Category: Business Daily

The global smartphone market has slumped to its weakest second quarter in more than a decade as the artificial intelligence (AI) I infrastructure boom diverts memory chips away from consumer electronics, driving up handset prices and squeezing demand in sensitive markets like Kenya.

Global smartphone shipments fell by 11 percent year-on-year in the three months to June, marking the lowest second-quarter volumes since 2013, according to market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research.

The slowdown comes as soaring prices for memory chips, key components in smartphones, challenge phone-manufacturing after chip makers shifted production capacity towards high-margin AI data centres.

The supply squeeze has been compounded by tensions in the Middle East, which have increased oil prices and shipping costs, further inflating smartphone prices amid slowing global economic growth and weak consumer spending.

‘The memory crisis has overtaken every other factor as the single biggest drag on the smartphone industry. What started as a components issue last year is now a full-blown demand issue,’ Counterpoint Senior Analyst Shilpi Jain said.

Entry-level and mid-tier smartphones, which account for the bulk of global sales, have become unfeasible at previous price points as makers grapple with higher material bills.

‘Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) responded differently. Some are increasing prices and accepting margin pressure, while others are extending the life cycle of older-generation models and using promotions to retain budget-conscious buyers. A few are pulling back on launches and production,’ Ms Jain said.

The impact is already being felt in Kenya, where handset distributors warn that years of steady smartphone adoption are slowing as higher manufacturing costs filter to consumers.

Brian Waweru, head of publicity in Kenya for Vivo Mobile, says smartphone shipments across the region are losing momentum.

‘In Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Somalia, shipments that had risen to nearly eight million units by the end of 2024 slowed to about 7.2 million in 2025,’ Mr Waweru told the Business Daily.

The cost pressures have translated into steeper retail price increases. The company expects the regional market to weaken further this year because of the memory shortage and logistics disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East.

‘Entry-level models have jumped 80 percent from Sh9,999 to Sh17,999, mid-range devices are up 28 percent from Sh35,000 to Sh45,000 and premium models have surged 80 percent from Sh100,000 to Sh180,000 in just two years,’ Mr Waweru said.

The AI boom has tightened supplies of memory chips used in smartphones, laptops and other electronics, threatening the low-tier models that have helped expand smartphone access among low-income families.

The price of Random Access Memory (RAM), once among the cheapest components in electronics manufacturing, has more than doubled since October 2025 and continues to rise as US technology giants such as OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon invest billions of dollars in AI infrastructure.

Most smartphones rely on dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash memory chips.

However, AI data centres require more advanced – and more profitable – high-bandwidth memory (HBM), prompting leading chipmakers like South Korea’s Samsung, SK Hynix and US firm Micron Technology to prioritise supply to cloud computing firms over smartphone makers.

Estimates show that HBM chips used in data centres yield up to 80 percent profits.

M-Kopa, one of Kenya’s smartphone makers, recently said the cost of memory chips has risen three- to four-fold since October 2025 as suppliers divert production to AI applications.

‘Demand for AI memory is high, meaning manufacturers are dedicating most of their capacity to AI. That has pushed up the cost of memory significantly,’ M-Kopa head of manufacturing Ismael Abisai said in May.

‘The cost for memory has gone up three to four times. A memory type that went for $19 (Sh2,454) is now $65 (Sh8,394).’

The downturn has been concentrated among brands that have invested heavily in the budget smartphone segment. Chinese firms Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo recorded double-digit shipment declines.

‘Considering their greater exposure to these tiers, the brands were disproportionately affected as consumers delayed purchases, traded down to older-generation devices or extended replacement cycles,’ the Counterpoint report says.

Premium brands have been more resilient. Samsung increased its global shipment share to 24 percent from 20 a year earlier, helped by strong demand for the company’s most premium Galaxy S26 series.

US tech giant Apple expanded its market share to 20 from 17 percent and was the only major smartphone maker that avoided price increases during the quarter, buoyed by continued demand for the iPhone 17 series despite softer sales of older models.

Google and Huawei bucked the broader market trend, posting shipment growth of 16 percent and six percent respectively, driven by new flagship launches.

Analysts expect the pressure to persist well into 2027. Counterpoint forecasts a substantial fall in global smartphone shipments in 2026, saying manufacturers are prioritising profit over volumes.

‘OEMs are likely to keep prioritising value over volume, trimming low-margin models, pushing configuration and storage-tier adjustments and leaning further into refurbished and previous-generation devices to retain budget-conscious buyers,’ the research firm says.

Projections by the International Data Corporation (IDC) show that worldwide smartphone shipments will decline by 13.9 percent this year to 1.09 billion units, the steepest annual contraction on record.

‘The deepening memory shortage crisis remains the dominant force behind the record 14 percent drop this year, but it is no longer the only one,’ Nabila Popal, Senior Research Director at the US market intelligence firm, said.

‘The US-Iran war has added a fresh layer of cost pressure for smartphone OEMs, driven by rising oil prices and transport costs. These pressures are compelling vendors to reduce shipments, raise prices and concentrate on higher price tiers.’

IDC says average smartphone selling prices have climbed to a record $550 (Sh71,142) this year, up from $450 (Sh58,208) in 2025, signalling what analysts describe as the end of the era of ultra-cheap smartphones.

The biggest pain is expected in emerging markets. IDC projects smartphone shipments in the Middle East and Africa will decline by 23 percent this year, the steepest regional contraction globally, as the sub-$200 (Sh25,870) segment bears the brunt of rising costs.

Manufacturers are increasingly turning to financing options to cushion buyers from higher prices.

British multinational George Williamson and Co earned Sh582.6 million from its local units Williamson Tea Kenya and Kapchorua Tea in the year to March 2026 in royalties and dividends, with the payouts rising 76 percent from Sh330.94 million the year before.

Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Williamson Tea said in its latest annual report that its royalties and licence fees to the British parent rose to Sh135.25 million from Sh106.32 million.

The company distributed Sh270.37 million to its parent in dividends in the period under review, after declaring a payout of Sh15 per share.

In the previous year, it paid a dividend of Sh90.12 million to the parent, at a rate of Sh10 per share.

Kapchorua’s royalties and licence payments amounted to Sh64.51 million, down from Sh87.67 million previously, while its dividend payment to George Williamson rose to Sh112.47 million from Sh46.83 million.

Royalties are usually paid by subsidiaries to parent firms for use of intellectual property (IP) rights, which can include trademarks, patents, software and trade names. Williamson Tea and Kapchorua did not disclose the specific rights and licences to which its payments apply.

George Williamson has a 51.46 percent stake in Williamson Tea, equivalent to 18.02 million shares, which are held through an investment vehicle known as Ngong Tea Holdings Limited.

Williamson Tea had awarded shareholders a bonus issue of one share for each held in October 2025, which doubled the units held by Ngong Tea Holdings from 9.01 million to 18.02 million shares.

Coupled with the increase in the dividend per share, the company therefore tripled the total distribution to shareholders between 2025 and 2026.

Kapchorua also issued a bonus share of one for each held. George Williamsons’ direct stake of 23.96 percent in the company thus rose to 3.75 million shares from 1.87 million units.

Williamson Tea also holds a 39.56 percent stake or 6.19 million shares in Kapchorua, making the latter an associate.

Kapchorua raised its dividend from Sh25 per share in the prior year to Sh30 in the review period, increasing the parent firm’s earnings from Sh46.86 million to Sh112.47 million. It also paid Williamson Tea a dividend of Sh185.7 million, up from Sh77.4 million in the previous year.

Both tea firms however dipped into retained earnings to make the dividend payments, having reported net profits that were lower than their total distributions.

In the year ended March 2026, Williamson Tea’s net profit stood at Sh120.7 million, compared to a net loss of Sh166.4 million previously. Its total dividend distribution in the period amounted to Sh525.3 million.

Kapchorua on its part reported a net profit of Sh196.9 million in the period, up from Sh181.1 million in March 2025, while its total dividend payout stood at Sh469.4 million.

George Williamson has also booked capital gains on its holdings in the two companies after the issuance of bonus shares, increasing its total return from the firms over the past year.

At the time the books closed on the bonus issuance on October 13, 2025, Kapchorua was trading at Sh394.25 per share, valuing the British parent’s stake at Sh739 million.

After doubling in number of shares to 3.75 million in the bonus, the value of the stake has now climbed by 72 percent to Sh1.27 billion, as at Friday’s closing price of Sh339.75.

The value of the Williamson Tea stake has climbed by 10 percent to Sh2.98 billion from Sh2.72 billion in October.

The company’s share price has fallen to Sh165.50 from Sh302 following the bonus issuance, but the doubling of number of shares has yielded the overall valuation gain for shareholders.

Karl Marx, the revolutionary German economist and philosopher, wrote at a time of immense industrial transformation.

Cities were swelling with workers drawn by the promise of opportunity, yet many found themselves trapped in miserable living conditions, enduring long working hours and grinding poverty. The parallels with contemporary Kenya are difficult to ignore.

Marx viewed history as a series of class struggles in which the oppressed eventually challenge and overthrow those who hold economic and political power. In ancient societies, slaves and peasants laboured for the benefit of landowners and aristocrats. Industrialisation shifted power towards merchants, manufacturers and the emerging middle classes, but it also created a new divide: that between the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production, and the proletariat, whose labour sustains the economy.

According to Marx, capitalism thrives on this imbalance. Workers create value through their labour, yet they receive only a fraction of the wealth they generate.

The surplus becomes profit, accumulated by those who own factories, businesses, capital and land. The more productive the worker becomes, the richer the capitalist grows. The worker, meanwhile, often remains trapped in a cycle of survival, unable to enjoy the full fruits of their labour.

Marx believed that capitalism contained the seeds of its own destruction.

As inequality deepened and resentment grew, the working class would eventually rise against a system that concentrated wealth in the hands of a few. In its place, he envisioned a classless society governed by the principle: “From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.”

Whether one agrees with Marx or not, his observations resonate strongly in Kenya today.

Millions of Kenyans work tirelessly every day. They till the land, teach in schools, build roads, drive public transport, run businesses, trade in markets and keep industries functioning.

Yet many remain unable to afford decent housing, quality healthcare or a secure retirement. Productivity rises, profits increase and executive bonuses soar, but wages stagnate and opportunities shrink.

The frustration of Kenyans is therefore understandable. They witness vast fortunes being amassed while ordinary citizens struggle under the weight of taxes, unemployment, rising living costs and declining public services. It often feels as though a small elite captures the rewards of economic growth while the majority bear the burden.

Perhaps the real question is not whether capitalism will be overthrown. The elephant in the room is inequality. How long will citizens tolerate exclusion from the prosperity they help create? At what point do demands for fairness become impossible to ignore?

The responsibility of the government of the day is therefore not merely to pursue economic growth but to ensure that prosperity is shared equitably, institutions remain accountable, and every Kenyan has a fair opportunity to benefit from the wealth that their labour helps create.

The Nairobi county government plans to increase parking charges to at least Sh535 and roll out a time-based tariff under a new pricing policy.

The Nairobi City County Government Tariffs and Pricing Policy 2025 to 2030, published last week, seeks to implement a zonal and time-based parking fee system reflecting the cost of providing a single parking service that has been estimated at Sh535 per day.

The county government seeks to generate higher revenues from the new rates to more than recover expenditures which include direct costs like paving and tarmacking, salaries for parking attendants, administrative and cleaning.

The policy suggests that parking fees in and around the central business district (CBD) will rise from the current daily rate of Sh300 to more than Sh535 which has been determined as the cost of providing a single parking service.

‘Nairobi City County shall implement a zonal and time-based parking fee system that promotes congestion management, fairness, and transparency, supported by digital platforms and real-time data monitoring,’ the policy says.

‘The county government shall provide the following services for the parking tariff, including street lighting, cleaning services, security, paving, non-motorised transport (NMT) public transport services, traffic management, and demarcation of parking areas.’

Nairobi’s parking rate has held unchanged at Sh300 per day in recent years amid backlash from motorists to lift the daily charge and difficulties in implementing zonal tariffs which had been proposed previously.

City Hall previously proposed charging hourly parking rates to motorists in 2021 but did not follow through with the plan.

The county seeks to categorise parking spaces into two zones; zone one covers the central business district (CBD), Westlands, Upperhill, Industrial Area, Kilimani and Nairobi West.

All areas outside zone one are classified as zone two.

The county shall develop a framework to determine designated parking areas in the city, including loading and unloading zones, reserved parking and market areas.

Top revenue stream

Parking fees are among Nairobi county’s top revenue stream, alongside trade licenses, building plan approvals, market access tariffs, county housing, health-related fees, wayleave tariff and outdoor advertisement. The revenue stream accounted for 80 percent of the city county total revenue.

Parking fees were Nairobi’s fourth top revenue stream after land rates, hospital services and unified business permits in the financial year ended June 2026 as per the county revenue data.

The county collected Sh15.39 billion in own-source revenue for the 2025/26 fiscal year, up from Sh13.8 billion previously.

Nairobi County estimates its parking spaces at 17,000 implying a total service cost of Sh9.1 million against current receipts of roughly Sh5.1 million a day.

The county government says it has lacked a unified policy framework to link fees directly to the services rendered, resulting in inconsistencies and a misalignment between service provision and revenue collection.

‘Historically, the county has relied primarily on the Finance Act and other legislative instruments in determining service charges, without a unified policy framework that links fees directly to the services rendered,’ the policy adds.

‘Despite the constitutional provision requiring each county to formulate a tariffs and pricing policy to guide the determination, adjustment and administration of fees and charges for public services, Nairobi City County has continued to rely on county laws and other legal frameworks inherited from defunct local authorities to set its fees and charges. This practice has led to inconsistencies, ineffectiveness, and gaps in revenue collection.’

The proposal to review all the city’s tariffs and pricing seeks to plug inconsistencies by articulating key policy objectives including the cost of providing public services, promoting efficient, sustainable and equitable revenue generation and providing clarity to Nairobi residents on what services they receive in return for payments made.

The county government is betting on the review of all its tariffs to recover the costs of service provision which usually beats its revenue allocation from the national government.

The total cost of all services provided by the county is estimated at Sh46.9 billion annually for the last three years, starting in the 2022/23 cycle to the 2024/25 financial year.

The county estimates its average annual cost for the provision of energy and lighting services at Sh4.84 billion. Sh359 million for the operations and maintenance of streetlights, Sh40.6 million for mobility and logistics and Sh350.6 million for ICT services.

The inability to link service delivery to costs has been deemed to affect operational sustainability, resulting in non-transparent and unpredictable charges, fragmented tariff structures and revenue leakages from weak pricing.

The push for higher parking fees is expected to face opposition from motorists, deeming them exorbitant.

Nairobi City County Government last lifted the fees by more than two-fold to the current Sh300 from Sh140 at the start of 2014 after lengthy court proceedings.

Higher rates

The High Court allowed City Hall to adopt the higher rates after determining that the tariff was reasonable, convenient and properly levied.

Last year, the county government said it had left the parking fees rate unchanged at Sh300, even as it began setting the stage for the 2025-2030 tariffs and pricing policy.

Hall insisted that any new charges would still require approval and enactment through the County Finance Act to be legally enforceable.

The county noted that any new charges would be guided by value for money for residents.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has differed with the Supreme Court judgment requiring commercials banks to seek formal approval from the Treasury Cabinet Secretary before changing interest rates.

The CBK says it expects lenders to vary loan rates immediately it revises the Central Bank Rate (CBR), placing them at odds with the court’s decision.

CBK Governor Kamau Thugge told bankers that monetary policy decisions are independent and should be implemented directly by banks without going through the Treasury.

This interpretation differs from that of the Supreme Court, which ruled that banks breached the law after changing their lending rates without approval from the Treasury, exposing the lenders to refunds running into billions of shillings.

The judges hinged their ruling on Section 44 of the Banking Act, which states that ‘no institution shall increase its rate of banking or other charges except with the prior approval of the minister.’

Banks have been receiving approvals from the CBK before increasing lending rates on the back of a May 2006 legal notice, through which then Minister for Finance Amos Kimunya officially delegated the consent powers to the central bank governor.

The courts sided with customers that a Cabinet Secretary ‘can only donate his authority but not responsibility.’

The judges noted that Section 44 does not derail CBK’s monetary policy powers.

Commercial lawyers warn that Dr Thugge’s latest comments will expose banks to conflicting signals from the regulator and the courts, leaving them exposed to potential lawsuits.

Moureen Nyatichi, legal manager at Taxwise Africa Consulting, which specialises in commercial disputes, said any increase in lending rates without the Treasury’s approval could still be deemed illegal for as long as Section 44 exists.

‘Banks are caught in such a difficult situation. It is what the law says versus what they are being asked to do,’ said Ms Nyatichi.

‘Whatever the law says is what the judges will use to determine any case. If the law says go to the CS, no judge will rule against what the law says, and this presents exposure for banks.’

But banks appeared to back the regulator’s position, signalling that they will start adjusting rates immediately if CBK makes changes to CBR.

Raimond Molenje, the chief executive of Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the industry lobby, downplayed any suggestion that it will be impractical for banks to comply with court requirements and CBK expectations without triggering lawsuits or penalties. He argued that the requirement to seek the minister’s nod before varying rates applies only to ‘any increase outside CBR movement.’

‘The CBK guidance is in respect of movement in CBR. When CBR moves up or down and with the revised risk-based credit pricing, where we have a uniform base for the industry, banks will immediately adjust the lending rates for customers up or down,’ said Mr Molenje in response to Business Daily queries.

KBA’s latest position is a departure from the position they held in March this year when they wrote to the CBK, protesting that Section 44 makes it impractical for them to adjust rates immediately after CBR shifts.

The CBK had largely stayed on the sidelines as commercial banks battled borrowers in court over the interpretation of Section 44 of the Banking Act, which requires lenders to seek approval from the Treasury Cabinet Secretary before increasing banking charges.

In June 2024, the Supreme Court held that banks cannot vary customers’ interest loan rates without the approval of Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

The judgment followed a suit pitting a borrower against Stanbic Bank Kenya, which was ordered to refund a customer over Sh10 million.

The Supreme Court decision was followed by several other judgments, including in December when the High Court threw out KBA’s petition to strike out Section 44 because it was stopping banks from immediately varying loan rates when the CBK changes the CBR.

In the December 11, 2025 judgment, the court held that Section 44 neither usurps nor interferes with the CBK’s constitutional mandate.

‘The petitioner (KBA) has not shown how Section 44 impairs or constrains the CBK’s authority to set the CBR, implement liquidity controls, issue directives, or undertake other core monetary-policy functions,’ said the court.

‘CBK may influence market interest rates, but the actual pricing of loans by private banks is a commercial decision. Parliament is constitutionally permitted to regulate such commercial conduct to protect consumers and ensure fairness in the credit market.’

In February last year, the CBK wrote to bank CEOs directing them to promptly revise lending rates following changes in the CBR.

Banks fired back, arguing that immediate adjustments would violate existing laws requiring prior notice to borrowers. Several court decisions have found lenders such as Stanbic Bank and Spire Bank in breach of the law for adjusting rates without the approval of the Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

The judgments also invalidated a 2006 legal notice that had allowed the Treasury to delegate its approval powers to the CBK governor, further complicating the regulatory landscape.

Last year, the CBK accused banks of dragging their feet in passing on the benefits of lower benchmark rates to customers, arguing that lenders respond swiftly when rates rise but delay reductions to protect profit margins.

Banks have routinely been seeking clearance from the CBK when altering loan terms, and the Treasury rarely intervened.

The Treasury’s stance has persisted for nearly two decades, with the position of courts thrusting it back into a central regulatory role it had informally relinquished. Mr Kimunya’s legal notice had been used over the years by the CBK to receive and approve banks’ applications to vary interest rates.

Jared Kangwana has a problem. People call him when they want his father, Jared Kangwana, a former influential Moi-era businessman. The meritocracy police want to make him their first arrest, saying he is where he is because of his father. ‘There’s always an assumption that he’s really the force behind what we’re doing here, which is frustrating.’

As the managing partner at Clyde and Co., he knows a famous name can be a crown on your head and a millstone around your neck. His father made his name. (His father is associated with the Monarch Group and a raft of real estate properties including Chester House.) Now Kangwana Jr is trying to separate his.

Not that it bothers him anymore. These days, he has bigger fish-or rather, lamb-to fry. He cautions that once you’ve had his triple-fried shoulder of lamb, he’s ruined all your other lamb experiences. ‘You’re done. Over with,’ and you can take that to the bank and use it as collateral. He doesn’t necessarily call himself an expert on lamb, but he won’t stop you if you do. That’s one way to make your name. Or separate it.

What is it like to be the son of someone with such big shoes to fill? It’s inspiring to see what he and my mum have achieved over the years. I’m not filling his shoes; I’m following a similar path while doing things differently because we are in a different world. But one critical thing I have learnt from them is to never give up. Two, education is critical. That said, I do get calls and emails asking for Jared in meetings; I am like, ‘Wrong person.’ I have not received any of his love letters. Nor has he received any of my love letters, as far as I’m aware [chuckles].

How are you your own man? Taking chances. Growing up, you tend to be boxed into a particular journey, especially in certain careers, and law is one of those. I’ve taken risks, most of which have failed. But by not giving up, seeking out opportunities and being brave, you chart your own path.

Which dreams have you let go? By choice or? Haha! Outside the legal profession, my biggest dream was to fly. I got my licence in 2016. I have not flown for a very long time, so that’s something I feel like I have let go of.

What does flying mean to you? One, I’m always fascinated by the ability of this huge piece of metal to glide through the skies. Two, I’m a bush person. It is my happy place. And I found out the quickest way to get to the most remote places in this country is by air. Three, it is peaceful. My day-to-day life is hectic, including weekends. Being up there by yourself, and it’s just you, the sound of the engine – it’s complete and utter peace. It clears my mind, but it’s risky. I’ve got a young family, so I need to balance that out. And it’s also very expensive.

Flying or the family? That’s a good question. Both haha! I need to align my priorities.

What is one place you’ve flown to that has really stuck with you? I flew my mum to the border of Tanzania and then into Magadi. We had breakfast there and then flew back to Nairobi and continued with her birthday party. And the second was when I was probably showing off a bit when courting my now-wife. We flew to Chyulu Hills, but it’s more about the journey and who’s part of that journey and not so much the destination.

Did that help you win your wife? I think I’m a nice person [chuckles]. Well, I don’t know because she’s refused to fly with me since then.

What kind of husband did you set out to be? Did I have a plan? Not really. I think I’ve simply tried to follow in the footsteps of my parents and the kind of family they created for us. My wife is Ethiopian, and when we met, she had been in Kenya for about three years. She didn’t have any other family members here, so one of my biggest priorities was making sure she felt at home and that we built the kind of warm, wholesome family that my siblings and I were fortunate to grow up in. For me, being a good husband means listening to your partner, allowing her perspective to guide me, and supporting her wherever she needs me. That’s the kind of marriage I’ve always wanted us to have.

How did you make your marriage unique from your parents’? I don’t know if I’ve done anything different. I think they did more when they were my age than I’ve been able to do now in terms of building the family, building their businesses, and supporting the wider family and community in Kisii.

Is that a challenge or a burden to outdo your parents? It’s an inspiration, without a doubt. And really, the question is, what does success look like to me? You fall short if you pitch your success against someone else. Your success should ultimately be your success. What makes you happy.

What did success look like for you when you were younger? I’m still young haha! This is cliché, but financial independence. The second is building something I hope will outlive my partners and me and create an institution for the benefit of whoever is in it and for our clients. From a family perspective, it is being able to put the children through good schools and watching them succeed.

You went to boarding school at six years old. That’s your whole life… How was that like? I’m the youngest of four children, so I was quite young when I first went to boarding school. At the time, I had no idea what was going on. It just felt exciting to be away from home. As I got older, though, it became more challenging. This was before the internet and mobile phones. The only way to keep in touch was by writing letters, so homesickness could be quite real. Even so, I’m a big advocate of boarding school, depending on the nature of the child.

Would you parent your children the same way? Yeah, but you’re asking the wrong person. I definitely would.

How did fatherhood reconstitute success, if at all? It has put a different perspective and more drive to pursue success. It has given me a lot more purpose in terms of what I’m doing, to get out of bed on those grey Monday mornings when you’re tired, you’re stressed, you’re broke.

What frightened you most about being a father? The unknown. You can read books, or other parents will speak to you and give you all the information you need, but once that baby comes, it’s like, I don’t know what to do with this thing. And then having to learn and adapt very quickly on how to look after the child. It’s terrifying.

This is a dicey question, but which of your father’s flaws are you actively not trying to pass down to your children? Let’s call it a character trait, which I have as well. Stubbornness. If we’ve set our minds on something, it’s going to happen. I can see it coming out in my five-year-old boy and two-year-old girl.

What used to make you happy that no longer makes you happy now? The streets haha! The nightlife. I used to love passing by the bar on Friday evenings. I used to be a very sociable person. Now, I just prefer more intimate gatherings.

When did this shift happen for you? I need to be careful about this. I might give you a timeline. If my wife reads this, she’ll be like, that’s a lie [chuckles]. But around the time we got married, 2018. The reason is that you have to be purposeful about what you’re doing. Your life changes once you get married. You need to give each other attention. You’re building something and still getting to know each other. Why have you married someone if you prefer to spend Friday nights out and Saturday mornings in bed, hungover?

How do you take care of yourself? I’ll show you [shows paper]. Eight hours of hard work, eight hours of good sleep, and eight hours spent on family, friends, health, and soul. I still struggle with sleep, but I enjoy spending time doing things that take me away from work. I love cooking. Most weekends I will cook. Gym, three days a week. And being in the bush.

What’s your signature meal? Triple-fried lamb shoulder. This weekend, I’m trying to perfect my pizza-making. It’s a good way to spend time with my children, especially my son. It is not so much about the food, but the process. I have to say I have no interest in sweets and cakes. I’m scared of the dentist. I have 12 fillings and four fake teeth.

Do you have an insecurity you are willing to share? I’m a very anxious person. I worry a lot about things I really shouldn’t be worrying about. I’m doing myself a disservice, I know.

What do you wish people understood about you more? That there is a distinction between what the team and I are doing here in this firm versus what my father has done. There’s always an assumption that he’s the force behind what we’re doing here, which is frustrating. He has nothing to do with it. But it’d be silly not to get guidance from him and other experienced people.

Does that make you want to keep on proving yourself to people? Yeah.

You didn’t grow up in lack, so where does your ambition come from? This is a delicate one. With one of my first firm jobs, I got some internal information that they were deciding who to let go of. And the information I got out of there was… ‘They don’t need to retain me. I’ll be fine anyway.’ Which really frustrated me, because you’ve made an assumption and taken away all the effort and hard work I put in. So I resigned. I left with one ambition. To grow something bigger and better.

Which part of success did not taste as good as you thought it would? Let’s call it growth. Putting my hand up and saying, ‘Oh, I’m successful,’ is quite arrogant. What it has not fixed is peace. It comes with more and more challenges.

When you think of the weekend, what comes to mind? Children first. We like going to the national park. We like seeing my siblings; they’ve got children as well. Anything but work.

What habit are you trying to break? Work. I can’t live without work emails on my phone. I’d be anxious. But it taught me something. We’re a service industry. You need to be responsive to clients because without people having problems, we have no work. But how to measure your response? Is it really that critical? Can I just say, I’ve understood. I’ll get back to you on Monday. I think it definitely annoys my wife.

How do you ensure you’re stopping to smell your roses? I have to be forced into it, to be honest. It’s difficult for me to just stop. Or that tomorrow I’m not doing anything. I’ll need to be pushed into that. But also appreciate the people around you. Whether it’s family, whether it’s colleagues. Spend time with them. Listen to them.

What is your most used emoji? Probably a thumbs up. Memes, I don’t use. It’s complicated. Those GIFs. You go through it, and you’re like, oh, let me find something that’s funny. I’m not a funny person. This is a thing. And I can’t even be bothered to change the colour [chuckles]. My emojis are all yellow. It’s quick.

Give us some pro bono lawyerly advice. Think outside the box. It’s absolutely okay to be selfish. In terms of making the decisions that are right for you, and ultimately the people around you. Take bold steps and be prepared for failure. But also, there’s too much noise and external influence. Too many people are in a rush to achieve certain things, which seldom works, so cut the noise and focus on what’s important-don’t expect that even your closest friend has your best interests at heart. Those are the people who can wipe you out. And it’s not always the case that the cheap one is going to give you the same quality of advice that you actually need. And when you look at your policy, always look at exclusions. What you’re sold and what you get at the end of the day can be two very different things.

Safaricom and its South African parent Vodacom Group have made a profit from operations on their M-Pesa Africa joint venture for the first time as the platform hit 60 million users across Africa.

M-Pesa Africa controls the mobile money platform’s brand on the continent, licensing the telcos to operate it in eight countries through Safaricom, Vodacom and Vodafone.

In the year to March 2026, the joint venture reported a net profit of Sh102.5 million from a net loss of Sh2.47 billion in the previous year.

Its top line revenue rose by 20.6 percent to Sh8.08 billion, highlighting increased penetration of the brand on the continent as the telcos brought in new products on board.

M-Pesa Africa, whose ownership is evenly split between Safaricom and Vodacom, last turned in a profit –derived from a bargain purchase accounting– in the year ended March 2020 when it made Sh6.59 billion.

Safaricom’s share of the profits or losses of the JV amounts to 50 percent, equivalent to its stake in it.

Safaricom and M-Pesa Africa maintain a managed services agreement where the latter provides technical and product-based M-Pesa solutions for a monthly fee, which is based on two percent of the mobile money platform’s transaction revenue.

Vodacom and Safaricom acquired the M-Pesa brand from Vodafone Plc in March 2020 at a cost of Sh2.1 billion.

The move saved Safaricom significant licence fees it was paying to the UK firm to use the brand, which now accrue to the JV through which it can recoup the costs through its share of profits.

The JV’s profit in the first year arose from the discount at which Safaricom and Vodacom acquired it from Vodafone. Vodafone is the majority shareholder of Vodacom with a 65.1 percent stake and until this month also held a five percent indirect equity in Safaricom, which it sold to Vodacom for Sh68.1 billion.

Vodacom on its part holds a majority 55 percent stake in Safaricom, which it recently increased from 35 percent. Alongside the five percent Vodafone stake acquisition, the South African firm also bought a 15 percent stake from the Kenya government for Sh204.3 billion.

The telcos have leveraged the M-Pesa brand by replicating their app and financial services portfolio across South Africa, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania.

In addition to acquiring the M-Pesa brand rights, Safaricom in 2023 also took over the ownership of M-Pesa Holding Company Limited from Vodafone.

The acquisition for a token amount of $1 gave Safaricom wider control over its mobile money business which was pioneered in Kenya but whose intellectual property was previously held by Vodafone.

M-Pesa Holding keeps custody of the hundreds of billions of shillings powering its mobile money service in a trust, effectively acting as an independent trustee for M-Pesa customers.

When it was in the hands of Vodafone, all profits generated by the company were donated for use for public charitable purposes after defraying direct costs.

In Kenya, the M-Pesa platform has grown over the years to become the biggest revenue earner for Safaricom, ahead of voice and data services.

In the year to March 2026, M-Pesa revenue grew by 13.4 percent to Sh182.74 billion, accounting for 42 percent of the company’s total revenue of Sh427.6 billion. Voice revenue grew by 3.5 percent to Sh84.8 billion, while mobile and fixed data revenue was up 17.3 percent to Sh111.8 billion.

The company’s net profit rose by 37 percent to Sh95.6 billion in the period, primarily driven by the increase in M-Pesa revenue and lower losses in its Ethiopia business.

Banks resumed bigger credit disbursements to households in the opening months of 2026, after last year’s rare retreat from consumer lending, spurred by falling borrowing costs and a renewed appetite to grow their retail loan books.

Data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that outstanding loans to households by commercial banks rose to a record Sh596.6 billion in April from Sh558.3 billion a year earlier.

The Sh38.3 billion increase represents annual growth of 6.86 percent, reversing the 1.6 percent contraction recorded in April 2025-the first decline in household credit in years.

The turnaround comes after a year that banking executives said was marked by caution rather than expansion.

“It [2025] was a defensive year; it was not a growth year. It was about optimisation,” Equity Group chief executive James Mwangi said in March, referring to the lender’s 2025 strategy as banks tightened credit amid concerns over borrowers’ repayment capacity and a high interest rate environment.

Mr Mwangi said the strategy for the bank, where consumer and personal loans account for roughly a fifth of the total credit portfolio, has since shifted this year, adding: “Loans have now started to pick up and going forward it is offensive, it is growth of loan book.”

His remarks mirror CBK data showing banks created a net Sh12.5 billion in new household loans during the first four months of this year, reversing a Sh14 billion contraction over the same period in 2025 when repayments and loan write-offs exceeded fresh lending.

The recovery has partly been helped by easing borrowing costs.

Commercial banks’ weighted average lending rate has fallen steadily from a peak of 17.22 percent in November 2024 to 14.64 percent in April this year, cutting the cost of credit by 2.58 percentage points as the CBK unwound part of its monetary tightening cycle.

The lower rates have encouraged lenders to rebuild consumer loan books, which are among the most profitable and important segments of retail banking.

Consumer lending also matters because it fuels household spending, financing purchases ranging from school fees and medical bills to household goods, vehicles and home improvements.

The recovery in household credit was yet to translate into a broad-based rebound in consumer spending as of April.

Stanbic Bank’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed businesses reported only modest growth in new orders during the first four months of the year as households remained constrained by tight budgets.

By March and April, many firms said customers were cutting spending amid financial pressures and higher fuel prices linked to the Middle East conflict, although the decline in demand had begun to ease.

The personal and household lending segment is the single largest category of lending for many Kenyan banks, underlining its importance to both bank earnings and economic activity.

“Personal and household lending continues to be our single largest sector within the bank at 29.6 percent of the loan book. That’s where we have our check-offs, scheme loans with various universities and institutions,” KCB Group chief financial officer Lawrence Kimathi said in March.

Across the banking industry, loans to private households account for roughly a third of total lending, making banks’ appetite for consumer credit a key determinant of household spending and economic growth.

The latest CBK figures suggest lenders are becoming more willing to finance households again after last year’s retrenchment.

Despite the rebound, banks have yet to return to the pace of lending seen before borrowing costs surged.

Net household lending reached Sh43.3 billion in the first four months of 2024 before swinging to a Sh14 billion contraction in the same period of 2025. This year’s Sh12.5 billion increase marks a recovery, but remains less than one-third of the lending recorded during the 2024 boom.

The slower pace suggests banks are reopening the credit taps gradually, balancing growth ambitions with caution over asset quality as households continue to navigate the lingering effects of higher taxes and elevated living costs.

Stanbic Holdings paid Sh1.11 billion in franchise fees to its South Africa-based parent, Standard Bank Group, in the year ended December 2025, marking the latest such payout to the multinational.

The payment was down from Sh1.14 billion in the previous year, marking the second consecutive year of declining franchise fees to the Johannesburg-based lender. The payout peaked at Sh1.22 billion in 2023.

The franchise fee forms part of the annual payments Stanbic makes to its parent company, in addition to dividends.

Besides franchise fees, Stanbic paid Standard Bank Sh825 million for IT services and Sh210 million in other operating expenses. The lender disclosed the payments in its latest annual report.

The franchise fees brought the total amount paid to Standard Bank to Sh2.15 billion during the review period, down from Sh2.18 billion a year earlier.

Standard Bank operates in 21 African markets, including Uganda, where it also earns franchise fees for business support, use of its brand and access to its marketing capabilities.

The South African lender packages products and lending opportunities across multiple markets for its subsidiaries. It also pays part of the remuneration of Stanbic Holdings chief executive Joshua Oigara.

Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited paid 42.21 billion Ugandan shillings (Sh1.47 billion) in franchise fees in 2025, up 10.2 percent from 38.28 billion Ugandan shillings (Sh1.33 billion) in the previous year.

The Sh2.15 billion paid to Standard Bank by Kenya’s Stanbic Holdings came in addition to Sh6.61 billion the South African lender earned as dividends from its 74.92 percent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed bank. Stanbic raised its dividend per share to Sh22.35 for the review period from Sh20.74 a year earlier.

Stanbic increased its dividend payout by 7.7 percent even as net profit for the year ended December 2025 remained flat at Sh13.72 billion.

The lender has a dividend payout policy of between 60 percent and 65 percent of net earnings.

The bank raised its dividend per share for the fourth consecutive year, with chief executive Joshua Oigara saying it has little incentive to hold excess capital given the backing of a strong parent that can provide funding for large cash outlays such as acquisitions.

The interest rate on the one-year Treasury bill has climbed above nine percent for the first time in five months on fears of higher inflation after the US and Iran renewed hostilities last week.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had successfully kept the 364-day rate below 9 percent for the past month, but it relented in the Thursday auction, agreeing to pay 9.04 percent for the one-year debt from 8.99 percent in the previous sale.

Analysts had expected interest rates to start coming down after the US and Iran agreed an interim 60-day ceasefire last month.

However, the agreement has all but collapsed, with the two countries trading retaliatory airstrikes in the past week and once again closing the key Strait of Hormuz, which was partially reopened last month.

As a result, the price of Brent Crude-the global benchmark-rose by 12.8 percent to $86.75 a barrel between Monday and Friday, triggering fears of a new round of global inflation.

Investors usually demand a higher return on government securities when inflation goes up. Higher inflation erodes the real returns from their assets, which come with a fixed annual interest rate.

Kenya’s inflation stood at 6.4 percent in June, coming down from 6.7 percent in May, but still significantly higher compared to the rate of 4.3 percent in February, when the Iran war started.

‘Inflation has remained above the CBK’s 5 percent midpoint target for three consecutive months, despite June inflation easing slightly to 6.4 percent. Elevated inflation continues to be driven by higher fuel, transport, food, and utility costs,’ said analysts at Sterling Capital.

‘All indications suggest interest rates continue on their gradual rise as this alongside the huge budget deficit will encourage aggressive bids in debt auctions.’

On the shorter 182-day and 91-day T-bills, the CBK was able to hold off higher rates this week by rejecting expensive bids.

The 91-day paper saw its rate fall to 8.79 percent from 8.82 percent, but only after the CBK turned away half of the offers that investors made on the paper. The regulator took up Sh12.9 billion out of the bids worth Sh24.4 billion put up by investors on the paper, at an average asking rate of 8.83 percent.

On the 182-day T-bill, the rate remained unchanged at 8.97 percent, as the CBK took up Sh13.2 billion out of bids worth Sh15.2 billion.

Since the war in Iran started on February 28, rates on the 91-day and 182-day Treasury bill have gone up by 1.4 and 1.2 percentage points respectively.

The uncertainty over the Middle East war has also forced the CBK to halt its base rate cuts. During the monetary policy committee meeting on June 10, the CBK kept the base rate unchanged at 8.75 percent, saying it needed to take stock of the evolving situation in Iran.

In the bonds market, investors also demanded a higher return in a switch sale that was carried out last week.

The sale saw the CBK ask holders of a five-year paper issued in 2021 to transfer Sh10 billion into a 20-year bond that was issued in 2012, which matures in November 2032.

Investors agreed to switch Sh7.95 billion in the sale, but demanded a higher return (yield) of 12.8 percent compared to the 20-year bond’s annual interest rate of 12 percent.

They were handed a discount of Sh1.33 per bond unit of Sh100 to make up for the difference between the return they were asking for and the bond’s actual interest rate.

Ideally, a unit of a bond is priced at Sh100, with investors getting a return from the paper’s fixed interest rate.

However, when a reopened bond pays a lower return compared to what the market is demanding, investors are given a discount on the Sh100 in order to entice them to lend to government.

In the last MPC meeting on June 10, the CBK kept the base rate unchanged at 8.75 percent, saying it needed to take stock of the evolving situation in Iran, in line with similar cautious stances by central banks in developed markets.