Category: Business Daily

What Ahmed Abushariaa constantly gives you over time is evolution of style, media and inspiration. Whereas his last exhibition at the Tribal Gallery in Nairobi last year was inspired by the rolling landscapes of the Rift Valley and the Blue Nile in Sudan, his just concluded show in the same venue took a more mordant tone, borrowing a ledger from the current war-torn Sudan. One would well consider it as a long note from a dirge.

His latest exhibition was untitled and bore paintings spanning back to 2016, and about 10 pieces recently drawn.

‘This time I was doing something about the survivors from Sudan. Most have shared a lot of stories about how they fled the war, going through villages, cities, towns and their encounters during their journey. I am trying to portray this part of it mainly through paintings on canvas,’ he says.

Abushariaa is known more for working with inks and watercolours on paper. His latest foray might however seem as an oddity for people accustomed to his work. But for Abushariaa, it is part of the interesting scope in which he perceives art from.

Whereas his last exhibition was vividly colorful, with cerulean blues and verdant greens paying homage to the Nile and the landscapes from Kampala to Nairobi, his latest settled on a more balanced tone dictated by the topic.

‘I like to do painting first off as fun and not as a job, which is why when I work with paper for some time, I just want to take a break, to try something else. I am always searching; you can also notice that my style changes often. I like to challenge myself so that I can also enjoy the process, I do not like repeating the same thing all over, it becomes boring, I want it to also become fun for me because as I said, I am always on a quest.’

In his exhibition, Abushariaa settles on more direct figures. His portraits take a close up view in what he terms as an attempt to reflect what he sees and hears while meditating on it. His voice in his work is also influenced by the type of media he is working on.

‘The medium can change the scene. When working with water colour, it is different from say, working with oil or acrylic,’ he says.

How different? ‘With watercolour, it is transparent, an artist always has to check on the transparency of the watercolours, but for acrylic, it is opaque. It is stuffy yes, but it gives you more flexibility. With acrylic, one may keep adding layers of colour and sometimes you may end up covering a subject previously painted, with watercolours, you may add as many layers as you want but you will still see the first layer that you started with,’ he says.

He adds.’It is easier to work with acrylic than with water colour because with acrylic, one needs to have the predominant idea first and then you continue building on it, but with acrylic, you may start with an idea, prime it and begin on an entirely different concept, I take advantage of this to put more effort in acrylic painting to make it more colourful, vivid and activity littered.’

His later paintings in the exhibition bore the tagline of war, with names like ‘Survivor and Migration’. In his own way, Abushariaa, honours his people affected by the vagaries of war in the only way he can, by listening to their stories and finding a muse in the morbidity of the knell of death and bloodshed.

‘The stories of survivors of war are touching. I tried to reflect what I heard in my works because my family is also affected by the war. My brother has had to move to Saudi Arabia, my sisters relocated to Italy and Saudi Arabia, all because of the war. My family is scattered,’ he says.

On whether the war can be brought to an end, Abushariaa takes apolitical view.

‘I am not very good in politics, but I believe that wars are ended through peaceful talks not through wars because in wars, the victims are always innocent civilians. I am sure sooner or later the war will have to come to an end. The earliest the better before everything gets destroyed.’

He continues, ‘The war has affected many artists. Consciously or unconsciously artists from the Sudan region express their feelings about the war through their work. We all hope for normalcy.’

In his artworks, Abushariaa work carries the tears and sighs of tired souls, buried relatives, victoms of rape, plunder and violence without boundaries. The body or work in the exhibition carried the cry of a society in need of redemption, innocent bystanders paying the hefty price of divisive politics.

Abushariaa’s exhibition was a silent cry for politicians to find a way of solving differences. A country in peace bears well for artists as opposed to war.

The tone of his work reflected the languid state of his inspiration. The colours took a backseat, the figures were drawn more outwards to the canvas, their expressions open for all to see.

There was a time we proudly touted Kenya as a global model of financial inclusion. We dazzled the world with M-Pesa, agency banking and digital innovations that broadened access and lowered barriers.

But today, we are drifting toward a far more dangerous normal: mass microcredit dependence. Quietly, steadily, we have become a nation of credit addicts.

If you doubt it, follow the numbers published by credit reference bureaus (CRBs), the FinAccess household surveys and Safaricom’s own disclosures on Fuliza. Examine the market analytics produced by the CRBs themselves. The picture is unmistakable: Kenya is increasingly hooked on small, high-frequency digital loans.

With Fuliza overdrafts, Hustler Fund microloans, M-Shwari, KCB MPesa and a mushrooming marketplace of mobile lending apps, millions of Kenyans now interact with debt every single day.

This is not credit in the traditional sense-no mortgages, no business loans, no structured instalment facilities. It is ‘nano-credit’: instant, tiny-ticket borrowing to get through the day, bridge a bill or keep a household afloat. What began as financial inclusion has quietly morphed into widespread dependence on short-term digital overdrafts that roll over endlessly.

To be fair, these digital credit products play a legitimate role. They help smooth income volatility in an economy dominated by self-employment and informal wages. They provide quick liquidity for emergencies.

Yet they also come with corrosive risks: fee-driven indebtedness, habitual refinancing and fragile household balance sheets that crumble under the slightest economic shock. A sickness, school bill or delay in payment can tip families into spirals of recurring microloans.

Amid this creeping addiction, one critical reality is dangerously overlooked: Kenya’s financial system now depends on strong, stable, well-capitalised CRBs. A CRB is not an ordinary company. It is the quiet backbone of the country’s credit system-an institution that collects, validates and preserves credit histories for individuals and businesses. When a CRB falters, the entire ecosystem wobbles.

A CRB failure can distort credit scores, corrupt repayment records, lower credit access and trigger systemic lending errors.

Inaccurate or delayed data can lead to overlending, rising defaults or sudden tightening of credit-each with profound economic consequences. Credit markets cannot function properly without reliable, uninterrupted credit referencing. This is why recent developments involving Metropol-the largest CRB in Kenya by market share-must be taken seriously.

In July 2022, the Central Bank of Kenya’s Bank (CBK) Supervision Department conducted a targeted inspection of Metropol and found the institution facing significant financial challenges. I have also reviewed a forensic audit ordered by its board audit and risk committee in July 2024, containing sensational allegations of improprieties and weaknesses in financial management.

On May 20, Metropol applied to the CBK for approval to sell its assets and business to a private equity firm, Geni (K) Ltd.

That transaction has since collapsed. The CBK withheld approval, but the deeper reason was irreconcilable shareholder hostilities.

I came across a letter by the Bank of Uganda declining to approve changes to the ownership structure of Metropol’s Ugandan subsidiary, citing internal shareholder disputes that remain unresolved. A shareholder told me they remain open to engaging alternative strategic partners.

But here is the uncomfortable truth: a CRB is not just another private company to be bought, sold or allowed to drift into distress. It is a systemically important financial-infrastructure institution. A destabilised CRB can destabilise the nation’s entire microcredit architecture-an architecture that millions of Kenyans now depend on for daily survival.

If Metropol were to fail, the consequences would be far-reaching. Fuliza, Hustler Fund, M-Shwari, digital lenders, microfinance institutions, saccos and even regulators depend on its data pipelines. A disruption would create operational chaos, credit uncertainty and widespread risk mispricing.

If a new strategic investor is to be brought in, the criteria must be stringent. It cannot merely be about injecting capital. The partner must demonstrate capacity in modern data analytics, real-time mobile loan reporting, cyber-resilience, interoperable systems, customer data protection and the ability to support Kenya’s rapidly digitising credit ecosystem. These standards must be non-negotiable.

Policymakers must abandon the notion that CRBs are just ordinary private firms. They must stabilise the bureau, strengthen oversight and ensure continuity of service.

They must address urgent policy questions: What borrower protections exist when a CRB is in distress? How rigorous is the CBK’s supervision of CRBs? Has the regulator adequately mapped the systemic risks posed by weak or insolvent bureaus? Do contingency plans-such as temporary custodianship of credit data-exist to ensure uninterrupted service?

Because here is the larger truth: the institutions meant to safeguard Kenya’s credit ecosystem can, if neglected, magnify the vulnerabilities of a country, where the majority are increasingly dependent on microcredit to survive.

Who is Bhartesh Shah? You really can’t answer that question adequately when you sit with the man for under an hour. Sure, he’s the CEO of SBM Bank after 29 years in financial services, holding executive positions at I and M Group, Equity Group Holdings, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, and Midland Bank (HSBC) across Eastern Africa, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

He holds an MBA from Warwick Business School. His children are now adults, his nest empty. His wife, Shruti, is a banker turned life coach. He plays padel three times a week. He’s 52, but not interrogating life with any particular question in this season that he calls his summer season. Winter, he says, hasn’t come.

When his hair started thinning in his late 20s, he decided to get ahead of nature and has shaved his head daily ever since. A stoic look, one that signals intent. He dresses with the precision of a man who hates loose strings.

He loves to travel-52 countries and counting with his wife-and if he were a country, he wouldn’t be just one. He’d be Japan for its humility, Singapore for its discipline, UAE for its courageousness. He doesn’t look back with regret and operates by a simple principle: don’t borrow for consumption, borrow for growth.

But other than that, you really don’t know the man. Maybe it’s how he plays his cards. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t dwell in the past-no “coulda, woulda, shoulda” occupies his mind. He frames every setback as a lesson, not a loss. The truth is, Shah seems less interested in being known than in being useful. And right now, that means building something that outlasts the conversation.

How old are your children?

My daughter is 21. My son is 19.

Has fatherhood been kind to you?

Oh yes. They grow up too fast. I mean, I just remember the other day, I was, you know, taking them to matches. Rugby or hockey or whatever. And now my daughter’s graduating in May next year. Oh, when I look back, I loved every bit of it-because those are moments I’ll never get back.

When they’re young and you’re waking up at 3am to change nappies or whatever else, at the time it seems like, ‘What did I get into?’ But when you look back, those are the memories that sustain you. I’m so glad I had those experiences. I wouldn’t change a single thing.

What childhood memory are you most fond of?

It wasn’t a pleasant memory, but I look back at it fondly. I’m an only child who grew up in a joint family. Our household had 15 people-the typical Indian household.

My parents had me very late, so my mother was very protective. One of the personality traits I had was that I was extremely shy. Forget public speaking if Iwas in a group of at least four people-and I’d shake too.

But I had this great English teacher, Mrs Bunsal. She said, ‘No, you’re going for this debate.’ The audience was probably about 100 people, and she knew my personality and everything. That was her way of getting me out of my shell. She helped me work on all the talking points for the debate, and I crammed them so I could go up and regurgitate them-as opposed to a proper interactive debate.

But it helped me overcome my fears. Today, if you ask me to speak in front of a stadium full of 100,000 people, I’d do it. But that was the beginning point.

What are your regrets in life?

You know, here’s the thing-I don’t have regrets. I don’t look back. Even when I wanted to do something and could have done it but didn’t, I don’t look back with regret. Because at the end of the day, everyone has a choice between mediocrity and beyond mediocrity.

Most people talk about balance and all of that. My view is that if you want to be good at something, there’s no such thing as balance. You have to make sacrifices. Otherwise, the definition of balance is mediocrity-trying to keep everything the same. That’s mediocrity.

So, if you want to be good at something, whatever it is-it doesn’t need to be a career, or anything specific-there’s no such thing as balance. You have to make some sacrifices. Some things have to suffer.

In my personal life, in the pursuit of my career and my family, I didn’t do things that I could have done. But do I regret? No.

What are your pet peeves?

Dishonesty. I grew up in a household, in a generation, where people shook hands and did deals without any paperwork because someone’s word mattered a lot. But I think we’ve lost that.

How old are you now?

52

How would you describe this season?

Summer. I’m enjoying it. I mean, I get to do what I’d say whoever’s up there has prepared me to do. I believe in fate and karma, and that everything that happens happens for a reason.

While it may not seem that way-especially if something bad is happening and you’re thinking, ‘What? Why?’-when I look back at my life, everything has always happened for a good reason, which came to light later on.

Like I said, I’ve been in banking for 29 years-Standard Chartered, Citibank, Midland (which is HSBC), Equity, I and M, and now here. Different banks, different experiences, different personalities.

You learn a lot about how to do things, but more importantly, how not to do things. All of them have prepared me for this. So I’m enjoying it. I get to do what I think is my calling.

So, if this is your summer, you must have had a winter.

It hasn’t come yet.

When were you most unsure about life?

When I was coming back from the UK. I had a job there and everything was going well, but my dad needed me back here-only child and all of that.

Coming back, I was really confused. I wondered, should I continue with banking? Banking in Kenya at that time wasn’t as developed as in the UK, though now it’s miles ahead in many ways. I considered going into business, but then reasoned what was the point of all the studying? Was that a waste? That was one moment of uncertainty.

The second was moving to Singapore. Moving and working in Botswana-I mean, yes, it’s different, but it’s similar. The warmth is still the same. But moving to a totally different country on a different continent and doing something still within banking, but very different, was a very unsure territory.

I remember before I moved, I called several of my colleagues and said, ‘Listen, if things don’t work out, can I come back and count on you for a job?’ All of them said yes, but that was the second most unsure moment as well.

When did you feel like you were getting into your own self as a man?

All I’d say is I’m still evolving. But I would say the distinctive periods were where when I changed for the better when I met Shruti, when we got married, and when we had our first child.

All of those periods brought different perspectives that I would have never considered otherwise in life. They help me think, they help me grow, and they help me evolve as well.

So, there’s no one ‘aha’ moment where you can say, ‘This happened and I became a man.’ You’re learning and developing all the time. I’m still learning and developing right now-forget work, I’m talking about as a human being, as a husband, as a father.

Think about it as a father. Depending on your children’s ages, there’s love, then you’ve got to be disciplined, then you move to being a friend, then a mentor. It’s a journey. No one tells you that on this date you have to move from here to here. You’ve got to observe the personalities, but you’ve also got to be self-aware.

Is there a new skill you’re learning right now?

Padel, on the sports side. But I’ve always been learning. I’ll give you an example. A few years ago, when data science and machine learning were getting a lot more interesting, I did a short executive course-it was three months at Harvard-then I did a year-long course at Berkeley, mostly online, but you go there every three months for a week or so.

Right now I’m developing further on that-data science, machine learning, and now artificial intelligence (AI). I’m learning because I find it fascinating and because I think the world’s going to change in a dramatic way.

I was privileged enough to be there when the internet phase of the world took off in the late 90s, and I saw the impact that had on society and business.

I think AI is going to be even bigger than that. That’s why I’m learning a lot more. I mean, look, when I went to university there were no emails. From that to trying to become a digital bank-it has to involve learning.

What personal lessons have you learned about money?

When I went to the UK in ’92, Kenya at that time didn’t have any credit cards. There was no concept of credit cards. Remember, there was no internet where I could research or anything.

When I get to the UK, all the banks were courting students, giving us all kinds of sweet offers-fancy mugs, vouchers, and a credit card for free. I had no idea how it worked.

So, I opened accounts with two or three banks and got the credit cards, each with a 500-pound limit, I think. Very quickly I got into debt and worked many late nights at the student union bar and restaurants just to earn more money to pay offthat debt.

So, what was the lesson from that?

Understand and research before you get into anything. But also, this principle which I hold today: don’t borrow for consumption, borrow for growth. I would never take out a loan to buy a car if I can’t buy it on cash, because it depreciates as soon as it leaves the showroom. But if I was borrowing to invest in something that’s going to generate income, I would always do that. So, I would never borrow for consumption, but I would borrow for growth.

What is your life’s big question now at 52?

I’m not asking any questions.

None at all?

No question. You know, a lot of people talk about purpose and all of that. Right. But that comes from within you.

Are you at peace?

I am at peace with myself.

What is being at peace with oneself?

Is your mind calm? In the sense that if you can imagine the temperature of your mind-not your brain, but your mind-is it a blue colour? Is it at a cool level? Are you troubled? Are you perturbed? Do you have regrets? I don’t. I am at peace. This thing of ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’-it doesn’t come into my mind right now.

Is there anything you’re struggling with at all right now?

I mean, look, for me, I wouldn’t say it’s a struggle, but it’s always a question of balance. You want your children to be much better than you and more successful than you.

You want to help guide them as well, but at the same time, they have to walk their own journey. So, it’s always a question of: are you helping them or guiding them as much as you can, or can you do more?

What’s your definition of success?

Peace, travel, happiness and friendship. Peace, which we talked about-it’s having a calm mind. Not brain, but mind, you know, the soul, the inner bit of you. Travel, because I love observing people and different cultures. Thankfully, my wife and I have traveled a lot.

I think we counted last week-we’ve been to about 52 countries, and we love it. Friendship. I have very few people I can call true friends, but they are true friends. I have a lot of acquaintances, but friendship is the ability to have genuine, deep conversations without judgment. That’s important for me.

Local power generation remained static for three years as demand for electricity rose, forcing Kenya Power to increase imports in a bid to avert widespread power rationing.

Official data shows that power generated from local plants has remained little changed at 12.57 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) over the past three years.

Consumption meanwhile rose to 10.75 billion kWh last year from 10.32 billion kWh in 2023 and an average growth of 4 percent in the past three years.

This has forced Kenya Power to lean on Ethiopia and Uganda, to reduce the deficit with imports rising to 1.53 billion kWh from 337.5 million kWh in the same period. There has also been power rationing.

Increased consumption signals the budding economic activities and a growth in the number of customers linked to Kenya Power, as the utility firm comes under increased pressure to ensure a reliable supply.

President William Ruto early this month laid bare the country’s precarious state of electricity supply, as he sought to have Parliament lift a freeze on new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) imposed in 2018.

‘In Kenya, between 5pm and 10pm we have been forced to do load shedding. We have to shut off power in some areas to be able to power others because our energy is not enough,’ Dr Ruto said early this month.

Kenya Power is facing pressure to ensure that it provides enough electricity to support the country’s increasing economic activities, amid the rise in connections. The number of Kenya Power customers has crossed the 10-million mark from 8.89 million in the same period.

Consumption from large commercial and industrial, small commercial, domestic, street lighting and electric mobility hit all-time highs in the year ended June 2025, a clear indicator of Kenya’s expanding economic activity.

The local generation crisis has been worsened by a freeze which has left Kenya Power relying on existing plants and deepened reliance on Ethiopia and Uganda to ensure steady supply.

The freeze, imposed in 2018 and later extended by Parliament in 2023 pushed the Ministry of Energy and Kenya Power to warn of a looming crisis unless the ban was lifted.

MPs rescinded the ban last week paving the way for Kenya Power to onboard new power plants.

KCB net profit for nine months of trading ended September grew 3.4 percent to Sh46.02 billion, with the growth trailing rivals like Equity and Cooperative Bank.

The net earnings grew from Sh44.5 billion posted in a similar period a year earlier and came on the back of net interest income-which is mainly earned from loans- rising 12.4 percent to Sh104.34 billion from Sh92.8 billion.

The profit slowdown is linked to a decline in non-interest income and the absence of earnings from National Bank of Kenya (NBK)-a subsidiary KCB sold on May 30 this year to Nigeria’s Access Bank.

‘Despite a tough operating environment in all our markets, we have delivered a strong performance showing the resilience of the Group. We continue to execute our business strategy that is anchored on ‘Transforming Today Together’ and build an agile business that is targeted at transforming the lives of our customers and delivering value for our shareholders and all other stakeholders,’ said Paul Russo, chief executive officer at KCB Group.

Non- interest income fell by 10.1 percent to Sh45.09 billion, mainly on the back of foreign exchange trading income dropping 40.1 percent, to Sh8.24 billion from Sh13.76 billion.

The lender said digital channels helped ring-fence non-funded income which came under pressure from reduced foreign exchange earnings and decline in fees and commission from Democratic Republic of Congo’s subsidiary due to closure of branches in the eastern part of the country.

The review period saw KCB’s operating expenses rise 2.1 percent to Sh87.35 billion.

The marginal rise in expenses was on the back of staff costs rising by 7.3 percent to Sh31.49 billion and the provisioning for loan losses increasing by 2.6 percent to Sh18.25 billion.

Group non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio improved to 17.8 percent from 18.5 percent during the review period, when the stock of gross loans un-serviced for at least three months fell to Sh215.3 billion from Sh225.69 billion.

KCB linked the improved NPL ratio on loan recoveries and the sale of NBK to Nigeria’s Access Bank Group in a deal valued at about $106.9 million (Sh13.81 billion). Subsidiaries contributed 32.4 percent of the net profit during the period under review, down from 36.6 percent in the previous year.

The reduced share of subsidiaries’ contribution in net earnings came on the back of net profit from KCB Bank Kenya rising by 6 percent to Sh33.79 billion from Sh31.75 billion.

The most profitable business outside Kenya, TMB, saw its net profit fell 1 percent to Sh7.62 billion. Rwanda’s BPR posted a 16 percent rise in net earnings to Sh2.77 billion, while the Tanzanian unit posted a 15 percent rise to Sh2.35 billion. KCB Uganda posted a four percent rise in net profit to Sh1.37 billion.

The group’s Sh46.02 billion net profit means it is trailing its closest rival Equity Group, which posted a 32.6 percent in net earnings to Sh52.1 billion from Sh39.2 billion.

However, KCB Group chairman Joseph Kinyua said the lender is optimistic that ‘we will close the year strong’.

‘The group is well positioned to navigate the impacts in the operating environment to deliver the best outcome for all our stakeholders,’he said.

The High Court has declared the Isiolo County Appropriation Act, 2025 unconstitutional and nullified the county’s Sh7.3 billion budget, citing multiple violations of constitutional provisions on public participation and legislative process.

The judgment followed a petition by Speaker Mohamed Roba Koto and nine Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), who challenged the legality of the budget’s passage in July this year.

However, recognising the potential disruption to the county government’s financial operations, the court suspended the nullification order for three months to allow for corrective action. During this period, the county government must restart the budgetary process from scratch, this time ensuring full compliance with constitutional requirements. This includes conducting meaningful public participation across all wards, maintaining proper records of legislative proceedings and submitting verifiable documentation at each stage.

‘The Isiolo County Assembly and the County Executive Committee Member for Finance are directed to regularise the legislative process and re-enact the Isiolo County Appropriation Act, 2025 within the three-month suspension period, in strict conformity with the Constitution,’ said the judgment.

This temporary reprieve allows the county government to continue functioning while working to rectify the constitutional violations identified in the judgment.

The suspension recognises the potential chaos that could ensue if all county financial operations were halted abruptly, particularly regarding staff salaries and ongoing development projects.

The contested Act, published on July 25, sought to authorise the spending of Sh7.3 billion out of the County Revenue Fund.

The petition argued that the county government had rushed through the budgetary process without following proper procedures or consulting residents adequately.

The verdict exposed systemic failures in how the budget was prepared and enacted, highlighting the absense of crucial documentation that should have accompanied such a significant financial decision.

Central to the court’s decision was the finding that public participation – a constitutional requirement for all county budgets – had been reduced to a mere formality.

The county executive had allocated just three days for consultations across Isiolo’s 10 wards, an impossibly short timeframe given the county’s vast geography and low literacy rates.

‘This court is not convinced that the CEC Finance was , within those two days, and in the manner that it was done, was in a position to collect, analyse and effectively incorporate the views of the public,’ said the judge.

The court noted that public notices appeared only in newspapers, ignoring radio broadcasts -critical in a county where literacy levels stand at 49 percent, far below the national average of 82.9 percent.

‘As per county government’s current integrated development plan the county’s literacy level is at 49 percent against the National Average of 82.9 percent. Thus, the advertisement through the newspaper was inadequate in view of the prevailing literacy level,’ stated the court.

The judgment found the county officials had failed to produce authentic Hansard records, proving the budget had been properly debated in the assembly, submitting instead an uncertified document of questionable authenticity.

Critical minutes from committee meetings and attendance registers were conspicuously absent, leaving the court unable to verify whether proper legislative procedures had been followed.

The judge described these omissions as fatal to the budget’s legitimacy, emphasising that constitutional processes cannot be treated as optional formalities.

The case exposed deep divisions in Isiolo’s leadership. The respondents -led by Deputy Speaker David Lemnantile- claimed the petition was politically motivated, stemming from a feud between Speaker Roba and Governor Abdi Guyo.

However, the court rejected this argument outright. The judgment said that regardless of political tensions, constitutional compliance remains non-negotiable.

“This is not about political rivalry but blatant disregard for the law,” the court said in the verdict that reinforces Kenya’s constitutional safeguards on fiscal responsibility and citizen participation in governance.

It added: ‘The rule of law is not an option for those who govern and the governed. The moment any of the parties step outside it, injustice, anarchy and oppression are inevitable results’.

KCB Group and Equity Group were ranked among the top 10 banks in Africa, with high stocks of non-performing loans being the only blemish in their performance.

KCB was ranked third overall, while Equity was fifth in a ranking conducted by The Banker, a Financial Times publication.

The rankings are pegged on different metrics, including the size of a bank’s tier one capital, profitability, growth, liquidity, operational efficiency, return on risk and asset quality.

The two banks were among the top 10 banks on the continent in all metrics except asset quality.

The Banker defines asset quality as a measure of bad debts compared to the total loan book. The loan loss provisions made by a bank in comparison to its profitability are also considered in defining asset quality.

‘We have developed a model that scores and ranks banks in eight key performance categories, using 17 ratios, and assigns an overall best-performing bank score and ranking,’ said The Banker.

‘The model only uses performance ratios and year-on-year percentages and basis points changes, so the size of a bank has no influence on its best bank ranking position,’ added The Banker.

Guaranty Trust Bank of Nigeria, which also operates in Kenya, was ranked first, with Capitec Bank of South Africa second.

Commercial International Bank of Egypt, which entered Kenya in 2023 after acquiring Mayfair Bank, ranked fourth.

KCB and Equity outperformed larger banks on the basis of better financial ratios, ranking 13th and 15th on the continent based on the size of their tier one capital.

‘KCB, Kenya’s largest bank, posted a 54.9 percent increase in tier one capital in dollar terms for 2024, rising from 22nd to 13th place as a result,’ the publication said.

Equity’s tier one capital grew by 38.4 percent, resulting in its ranking 15th by size, up from position 19 a year earlier.

Equity ranked as the fastest-growing bank on the continent with a score of 8.31 against a maximum of 10. Growth is measured by changes in assets, loans, deposits and operating income.

KCB ranked second in terms of soundness and leverage metrics. Soundness refers to a bank’s capital level in relation to its loan book, while leverage is the ratio of total deposits to total loans.

KCB’s non-performing loans were Sh189.1 billion, accounting for 17.2 percent of its Sh1.09 trillion loan book, as at the end of June 2025.

Equity had Sh71.2 billion in non-performing loans, representing 17.5 percent of its Sh406.8 billion loan book during the same period.

KCB had set aside Sh12.4 billion in loan loss provisions as at June, while Equity incurred Sh7.3 billion in provisions.

Kenya’s banking industry has been struggling with piling bad loans, forcing banks to set aside huge loan loss provisions that are eating into their profitability.

Total non-performing loans stood at Sh672.6 billion as at the end of December 2024 and have since grown to Sh731.8 billion by August this year.

Banks have been taking an aggressive approach to collecting payments from defaulters, resulting in an increased number of court cases and engagements with auctioneers.

At the InsurTech Forum Nairobi 2025, one message was clear: Africa’s insurance and health sectors are emerging as global leaders in applying AI responsibly and inclusively.

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What was once seen as a futuristic vision is now a daily reality-health claims approved in minutes, AI tools detecting fraud before it occurs, and predictive analytics helping people stay healthier.

These innovations are not imported; they are powered by African data and infrastructure. As technology, regulation, and collaboration converge, Africa’s experience is offering lessons for other emerging regions.

With the continent’s digital foundations and regulatory clarity to scale AI responsibly already established, the task now is to connect what exists-to turn data into shared intelligence that builds trust and delivers tangible value to customers, companies, and communities alike.

Globally, insurers are learning to scale AI responsibly. Whether in Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg or the Gulf, most are still moving from pilot projects to production. What distinguishes Africa is the quality of its groundwork. Over the past decade, steady investments in mobile connectivity, digital-policy systems and claims automation have created clean, structured, interoperable data-exactly what AI needs to thrive.

These digital rails are now maturing into intelligent systems. Routine tasks such as claims validation, reconciliation and compliance checks can be automated, freeing human expertise for underwriting, customer care and innovation.

Data that once sat in silos is being analysed in real time to improve pricing accuracy, reduce fraud and anticipate client needs. Efficiency has become a gateway to intelligence.

Strong governance underpins this transformation. Kenya’s 2019 Data Protection Act gives citizens the right to human review of automated decisions, while the African Union’s 2024 AI Strategy embeds transparency and accountability into policy across member states.

These frameworks give boards and regulators confidence to scale innovation safely, proving that Africa’s AI revolution is being built on responsibility as much as speed.

Early evidence already supports this confidence. Across markets, insurers adopting AI for claims and risk management are reporting measurable results-lower loss ratios, faster processing times, and higher customer satisfaction.

In Kenya and Nigeria, claims that once took weeks are now settled within hours. Staff once tied up in manual verification are being redeployed to client service and analytics. These are not isolated examples, but signs of a deeper structural shift in how the industry operates.

The same connected data and technology driving operational efficiency is also transforming the purpose of health insurance. By linking medical, behavioural and financial information securely, insurers and health partners move from paying for illness to investing in wellness.

In Kenya, health insurance is already managed in real-time, enabling insurers to design more personalised products, reach new market segments faster and operate with greater efficiency and profitability.

In Rwanda, predictive algorithms trained on antenatal-care data now flag high-risk pregnancies early, enabling targeted interventions that save lives.

In Uganda, image-analysis tools detect malaria parasites with expert-level precision, expanding diagnostic capacity in rural clinics. In South Africa, AI-powered wellness programmes guide members toward preventive habits, showing early evidence of major cost savings in chronic-disease management.

Read: Kenya moves to regulate artificial intelligence amid rising use

Across other emerging markets-from the Middle East to Southeast Asia-insurers are starting to adopt similar models, proving that connected data and responsible AI are becoming universal enablers of more resilient, customer-centred health systems.

AI will not replace Africa’s insurance systems; it will make them smarter. Africa’s story is no longer one of catching up-it is one of contributing to the global standard for how technology and governance can advance together to strengthen an industry and serve society.

Pieter Prickaerts is CEO of CarePay (m-Tiba in East Africa), a next gen health insurance platform and partner for insurers and TPAs to enter new segments and markets profitably.

Ayisi Makatiani is CEO and Co-Founder of Caava Group, an AI-driven InsurTech ecosystem that leverages connected data platforms to help insurers expand, digitise, and grow profitably across Africa.

Investor wealth at the Nairobi bourse has slipped back from its record high valuation of Sh3.044 trillion, after investors sold shares in large companies to lock in the profits they booked during the price rally of the first week of the month.

The market closed at a valuation of Sh2.969 trillion on Wednesday, representing a decline of Sh74.5 billion compared to the all-time high that was recorded on November 6.

This was the first time that the NSE had crossed the Sh3 trillion mark, having been on a sustained rally since last year that was boosted this month by positive corporate financial announcements by key companies including Safaricom, Equity Group and Co-operative Bank of Kenya. Increased demand for shares by local investors also boosted the market.

‘The retreat can be attributed to profit-taking, especially on blue chip stocks which led the rally. After a strong run-up in prices earlier in the month, some investors likely booked profits by selling off shares, putting downward pressure on the overall market valuation, coupled with portfolio readjustments,’ said Melodie Ndanu, an analyst at Standard Investment Bank (SIB).

“Additionally, the global market, especially the US, has seen some volatility over the past few days, due to concerns about hefty valuations on AI stocks and uncertainty around a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. Therefore, there could be some exposure calibration in stock holdings in response to this, coupled with geopolitical and policy developments.’

Banks stocks in particular have been subject to the profit taking, with Equity and KCB seeing their share prices fall back to Sh64 and Sh65.50 from all-time closing highs of Sh69.75 and Sh70 per share respectively on November 7.

This has translated to an erosion in valuation of Sh21.7 billion to Sh241.5 billion for Equity, and Sh14.5 billion for KCB to Sh210.48 billion.

Safaricom closed at a price of Sh29.40 on Wednesday, giving the company a valuation of Sh1.177 trillion, coming down from a three-year high price of Sh30.50 per share seen on November 3, which translated to a valuation of Sh1.221 trillion.

Despite the minor price correction however, the Nairobi Securities Exchange remains on course to beat other asset classes in returns this year, having gained 53.1 percent or Sh1.03 trillion in market cap since the beginning of the year.

This has put it ahead of other assets such as bonds, whose capital gains in the secondary market this year have peaked at about 22 percent.

Meanwhile, interest rates on new bond issuances have fallen to about 12 to 14 percent, down from the highs of between 14.5 percent and 18.5 percent on infrastructure bonds, that were issued in 2023 and 2024.

Rates on Treasury bills have meanwhile fallen to between 7.7 percent and 9.4 percent, from highs of 17 percent in August 2024.

Other financial assets such as fixed cash deposits are paying investors 7.63 percent in annual interest, while those holding dollars as assets have had a flat return, due to the shilling/dollar exchange rate remaining largely unchanged at about Sh129.24 in recent months.

The 2025 Global Social Progress Week, convened by the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP), was more than an exchange of ideas; it was a mirror reflecting the state of humanity’s collective ambition.

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As leaders, researchers, and practitioners from across the world gathered to co-create pathways toward a more equitable and sustainable future, a clear message emerged; true progress extends beyond economic growth, it must be grounded in human dignity, inclusion, and shared purpose.

At a time when societies are grappling with inequality, economic fragility, and eroding trust in institutions, the concept of social progress offers both a framework and a moral imperative.

It reminds us that prosperity without fairness is fragile, and innovation without empathy is hollow.

For Africa, this vision is especially urgent. The continent’s youthful energy, creativity, and resilience are unmatched, but structural barriers could still limit opportunity and widen social schisms.

Across the sessions, participants reflected on the need to redefine progress in ways that value care, inclusion, and interdependence as much as efficiency and profit.

The idea of social progress is not abstract; it is about aligning economies with the well-being of people and the planet. For Africa, this requires new thinking that integrates economic progress, social policy, environmental stewardship, and inclusive governance into one holistic development agenda.

African nations are already demonstrating what this can look like in practice.

From fintech startups in Kenya expanding access to financial services, to digital innovation hubs in Nigeria helping young people hone tech skills, and growing creative and technology enterprises in Ghana driving new jobs. Progress is being redefined from the ground up.

These initiatives highlight that the path forward is not about importing models, but about unlocking home-grown solutions and scaling the lessons they offer.

One of the strongest themes emerging from the week was the importance of moving from policy declarations to tangible action.

Too often, social progress remains a concept discussed in forums rather than a lived reality in communities. To make progress real, policies must translate into better livelihoods, stronger public systems, and inclusive spaces for participation.

This means recognising that local actors, youth networks, women’s cooperatives and grassroots innovators are not just beneficiaries of progress, but agents of transformation.

Investing in their ideas and ensuring that development processes are participatory and accountable is central to making progress sustainable.

For Africa, this shift requires a deeper focus on translating research and data into relatable narratives that inspire action.

Social progress in Africa must be built on the principles of equity, access, and opportunity. While economic growth remains important, the question is whether it leads to better education, health, environmental security, and human potential.

Across the continent, innovative models are already bridging this gap. Programmes supporting smallholder farmers, expanding access to renewable energy, and empowering young entrepreneurs are redefining what prosperity looks like.

The International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP)’s global call to action and collective intelligence for action resonates deeply with Africa’s development realities.

The continent’s progress depends not on isolated interventions, but on networks of collaboration that connect governments, researchers, private actors, and communities. Africa’s diversity is its strength; the challenge is to convert that diversity into unity of purpose.

Africa’s population is young, ambitious, and ready to lead. Yet, structural inequalities continue to constrain participation and opportunity.

Social progress, therefore, must mean more than job creation, it must involve empowering young people to shape the systems that govern their lives. Similarly, women remain at the heart of community resilience, innovation, and social cohesion.

Strengthening their access to resources, education, and leadership roles will multiply the continent’s collective gains. Inclusion is not a token gesture; it is the foundation of stability, creativity, and growth.