Category: Business Daily

Kenyans face steep electricity bills in the wake of a push by Parliament to have consumers pay higher charges to enable Kenya Power to recover billions of shillings spent on the rural electrification projects.

The National Assembly Committee on Energy wants the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) to introduce, through the monthly bills, pass-through costs from July 2026 to help Kenya Power recover the billions it spends on building and maintaining the rural electricity grid.

The Treasury is expected to reimburse Kenya Power for grid expenses in a rural setting where the uptake of electricity is not enough to generate a return for the listed utility.

But the Treasury has failed to reimburse Kenya Power, with the unpaid bill having piled to Sh29.9 billion as at June 2024 and expected to rise as the State deepens connections in rural areas.

Kenya Power disclosures show that rural homes spent an average of Sh217 per month, which is nearly a quarter of the national average of Sh830.27 for households, a scenario that has increasingly made it hard for the company to recoup its investment in the rural electrification projects.

Now, the National Assembly Committee on Energy wants Epra to compel consumers to foot the bill in their monthly power bills amid the Treasury’s inability to clear the billions of shillings promptly.

‘Within six months upon adoption of this report, Epra institutes a review of the pass-through costs to introduce a recovery mechanism for the operating deficits for RES [rural electrification projects] and that in the next Tariff Control Period, the same be factored in the Base Tariff,’ the committee says as part of conditions for lifting of the freeze on new power purchase agreements (PPAs).

This pass-through cost will be contained in the base tariff (cost of a unit of electricity) and will increase the base tariff per kilowatt-hour of electricity, setting the stage for Kenyans to pay more for power. Epra is expected to gazette the new base tariffs that will be in force for three years from July 2026.

The energy regulator on Tuesday raised concerns over the committee’s directive, saying that it would be unfair to consumers and that a decision can only be taken upon getting advice from the Attorney General — the chief legal adviser of the government.

‘If the government told Kenya Power to undertake RES with the commitment to reimburse expenses, then we are asking ourselves is it fair to force consumers to pay this money?’ Daniel Kiptoo, the director-general of Epra, said last evening.

‘We also need to get advice from the AG on whether this directive by the committee is binding, given that we have separation of powers between the Executive and Legislature.’

Kenya Power continues to grapple with the RES debt, with the Treasury failing to settle some Sh19 billion as a partial payment that had been approved by the Cabinet.

Base tariffs are the single-biggest component of a power bill, underlining why Kenyans could pay more for electricity if the MPs’ plan is adopted.

Consumers currently pay a pass-through cost to cater for the RES. The levy, which is known as the rural electrification levy, is one of the eight charges that when added to the base tariff (consumption charge per kilowatt-hour of power) make up the electricity bills.

The others are the fuel cost charge, the forex fee, the inflation adjustment charge, Epra levy, water resources authority levy, the energy sector charge and a Value Added Tax, which is charged at the rate of 16 percent of the bill.

Electricity prices have marginally risen over the past year, mainly due to the impact of increased use of thermal power. Kenya Power bought 1,247.93 billion kWh of thermal power in the year ended June 2025 compared to 1,127.11 billion kWh a year ago. For example, consumers paid an average of Sh5,764.15 for 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) last month, compared to Sh5,728.40 a year ago.

It remains to be seen if Epra will implement the MPs’ directive, given that the Ministry of Energy recently warned against any new levies that could trigger steep electricity prices and hurt consumers.

RES was started in 1973 to light up homes and businesses in rural parts of the country. Under the project, Kenya Power operates and maintains the RES assets, with the Treasury reimbursing the firm.

Kenya Power disclosed that the Treasury has only reimbursed a paltry Sh810 million out of the Sh30.7 billion that was owed to the utility under the RES project prior to the partial reimbursement.

The parliamentary committee wants Kenya Power to be delinked from all non-commercial projects in the electricity sector to cut the firm’s exposure and shore up its bottom line.

The committee directed the Ministry of Energy to transfer the projects that include RES, the Last Mile connectivity project and the off-grid solar access project for underserved counties to be handled by the Rural Electrification Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation.

It is the second time MPs are pushing for the introduction of a levy to foot the costs of a project.

The previous committee had directed Epra to introduce the Street Lighting Infrastructural Support Levy (SLISL) by June this year to help fund the installation of street lights in the 47 counties without burdening Kenya Power.

Epra did not comply with the directive, even as Kenya Power backed this levy, saying it would significantly help ease the negative impact of the street lighting project on its books.

Kenya Power is grappling with a debt of at least Sh800 million for the street lighting project, further hurting efforts by the firm to cut its debt on electricity sales.

Kenyan electric vehicle (EV) company Roam Motors has opened a fast-charging station for light vehicles in Nairobi that allows electric motorbike operators to charge their 80-kilometre-range batteries to full capacity in 20 minutes.

Play Video

The 6.6-kilowatt direct current (DC) station has open-charge standards, making it interoperable across two-wheelers, tuk-tuks, and light passenger cars, regardless of the manufacturer.

Motorists have had to spare up to an hour to fill up their batteries using fixed chargers at Roam’s 15 charging hubs in Nairobi, while mobile chargers take up to three hours.

The company said the new fast-charging station will operate day and night, and motorists will charge their vehicles on a self-service basis and pay through mobile money or the Roam application.

‘For nighttime charging, the price rate is Sh25 per kWh, while daytime charging is Sh40 per kWh,’ Roam told the Business Daily.

Kenya Power has a special e-mobility tariff for EV charging to incentivise EV uptake; a lower off-peak rate of Sh8 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and a higher peak rate of Sh16 per kWh.

Two-wheelers dominate Kenya’s EV update. Electric motorcycles and bicycles made up 95.2 percent (8,712 units) of the 9,144 EVs registered in Kenya as of last December, according to data from the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya (EMAK), an industry lobby group.

Electric buses, minibuses and cars make up a paltry 2.7 percent or 247 units of the total EVs, as a lack of adequate electric charging infrastructure and acquisition costs slows their uptake. As of last December, electric motorcycles alone accounted for seven percent of all new registrations for the units.

Official data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), however, puts the total EVs in Kenya at a lower figure of 6,442 units as of June this year. Still, the number of EV charging stations across the country stands at a meagre 300.

EV companies have been partnering with local oil marketing companies like TotalEnergies to expand their DC charging station networks by setting up charging points at gas stations, avoiding the extra costs of setting up standalone charging stations.

Roam, one of the country’s pioneer EV companies, says it has put 3,500 electric motorbikes on the road since 2017.

The company plans to introduce a universal fast-charging station under such partnerships at each of Nairobi’s satellite towns, like Machakos, Thika, Kiambu and Kajiado in 2026.

The Kenyan electric bus and minivan assembler BasiGo has also been scaling its DC fast-charging network beyond Nairobi, where it has 10 points.

The company maintains Kenya’s largest electric bus fleet (82) and has set up charging points in Nyahururu and Kiambu over the past year.

In addition to the special power tariffs for EV charging, Kenya has also lowered excise duty on EVs from 20 percent to 10 percent and exempted them from Value Added Tax (VAT) to boost their uptake and lower carbon emissions.

The government also plans to invest $47.26 million (Sh6.12 billion) to install 10,000 charging stations across the country in three phases by 2030.

Gone are the days when chapati was reserved for special occasions. From street food vendors to hotel buffets and the family weekly menu, chapati has become a common staple.

But just like skinning a cat, there’s more than one way to make chapati. Some like theirs plain and golden, while others enjoy them with a twist, infused with beetroot, carrot, or even sweet potato for a splash of colour and flavour.

This festive season, chapati is sure to take centre stage at our tables. Chef Ben Luchinye Masinya from Nairobi Serena Hotel shares tips on how to whip up five-star chapatis right in your own kitchen. What you’ll need: (makes around 50 chapatis)

– 2kg of all-purpose flour and some extra for dusting

– 500g butter (melted) and some extra for layering and frying

– 1 litre of milk

– 400ml of coconut milk (room temperature)

– 100g of Sugar

– 25g of salt

The first thing chef Ben does is warm the milk until it’s lukewarm; not hot and not cold. Showing me how one can test the temperature of the milk, he scoops a little using a wooden ladle and puts a drop of it on the back of my palm. And while some argue that the temperature of your wet mixture does nothing for the chapati, chef Ben’s position on the matter is loud and clear. ‘The milk has to be a bit warm to achieve that soft texture in the chapati. Cold milk won’t do.’

Once warmed up, he pours the milk into a mixing bowl and adds some melted butter, coconut milk, sugar, and salt. He then whisks the mixture until everything is well-combined.

Now, the secret to Serena Hotel’s fluffy and flavourful chapatis, the chef reveals, is the butter and coconut milk. So if you’re really going for the five-star experience, you might not want to skip these.

However, if all you are after is some nice chapatis without any frills, the good chef testifies to seeing others use corn oil in place of butter, and lukewarm water instead of milk.

Gesturing to the wet mixture, he continues, ‘At this point, I want to add my flour.’

He dumps it all in one go as opposed to a little at a time, crediting the prior measurement he’d done while preparing his ingredients.

Still, the mixture ends up a bit soggier than he’d like and as he kneads the dough into submission, he adds a little more flour to it.

The duration for which one should mold the dough is subjective, but the chef shares his marking scheme with us.

‘You look at the consistency. The flour has to be mixed well and the dough should be soft.’

Once the dough passes the balance check, then it’s time to cover it with a plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

‘You have to put it in the fridge so it can proof. This is a process that also helps with the texture.’

Taking the proofed dough from the cooling box, chef Ben divides it into smaller portions. Dusting his counter with some flour, he rolls out these portions using a rolling pin. Little attention goes to the shape as he chooses instead to focus on the thickness of his rolled out dough.

‘It should be thin so that the layers come out nicely,’ he responds when I ask.

When he’s satisfied with the stretched-out piece before him, he dips a brush in some melted butter and spreads the fat across the flattened dough. Covering the entire circumference with his brush strokes, he sprinkles some flour over the top.

‘Do you know why I’m sprinkling this?’ He asks. ‘It’s so that the layers separate.’

And while the chef doesn’t expressly come out and say it, I get the feeling that this is the step you want to get right if you want your audience singing praises over the flakiness of your chapatis.

Once properly buttered and floured, he masterfully folds the dough into spiral balls and places them on some baking sheets, allowing them to rest for about 10 minutes.

As we wait, the chef’s black, cast-iron pan pre-heats on his cooker and he takes the opportunity to debunk a common myth about cooking pans.

The myth is commonly peddled by kitchenware sellers, and it claims that with continued use, the shiny stainless-steel pans that have flooded the market today eventually turn into the black cooking pans that some of our grandmothers and mothers still use to make their chapatis.

‘It’s a lie. Cast-iron and stainless steel are two different things. The steel pans are much lighter in comparison,’ he notes. ‘Cast-iron pans, though they are a bit rare these days, are the best ones to use. You can mostly find them in Indian shops.’

Diving back into the cooking, the chef grabs his rolling pin and some dusting flour for his workstation. Picking one ball at a time, he rolls them out on the metallic countertop, this time with more precision and care. Clearly, the shape matters here, and he turns his dough this way and that in between rolls, to ensure a uniform stretch.

‘You should be keen here, and roll from the centre outwards,’ he advises. ‘And in line with our hotel’s preference, the chapati should be rolled thin.’

Checking on his heated pan, he dips a clean cloth in fresh water and douses the pan with the cool liquid. As the water sizzles and evaporates, I ask him what that is all about.

‘It ensures that the heat is evenly spread across the pan so that one part is not hotter than the other.’

Wiping down any remaining droplets, he turns the heat to a medium setting. Once the pan is sufficiently dry, he greases it with some butter. Using a serviette, he then wipes down the butter, effectively spreading it across the entire pan.

‘That transforms it into a non-stick pan,’ he reveals with a smile. ‘Now we blanch our chapati.’

Movements punctuate his statement as he carefully lifts his rolled out dough from the counter and onto the pan. Small bubbles begin to form across the surface of the chapati almost immediately, but 15-20 seconds pass before he flips it over and allows the other side to brown as well. Satisfied, he removes the blanched chapati from the pan and puts it aside to cool while he repeats the process with the rest of the rolled dough.

As he works, he shares about the changes he has witnessed in the chapati-making culture. He recounts his observations from his days as a young boy waiting by the fire while his mother prepared chapatis up until now, as a respected chef in a five-star establishment.

‘Things have changed. In the old days, we used to knead the dough with our hands, but now we use machines. We used to cook over firewood or charcoal, but today it’s a different story.’

Ready for the final step, he gives his pan one final cleansing wipe before placing back his blanched and cooled chapatis, one piece at a time.

On these, he spreads butter on the top side, then flips it over and does the same on the lower side. When that is done, he consistently flips the chapati this way and that, never allowing it to sizzle on for too long. He does this till both sides attain a nice, golden finish, and then places the chapati aside to await plating and service. By the time he’s done, the kitchen is awash with that familiar aroma of chapati and it instinctively sends my mouth watering.

With the hotel serving its chapatis in cut up slices, he halves his chapatis, then turns the halves into quarters and then into eighths, which he goes on to neatly arrange on a platter.

‘We serve our chapatis with Indian curries, beef, or chicken stew. But it’s not limited, we can serve it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.’

On a more personal note however, the chef’s favourite pairings include chapati with tea or chapati with milk. Presented with the age-old choice between chapati-beans (mandondo) and chapati-chicken, his answer comes quickly, ‘Chapati with chicken, of course.’

To the taste, chef Ben’s chapatis are sweet and buttery. They tear easily and perfectly compliment the savoury beef stew that he serves it with. Cut up into smaller pieces as they are, my only concern is my wavering self-control.

Absa Bank Kenya has reported a 14.7 percent increase in net profit to Sh16.9 billion for the nine months ended September on lower provisions for bad debts and cheaper cost of funds.

The subsidiary of South Africa-based Absa Group saw its net income rise from Sh14.7 billion a year earlier.

The lender rode on a 39.6 percent cut in provisions for bad debts and 28.5 percent drop in interest paid to customers to shield its profitability against a drop in interest income.

‘Profit after tax grew by 15 percent year-on-year to Sh16.9 billion, supporting a strong return on equity of 24 percent,’ said the bank’s managing director Abdi Mohamed.

‘Revenue closed the quarter at Sh46.6 billion, a marginal decline compared to last year attributable to lower interest rates margins, which saw our net interest income drop by 5 percent. This was, however, offset by prudent management of the cost of funds,’ he added.

Absa’s loan loss provisions fell by Sh3.1 billion or 39.6 percent, resulting in a 13 percent drop in operating expenses covering for lost interest income.

The lower provision was despite the stock of bad loans rising 3.8 percent to 44.3 billion amid a tough economic environment that has seen businesses and individuals struggle to repay their loans.

Absa said the loan provisions have dropped because of debt collection activities especially from corporate borrowers. The lender noted that its small and medium enterprises (SME) portfolio also recorded improved loan repayments.

“Gross non performing ratio has slightly increased due to increased non-performing loans, however this does not result in increased provisions due to sufficiency/cover from securities held,” Absa said.

Banks have been cautious in lending to avoid defaults while businesses have shelved borrowing plans due to high interest rates resulting in the industry loan book remaining stagnant.

Absa’s loan book declined to Sh309.7 billion from Sh311.4 billion a year earlier with interest income from loans falling at a faster rate of 19.6 percent to Sh32.5 billion which was attributed to the shrink in loan book accompanied by lowering of lending rates.

The Central Bank of Kenya has been pressuring banks to lower loan prices by cutting its indicative base rate in the last eight meetings held by the monetary policy committee.

The reduction in interest rates saw the bank lower interest paid to customers to Sh9.5 billion for Sh384.3 billion held in deposits compared to Sh13.3 billion paid out a similar period last year when it was holding Sh351.7 billion deposits.

‘The decline in interest income from loans and advances was driven by a reduction in yields on loans given the general decline in interest rates,’ said Sterling Capital in a note to investors.

‘Unlike its peers, Absa has been passing the entire benefit of lower interest rates to its clients and this may prove to be a key positive in 2026 as the bank feels the resultant impact of lower margins in 2025 while other banks may be recipients of the same impact in 2026 once the application of Kesonia gains steam.”

Increased lending to the government saw Absa record a 53.5 percent jump in interest from Treasury bills and bonds to Sh10.1 billion helping the bank absorb the income loss from lending to the private sector.

The bank also cut other operating expenses -including staff costs by two percent- riding on increased digitisation of processes.

Nairobi Hospital has secured a reprieve from the Labour relations court in a Sh208.3 million employment dispute with its former CEO, Dr Allan Pamba.

This is after the judge blocked Dr Pamba from demanding payment of the entire amount, which he was awarded by court for unfair termination of his contract, pending determination of the hospital’s appeal at the Court of Appeal.

In the conditional stay of execution, the hospital must immediately pay Dr Pamba Sh9 million and deposit Sh27 million as security in a joint interest-earning account within 21 days.

The dispute arose after the court initially ruled in Dr Pamba’s favour on June 19, 2025, awarding him Sh208.3 million, comprising Sh36 million for unfair dismissal and Sh172.35 million for future lost income.

Hired in March 2020 at a monthly salary of Sh3 million, Dr Pamba’s three-year contract was terminated in October the same year on account of alleged unsatisfactory performance.

This was after his appraisal by the board of management chairperson Dr Irungu Ndirangu and the termination came immediately after the end of the probationary period.

He sued, and the Labour Relations Court ruled in his favour, stating that the termination was based on malice and bad faith.

He stated that the alleged unsatisfactory performance was aimed at painting him as a non-performer and to set the stage for his unlawful dismissal.

The hospital, aggrieved by the judgment, moved to the Court of Appeal and sought a stay arguing that immediate payment would cause substantial financial harm.

‘By any parameters, that is a huge sum of money which requires a massive capital chest to meet,’ the court remarked in the ruling.

Dr Pamba had opposed the application, accusing the hospital of attempting to delay justice and insisting that the full decretal sum be secured.

He argued that the hospital’s right of appeal did not override his right to execute the judgment and that the application was meant to frustrate him.

The hospital indicated that it was ready to abide by any conditions imposed by the court.

The court dismissed technical objections, including claims that the hospital’s new lawyers improperly filed the motion without court approval.

While acknowledging procedural gaps, the judge ruled that no prejudice was caused. Citing precedent, the court emphasized balancing the hospital’s right to appeal against Dr Pamba’s entitlement to the judgment’s benefits.

The judge noted the colossal award amount but found no evidence that Dr Pamba lacked means to refund the money if the appeal succeeds.

The hospital had submitted 2023 financial statements to demonstrate solvency and ability to pay the sums as ordered by the court, though Dr Pamba dismissed them as outdated.

He urged the court to disregard the financial statements because they were from two years before the current case.

Ultimately, the court imposed strict conditions to safeguard both parties’ interests, ordering the deposit within 21 days and allowing costs to follow the appeal’s outcome.

Regarding the hospital’s claim that ‘Dr Pamba’s means and sources of income were unknown’ and that it would suffer irreparable harm if execution ensued, the court stated that the institution ‘did not show that he was a person of straw’.

In his case against the hospital, Dr Pamba stated that he was hounded out because of vested interests by one of the Board members at the time, including granting tenders to a certain company.

He highlighted the milestones he achieved while serving the hospital, including adding a seven-bed facility.

Another achievement, he said, was negotiating with the United Nations for a $10 million (Sh1.29 billion) investment for expansion of the facility, though the Board chairperson denied this and claimed that the deal was negotiated by the board members.

The chairperson also denied the assertions made against him by the former CEO, including allegations of repeatedly coercing and threatening him to ensure that a tender for security system installations was awarded to a particular company.

In a three-decade legal battle, a businessman and two companies have sued eight senior judges for allegedly relying on a non-existent court order that allowed KCB to sell a 443-acre coffee farm in Thika to recover unpaid debt.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has also been sued for allegedly shielding judicial officers from accountability.

The petition, filed at the High Court in Nairobi by businessman Kung’u Muigai, Benjoh Amalgamated Limited and Muiri Coffee Estate Limited, seeks an order compelling the JSC to disclose its proceedings and reasons for dismissing their complaint against the judges’ conduct.

The judicial officers – including Supreme Court justices Mohamed Ibrahim, Njoki Ndung’u, and Isaac Lenaola, as well as Court of Appeal judges Milton Asike Makhandia, Kathurima M’Inoti, Sankale Ole Kantai, Francis Tuiyott and John Mativo – have been sued in their personal capacities, in an unprecedented attempt to lift their judicial immunity.

At the heart of the dispute is a contested 1992 consent decree which the petitioners claim was neither signed nor recorded.

They allege that the judges acted in ‘bad faith’ by upholding this decree, which led to the unlawful auction of their land. The case challenges the scope of judicial immunity under Article 160 of the Constitution, arguing that judges who engage in unlawful conduct should not be shielded from legal consequences.

The dispute dates back to 1992, when KCB moved to auction the petitioners’ property due to an alleged loan default.

According to Mr Muigai’s legal team, Muiri Coffee Estates Limited owned the land, while Benjoh Amalgamated Limited had offered titles to two other properties as security for credit facilities.

The petitioners claim that KCB relied on a fabricated consent decree dated May 4, 1992 to justify the sale.

In 1997, Justice Erastus Githinji reportedly ruled that no such consent existed. However, a 1998 appellate bench of three judges overturned this decision – a ruling which the petitioners are now questioning, noting that all three judges later faced queries related to their suitability to serve in the Judiciary.

Despite subsequent appeals, later benches – including Justices Isaac Lenaola (2004), Milton Asike-Makhandia, Kathurima M’Inoti, Sankale Ole Kantai, and John Mativo (in 2017 and 2024) – reaffirmed KCB’s position based on the disputed decree, resulting in the loss of the land.

The petitioners argue that these rulings lacked evidence and violated their constitutional rights to property (Article 40), fair administrative action (Article 47), and a fair hearing (Article 50).

Their advocate contends that judicial immunity must be ‘transformatively interpreted’ to exclude ‘manifestly illegal, unconstitutional, and unlawful acts.’ The advocate questions whether Kenyans should bear losses caused by judicial impunity without recourse.

The petitioners accuse the JSC of failing to investigate their complaints despite submitting a petition between October 2024 and August 2025.

On August 7, 2025, the JSC dismissed their petitions without explanation, raising concerns over judicial accountability.

The petition argues that this undermines constitutional oversight, and violates Articles 172 (judicial accountability) and 50 (fair hearing).

‘The JSC’s refusal to probe these allegations or disclose the judges’ responses undermines constitutional oversight,’ the petition argues.

Central to the case is whether judicial immunity under Article 160(5), which protects judges for actions taken in ‘good faith’, extends to unlawful conduct.

The petitioners assert that reliance on a non-existent decree constitutes ‘unlawful judicial function’ and should not be shielded.

They are seeking declarations that the 1992 consent decree is invalid, that the judges violated constitutional rights, and that the JSC neglected its oversight duties.

Additionally, they demand clarity on whether judicial immunity covers ‘unlawful’ acts.

The case has been filed under a certificate of urgency and requests a three-judge bench to address these ‘substantial and novel’ constitutional issues. The matter is scheduled for mention on November 26, 2025, to confirm responses and set hearing directions.

Kenya’s leading utility firms are rapidly phasing out manual systems in favour of digital platforms in customer service, with entities such as Kenya Power and Nairobi Water being the latest to adopt automation, to streamline onboarding and billing processes.

Kenya Power has revamped its MyPower App and the USSD *977# platform while Nairobi Water has shifted all customer applications and billing to online portals, marking a full-scale transformation in how citizens access essential services.

The two utilities say digital tools are improving turnaround time for applications payments and complaints, while eliminating queues and paperwork that previously defined customer interactions across electricity and water offices.

Last month, Kenya Power updated the MyPower App to allow customers to manage multiple accounts, buy tokens, as well as track usage, while its AI-powered chatbot Nuru, now handles real-time queries through its website and social media channels.

Nairobi Water, on its part, has introduced full online onboarding for new customers, while sending bills exclusively through email and SMS, ending the paper trail that sustained decades of manual processing.

‘We are embracing digital transformation to make Nairobi Water a smart utility for a smart city. Technology is helping us improve efficiency, reduce losses and enhance convenience for our customers,’ said acting Managing Director Martin Nang’ole.

A latest audit report shows that during the year to June 2024, 76 public water companies across the country lost Sh15.9 billion on water not billed to customers, revealing the burden the service providers face due to the use of outdated equipment and illegal connections.

The firms are leveraging digital tools to achieve operational efficiency by linking data management systems with customer accounts, allowing faster validation of consumption patterns and improving the accuracy of billing records.

At Nairobi Water, executives describe digital monitoring as essential to reducing non-revenue water losses, which have historically drained resources from expansion and maintenance budgets.

Kenya Power’s customer interactions through MyPower App hit 2.02 million during the year to June 2025, while its USSD requests stood at 1.84 million, indicating rising preference for self-service platforms.

The increased uptake has reduced customer calls by about 900,000, underscoring the impact of automation in cutting pressure on contact centres and lowering administrative overheads that have long inflated costs.

Kenya Power Board Director Ruth Muiruri has linked customer convenience to better collections, saying predictable and responsive service builds trust and stabilises revenue for future infrastructure investments.

‘We are keenly listening to the feedback from our customers to develop products and strategies that empower them to engage with us proactively, because we know when customers are happy, they pay willingly, losses reduce, revenues grow and our financial position strengthens,’ she said last month during the launch.

Nairobi Water says digitising its application processes has also removed manual bottlenecks, making it easier for developers and investors to secure connections needed for construction approvals and property occupation permits.

By going digital, the utilities are reorganising the commercial ecosystem that once depended on paper transactions and physical billing networks that were chiefly managed by the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK).

Posta Kenya has, over the years, earned steady commissions as a billing agent for major utilities, processing payments at post office counters before online channels disrupted that revenue stream.

PCK’s dwindling revenues have seen the corporation turn to cost cutting drives in recent years, including layoffs, to remain afloat.

On their part, the utilities reap a range of dividends from the digital shift, including lowered transaction costs faster reconciliation of receipts and reduced human error which, together, improve revenue assurance and shrink the window for leakage or fraud.

Reduced dependence on paper billing also means lower printing distribution and archiving expenses, which historically burdened both parastatals and their payment agents.

The initial rollout, however, demands sustained investment in software, system security and staff training to maintain uptime and prevent cyber disruptions that could paralyse customer billing cycles.

Kenya Power and Nairobi Water have retained USSD services to accommodate users without smartphones, ensuring that essential functions like payments and inquiries remain accessible to those outside internet coverage zones.

Globally, the debate over full digitisation has intensified, with Europe’s Ryanair recently scrapping printed boarding passes to cut costs and accelerate boarding for its 206 million passengers.

The airline’s move, which mirrored the Kenyan utilities’ argument for efficiency, has since provoked criticism over accessibility for older travellers or those without smartphones, highlighting a familiar tension between convenience and inclusion.

Consumer advocates warn that Kenyan utilities face similar risks if digital systems entirely replace physical channels without adequate safeguards for the digitally marginalised.

Asset financing firm M-Kopa Kenya Limited now alleges that its co-founder and former chief financial officer (CFO) Chad Larson intends to undermine the company’s progress as he takes his shareholding dispute to the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).

The Kenyan unit of the London-based M-Kopa Holdings said the legal actions initiated by Mr Larson, including the latest petition to the CMA, are not about defending African employees, but rather to disrupt the company’s success.

This follows Mr Larson’s social media post of a letter he had written to CMA’s chief executive officer Wycliffe Shammiah, asking the authority to review M-Kopa’s share pricing as Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation seeks to buy out existing shareholders.

Mr Larson owns a one percent stake in M-Kopa and served as its first CFO until 2018. The firm says Mr Larson left after losing confidence in the company and has since ‘worked against M-Kopa as a board director and paid adviser for a direct competitor.’

Another co-founder, Nick Hughes, has also left the company to start a new venture. Of the three co-founders, only Jesse Moore remains.

M-Kopa turned a net profit of Sh1.2 billion for the first-time last year, after more than a decade of losses.

In a statement, M-Kopa called Mr Larson’s allegations as ‘baseless’ and argued that his interventions often coincided with critical business periods. The company claims that this pattern suggests coordinated attempts to hinder its progress rather than real grievances or genuine concern for its Kenyan employees.

‘Mr Larson is also repeating his baseless allegations in the media, including by sending a letter to the CMA and leaking a copy publicly. The company strongly denies the baseless claims made by Mr Larson in court and in the media more broadly,’ M-Kopa said.

In his letter to the CMA dated November 6, Mr Larson claimed that the valuation used to determine the buyback price for Kenyan employees ‘appears biased, manipulated and grossly inconsistent with the company’s actual market position and recent financial performance.’

He told the regulator that ‘the offer being presented to these employees is unreasonably low and not reflective of the fair value of M-Kopa,’ alleging that it is about 95 percent below the level he believes is fair.

The claims relate to the ongoing Series F funding round that M-Kopa is discussing with Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese trading firm seeking to increase its stake following a capital injection of Sh4.7 billion in 2023.

CMA told Business Daily that the matter is not within its purview as the company is not listed in Kenya.

According to Mr Larson, M-Kopa should be valued at between $4 billion (Sh518 billion) and $10 billion (Sh1.3 trillion), which would make it more valuable than Safaricom, Kenya’s largest listed company.

‘His claims that M-Kopa should be valued at four to 10 billion dollars are demonstrably false. Ten billion dollars would equal the combined value of Kenya’s two largest publicly traded companies,’ M-Kopa said.

Mr Larson had previously gone to court seeking an injunction on the funding round on similar grounds. M-Kopa claims that he withdrew the case due to ‘inaccuracies in his sworn evidence.’

He was also unable to convince the court that his case was not related to a separate lawsuit filed by former M-Kopa employee Elizabeth Njoki, who alleges racial bias in the shareholding scheme for Kenyan staff.

Ms Njoki is suing M-Kopa over what she describes as a racially biased employee shareholding scheme that has been restructured to give employees of African descent lower-valued shares. She claims that their portion has been diluted from 27 percent in 2019 to seven percent today.

M-Kopa had previously requested that the Employment and Labour Relations Court dismiss the case on the grounds that shareholder agreements must be heard in UK courts since the company is incorporated in England.

In response to Mr Larson’s approach to the CMA, the company now claims that the regulator also lacks jurisdiction. ‘The transaction referred to in the letter relates to private share sales in a UK company between willing third-party buyers and sellers that do not fall under Kenyan CMA regulation,’ M-Kopa said.

Africa remains an alluring land brimming with economic opportunity. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently found that nine of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024 are African.

Play Video

Our continent is projected to account for over half of global population growth by 2050. All this and we boast a median age of only 19, making this one of the most dynamic regions in terms of market potential and workforce expansion.

For investors, these fundamentals are compelling. Yet recent retrenchments by multinationals have sent mixed signals: a sobering reminder of Africa’s operational complexity, but also a wake-up call for smarter, better-prepared expansion strategies.

Africa certainly hasn’t lost its viability, so investors are forced to confront the complexity head-on. High-growth potential still defines many African markets. But as the policy and regulatory environment evolves, the margin for error is shrinking.

Companies are increasingly aware that a successful African strategy requires far more than a compelling business model.

What we’re seeing now is a move away from the idea that you can replicate a global playbook here. You have to take the time to understand each jurisdiction on its own terms – i.e. laws, political climate, and institutional realities.

The intricacies of doing business in Africa are hardly new. But what has shifted in recent years is the pace of regulatory change. From local content rules to ESG reporting obligations and the digitisation of tax systems, many African governments are tightening compliance regimes and modernising their frameworks.

While this is a welcome shift in terms of governance and transparency, it can also create uncertainty for companies that lack local insight. There’s a definite increase in red tape, but also in expectations. Yes, governments want investment.

But they also want it on terms that serve their national development goals and agenda. That means businesses need to be smarter and more agile to African change.

One of the more promising developments is the slow but steady implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.

This has sparked optimism around the possibility of greater regulatory harmonisation. Yet for now, investors must still navigate the continent’s legal patchwork. Labour laws in Zambia won’t match those in Kenya. Exchange control restrictions in Angola won’t reflect those in Ghana. Understanding the business climate means understanding the law and how it is applied in practice.

This is where deep local insight becomes a competitive advantage. The difference between successful and failed expansion often comes down to how well a business reads the local environment, not just the statutes, but the soft infrastructure around them.

Enforcement, access to regulators, court efficiency and even social licence to operate all matter, making the journey a lot more complicated.

In response to this increasingly complex operating environment, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr recently released its 2025 Africa Corporate Guide.

While not the primary focus of the story, the guide leverages the firm’s extensive experience across 18 jurisdictions to provide businesses with a clearer understanding of regulatory landscapes, sectoral nuances and practical pathways for market entry and compliance. It’s not a silver bullet, but a reminder that in Africa, knowledge isn’t just power, it’s protection.

It’s not just foreign investors who need this level of insight. African companies themselves, especially those scaling across borders, contend with the same challenges.

There’s a massive amount of intra-African activity happening from regional expansion to mergers, to cross-listings, and beyond. These businesses are just as in need of strategic legal guidance, and in many cases, they’re more agile in how they respond to local dynamics.

The risk narrative surrounding Africa has always been a dominant one, but it rarely presents the whole picture.

For those willing to invest the time and resources into understanding the contours of local law and policy, the continent still offers some of the world’s most compelling growth stories. But that growth depends not just on optimism, but on insight.

In this climate, success is less about bold moves and more about informed moves. It’s not about whether Africa is open for business – we have been open for a while now. This all comes down to whether businesses are prepared to meet Africa on its varied terms.

Although geographically separated, China and Kenya share a profound cultural resonance.

Play Video

Ubuntu, the African philosophy centered on the idea that “I am because you are”, focuses on collective coexistence and harmonious inclusiveness, highlighting the close connection between individuals and society. This core spirit is highly consistent with the concepts of “benevolence” and “harmony within diversity” in traditional Chinese culture.

For the event, 2025 Kenya “China Animated Film Festival” opened grandly at the Confucius Institute of the University of Nairobi on November 11, 2025, the organisers selected six excellent animated works that feature both Chinese aesthetic characteristics and the spirit of the times.

Chang An is an epic story of the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty through its multi-dimensional characters and striking Tang-style aesthetics. New Gods: Yang Jian reinterprets the Creation of The Gods myths from a fresh perspective, integrating oriental fantasy with top-tier visual effects, opening a window for Kenyan audiences to understand China’s traditional mythological system.

White Snake and White Snake 2: Green Snake form a complete narrative about female growth-ranging from the timeless love between Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian to Xiao Qing’s self-awakening in the crucible of conflicts.

I Am What I Am 2 combines traditional Chinese martial arts with modern combat, demonstrating the spiritual essence of Chinese lion dance culture while depicting ordinary people’s perseverance and struggle in the face of hardships.

Boonie Bears: Future Reborn adopts a time-travel sci-fi setting to expose the profound crisis of environmental pollution, conveying the universal values of solidarity, responsibility and safeguarding one’s homeland.

These works show the richness of Chinese culture and the production standards of contemporary Chinese animation from various angles, and also offer Kenyan audiences a new way to learn about Chinese culture.

The exhibition area of the film festival took “New Chinese Chic” as its core design concept. The main exhibition area created an oriental artistic conception of “Splendid China” through the use of iconic Chinese landscape elements: lucid waters, lush mountains, and crimson cloud patterns.

Meanwhile, the photo zone incorporated Kenyan geometric totems and bright colours, forming a visual echo between the two cultures.

Through the colour layout that embodies the concept of “prosper individually and collectively”, the exhibition area directly promotes cultural communication and resonance.

While boosting film and cultural exchanges, China UnionPay, the sponsoring brand of the festival, has continued to expand its payment service layout in Africa. At present, UnionPay cards are accepted in 51 countries and regions across Africa, with basically full coverage at merchants and ATM terminals in Kenya and other regions.

As the sponsoring brand of this film festival, China UnionPay has supported outstanding Chinese animated works in entering the African market, thereby forging a new bridge for cultural exchanges between China and Africa through the art of film.

The festival was co-hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Kenya, the Kenya Film Commission and the China Film Archive and organised by four Confucius Institutes in Kenya.