Category: Business Daily

Investors offered the government Sh400 billion in bond and Treasury bill auctions in the last three weeks as they rushed to lock in higher yields before the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) cut its base rate on February 10.

The apex bank lowered the base rate by 0.25 percentage points to 8.75 percent, the 10th consecutive cut since August 2024. Over the period, the rate has come down by a cumulative 4.25 percentage points from 13 percent.

With the market anticipating the cut and enjoying ample liquidity from incoming maturities, the recent auctions were heavily oversubscribed.

The last three Treasury bill sales raised cumulative bids worth Sh185.6 billion against a target of Sh72 billion, with the one-year paper accounting for 80.5 percent of these offers at Sh149.45 billion.

The 364-day T-bill was paying a premium of up to 1.6 percentage points in interest above the rates on the shorter 182-day and 91-day tranches before last week’s sale, hence the investor preference for the longer tenor.

The premium, however, narrowed after the one-year yield declined to 8.97 percent from 9.19 percent in the latest auction last Thursday -in reaction to the CBK’s rate cut- while the 182-day and 91-day rates remained unchanged at 7.7 and 7.6 percent.

In the February Treasury bond whose sale closed on February 11, investors offered the government Sh213.74 billion against a target of Sh50 billion on the pair of reopened 15-year and 25-year papers that pay annual interest of 12.34 percent and 13.4 percent respectively.

‘Overall, ample market liquidity and local debt maturities will continue to uphold strong investor subscription with a sustained chase for yield. In our view, yields are yet to bottom out given the current macroeconomic backdrop,’ said analysts at NCBA Investment Bank in a weekly fixed income note.

Despite the high appetite for the longer dated papers, the CBK rejected Sh113.2 billion from the bond sale, signaling that it is determined to push for lower borrowing costs for the government in the domestic market.

The high subscriptions allowed it to net Sh100.54 billion from the issuance, which was double its advertised target.

In the T-bills segment, it rejected Sh43.6 billion across the three auctions, taking up Sh149.45 billion from the offered Sh185.6 billion. For investors, although there has been a general fall in returns from government securities in the past year, the fall in the T-bills segment has been more pronounced compared to bonds.

Treasury bonds auctioned in 2025 and in the first two months of this year paid coupons or interest rates of between 11.67 percent and 14.63 percent, down from highs of up to 18.5 percent in 2024.

T-bill interest rates have meanwhile fallen to a range of 7.6 percent and 8.97 percent, from a high of 16.7 to 16.9 percent in August 2024.

The race to lock in the higher paying securities has also opened a window for the government to lengthen its domestic debt maturity profile without compromising the performance of primary bond sales.

In the last six months, the CBK has reopened a succession of 15-year, 20-year and 25-year bonds that were floated between 2018 and 2022, towards this goal of cutting short term refinancing pressure.

Every year, organisations invest time and energy into performance reviews. New templates are introduced. Systems are upgraded. Forms become more detailed. Yet the outcome rarely changes.

Employees feel misunderstood, managers feel burdened, and HR is left managing frustration from both sides. The problem is rarely the performance management tool itself.

The first failure starts with poor goal setting. Many employees begin the year with goals that are either too vague or disconnected from business outcomes.

Phrases like ‘improve collaboration’ or ‘demonstrate leadership’ sound meaningful but offer little clarity on what success actually looks like. When goals are vague, performance becomes subjective. Managers rely on recent memory or personal impressions.

Employees assume they are doing well because no one has told them otherwise. By the time review season arrives, both sides are trying to reconstruct a year’s worth of work from scattered emails and half-remembered conversations. Without clarity at the start, fairness at the end becomes almost impossible.

The second issue is manager capability. Performance management assumes that managers know how to set expectations, give feedback, and coach employees through challenges.

In reality, many managers were promoted because they were strong individual contributors, not because they were skilled people leaders. Difficult conversations are avoided. Feedback is delayed until the formal review.

Small issues grow into larger frustrations because they were never addressed early. When performance reviews finally happen, they feel like judgment rather than development.

This creates anxiety instead of growth. Employees hear feedback for the first time in a formal setting, often when ratings are already decided.

Managers, uncomfortable with conflict, soften messages or rush through conversations. The review becomes an administrative exercise rather than a meaningful discussion about performance and potential.

The third problem lies in incentives. Organisations often claim performance reviews are about development, yet compensation, promotion, and ratings are tightly linked to the process. This creates a built-in conflict.

When money and career progression are on the line, conversations become negotiations. Employees focus on protecting their rating. Managers hesitate to give balanced feedback that might lower compensation. Development takes a back seat to defensiveness.

Broken incentives also encourage short-term thinking. Employees focus on activities that are highly visible or easily measured rather than meaningful long-term contributions.

Collaboration can suffer if individual ratings dominate reward systems. The very behaviours organisations claim to value get undermined by how they pay and promote.

Performance management also suffers from inconsistency. Teams operate under different standards depending on the manager. High performers feel unrecognised, while others benefit from low expectations.

Over time, trust in the system erodes, and employees begin to see reviews as procedural rather than meaningful. Ironically, organisations often respond by changing the tool. New software is introduced. Rating scales are adjusted.

Dashboards become more sophisticated. But technology cannot fix unclear goals, unprepared managers, or misaligned incentives.

Until organisations fix these foundations, performance reviews will continue to fail before they even begin.

Effective performance management starts much earlier. Goals must be simple, measurable, and clearly linked to business outcomes.

Managers need ongoing support and training in coaching, feedback, and expectation setting. It demands incentive structures that balance accountability with genuine development.

Conversations about performance should happen regularly, not once or twice a year. Performance reviews work best when they reflect an ongoing dialogue rather than a yearly event. When employees know where they stand throughout the year, the review itself becomes a summary, not a surprise.

The real opportunity for organisations is to shift the mindset from evaluation to enablement. Performance management should help people succeed, not merely measure whether they did. Tools can support the process, but they cannot replace clarity, capability, and trust.

The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has been ordered to revive a cancelled tender worth $2.27 million (Sh292.9 million) for the inspection of its 450-kilometre multi-product pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi, turning the spotlight on its procurement team.

The directive follows a ruling by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB), which declared the termination unlawful and procedurally flawed.

The Board found that the State-owned company failed to justify its claims of “material governance issues” and neglected mandatory procedural steps.

The tender, advertised in September 2025, sought In-Line Inspection (ILI) services for Line 5 of the pipeline. According to tender documents, the 20-inch diameter pipeline was to undergo inspection using a high-resolution intelligent Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) and Geometry tool to assess its full circumferential condition.

Before inspection, the pipeline was to undergo aggressive cleaning to remove embedded deleterious material that could compromise data integrity.

The collected data would then be analysed, with detailed reports submitted to the client through the project engineer.

Eleven firms bid for the tender, with Strategic Corporate Consultants Limited emerging as the lowest evaluated bidder at $2.27 million (inclusive of taxes). All other bids were disqualified at the preliminary evaluation stage.

An initial professional opinion endorsed the award in November, but Managing Director Joe Sang rejected it in December, citing inconsistencies in subcontracting clauses that allegedly compromised the tender’s integrity.

An addendum later recommended a repeat tender, and a second professional opinion in January proposed termination.

KPC subsequently informed bidders of the termination, citing potential inconsistencies between Clause 4.4 of the Instructions to Tenderers and Mandatory Requirement No. 13 on subcontracting.

This triggered the legal tussle. Strategic Corporate Consultants Limited challenged the termination before the Board, arguing that no inconsistencies existed and that its bid had already been declared the lowest evaluated.

The firm also noted that KPC had issued clarifications before bid closure and could not retroactively invalidate the process.

KPC maintained that the conflicting provisions created ambiguity, making a lawful award impossible and necessitating termination for fairness and transparency.

However, the Board dismissed these claims, ruling that a “wholesome reading” of the clauses showed they were complementary rather than contradictory.

It found that Clause 4.4 permitted non-bidding firms to subcontract for multiple bids, while Mandatory Requirement No.13 restricted multiple engagements only where the main contractor was foreign.

Kenya has started its first live trial of Digital Sound Broadcasting (DSB) in Nairobi, launching a 12-month pilot that it says could ease chronic congestion in the popular FM (frequency modulation) radio spectrum.

The test announced by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) on Friday marks the country’s first public transmission of digital radio signals, a shift expected to relieve pressure on the fully allocated 87.5-108.0 MHz FM band in major urban areas and create room for more broadcasters.

DSB technology converts analogue audio into compressed digital data, allowing multiple radio stations to share a single frequency. Digital radio stations transmit using one of several digital audio standards, such as DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), HD Radio, or DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale).

Multiple radio stations are bundled into one digital signal called a multiplex, transmitted via digital transmitters, and a DSB/DAB radio receiver decodes the signal into sound. Instead of tuning to frequencies such as 96.3 FM, listeners select stations by name from a list.

How does it differ from FM radio?

Kenya has been using analogue radio, which uses either amplitude modulation (AM) or FM. FM is adopted widely because it gives clearer sound compared to AM, whose main strength is travelling farther.

With analogue transmission, each radio station is assigned a specific frequency by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). Commercial FM radio operates in the Very High Frequency (VHF) spectrum, with the standard, worldwide band ranging from 87.5 to 108.0 Megahertz (MHz). It is often called the VHF Band II.

Each station occupies 200 kHz (0.2 MHz) of bandwidth. The station’s modulated signal goes to a transmitter tower, which sends radio waves into the air via an antenna. A radio receiver tuned to a specific frequency picks up the signal using its antenna.

However, available FM frequencies are limited, which is why digital radio trials are being explored. According to the CA, the VHF Band II is saturated in major coverage areas, leaving little room for new broadcasters, increasing interference, and resulting in relatively poor audio quality.

What changes with CA’s shift to digital radio?

CA has, since 2023, been developing a framework focused on Digital Audio Broadcasting in VHF Band III (174-230 MHz) and on Digital Radio Mondiale in the HF band (30 MHz). In January 2026, Nairobi-based telecommunications firm Mast Rental became the first operator to deploy a DAB+ trial network and currently carries 14 radio programmes within the Nairobi coverage area.

Kenya will be able to carry multiple services on a single channel, which is expected to lower transmission costs and create space for new entrants, including community broadcasters, by providing reserved capacity at nominal carriage costs.

Read: Kenya switches on digital radio trial as frequencies of FMs hit capacity limits

Are broadcasters required to switch from analogue transmission?

Not yet. At present, the CA has said the DSB technology will initially complement, not replace, existing FM services. The authority has not set an analogue switch-off date, so broadcasters will still continue to reach their listeners while digital platforms are rolled out in phases.

The rollout begins with the Mombasa-Nairobi-Kisumu corridor.

What is the transition’s cost implication for broadcasters?

Eventually, broadcasters have to invest in audio encoding equipment, multiplexer access (by either buying space on a multiplex run by a network operator or joining a consortium to run one together), special transmitters designed for DAB signals, and network infrastructure.

In many countries, a single multiplex operator runs transmitters and stations lease capacity to lower running costs. Since only the transmission chain changes, broadcasters can still keep studios, microphones, mixing consoles, and content production systems.

How big is Kenya’s radio consumption?

Radio is Kenya’s most pervasive mass medium, reaching an estimated 98 percent of households and supporting more than 300 licensed stations. As online platforms grow, radio continues to be consumed alongside television and digital services rather than as a stand-alone channel.

What does the switch mean for listeners?

For consumers, digital radio delivers clearer sound, reduced harmful interference, and a wider choice of programming. Listeners enjoy increased content diversity, including niche, regional and thematic services, such as sports channels, or stations specialising in specific genres of music.

There is also potential value-added data services such as programme and station information, news alerts, song details, images or album art.

Do consumers need to get new receivers to enjoy digital radio?

Yes. Because a regular FM/AM radio cannot decode digital signals, one needs a DAB/DAB+ enabled radio, or a car with a built-in digital radio. You don’t need a special radio if you listen through smartphone apps, livestreaming via the internet, or using smart speakers and TVs, as these devices receive digital radio over the internet, not over-the-air broadcast.

The FM radios will, however, still work unless the government decides to switch off analogue broadcasts.

Does digital radio work without internet connection?

Yes, standard DAB and DAB+ radios do not need an internet connection. They receive signals directly from broadcasting towers via an antenna, similar to FM radio.

How is digital radio being adopted across the world?

In Africa, the Ghanaian government launched a DAB radio trial in August 2023, hosting up to 18 FM stations in a single multiplex in the VHF Band III (174-230 MHz). others are Algeria and South Africa.

In the UK, one of the early adopters of the technology, many major stations broadcast simultaneously on FM and DAB via national and local multiplex networks. It has been widely adopted for more niche stations. In Germany, public broadcasters and private stations share multiplexes.

Getting hired these days is not just about sitting across a table answering questions anymore. It feels more like being thrown into a group project with strangers and told, ‘Figure it out.’

In many interviews, candidates are now asked to work together on tasks, solve problems as a team, and navigate disagreements while recruiters quietly watch. Others are asking to mimic the real job for even three days, just to gauge if they can work under pressure and think critically.

For the group work interviews, the aim is not just to see who talks the most, but who listens, collaborates, manages tension and adapts, the kind of real-life skills employers say matter far more than perfect CVs.

Joseph Mwangi says his recent job interview was more of a test of endurance rather than skills. ‘I attempted it for three consecutive days,’ he says.

Each morning, at 8am, he would arrive at the office promptly, ready to convince his future boss that he deserved the job. ‘It wasn’t about my pre-qualifications, it was about doing the practical job, thinking, communicating and persistence. The oral interview took only 30 minutes out of the three days.’

In the interview, he was tested on how he handled pressure and uncertainty. He also had to prove that he could multitask. ‘It was overwhelming,’ Joseph says.

With the changing workplaces, employers are now going beyond an impressive CV and degree.

Sharon Kaiga, a human resources expert in Nairobi, notes that over the past five years there has been a shift in how employers recruit. A first-class degree may open doors, but the ability to adapt to challenges and show curiosity now matters more for long-term career success.

‘Yes, qualifications matter, but they’re not everything anymore. What we’re really looking for are skills, the human abilities that drive teamwork, innovation, and resilience,’ says Ms Kaiga.

When she interviews candidates, she looks for more than rehearsed answers. She wants to know if a person can examine a problem, whether it involves a dissatisfied customer or a broken process, and determine how to fix it without being micromanaged.

‘I realised employers want people who can speak their mind, handle pressure, multitask, and be proactive,’ Joseph adds.

For Thomas Ouma, 27, a recent interview was also less about qualifications on paper and more about how he handled real-world scenarios. The interview included a simulation designed to test his practical ability under pressure.

‘They gave me a pen and asked me to sell it to a customer. It was a sales job. They gave two products and asked me to convince a customer to choose one over the other, imagining the other was from a competitor. It was tough, but I managed. They asked how I would handle a customer wanting to return products that were near expiry. Will I remain calm? Will I adapt? That’s what mattered.’

Ivy Akinyi’s interview also came in an entirely different format: online instead of physical and with strict instructions. ‘Some interviewers in the past used to ask irrelevant personal questions, like whether I was married,’ she says, adding, ‘It was a German translator job, and I was asked not to use AI [artificial intelligence]. ‘They were very clear: you cannot rely on AI tools to do the work. If AI could do it, the job wouldn’t be given to a human. The interview tested whether I could operate independently while respecting the integrity of the work.’

‘They were also looking to see if I was desirable and likeable, someone who can be taught, and flexible. Academic qualifications matter, yes, but attitude and ability to learn quickly matter even more, especially for entry to mid-level roles.’

Festus Osinde, a senior HR specialist at Kenyatta National Hospital who previously worked in the automotive industry, says that he has noticed attitude consistently beats academic credentials when it comes to actual work performance.

‘Workplace dynamics have completely changed, and technology is everywhere now, which means we focus on hiring people with the right mindset,’ he says. ‘Customer service is fundamentally about who you are as a person, not just what you know from textbooks,’ adding, ’employers in technical fields are tired of candidates who can recite theory but freeze when faced with real-world problems.’

Some interviews are also becoming longer and others shorter.

Pauline Kerubo’s interview with the Public Service Commission stretched over months. ‘The interview required travel, as it was in-person, and demanded a detailed set of documents, from academic certificates to multiple clearances, including DCI, health compliance, CRB, and ethics and anti-corruption certifications.’

Over 100 candidates attended, and the panel comprised three serious evaluators. ‘There were so many questions requiring critical thinking. Each panelist judged differently, taking notes, scoring responses,’ she recalls.

Pauline did not sit for written tests; but practical thinking came into play.

According to HR experts, these three skills stand out as non-negotiable in today’s workplace.

1. Critical thinking: Can you actually solve problems?

Reshma Mawji, the Head of People at BasiGo, says, ‘When we have two candidates, one with strong technical skills but low adaptability, and another with high curiosity and eagerness to learn, we choose the latter every time.’ ‘We can teach you the technical stuff over time, but we can’t teach you to be curious about solving problems.’

Why does this matter so much now? Because workplaces face problems that did not exist five years ago and will not exist in the same form five years from now. The old playbook of following established procedures does not work when you’re dealing with unprecedented challenges.

2. Digital fluency: You don’t need to be a genius, just comfortable

Mr Osinde notes that you don’t need to become a programmer or understand machine learning. But you need to be comfortable with technology in whatever field you work in, whether that’s using spreadsheets effectively or navigating project management software.

‘Whether you’re in engineering, finance, or administration, being computer literate is fundamental now,’ says Mr Osinde. For back-office positions, he says that the ability to prepare professional reports and presentations using digital tools is now a baseline competency, not a bonus skill.

3. Adaptability: Can you handle change without falling apart

Industries get turned upside down overnight by new technologies or economic disruptions. New roles pop up that did not exist a year ago, while established positions disappear. In this environment, employers need people who can handle constant change.

‘When adversity strikes, say, you’re put on a performance improvement plan, or your department gets restructured, you can’t fall apart or become defensive,’ says Ms Kaiga. ‘You need to demonstrate the ability to bounce back and adapt your approach.’

Ms Mawji says she sees this daily at BasiGo, where uncertainty is not an occasional challenge but a daily reality.

‘People must be genuinely willing to unlearn old approaches that no longer work, relearn better methods, and continuously update their skills as the industry evolves,’ she says.

4. Emotional intelligence

Another skill machines can’t replace is emotional intelligence, which Ms Kaiga defines as the ability to understand your emotions, recognise emotions in others, and manage both effectively.

‘Some people snap at the slightest provocation, send angry emails they later regret, or create drama in team settings,’ she says. ‘Knowing when to speak up, when to stay silent, and how to manage stress without inflicting it on others can make or break your career regardless of your technical skills.’

The ability to handle conflict professionally matters a lot. ‘Disagreements will always happen when people with different perspectives work together on complex projects,’ says Ms Kaiga. ‘The difference between functional teams and dysfunctional ones is in how they handle inevitable conflicts.’

So how do you develop these essential skills? Start with genuine self-awareness, says Ms Kaiga, whose study of human psychology changed how she approaches work.

‘Understanding why people behave the way they do and how your behaviour affects others provides a foundation for developing interpersonal skills,’ she says.

‘Create your own opportunities by volunteering for difficult projects and taking on tasks outside your comfort zone,’ adds Mr Osinde. ‘If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.’

The common refrain, ‘disability is not inability,’ has long been an advocacy focal point for Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) seeking access to basic needs, protection and employment in pursuit of a more inclusive society.

Despite this, PWDs continue to face discrimination and stigma, often being segregated from communities. Limited resources, coupled with high dependence on primary caregivers, frequently contribute to neglect and entrench poverty.

Across Africa, Kenya, according to the Harvard International Journal 2023, has outpaced other nations in legislation and inclusion of PWDs, enshrining their rights in the Constitution and promoting representation to address barriers that alienate them from opportunities such as education, healthcare and employment. Uganda follows, then Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Egypt.

Historically, disability was shamed and hidden. Today, many children remain locked up or chained for conditions such as autism or intellectual disabilities, while adults are subjected to emotional and physical abuse.

Mass education, awareness campaigns and active inclusion of PWDs are essential to end personal biases and institutional blind spots.

While progress is notable, many institutions – schools, hospitals, churches and government offices – remain inaccessible to those reliant on wheelchairs or with other physical disadvantages.

Architectural design continues to favour the ‘default’ human being: young, agile and unencumbered. Although advocacy has led to ramps and accessibility improvements, much remains to achieve social and economic inclusion.

A mindset shift is as important as physical access. Policy must be backed by intentional action: public awareness campaigns that demystify disabilities, fight stigma, and address unconscious bias. Inclusion must extend beyond urban areas, reaching remote communities through economic empowerment and opportunities.

This requires collective responsibility.

When society values PWD inclusion as a shared mission across education, transport and public life – rather than leaving it solely to charities or government – a diverse range of voices shapes a more equitable, functional and inclusive society for all.

A new global study by François Neville, Alessandra Rizzi, and Jeffrey Lovelace, that is taking organisational behaviourists by storm in the past week, provides great insight into how chief executives personally shape how organisations respond to external activists or community pressures.

Researchers call this type of pressure and activism secondary stakeholder demands. Previously thought of as merely a domain of NGOs that concern themselves with community and broader stakeholder opinions, now, in the age of viral social media and swift information exchange, for profit companies and large multinational conglomerates even focus on broader opinions regarding their business deadlines.

Secondary stakeholders can include a whole range of possible pressure creators from advocacy groups and social movements to religious organisations and community activists.

Such stakeholders would typically not transact directly with the company in question but still be able to exert influence with effects, including firm reputation, legitimacy, and long-term performance.

The new research study argues that CEO responses to the secondary stakeholder pressure rarely arise only from strategy, financial capacity, or industry competition perspectives but instead can originate from the personal values and emotional commitment of the CEO, which play decisive roles in determining how organisations interpret and react to such pressures.

This study is the first to focus on the CEO-specific reaction to the pressure, which is why it is garnering such attention this week.

First, the researchers noted that every worker in every firm has a specific lens, like a pair of glasses, through which they view the world and their work role.

The type of lens that influences how a CEO interprets secondary pressure reaction involves their executive values. Doctoral student researchers in Kenya would call this a mediating variable that influences the power of the cause-and-effect relationship.

Inasmuch, executives who prioritise social welfare values may perceive a community’s concerns as urgent and immediate opportunities for engagement.

However, leaders who instead prioritise control, their own importance, efficiency, or market dominance may instead interpret the same community demands as distractions from the core business operations of the firm.

Second, a leader’s passion then determines how strongly they react to their core values. Executives with weaker emotional commitments can typically put forward a symbolic response that is limited to only public communication rather than any real operational changes internally. But when executive passion intensifies, then those leaders do move towards substantive actions that can alter organisational policies, investments, partnerships, and even commitments.

Third, taken a step further, the study introduces an even deeper layer by providing a distinction between harmonious passion and that of obsessive passion.

While a leader with harmonious passion would be more likely to encourage balanced decisions that incorporate stakeholder concerns alongside the firm’s business priorities, which would then typically produce both thoughtful and sustainable organisational responses to the secondary stakeholder pressure.

However, obsessive passion can push leaders to react more impulsively or excessively, thus pushing initiatives that can disrupt the firm’s strategy, alienate existing and potential investors, or put strains on the organisation’s internal systems.

So, identical secondary stakeholder pressure from activists can create careful collaboration and community engagement in one firm, but in another, those same demands can provoke aggressive confrontations and overreactions depending on the CEO’s respective motivational orientation.

An example can include former White House disruptor Elon Musk and his takeover of Twitter in 2022. The chaotic takeover and wanton disregard for stakeholder opinions arguably led to complete strategy disarray and the falling apart of internal systems.

Twitter’s messy transformation to X felt to many like stakeholder engagement purely existed as a communications exercise that still invites public scepticism to this very day.

So, it remains important for boards of directors to remember that temperament and values matter in the CEOs they recruit and hire.

Boards that over-emphasise operational expertise and financial results while sadly underestimating the key influence of executive belief systems commensurate with their accompanying motivational drivers can see unexpected sliding of the organisation’s direction.

Governance systems must specifically and intentionally encourage executive reflection with stakeholder community co-creation dialogue for solutions.

Firms do not need personal impulses alone to shape high-consequence company responses.

Ultimately, we must keep in mind that organisations succeed not merely through responding to stakeholder voices, but rather through ensuring that leadership values and passions translate into thoughtful, proportionate, and strategically integrated action that strengthens both enterprise performance and societal trust together and not one despite the other.

Meaningfully increasing rural incomes means, at least in part, commercialisation of small holder agriculture. Value addition of agricultural produce, tourism and the digital economy, offer other pathways to higher incomes in rural areas. And, there is no shortage of efforts by governments and non-state actors promoting one model or another for that purpose.

Models focus on changing subsistence farming into market-oriented agribusiness, enhancing farm and farmer productivity through technology, and strengthening supply chains.

These models include farmer service centres, local advisors (extension officers), co-operative aggregation, and digitalised value chains. Their purpose is to boost income by improving access to inputs, finance, and markets.

Last week, I joined colleagues from St Martin Catholic Social Apostolate and Ujuzi na Biashara Trust, two Laikipia organisations that work to improve livelihoods, as we visited a successful small holder farmer at Limunga in Laikipia West.

National winner of the small-scale farm gearing for commercialisation category in 2016, Naomi Ngunyi and her husband Githinji have since received many more accolades and visitors. Going beyond maize and wheat (the most commonly planted crops in Laikipia), they grow sweet potatoes, pineapples, bananas, sugarcane, maize, beans and have high-yielding Holstein Friesian dairy cows.

The farm is well planned and laid out. Both the pineapple fields and the sweet potato vines are on moulds. Other crops and fruit trees are in deep humus filled planting holes. These practices, together with mulching, retain moisture for longer periods.

The family has a wonderfully positive attitude about farming and its prospects. And, nothing goes to waste. They have a bio-gas unit, using cow dung to generate cooking gas.

On-line literature on smallholder commercialisation points to this transition from subsistence to market-oriented farming, as the key trajectory to enhance farmer income, and strengthening food security.

The most common position is that commercialisation requires increased investment in technology (improved seeds, irrigation), access to credit, infrastructure development, and integration into value chains to overcome market barriers.

Key determinants of success include education levels, access to extension services, farm size, and proximity to markets. Increased, sustainable commercialisation often requires shifting to cash crops, using improved inputs, and adopting better agricultural technologies.

However, the interpretation of ‘cash crops’ can be misleading. As we saw with farmer Naomi, all foods can be grown both for subsistence and commercial purposes.

Research from KIPPRA points to key enablers of transformation.

The most crucial of these is collective action. Smallholder farmers benefit from using collective action models such as cooperatives as well as companies. It improves access markets as well as infrastructure and logistics. This includes better transport, storage facilities, and access to urban markets, all crucial for maximising profits.

Support services, such as access to credit, training, and modern inputs such as fertilisers are essential to increase output. But, collective action, which improves that access, is not naturally occurring, it has to be organised through legal and financial structuring. This is a key role for governments.

Kenya Tea Development Agency is by far the most successful of these models. Evolving from the Special Crops Development Authority in 1960, clever legal and financial structuring has made it possible for 600,000 small scale tea farmers to own 71 factories, gain access to all the key enablers, and become global leaders in tea production.

Smallholder farmers are shifting from subsistence to commercialised agriculture. This is driven by inputs, credit, and market access. This transition includes utilising improved seeds, irrigation, extension services, and aggregating produce.

Despite hurdles such as limited financing, land fragmentation, and high costs, commercialisation enhances income and food security.

The likelihood of commercialisation increases with use of irrigation, access to agricultural credit, adoption of improved seeds, and access to extension services.

As the KIPPRA research has shown, commercialization is hindered by low capital, lack of land, and poor access to markets.

Technology has a positive impact – adopting tools such as artificial insemination and de-worming, along with improved market linkages increases profitability.

Aggregation plays a critical role. Smallholders are increasingly aggregating produce to meet the quality and volume requirements of larger markets.

We spoke to a focus group of young people in Nyahururu, who expressed interest in agriculture, but also in technology, and agri-business, particularly processing.

But in a separate discussion with three farmers and an animal feed producer, it emerged that they have difficulties finding reliable employees.

The farmers indicated that they are relying of workers and university students from further afield. This is odd, given high unemployment.

Manufacturers want the State to cut power prices by at least Sh2.179 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and stop curtailing supply to businesses, arguing that these factors have affected production by factories.

They are lobbying for lowering of Energy Charge from Sh13.739 to Sh12.622 per kWh and the Fuel Energy Cost Charge from Sh3.47 to Sh1.062 per kWh as they raised concerns over the passing of Kenya Power losses to consumers, and introduction of unclear charges on top of fuel costs.

The Energy Charge is based on the average cost of electricity generation in the country, including losses and Kenya Power margins, and is often passed over to consumers. The Fuel Energy Cost Charge is based on the cost of fuel used by thermal power plants.

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) accuses Kenya Power of passing over losses related to electricity sold to consumers but not paid for, while on the other hand, costs unrelated to fuel used for power generation are being passed to customers as fuel energy cost charge.

‘Commercial losses should not be borne by the consumer as it is energy sold and therefore the responsibility of the utility to collect. In addition, fuel energy charge is a pass-through cost and should not be loaded with any other margin not related to fuel used,’ KAM said.

The association says removing margins loaded by Kenya Power on the fuel energy charge alone will reduce its cost by Sh1.71 per kWh.

KAM also accused the State of curtailing power supply to businesses during off-peak hours, locking out many manufacturers who want to produce under the subsidised rates, during time of use tariff.

It said a total of 812 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity generated in the year to June 2024 was not supplied to consumers, a factor it reckons should inform the government’s decision to add the number of businesses benefitting from the ToU tariff.

Under ToU, businesses that produce during off-peak times such as night hours, weekends and public holidays pay a subsidized rate, to encourage actualisation of a 24-hour economy.

The association, which yesterday launched its 2026 Manufacturing Priority Agenda, blames the State for setting tough measures to include businesses benefitting from the ToU tariffs.

KAM plans to use a document launched during the event to lobby the government to implement policy changes across different areas, mainly stable tax and policy environments.

KAM chief executive officer Tobias Alando also indicated that the association will be lobbying the government to stop taxing raw materials, which is making Kenyan businesses uncompetitive in the region.

‘We have also raised issues about taxation of raw materials. And we are submitting our proposals to the National Treasury to ensure that the raw materials that we use for processing are not taxed,’ Mr Alando said.

KAM notes that Kenyan firms have been finding it hard to compete against regional countries such as Tanzanian companies, which access raw materials duty-free from the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) offering them cost advantage.

Kenya is living with an expensive contradiction; we want to be a regional trade powerhouse, but we still move goods like it’s 1998 using 2026 fuel prices.

The cost of doing business is quietly inflated by one stubborn factor – unreliable and costly logistics.

That is why the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor matters. Not as a slogan. Not as a map in a PowerPoint deck. But as a practical productivity project that turns distance into opportunity, lowering transport costs, unlocking investment, and stabilising a region that has too often been left outside the national economic story.

Here’s the truth: if we want inclusive growth, stronger exports under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and a more stable northern frontier, we need to focus on infrastructure – delivered well, governed well, and shared fairly.

Lapsset is designed as a second major transport artery: a port at Lamu, highways, a future standard gauge rail link towards Juba and Addis Ababa, airports, pipelines and energy initiatives; and special economic zone resort cities in Lamu, Isiolo and Turkana. The list is impressive but the point isn’t the list.

The gist is what it enables: predictable movement of goods and people, reduced over-dependence on one route and one port, and a corridor economy that pulls Northern Kenya into the centre of national growth.

Kenya does not need another ‘megaproject’ conversation. It needs a productivity conversation: how do we move goods faster, cheaper, and more predictably; how do we unlock private investment; how do we expand formal employment; how do we connect SMEs to markets while protecting communities and ecosystems?

We don’t have to speculate about what access does. Road investments along the broader corridor have already shown the impact.

Along routes such as Isiolo-Moyale and Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo, accessibility has improved significantly.

For example, travel time between Marsabit and Nairobi has reduced from three days to around 12 hours. That matters more than it sounds. Faster travel means lower transport costs, fresher produce reaching markets, better emergency response, easier school access, and new business viability.

When a journey shifts from ‘plan an expedition’ to ‘make a delivery,’ local economies begin to behave differently. People invest. Businesses formalise. Supply chains become possible.

Picture a small trader in Marsabit who used to risk losing a full load of produce to delays and breakdowns. When delivery becomes more predictable, that trader can negotiate better prices, cut spoilage, and restock faster. That’s not a feel-good story, it’s a working-capital story. Reliability is money.

Lapsset’s strongest promise is not concrete and steel; it is livelihood transformation. It means jobs and enterprise creation in construction and logistics, but also in maintenance, professional services, hospitality and trade. That only happens if procurement is designed to include SMEs not casually ‘open’ in theory while practically closed in execution.

It leads to new income streams for communities reliant on pastoralism, adding options in services, trade, logistics, agro-processing and enterprise around growing urban nodes.

It means better access to schools, hospitals and markets as roads, airports and planned urban centres pull essential services closer, improving quality of life and human capital.

It also leads to modernising key sectors such as livestock by linking producers to higher-value markets and enabling value addition – milk, hides and meat processing, rather than exporting raw potential.

At a national level, the corridor is meant to reduce dependence on a congested pathway around the Mombasa port by offering an alternative route, while giving landlocked neighbours more efficient access to the Indian Ocean through Lamu.

Under AfCFTA, trade is not just about tariffs. It is about time, reliability, and cost. Countries win when they move goods efficiently, predictably, and at scale. A functional Lapsset corridor strengthens Kenya’s position as a regional logistics and services hub and makes Kenyan exports more competitive across the continent.

Economic projections for Lapsset have suggested sizeable contributions to GDP over time. However, these figures only become real if the project is sequenced properly, governed credibly, and matched with investment follow-through. Otherwise, projections remain just that – projections.

Any credible case must confront the hard issues: financing, land, environment and security.

On financing, the country must insist on disciplined sequencing, deliver what is bankable, prove performance, and crowd in private capital rather than loading risk onto the public. The corridor will only move at the speed of credible structuring.

On community impacts, land acquisition and compensation must be transparent and fair. Projects that treat communities as obstacles create delays, conflict and reputational damage; projects that treat them as partners create legitimacy, sustainability, and speed.

On the environment, Lamu’s coastal ecosystems, including mangroves, are not decoration; they are economic assets and natural infrastructure. Development must embed mitigation, monitoring and climate resilience from day one.

On security, the corridor must be protected through coordinated intelligence, community partnerships and youth employment pathways, not force presence alone. If you want fewer young people in the business of rustling cattle, you need more young people in the business of earning livelihoods in a sustainable manner.

If Kenya wants Lapsset to be a national productivity engine, not a perpetual promise, several actions are urgent.

The country needs a single delivery calendar across corridor agencies and counties, with milestones the public can track and officials can be held to. It needs a clearer bankability pathway built around phased implementation, transparent risk allocation and credible project preparation that attracts long-term capital.

It needs measurable ESG and community benefits commitments, including grievance mechanisms and benefit-sharing that is enforced, not cosmetic. It needs deliberate SME and local supplier access through supplier development and procurement packaging that prevents dominance and widens participation.

And it needs a corridor-wide security and resilience plan that integrates infrastructure protection with community-based stability measures.

Lapsset is more than a Northern Kenya project. It is a national opportunity to rebalance development, strengthen competitiveness, and build a more integrated region. It aligns naturally with global development priorities: decent work, resilient infrastructure, reduced inequalities, climate resilience, and peace through shared prosperity.

If we treat Lapsset as a political headline, we will get political results – noise, delay, and disappointment. If we treat it as a productivity project with strong governance and fair inclusion, we can get what the country actually needs: lower logistics costs, jobs, stability, and a corridor that makes ‘Northern Kenya Rising’ mean something in real life.