Category: Business Daily

Would you spend Sh144,000 on three trees? Last Friday, someone did at Planty Kenya, a small shop in Lavington, Nairobi. Three European olive trees, each at ShSh48,000, left the shelves in a single morning.

“These plants don’t stay in the shop for long. By the end of the week, not a single one will be left. Most of them are pre-ordered, and the rest are for walk-in customers,” said Lucy Kioi, who runs the shop.

While most plant shops in Nairobi sell seedlings and common shrubs, Lucy sells plants that take years, sometimes decades, to grow into what they are: mature olive trees, bonsai shaped over a lifetime of pruning, hybrid roses grafted onto thick trunks, and magnolias already old enough to flower.

She imports most of her stock from Europe and China, and when a shipment lands, it rarely lasts long. The batch that arrived less than 24 hours before we visited had 201 plants across 20 varieties, and most of them were already paid for.

Ask Lucy why anyone would spend Sh100,000 on a tree, and her answer comes down to this: people are not really paying for the plant itself, but for the years of waiting they get to skip.

The most expensive

A 200-centimetre olive tree costs around Sh100,000, while a smaller 120-centimetre one goes for Sh30,000, and a five-year-old magnolia sells for Sh85,000. A particularly thick, mature olive from an earlier shipment sold for Sh120,000, with the most expensive olive Lucy has ever sold going for Sh150,000.

Bonsai take years of training to develop their signature shape, and the current selection is priced at around Sh39,000, though a Juniperus chinensis bonsai from an earlier batch sold for Sh63,000.

“When someone has spent Sh50,000 on a plant, they become very invested in it,” Lucy said, adding that they want to know how to take care of it, where to put it, and how to keep it healthy.

Some plants come with a bonus: a mature calamondin, a cross between a mandarin orange and a kumquat, can already be bearing fruit when it arrives, and the same goes for olive trees, which will eventually produce olives that can be pressed into oil. Buyers end up with a fully grown ornamental plant instead of a young one that could take years to bear fruit.

Even Buddha’s Hand, a citrus fruit known for its odd, finger-like shape and cultural significance, sells for Sh10,000 for the fruit alone, while a pachira, more commonly called a money tree, goes for about Sh29,000.

Around 40 percent of Lucy’s customers are repeat buyers, and rather than shopping out of necessity, they tend to be hunting for something new.

“They want something different,” she said. “Some want a statement piece for their home or apartment, while others are looking for a particular variety they have seen online or encountered while travelling.”

Her customers range from apartment dwellers with barely a balcony to homeowners with large compounds and commercial clients furnishing offices or hotels.

Risky business

Getting a tree from a farm abroad into a shop in Lavington is complicated, and the process starts well before the plants ever touch Kenyan soil.

The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service requires anyone importing plant material to get a permit before the shipment even leaves its country of origin, and every consignment also needs a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country, along with, depending on the species, a permit under the international treaty covering endangered plants and animals.

“Imported plant material is inspected, and consignments without the required permits or documentation can be refused entry, destroyed or re-shipped at the owner’s cost,” Lucy said.

Even the soil is an issue, since plants cannot travel in the dirt they were originally grown in, as that soil can carry pests or diseases across borders, so instead they are packed in materials like coco peat for the trip and repotted once they arrive in Kenya.

Minimum capital

None of this comes cheap. Lucy says the minimum capital needed for a single import order is about Sh400,000, though most orders run between Sh600,000 and Sh1.5 million, depending on the type and size of the shipment. Sea freight is cheaper, but it takes much longer, and some plants need an extra month or two to recover once they land, which is why Lucy ships by air instead- a journey that takes about three days.

In January 2024, on her very first import order, Lucy brought in more than 100 bougainvillaea plants at about Sh1.2 million, for a batch that customers had already placed orders for.

“The plants arrived looking healthy, but they died within three days,” she said. She moved the survivors to her home in Tigoni, outside Nairobi, without expecting much. Three months later, they came back to life.

“When you are importing plants, anything can happen,” Lucy said. “They can leave the supplier looking beautiful and healthy, but by the time they arrive, the situation could be completely different. You just have to be ready for those risks.”

Could these plants just be grown here? Lucy thinks local propagation could eventually cut down the cost and risk of constant importing, though she does not see it replacing imports any time soon, since training a young plant into the size and shape customers want takes years on its own.

“For now, imports remain important because they provide the variety and maturity that customers want,” she added.

Emerging markets are shifting from being users of global financial infrastructure to its innovators. Countries are building payment systems tailored to local economic realities, and those models are now informing global fintech. Kenya and Jamaica are two instructive examples.

Two regional gateways separated by thousands of miles, they differ in geography and economic structure. Kenya is a major East African economy and a gateway to the region. Jamaica is an island gateway economy in the Caribbean, closely tied to North America, CARICOM, and global diaspora communities.

Yet they share critical commonalities. Both are English-speaking markets integrated into global trade. Both have vibrant entrepreneurial cultures and influential diasporas. In both, SMEs, households, and local businesses depend heavily on efficient cash flow.

And bilateral ties are deepening. In July 2026, Kenya established its first permanent High Commission in Kingston, laying a foundation for stronger political, economic, and cultural exchange.

Kenya’s financial innovation is driven by local demand and mobile money. Mobile wallets have become daily financial infrastructure for consumers, merchants, and SMEs – transforming not just how people pay, but how businesses collect, pay bills, and manage cash flow, while bringing more users into the formal financial system.

Jamaica’s dynamics are different. Its capital flows are shaped by tourism, international trade, and a large overseas diaspora. According to World Bank data, personal remittances into Jamaica accounted for approximately 16.2 percent of GDP in 2024.

Kenya shows how digital payments can transform domestic commerce. Jamaica shows why reliable international collections, remittances, and local disbursements are vital for growth. The next opportunity is connecting these two strengths.

Capital flows between emerging markets remain complex. A payment from Kenya to Jamaica can still require multiple intermediaries, multiple FX conversions, and prefunding arrangements, constrained by traditional banking hours and cross-border clearing cycles.

This raises costs for smaller corridors, even where real demand exists in trade, tourism, education, creative industries, professional services, and family remittances.

Addressing this requires more than another consumer app. It requires infrastructure that connects local payment methods – including bank accounts and mobile wallets – with banks, mobile money and international transfer networks, FX and liquidity providers, and systems for compliance, transaction monitoring, and risk management.

It also needs stable, reliable local disbursement at both ends, plus operations that support inquiries, reconciliation, and exception handling. Only when these links are coordinated can cross-border payments become faster, more transparent, and commercially sustainable.

The market is exploring more efficient inter-institutional clearing and settlement to reduce prefunding pressure, improve liquidity efficiency, and shorten payment chains. Technology can accelerate processing, but speed alone is not the core of cross-border payments.

For corporate and individual customers, what matters is status clarity, transparent FX rates and fees, timely arrival, and quick resolution of anomalies.

Whatever technology or settlement model is used, services must operate within local laws – covering customer identification, corporate due diligence, source of funds verification, purpose of transaction review, anti-money laundering, sanctions screening, fund security, and consumer protection. Technology can shorten the chain, but it cannot replace compliance, liquidity, and local operational capability.

Kenya and Jamaica are at different stages of digital finance development, but both are strengthening their regulatory and market infrastructure. Clearer licensing regimes, governance requirements, AML/CFT frameworks, and customer fund protection measures provide a more stable foundation for innovation.

For cross-border providers, long-term value lies not in entering more countries or adding more payment methods, but in building sustainable operations across different regulatory systems.

That means clarifying participant responsibilities, ensuring transaction data is traceable, establishing reliable reconciliation, and completing local collection, FX conversion, and final disbursement through licensed institutions.

The rise of emerging markets is not just about growth rates, but about building financial infrastructure that serves local people and businesses. The future cross-border network will not necessarily be dominated by traditional centres like New York, London, or Singapore. More new connections will emerge directly between emerging markets.

From Nairobi to Kingston, this corridor is more than a financial link. It represents broader cooperation between East Africa and the Caribbean in trade, tourism, education, professional services, and people-to-people exchange.

The High Court has rejected an application seeking to jail two senior officials of the Local Authorities Provident Fund (Lapfund) over alleged disobedience of orders restoring five former directors appointed by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.

The court dismissed the contempt application against Acting Chief Executive Officer Bernard Mbogo and board chairman Johnson Osoi, finding that the orders the officials were accused of breaching were no longer enforceable.

The dispute followed the revocation of the appointments of Molu Jillo Mamo, Haro Guto Okola, Kirigha Mwanyasi, Elyas Sheikh Abdinoor and Patrick Muiruri by to the Treasury Cabinet in February and March 2023.

The quintet had been appointed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration in 2021 and mid-2022 to serve three-year terms on the Lapfund board. However, President William Ruto’s administration revoked their appointments before their respective terms had expired.

They challenged the decision in court, arguing that they had been removed without notice, reasons, or an opportunity to be heard.

In January 2024, the court quashed the revocation and the relevant Gazette Notices, and barred interference with the directors for the remainder of their terms unless the law was followed.

The applicants later accused Lapfund’s leadership of ignoring the judgment. They sought six-month prison terms for Mr Mbogo and Mr Osoi, claiming the five directors had not been reinstated and that the institution continued operating without a fully constituted board.

Their allegations included recruitment of a chief executive, restructuring, salary increases and other decisions said to require board oversight. The applicants argued that the continued exclusion of the directors exposed the fund and its members to governance risks.

The two officials opposed the application. They said they were not parties to the original petition, were not personally bound by the judgment and lacked authority to reinstate the former directors. They also denied deliberately disobeying a clear and enforceable order.

The judge said court orders must be obeyed unless set aside or stayed. However, he found that contempt proceedings could not sustain an order whose practical effect had ended.

The court noted that some of the former directors had resigned, while the terms of the others had expired by the time the contempt application was being determined.

‘The considered view of this court is that once the terms expired either voluntarily by resignation (which is not contested) or expiry of the term of service, the protective order issued by the court also became spent and can no longer be enforced by contempt proceedings. The application for contempt cannot thus be brought to enforce what is no longer capable of enforcement,’ the judge said.

The court described the application as ‘misconceived, an afterthought and moot’.

It stressed that the contempt case was not a determination that every allegation of non-compliance had occurred or that the officials had been cleared after a full trial on the alleged conduct.

Its central finding was that the protective order was no longer capable of meaningful enforcement.

The former directors’ farewell and resignation letters, which thanked the appointing authority, were relied on in assessing whether they still sought to serve under the quashed appointments.

The ruling comes after the Court of Appeal upheld the finding that the revocation process was unlawful and violated constitutional protections on fair administrative action.

The appellate court, however, clarified that the directors had no automatic right to serve full three-year terms; their entitlement was to lawful and fair treatment if removed early.

Bank lending for cars, appliances, electronics, furniture and other consumer durables has overtaken property financing, marking a shift in borrowing patterns as lenders become more cautious on real estate.

Credit for consumer durables has crossed Sh500 billion, latest banking industry data shows, reaching Sh502.2 billion in June 2026, which is Sh44.7 billion or 9.8 percent more than a year earlier.

The stock of bank loans for motor vehicles, household appliances, furniture, electronics and computing equipment, alongside other assets designed to last for several years, was Sh56.3 billion higher than real estate credit.

This was after lending to real estate fell by Sh6.1 billion to Sh445.9 billion during the same period.

Much of the lending under consumer durables is structured through asset-financing arrangements, while unsecured and check-off loans also support purchases of household goods and technology.

Borrowers include salaried workers, middle-income and wealthier households, as well as micro and small businesses using financing to acquire vehicles and major equipment.

The shift means banks are now carrying a larger pool of credit against movable household and business assets than against credit through mortgages, property development loans and financing for commercial buildings for the first time.

The crossover marks a dramatic reversal from June 2018, when banks had Sh373.7 billion in real estate loans against only Sh181.4 billion for consumer durables.

Consumer-durable credit has since climbed 176.9 percent, while real estate lending has grown by only 19.3 percent, pointing to a fundamental change in borrowing patterns.

The latest figures also show banks becoming more cautious about property, with a growing share of lenders expecting deterioration in real estate loan quality.

The Central Bank’s quarterly Credit Officer Survey found that 27 percent of lenders expected real estate non-performing loans to increase in June, up from 14 percent in March.

Only 27 percent expected bad property loans to decline, down from 32 percent three months earlier, while 46 percent expected them to remain unchanged.

The caution is also evident in lenders’ recovery plans, with 70 percent expecting to intensify loan recovery efforts by September, up from 68 percent in the previous quarter.

This suggests that while property lending has not collapsed, banks are paying closer attention to repayment risks as they assess new and existing exposure to the sector.

Actual bad loans, however, have been falling. CBK data show real estate NPLs stood at Sh109.8 billion of a Sh503 billion gross loan book last December.

That was down from Sh130.7 billion in NPLs out of Sh512.2 billion three months earlier, showing that current loan performance does not point to a broad-based deterioration.

The divergence between falling NPLs and rising lender concerns points to a more cautious outlook rather than an immediate property-loan crisis.

Real estate credit has already entered contraction after years of slowing growth, falling 1.35 percent in the year to June 2026.

Annual growth had slowed from 32.4 percent in June 2022 to 3.67 percent in 2023, 3.61 percent in 2024 and 1.64 percent in 2025.

The latest decline is the first annual contraction since June 2021, when real estate credit fell 21 percent during the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The weakness also masks significant differences within the property market, with stronger demand for high-quality buildings contrasting sharply with pressure on older commercial stock.

Knight Frank’s Africa Office Market Review for the first half of 2026 describes a two-tier market, with an undersupply of Grade A offices alongside an oversupply of lower-grade buildings.

The stronger segment has benefited from rising occupancy and rental resilience, while older offices face elevated vacancies and greater competition for tenants.

Average Grade A office rents in Nairobi stood at about $13 or Sh1,684 per square metre in June, unchanged since June 2022, according to Knight Frank.

Occupancy has nevertheless improved steadily to 84.8 percent, from a post-pandemic low of 71.5 percent three years earlier, while rental yields have remained at 8.5 percent since June 2023.

The figures suggest that the cautionary stance by the banks is not necessarily a verdict on the entire property market, but reflects differences in the quality and performance of assets and borrowers.

Consumer-durable financing, on the other hand, has been moving in the opposite direction, recording nearly 10 percent annual growth for a second consecutive year.

Credit increased by Sh44.7 billion in the year to June, following a Sh40.2 billion increase in the previous year.

A court has cancelled a Nakuru land title after finding that the register was opened two days after the original owner died and another person was recorded as proprietor 11 years later.

The Environment and Land Court in Nakuru ordered the disputed parcel returned to the estate of William Kiiru after his family sued, arguing that the transfer was unlawful because it happened after his death.

According to the court judgment, Kiiru died on August 16, 1971, but the land register was opened two days later, before Fredrick Mbui was registered as proprietor on April 15, 1982, and the property later came to be registered in John Njogu’s name.

‘There was no evidence from the white card as to how the transfer was done. Further, there was no evidence of any succession proceedings or any other person who had authority to transfer the suit property on behalf of the deceased. The plaintiff pleaded the particulars of fraud and illegalities and gave evidence to prove the same,’ the court said.

The court declared the registration and transfer to Fredrick Mbui and John Njogu unlawful, fraudulent, null and void.

It also ordered the Land Registrar to cancel the entries and restore the property to Kiiru. The court held that property registration after an owner’s death, without succession authority, was unprocedural and could not stand.

The case was filed by Julius Wambugu, acting as legal representative of the estate. It arose from a land record whose dates became central to the ownership battle.

Kiiru died on August 16, 1971. The court heard that the White Card for the parcel was opened on August 18, 1971, two days later. Mr Mbui was then entered as proprietor on April 15, 1982.

The court described the sequence as ‘an anomaly and irregular as Kiiru had passed on 11 years ago.’

Mr Wambugu told the court that he discovered in 2014 that the property was registered in the name of Mr Njogu. He reported the matter at Bondeni Police Station and received an occurrence book number.

He also lodged a restriction at the Lands Registry on July 24, 2014, which remained in place when the suit was heard. He wrote to the then Nakuru Municipal Council asking it not to transfer the plot or issue construction consent because it was a site-and-service plot.

The estate sought help from the Kenya Human Rights Commission, which referred the matter to the National Land Commission. The efforts did not resolve the problem, prompting the October 2023 suit filed in court.

The defendants were served with the court papers, but neither entered appearance nor filed a defence. The court, however, stressed that their silence did not automatically establish the estate’s claim. It said that the party making the claim must still prove it under the Evidence Act.

The estate produced allocation documents, lease records, payment receipts, land-rate demands, correspondence and registry material. The evidence showed that Kiiru was the original allottee and that the disputed registration had no clear legal explanation.

The court noted there was ‘no evidence from the white card as to how the transfer was done’. It also found no evidence of succession proceedings or another person authorised to transfer the property for Kiiru.

The court concluded that the estate had proved its case on a balance of probabilities and issued a permanent injunction barring the defendants, their agents or anyone claiming through them from entering, occupying, trespassing on or interfering with the plot.

Before we begin, the movie we are going to talk about is Runner, not The Runner, which stars Gal Gadot. It’s one of those rare moments when Hollywood releases movies that share a similar title concurrently.

When you see names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, or Jackie Chan on a movie poster, you know what kind of film you’re about to experience. These actors have, over time, carved their identities into the action genre, becoming shorthand for a particular brand of high-octane cinema.

For today’s audience, Alan Ritchson feels like the natural heir to that tradition. Just this year alone, we have seen him in War Machine on Netflix, Playdate (a comedy-action which was more of a misfire), Motor City (which I consider to be one of the most unique action movies of the year), and we are currently in a new season of Reacher.

The man has been putting in the work, but above all that, I will reiterate something I mentioned in my review of Motor City, Alan Ritchson was born to play Batman, and I hope that the current team running the DC cinematic universe shares the same sentiments.

Anyway.

Now he’s back with Runner, a 2026 American, yes, you guessed it, action comedy directed by Scott Waugh. He stars alongside Owen Wilson, Rodrigo Santoro, Leila George, Adriana Barraza, Sullivan Stapleton, Peta Sergeant, and Geraldine Hakewill.

The synopsis: a former soldier and his unlikely partner become targets of a ruthless cartel while racing to deliver a critical package and save a little girl’s life. It’s as basic as they come, but that simplicity is the film’s strength. It has all the right ingredients for an action film: a MacGuffin, a combat-trained protagonist, a tattooed antagonist in black, and of course, the emotional anchor.

The movie doesn’t try to put your brain on a treadmill, you don’t need to wrestle with social commentary or psychological puzzles. It’s a clear, accessible premise designed to serve and elevate the action.

The pairing of Owen Wilson and Alan Ritchson works surprisingly well. Hollywood has long loved the odd-couple dynamic, think of something close to Tango and Cash, but here, the contrasting personalities complement each other in ways that create genuine comedic moments and unexpected dramatic turns. There’s a moment where the filmmakers take a character in a direction you wouldn’t expect.

The rest of the cast is okay; the child, plus the props, is enough to keep you invested.

Good pacing

What defines Runner is its refusal to pretend it’s more than an action thriller. By the 20-minute mark, the chase is on, and the film rarely lets up. Even in quieter scenes, there’s always momentum, always a sense of pursuit.

The pacing keeps the stakes rising, and by the third act, the tension is palpable. The action set pieces are inventive; whether it’s clever use of car tyres, carnage, or the concept of the cartel in Australia, the film finds ways to keep familiar tropes fresh. The villains are more than cardboard cut-outs, too.

The cartel’s motivations go beyond money, adding layers to the conflict. There’s the enforcer who handles the dirty work, and ‘mom,’ a figure whose influence over the gang is fascinating despite limited screen time. Throw in Australian bikers, and you’ve got a colourful mix of adversaries who pose a real threat to the good guys.

This is a bright film, almost to the level of a sitcom, with clear visuals that avoid the erratic editing often used to mask weak choreography. The camera lingers when it needs to, capturing the interiors of cars and hand-to-hand combat with clarity, something a lot of modern movies shy away from.

By the time the third-act ambulance chase happens, the tension is through the roof, and the camera work helps telegraph that intensity. The editing during fight scenes is handled well enough that you never lose track of the action, especially in that one third-act fight, which reminded me of the lift fight in Motor City, one of Ritchson’s standout sequences.

Gripes

A doorstep conversation scene feels unnecessary, slowing the pace when more action would have been welcome. The first hour leans more toward thriller than full-blown action, with only a couple of gun work, hand-to-hand fights and car scenes before the chaos of the final act.

I found myself wishing for more combat earlier on. The emotional beats involving the little girl also feel heavy-handed. The film works overtime to make you care, emphasising her eyes using oversized glasses in ways that border on manipulative. It heightens the tension, but the effort is obvious.

So, can we call this a mindless popcorn movie? Well, Runner is not mindless action; it has structure, sensibility, and a clear story. The premise may be basic, but the execution makes it enjoyable. The third act is wild, full of surprises you won’t see coming, and it cements the film as one of Ritchson’s most enjoyable action thrillers. It’s fast-paced, tense, and entertaining, with action that feels both classic and fresh. Most importantly, its runtime is just perfect, 90 minutes to be exact.

Rubis Energy Kenya’s revenue rose 17.8 percent to pound 541 million (Sh81.15 billion) in the first half of 2026, as stronger commercial activity lifted its business despite intense competition.

The French oil marketer’s Kenyan revenue increased from pound 455 million (Sh68.91 billion) in the first half of 2025, marking a sharper recovery in both reported sales and the local currency value.

Rubis attributed the latest performance to stronger commercial momentum and customer activity, with the biggest gains coming as its commercial and industrial business recorded higher margins in Kenya.

‘The Commercial and Industrial business (C and I, representing 33 percent of fuel volume and 30 percent of H1 fuel gross margin) increased by nine percent in volume. Margins increased by 19 percent year-on-year,’ said the multinational’s parent firm Rubis Énergie.

‘Haiti was the main contributor to volume growth while Kenya saw a significant increase in its margin, benefiting from solid commercial momentum and strong customer activity.’

The improvement comes despite a highly competitive Kenyan petroleum market, particularly in aviation fuel, where Rubis said it continued prioritising margins over volumes rather than chasing market share.

The company reported that the Kenyan aviation segment remained competitive during the period, limiting its ability to pursue volume growth even as the wider aviation business improved profitability.

The latest performance contrasts with the weaker picture in euro terms last year, when Rubis Kenya’s revenue fell from pound 488 million in the first half of 2024 to pound 455 million in 2025 despite higher sales in shilling terms.

The reversal partly reflects the greater stability of the shilling against major currencies, reducing the translation losses that had previously masked growth in the Kenyan operation when results were converted into euros.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said the shilling averaged Sh129.28 against the dollar in the fourth quarter of 2025, virtually unchanged from Sh129.32 a year earlier, although it weakened against the euro.

By June 2026, the shilling was trading at about Sh149.99 to the euro, with daily rates remaining around the Sh147-Sh150 range during the month, providing a relatively stable base for reporting local revenues.

Rubis’ wider African operations also strengthened during the period under review, with Africa generating pound 1.69 billion in revenue during the first half, up 39 percent from pound 1.22 billion a year earlier.

Kenya accounted for about a third of Rubis’ African revenue, underscoring the country’s importance to the French group’s energy distribution business and its broader growth strategy on the continent.

The growth is occurring against sustained demand for petroleum products, with Kenya’s diesel consumption rising 10.6 percent to 1.3 million tonnes in the six months to June 2026 while petroleum consumption rose by 8.5 percent to 866,170 tonnes.

The demand provides the underlying market for oil marketers, whose revenues are influenced not only by volumes sold but also by pump prices, margins, product mix and movements in the cost of imported petroleum.

Rubis said its global fuel volumes increased six percent during the first half, while gross margins from fuel rose 13 percent, reflecting stronger commercial performance across its markets.

Across all products, Rubis’ energy distribution business sold 3.48 million cubic metres during the period, nine percent more than the 3.2 million cubic metres recorded in the first half of 2025.

Bitumen was the fastest-growing product globally, with volumes increasing 44 percent and gross margin rising 54 percent, reflecting stronger construction and infrastructure-related demand across several markets.

In Kenya, the stronger first-half revenue comes as the petroleum industry faces a changing demand environment, with businesses and households remaining sensitive to pump prices and the cost of transport.

The government’s fuel-pricing system continues to regulate maximum retail prices through monthly reviews by EPRA, limiting the extent to which oil marketers can independently adjust pump prices.

The improved performance also come as Kenya’s currency has entered a period of relative stability after the sharp depreciation that had raised import costs and complicated financial reporting for businesses.

We work incredibly hard to earn foreign exchange through tea, coffee, horticulture and tourism. Then we send a huge amount of it straight back out of the country to buy the fuel that powers our economy. Hence, our biggest export may actually be foreign exchange.

In 2025, Kenya imported about 5.5 million tonnes of petroleum products, valued roughly Sh511 billion, according to a survey by KNBS’s 2026 Economic Survey.

From the same survey, tea exports earned roughly Sh187 billion, cut flowers Sh103 billion, vegetables and fruits Sh100 billion, and unroasted coffee roughly Sh52 billion. Those four alone total about Sh442 billion. Petroleum imports? Sh511 billion. Read that again.

We spent more on imported petroleum than tea, flowers, fruits, vegetables and coffee earned for us combined. Perhaps Kenya’s largest export isn’t tea. It’s foreign exchange. And the fuel tank is one of our biggest collection points.

That changes the electric mobility conversation completely. Because every electric kilometre is potentially one less kilometre powered by imported petroleum but every electric vehicle is potentially less demand for imported fuel. And because our electricity is predominantly renewable, we can substitute an imported energy commodity with something we can generate domestically.

Ethiopia is getting much of the attention when it comes to electric vehicles in Africa, and rightly so but before we copy Ethiopia’s policies, we should understand why its circumstances are fundamentally different from ours.

First, electricity. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has given Ethiopia access to enormous quantities of relatively cheap renewable electricity.

Second, foreign exchange. Ethiopia has struggled with hard-currency availability for years. Import financing and the repatriation of foreign currency are longstanding business challenges.

Third, fuel. When foreign exchange is scarce, imported petroleum becomes a strategic vulnerability. Fuel shortages and those infamous queues at petrol stations are not just transport problems; they are an economic signal. If you have abundant domestic electricity but struggle to secure imported petroleum, electrification starts looking less like a climate policy and more like common sense.

Fourth, the vehicle market. Ethiopia is a left-hand-drive market. That gives it access to a completely different pool of vehicles from China, Europe and the US, including relatively young used vehicles. Rwanda has a similar advantage. Kenya does not.

Kenya drives on the left, and our traditional used-vehicle supply chain is overwhelmingly Japanese. Japan has been very good to Kenya. But there is a problem.

Japanese Original Equipment Manufacturers have historically been much more heavily invested in hybrids and other technologies than pure battery-electric vehicles. That means the supply of affordable used Japanese EVs available to Kenya remains relatively limited.

It is important to note that we import roughly 100,000 used vehicles every year compared to about 12,000 vehicles assembled in the country.

So, in reality, Kenya is a used-vehicle importing market that happens to have an assembly industry. That distinction becomes important when we start talking about the future because the global automotive industry is quickly changing underneath us and it is changing very.

Why would a global EV manufacturer establish a major manufacturing operation in Kenya when our consumers overwhelmingly buy used vehicles? Why would somebody invest heavily in charging infrastructure when a significant part of the market is effectively waiting for today’s EV to become an eight-year-old import? That isn’t criticism. It is simply the market reality and industrial policy that ignores market reality is usually just expensive optimism.

We should ask ourselves: What can Kenya do exceptionally well in the new electric-mobility value chain? My answer is simple: Electricity. Kenya’s grid is already predominantly renewable that is; geothermal, hydro, wind and solar.

So what should Kenya actually do? First, we should aggressively attract EV manufacturers and assemblers because we need vehicles in the market. Second, create demand through financing, leasing, fleet conversion, targeted incentives and tax policy, whatever works.

Third, build charging infrastructure and do it ahead of demand where it is commercially sensible. Fourth, build the ecosystem that is maintenance, battery services, software, energy management, fleet management, components, recycling and data.

Lastly, exploit the renewable-energy advantage. If we can electrify transport, reduce petroleum imports and retain foreign exchange, we can use that economic benefit to expand our renewable-energy system further. Then use that cheap, clean electricity for far more than transport in agriculture, manufacturing, mineral processing, cold storage, data centres and industrial parks. That is where the real opportunity lies.

Kenya has something different. A predominantly renewable grid, a sophisticated services economy, an entrepreneurial population and a demonstrated ability to leapfrog technology when the economics make sense.

When a fire reportedly destroyed more than 50 vehicles at a garage, many Kenyans understandably focused on one question: who will pay for the loss? That question matters.

But as the Association of Kenya Insurers, we believe the incident should also prompt a broader conversation about preparedness, responsibility and the role of insurance as a tool for resilience for both customers and garage businesses.

Insurance works best when the coverage is understood before disaster strikes. Yet too often, the policy is only examined after the unfortunate incident has occurred. At that point, individuals and businesses face losses that are difficult to absorb without the right protection in place.

For vehicle owners, the first lesson is to know what your motor policy covers. If a vehicle is left at a garage for repairs, servicing, inspection or storage, a comprehensive insurance policy covers the vehicle in the event of an accident. After the insured is compensated, the insurer may demand compensation from the garage. However, if the vehicle is insured on third party only basis, the vehicle owner can lodge his claim to the garage owner.

Before handing over a vehicle to a garage, customers may need to find out whether the garage is insured for customers’ vehicles. It is important to have a job card/vehicle intake sheet and keep written evidence of the agreed work. These simple steps strengthen accountability.

For garage owners, the lesson is even more urgent. A garage is not merely a place where vehicles are repaired; it is a business that receives, stores, moves and tests valuable property belonging to other people. Every day, garage owners assume responsibility for vehicles that may be exposed to the risk of fire, theft, accidental damage, collision, flood or other operational risks. Without adequate insurance, one incident can threaten the survival of the business.

This is why Motor Trader Insurance is a critical cover for motor trade businesses. It is designed for garages, workshops, vehicle dealers, resellers and other operators whose work involves handling vehicles that may not belong to them.

The cover has several components that help protect the business against risks arising from keeping, repairing, moving, testing or storing customers’ vehicles.

Motor Trade -Internal Risks cover is particularly important because it responds to loss or damage to customers’ vehicles while they are within the garage premises. Motor Trade -Road Risks cover is equally important. It applies where authorised garage staff need to test, move or drive a customer’s vehicle on the road.

Our appeal to garage owners is not to wait for disaster to wish you had insurance. For those already insured, do not wait for a claim to discover that your cover is inadequate.

Assess the value and volume of vehicles in your care, review your premises safety measures, disclose your operations honestly to your insurer, agent or broker, and ensure that the insurance you purchase matches the risks that you face.

The recent garage fire should therefore not be remembered only as a tragic event. It should be treated as a wake-up call for the entire motor ecosystem. Customers, garages, insurers, intermediaries and regulators must each play their part in building a culture where risks are anticipated, responsibilities are clear and protection is in place before losses occur.

As the Association of Kenya Insurers, we urge vehicle owners and garage owners alike to make insurance part of their planning, not an afterthought. Insurers have developed, and continue to develop, packaged solutions for motor traders depending on the nature and scale of their operations. The best time to understand and strengthen your cover is not after a loss has occurred; it is today.

A portable brain test that uses a smartphone to send results to specialists could help patients suspected of having epilepsy access specialised testing closer to home, reducing the need for long journeys to major hospitals, joint tests by nine organisations, including the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (Kutrrh) said.

The smartphone-linked electroencephalography (EEG) test produced recordings that specialists could assess in 96 percent of 3,036 tests carried out at 29 healthcare sites across Kenya, an outcome that could reshape how neurological diagnoses are done. Most results were available within one to two hours.

The study used the BrainCapture BC-1, a portable EEG device that records the brain’s electrical activity. It is designed for use in health facilities that may not have specialised EEG equipment or neurologists.

‘The smartphone-based EEG technology displayed high feasibility in routine clinical care, with 96 percent of recordings being considered clinically interpretable by remote EEG interpreters. The device demonstrated high interpretability rates, rapid turnaround times for interpretation, and successful adoption across rural sites, highlighting its potential for use in settings with limited resources,’ the report read.

The trial study also included researchers from Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen University, Danish Epilepsy Center, Psychiatry Hospital, Bucharest and Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, among others.

The development comes as Kenya continues to face shortages and an uneven distribution of health workers, making access to specialist services difficult for patients outside major urban centres.

According to Kenya’s health workforce assessment, there are 0.89 medical doctors, including generalists and specialists, per 10,000 people, compared with a requirement of 7.7 per 10,000 people for 70 percent universal health coverage.

The shortage is more pronounced in some specialist fields.

According to the World Health Organisation, the median number of neurological specialists in the African region is approximately 0.1 per 100,000 people.

Kenya has 18 to 20 neurologists for a population of more than 50 million, meaning each neurologist serves roughly three million people.

The EEG system uses a flexible cap fitted with electrodes that pick up electrical signals from the brain. The cap is connected to a small amplifier, which sends the recordings through a smartphone to a secure online platform.

The recording can then be reviewed remotely by a certified EEG technologist and checked by a neurophysiologist. This means that the test can be done at a health facility closer to the patient while the specialist reviewing the results can be based elsewhere.

The researchers said the technology is intended to reduce the infrastructure needed to perform EEG tests, including dedicated recording rooms and the presence of specialist personnel at the facility where the test is conducted.

‘The aim of the smartphone-based EEG technology is to reduce infrastructure requirements, including the need for dedicated recording facilities and expert personnel, while enabling data acquisition in decentralised environments,’ the study read.

The model is part of a wider shift towards using technology to bring diagnostic services closer to patients while allowing specialists to provide support remotely.

A 2026 study published in JAMA Cardiology, for example, tested an artificial intelligence system that uses electrocardiogram (ECG) readings to screen for impaired heart function in eight Kenyan health facilities.

The AI-assisted ECG achieved a sensitivity of 95.6 percent and a negative predictive value of 99.1 percent, suggesting its potential to identify patients who may require further cardiac assessment in areas with limited access to specialised testing.