Category: Business Daily

Last week, we left the classroom and entered the battlefield; that chaotic space where African founders learn the real curriculum of leadership. This week, we step deeper into that learning. Because once you’ve recognised how formal education failed you, the next question is how to replace it. What does it take to learn in real time to build while being built, to teach while still learning?

Across coffee tables and co-working spaces, in WhatsApp groups and late-night calls, a quiet curriculum is taking shape. It has no exams, no degrees and no dean, but it forges something formal education never could, wisdom born from lived experience.

Every founder must become a lifelong student, and in Africa that learning must stretch from the first spark of a startup to the stewardship of legacy.

The startup stage is a crash course in humility. You learn by doing, by listening, by being wrong in public and showing up again the next morning. The world becomes your university, the market your examiner and every mistake a tuition fee.

Founders quickly realise they must treat failure as feedback, not verdict.

They seek mentors, swap insights, and build small tribes of trust where they can be honest about fear and fatigue. In these circles, emotional resilience is strengthened and social intelligence deepens.

When success finally arrives and the company begins to scale, the syllabus changes. The founder, who once did everything must now learn to lead others who can do it better. Leadership becomes less about control and more about coordination, turning chaos into coherence without losing the company’s soul.

Strategy shifts from survival to sustainability. This is where strategic clarity and spiritual grounding intersect. Decisions move slower but cut deeper.

At this point, mentorship and community become lifelines. Founders who invest in peer networks avoid the trap of isolation. They find wisdom in other founders’ stories, learning to spot blind spots before they become pitfalls. The humility to remain a student even at the top becomes a defining advantage.

As one founder said, experience doesn’t make you wise; reflection does.

Eventually, the baton must pass. The next generation the heir, the successor, the new steward steps into a legacy they did not build but must now preserve. No MBA can prepare them for that moment. They inherit more than profit; they inherit a story. That story must be reinterpreted for a new era.

Mary Waceke Thongoh-Muia often says unchecked entitlement erodes legacy faster than competition.

A wise founder steps aside not because they’ve run out of strength but because they’ve built others strong enough to continue. Letting go becomes the final module in the hidden curriculum the hardest, but the one that defines true leadership.

And now, as founders chart the next decade, a new teacher has joined the circle artificial intelligence (AI). For the first time, founders can learn from living data as quickly as they learn from lived experience.

AI is not here to replace intuition but to refine it; not to erase the human touch but to sharpen our discernment.

In the hands of a conscious founder, AI becomes an amplifier of wisdom a digital co-mentor that helps us see patterns faster, test ideas smarter, and scale systems ethically.

That is why African Founders Operating System with its emotional, social, strategic, spiritual and mindset dimensions matters more now than ever. It ensures that as technology accelerates us, humanity still anchors us.

Across startups, scale-ups and legacy enterprises, one truth connects them all: founders learn best by doing, failing, reflecting and now by integrating insight with intelligence, both human and artificial.

In truth, the classroom never left us; it simply moved. It now lives in conversations after midnight, in mentorship lunches, in podcasts and panels where honesty replaces theory, and increasingly, in the quiet guidance of digital systems that can mirror our decisions back to us.

Founders are teaching one another what our institutions could not; how to build without losing humanity, how to harness intelligence without surrendering integrity. That is the hidden curriculum in the education that prepares us not only to lead but to last.

This second part completes our reflection on the founder’s true education from the failures of the classroom to the revelations of the battlefield. Yet in many ways, the learning has only begun. What started as a conversation about gaps in our schooling has become a blueprint for a new kind of consciousness one that turns founders into teachers, and companies into classrooms.

The challenge ahead is not to abandon education, but to redesign it in our own image: practical, soulful and grounded in shared wisdom.

Because in the end, the founder’s greatest legacy will not be the company they build, but the minds and movements they inspire to keep learning with heart, with humility and with the help of every new tool, human or digital, that expands what it means to be wise.

Michael Anthony Macharia is a serial entrepreneur, founder of Seven Seas Technologies and Ponea Health

The Nairobi Securities Exchange has recorded back-to-back gains of more than 30 percent in 2024 and again so far in 2025, buoying investor confidence and lifting portfolio values.

But for those who stayed on the sidelines, is it too late to join the rally?

In this episode, NSE Chief Executive Officer Frank Mwiti breaks down the key drivers of the market recovery, where fresh opportunities remain, and what investors should watch as the momentum continues.

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.

At least one person in your circle knows about Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and at least three have at least heard about it.

Truth is, the practice and the triple pronged concept is growing in importance, escalating in application and emerging as an irreplaceable criteria when assessing a business, organisation, and even national policy and legislation.

Consider, this, just as you wouldn’t run a warehouse without knowing what’s on your shelves in real time, you can’t run a business without knowing the health of your supply chain.

Supply chain ESG looks at the end-to-end footprint of the value chain, assessing issues like data management, carbon emissions, sourcing, risk management, and waste management- and the world is paying attention.

According to the 2024 Global Trade Report, ESG is now a deciding factor for buyers and consumers, with regulatory pressure pushing companies to collect hard data on their suppliers to prove their own sustainability credentials.

Leading the charge in setting industry benchmarks for supply chain ESG is the European Union, placing green development at the core of policy creation and enforcement, weaving green principles directly into law.

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is a directive that needs non-EU and EU companies that have large operations with or in the EU, and/or are considered to operate in ‘high-impact sectors’ to carry out due diligence on human rights and environmental considerations across their supply chains to encourage responsible corporate behaviour.

The aim is to foster responsible corporate behaviour, complementing regulations such as the German Supply Chain Act to create a unified standard for supply chain responsibility across EU member states.

At its core, CSDDD aims to regulate companies by making sure that goods are produced or procured in accordance with emerging environmental, labour, and human rights best practices.

It also pushes organisations toward minimising greenhouse gas emissions in pursuit of net neutrality and a more responsible global economy.

Risk identification is non-negotiable under CSDDD. This is a requirement rooted in the simple truth that you cannot manage what you cannot see. In practice, risk identification looks like breaking your processes down to three tiers and undergoing a three-pronged materiality assessment of the existing risk.

Examples include human rights violations, excessive carbon emissions, supplier integrity issues, and vulnerabilities buried deep within operational layers.

The goal is to develop early warning indicators, such as high-risk geographies or industries, to strengthen corporate accountability and safeguard against disruptions. In the long run, it increases corporate accountability and supports compliance with CSDDD.

This acts as a motivator as companies are to proactively design preventative, mitigatory, and remedial strategies before risks turn into crises.

For the supply chain, the rubber hits the road where CSDDD demands data collection and traceability. A lot of companies are grappling with the leviathan called ‘scope 3 emissions’- hiding in supplier scorecards, freight forwarder reports, and every outsourced process.

It’s daunting because it depends on your suppliers delivering clean, verifiable, and traceable data. But, in supply chains as in logistics, today’s bottleneck often becomes tomorrow’s breakthrough- even if it may be at the supplier’s expense.

Companies with complete certainty will start demanding more from suppliers. The scope of supplier audits will expand to include ESG considerations.

Over time, human rights, labour conditions, waste management, tracking and reporting, risk management, accountability, and emissions reductions will shift from being ‘best practices’ to being non-negotiable requirements.

Non-compliance with CSDDD can face consequences such as civil liabilities, fines, and even exclusion from procurement processes, as companies are now held accountable for ESG compliance and violations throughout the value supply chain.

Incidentally, in Kenya, due diligence is not enshrined in law, which means it is often treated as a voluntary precaution that progressive corporates can choose to adopt. However, there is an encouraging trend: early adopters in the industries such as the financial, energy, and FMCG industry are already embracing ESG-aligned due diligence checks and seeking additional support to integrate these principles into existing policies.

Incidentally, their proactive stance has inadvertently placed them ahead of the curve, preparing them for the vision set by CSDDD- where, by 2029 and beyond, enforcement will strengthen, and ESG reporting and communication will become mandatory.

This is a silent call to action for domestic suppliers to address existing gaps in their operations so that they’re not caught unprepared when due diligence checks reach their doorstep.

In practice, when managing a supply chain, new demands require agility and precision. So, as suppliers, how can we best adjust ourselves in this space?

The first step has to be education. A strong knowledge base enables us to spot operational weaknesses early and allocate resources effectively where they are needed.

Key topic areas outlined by CSDDD include human rights, environmental responsibility, good governance, and effective methods for M and E and data documentation.

After establishing an educational foundation, we then move into specialisation- assigning clear ESG responsibilities to designated individuals across the supply chain.

This means setting up standardised SOPs (standard operating procedures) for data collection and documentation so that audit-ready records are always available. Such structures build ownership, prevent duplication of effort, and improve coordination across functions.

Lastly, ESG needs to be embedded in governing policies, for instance, adding pointed clauses on anti-corruption clauses to contracts or aligning internal policies with both CSDDD requirements and buyer expectations.

CSDDD can be complex, and some may say expensive, but if we don’t accept direction and embrace them, your contracts, reputation, and market access could vanish overnight.

Even though of course this warning only applies to companies that fit the criteria to which CSDDD is applied to, we can’t deny the possibility of its scope of application extending to the smaller players tomorrow.

The bright side is that the same steps that prepare you for CSDDD can also earn you a stronger reputation, future-proof your business, attract collaboration and innovation, and unlock new markets.

Abdullahi Bulle, the founder of Nuria Bookstore, who bet big on self-published authors, always has a thirst for entrepreneurship. Even while working at Chase Bank, a job that he got immediately after completing his undergraduate studies, and rising to the rank of credit manager, he had a side hustle. He was comfortably employed, with good pay, but he went into a motor vehicle spare parts business, running a shop alongside other side-hustles.

Unfortunately, the businesses failed, and Mr Bulle has extra time on his hands. He decided to advance his studies, and along the way, he developed a strong reading habit, including during lunch breaks at work, which his colleagues noticed.

‘They were borrowing my books, seeking book recommendations, and one of them wondered why I was gifting free books instead of selling. That challenged me, but since I had the trauma of previous business failures, I could not jump into the business of selling books blindly,’ says Mr Bulle.

Armed with his go-to-market strategy research report, Mr Bulle discovered that online book space was nonexistent and decided to start an online book platform.

He looked for a web developer, but unfortunately, could not find a good one locally. He got a US-based one, who took advantage of his little IT knowledge to overcharge for the services at Sh400,000.

Mr Bulle says that after ordering books worth Sh125,000 from the UK in 2016, he realised that the website was not really meeting his expectations and made a painful decision of abandoning it altogether and developed a new one from scratch at an extra cost.

‘The first year was tough and challenging because in the same year, my bank was put under receivership with all my savings, though we still managed to sell some of the books,’ he says.

When the books business started picking up well, Mr Bulle finally quit employment in 2018. He decided to set up a physical store, tucked on the first floor of the Bazaar Building along Nairobi’s busy Moi Avenue.

Unlike other big bookshops, his is surrounded by mobile phone dealers, clothing, and the likes, but is gradually gaining a share of the market.

His strong focus on local self-published books, which had been avoided by top bookstores, started paying off. By the end of that year, he had onboarded five Kenyan authors, who have now grown to 2,650.

Self-published authors are authors who do not go through the mainstream publishers, so, if you have a ready manuscript, Nuria Bookstore links the author to an editor, book designer, and once it is ready, the author buys the barcode from Kenya National Library Services at a cost of Sh1,500, then brings the book for sale.

‘Compared to other bookshops which do not stock authors without brand names, we enable them [self-published authors] to crack the market without having to go through the mainstream publishers,’ he adds.

The hard part

The ex-banker says that the biggest challenge he has had to contend with and still do is marketing self-published books because ordinarily, most bookshops reserve their shelves for fast-moving books, which makes business sense.

However, the good thing at first it was an online platform, therefore operational expenses were low. Online also gave them a bigger reach and visibility. All they needed was to pick and deliver whenever a buyer placed an order, which worked well during the early years.

‘The other issue was how long the books would stay in the store, so we invested heavily in online marketing even though online and social media as a marketing medium wasn’t popular then,’ recalls Mr Bulle.

As a book seller, he adds that the other challenge is stock theft or stock loss, which leads to serious cashflow problems, hence the reason he prefers hiring staff based on honesty and not just academic papers.

He says that it has helped the bookseller a lot in managing cash flow and paying suppliers on time, thus bridging the finance load.

‘Setting up a bookshop in prime locations like the Central Business District or high-end shopping malls is expensive in terms of rent space. Content creation around books is equally higher than other products,’ he adds.

How much he earns

He says that, as a bookseller just like others, he takes 30 percent commission on any book sold, inclusive of 16 percent, but Nuria Bookstore has a unique approach of a pay-as-we-sell model with a decentralised vendor platform, a first in Africa.

‘As an author or publisher, you register as a vendor on the platform, upload the book, and every time a customer visits the link and orders a book, you get a real-time notification, and once delivery is completed, money is reflected in your account/vendor portal immediately,’ he explains.

Despite the impressive growth, Mr Bulle says expansion was not easy due to limited resources despite of making a pitch to nine potential investors between 2016 and 2021.

‘They all rejected me, so he abandoned that approach after realising that not every investor understands the book-selling business. Book selling is a volume business, not a high margin one, yet the majority want high quick returns. Two, due to the low reading culture in our society, they understand that market dynamic and are unwilling to wait for many years for returns,’ he adds.

He cites an example of Amazon, which took 10 years to break-even but was continuously backed by investors and is presently the biggest e-commerce company in the world.

Risks to the business

Mr Bulle says the biggest risk, not just to his business but other book sellers as well, are pirated books and online PDF copies that don the streets, aided by the fact that most of buyers are price driven, not value-driven, and are unethical.

He says that focusing on promoting African books has worked in their favor compared to other bookstores.

‘We have also given life to books that are over 70 years old that were lying in publishers’ warehouses, and Kenyans can now identify Nuria as the go-to African books store,’ says Mr Bulle.

Regrets

If there is one regret he has had is the inability to raise funds early enough for expansion, as he was a bit worried about losing control over the business.

‘I did not open up myself earlier enough to banks to help me grow the business. That lack of boldness held me back,’ says Mr Bulle is looking at setting up a new branch in Nyali, Mombasa.

He encourages entrepreneurs with good ideas or with a business that is doing well to borrow money and payback as quickly as possible because the biggest challenge to the growth of a business is usually raising equity or debt capital.

‘In 2016, I needed around Sh5 million. In 2021, when I stopped pitching, I probably needed Sh50 million, and if I were to raise money now, it could be between Sh100 to Sh200 million, but the business is now self-lubricating,’ he says.

Mr Bulle clarifies that the problem with most investors is that they need a ‘massage presentation’ during a pitch or a tried and tested concept with a fixed timeline on return on investment, something he couldn’t promise prospective investors.

‘This is partly the reason some startups collapse. They probably sold ‘lies and being liquid during early years brings growth, but that becomes unsustainable in the long term,’ adds Mr Bulle.

When jazz icon Kenny G performed in Nairobi recently, the event signaled how organisations are rethinking engagement with their clients. Clients across the region are demanding more exclusivity, cultural connection, and lifestyle immersion, seeking service providers that are not just transactional, but entrenched in their day-to-day experiences.

For decades, client management in East Africa focused on products and solutions. These remain important, but a new dimension is reshaping the client relationship. Cultural experiences, art, travel, and wellness now define value for individuals, with a focus on brands that understand and cater to clients’ aspirations.

The numbers underscore why this shift is significant. With globalisation and exposure to shared experiences, many clients now have a global outlook and compare their in-country experiences to those abroad. For institutions therefore, the real differentiator lies in intertwining experiences with products or solutions.

In East Africa, weaving cultural capital into client relationships matters. For instance, a seat at a Kenny G performance, offered through a private invitation, signals recognition and appreciation in a way that standard reports or statements never can.

By drawing intersections between work, culture, and leisure, brands are better positioned to leave an impression that deepens loyalty far more than a quarterly statement ever could. The creative industry, which often evokes a sense of belonging and cultural appreciation, can enable this.

The creative economy offers a natural platform for this shift. Kenya’s film industry already contributes about $130 million (Sh20 billion) annually to gross domestic product (GDP), with potential to reach $260 million (Sh40 billion).

Policymakers aim to double the sector’s share of GDP to 10 percent by 2025. Tanzania’s arts and entertainment sector grew by 17.7 percent in 2023, making it the fastest-expanding industry in the country.

Uganda’s film festivals are gaining continental recognition, while Rwanda’s fashion sector is attracting international partnerships. These industries remain underfunded and underexposed.

When organisations underwrite performances, festivals, and exhibitions, they not only delight clients but also strengthen sectors that create jobs and shape national identity.

The benefit flows both ways. Sponsoring cultural events enhances reputation, associating institutions with sophistication, creativity, and global ambition. It demonstrates that living joyfully is not just personal, but collective.

By celebrating the arts, organisations help communities thrive, create spaces of pride and inspiration, and show that progress can be measured in both prosperity and joy.

This approach also responds to a growing risk. Clients who feel unrecognised can easily switch to international firms or move onto digital platforms that provide global access and concierge-style services.

Local institutions risk losing not only deposits but also reputation if they fail to adapt. The cost of inaction is therefore rising in step with the expectations of clients who have more choices than ever before.

Competition in East Africa is heating up. Financial institutions, consultants, and multinational firms are all chasing the same circle of decision makers and entrepreneurs.

Those who move beyond traditional hospitality to offer meaningful cultural connections stand out. They do not just manage finances but also enrich the lives of those who create them.

As Kenny G’s saxophone filled the Nairobi night, the real message was not in the performance but in what it represented.

Organisations that design distinctive experiences across the region, from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kampala to Kigali, will capture and retain clients who define East Africa’s future and help them live joyfully and share that joy widely.

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has unconditionally approved French infrastructure investor Stoa’s $27 million (Sh3.5 billion) bid to acquire Atlas Tower Kenya Limited.

Atlas, owned by Kalahari Capital LLC, has been operating in Kenya since 2019 with more than 450 telecom towers to date, providing key connectivity infrastructure to local Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom.

Stoa, meanwhile, is an impact investment firm incorporated in France, specialising in investment in infrastructure and energy projects in emerging and developing countries.

The company, through Stoa Africa Limited, is acquiring a 31.03 percent minority shareholding with veto rights in Atlas Kenya to provide it with access to additional capital to expand its Kenyan operations.

According to the mobile and wireless infrastructure community TowerXchange, there were 12,555 telecommunication towers in Kenya as of January 2025.

Safaricom leads the market with 58.94 percent of the tower infrastructure footprint, followed by ATC Kenya with 32.64 percent, while Atlas Kenya has a 3.25 percent market share.

The CAK approved Stoa’s acquisition of Atlas, saying it will not affect the structure and concentration of the Kenyan telecoms market because the French firm is not engaged in a similar business.

‘The authority determined that the transaction is unlikely to lead to a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in the market for provision of telecommunication infrastructure in Kenya, nor elicit negative public interest concerns,’ said the competition watchdog.

Telecommunication towers are fitted with antennas, transmitters, and receivers to support cellular networks by enabling voice, data, and broadband connectivity.

However, mobile operators have recently been selling off much of their infrastructure to free up capital and lease towers from independent providers that own and manage their own infrastructure.

Through infrastructure sharing, tower companies can own and operate the passive infrastructure, then lease space, power, and other services to multiple MNOs and ISPs, reducing their capital expenditure on building their own infrastructure.

It also allows the network and internet service companies to deploy new services and upgrades quickly.

Providing tower infrastructure could also entail constructing a new tower at a specified site and within agreed timelines to meet a telco’s requirements.

In 2021, Atlas Kenya invested $48.9 million (Sh6.3 billion at current exchange rates) in the installation of 4G towers countrywide, with backing from the International Finance Corporation.

Now, with the Stoa acquisition, the tower company says it plans to boost its infrastructure portfolio and improve solar power and battery storage systems across its network.

‘We will scale our tower portfolio, strengthen the sustainability of our operations, improve power generation, and reach more communities with critical wireless infrastructure,’ said Randi Clendennen, Atlas Kenya Chief Strategy Officer.

Investors seeking higher returns have piled into the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), leaving the bourse on the verge of hitting a Sh3 trillion market capitalisation for the first time in history.

The Nairobi bourse on Wednesday closed at Sh2.991 trillion, up from Sh2.473 trillion in mid-July-offering investors a return of half a trillion shillings in the period under review.

The NSE has posted a return of 54.2 percent since the start of the year, beating other asset classes such as bonds, real estate and fixed bank deposits.

Gains in blue chips, including Safaricom, Equity and KCB, are behind the surge in the market valuation as small caps like Sameer Africa, Home Afrika and NSE have chalked gains of 572 percent, 253 percent and 244 percent, respectively.

Analysts say the 2025 market rally has ridden on the back of lower returns on fixed income assets, including Treasury bills and bonds, forcing investors to seek higher returns in alternative asset classes like equities.

‘It has to do with investors turning on risk as interest rates come down. As the returns from fixed income fall, investors seeking higher returns have had to reprofile their portfolios towards equities,’ said Wesley Manambo, a Senior Research Associate at Standard Investment Bank (SIB).

Kenya Power has led gains for the NSE’s 20 largest companies by market capitalisation, rising by 122.2 percent in the last six months to Sh14 per share from Sh6.30.

Electricity generating company KenGen has been the second highest growth counter, with its share price jumping 114.7 percent to Sh10.50 from Sh4.89 six months ago.

Other top grossing counters in the period have been NCBA, HF Group, Jubilee, Safaricom and KCB.

Investors’ paper wealth at the NSE has grown by more than Sh1 trillion (Sh1.05 trillion) since the start of 2025, the biggest jump ever.

The top five counters-Safaricom, Equity, KCB , East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) and NCBA -accounting for 72.8 percent percent of the gains.

Safaricom has gained Sh513.9 billion since the start of the year ahead of Equity (Sh74.4 billion), KCB (Sh65.6 billion), EABL (Sh44.7 billion) and NCBA (Sh66.4 billion).

This reflects the outsized influence of the counters, which makes it difficult to gauge the performance of the NSE.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has raised alarm over the dominance of a handful of counters on the market and has been seeking interventions to ease this stranglehold by the five firms.

‘By empowering investors with knowledge and information to make informed investment decisions, it will help reduce the inclination to concentrate investments in a limited number of dominant companies, thus having a more diverse and dynamic market environment which reduces the risks associated with excessive market concentration,’ the regulator said in a market soundness report last month.

Investors are taking advantage of long periods of the stock market undervaluation to pile into stocks on the expectation of a recovery and higher gains.

The Nairobi bourse had been on an extended bear run from 2016 to the start of last year, marked with an initial public offering (IPO) drought, the fall of share prices and the exit of foreign investors.

An improved macroeconomic setting, including a low inflation rate and a stable exchange rate, has allowed the government to cut interest rates, dimming returns from the less risky Treasury bills and bonds.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has cut its benchmark interest rates by 3.75 percentage points since August of 2024, inducing the lower returns on government paper.

The return from government paper fell from a high of nearly 17 percent for the 364-day paper/one year Treasury bill to 9.3404 percent last week.

The single-digit returns on Treasury bills and bonds have prompted investors to shift and diversify away from the asset class to the stock market.

The NSE is closing in on a Sh3 trillion valuation for the first time ever, ahead of previous forecasts.

The CMA expected the bourse to reach the milestone next year, with the help of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC)’s IPO.

The government is seeking to sell a 65 percent stake in KPC in the race to raise Sh149 billion from the privatisation of State enterprises.

‘With the listing of KPC, this figure is projected to rise by at least Sh100 billion even before accounting for broader market reaction to such a positive development,’ CMA chief executive officer Wyckliffe Shamiah said in June.

‘If the initial public offering is successful and investor sentiment remains strong, market capitalisation could exceed Sh3 trillion by the close of the financial year [June 2026].’

The NSE has not had an IPO since the listing of the Fahari Stanlib real estate investment trust (Reit) in October 2015.

Beyond the return of IPOs, company earnings and the availability of disposable cash by investors are expected to sustain the current market rally amid profit taking from stock sales.

Safaricom, the largest firm on NSE, is expected to influence the market, with its corporate performance linked to its exploits in Ethiopia.

Bank stocks are also a big factor in driving the market, and analysts expect their profit and dividend outlook to continue powering the NSE.

‘For as long as there is liquidity in the market, demand for stocks will always outstrip supply, sending share prices higher,’ said Mr Manambo.

Local institutional and individual investors have been the major drivers of the NSE market recovery, which began in 2024, as foreign investors largely sit out.

The allure of relatively higher returns from buying equities in advanced markets such as the US, the United Kingdom and Japan have seen the offshore investors ignore the more than 50 percent NSE gains.

The global equities market has remained potent in 2025, supercharged by artificial intelligence (AI) as the largest firms become vendors and buyers of AI infrastructure in a race for automation of everyday tasks such as computer programming, sales and even driving.

The US market observed the third-year anniversary of its current bull run in October this year, with the global rally

The concentration of software engineers relative to population in Kenya is Africa’s sixth highest, with 1,095 techies in every one million people, highlighting the country’s rising digital talent momentum.

Kenya’s concentration of techies is placed behind Tunisia, which has 4,120 developers per a million people, South Africa (2,234), Mauritius (1,345), Morocco (1,345) and Egypt (1,224).

The rising generation of software engineers is shaping Kenya’s innovation narrative as the digital layer becomes central to payments, logistics, agriculture, retail, energy and health delivery, among others.

Data from the Commission for University Education (CUE) shows that computer programming and software development contributed 4.6 percent of all graduates to the computing and ICT cluster during the academic year ended April 2024.

This signals that more students are moving into specialised technical workstreams that have high scalability and direct commercialisation routes.

Kenya currently has 18 institutions of higher learning formally teaching artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, amplifying deep tech capacity building at a time global capital is increasingly prioritising proprietary models and advanced applied research talent.

More developers are also opting for on-demand work rather than traditional employment, with Kenya’s gig share at 56.1 percent, signalling a structural shift towards more flexible digital labour models.

This has compelled software companies to increasingly compete globally for local engineers, driving more engagement with dollar-paying platforms and AI-first venture labs as talent supply structurally fragments.

The fast expansion of engineering talent places Kenya in a stronger regional competitive position to capture higher volume outsourcing value rather than remaining a consumption market for global technology systems.

Earlier this year, a Future of Jobs forecast by the World Economic Forum identified tech-backed careers such as Big Data specialists, fintech engineers, AI and machine learning experts, and software developers among the roles expected to post the fastest percentage growth globally this year.

The report noted that although broad-based AI use among enterprises remains relatively low compared to more traditional technologies, adoption momentum is rising across sectors- even though progress is uneven and largely anchored on early mover industries.

Kenya Power is rationing electricity due to reduced supply in what has forced the country to increasingly rely on Ethiopia and Uganda for its energy needs.

President William Ruto made the stark admission on Tuesday, revealing that Kenya Power has been forced to cut off electricity supplies to some regions between 5pm and 10pm as the country grapples with reduced local generation.

‘In Kenya, between 5:00pm and 10pm, we have to do load shedding. We have to shut off power in some areas to be able to power others because our energy is not enough,’ Dr Ruto said while addressing the United Nations Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar.

‘Energy deficits hold back opportunities.’

The Ministry of Energy had not responded to queries on the regions most affected by the load shedding and the amount of additional electricity needed to end this crisis.

Kenya’s electricity reserves are under intense pressure amid rising demand.

The energy woes have been compounded by a freeze on new power purchase agreements (PPAs), which means that Kenya Power cannot bring more producers to the grid to supply clean and affordable electricity.

This had forced Kenya to increasingly rely on Ethiopia for its power needs, with imports jumping from 337 million kWh in 2022 to 1.53 billion kWh in the year to June.

Rationing of electricity is used to prevent overloads on the system and countrywide blackouts whenever supply is lower than demand.

Without Ethiopia’s power, Kenya would have been pushed into an electricity crisis that would have prompted blackouts and power rationing running for hours on alternating days.

This had the potential to slow down economic growth, increase the cost of doing business as firms tap costly generators and make the country unattractive as a destination for foreign capital.

Kenya Power has not signed any new PPAs since 2018 following a freeze imposed by the Cabinet, which was later extended by Parliament. This has left Kenya in a situation where local generation lags behind the growth in demand.

The freeze on new PPAs was meant to allow for scrutiny of the existing ones amid concerns that Kenya Power was tied to expensive deals with electricity generators, ultimately denying consumers cheaper electricity.

Imports accounted for 10.6 percent or 1.53 billion units of the 14.38 billion units bought by Kenya Power in the year to June 2025, up from 4.87 percent in June 2023 and one percent in 2021.

Besides the reduced supply, an aging grid has also prompted power rationing in a bid to prevent the system from collapsing whenever demand surges.

The Ministry of Energy announced plans to ration electricity, especially in western Kenya from September last year as a short-term measure to reduce the electricity load and thus keep the grid stable whenever demand surges.

Inability of the aging grid to accommodate sudden increase in the flow of electricity has in the past thrown the country into blackouts, prompting the ministry to cut off some areas to protect the lines.

Kenya Power says that it needs billions of shillings to revamp the lines and ensure that they are able to accommodate the sudden load surges.

But it is the low local generation compared to a fast-rising demand which remains the biggest headache to the utility firm’s efforts to avert rationing.

Kenya recorded seven new peak demands last year alone, pointing to the rapidly growing appetite for electricity.

Peak demand for electricity- the time when energy consumption is at its highest point- grew by 243 megawatts (MW) between 2022 and August this year while local generation has increased marginally due to the freeze on new PPAs.

The highest peak demand remains the 2,392 MW that was recorded in August this year amid increased connections and economic activities.

Demand for electricity in Kenya is highest between 1900 hours-2100 hours, the time when Kenya Power is forced to cut off some regions in order to protect the grid.

Load shedding, also known as rolling blackouts, refers to scenarios where a power utility, in this case Kenya Power, is forced to cut off supply in some regions. This helps to prevent overloads on the grid whenever demand outstrips supply.

The forced power rationing explains why Kenya Power is seeking an additional 50-100 MW from Ethiopia to meet the surge in demand in the evenings.

Kenya Power opened talks with Ethiopia Electric Power in March this year for additional supply outside the 200MW being imported under the PPA that Nairobi penned with Addis Ababa in 2022.

The imports from Ethiopia will double from December 2026 in line with provisions of the PPA, which also allows Kenya Power to re-negotiate the prices.

It is black November. The Christmas and New Year festivities fever is once again here with us. And as usual, during these times, our consumption spending is rising sharply.

The increased spending is on celebratory purchases of all kinds, ranging from hosting ceremonies, gifts, food, decorations, and travel.

Unfortunately, we will spend money we don’t have. Studies indicate that many families will spend more than their monthly income in the next two months to fund festive activities.

Why is this so? Kenya, like many liberal capitalist economies, has gradually shifted from a market economy to a market society, where nearly every aspect of life is now transactional and commercialised.

Social interactions that once depended on community reciprocity now require money. This means we can no longer rely on relatives or neighbours for ‘free’ assistance.

The consequences are evident in the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor. The more things we need money to buy, the more severe the effects of inequality become. Rising inequality weakens social cohesion, diminishes trust, and undermines confidence in institutions.

Money is now the main determinant of enjoying social interaction, let alone fun opportunities, and is even a requirement for acceptance into relationships. Those without adequate resources during this festive season face serious isolation and loneliness.

Without money, life is hard. The festive season magnifies these hardships, especially for low- and middle-income households.

To deal with this, many families will have to go for very expensive short-term credit to meet the social expectations and personal needs, placing further strain on household finances and the credit market in the coming months. ‘Njaanuary’ always comes.

In this economy, low-income households are more disadvantaged. They are faced with limited access to affordable credit, which reduces opportunities for entrepreneurship and asset accumulation. Over time, inequality hardens into structural poverty.

Addressing these disparities requires institutions that distribute not only income but also opportunity and social capital. Kenya’s cooperative movement provides a credible response to these challenges.

Rooted in collective self-help, savings and credit cooperatives (saccos) embody economic democracy by pooling resources to serve members rather than external shareholders. They mitigate market failures through shared governance, risk pooling, and local knowledge, enabling small savers to access credit, lower borrowing costs, and promote inclusive growth.

The move toward a market society has intensified inequality and eroded social trust. Already, we see complaints of dire poverty amid economic progress and positive macroeconomics. The cooperative sector could ensure that prosperity is shared more equitably across society.

The telos of saccos is member empowerment. As households prepare for the festive season, saccos should step in and provide affordable loans, flexible repayment terms, and a culture of savings and accountability to its members to restore their dignity and welfare.

According to the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra), the sector’s total assets is now more than Sh1 trillion, equivalent to about 6.4 percent of Kenya’s gross domestic product. Total membership is approaching eight million Kenyans, nearly 30 percent of the working population.

Clearly, saccos are now vital channels for household savings and credit, especially low-income workers and small-scale traders. They finance housing, education, agriculture, and business development, areas often neglected by commercial banks.

It is time for government and regulators, including Sasra, the CBK and Treasury to recognize the impact and role of Saccos and the cooperative movement in addressing pressing social welfare concerns of Kenyans, including cushioning the vulnerable groups in our society from market shocks.

With the right policy support, Saccos can play a greater role in financing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), facilitating agricultural value chains, and mobilising domestic savings for productive investment. As Kenya seeks to reduce inequality and sustain growth, the cooperative movement remains one of the most effective instruments for inclusive finance.

In the credit market, there are many tools and solutions that are already supporting Saccos leverage data and technology to drive sustainability in saving and credit risk management.

Already Sasra is doing a lot in strengthening of governance, expanding digital systems, and adopting risk-based supervision.