Category: Business Daily

Savings and credit cooperatives (saccos) have cut dividend payouts and increased cash reserves to cover unexpected losses, pointing to the outcomes of heightened regulatory scrutiny that barred the societies from paying unrealistic dividends and bonuses to members.

Latest regulatory disclosures show that the capital adequacy ratio for deposit-taking (DT) Saccos edged up to 17.8 percent in the year ended June 2025 from 17.67 percent a year earlier, while that of non-withdrawable deposit-taking (NWDT)saccos rose to 18.52 percent from 10.88 percent.

The capital adequacy ratio for saccos is a measure of financial strength that indicates the amount of capital a cooperative has in relation to the risks it has assumed through loans and other assets. The ratio indicates whether a sacco has sufficient capital to absorb losses without jeopardising members’ savings.

The latest ratios are above the 16.29 percent for DTs and 8.16 percent for NWDTs that Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra) had set for the sector during the review period.

‘Targets surpassed due to increased income retention by saccos and regulatory restrictions on dividend payments,’ says Sasra in disclosures to the Treasury ahead of preparation for the 2026-27 budget.

This signals that more saccos are heeding the regulator’s call for a more conservative balance sheet management.

Sasra, together with the Ministry of Co-operatives and the Commissioner of Co-operatives, have been pushing for improved capital planning, provisioning and investment governance. This pressure has forced saccos to step up their capital buffers.

Last year, the three directed sacco officials to stop paying unrealistic bonuses, dividends and interest, fuelling financial distress and insolvency or risk penalties and jail terms. They cautioned saccos against exaggerating income and loan interest to book higher surpluses and pay dividends.

The call for stronger capital buffers was amplified after the disclosure that saccos were staring at losing more than Sh8.8 billion after their umbrella body, Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (Kuscco), suffered Sh13.3 billion fraud.

The improved capital buffers suggest that NWDTs were under pressure to correct capital shortfalls quickly, especially after the Kuscco-related turbulence.

Unlike DT saccos, which already operate under relatively stringent capital rules, NWDT institutions have historically lagged in meeting capital guidelines due to their smaller size and limited revenue diversification.

Larger, well-capitalised saccos with diversified loan books are expected to continue building buffers comfortably. However, smaller societies may face difficulty balancing capital retention with member expectations for returns in a sector where members are traditionally accustomed to generous payouts.

‘We are going to sustain regulatory intervention to sustain stability. The value proposition that saccos offer members goes beyond dividends and rebates.

Members enjoy loans at cheaper rates in comparison to other financial service providers and should not pressure for higher returns,’ said Sasra acting CEO David Sandagi told the Business Daily.

‘Several saccos were leveraging on external borrowing to pay dividends and rebates, leading to a mismatch between the cost of borrowing these loans and repaying. This led to improper accounting, leading to inflated revenues to cover such shortfalls.’

Lower payouts have allowed saccos to retain more earnings, strengthening their core capital positions at a time when lending risks remain elevated.

Sacco supervision annual report released in September showed saccos cut the average rate of dividends on share capital to 10.46 percent in the year ended December 2024 as they prioritised building stronger capital buffers over higher payouts to members.

The average rate of dividends on share capital dropped from the previous year’s 10.92 percent, marking the first time in three years that the payout has dropped.

The reduced distribution on share capital came in the period, saccos also reduced the average interest on deposits to 7.14 percent from 7.45 percent in the previous year.

The conservative approach to dividend and interest payment resulted in a marked increase in the capital reserves and retained earnings, which grew by 17.55 percent in 2024 to reach Sh197.54 billion compared with a growth rate of just 6.92 percent in 2023.

Despite the drop in distribution to members in percentage terms, there was a growth in payout in absolute terms, with the figure rising by 8.5 percent to Sh59.74 billion last year from Sh55.06 billion in 2023.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has dismissed a petition by former Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) CEO Ahmed Farah, who sought to overturn his termination, alleging unfair dismissal and constitutional violations.

In its ruling, the court found that Mr Farah’s claims were contractual disputes improperly framed as constitutional grievances, rendering his petition legally unsustainable.

‘The dispute about fairness of the termination of the probationary service was a contractual issue not importing a constitutional intervention and remedy,’ ruled the judge.

Mr Farah, appointed CEO in November 2024 on a three-year contract with a six-month probationary period, was terminated on April 17, 2025, days before his probation lapsed on May 1.

KNCCI cited poor performance as justification for the termination and that its revenue streams decreased during his tenure as its CEO.

He sued, claiming his dismissal was politically motivated, procedurally flawed, an abuse of power, and in violation of his constitutional rights.

He applied for various orders including reinstatement, an award of damages and an order compelling KCCI to submit its financial accounts to an independent forensic auditor for the period from November 2024 to the date of the audit.

He accused the KNCCI board of converting a performance appraisal meeting into a disciplinary hearing without notice, denying him a fair chance to defend himself.

However, the court found Mr Farah’s constitutional arguments unconvincing. The court noted that Mr Farah failed to provide specifics on how his termination breached constitutional rights.

‘The allegations of rights violations were extremely remote,’ the judge stated, citing a legal principle that bars constitutional petitions where ordinary legal remedies exist.

KNCCI defended its decision, asserting Mr Farah was terminated for poor performance after scoring 44% in an appraisal.

The board claimed he failed to submit a self-assessment as instructed.

They also disputed his claim of defamation, arguing their press release merely confirmed his termination after he announced his departure on social media. The organization argued that his petition was an afterthought.

‘The relationship between him and the respondents has irretrievably broken down,’ said KNCCI’s advocate opposing Mr Farah’s reinstatement bid. ‘He has also failed to prove the allegations of loss of income, reputational harm and emotional distress.’

Crucially, the court upheld KNCCI’s argument that Mr Farah’s acceptance of terminal dues via a signed discharge voucher prevented him from further claims.

With no evidence of defamation or contractual breaches, the judge dismissed all reliefs sought, including reinstatement, damages, and orders for a forensic audit.

He had also sought an order KNCCI to publicly retract the press release issued by the agency announcing his termination.

‘The petitioner neither pleaded nor established through evidence that the respondent had breached the probationary termination clause of the contract of service or the relevant provisions of the Employment Act on termination of probationary service,’ stated the judgement.

Social security systems around the world face a ‘polycrisis’: ageing populations, expanding informal labour markets, and rapid digital disruption at an unprecedented scale, all dramatically changing the retirement landscape.

According to the International Social Security Association’s (ISSA) Social Security Developments and Trends – Global 2025 report, Africa continues to hold the position of the world’s youngest continent, with a median age below 20.

The report notes that Africa should be urgently investing in opportunities for its youthful population, cautioning that it must also start preparing for an ageing future that is inevitable.

The challenge of youth unemployment and future pension adequacy requires foresight. Notably, the report shows that informality, which averages 80 percent of the African workforce, severely undermines pension coverage and fiscal sustainability.

Millions of Africans, particularly in the informal sector, fall into the ‘missing middle,’ or are excluded from both contributory and tax-financed systems.

This dual reality is echoed in other studies. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Working Paper on Pensions in Africa (Stewart and Yermo), underscores that most African pension systems are still in their nascent stages, characterised by low coverage, limited administrative capacity and fragmented regulatory frameworks.

Kenya’s Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) 2024 report, Securing Tomorrow: Key Findings on the State of Kenya’s Retirement Benefits Sector, highlights the urgency of reforms to expand coverage and leverage pension assets as a driver of domestic investment.

In Zimbabwe, the Insurance and Pensions Commission’s 2025 sector review draws attention to how macro-economic volatility continues to erode pension adequacy, emphasising the need for regional stability and policy harmonisation.

Retirement security has acquired unparalleled urgency across the continent, with pension schemes holding not only retirees’ dignity but also pushing to be among the engines of sustainable economic development and inclusive growth.

A clear rationale exists for a Pan-African pensions dialogue. There is need for collective solutions in creating investment linkages, sharing data, harmonising regulatory frameworks and innovations that expand coverage and improve scheme governance.

The Public Service Superannuation Fund-led Pan-African Pensions Conference will emphasise the call for resilient systems that can anticipate and adapt to shocks by strengthening governance frameworks, investing in robust data systems and building crisis-ready organisations, able to maintain continuity of benefits under any circumstance.

Through cross-country collaboration, African funds can share strategies for risk management, digital continuity and inter-agency coordination-themes ISSA identifies as crucial to institutional resilience.

This dialogue builds on the experience and initiatives of other pension players, including the just-concluded All Africa Pensions Summit 2025 hosted by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda.

The Summit flagged Africa’s development financing gaps at the tune of $1.3 trillion, with pension capital across the continent estimated at between $700 billion. The core proposals focused on the mobilisation of this pension capital as a strategic engine for infrastructure, energy, industrialisation and affordable housing.

One of the most striking insights from ISSA’s Global 2025 report is the persistent coverage gap: now that more than half of the world’s population enjoys at least one social protection benefit, Africa lags far behind, with only 19 percent of people accessing any form of social protection compared with over 80 percent in Europe.

To that end, one of the major challenges-but also an opportunity for Africa lies in the expansion of pension coverage in the informal sector. Some new models already offer replicable blueprints, such as Kenya’s Haba Haba micro-pension scheme or Rwanda’s Ejo Heza long-term savings platform.

The Pan-African Pensions Conference seeks to spur peer learning and cross-border replication of such innovations, informed by ISSA’s global evidence on extending coverage through mobile payments, simplified registration and flexible contributions.

In essence, the core of the Pan-African Pensions Conference is shared learning and continental solidarity. Indeed, ISSA research indicates that regions that institutionalise collaboration through multilateral social security agreements and learning platforms, have greater modernisation and expansion of coverage.

However, Africa still lags behind other regions, with only 18 percent of countries participating in multilateral social security agreements.

The conference accordingly seeks to reverse this through the promotion of dialogue on portable pensions, bilateral agreements and harmonised policy frameworks, that would make it possible for African workers to retain their benefits across borders.

In a continent so affected by migration, regional integration and cross-border employment, portability allows for equity and inclusion.

As such, the PSSF Pan-African Pensions Conference is part of a larger global movement aligned with ISSA’s call for “strong institutions capable of harnessing technology and human capital to extend protection to all,” seeing social security not as a cost but a strategic investment in stability, productivity and dignity.

Taking a cue from the ISSA Global 2025 report, the message is straightforward: if pension schemes are to remain relevant, then they need to change with the times.

In the case of Africa, this change is collaborative, forward-looking and uniquely African, blending traditional solidarity with modern governance and innovation.

For Kenya’s affluent class, protecting legacy wealth increasingly means looking beyond the country’s borders, often to offshore jurisdictions.

For decades, the ultra-wealthy have relied on foreign destinations to safeguard their fortunes through various structures, including trust funds. Jersey, the Isle of Man, and the British Virgin Islands once dominated this map of financial secrecy.

And even though Kenya overhauled its trust laws in December 2021, in reforms praised by experts as ‘leveling the playing field,’ the tide has barely shifted. The wealthy continue to look outward, drawn to the same offshore havens that have long catered to global wealth.

Nevertheless, he notes that one of the major incentives of setting up a trust in Kenya is the tax exemptions, especially on property transfers.

‘There are many benefits to setting up a trust in Kenya, but Mauritius still holds an edge in the incentives it offers compared to Kenya. Neither Kenya nor Mauritius currently imposes an estate duty or inheritance tax. However, in Kenya, unlike Mauritius costs still arise when transferring assets in the form of capital gain tax. This means wealth can be transferred to heirs without incurring an additional tax burden upon death,’ adds Mr Muriithi.

According to Patrick Juma, a wealth advisor at Britam, the preference for offshore trusts is also rooted in history.

‘For years, there were few institutions in Kenya handling trust funds, coupled with the lack of information to the public about trusts. It’s this limited capacity that pushed many wealthy Kenyans abroad to Switzerland and Mauritius, and that has become, sort of, a culture to this date,’ he says.

Mr Juma maintains that, despite several Kenyan companies rushing to set up the trust funds in recent years, many wealthy Kenyans are yet to have full trust in these fresh institutions.

‘Many wealthy Kenyans worry these new local trust institutions lack the experience and stability of their offshore counterparts. They fear collapse or mismanagement. Offshore jurisdictions, meanwhile, have long-established trust industries,’ he explains.

Another driver, Mr Juma notes, is taxation implications in most African countries.

‘Most African countries have complex and heavier tax implications on financial structures,’ says Mr Juma.

But even with Kenya’s improved laws, he points out that legal disputes remain another major reason wealthy families choose offshore trusts.

‘Kenyans are very strategic and very litigious. We’ve seen families fight for years over wealth. Offshore trusts protect heirs from forced heirship claims and reduce litigation risk.’ he adds.

Kenya’s courts have seen some of the longest-running succession battles in Africa. Two notable cases involve the estates of influential politicians Mbiu Koinange and JM Kariuki. The Koinange estate case has dragged on for more than four decades, while the dispute over JM Kariuki’s estate lasted 38 years.

According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority, it is estimated that 20-30 percent of estate value is often lost during succession due to legal costs, disputes, probate delays, and poor planning.

A family trust can bypass Kenya’s long, complex, and often expensive probate process. Trust assets remain outside probate, enabling faster and smoother transfer to beneficiaries, but even then, Mr Juma notes that the probate delays always become a hindrance.

The shilling has weakened to its lowest level versus the dollar in over six months, as dollar supply in the market dipped on Friday, breaking a five-month run that saw the local currency remain static at between Sh129.23 and Sh129.26 against the US currency.

Official data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that the local unit traded at an average of Sh129.35 on Friday, with commercial banks indicating that it had edged lower to an average of Sh129.38 by Monday afternoon.

Before the marginal decline in the last three trading sessions, the dollar was trading within a tight band of between Sh129.23 and Sh129.24 since June.

In that period, the market was characterised by ample supply of dollars, which reduced pressure on the shilling while also allowing the CBK a window to bulk up on its dollar reserves through open market purchases.

Traders however reported that the availability of dollars in the market tightened from the latter part of last week, hence the shilling’s marginal weakening by about 0.1 percent.

‘Dollar supply tightened from Thursday. We are waiting to see whether the regulator will intervene in the market with any sales,’ said a dealer in a commercial bank, who added that the market was fairly balanced at the beginning of last week.

The shilling’s prolonged run at the 129 range, while good for businesses due to predictability of costs and earnings, has raised concerns recently from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it was interfering with inflation targeting.

However, the IMF did not give further details on its position that the shilling is overly stable against the dollar.

Kenya, as a member of the IMF, has obligations on its exchange rate dealings where it is required to to allow market forces to influence the currency market. In turn the IMF is tasked with overseeing the international monetary system to ensure its effective operation, a role that includes surveillance of members’ respective exchange rate policies.

The stability against the dollar is in contrast with the shilling’s performance against other major global currencies, having for instance depreciated by 4.6 per cent versus the British pound and 10.5 percent against the euro since the beginning of the year.

The shilling was stuck at the same level against the dollar despite the US currency becoming weaker globally this year, improved balance of payment receipts for Kenya and higher official forex reserves.

Earlier this year, the National Treasury disclosed that the CBK was taking advantage of the friendly market conditions to buy dollars from the market, which was also preventing further strengthening of the currency. The regulator’s position however remains that Kenya has a flexible rate policy, and it only intervenes to iron out volatility.

Speaking earlier this month, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said that the shilling would have strengthened to about 118 to the dollar if it had been allowed free movement in the face of improved dollar inflows.

By the end of last week, the CBK’s official forex reserves stood at a record high of $12.29 billion (Sh1.59 trillion), having risen by a third or Sh400 billion from $9.19 billion (Sh1.19 trillion) at the beginning of this year.

The Affordable Housing Board delivered less than 2,000 units for occupation in the year ended June 2025, making up a small fraction of the 200,000 homes the government aims to build annually under President William Ruto’s flagship project.

Fresh data shows that 1,795 finished units were put on market in the period, with 93 percent of those houses being snapped against a 50 percent target set by the Board.

The sluggish pace of actual construction contrasts with the performance of the housing levy; the 1.5 percent mandatory deduction on monthly pay that employers are required to match.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Sh73.2 billion in the review year, a report by the National Treasury showed earlier, exceeding the government’s target of Sh63.2 billion by Sh10 billion.

Just three projects were completed in the year under review, comprising 1,080 units in Nairobi’s Mukuru and 110 units in Homa Bay which were both fully occupied, while 605 houses at Bondeni in Nakuru got an occupancy rate of 80 percent.

The report adds that the target for potential homeowners was missed, with 292,326 Kenyans registering on the Boma Yangu portal against a target of 565,800.

‘Target [on affordable housing access was] over achieved. More people than anticipated purchased the completed houses. Target (of potential home owners was) not achieved. Fewer people than anticipated registered on Boma Yangu,’ the Board wrote in Sector Budget Proposal Report for FY 2026/27 submitted to the National Treasury.

The numbers reveal a massive shortfall in overall delivery of affordable units in the second year of implementation of Dr Ruto’s signature project, with the output representing less than a percentage of the annual goal of 200,000 units.

The Sh73.2 billion collected in the year to June represented a 35 per cent rise from the Sh54.2 billion realised in the first full year of the levy to June 2024, when collections narrowly missed the Sh54.6 billion target following a three-month suspension of deductions after courts declared the initial framework unconstitutional.

Despite the robust inflows, disbursement to construction projects has lagged, owing to the phased nature of approvals and development timelines for building of the houses.

A report tabled in Parliament in May by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, showed that more than Sh30 billion in proceeds from the housing levy was unspent at the time and had been placed in Treasury bills.

This means nearly half of the collections had been temporarily parked in short-term government securities ranging from three to 12 months as the Board awaited the readiness by the projects to absorb the cash.

‘It is not prudent even as government to have money lying idle in an account.

‘The money is safe, fully invested in government securities and the accounts we are operating are Central Bank of Kenya accounts, which have full sight of the government on every expenditure,’ the Board acting Chief Executive Sheila Waweru said in an interview early this year.

‘So we are able to put the money in Treasury bills as a manager of the [affordable housing] fund and it brings in additional money, say Sh2 billion, and that enables us to put up more units. This is a measure for prudent management of the fund.’

The housing levy is a central pillar of the broader affordable housing rpoject, which seeks to provide housing solutions across income segments. The segments are social houses for those earning below Sh20,000 a month, affordable units for workers earning between Sh20,000 and Sh149,000, and middle-income affordable housing for those with salaries above Sh149,000.

The Treasury has set a more ambitious levy collection target of Sh95.84 billion for the financial year ending June 2026, banking on expanded coverage and stronger enforcement.

The Affordable Housing Act 2024 ring-fenced housing levy funds to be spent on building of houses under a special fund, to avoid diversion to other projects in the past where cash meant for stabilisation of fuel prices were, for example, spent on road projects.

The Act also cured the defects identified by the courts and expanded the levy to include workers in the informal sector. The government is, however, yet to roll out a structured mechanism for collecting contributions from the informal sector, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Kenya’s labour force.

Firms operating in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) tripled new hiring to 12,069 in the year ended June on the back of opening of new companies and growth in exports prior to the expiry of duty-free window for shipping goods to the US.

Data from the State Department of Trade shows the number of new workers in these economic zones rose from 4,142, surpassing the 8,000 that had been targeted for the review period.

‘The achievement was mainly attributed to new firms, which continued to recruit as the production process advanced and also the expansion of the employment base by the existing enterprises,’ said the department in disclosures to the National Treasury.

However, these zones, which cumulatively employ over 70,000 people, face sustainability test following the expiry of the window that allows duty-free access of African goods to the US market.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has been supporting some of the EPZ firms. The expiry of the 25-year-old trade agreement, which provided duty-free access to the US market for many African products, expired on September 30, 2025.

The expiry of Agoa exposed exporters to a 10 percent tariff that took effect on August 2 under US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs measure.

There were 32 new EPZ enterprises that were licensed in the year to June compared with the targeted 20. This was a rise from 12 that joined in the prior financial year. The State department said the target was surpassed due to the rigorous promotion activities and more inquiries turning into actual projects.

EPZ firms are supervised by the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) and enjoy a range of attractive fiscal, physical and procedural incentives including a 10-year corporate and withholding tax holiday as well as a 100 percent investment deduction on new investments.

The review period saw EPZ firms export goods valued Sh126 billion, an 8.9 percent rise from Sh115.71 billion in the previous period. The value of local purchases from these zones hit Sh20 billion from Sh16.58 billion a year earlier.

Increased exports were linked due to higher shipments in the garments and agro-processing sectors. However, local purchases missed the targeted Sh21.5 billion due to a shortage of raw materials such as avocado and cashew nuts in the local market.

Garments account for 50.3 percent of exports from EPZ, followed by agro-processing (21.2 percent) and food processing (9.2 percent).

EPZ firms are also granted perpetual exemption from payment of stamp duty on legal instruments as well as payment of value-added tax and customs import duty on inputs. In the year ended June 2025, EPZs attracted Sh26 billion as new direct investments-above the targeted Sh12 billion and a growth from Sh15.82 billion.

The State department said the new investments surpassed the target due to the expansion of the existing companies and new entrants.

EPZA also offers incentives to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exporters with the majority of local Kenyan shareholding desiring to be set up under the EPZA programme.

Firms under these zones enjoy perpetual exemption from payment of stamp duty on legal instruments and from value added tax and customs import duty on inputs. Companies applying to operate under EPZ enjoy faster approval since they only require EPZA licensing with unrestricted investment by foreigners.

SMEs from sectors such as horticulture, food processing, textile and apparel, leather and commercial crafts are offered customized infrastructure with smaller warehouses and excused from paying rent for four months.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) cautioned in September that many African economies will lose export competitiveness in the US market without the renewal of Agoa.

‘This sudden jump in tariffs could disrupt long-standing trade relations and severely disadvantage African exporters, particularly in highly protected sectors like textiles and apparel, where Agoa has so far provided critical market access,’ said UNCTAD.

The UN agency said that Kenya would see its trade-weighted average US tariff nearly triple, jumping from 10 percent to 28 percent. It said Africa’s only hope would be to accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

However, it said, such a readjustment would be challenging and require considerable time.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Africans travel thousands of miles away to India, the Middle East, or Europe in search of medical care.

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The African Export-Import Bank estimates that as much as $7 billion leaves the continent annually for medical treatment abroad. Each year, an estimated 300,000 Africans travel to India alone for healthcare.

This is not just a loss of revenue, it is a loss of trust, of opportunity, and of dignity for the continent. It reflects the deep-seated belief that quality healthcare can only be found elsewhere.

For decades, far too many Africans have looked beyond the continent when illness strikes, not because they want to, but because they often feel they have no choice. This is because, in many African countries, there are not enough specialists or advanced facilities to handle complex conditions such as cancer, cardiac disease, or organ transplants.

Even where expertise exists, the supporting technology or infrastructure may not.

Patients often face uncertainty, not knowing whether the hospital they visit will meet international standards for safety, infection control, or treatment outcomes. This inconsistency erodes confidence and pushes those who can afford it to seek treatment abroad.

Despite Africa’s geographic closeness, there are challenges with connectivity between countries.

Visa restrictions, lack of referral systems, and poor air connectivity make it easier for patients in some countries to fly to Asia or Europe than to fellow African countries.

Additionally, many believe treatment abroad is cheaper, yet when airfare, accommodation, and post-treatment care are factored in, that perception often proves false. Still, the belief persists because local healthcare systems have not done enough to demonstrate transparency, trust, and world-class outcomes.

Behind these challenges lies a common truth: patients are not just seeking treatment, they are seeking trust. And trust is built when patients see consistent quality, international standards, and compassionate care close to home.

When Africans receive care closer to home, it means shorter travel, more family support, and recovery in familiar surroundings.

It also means healing within one’s own culture and restoring confidence in the excellence of African healthcare. At the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, we are determined to change that narrative.

As a teaching hospital, we not only treating patients, but also training the next generation of doctors, nurses, and specialists. Our team of over 180 full-time consultants continues to grow, alongside regional residency and fellowship programmes that equip African professionals with the expertise to serve African patients.

Qualified doctors and nurses will travel abroad to seek better professional opportunities, which many call brain drain, our goal is to ensure that African healthcare talent remains on the continent and more importantly we continuously invest in building local capacity.

By working together, we can ensure that the next generation of African patients no longer have to look beyond the continent for the care they deserve.

Partnerships like the one with Kenya Airways make that possible, keeping skill, trust, and transformation rooted in Africa. They are a statement of belief that Africa’s future in healthcare is bright, self-reliant, and within reach.

Last week, we took a major step forward by signing a partnership with Kenya Airways (KQ) to make Kenya a regional hub for medical tourism.

Through this collaboration, patients across Africa will have access to world-class, specialised healthcare closer to home and with greater convenience.

The partnership offers pre-travel medical clearance, in-flight medical assistance, and direct ambulance transfers from the airport to the hospital. It creates a seamless medical travel experience, from a patient’s home country to their hospital bed and back, delivered with the same dignity and safety expected anywhere in the world.

As His Highness the Aga Khan, our Founding Chancellor, said during the inauguration of our Heart and Cancer Centre in 2011: ‘Let the day also pass when African patients think they must go to other parts of the world to find quality medical care.’ That vision is becoming a reality.

Kenya is naturally positioned to lead Africa’s medical tourism revolution. With its excellent air connectivity, liberal visa regime, political stability, and growing healthcare capacity, Kenya is poised to become the continent’s medical hub in line with Vision 2030, which identifies healthcare excellence and innovation as key national priorities.

At AKUH, N, we have invested heavily in that future. From two state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization labs and an advanced linear accelerator (LINACs) for cancer care, to AI-enabled diagnostics and a fully integrated Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, we are at the forefront of medical technology in the region.

Importantly, in 2013, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi was the first hospital in the region to be accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) the global gold standard for healthcare quality and safety.

We are also the only hospital in Africa accredited as a Centre of Excellence for Stroke, and the first in Sub-Saharan Africa for Heart Attack care. In addition, our laboratories are accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), guaranteeing internationally benchmarked diagnostic accuracy.

As a teaching hospital, we not only treating patients, but also training the next generation of doctors, nurses, and specialists. Our team of over 180 full-time consultants continues to grow, alongside regional residency and fellowship programmes that equip African professionals with the expertise to serve African patients.

Qualified doctors and nurses will travel abroad to seek better professional opportunities, which many call brain drain, our goal is to ensure that African healthcare talent remains on the continent and more importantly we continuously invest in building local capacity.

Partnerships like the one with Kenya Airways make that possible, keeping skill, trust, and transformation rooted in Africa. They are a statement of belief that Africa’s future in healthcare is bright, self-reliant, and within reach.

By working together, we can ensure that the next generation of African patients no longer have to look beyond the continent for the care they deserve.

The State more than doubled the subsidy on diesel to Sh2.33 per litre in the monthly cycle ending November 14, helping to keep pump prices unchanged amid a rise in the cost of imported fuel.

The subsidy is more than double the Sh0.54 applied in the previous cycle and helped keep prices of diesel unchanged at Sh171.47 per litre in Nairobi. Without it, the price would have increased and triggered inflationary pressure.

Price of imported diesel rose 1.81 percent to $635.05 (Sh82,264.38) per cubic metre for the cargoes used to set the current fuel prices, from the previous $623.75 (Sh80,800.57) for the same quantity.

The subsidy, which was also applied on petrol and kerosene, is critical in helping to avoid costly fuel and thus contain inflationary pressure.

A subsidy of Sh0.48 and Sh4.24 per litre was applied on petrol and kerosene respectively in the current cycle, helping to keep prices of the two fuels unchanged at Sh184.52 and Sh154.78 respectively.

Consumers pay Sh5.40 for every litre of petrol and diesel and Sh0.40 per litre of kerosene as the Petroleum Development Levy, with the money mainly used to subsidise fuel prices.

The current rates of subsidy on the three fuels are the highest in seven months. The last time it was higher was in the monthly cycle to May 14 this year at Sh6.09, Sh4.66 and Sh6.18 per litre of diesel, petrol and kerosene respectively.

The continued use of the subsidy comes at a time of rising inflation, hurting State efforts to ensure that the cost of living does not skyrocket.

Inflation- the measure of cost of living- has remained unchanged at 4.6 percent in the last two months. It had been rising month-on-month from 3.8 percent in May this year.

The government is keen to keep inflation within the targeted band of 2.5 to 7.5 percent and subsidising fuel prices is key to achieving this goal amid the rise in global fuel prices.

A softening demand for fuel globally offers a reprieve for the Kenyan government. This is because prices are not expected to rise significantly and thus a low rate of the subsidy will be needed per litre of fuel.

Diesel is the main fuel across most sectors of the Kenyan economy, highlighting why any price increments at the pump are a major driver of inflation.

Farmers, transporters and electricity generators factor the cost of fuel while setting prices of goods and cost of their services, passing the impact of costly fuel to the end users.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is piloting instant payments to government suppliers through the instant bank-to-bank transfers platform PesaLink in a bid to accelerate settlements to businesses.

Once fully rolled out, the move would bring relief to thousands of government suppliers who until now wait on payments through slower bank transfer processes.

National government pending bills climbed to Sh526 billion in June 2025 from Sh421.6 billion in March 2025, as per data from the National Treasury.

‘PesaLink is involved in a pilot project with the CBK for government supplier payments,’ CBK noted in disclosures made in the State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa report.

‘The pilot for supplier payments has completed all user acceptance tests and has been signed off, with the go-live on the horizon.’

The pilot has allowed suppliers to choose the accounts or wallets to receive the funds, while participating banks and mobile money service provider T-Kash (operated by Telkom Kenya) -have been responsible for contacting PesaLink to investigate transaction statuses if a supplier does not receive their funds.

PesaLink is a round the clock real-time digital payment solution allowing instant bank-to-bank transfers at a low cost.

The system is owned by local banks through their stake in the Integrated Payment Systems Limited which is PesaLink’s registered business/legal name.

The move to foster instant payments to government suppliers is part of a wider goal to expand government to person payments ,which have not been a prominent use case for PesaLink.

This is despite government institutions including State-owned enterprises and ministries, holding their funds in accounts at the CBK which connects directly to PesaLink as a participant in the ecosystem.

CBK acts in a similar capacity to a commercial bank by providing channels and a portal to various ministries and State-owned enterprises to disburse funds.

Ministries and State Departments enter beneficiary details, which are validated using a PesaLink API before the funds are debited and the payment instructions sent.

Additional plans

PesaLink aims to significantly reduce costs to the government for social benefit payments and provide an alternative to banks which require beneficiaries to have an account whose tiered pricing models are potentially expensive.

Counties already use PesaLink to disburse social welfare payments.

CBK has indicated additional plans to expand the use of PesaLink to include the settlement of salaries and pensions.

‘There are also plans to expand the service to include government pension and salary payments,’ CBK indicated.

‘Upon initiation, transactions are typically executed instantly, reaching beneficiary accounts in seconds. Although funds are credited immediately, movement and settlement of funds between participating financial institutions occur later, via a net settlement file prepared by PesaLink and handled by a central settlement system which is oversighted by the Kenya Bankers Association.’

The Kenya Kwanza administration has mulled securitising some of the State’s pending bills, to clear arrears to the government suppliers beginning with road suppliers.

The government has begun settling the arrears using a Sh04 billion syndicated loan from commercial banks, allowing road contractors to resume abandoned projects ahead of the issuance of two roads bonds totalling Sh300 billion.

Investors in the bonds are to be compensated using partial collections from the road maintenance levy fund, which have been set at Sh12 per litre from the sale of petrol and diesel.