Category: Business Daily

Kenya’s insurance penetration remains relatively low at just under 2.5 percent despite the rising insurance risks and the young population, that is hooked to digital platforms such TikTok, Instagram and X.

APA Life insurance CEO Erick Wanting speaks to Business Daily about the missing link in the race to deepen insurance penetration, filling data gaps to start offering personalised covers that appeal to the young people and the advantages of teaming up with banks.

You have previously served in senior roles at Liberty Africa and Hollard, giving you a view of the African insurance market. What is distinct about the Kenyan market?

For 18 to 19 years, I have been in Pan-African roles, with a lot of focus on Southern African Development Community (SADC).

There is a high cultural acceptance to life insurance in those markets, with the most popular ones being funeral and last expense products.

The Kenyan insurance market is a very well-established market, with some companies dating back almost 100 years.

However, the life insurance market is still quite concentrated. Products like funeral insurance are still mostly concentrated in higher net worth people.

Life insurance as a standalone product is still fairly new in the Kenyan context. The market is dominated by investment products.

However, as the younger generation is getting more exposure to information globally, I think they are starting to see the need and the value in having pure life insurance. But this a process that is going to take time. It is not going to be an immediate switch.

Kenya’s insurance penetration remains relatively low at just under 2.5 percent. What do you see as the strategies in increasing life insurance uptake among underinsured and uninsured populations, especially in rural and informal sectors?

The first thing is that we need to understand the people’s needs. We need to move away from a sales approach to a solution space.

It can no longer be a one-size-fits-all approach in terms of making sure that our products are relevant. We need to stop and ask: Does our product meet a customer’s need? What feedback are we getting from our intermediaries and our partners? Understanding what the customers’ need is at the core.

Secondly, our products need to be accessible. Kenya is the envy of a number of markets throughout Africa, because mobile money has created a platform for digital distribution.

The use of digital platforms can be a key enabler. But we have a lot to do to create the awareness of that product, even as we load these products into digital platforms.

Further, insurers need to ask: What is the value the customer is going to get out of it? And how does that process works when they need to make a claim? How do they make premium payments?

Our products need to be relevant and accessible. We have got to do a lot that demystifies the benefits of the product and that means a lot of work needs to go into educating our customers on the benefits of not just our products but of the insurance benefit in totality.

Do you feel there is a big gap in the market between what insurers are offering and what customers think is being offered?

Maybe this is a criticism that we need to look at internally. I think we need to be more deliberate in terms of the message we are putting into the market and what we are marketing through different distribution channels.

Are we reaching our customers through the right communication mediums? That is something that, as a strategy, we need to look at.

We have not done enough in making people understand [the value of insurance. We are not growing the market. We’re not growing the pie. Now we need to start focusing on growing the pie.

Investments in technologies like artificial intelligence and big data seem to be gaining traction as insurers move to improve underwriting and claims management process. How is APA Life playing in this space?

We are modernising our systems so as to harness the value that data and AI can offer. The second thing is using that system’s ability to create value for customers and efficiencies within the business.

We are constantly searching for refined answers to key questions such as: How do we manage our customers better? How do we make sure we are targeting the right customers to offer them the right solution when it comes to using data or using AI in our systems?

We will start seeing increased use of AI for predictive analytics to be able to identify risk areas a lot earlier. The process of modernising our systems is expected to unlock a lot.

As you think about AI, how do you ensure that you still have your hand on the handle as opposed to letting technology take over, given all the biases that may come with it?

This is a question that a number of people are grappling with: What is the role of AI and how is it going to influence business? I think we must be very careful so that we don’t run too far ahead in terms of allowing AI to make decisions when the business isn’t ready for it.

I think it is going to be an iterative process that we introduce in stages into the business.

At the moment, we should have the first line of checks that can be automated but then still have supervisors as a second line of defence, that can actually go and make sure that we’re paying out valid claims.

Software systems and the technology is going to be an entry to the game. But ultimately, it is the people who can use it that will count. That is where our focus is.

We will find our feet as we introduce different kinds of AI efficiencies over time. But there’s no doubt it is going to have a profound impact on how we operate.

Banks and insurers are increasingly teeming up to give life to bancassurance. How important is this distribution model for the industry?

I get very passionate when I speak about bancassurance because I think it is the perfect distribution channel for insurance. Banks are the most trusted financial institutions. Insurers are very good at managing risks. When you take the partnership of these two entities and you marry them, the outcome is a very powerful distribution proposition.

This is the reason why the growth in the bancassurance sector has been in the region of about 25 percent as a compound annual growth rate, compared to 11 percent in the insurance sector.

Banks are realising that to build an insurance business on credit life alone is not sustainable; you need to be a full-service insurance intermediary- which means aligning insurance need to all the banking services they offer.

Developing products that speak to the changing needs of people may require quality data, yet many industry players are suffering from massive data gaps. How can the industry go about it?

Data is definitely the new wealth. Unfortunately, given legacy systems-and APA is no different- a number of players in the market have legacy systems.

At APA, we are now recollecting data and rebuilding up our database. We have gone through a process of redesigning our five-year growth strategy and part of that has been the role of data analytics in the future success of the business.

We’re already in the process of building our data warehouses and recording the correct data.

A lot of it has to do with going back to our existing customer base, putting human resources in place to contact those customers and expand on the data gaps that we have. We will then back up this process with proxy data. It is a bit of an arduous process but one that will pay tremendous dividends in the future.

Today’s edition of the Business Daily carried a lead story on what the author reported was the IMF’s view of the exchange rate of the Kenyan shilling to the US dollar. The story quoted my comments in a panel discussion at a forum last Friday out of context and was misleading.

The fact is that the exchange rate is a price. In fact, it is multiple prices, reflecting the demand for various currencies. That demand arises because we are buying goods and services in the currencies in question.

In addition, we get inflows such as remittances, an eventuality that increases the supply of various currencies. Those who buy our goods and services, in turn, require Kenya shillings to pay us. It is these market conditions- forces, if you like-that determine the shilling versus dollar exchange!

The panel discussion on the total tax contribution of the financial sector raised the question that Kenya’s tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is lower than the 25 percent the IMF recommends.

I responded that the ratio is a rule of thumb that should not be regarded as gospel truth, or implemented dogmatically, and that when looking at comparator countries, we should correlate like for like. Understood within that trajectory, the author of the offending content quoted me out of context.

During the said forum, I explained that buoyed by the economic model that informs the Vision 2030, Kenya has over the years invested heavily in infrastructure. That has grown the GDP, thus raising the denominator in the tax to GDP ratio calculation.

However, infrastructure does not yield taxes directly, so the numerator does not increase immediately. Rather, it enables production, which by extension creates incomes and therefore taxes.

Therefore, I said, we should not get hot under the collar just now, worried that the tax to GDP ratio is low. Once private sector activity picks up pace and ‘sweats’ the infrastructure to create incomes, the ratio will recover. In any case, I continued, many economists including myself, do not always agree with the Fund’s policy prescriptions.

To take those comments out of the context in which they were made and seek to give them life as a reflection of what the Fund believes or doesn’t on the exchange rate or any other matter, is stretching the bounds of journalism beyond the safe shores.

Fact and accuracy are the hallmarks of good content!

Three years ago, Elisabeth Gomis, a French film director was tasked with the responsibility of writing a concept for a forum of the cultural and creative sectors in Africa.

‘I knew the music industry was already set up but what are the other disciplines that need to be highlighted,’ recalls Gomis, a former journalist who traces her roots to Guinea Bissau. ‘We went for disciplines that have high economic potential, starting with video games which is the creative industry that makes the highest amount of money in the world, even more than cinema. So, we were like ‘if this is true for the global north, why can’t the money flow into Africa.”

The global gaming industry earned over $187 billion in 2024 with Africa’s market hitting $1.8 billion, according to the annual report by the Pan Africa Gaming Group (Pagg). Kenya contributes $46 million in gaming revenue, behind Egypt ($338m), Nigeria ($300m) and South Africa ($278m)

The first Forum Creation Africa in Paris in 2023, connected video games and related disciplines like animation and webtoons while this year’s event in Lagos, Nigeria, added other high-growth innovations to the programme: immersive world (virtual reality/augmented reality), video special effects, digital fashion and sound design.

Gomis was appointed as Director General of MansA – Maison des Mondes Africains (House of African Worlds) in 2024, a cultural institution dedicated to the promotion, transmission and celebration of contemporary African and Afro-diaspora cultures.

It was under MansA’s umbrella that more than 1,000 artistes, creators, producers and actors from over 40 African countries and Europe, recently met in Lagos to explore partnerships that would result in dynamic story-telling platforms and new economic models.

‘Networking with creatives from across Africa revealed that we all face variations of the same challenges. There are issues Nigerians have already overcome that we can learn from, and others to which South Africans may have found solutions,’ notes Salim Busuru, a Kenyan comic creator whose pitch won the webtoon category.

‘While you flip the pages of a comic, you scroll up and down a device for webtoons. The genre is the same, but the format is different,’ he explains.

Busuru’s winning pitch was for his current project Moran, an action-adventure comic based on African mythology. ‘The story is based on three cultures across Africa, the Ashanti, Maasai, and Zulu, and explores what African tribes would pick from Western culture and integrate into their own way of life, and which practices they would reject,’ he explains.

‘My motivation has always been visualising African stories because we grew up seeing Western animations with alien creatures like dragons.’

With his team of five artists and writers, Busuru has been developing the story for one year now. ‘We are currently in pre-production and thanks to this successful pitch, we will travel to France next year and meet editors and publishers and hopefully clinch a deal to market the project in Europe and other parts of the world.’

Gomis cites a self-taught gaming creator from Guinea after presenting a winning pitch in 2023, asked to learn the whole value chain for video games and was connected to a tutor for 15 days, met engineers who helped him transform his project. ‘At the end of the day we are creating entrepreneurs, they come sometimes as artists and they finish the mentorship as entrepreneurs but you also have to do advocacy to financiers and policy makers to deploy your business plan.

Using her own background as a documentary filmmaker, Gomis urges Africans in the creative and cultural sectors to transcend their production roles and seek ways of moving into the executive rooms to influence decisions.

‘As a director of films, you need to talk to a producer to find the money and that means you give up your rights. It means you are not fully responsible for what you are putting out in the world and my journey made me alive to this. Now that I am entering spaces that I never imagined before, I see that you have to be inside the room, you cannot be outside, to keep your story authentic from the beginning to the end,’ says Gomis.

She adds, ‘If you lose one step in the process, your narrative will be changed because it doesn’t fit the requirements of this person or the other. You have to be responsible for the project from the idea until the project is delivered and it gives you power and your story is not erased or diluted just to make it more conventional.’

This year’s Forum Creation Africa attracted high-powered guests like the Nigerian Minister for Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musawa, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot and the CEO of Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

While touring the demonstration room, Aig-Imoukhuede was so excited about the creativity exhibited that he declared his company’s interest in supporting the developments in Africa’s creative sector.

‘We need to accelerate because some people who have power and money are ready to finance,’ declares an excited Gomis. ‘So, as people in the creative sector, we can speak totally freely and we can invite the policy makers, we can invite people with money to have discussions with us and at the end of the day reach a deal, maybe support for production, or a prize for a pitch.’

For creatives like Busuru the success of the forum in Lagos is a challenge to the African Union to come to terms with the creative sector as the next frontier for social and economic transformation on the continent.

‘It is a huge challenge to do any collaboration with my Nigerian colleagues when I have to apply for a visa and fill out formalities like landing and exit cards. Let us just remove these barriers and allow the youth to travel and flourish.’

According to Gomis, some governments have done better than others by investing in the creative sector. ‘Benin has designated culture as the second pillar of the economy, Morocco has created a whole ecosystem for video games, Senegal is investing big in cinema and of course the creative industry is giving a good image to Nigeria with its Afrobeats.

This is the moment for the youth to go and tell their leaders ‘Ok, it is the French Government who supported this in Nigeria. You are here, you are the Minister of Culture in Nigeria; I am a young Nigerian working in those fields, what can we do?’

At that time what can you do as a Minister? You are forced to listen and act because your own people are looking at you. The fact that our Minister travelled from Paris to be here, forced the policy makers in Nigeria to make a move because it is your country here and it can’t be a foreign state that is running the show.’

Small lender Habib Bank AG Zurich is Kenya’s cheapest bank for borrowers seeking a Sh100,000 personal loan over a 12-month period while Sidian is the priciest, new data on the cost of credit shows.

Disclosures on a portal operated by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) show that Housing Finance Corporation, ABC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank are the other relatively cheap lenders while Guardian and Access Bank Kenya have the second and third costliest loans for the same facility.

The website reveals the total cost of credit including additional fees.

A borrower would repay Sh112,750 for a Sh100,000 loan taken from Habib Bank AG Zurich, which only charges an annual interest rate of 12.75 percent without any fees.

The cost of Sh12,750 therefore rep-resents pure interest. At Sidian, the same borrower would on average pay back Sh131,100, a difference of more than Sh18,000, with the lender imposing additional fees above its 16.22 percent annual interest rate.

A Sh100,000 loan at Sidian attracts interest of Sh16,220, bank charges of Sh12,400 and Sh2,480 as third party costs, making it the most expensive bank for the facility across the board with the total loan cost of Sh31,100.

The total cost of credit at the Middle East Bank is Sh23,980 despite the lender pricing its facility at the highest interest rate of 23.98 percent but not levying additional fees.

The total cost of credit website reveals the pricing of loans under the current risk-based pricing regime which is set for a revamp concluding at the end of February 2026.

The portal shows that lenders are charging the same for both secured and unsecured personal facilities. The analysis done on Thursday captures the cost of taking a one-year, Sh100,000 loan from the 33 banks offering personal loans.

KBA Head of Research Samuel Tiriongo said all banks will be ready to roll out the new pricing regime which is anchored on the Kenya Shilling Overnight Interbank Average (Kesonia) at the end of this month.

The total cost of credit portal is also set for a revamp to cover more facilities beyond the current listing of mortgages, personal unsecured and personal secured loans.

‘By November 30, all banks should have their models ready and approved. The beauty is that this time, only the board is approving the framework. Once the board approves, each bank can proceed to implementation,’ Dr Tiriongo said.

‘All banks have to publish the average premiums for all products that they have within their books.’

Banks are set to transition to the new pricing regime from December for new loans while applying the improved framework on old loans by the end of February 2026.

The new pricing regime is deemed more responsive to policy direction by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), with borrowing costs expected to fall when the apex bank cuts its benchmark and rise when the rate increases.

The CBK has piled pressure on commercial banks to lower interest rates through eight consecutive cuts to the benchmark rate, which now stands at 9.25 percent from a high of 13 percent in August 2024.

Private sector credit growth recovered modestly to an annual rate of five percent as of the end of September, a far cry from the double-digit historical expansion.

Average commercial banks’ lending rates declined to 15.1 percent in September from 15.2 percent in August but have remained relatively higher when contrasted to CBK rate cuts in the past 12 months.

‘The committee (Monetary Policy Committee) concluded there was scope for a further easing of the monetary policy stance by reducing the CBR [central bank rate] by 25 basis points,’ the CBK said on October 7.

‘This will augment the previous policy actions aimed at stimulating lending by banks to the private sector and supporting economic activity, while ensuring inflationary expectations remain firmly anchored, and the exchange rate remains stable.’

Banks have previously cited a variety of factors for failing to cut interest rates to borrowers faster including locking in costly acquired deposits for long and the lack of an industry benchmark for pricing loans before Kesonia was set.

The CBK has responded to bankers, asking them to avoid excuses for failing to cut borrowing costs in tandem with the benchmark rate cuts.

‘There should be no excuse by banks for whatever reason … there have been quite a number of excuses. This time, there won’t be an excuse. Once we lower the (benchmark) rate, banks should also lower their rates,’ CBK Governor Kamau Thugge said previously.

Banks have cited other challenges to the pricing of loans, including a previous lack of adequate capacity to develop sound risk-based frameworks.

The final cost of credit to borrowers is expected to be Kesonia plus a premium based on each customer’s risk problem, which has been dubbed K. The premium factors bank operating costs, including expected returns to shareholders.

At a time when many businesses are navigating economic uncertainty and tightening their budgets, East African Breweries (EABL) has made a bold strategic move that could reshape how Kenyan companies think about growth.

By raising Sh11 billion through a corporate bond, part of a larger Sh20 billion Medium-Term Note programme, EABL has not only strengthened its own financial position but also sent a powerful message to the broader business community that the capital markets are open, and the time to act is now.

At its core, EABL’s bond is a simple idea executed with precision. The company issued a five-year unsecured bond at an interest rate of 11.80 percent per annum. Investors who buy the bond will earn this return annually, while EABL uses the funds to refinance older, more expensive debt and improve its cash flow.

It’s akin to a homeowner refinancing a mortgage at a lower rate, freeing up money for other priorities while reducing long-term costs. For EABL, this means preserving shareholder value without issuing new shares or diluting ownership.

This move couldn’t have come at a better time. The Central Bank of Kenya recently signalled a shift toward monetary easing, lowering the base lending rate and making borrowing more affordable. Inflation is stabilising, and interest rates are softening.

For businesses, this creates a rare window to access cheaper capital and restructure their finances. EABL seized that opportunity and others should follow suit.

The implications for Kenya’s private sector are profound. Many companies, especially in manufacturing, logistics, and agribusiness, rely heavily on short-term bank loans with high interest rates and rigid repayment schedules. These loans often stifle growth and limit innovation.

EABL’s bond shows there’s another path: tapping into the capital markets to raise long-term funds from investors, pension funds, insurance companies, and even individual Kenyans, who are looking for stable returns.

Imagine a tea processor in Kericho issuing a bond to build a new factory, or a logistics firm in Mombasa raising capital to expand its fleet. These aren’t far-fetched ideas. They’re viable strategies that can unlock growth, create jobs, and boost exports, if businesses are willing to step forward with credible plans and transparent financials.

The government has a critical role to play in making this happen. Beyond monetary policy, it must continue to reform the regulatory environment to make it easier and cheaper for companies to issue bonds. Recent efforts to streamline approvals and improve investor protection are encouraging, but more can be done.

Tax incentives for first-time issuers, credit guarantees for mid-sized firms, and a vibrant secondary market for corporate bonds would go a long way in deepening participation and reducing reliance on government securities.

Kenya’s manufacturing sector, long seen as the engine of economic transformation, has been stuck in neutral gear for years. High energy costs, outdated equipment, and limited access to capital have held it back. But with the right financing tools, like corporate bonds, this sector could become a powerhouse of innovation and productivity.

EABL’s bond offers a blueprint, use domestic savings to fund domestic growth- match long-term liabilities with long-term projects, and reduce exposure to volatile bank lending cycles.

Ultimately, this is about changing how we think about financing. For too long, Kenyan businesses have looked to banks or foreign investors to fund their ambitions. But the truth is, our own capital markets are deep, liquid, and ready.

What’s missing is more companies stepping forward with bold ideas and bankable plans. EABL has lit the path. Now it’s up to the rest of private sector to follow.

This bond is more than a financial transaction. It’s a wake-up call, a challenge, and an opportunity. If embraced widely, it could mark the beginning of a new era, where Kenyan businesses finance Kenyan growth through Kenyan capital.

The Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) has raised objections to the new park fee payment system introduced by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), saying the abrupt rollout has caused financial disruptions.

KTF, which represents key private sector players in the tourism industry, claims that the new system was implemented without prior consultation with industry stakeholders.

The federation further notes that the move has created operational and financial challenges for tour operators, travel agents and visitors.

‘The rollout of the new KWS park payment system has created unnecessary financial strain and uncertainty for operators who had already priced and contracted tours under the previous arrangements,’ said KTF Chairman Fred Odek.

‘The additional fees and limited payment options translate to unbudgeted losses and threaten existing contracts with our international partners,’ he added.

Under the new system, only M-Pesa and Visa card payments are accepted, with KWS scrapping the bank transfer option that many tour operators relied on for group payments.

What has further unsettled the industry is the introduction of an 8.5 per cent processing fee for all card payments, a rate KTF says is high compared to other government platforms.

KTF has also faulted KWS for using an inflated exchange rate of Sh135 per US dollar, which is higher than the Central Bank of Kenya’s current rate of around Sh129.50. The federation says the discrepancy has pushed up park entry costs, making Kenya’s destinations less competitive both regionally and globally.

Tourism players fear the changes could ripple through the value chain, that may affect contracted packages, which threaten to cost operators millions in unforeseen expenses and discourage visitors from booking future trips.

The federation has urged the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and KWS to reinstate all previous payment options, including bank transfers, to allow flexible transactions. It also wants the 8.5 percent processing fee reviewed and aligned with the standard industry rates, and the exchange rate adjusted to reflect the Central Bank’s official rate.

‘KTF remains committed to working closely with KWS and the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to ensure that Kenya’s tourism industry remains sustainable, fair, and competitive,’ Mr Odek said.

The federation insists that future policy or system changes must involve structured consultations with private sector players to avoid disruptions that could damage Kenya’s reputation as one of Africa’s top wildlife destinations.

Consequently, tourism experts warn that Kenya risks pricing itself out of the regional tourism market as the park fee increases take effect. Tanzania’s safari product is currently taking the lead while Uganda continues to gain ground.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano says the ministry is aware of these concerns and is pursuing an approach that prioritises affordability and investment-led growth to safeguard the country’s position as East Africa’s most dynamic tourism hub.

‘Kenya’s global brand has been anchored on safari and beach tourism. While these remain strong pillars, we recognise the need to diversify and make our destinations more affordable, competitive, and accessible,’ Ms Miano said.

She added that Kenya’s competitive edge should extend beyond the traditional big-five experiences, noting that the country’s tourism is richer and untapped than most visitors realise.

East African Breweries Plc (EABL) paid record royalties and management fees of Sh2.2 billion to entities linked to its parent firm Diageo, boosting the earnings of the multinational from the local subsidiary in the year to June 2025.

Disclosures in the brewer’s corporate bond information memorandum show that payments made to companies related to EABL ‘through common shareholding’ climbed from Sh2.08 billion in the year ended June 2024 and Sh1.77 billion in the prior year.

The charges, largely paid for the use of Diageo’s global brands and management support services, have increased earnings for the London-based parent which controls a majority 65 percent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm.

Diageo says its sales comprise royalties and revenue from contracts with customers in addition to rents receivable.

EABL’s disclosures indicate that Diageo continues to exert strong influence in the local subsidiary through multiple channels -from ownership to supply, brand licensing and strategic management.

The royalty payments are largely tied to sales volumes of global brands such as Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff, which are owned by Diageo but brewed or distributed locally under licence.

EABL is among Kenya’s large firms that have paid billions of shillings to their parent firms in royalties and other fees. Bamburi Cement paid its former controlling shareholder Lafarge a total of Sh27.2 billion for technical services in the 25 years to December 2024, marking one of the largest such transactions between a Kenyan firm and its multinational parent.

EABL’s latest filings also show a sharp increase in purchases from companies affiliated to Diageo, which jumped more than half (53.31 percent) to Sh8.48 billion in the review period from Sh5.53 a year earlier.

Balances payable to the parent and its affiliates, on the other hand, also climbed by more than a third (36.31 percent) to nearly Sh7.7 billion.

EABL says all the intercompany transactions are transparent and reflect how independent parties would trade as they act in their own self-interest.

‘All business transactions with all parties, directors or their related parties are carried out at arm’s length,’ the company says in its statement on management of conflict of interest.

The brewer’s disclosure of the rising intercompany transactions comes as it seeks to raise up to Sh20 billion through a new domestic bond under its medium-term note (MTN) programme.

The latest cash call follows EABL’s announcement that it will redeem its existing Sh11 billion bond at the end of this month, a year ahead of the scheduled maturity in October 2026.

Safaricom has partnered with supermarket chain Naivas to sell its wireless home Internet routers in a bid to widen its distribution network amid intensifying competition in the broadband market.

Naivas becomes the second retailer, after Quickmart, to partner with the telco in a distribution deal-marking a shift from Safaricom’s traditional sales channels through dealers, its retail shops, and online platform Masoko.

The deals come amid intensifying competition in the broadband internet market, with new entrants such as Elon Musk’s Starlink threatening the longstanding dominance of Safaricom in the industry.

‘It marks a major milestone in our journey as Safaricom to expand access to high-speed Internet through both traditional and alternative channels,’ said Safaricom Chief Consumer Business Officer Fawzia Ali.

Safaricom is counting on Naivas’ 110 stores, along with the 61 outlets owned by Quickmart, to expand its reach to consumers outside the capital in the race for market leadership.

Currently, Safaricom controls about 34.3 percent of the fixed internet market, down from 36.2 percent two years ago, while the newest entrant in the industry, Starlink, has so far claimed 0.8 percent of the market.

Last year, Safaricom improved its speed packages without raising prices, a move viewed by analysts as a means to entice more users amid increasing rivalry in the industry.

This followed a failed attempt to have the Communications Authority of Kenya, which regulates Internet service providers, ban Starlink from operating in Kenya.

Safaricom is currently the only Internet service provider using the retail chains as a distribution network, while others like Starlink have partnered with e-commerce firms like Jumia to distribute their routers.

The move also comes as rival Airtel plans to enter the home Internet market with fibre-to-the-home service, which is expected to heighten competition for Safaricom in one of its most profitable segments.

In the year to March, Safaricom saw a 12.9 percent increase in its revenue from fixed internet services to hit Sh17.2 billion, accounting for 23 percent of its total revenues for the year.

The guards at the parking lot were really nice. One was a wry fellow, quick on his feet. He directed me to a slot and said, ‘This is the safest place on earth,’ in Kiswahili. A great declaration. I remember thinking about those words as I walked into Quiver.

Typically, I’m not a Quiver guy-which begs the question: who is a Quiver guy?

A Quiver guy is the kind who, when he goes to drink, says, ‘Today I’m going to turn up.’ Which means he’s in his late 20s or 30s. Some 40-somethings also consider themselves Quiver guys but that’s a story for another column.

A Quiver guy buys a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black or Jameson or Martel and works through it with his boys. He most likely wears a hat. He will have a date or he will most likely be with his boys. A Quiver guy says, ‘babes.’ And that’s who I saw at Quiver.

The place was massive. Upstairs. Downstairs. A deejay booth. Huge TV screens. Flashing banners shouting about Sunday Brunches, Executive Reggae Mondays, and Deejays Kym Nickdee-he’s good, I’ve watched his YouTube mix on The Bag.

There are Rampage Saturdays, which we were experiencing. And that’s a word a Quiver guy would use: rampage. The place was thudding, people streamed in from the rain, before long it was difficult to find a seat.

Whenever someone bought a bottle, the waitresses in their short red dresses would weave through the crowd, holding it up above their heads-fireworks, pomp, triumph.

The music that Saturday wasn’t up to scratch. The deejay was all over the place. My companion called it ‘music you listen to while handwashing clothes.’ I loved that description so much I wrote it down.

It rained heavily that evening, but inside, the party kept going. Scores of people streamed in as we were leaving around 11p.m. A Quiver guy would never leave a rampage that early. But maybe that’s how you know you’re no longer one-you start leaving before the night does.

The High Court has rejected an attempt by three petitioners to withdraw a constitutional challenge against the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) decision to bar businesses from filing returns, ruling that public interest litigation cannot be abandoned without judicial scrutiny.

The court dismissed the petitioners’ application, stating that their actions-including filing a similar case in Bomet High Court before securing authority to withdraw the Nairobi petition -raised procedural red flags and risked undermining public accountability in tax disputes.

The petitioners Peter Opiyo, Peter Gacheru, and Denis Nyambati, had sought to withdraw their petition filed in May 2025, in which they claimed that KRA’s enforcement of the VAT Special Table was “unconstitutional and discriminatory.”

The VAT Special Table is a compliance tool deployed by KRA to restrict specific VAT-registered taxpayers who show a pattern of non-compliance. The taxman uses the table as a watch list to flag businesses for suspicious VAT compliance behaviour and prevents them from performing key functions until they resolve the identified issues.

Central to the case was a claim that in April this year, KRA placed businesses on the VAT Special Table on grounds of an alleged fraudulent VAT scheme, a decision that allegedly made it impossible to make transactions, file returns or present claims for refunds.

KRA argued that the alleged fraudulent VAT scheme denies the exchequer collections of an estimated Sh2.5 billion every month, prompting the crackdown that elicited an uproar from the businesses. VAT Special Table is an administrative process where VAT-registered taxpayers are blocked from filing VAT returns.

The petitioners sued, contending that KRA’s decision was illegal and that it had denied the businesses the right to a fair administrative process.

The court emphasised that Constitutional petitions are not “private suits” that can be withdrawn at whim.

“Public interest litigation must be shielded from abuse,” noted the court, referencing concerns over forum-shopping.

The ruling leaned heavily on Rule 27 of the Mutunga Rules, which requires courts to assess whether withdrawal would harm public interest or conceal ulterior motives.

However, in their withdrawal application, they argued that allowing the case to proceed would prejudice a related petition they later filed in Bomet.

But the court noted that the petitioners failed to serve their withdrawal notice on key parties, including the Attorney General, KRA, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Law Society of Kenya.

‘The court also notes that the petitioners did not even annex copies of the petition in Bomet High Court,’ reads the ruling.

The rules require courts to be satisfied that the withdrawal of public litigation is made in good faith and not for any ulterior motive or personal gain.

In this case, the court found no justification for permitting the withdrawal, noting that the Nairobi petition raised “serious constitutional issues” requiring full participation from all stakeholders.

‘Whereas the High Court has jurisdiction to hear applications for violation of rights and fundamental freedoms under Article 165 of the Constitution, the court will resist and frown upon any attempt at forum-shopping or suits that may run afoul of rules on sub judice,’ ruled the court.

The court directed that both petitions-Nairobi and Bomet-remain active pending further orders. It also mandated service of the ruling on all parties, including the Bomet High Court, signaling potential consolidation or transfer of the cases.

KRA, the Attorney General, and the other parties did not comment on the application.