2021 and June 2023.

The Board now wants KTDA to provide details on the latest loan balances by its factories, and warns against borrowing to pay tea bonuses at the end of the year.

‘Going forward, the second payment of green leaf should be based on actual performance and funds available rather than borrowings and overstated stock valuation to show higher performance,’ it says.

TBK has also recommended that a forensic audit on loans borrowed by KTDA on behalf of its factories since July 2021 be undertaken, to give tea farmers confidence in the probity of the loans.

It also wants KTDA to implement a retention policy immediately to address cash flow challenges facing its factories and has further called for physical verification of assets acquired through the loans, to verify utilisation of the loan proceeds and value for money.

Tea farmers WoR have been hit by successive runs of lower earnings, with this year likely to be no exception amid subdued demand for their produce at the auction in Mombasa.

Data from the regional auction showed that tea grown in zones WoR fetched an average Sh226.17 a kilo over the nine months to September 2025, compared to Sh270.11 in a similar period of last year, translating to a Sh43.94 drop or 16.26 percent.

The main WoR tea-growing zones in Kenya include Kisii, Kericho, Nandi, and Nyamira counties.

Comparatively, tea grown in EoR fetched Sh379.96 a kilo at the auction in the nine months to September 2025, down from Sh387.72 realised in a similar period, marking a drop of Sh7.76 a kilo or two percent.

The EoR main tea growing zones include Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Meru, and Embu counties.

The Auditor-General has flagged under-allocation of tenders to marginalised businesses by Kenya Power in the year ended June 2025, even as the firm awarded deals worth Sh3.5 billion to the groups.

The Auditor-General, Nancy Gathungu, says that the firm failed to meet the constitutional requirement that mandates all State-owned entities to reserve 30 percent of all tenders for businesses owned by youth, women, and persons with disabilities under Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (Agpo).

‘Review of the company’s approved procurement plan for the year under review revealed that only 11 percent of the procurement budget was reserved for disadvantaged groups,’ Ms Gathungu said.

Kenya Power disclosed that the value of tenders awarded to these groups jumped 470 percent to Sh3.5 billion in the year under review as the firm stepped up efforts to meet the constitutional requirement.

The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, compels State corporations to allocate 30 percent of their tenders to these three groups under Agpo, as part of economic affirmative action that was launched more than a decade ago.

Agpo targets deals that are not highly technical, such as the supply of common-user items and basic services. This means the groups automatically miss out in any year when a State agency focuses more on highly technical projects.

Out of the Sh3.5 billion worth of deals awarded under Agpo, youth-owned businesses took Sh2.2 billion, followed by women-owned businesses with Sh1.25 billion, and persons with disabilities with Sh66.7 million.

Kenya Power is one of the State-owned firms whose tendering under Agpo for the year ended June 2025 has already been scrutinised by the Auditor-General.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) disclosed that it awarded Sh2.23 billion in deals under Agpo against a target of Sh2.57 billion in the year ended June 2025.

Gulf Energy wants the government to extend the railway to Lokichar in Turkana County by 2030 to transport crude oil to the port of Mombasa, marking a departure from the State’s earlier plan to build a pipeline.

The firm has in its Field Development Plan (FDP) proposed the construction of a meter-gauge railway (MGR) from Lokichar, then connect it to the main MGR line at Kitale, Eldoret, Nakuru, Nyahururu, or Nanyuki.

The proposed construction of the railway, to be fully funded by the government, is a shift from the earlier plan to build an export pipeline from the oilfields to the port of Lamu at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion (Sh193.5 billion at current rates).

Gulf Energy targets to start commercial production of the oil from six discoveries within blocks T6 and T7 in South Lokichar by the end of 2026 and will initially rely on trucks to transport the commodity when production starts at 20,000 stock tank barrels per day (stb/d).

‘GEBV (Gulf Energy BV) requests that GOK (Government of Kenya) provide a railway line in Lokichar, Turkana by H2 (second half) 2030 to support increasing production to 50,000 stb/d,’ Gulf Energy says in the FDP, which is now awaiting ratification by Parliament.

The combined costs of trucking and rail transport in the two phases are estimated to be $5.32 billion (Sh687.29 billion at current rates).

Oil production will be done in stages, with the first stage targeting 20,000 stb/d from 48 wells in the Ngamia and Amosing fields. Monthly exports are projected at 600,000 barrels.

The second phase will ramp this to 50,000 stb/d and will extend the project area to the Twiga, Ekales, Agete, and Etom oilfields. The monthly exports are anticipated to jump to 1.5 million barrels.

The FDP shows that 600 trucks will be deployed daily in phase one and 155 rail wagons daily when the production is stepped up in phase two.

‘Apart from extension of the railway line, the Government or its railway agents will need to invest in sufficient rolling stock, railway line rehabilitation, and construct appropriate railway siding at KPRL (Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited) to enable the operation,’ Gulf added.

The shift to a hybrid transport of trucks and trains is intended to minimize capital cost while maintaining production potential, helping Kenya to fast-track gains from the project.

Gulf fully bought the Block T6 (formerly 10BB) and Block T7 (previously 13T) from Tullow Kenya BV (the Kenyan subsidiary of British oil explorer) in a $120 million (Sh15.5 billion) deal that was closed in October this year.

The Kenyan oil company intends to start commercial production of the crude oil by December 2026. This plan got a major boost after the Ministry of Energy approved its FDP and sent it to Parliament for ratification.

The MGR currently terminates at Eldoret, and its extension to South Lokichar is seen as more viable than using trucks per day to ferry the crude oil from the wells to Eldoret, from where it is loaded onto the rail.

Failure to extend the rail to South Lokichar could see Gulf forced to deploy a fleet of 1,500 trucks to ferry the commodity when production progresses to 50,000 stb/d.

Gulf says that the government can opt to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line from Naivasha to Lokichar, setting the stage for haulage of 561 barrels per wagon.

The SGR currently terminates at Naivasha, but it is set to be extended to Kisumu and the border town of Malaba.

The extension, which is meant to ease movement between Kenya and Uganda, is likely to be funded via a 15-year bond worth Sh390 billion.

There are many reasons for organisations to align and embed sustainability within their purpose. When organisations consider the economic, ethical, strategic and legal imperatives for this course of action, it transforms how sustainability is situated within the organisation.

Unfortunately, some organisations have been unable to take sustainability beyond a siloed activity or plan focused on a limited aspect of the organisation to something holistic and integrated into its purpose.

For example, some organisations limit their sustainability efforts to waste and pollution reduction or avoidance, which is a commendable initiative but falls short of the other significant imperatives that sustainability can offer the organisation, such as business growth.

RelatedWe also see organisations that have incorrectly restricted or defined sustainability to corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities alone. It is usually due to a misunderstanding of sustainability within the corporate context and an inability to extend its integration across the entire organisation. To move sustainability from the periphery to the centre, organisations should consider the following.

First, aligning and connecting the organisation’s purpose with sustainability.

In other words, how do the societal challenges organisations aim to solve align with the sustainability agenda? When well aligned, it enables the organisations to identify the material non-financial issues that will impact their future viability and prospects. Through this process, organisations can map out relevant, like-minded partners aligned with their purpose.

The next step is to develop the ‘what’ and ‘how’.

The ‘what’ helps the organisation define the impact of sustainability across its functions and requires an assessment of how sustainability would transform each function.

Organisations can solve the ‘how’ by incorporating sustainability into existing processes and structures. It will ensure that sustainability is not designed to operate on a parallel track within the organisation, but an integral part of existing frameworks and processes.

Finally, organisations should set the key performance indicators used to track performance against targets, including those that promote accountability.

When sustainability is central within an organisation, CSR efforts, for example, are better refined and integrated into the organisation’s broader operations in an enduring manner.

Organisations must ensure constant engagement with stakeholders throughout this journey, including through reporting that enhances transparency and builds trust.

Breakfast in Malindi. Dinner in Milan. This is how Daniel Kirui Njoroge would ideally live his life. He travels a lot, you see. This, travelling, is his love story. He loves Malindi so much so that he, in the past year, has learned how to swim. This is the promise of life as you like it-an unscrolling vista of pleasure and indulgence.

Like a dimension you could slip into, or be sucked into, by an undertow. Why Malindi? Until you are in it, you don’t know; but when you are in it, it’s all that you know. Though he travels a lot, he is actually not a dilettante, but a businessman. He is the Managing Director of Afropack Group, which offers engineered integrated processing and packaging solutions, all done in Italy. Italy, where he borrows his Mediterranean diet and gioia de vivre. Joy of living. With his ease of being, he seems to be able to wear life as a loose overcoat.

‘I do not overdo in eating or drinking,’ he says. That’s his secret to staying fit, and it could be yours too. Everything in moderation, including moderation.

What’s keeping you excited about this holiday season?

Actually, since I’m at the coast, the thing that is actually making me excited at the moment is the real estate here, because it’s a generational changeover. I’m finding it interesting because many at the coast, especially Malindi, have a lot of Italians, the older generations, who are now trying to sell their properties off to the newcomers. This change of generation is making me understand we have so much potential at the coast, and can bring it back home.

Have you always been a beach person?

I consider myself a beach person. I like the sunshine, I like the weather and the Indian Ocean.

Did you grow up around the beach back in the day?

I grew up in Nairobi with its coldness. Then I went to school in Murang’a and Nyeri . Back then, for me, the coast was only for the people who had money.

When you’re planning a holiday, are you trying to recreate your childhood memories or find new ones?

I try to find new ones. What I normally try to do is to visit new places, a new country or city, so that I can try to understand it better. This is the second time in four years that I’m actually going to spend my holidays in Kenya.

Everyone has their own version of holiday stress. What’s yours?

The phone calls. We always have to be connected. You always have to check your phone because during the year, you’re always on the phone and everything. So when you’re relaxed, maybe you receive only two phone calls, and you start asking yourself what’s wrong?

How then do you permit yourself to rest?

I’ll be honest with you, I have really struggled with that. And this is actually the first year that I’m going to do that because all the past years, I’ve always been pushing work during the Christmas holidays because we normally have deliveries of some equipment. But this is now my me-time, and I am intentional about keeping it that way.

What’s a family holiday ritual that you’ve carried into adulthood?

Goat-eating ceremony around Christmas time. I got that from my parents and uncles, and I tend to carry it along.

What sort of activities put you at ease during the festive season?

I love to swim, I love the water, so even sitting down in the swimming pool or maybe in the ocean, having the waves beat against your feet is therapeutic. I recommend it.

How long have you been swimming?

A year. I’m not a good swimmer, but I’ve decided to do these things, and next year I’m going to start playing golf. I’m trying to do these strange sports that push me past the normal boundaries.

If you could take only one swimmer’s ritual into the new year, what would it be?

When you wake up in the morning and you’re feeling a bit clammy, enter the water.

What do you want to leave behind in 2025?

The belief that I cannot make it. It’s something that has accompanied me during the whole year, and especially during the difficult times, that everything is going to work out.

What are you most proud of this year?

The connections and networks that I’ve made. That is one thing. Can I also say I’m actually proud of being featured by the Business Daily for the first time in my entire business career [chuckles]? And the third thing is the award that I received an awars– the CEO to Watch of the Year in the Top 100 Executive List Awards. Those are the three highlights of the year that I cherish.

What is one resolution you made yourself that you are proud of accomplishing or having kept?

The one thing that I told myself is that I have to risk it all. And I did that. I made the right choice. I went to Nigeria for two months; it was not easy.

Do you always travel alone?

Most of the time, yeah. But for this part, for the second part of the year, I travel with my family.

Do you get lonely?

No, I don’t. Funnily enough, I was in boarding school since I was a kid. So I’m very much used to that kind of life. It’s only you and you.

Do you still have a thirst for travelling?

I do. Because when you travel, your brain really opens up. That gets me quite excited.

How has travel changed over the years?

Travel has changed a lot. I was actually considering this when talking to my mum the other day. For her, she doesn’t understand why someone can take around 50-60 flights per year, which is one or two flights every month. It has become a common thing because flights are no longer that expensive, making it simpler to travel around. You can have breakfast in Malindi and dinner in Italy.

Do you ever worry about your carbon footprint?

Yes, I do.

But?

But, as I said, we are supposed to actually start small. Beginning with the simple things that we do in our homes. For example, since I come from packaging, I find it highly unusual for people to continue buying things in plastic bottles rather than converting to recyclable materials, which leaves a lesser impact on the community and the environment.

Are you keeping a diet over the holidays?

I try not to overdo eating or drinking. But I have a regular diet. Thankfully, I’m from the Italian school, which is a Mediterranean diet. So, that keeps me fit. For me, holidays don’t mean overindulging in food and drinks, but it’s actually a time to relax your body, your mind, and everything.

What are you looking forward to doing most this period?

I’m looking to spend more time with family.

Summarise your year with a song, a food, a bird, an animal.

It’s Chris Brown’s ‘Holy Blindfold.’ The idea is that when you are blindfolded and you close your eyes, you have to trust in instinct.

What has been this year’s most unexpected gift?

Kindness.

From yourself or strangers?

No, from people that I would never have expected. Kindness and recognition. I must say it’s like that.

How are you stepping into the new year?

I’m entering 2026 with a blast. I’ll be much more rested and energetic moving forward. Whatever I do this year, I’ll double it next year.

What have you finally stopped chasing in 2025?

I’m chasing everything at the moment. Let me be honest [chuckles]. I’m still young, so all the doors on my side are still open, and I know I can make it, so I’ll see it through.

Well, rather, what have you stopped trying to control?

What people think about me.

What success metric no longer defines you?

A major recognition internationally.

What have you forgiven yourself for this year?

Not being able to be there for some people who expected me to be there. I’ve come to learn that I can’t be everywhere at the same time.

What are you thanking yourself for?

I’m thanking myself for being a better version of myself than the person I was two to three years ago.

And how does that person look like now?

That person is funny enough, he’s still a kid who is learning and gets interested in the simple things in life.

Give us your top tip for 2026.

Across Kenya’s business and technology, there are creative and social founders scaling global firms, engineers turning ideas into billion-shilling value chains and community leaders redefining modern African leadership.

They are measured less by titles and more by the systems they are fixing, the jobs they are creating, and the futures they are building.

That reality was visible during this year’s Top 40 Under 40 Men awards, in which nearly 1,000 men were nominated, reflecting the growing depth of Kenya’s young leadership pipeline.