Category: Business Daily

Domestic carrier Safarilink Aviation is expanding its regional footprint with the launch of a new Nairobi-Entebbe service via Kisumu, set to take off on Monday.

The move by the airline comes amid evolving tourist patterns across East Africa and the growing demand for seamless safari-to-safari and safari-to-coast travel connections.

KCB Kenya has received Sh19.5 billion ($150 million) financing from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), allowing it to expand its lending, especially to women-led entities and green businesses.

The country’s largest lender, by asset base, said Sh12.9 billion of the funds will be subordinated debt. Subordinated debt is classified as tier two capital and contributes to a bank’s total capital position that determines the amount of lending a bank can do.

You know Procera gin, don’t you? It’s founded by a guy called Guy, which is your first cue that you’re onto something interesting here. You’ve probably drunk it or at least seen it on shelves. Very handsome bottle.

If bottles could dress up, a Procera bottle would be the guy in designer loafers-or a lady with a sharp chin, sunglasses, and a silk headscarf, flattering in the wind. You don’t throw away a bottle like that. That’s art.

Procera recently held their second cocktail competition at the distillery in Industrial Area. A cocktail competition is basically bartenders under pressure-shaking, mixing, juggling bottles. Fast hands, sharp eyes, creative flair. Taste matters. Showmanship counts. There was also music.

Benjamin Thiong’o took the day. He works at Jekyll and Hyde (I’ve never been). Moves fast. Talks little. Tattoo. He beat 42 bartenders from places like Ole Sereni, Cultiva, Hemingway’s Eden, Craft Chameleon, and Muthaiga Country Club.

Part of the final challenge was five cocktails in 10 minutes. Watching it felt like watching a man defuse a bomb made of ice cubes. I never imagined I would use the words ‘tension’ and ‘cocktails’ in the same sentence. But here we are.

After the dust and citrus settled, and Thiong’o’s back had been patted adequately, Procera announced something called the Procera Cocktail Passport. It’s basically a booklet with the top 17 finalists and their signature drinks. You take it around different bars, order the drink, get a stamp. A bar crawl but with documentation-your mother would approve.

If you manage to fill the whole passport by 30 January 2026, Procera will give you a bottle of gin, some merch, and a guided tour of the distillery, where they’ll explain things you’ll pretend to understand.

You can pick up the passport at any of the participating bars. Or just ask your bartender. If they shrug, that’s your sign to find a better bar. Either way, drink slowly. There’s art in the glass, and life is short-even for gin lovers.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has opened the sale of a Sh60 billion Treasury bond, continuing its recent trend of issuing longer dated papers to lengthen the government’s domestic debt maturity profile.

In the issuance which runs until January 7, 2026, the CBK has reopened a 25-year bond that was initially brought to the market in September 2022, and a 20-year bond first sold in March 2019.

Less than 300,000 Kenyans registered to buy the State’s affordable houses by June 2025, new disclosures show, debunking statements by bureaucrats that close to a million Kenyans had enrolled to purchase units under the scheme.

The disclosures by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development show that by the end of June, 292,326 Kenyans had registered on Boma Yangu, the platform created for the public to register and save towards owning houses.

Art has always been used as a tool to approach uncomfortable topics in society directly, triggering dialogue for change. This year, theatre spoke boldly during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

‘What can start small, on screens – a message, a comment, or a post – can quickly spiral into a torrent of threats and violence in real life. Private photos are stolen without consent. Lies spread in a matter of seconds. Locations are tracked.

As the year draws to a close, BD Life reflects on some of the milestones in the music industry in 2025.

Cultural resurgence

In an exclusive interview with the BDLife a year ago, singer-songwriter, musician, Bien-Aimé Baraza (of Sauti Sol fame) revealed that he was seeking a new edge to his music by exploring the cultural heritage of his roots in Western Kenya.

True to his word, 2025 marked a significant shift in his overall sound and image with the hit single All My Enemies Are Suffering. Propelled by the energetic rhythm of isikuti drums, multi-layered harmonies and a contemporary Afro groove, it set the template for a powerful fusion of global and cultural influences.

Some of the biggest acts of the year, including Okello Max, Coster Ojwang, Watendawili and Charisma, have molded their aesthetics with a strong cultural foundation while still producing music that resonates with a mainstream audience.

Reinvention of classics

Just like the soundtrack to the anti-taxation protests in Kenya last year was Kasongo, a 1977 song by Super Mazembe, 2025 also saw classic songs going viral thanks to topical events.

For instance, the most searched song lyrics, according to Google Kenya’s Year in Search, were for the Jamaican folk song Jamaica Farewell, recorded in 1956 by Harry Belafonte. Interest in the song was sparked by the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who had often mentioned it as his favourite.

The interest in oldies was not peculiar to Kenyans. The No 1 song on video sharing platform Tik Tok in 2025 was Pretty Little Baby, a 1962 song by American singer Connie Francis.

Tik Tok’s Year in Music Recap released this week reveals that the song’s popularity was due to its use as the soundtrack for videos on family, pets, relationship and flowers leading to more than 68 billion views. Its popularity was not just confined to one platform; it has 133 million streams on Spotify.

Francis who died in July 2025 at age 87 expressed surprise at the success of the ballad she recorded 63 years ago: ‘To tell you the truth, I didn’t even remember the song,’ she told the People Magazine in May.

Streaming

Music streaming platform Spotify has now made Wrapped a much-anticipated fixture of the end of the year with fans sharing personalised revelations about their music preferences, from genres to artistes, of the past year.

The data is mind boggling. For instance, Spotify listeners streamed over 163 billion hours of music in 2025 with social features like Collaborative Playlists and Friends Mix accounting for 782 million hours of shared music during the year.

The older generation of Kenyans, those who grew up on physical formats like the vinyl and CDs, are gradually discovering the world of streaming; the over 55s registered the highest growth in listening this year at 74 percent, followed by the 45-54-year-olds whose streaming grew by 56 percent.

Top songs

The East African collaboration between Tanzanian star Marioo and Kenyan artist Bien, Nairobi, tops Apple Music’s 2025 Year-End Charts in Kenya, followed by Tanzanian Joel Lwaga’s worship anthem Olodumare and the South African amapiano/Afrobeats hit Isaka (6 am) by Ciza, Jazzworx, and Thukuthela.

The popularity of the latter, along with other isiZulu hits like Ngishutheni by Goon Flavour, confirms isiZulu as one of the top three most-streamed musical languages in Kenya, just behind English and Swahili, according to Spotify data.

Documentaries and biographies

If you missed any of the outstanding music films and publications in 2025, there is no better time to catch up on them than this holidays season.

The most talked about music documentary of 2025 is the recently released Sean Combs: The Reckoning which investigates the murky events surrounding the life and career of US producer and music mogul, also known variously as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, who is currently serving a 50-month jail term.

Earlier in the year, Avicii: I’m Tim offered a very personal portrait of the much-loved Swedish Electronic Dance Music DJ/producer who died in 2018.

One Shot with Ed Sheeran is a pure musical experience as British singer-songwriter walks the streets of New York City with his guitar spontaneously entertaining fans with a repertoire of his songs as a film crew shoots the unfolding events in one take.

If you don’t want to fight for the TV remote control with members of your household then get your hands on Truly by Lionel Richie, the 2025 memoir of one of the biggest pop stars of all time.

Read: 10 nuggets from Lionel Richie’s memoir ‘Truly’

Lionel shares his story with wit, self-deprecating humour and juicy nuggets of his interactions with everyone from Michael Jackson to Quincy Jones.

The year is coming to an end, but the market never rests. As the season wraps up, we turn our attention to the one question every serious investor is asking: Where exactly will the money be flowing in 2026?

Macroeconomics analyst Stellar Swakei joins us to share a comprehensive, early outlook. In this episode, she will:

Explain the key macro-factors and risks that are about to redefine the investment landscape.

Share an early outlook on the most promising asset class for the new year.

Outline the non-negotiable strategies you must implement now to secure your wealth and maximise returns.

Make Money, a podcast series, hosted by Kepha Muiruri, from Business Daily Africa unravels ways to be financially savvy. Get practical tips and advice on how to increase your income, build wealth, and achieve financial freedom in Kenya. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned investor, we’ve got something for everyone.

Listen here:

Season 5

Inside the Sh600bn money markets fund growth – Episode 1

Why more Kenyans are taking their money offshore – Episode 2

The low-interest playbook: Where to invest your money now – Episode 3

The bonds ladder: How to get a monthly pay cheque – Episode 4

The hidden cost of investing: How to stop fees from eating your returns – Episode 5

The financial supermarket: Can your bank do it all? – Episode 6

NSE rally: Is it too late to invest? – Episode 7

Stocks 101: Your guide to opening a CDS account and making your first trade – Episode 8

Can AI replace your financial advisor? – Episode 9

Bubble or Boom? Decoding the AI-fuelled market frenzy – Episode 10

Black November: How to find investment bargains – Episode 11

The 2025 investment scorecard: Where did Kenyan investors win? – Episode 12

Season 4

Episode 1: The allure of infrastructure bonds

Episode 2: Maximising the dividend earning season

Episode 3: Minting generational wealth

Episode 4: Is the MMF party over?

Episode 5: Is your money safe in Saccos?

Episode 6: Insurance: Investment or Illusion?

Episode 7: Why Kenyans are going into business

Episode 8: Willy Kimani’s leap: Business insights from corporate to entrepreneurship

Season 3

Episode 1: Government bonds: Risk-free or low risk?

Episode 2: MMFs: Who really needs a fund manager?

Episode 3: How to protect your investments as interest rates fall

Episode 4: Is the stock market still a way make to money?

Episode 5: Does it still make sense to buy dollars?

Episode 6: How time directly impacts your investments

Episode 7: Hacking home ownership

Episode 8: Money matters: To bank or not to bank?

Episode 9: Trading 101: Separating wheat from chaff

Episode 10: What music can teach us about money

Season 2

Episode 1: Redefining your money goals

Episode 2: Making money work for you

Episode 3: Where to make money in 2024

Episode 4: Make your side hustles worthwhile

Episode 5: Loan and Behold: The art and science of borrowing

Episode 6: Career driven – Triumph at your job

Episode 7: Better Together – The Power of Group Investing

Episode 8: Make your networks shape your net worth

Episode 9: Buy now, Pay later – The A to Z of consumer credit

Episode 10: What would you do if you had Sh500,000?

Season 1

Episode 1: Financial fitness – walk before you can run

Episode 2: Myths about investing

Episode 3: Baby steps.Little is more

Episode 4: A cheque from government

Episode 5: NSE – Taking stock of the market

Episode 6: Going offshore – cast your bread in many waters

Episode 7: Kenya’s black gold

Episode 8: Investor’s edge – Saccos

Episode 9: How wife’s wake-up call led Ken to make more money

More than half of the candidates who sat the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) demonstrated readiness to pursue courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,(STEM) in Senior School, underscoring a decisive tilt toward science-oriented learning as Kenya accelerates its shift to the competence-driven system.

The performance is set to pile pressure on senior schools to reinforce laboratories and technical capacity, as the system must now absorb an unprecedented concentration of science-pursuing learners.

We often discuss rights in terms of education, healthcare, or access to clean water. While these are all critical to our survival, and indeed our development, one of the most powerful enablers of dignity and opportunity is access to credit. Unfortunately, this is rarely framed as a human right, and yet, it should be.

Credit is not merely a financial instrument. For millions of Kenyans, it is the difference between survival and progress; between operating at the margins of the economy and building a livelihood with dignity.

Without access to finance, a farmer cannot expand production, a small trader cannot stock inventory, and a young entrepreneur cannot scale an idea into a thriving business.

Kenya has made strides in financial inclusion. According to the 2024 FinAccess survey, 84.8 percent of the population now has formal financial access, with credit usage rising to 64 percent of the total population.

Yet beneath these gains lies a stubborn gap: Many Kenyans, especially women, and those in the informal sector still depend on unregulated sources like chamas (savings and investment groups), relatives, or even shylocks.

While these informal systems are important, they cannot provide the scale or sustainability required to unlock long-term opportunity. For women, rural communities, and micro-enterprises, the barriers are even higher.

This exclusion is not trivial. It systematically denies people the agency to grow, invest, and participate fully in the economy.

A key way of boosting financial inclusion is the adoption of lending models tailored to women, youth, and informal workers. Products designed for chamas, agribusiness collectives, and youth start-ups have made it possible for those without traditional collateral to access financing.

These inclusive models matter in a country where women-led enterprises face a $2 billion credit gap, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, and the informal sector employs over 80 percent of Kenya’s workforce. Credit, designed inclusively, is the bridge.

The future of credit is not only inclusive but also green. Increasingly small loans are already being extended to households and small enterprises for solar home systems, clean cooking solutions, and water access projects. These not only reduce emissions but also cut household energy costs and improve resilience.

As Kenya positions itself as a green economy leader, community-level green lending will be critical. A small loan for a solar irrigation kit may seem minor in the national balance sheet, but for a farmer, it is the difference between food insecurity and surplus. For a village, it can mean the difference between vulnerability and resilience.

Access to credit must be reframed as a human right. If we can guarantee education, water, or healthcare, why not guarantee financial access-the very thing that allows individuals to pay for these services and improve their lives?

As Kenya works toward inclusive growth and climate resilience, the ability of ordinary people to access and use credit must be treated not as a privilege for the few but as a right for all.