Category: Business Daily

The High Court has allowed the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya (GRAK) to implement the contested Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026, including the collection of licensing fees, pending the determination of a case challenging the rules.

The court varied an earlier order issued on August 7, 2026 that had suspended the implementation and enforcement of new licensing fees imposed on bookmakers, casinos and other gaming operators.

The ruling followed an application by the regulator, which argued that suspending the fee provisions had effectively halted the processing of new licence applications.

The authority argued that although the court had allowed other parts of the regulations to remain in force, licensing could not proceed without the payment of fees, which are prescribed under the regulations.

The regulator told the court that 246 licence applications were pending and could not be processed because the fee component had been suspended.

‘Based on that, it would be imprudent to stay the operation of the regulations, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive motion,’ the court said.

The judge heard that the fees could not be separated from the licensing process because the issuance of licences is conditional upon payment of the prescribed charges.

He further observed that the fees are contained in schedules to the regulations and not in the Gaming Control Act, 2025. As a result, there was no alternative legal framework under which licensing fees could be charged after the repeal of the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act.

‘Faced with that scenario, public interest would frown upon leaving the gaming industry unregulated, while the main dispute herein rages,’ the judge said.

The court also took into account an undertaking by the regulator that any fees collected would be refunded should the court ultimately find that the regulations or the fees were unlawful.

‘In view of what I have discussed above, I am persuaded that there is merit in the application dated August 11, 2026,’ the judge ruled.

‘I hereby confirm and allow the orders that I made ex parte on August 13, 2026, and grant, in addition, prayers 4, 5 and 7 of the said application. The costs of this application shall abide the outcome of the main cause.’

The case will be mentioned on September 21.

Thomas Buckley Opar Owuor and Ken Brance against Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary filed the petition for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi and the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya.

The petitioners are challenging the legality of the regulations, particularly the sharp increase in licensing fees imposed on bookmakers, lotteries, casinos, bingo operators, totalisators and pool betting firms. They have also questioned the Cabinet Secretary’s authority to make the regulations.

The government has defended the regulations, arguing that they are necessary to operationalise the Gaming Control Act No. 14 of 2025, which came into force in August last year and established a new framework for regulating, licensing and supervising gambling activities.

According to the Authority, the regulations provide critical details on licence categories, application procedures, financial capacity requirements, technical standards and renewal processes.

The dispute dates back to July when the court suspended the implementation and enforcement of the regulations. The Attorney General later sought a review of that order, leading the court to allow most provisions to remain in force while suspending the increased fees under the Second Schedule and capital requirements under the Third Schedule.

However, the regulator returned to court arguing that the suspension had created an operational paralysis because licence applications could not be processed without payment of fees.

The petitioners opposed the application, arguing that the increased fees were the central issue in the case and that allowing their collection would undermine the purpose of the stay order.

They warned that many operators would struggle to raise the new fees, forcing some to abandon licence applications, scale down operations or exit the market altogether. Others, they argued, could be forced to borrow heavily to meet the requirements, leading to job losses and reduced investment in the sector.

The petitioners further maintained that any future refund of fees would not adequately compensate businesses for those losses and would not restore the status quo.

They also disputed the regulator’s claim that licensing had ground to a halt, arguing that the authority had continued receiving applications and levying charges after the Gaming Control Act came into force in August 2025 and before the regulations took effect on June 29, 2026.

But the High Court found that both sides acknowledged a critical legal gap. While the Gaming Control Act contains transitional provisions relating to gambling taxes, it does not provide a transitional framework for licensing.

The judge noted that in the absence of the disputed regulations, neither the new law nor the repealed Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act provided a workable framework for processing and issuing licences.

‘The Bill seeks to promote certainty, predictability and consistency in leadership transitions in the corporations.’

Mr Kariuki added that the proposed measure aligns with the principles of good governance, accountability and transparency, as set out in the Constitution and the Mwongozo Code of Governance for State Corporations (2015).

‘It will address challenges that have arisen due to the absence of a uniform statutory tenure, including disputes, litigation and arbitrary extension of office,’ Mr Kariuki said.

The Bill proposes changes to section 6 (2) of the State Corporations Act by introducing sub-section 2A, which sets a term limit for CEOs of state corporations.

‘Section 6 of the State Corporations Act is amended by inserting the following sub-section after sub-section (2) – a chief executive appointed under subsection (1)(b) shall serve for a term of three years renewable for one term,’ the Bill says.

‘A person serving as chief executive on the commencement date of this Act shall continue to serve for the unexpired period of their term on the same terms and conditions.’

The Bill does not preclude the removal of a CEO before the expiry of their term for just cause, if such removal complies with the provisions of the Fair Administrative Action Act, the Employment Act and any written law.

It provides for transitional provisions to the amendment in order to ensure the legislation applies prospectively to new or renewal of contracts for current chief executives of state corporations.

Section 6 of the State Corporations Act establishes the composition of State Corporations Boards.

‘Unless the written law by or under which a State Corporation is established or the articles of association of a State Corporation otherwise require, a board shall, subject to sub-section (4), consist of a chairperson appointed by the President who shall be non- executive unless the President directs, the chief executive, the Principal Secretary of the parent ministry, the PS National Treasury, the Attorney-General or his representative and not more than 11 other members not being employees of the State Corporation, of whom not more than three shall be public officers, appointed by the Cabinet Secretary,’ the Act says.

‘Every appointment…shall be by name and by notice in the gazette and shall be for a renewable period of five years or for such shorter term as may be specified in the notice, but shall cease if the appointee serves the CS with written notice of resignation, or is absent, without the permission of the Cabinet Secretary notified to the Board, from three consecutive meetings.’

The High Court has upheld legal restrictions barring politicians and financial-sector insiders from becoming Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) governor or deputy governor.

The court dismissed a Constitutional challenge by an advocate, Ishmael Nyaribo, finding the statutory restrictions protect CBK from conflicts of interest and political influence.

‘The restrictions, in Section 14 of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, act as safeguards of the integrity and independence of the recruitment process. That section is designed to prevent severe conflict of interest between regulators and regulated financial entities,’ said Justice Roseline Aburili.

The petition arose from a Public Service Commission advertisement published on March 30, 2023, seeking applicants for Governor and Deputy Governor.

The advertisement was published as Patrick Njoroge’s second term as CBK Governor and Sheila M’Mbijjewe’s term as Deputy Governor were nearing their end.

The petitioner argued that Sections 13, 13B, 13C and 14 of the CBK Act unfairly excluded qualified professionals and violated rights to equality, fair labour practices and fair administrative action.

Sections 13 and 13B govern how the Governor and Deputy Governors are appointed; Section 13C sets their qualifications, while Section 14 determines who is legally barred from holding those positions.

He wanted the said sections declared unconstitutional, arguing that the requirements discriminated against qualified financial-sector professionals and breached the Constitution.

Section 14 bars appointment as Governor, Deputy Governor or CBK director if the person is a legislator, salaried employee of a public entity, or a director, officer, employee, partner or shareholder of a specified bank or financial institution.

The court rejected the argument that the exclusions amounted to unconstitutional discrimination. It found the law made a rational distinction linked to protecting the regulator’s independence.

‘I have considered the role of the Central Bank of Kenya as established under Article 231, which is an independent authority tasked with formulating monetary policy, promoting price stability and regulating the banking sector,’ the judge said.

It said the law is intended to prevent the ‘Regulator’ from becoming the ‘Regulated’, reasoning that someone with financial interests in a bank could face an obvious conflict when supervising that institution.

‘In the view of this court, that section is designed to prevent severe conflict of interest between regulators and regulated financial entities,’ said the judge.

The court also upheld the ban affecting legislators, saying parliamentary approval of CBK nominees creates a conflict if sitting lawmakers can compete for the positions.

‘Allowing a sitting legislator to be considered for the post of Governor or Deputy Governor would create a clear conflict of interest, as the same institution would be vetting one of its own,’ the court said.

The judgment also addressed the recruitment process. CBK argued that the petition had become academic after the recruitment of Kamau Thugge was completed and was gazetted in June 2023. Susan Koech was also appointed deputy governor.

The court held that completion of the recruitment process did not remove its constitutional jurisdiction. It said the High Court could still examine whether the advertisement, recruitment process or statutory provisions breached the Constitution.

The court found that the petitioner had not shown how the provisions harmed him or professionals.

It found that Mr Nyaribo had legally failed to displace the presumption that the legislation is constitutional. It dismissed the petition, finding it was devoid of merit.

The court found that the petitioner had failed to identify with sufficient precision the people allegedly discriminated against or the specific injury suffered, and had not produced evidence of the claimed “large pool” of qualified professionals affected by the rules.

‘There is no evidence adduced by the Petitioner to demonstrate the manner in which the impugned provisions directly, unfairly and/or negatively discriminate against the alleged large pool of professionals in the recruitment of Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya,’ said the court.

It stated that the restrictions were constitutionally sound, holding that excluding legislators and people with positions or financial interests in regulated financial institutions was rationally connected to preventing conflicts of interest and protecting CBK’s independence.

The challenged recruitment proceeded after the High Court declined conservatory orders on May 8, 2023, allowing the selection process to continue.

Parliament records show that 24 people applied for Governor, six were shortlisted, and interviews were conducted on May 9, 2023. President William Ruto subsequently nominated Kamau Thugge, who was approved by the National Assembly in June 2023.

Mr Thugge succeeded Patrick Njoroge, whose two four-year term ended in June 2023. Parliament’s record says the recruitment followed Section 13 of the CBK Act, requiring presidential appointment through a transparent and competitive process with National Assembly approval.

As required under Sections 7 and 9 of the Government Owned Enterprises Act (GOEA,2015), a GOE shall operate on commercial principals for profit, be self-financing and self-sustaining and with a defined income stream.

Effective, efficient and agile management of direct purchases shall be one of key enablers for the realisation of the above requirements.

However, the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act and its attendant regulations are largely intended for indirect purchase. They not suitable for direct purchases.

For such entities to sustain themselves in their respective and highly competitive business environments and enable their stakeholders make a commensurate return on their investment as required under Section 27(3) of the Act, there is need to develop enabling procurement regulations, specifically for their direct purchases.

A number of Government Owned Enterprises have long lamented how they have been losing huge business opportunities to their competitors on account of procurement operational impediments – and which their private sector counterparts are not subjected to.

In the official Guidelines on Management of State Corporations issued by the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service in May 2024, it was reported that 33 of the 79 GOEs listed under Appendix II made losses in the previous three financial years.

Twenty four broke even over the same period. This means that only 22 GOEs made profit.

As a result, and for many years, such GOEs have been relying on the Exchequer for survival, which beats the purpose for their existence.

Application of fit-for-purpose and business conscious procurement regulations, policies and procedures for direct purchases would surely and greatly contribute in turning around their fortunes.

In view of the above realities, the National Treasury should consider enacting commercial procurement regulations for direct purchases in GOEs.

This is specifically allowable under Section 114A (2) (a and b) the above Law (Specially Permitted Procurement Procedures).

Such GOEs would then customise their respective institutional and policies and procedures manuals form such regulations for appropriate approval, based on the best practices in their respective business environments.

Kenya Reinsurance Corporation (Kenya Re) posted a 42.8 percent jump in net profit to Sh2.25 billion in the six months to June, lifted by stronger underwriting performance which offset a decline in investment income.

The reinsurer’s net earnings rose from Sh1.6 billion recorded in the same period last year as it benefited from growth in insurance revenue and improved risk selection.

Insurance revenue increased by 14 percent to Sh9.4 billion from Sh8.3 billion, reflecting growth in the corporation’s business during the period.

The biggest improvement was recorded in the insurance service, a key measure of underwriting performance, which more than quadrupled to Sh1.25 billion from Sh302.98 million a year earlier.

The increase in insurance service result points to an improvement in the profitability of Kenya Re’s core business, helping cushion the impact of a 3.2 percent fall in investment income to Sh2.62 billion from Sh2.71 billion during the period.

Kenya Re Group Managing Director, Hillary Wachinga, said the results show the quality of the corporation’s underwriting portfolio.

‘This reflects the quality of our underwriting portfolio, the strength of our regional operations and the dedication of employees,’ he said.

‘We remain focused on strengthening our market leadership, deepening regional diversification and positioning the corporation for long-term growth in an evolving insurance landscape.’

Kenya Re told shareholders during the AGM on June 19, 2026 that it had stepped up the fight against fraud through measures like checking detailed lists of policies and claims for treaties with loss ratios above 30 percent.

It also implemented stringent underwriting controls and treaty wording revisions like the sunset clause and limitations on commercial vehicles as well as riding on historical claims data and AI-based claims processing tools to guide renewals.

During the period under review, operating expenses increased by 22 percent to Sh800 million from Sh600 million.

The company is seeking to deepen its presence outside Kenya as part of a strategy to diversify sources of business and earnings.

Kenya Re has three wholly owned subsidiaries in Uganda, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire, giving it a presence in East, southern and West Africa.

It has set aside Sh1.5 billion for setting up a subsidiary in Tanzania, a branch office in India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec (Gift) City and a liaison office in Rwanda.

The company’s improved first-half performance comes as insurers and reinsurers continue to navigate changing risk patterns and investment market conditions, increasing the importance of underwriting discipline in protecting earnings.

Kenya’s insurance industry has witnessed increased claims, which have cut underwriting profits of several companies that have published their half-year results.

There has also been pressure on investment earnings due to lower returns on asset classes such as government securities, which are the most popular investment among insurers.

When cargo traffic slowed through the Strait of Hormuz this year, the cost of feeding continents moved with it. The corridor carries roughly a third of the world’s urea and nitrogen-based fertilisers.

Within a week, urea prices in the Middle East climbed 19 percent. Across Africa, where food already absorbs about half of household spending, the arithmetic was brutal: urea prices doubled from $400 to $850 per tonne, triggering a sharp rise in food prices.

The resumption of fertiliser and fuel flows brings relief to strained global markets. However, relief is not resilience. This was the third major fertiliser shock in five years, following the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The Horn of Africa absorbed the cost.

It is structural dependence that turns distant conflicts into domestic emergencies. African states do not need to invent their way out of this challenge. The technologies and platforms already exist. Locally produced organic fertilisers, biostimulants and green-ammonia pathways already exist and need to be scaled.

The core problem is failure to align financing, policy design and market structures, so farming is profitable enough for supply to reliably follow demand. Improving nutrient-use efficiency and embracing nature-based nutrient sourcing can raise smallholder productivity and profits while reducing costs. Profitability is one of the food system’s most powerful levers and one of the most underused.

The assets are here. North Africa holds roughly 78 percent of the world’s phosphate reserves, while African fertiliser production has grown by 146 percent since 2002.

We have also built platforms for pooled procurement, regional trade and local manufacturing through AfCFTA, the Africa Trade Exchange and the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan. What is missing is sustained investment to get fertiliser to smallholder farmers affordably and on time.

But the conversation needs to change. In many African soils, nitrogen and phosphorus are among the most important nutrients determining crop yields. Africa’s binding constraint is often nitrogen rather than phosphate.

Nitrogen production is tied to natural gas, the feedstock from which it is made. Africa is not short of gas. Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Mozambique, Tunisia, Senegal and others sit on the feedstock required to manufacture nitrogen at scale. Yet they largely do so in isolation, if at all.

Africa’s gas-producing nations need to come together around a shared continental nitrogen agenda: coordinated investment in production that prioritises African farmers, rather than focusing primarily on export markets. This could run alongside green-ammonia initiatives, building synthetic nitrogen capacity today, and cleaner pathways for tomorrow.

Resilience is not a choice between organic and synthetic, or between old and new. It is an integrated soil-health system where locally produced mineral and organic inputs are used efficiently – the balance the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit are working to strike.

To achieve resilience, governments must invest in local and regional production, strategic reserves, blending facilities, soil-health and extension services, and trade corridors that move inputs efficiently.

They must also move away from blanket subsidies in favour of targeted, digitally delivered support for smallholder farmers, most of whom are women.

The private sector should build manufacturing and blending capacity, fertiliser financing and insurance, and last-mile distribution networks. Aliko Dangote’s ambition to build the world’s largest urea platform through a $7 billion regional expansion is a sign of what African capital can do at scale. Development finance institutions can further de-risk and catalyse such investments.

An easing of the Gulf crisis is the moment to move Africa’s fertiliser agenda from emergency response to structural transformation: an affordable, climate-smart, regionally integrated and sovereign ecosystem.

The hardest time to build resilience is in shock. The best time is when markets are calm and the memory of disruption is fresh.

Africa cannot transform its food systems while hostage to global fertiliser, fuel and freight markets. This needs to be the shock we finally respond to meaningfully by building local and regional systems of our own.

Equity Bank has entered the fast-growing market for vehicles powered by liquefied petroleum gas, also known as autogas, with loans of up to Sh200,000 for motorists seeking to convert their units from petrol and diesel.

In a deal between the lender and Proto Energy, loan beneficiaries will have a 30-day grace repayment period for the loans, which have an interest rate of 16.6 percent.

Equity Bank’s entry signals the allure of a market where motorists have largely self-funded the conversion of their vehicles to autogas amid skyrocketing prices of petrol and diesel.

The deal comes as the cost of petrol and diesel has significantly increased, with a litre of either costing at least Sh14 more compared to a litre of autogas, pushing more motorists to seek cheaper alternatives.

A litre of diesel and petrol is now retailing at Sh217.86 and Sh214.03 in Nairobi, in a price rally that had seen prices hit a historic high of Sh242.92 per litre of diesel in May this year amid the global disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.

Autogas is averaging Sh100 per litre in Nairobi, offering motorists, especially those in the ride-hailing and public transport sectors, cheaper fuel and an opportunity to lower operational costs.

‘Our partnership with Equity Bank addresses a critical barrier to LPG adoption by making financing more accessible. Whether it is a motorist converting to autogas or an institution transitioning, customers can now access financing alongside the technical expertise, infrastructure and reliable supply required to make that transition successful,’ Joel Kamau, the CEO of Proto Energy, said.

‘Through our partnership with Proto Energy, we are enabling motorists and institutions to access financing for LPG solutions while supporting the transition to cleaner and more efficient energy,’ Moses Nyabanda, the Managing Director of Equity Bank, said.

An estimated 20,000 vehicles had been converted to autogas by the end of 2024, with more expected due to the rising cost of petrol and diesel.

It costs an average of between Sh67,000 and Sh120,000 to retrofit a petrol or diesel engine to autogas, and vehicles can switch between autogas and diesel/petrol seamlessly, enhancing driving range and flexibility.

Regulatory filings indicate that nine firms increased or maintained dividends despite a fall in profits, while a further nine raised the shareholder payouts at a faster rate than earnings growth.

Absa Bank Kenya, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya (StanChart), BOC Kenya, Centum Investment Company and Kenya Power have raised dividends despite falling profits, while TPS Eastern Africa, CIC Insurance Group, Kenya Re and Liberty Kenya Holdings maintained payouts despite weaker earnings.

Analysts link the dividend payouts to pressure on management to reward investors, the maturity of some listed firms and fewer opportunities for aggressive expansion.

‘The general trend on the NSE over the past two years is that share prices have gone up, with investors moving away from fixed-income instruments and more into equities. There could be some pressure on management to ensure that they deliver returns commensurate with their share price,’ said Erick Musau, executive director for research and sustainable finance at Standard Investment Bank.

This points to companies placing greater emphasis on shareholder returns as they navigate weaker margins, subdued demand and high operating costs in corporate Kenya.

‘Dividend management also helps companies avoid shareholder discontent. If management fails to deliver value to shareholders, that is when they become vulnerable to removal. But when companies reward shareholders through dividends, they become less vulnerable to being replaced,’ said Mr Musau.

BOC Kenya is the latest to raise dividends faster than earnings, increasing its interim payout by 60 percent to Sh4 per share despite a 39.8 percent decline in net profit to Sh100.37 million for the half year ended June.

Absa and StanChart followed the trend, raising interim payouts despite lower half-year earnings.

Absa increased its dividend per share by 150 percent to Sh0.50 from Sh0.20 despite a 9.8 percent decline in net profit to Sh10.53 billion.

StanChart raised its interim payout by 6.3 percent to Sh8.50 despite a 16.8 percent decline in net earnings.

Absa Kenya, which is majority-owned by South Africa’s Absa Group, said it had adequate capital to support loan book and deposit growth without breaching regulatory capital requirements.

‘We have done what we call stress tests on our business, and we are comfortable with our capital levels. So with that, we say we can distribute more earnings. It is not that we are not ready for business. We are, and actually our book has picked up so much,’ said Yusuf Omari, interim CEO at Absa Kenya.

Mr Musau said firms with multinationals as anchor shareholders such as StanChart, BAT Kenya and East African Breweries PLC (EABL) also have an incentive to pay dividends because they provide a key avenue for the top owners to extract returns.

‘For many multinationals, the only way to get money out of the business is by declaring a dividend and, for that matter, as high as possible,’ he said.

The decisions suggest that dividend policy is increasingly being influenced by factors beyond the latest annual earnings figure, including companies’ desire to maintain a record of shareholder returns and confidence that weaker earnings may be temporary.

Read: NSE firms start paying juicy Sh75bn dividends

TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya increased its dividend 79.7 percent to Sh3.45 per share after profit rose 45.6 percent, while BAT Kenya raised its full-year dividend by 40 percent to Sh70 after profit increased 17.1 percent. EABL lifted its dividend by 59 percent to Sh12.70 after net profit rose 49.4 percent.

Kapchorua Tea increased its dividend per share to Sh30 from Sh25 after net profit rose 8.7 percent to Sh196.9 million in the year ended March 2026, taking the total payout to Sh469.4 million.

Williamson Tea returned to a net profit of Sh120.8 million from a Sh166.4 million loss and raised its dividend to Sh15 from Sh10, resulting in a total payout of Sh525.3 million.

Centum increased its dividend 2.5 times to Sh0.78, comprising Sh0.42 ordinary and Sh0.36 special payout, despite an 8.5 percent decline in net profit to Sh743.9 million for the year ended March 2026.

Mr Musau said firms such as Centum now have more room to increase dividends at a faster pace than profits as they emerge from a period of highly leveraged balance sheets. Centum completed a multi-year balance sheet restructuring that left the company debt-free.

‘Firms such as Centum have paid down a lot of their debts now. They are seeing they want to reward the shareholders after a period of drought,’ said Mr Musau.

Banks have added to the trend, with many growing dividends at a faster pace than their profits.

NCBA raised its full-year 2025 dividend by 29.1 percent to Sh7.10 per share, against seven percent profit growth to Sh23.4 billion. Its 2026 interim dividend rose 50 percent to Sh3.75 as first-half profit increased 12.2 percent.

KCB increased its dividend per share by 133 percent to Sh7 in 2025, partly reflecting the sale of National Bank of Kenya, against 11 percent profit growth to Sh68.4 billion. Its interim dividend rose 50 percent to Sh3 in the half year after profit grew 14.2 percent.

DTB and Co-operative Bank also raised dividends faster than profits in 2025, with payouts rising 28.6 percent and 66.7 percent against profit growth of 23 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively.

Other companies have opted to protect rather than increase dividends amid a decline in profits. For instance, TPS Eastern Africa, the operator of Serena Hotel, maintained its Sh0.35 payout despite a 40.2 percent profit decline to Sh787.2 million.

CIC Insurance held its dividend at Sh0.13 despite an 82 percent earnings collapse to Sh513.8 million, while Kenya Re maintained Sh0.15 after profit fell 11.6 percent to Sh3.92 billion. Liberty Kenya also retained its Sh0.50 payout despite a 65.3 percent profit decline to Sh487 million.

Then the internet transformed travel, with visitors turning to search engines, online booking platforms and social media to discover destinations, compare experiences and make decisions.

Today, we are entering another major shift, Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming part of the traveller’s decision-making process.

Rather than searching through dozens of websites, travellers can simply ask an AI tool where they should go, what they should experience and how they should plan their journey. Technology is moving from helping travellers find information to actively influencing the choices they make.

This shift is also changing how the tourism industry operates, according to PwC’s AI at the Heart of Tourism and Hospitality – Powering Personalisation, Efficiency and Growth report, tourism and hospitality leaders have moved beyond exploring AI and are now piloting practical applications, signalling a decisive shift from experimentation to implementation.

In Saudi Arabia for instance, AI is central to its Vision 2030, supporting the country’s ambition of welcoming 150 million annual visitors and increasing tourism’s contribution to GDP from three percent to 10 percent.

Consumer behaviour is evolving just as rapidly, according to the 2026 AI in Travel and Tourism CareerTrainer Report, 62 percent of travellers now use AI-enabled tools, 58 percent say AI recommendations improve trip planning, while 73 percent expect personalised travel experiences based on their data.

The report also found that 94 percent of tourism and hospitality leaders across the region are already experimenting with or implementing AI solutions, highlighting how quickly the technology is becoming mainstream.

Additionally, according to Adobe’s Digital Data Index and Marriott Bonvoy’s Ticket to Travel report, AI referrals to travel sites surged by 194 percent year-on-year in 2026, while almost half of travellers worldwide now use generative AI tools to plan trips, up sharply from 22 per cent just three years earlier.

This shift has profound implications for tourism; the question is no longer simply whether a destination can be found online. It is whether it is visible, relevant and compelling enough to be recommended by the technologies increasingly shaping how travellers discover the world.

In 2025, Kenya welcomed 7.9 million tourists, comprising 2.7 million international visitors and 5.2 million domestic travellers, generating close to Sh500 billion in earnings. International arrivals grew by 9 percent, more than double the global average growth rate of 4 percent recorded that year.

These figures show that the current model, built on strong marketing, visa reforms and improved connectivity, is working. The question now is whether that momentum can be sustained and accelerated by a stronger digital foundation.

Regional destinations such as Morocco, Rwanda, Egypt and South Africa are investing heavily in smart tourism systems. Rwanda’s digital travel platforms have streamlined border processes, while Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum uses digital quotas and AI tracking to manage crowds.

Digital transformation is not simply a modest upgrade, it is a structural shift requiring destinations to re-engineer how they gather data, understand visitor behaviour, manage natural assets and market themselves with precision.

Kenya has already taken important steps, the electronic travel authorisation simplified entry at a policy level, while the partnerships provide tools to study visitor flows, seasonal peaks and regional spending patterns through analytics.

The harder task is extending digital capability beyond large hotels, airlines and tour operators to community conservancies, small lodges, cultural centres and independent guides who shape much of the visitor experience.

If digital transformation only strengthens businesses with capital and technical capacity, it risks widening the gap between large tourism enterprises and the small businesses that sustain rural and coastal economies.

AI can help Kenya market its wildlife corridors, beaches and cultural sites to travellers most likely to value them, easing pressure on fragile ecosystems while raising visitor value. Digital payments, smarter mobility and data analytics can further smooth the journey and help manage seasonal peaks in the destination’s attractions

These questions will form part of the conversation at the Magical Kenya Travel Expo in Nairobi this October, where governments, technology innovators, investors and the travel trade will examine how digital tools can serve sustainable tourism growth.

Technology, however advanced, can only go so far, warmth, genuine hospitality and the expertise of a guide interpreting a landscape remains uniquely human.

June Chepkemei is the CEO, Kenya Tourism Board

What kind of economy can Kenya build when an ever-growing share of public resources is committed to servicing yesterday’s borrowing? Public debt had reached Sh12.86 trillion by April this year, equivalent to 69.4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to Treasury.

The more important question is not simply how much Kenya owes, but what the country is getting for the debt. Borrowing to finance productive infrastructure can generate growth and revenue.

However, borrowing increasingly to refinance existing obligations creates a vicious circle – borrow to repay, tax to borrow and borrow again to service the debt. Debt then becomes a mechanism for postponing rather than solving the fiscal problem.

The imbalance between debt service and development expenditure makes this worrying. When debt repayment absorbs resources that could finance infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education and industrialisation, the government sacrifices the investments required to expand the economy.

The issue is, therefore, not debt alone, but whether Kenya is borrowing to transform its productive capacity or simply taking loans to maintain an existing debt structure.

This is where the views of leading economists become relevant. Joseph Stiglitz has argued for stronger mechanisms for sovereign debt restructuring, warning that delayed resolution can deepen socio-economic costs.

Carmen Reinhart’s extensive research on sovereign debt crises demonstrates that restructuring and debt relief can be important components of recovery from debt overhang.

Olivier Blanchard, meanwhile, emphasises that debt sustainability depends not merely on the debt-to-GDP ratio but also on the relationship between economic growth, interest rates and the capacity of the government to stabilise debt.

Kenya should, therefore, begin a serious conversation about orderly sovereign debt restructuring. Note that restructuring is not synonymous with reckless default. It is a negotiated adjustment of maturities, interest rates and repayment schedules designed to restore sustainability and create fiscal space.

The objective is not to escape responsibility for debt, but to prevent repayment from destroying the capacity of the economy to grow.

Barbados provides an important precedent.

Under Prime Minister Mia Mottley, the Caribbean island nation undertook a comprehensive debt restructuring in 2018. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) found that the restructuring substantially reduced debt and financing pressures.

The lesson is not that Kenya should emulate Barbados, but that restructuring can be used as a policy instrument to restore fiscal space when the existing debt structure becomes untenable.

Ghana provides a more recent African example. It completed its domestic debt exchange in 2023 and its Eurobond restructuring the following year, while continuing negotiations with official creditors.

By 2025, the IMF reported significant progress in Ghana’s debt restructuring and improvements in investor confidence. Accra demonstrates that restructuring can be embedded within a broader programme of fiscal consolidation, financial-sector protection and economic recovery.

Ethiopia offers another important African case, though its restructuring is still evolving. After defaulting on its S$1 billion Eurobond in 2023, Ethiopia negotiated with official and private creditors under the G20 Common Framework.

This month, official creditors approved a preliminary agreement with private investors to restructure the Eurobond, bringing Ethiopia closer to emerging from default.

The Ethiopian experience also illustrates that restructuring can be lengthy and politically difficult, particularly where creditors have different interests.

Sri Lanka provides the cautionary lesson. Its 2022 default followed a severe fiscal and balance-of-payments crisis, forcing a comprehensive restructuring of external and domestic obligations.

According to the IMF, external creditors forgave about $3 billion and restructured another $25 billion, while the country subsequently regained access to international bond indices.

The lesson for Kenya is not that default is desirable, but that allowing an unsustainable debt burden to persist can ultimately make adjustment far more painful.

Kenya must, nevertheless, proceed carefully. Banks, pension funds, insurance companies and individual investors hold substantial government securities. A disorderly restructuring could destabilise the financial system and transfer the sovereign crisis into banks and pension funds.

Any restructuring must, therefore, be negotiated, credible and carefully designed to distribute the burden while protecting financial stability.

The fundamental principle should be simple – Kenya should not borrow merely to repay yesterday’s borrowing. Debt should finance assets that increase productivity, employment, exports and future government revenues.

The choice is increasingly between perpetual refinancing – borrowing more, taxing more and sacrificing development – or restructuring the debt burden and using the resulting fiscal space to rebuild productive capacity.

Kenya does not need to restructure its future; it needs to restructure the debt that is preventing it from financing that future.