Category: Business Daily

Lennox Otieno founded Subleasing Kenya in 2023 when the short-term rental market was highly lucrative. He started with four short stay units, two in Nairobi and two in Mombasa, at a time when few investors had ventured into the business.

‘It was still a niche market. There weren’t as many hosts as there are today,’ he says.

The business grew steadily at that time, largely due to international travellers. Lennox says that around 95 per cent of his clients were foreigners and Kenyans living abroad, many of whom preferred the flexibility and privacy offered by short stay accommodation to traditional hotels.

As demand grew, another revenue stream opened up: some visitors approached him, seeking help to invest in Kenya’s property market.

‘They would ask me to help them buy property, furnish it, and manage it as an short stay. The business model was very sustainable back then, but within a few years, the market changed. Thousands of new hosts entered the sector, bringing competition, which caused nightly rates to go down,’ he says.

Lennox says that currently, the returns are no longer what they were when he first entered the market.

This has forced him to rethink his strategy. He has shut down all his units in Nairobi and has also left Mombasa, choosing to focus on Diani, where he believes demand is more resilient. “Diani is almost purely a tourist destination, so it gives us a better opportunity than competing in saturated urban markets,” he says.

However, setting up an short stay has also become more expensive than it was just a few years ago. Lennox says that he spent around Sh300,000 preparing his first apartment for guests, but subsequent investments have required far larger budgets.

‘None of my properties has cost me less than Sh600,000 to set up,’ he says.

He argues that simply furnishing an apartment is no longer enough. In today’s market, hosts are setting themselves apart by offering additional experiences for profit.

‘For my business, that means offering premium beachfront properties in Diani alongside optional experiences such as curated local tours, while continuing to invest heavily in high-end furnishings and guest comfort,’ says Lennox.

Five years ago, studios in Nairobi’s prime suburbs such as Westlands were rare because such units were often converted into servant quarters attached to larger homes.

However, as short stays, such as Airbnbs gained traction, developers spotted an opportunity in the form of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, which began to appear across neighbourhoods such as Kilimani, Kileleshwa and Westlands.

These apartments were built to target investors eager to tap into the lucrative short-term rental market. This rapid expansion has created a different problem: oversupply.

Nazarene Wangare, the CEO of Zarina Properties, who also works as a property manager, says that the market has become more competitive because these similar units are competing for the same guests.

‘A person paying Sh4,500 is not the same as someone paying Sh1,500. That’s a different market. It changes your clientele,’ she says.

For this reason, she deliberately avoids managing lower-priced listings.

“There are certain types of short stays you’ll never find me selling. I don’t touch anything below Sh4,000 because it comes with a lot of complications. The market becomes extremely wide.’

The impact of growing competition is perhaps most visible on the coast.

Wangare says that she left the short-term rental business in Mombasa when the operating costs became difficult to justify against the declining occupancy rates.

‘It’s difficult to achieve even a 15 percent occupancy rate, and if you reach 20 percent, you have to lower your rates just to break even.’

The same pressures are evident in Nairobi, where new apartment developments are also transforming the market. She points to Riara Road, where multiple projects are being developed within a small radius, each adding to the hundreds of existing apartments.

“If you have four projects within about 500 metres of each other, each with around 400 units, that’s an additional 1,600 units. Before that, there were very few units, so demand was very high.”

The influx is also creating unrealistic expectations among some investors. Wangare cites the case of a client in the US who bought a one-bedroom apartment in Kileleshwa, expecting monthly returns of Sh120,000 to comfortably cover her mortgage repayments.

“That’s already above the market price,” she says.

Instead of chasing ambitious rental targets, she believes investors should focus on occupancy and differentiation.

“If you’re setting up an short stay, you have to make it as stylish as possible to break even, because now you’re competing with more than 400 other owners,” she says.

Although the business has grown to the point of oversaturation, some hosts are proving that it can still be profitable.

One of Wangare’s clients in Kilimani has expanded to four sublet units by negotiating lower rents with landlords, securing apartments with better views and investing heavily in professional interior design.

‘She’s found a competitive edge, and her apartments are normally fully booked through the app,’ says Wangare. Her advice to new investors is to stop relying on Airbnb’s early success stories.

‘The only thing I usually advise investors on is achieving a high occupancy rate,’ she says. “It’s better to take slightly lower rent if it means your unit is occupied. That’s what makes the numbers work today.’

According to data from the market analytics firm AirDNA, Nairobi had 12,870 active short-term rental listings in May 2026 – a 25 percent increase on the previous year. One-bedroom apartments dominate the market, accounting for 63.2 per cent of all listings, followed by two-bedroom units at 25.7 per cent. This reflects investors’ growing preference for smaller units that promise higher rental yields.

Nationally, market intelligence firm Airbtics estimates that Kenya’s short-term rental supply expanded by 40.75 per cent in 2025, with Nairobi adding around 1,840 new listings and Mombasa adding a further 443. This underscores the pace at which the market has grown.

The short stay boom has also altered the country’s residential property market, with investors betting that higher nightly rates would generate stronger returns than conventional leases. This trend has fuelled purchases in prime investment hotspots in Nairobi as well as in other tourism-driven destinations such as Naivasha and the coast.

According to Clive Ndege, Head of Sales at Superior Homes Kenya, one-bedroom apartments have become the preferred investment choice as they strike a balance between affordability, financing accessibility and rental performance.

‘One-bedroom apartments have consistently recorded the strongest demand,’ he says, adding that two-bedroom units have also grown in popularity among investors seeking to attract families, professionals, and corporate tenants.

This, he observes, has translated into a growing demand for mortgage financing. Studio apartments in Nairobi’s established investment corridors currently sell for between Sh4 million and Sh7 million, one-bedroom units for between Sh6 million and Sh10 million, and two-bedroom apartments for between Sh8 million and Sh15 million. Premium developments fetch considerably higher prices.

Despite the growing appetite for property investment, Kenya’s mortgage market remains relatively small. According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the country has just over 30,000 active mortgage accounts, suggesting significant room for expansion as more investors enter the housing market.

However, as short stay listings have multiplied, so has competition. Ndege says that the market has evolved from being driven by optimism to requiring careful financial planning.

“During its early stages, occupancy levels and nightly rates were exceptionally strong, encouraging many investors to enter the market with optimistic expectations regarding returns and mortgage servicing.

However, as supply has increased, the market has naturally become more competitive. Guests today enjoy a wider choice of accommodation, resulting in greater pressure on pricing, occupancy and service quality,” he says.

Ndege also argues that investors are increasingly recognising that long-term value lies in quality developments, although this shift is also changing investor behaviour.

Rather than chasing short-term gains, more buyers are now evaluating properties for their ability to generate stable income over time.

“Long-term leases provide a steady monthly rental income, making it easier to consistently meet mortgage repayments and reducing the risk of cash flow shortfalls. In contrast, income from short-term rentals can fluctuate due to seasonality, tourism trends, business travel, competition and occupancy levels. Even a few weeks of low occupancy can significantly impact an investor’s ability to comfortably service a mortgage, especially if they have high levels of debt,’ he says.

Beatrice Chege, Absa Bank Kenya’s Head of Mortgage, says the lender has also witnessed growing interest in investment properties over the past five years, particularly in two-bedroom apartments.

Although Beatrice says the bank has not yet observed a notable rise in mortgage restructuring linked to short stay investments, she notes that lending decisions already factor in the risks associated with investment properties.

She says that mortgage underwriting takes such market dynamics into account while maintaining that real estate remains “an alternative investment class” capable of creating balanced investment portfolios.

However, for Ndege, the lesson from the changing short stay market is that investors should avoid chasing short-term trends.

“The fundamentals of sound property investment remain unchanged despite the evolving market conditions: just buy a good property in a good location. Whether you are investing for short stay or long-term rental income, factors such as accessibility, proximity to workplaces, schools, shopping centres and transport networks will continue to influence demand,” he says.

Africa has declared its ambition to become a strong force in the global economy. Governments are investing in infrastructure, digital technology, industrialisation and regional trade while seeking greater influence in international institutions. The aspirations are commendable, but a crucial ingredient is often overlooked: a free and independent media. Without protecting press freedom, African countries risk weakening the foundations required to compete with the world’s leading economies.

The strength of countries that dominate the global stage comes from institutions which encourage transparency, innovation and accountability. Independent journalists investigate wrongdoing, expose wasteful spending and provide citizens with information that enables them to make informed decisions. This creates a healthy environment for governance and economic growth.

Investors pay attention to the quality of information in a country before committing their money. Reliable reporting helps businesses assess risks, understand market conditions and evaluate government policies. Where journalists operate freely, economic information is credible as it is subject to public scrutiny.

Countries where media organisations face intimidation or censorship struggle to convince investors that official data reflects reality. Uncertainty raises the cost of doing business and discourages long-term investment.

Media freedom strengthens public institutions by making leaders answerable to people. Governments that welcome criticism are more likely to identify policy failures early and correct them before they become crises.

Constructive journalism acts as an early warning system, exposing corruption, highlighting public service failures and bringing neglected communities into national conversations. Silencing the press may temporarily protect officials from embarrassment, but it often allows deeper problems to grow unchecked.

Countries competing in AI, financial technology, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing depend on the free exchange of ideas. Innovation flourishes where people are able to question established thinking and debate alternative solutions without fear.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has warned managers of the fast-growing special funds against unethical marketing, including advertising of high returns but failing to provide sufficient information and disclosure to clients, which often masks significant risks.

Business Daily that the markets regulator held a closed-door meeting with the special funds’ managers on July 2, amid the proliferation of this category of collective funds, with some players even irregularly hiring influencers to hype up the investment option.

The special funds accounted for a record 23.9 percent share of collective investment schemes as of the end of March 2026, with Sh203.5 billion packed into them.

The structure allows fund managers to concentrate on selected asset classes, including higher-risk instruments that generate market-beating returns but also expose investors to potentially significant losses.

Individual managers of special funds have remained tight-lipped on the discussions during the meeting, dubbed a ‘housekeeping exercise’, with the CMA last week. But their lobby group, the Fund Managers Association (FMA), revealed that the regulator raised concerns about, among others, unethical marketing strategies, poor material disclosures and the use of unqualified sale representatives.

‘The CMA held a forum with the managers of special funds and a separate one for custodians and trustees who hold fiduciary responsibility,’ said Fred Mburu, the chief executive officer of FMA.

‘While we did not attend the meeting as FMA, we have spoken to members about the need to tighten the code of conduct. Do clients understand the risk and the underlying investment strategy? How do fund managers report the net asset value (NAV) and returns to investors? Marketing ethics also come up, especially where intermediaries like social media influencers are selling special funds to clients on behalf of fund managers.’

The firms running the special funds charge management fees up to six percent of assets per annum in addition to performance charges when returns beat a set benchmark.

Sources at the CMA confirmed the Thursday meeting and highlighted the likelihood of new regulations targeted at special funds.

The regulator is also reportedly worried about fraud where bad actors have cloned legitimate special fund platforms to siphon funds from unsuspecting Kenyans.

In May, a Nairobi court allowed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to detain a man accused of defrauding investors millions of shillings through a fake online investment portal.

When Dickson Ndege Nyakango was arrested on May 4, investors said Sh33.6 million had been deposited into one of the bank accounts linked to the scheme.

Mom-and-pop investors have flocked into special funds in search of relatively higher returns, which outstrip gains from the more traditional unit trust funds like money market funds (MMFs) and fixed-income funds.

At Sh203.5 billion, the special funds asset base is sizeable enough to fully fund either one of the key government ministries like Health, Agriculture, Transport and Social Protection in a year.

Returns from traditional investments like MMFs have trailed special funds as their constituent assets, Treasury bills and commercial bank fixed deposits, lose ground from the prevailing lower interest rate regime.

In the quarter ended March 2026, assets in special funds grew more than four times faster than in MMFs, climbing 25 percent from Sh162.4 billion to Sh203.5billion. MMFs only rose four percent in the same period but have a larger asset base at Sh442.1 billion.

The CMA has attributed the growth of special funds to rising retail investor interest and the development of innovative products by fund managers.

‘The trend highlights the continued strong interest in the fund management segment among the general public, particularly in the special funds segment,’ the CMA said in its recent first quarter collective investment schemes (CIS) report.

The special funds’ share of assets in the total unit trusts industry has grown from 17.5 percent a year ago, while the number of special funds has grown from 29 to 38 over the same period. Standard Investment Bank’s Mansa-X shilling, dollar-denominated, and Shariah funds are the largest special investment vehicles in the class, dominating the category with 76.8 percent or Sh153 billion assets under management (AUM).

Other top special funds are Faida Investment Bank’s Oak Multi-Asset Special Fund, Madison Wealth Special Fund and Britam Special Fixed Income Fund.

The top special funds have consistently beaten returns from traditional asset classes like Treasury bills and bonds, raising their appeal among Kenyan investors who have been described as ‘returns-obsessed’ by various market players.

Mansa-X Kenya Shilling Special Fund, for instance, posted annualised half-year net returns of 23.15 percent while Faida’s Oak Special Fund posted an annualised return of 20.28 percent in the opening quarter of 2026.

Both returns significantly outpaced payouts offered by MMFs, bank fixed deposits and government bonds.

The CMA is concerned about managers driving customer acquisition through the marketing of high returns even as most funds place a disclaimer that the handsome payout may not always hold in the future.

The choice to annualise quarterly returns instead of reporting only the quarterly yield has also been a bone of contention as critics push for a standardised reporting matrix.

At the same time, the regulator warns that short-term investors may realise negative returns as most special funds are structured to smooth out losses over the long term.

For investors positioned for the short term, the CMA is concerned that any negative quarterly returns may turn away the clients, resulting in potentially sharp drawdowns.

A fund manager who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity meanwhile said they are worried about certain complex asset classes like interest rate derivatives, which have the potential to amplify losses to clients as much as they can multiply returns.

Interest rate derivatives are financial contracts whose value is determined by the movement of underlying benchmark interest rates.

The source is concerned that some special funds could be using inflows from fresh investments by clients to mask or hide quarterly losses made on the market.

The CMA usually sets drawdown limits, above which the regulator would be required to close funds if client withdrawals breach the ceiling.

Regulators worldwide, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have been enforcing stricter controls over investments deemed high-risk, such as crypto assets and private credit.

It began, as so many Kenyan internet phenomena do, not in Nairobi but miles away, nearly 1,150 feet above New York City’s Manhattan neighbourhood in the United States.

Last Wednesday, Russian rooftoppers Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov scaled the Empire State Building and somehow made their way to the summit of the 102-storey skyscraper without safety tethers.

Wearing dark outfits and face masks, the couple unfurled a black banner bearing the line: ‘When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.’

Then, above one of the world’s tallest buildings, Mr Kuznetsov appeared to get down on one knee and propose, according to videos circulated on social media.

The pair eventually climbed back to the ground, where New York police arrested them. US media reported that the couple was slapped with felony burglary charges, reckless endangerment and an assortment of other offences that generally accompany unauthorised strolls across famous landmarks.

Ms Nikolau and Mr Kuznetsov are actually seasoned extreme climbers. They starred in the 2024 Netflix documentary ‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’, chronicling their habit of sneaking into skyscrapers, bridges and construction sites around the world.

But as everyone else globally followed the audacious stunt and its subsequent police case online, Kenyan marketers saw a blank advertising billboard.

There are many ways to know that a meme has reached peak Kenyan status. One is when a listed company embraces it without convening committees, lawyers and a brand consultant to determine whether humour aligns with its corporate values.

Another is when your neighbourhood pub, a travel agency, an events promoter and a flour mill all arrive at the same joke within 48 hours.

By Thursday, the Russian couple had begun disappearing from social media users’ timelines, replaced by an army of AI-generated doubles perched atop impossible towers, each holding banners that had absolutely nothing to do with world peace.

Safaricom fired one of the opening salvos with a banner asking, ‘Tupandishe Fuliza limit?’ referencing its popular digital overdraft feature. The post has amassed thousands of responses and nearly a million views on X alone.

The floodgates opened; Jambojet and Kenya Airways joined in. Flour manufacturer Raha performed perhaps the most Kenyan adaptation of all, editing packets of maize and wheat flour onto the narrow ledge beneath the climbers.

Soon, the meme escaped corporate headquarters altogether. Neighbourhood pubs advertised themed nights, and event organisers announced ticket prices.

Somewhere along the way, the Russian couple quietly gave way to an AI-generated Maasai moran, balancing on a skyscraper antenna while holding banners to promote cheap holidays to Mombasa.

In the age of social media algorithms, marketing teams are moving quickly to jump on trends because, with just an AI prompt and a witty caption, companies can generate engagement numbers that traditional advertising budgets would struggle to buy.

Still, trend-jacking, as the habit is called in marketing parlance, has long divided industry professionals.

Some see it as lazy and unoriginal, while others see it as part of the social media game-jump in to get visibility when the trend is ongoing, since memes have the shelf life of ripe avocados.

Trend-jacking can also backfire when companies force content into a trend that doesn’t align with their core values or voice, making them appear out-of-touch, cringey, and sparking ridicule online.

Ms Nikolau and Mr Kuznetsov’s stunt has entered the lifecycle of a Kenyan internet meme: a real event occurs, AI recreates it in Nairobi, marketing departments personalise it, small businesses copy it, and screenshots compress it until the pixels surrender completely.

Before long, nobody remembers where it came from, only that it now, somehow, belongs to us.

Every day, the world generates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. Africa, home to 1.4 billion people and one of the fastest growing mobile populations on earth, contributes a significant and rising share of that torrent.

By 2030, the continent’s data economy is projected to be worth $290 billion. Yet Africa’s share of actual value captured from the global data economy remains below three percent. The data is here. The wealth it should be generating is not. The gap between those two facts is not a technology problem. It is a governance problem.

When an international investor sits down to assess an African market, one of the first questions they ask is: what does the data say? What is the consumption trend in this sector? What is the demographic profile of this city?

In most of our countries, the honest answer is that nobody knows, at least not officially. The data exists somewhere. It lives in the servers of global technology platforms, in the back offices of mobile operators, in the filing portals of government agencies that have never been asked to share what they hold. There is no framework to surface it, no policy to govern its use, and no infrastructure to process it at scale.

The result is a paradox that is quietly strangling African economic growth. For the past decade, the continent’s policy conversation has been almost entirely consumed by the question of how to protect personal data from misuse. That conversation was necessary. Kenya’s Data Protection Act, the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe, and the AU’s own frameworks were important steps. But somewhere along the way, protection became the whole story, and that is where we went wrong.

Data protection laws regulate a narrow category of information: personally identifiable data traceable to a named individual. Their health record. Their financial transaction. Their biometric profile. This category is important and deserves the legal safeguards it has received. But it represents a fraction, perhaps less than one percent, of the data that African economies generate daily.

The rest, aggregate, anonymised, sectoral, institutional, is not personal data within the meaning of the law. It cannot be traced back to any individual. There is no legal barrier to using it. And yet it sits idle, because an entire ecosystem of organisations, from hospitals to government registries to financial institutions, has decided that the safest response to data regulation is to share nothing at all.

The costs are measurable. The GSMA has found that a 10 percent increase in mobile data utilisation in Africa could contribute up to two percentage points to a country’s GDP growth. The World Bank has documented that improved access to administrative data can reduce the cost of doing business in developing economies by up to 25 percent. The African Development Bank has linked the absence of reliable sectoral data to billions of dollars in annual losses from inefficient resource allocation across the continent.

These are not abstract numbers. They represent hospitals that cannot plan bed capacity because patient flow data is locked away. They represent roads built in the wrong places because no one queried movement patterns available in our own telecommunications infrastructure. They represent investors who fly into Nairobi, spend three days trying to understand a market, and fly out without committing capital because the data they need simply cannot be found. The African Union’s Data Policy Framework, adopted in 2022, recognised this and called on member states to build governance ecosystems that balance protection with access, sharing, and economic activation. Most governments, Kenya’s included, have yet to translate that call into legislation. Baby steps have been commenced in Kenya with the proposed National Data Governance Policy. It will come in handy when it takes effect, and hopefully, implemented effectively.

At G and A Advocates LLP, two decades of advising investors, governments, and businesses across sectors, from infrastructure and financial services to energy, health, and technology, have brought us repeatedly to the same inflection point. The clients with the greatest appetite for Africa are invariably the ones most frustrated by the absence of reliable, accessible data. Data governance is no longer a compliance question. It is an investment question.

Three things must change. Governments must develop national data governance policies distinct from data protection laws, with clear frameworks for how anonymised and aggregate data can be shared. The private sector cannot wait for government to lead. Companies holding large datasets need legal counsel that helps them understand what they can lawfully share and what protections apply when they do. And Africa must invest urgently in the infrastructure to process data at scale.

Data is the new oil as the cliché goes. If that analogy holds, Africa is sitting on enormous reserves with no refineries, no pipelines, and no coherent extraction policy. The question is whether we will keep watching others profit from our reserves, or finally build the architecture to govern, share, and benefit from what is ours.

That conversation cannot wait. The cost of delay is not a future problem. It is the growth we are not seeing today.

Investor conversations in Kenya are becoming unusually candid. From debates on land versus equities to public unpacking of sovereign debt risk and valuation metrics, the country’s investment discourse is shifting in real time, and with it, the expectations placed on financial institutions to guide how capital is allocated across a very complex risk environment.

For decades, the country’s investment hierarchy was relatively fixed. Land occupied the top of the social and psychological pyramid, fixed deposits and government securities were treated as the default ‘safe’ option, and equities remained peripheral, often viewed as speculative or the preserve of a narrow investor class. Wealth was defined less by allocation efficiency and more by visible ownership.

That hierarchy is now being disrupted. At the recent BD Investor Education Conference, a noticeably different language is emerging. Investors are not asking where to ‘put money,’ but how different asset classes compare in terms of risk, return, and long-term value creation. The conversation now includes references to valuation ratios, global market performance, inflation dynamics, and sovereign debt exposure, which are concepts that were once confined to institutional finance.

The move, though subtle, is significant, signalling a transition from a savings-led financial culture to an allocation-led investment culture, where capital is no longer parked in a single perceived safe asset but distributed across competing risk buckets. Land is still discussed, but more critically. Fixed income remains relevant, but no longer unquestioned. Equities are becoming part of mainstream conversation, and not speculative interest.

Underlying this change is a growing awareness of macroeconomic risk. Public discussions around rising domestic debt levels, fiscal pressures, and interest rate cycles is filtering into household-level investment thinking. Investors are beginning to recognise that even instruments traditionally perceived as risk-free, such as government securities or bank deposits, are ultimately tied to sovereign balance sheet dynamics and inflation trajectories.

In parallel, financial literacy is expanding. Concepts such as price-to-earnings ratios, market capitalisation, and index performance are now being explained in public forums and investor sessions. This leads to better-informed investors and more analytical ones willing to compare local opportunities with global benchmarks.

This matters because it changes behaviour. As investors become more aware of relative valuation, portfolio construction begins to replace asset accumulation as the dominant logic. Instead of asking whether land, deposits, or equities are ‘best,’ investors are beginning to ask how each fits within an overall strategy for wealth preservation and growth. That change marks the early stages of a more mature capital market.

It also introduces tension into traditional assumptions about safety. The long-held belief that government securities are inherently risk-free is now being discussed in more nuanced terms, particularly in relation to debt sustainability and fiscal space. While confidence in sovereign instruments remains intact, it is now accompanied by awareness that risk is not absent but simply priced differently.

This evolution is important for another reason. It is expanding the role expected of financial intermediaries. As investment decisions become more complex, the need for structured advisory, portfolio diversification, and risk management frameworks becomes more pronounced. The market is gradually moving away from product-led investing toward solution-led investing.

Equities stand to benefit from this change. As valuation awareness deepens and global comparisons become more common, underappreciated segments of the local market are likely to attract greater attention. The conversation is now about ownership, relative value, and future earnings potential.

At a macro level, what is unfolding is a repricing of risk perception across the financial system. Investors are becoming more analytical about trade-offs between liquidity, yield, safety, and growth. This is not a rejection of traditional assets, but a realignment of their role within a more sophisticated investment framework.

The implications are far-reaching. A market that once revolved around saving and asset accumulation is gradually evolving into one driven by allocation efficiency and portfolio strategy. That transition does not happen overnight, but its early signals are already visible in how investors talk, compare, and decide.

The most important story in Kenya’s investment market today is not that of products, platforms, or performance, but about investors themselves. As they seek higher returns, they are also developing a more layered understanding of risk and opportunity across asset classes and geographies. This changing mindset is likely to prove far more consequential for future capital allocation than any single market innovation.

In Kenya’s property market, where land prices are rising sharply and buyers have more options than ever before, the difference between a property that sells quickly and one that remains unsold often comes down to the landscaping.

Immaculate Salaon’s home in Memusi, a few kilometres outside Ngong Town in Kajiado County, is over 20 years old and has been significantly transformed over the years. It sits on half an acre of land – part of the approximately 70 acres owned by her father-in-law.

‘What makes it remarkable today is not its age or its history, but what I have done with the land around the house,’ says Immaculate.

The compound is a testament to years of intentional cultivation. It contains ornamental plants, fruit trees, indigenous shade trees, and a productive kitchen garden. All of these are sustained by water storage facilities that keep everything alive through the dry seasons.

If she were to sell the property today, Immaculate would not accept anything less than Sh15 million.

“Because of what we have put into it. You can’t just come and buy this and replace everything overnight. Some of these trees have been growing for over twenty years. You can’t put a low price on that,” she says.

A quarter acre in Memusi currently fetches between Sh7.5 and Sh10 million, which is 15 times what it used to cost about a decade ago.

Immaculate has invested over Sh300,000 in the garden, including the cost of sourcing plants, acquiring pots and building the water storage facility that keeps everything alive.

Then there are the large, old indigenous trees that have been growing on this land for over 20 years.

‘You can buy a seedling, but you can’t buy 20 years of growth,’ she says.

However, her landscaping journey didn’t start as a property investment strategy. It started with a woman who needed a place to heal. It was March 2019.

Immaculate had just emerged from a difficult period of stress at work and personal pressures, a time in her life that felt as though it was closing in on her.

After her father-in-law’s death, the family compound had been subdivided. Initially, the land was full of cattle, but they had sold them all as there was no one to look after them. The land felt smaller and quieter than before.

“I needed to do something that would bring me joy. Something that would take my mind back to nurturing.”

She started by watering the existing plants and planting new ones. In those early days, she would spend hours outside, moving plants from one spot to another, learning which liked sun and which preferred shade.

At first, her family thought she had gone a little crazy. But she was, without fully realising it, beginning to transform her most valuable asset.

‘I wanted to beautify my space so that, when someone steps into the garden, it makes an impression and announces itself,’ she says.

The first thing that strikes you when walking through Immaculate’s garden is the abundance of greenery.

Rather than the flat, uniform green of a manicured lawn, there is a layered, textured greenery of many shades and heights.

Concrete, ceramic and terracotta pots, as well as homemade ones, are arranged throughout the garden, each one chosen intentionally. Ornamental plants and flowers sit alongside fruit trees bearing oranges, avocados, mangoes, lemons and plantain. Tree tomatoes and passion fruit spread and climb wherever there is space.

The kitchen garden is filled with vegetables and herbs, including sage and bitter leaf, which Immaculate dries and grinds for medicinal use.

Neat rows of aloe vera clusters define the pathways. In one corner, a bird of paradise stands tall, while snake plants and peace lilies bring quiet elegance to the shadier corners. Mature indigenous trees, including muhuhu and croton, stretch overhead. Their wide canopies earned them their place long before the garden took its current shape.

Immaculate’s former garage has been converted into a nursery, complete with germinating seeds and cuttings waiting to be potted. Water storage facilities ensure that everything stays green, even during the dry season.

She buys her plants from nurseries across Nairobi, a hotel garden in Mombasa and a gardening shop in the United States, where she volunteered for a summer to expand her knowledge.

“My vision is to finally find complementary pots: browns in different shades and whites with different plants.”

Ask Immaculate why she keeps going, and she doesn’t hesitate.

‘When you wake up and find that a plant has produced a new flower, it gives you joy and hope. When I come out and look at a plant, all my worries have disappeared by the time I leave.’

She aspires to create spaces where children can learn to water plants and grow food during the school holidays.

‘If you instil the value of beauty and landscaping in children from a young age, it stays with them,’ she says.

Most homeowners tend to spend majority of their renovation budget on the interior, leaving the exterior for later. Immaculate argues that this is the wrong approach.

“If you are selling a home, show potential buyers the outside first. People now go inside because they start to imagine living there. You want to be able to read a book out there. You have guests. You can have barbecues and children can play,’ she says.

“For me, it’s not just about the plants. I consider the landscaping as a whole, such as how you shape different areas, where you put water features, and where you put marble. All of that can give the place a completely different look.”

According to Immaculate, the most common mistake made by homeowners is to treat landscaping as something to deal with after the house is built. By then, it is too late to plan properly.

“…As you design your home, you also need to consider the kind of landscaping you want,’ she says.

One of the biggest challenges Immaculate has encountered is choosing the right pot.

“A good plant deserves a beautiful pot. There is no negotiation,’ she says.

She recently bought a pot for Sh3,500, which now retails at Sh5,500. Unique pieces sell for Sh7,000 or more.

To reduce costs, she is considering making her own concrete moulds at home and buying materials in bulk from factories. ‘You have to think outside the box.’

For decades, employee benefits have formed part of an organisation’s compensation package.

Retirement benefits, life insurance, medical cover and wellness programmes have collectively formed an important part of the process of attracting and retaining talent, while also demonstrating an employer’s commitment to the well-being of their employees.

However, I believe that this description is becoming increasingly incomplete. The future of employee benefits is not just about what we provide. It is about the financial confidence we create. This distinction is important because the world of work has changed. People are living longer, careers are becoming less linear, financial pressures are increasing and healthcare costs are rising.

At the same time, families are becoming more exposed to the financial impact of unexpected events and employers are competing for talent in an environment where employee experience has become a genuine strategic differentiator.

Against this backdrop, organisations are being asked to solve a more fundamental challenge than ever before. It’s not just about employing people; it’s about helping them build financial resilience.

According to the Retirement Benefits Authority, membership of retirement schemes has grown to approximately 7.5 million. While this represents encouraging progress, nearly three out of every four working Kenyans remain outside the formal retirement benefits system.

Therefore, millions continue to face the prospect of financing old age through personal savings, family support, or uncertain income sources.

At the same time, Kenyans are living longer. This is undoubtedly something to celebrate.

However, longer life expectancy also means longer retirement periods, higher healthcare costs and a greater need for sustainable income sources beyond active employment. These are no longer just personal finance issues; they are also workforce, business and ultimately, national economic issues.

For many years, the conversation around employee benefits has focused primarily on the products themselves. What pension should we offer? How much life cover is enough? Which medical plan provides the greatest value?

While these remain important questions, I believe a better question is: What financial outcome are we trying to create?

A pension is not just a retirement product; it’s a system that ensures a continuous income. Life insurance is not just a policy but a mechanism that protects families from financial disruption during their most vulnerable times.

Similarly, medical insurance is not just access to healthcare, but a form of protection for households against potentially catastrophic financial shocks. Viewed individually, these appear to be separate financial products, but viewed collectively, they constitute financial infrastructure.

Just as roads enable commerce and electricity enables productivity, employee benefits enable financial resilience. Their value lies not only in their existence, but also in their ability to help people navigate life with greater confidence, stability and dignity.

This shift in perspective has profound implications for how organisations think about distribution.

Historically, distribution often ended once a scheme was implemented. Success was measured by enrolment, compliance, participation, quarterly reports and operational efficiency. While these measures remain important, they are no longer sufficient.

The next evolution of employee benefits will be driven not only by better products, but also by deeper engagement, continuous education, clearer communication and greater financial literacy.

The future of distribution is not just about selling products; it’s about providing an understanding of them. Understanding creates confidence, and confidence shapes behaviour.

Ultimately, behaviour determines outcomes. For example, when employees understand the role that their retirement benefits play in securing their retirement, they are more likely to prioritise long-term savings.

Similarly, when families understand the purpose of life insurance before tragedy strikes, they can make better decisions about protection.

When healthcare benefits are viewed as protection against financial hardship rather than merely as access to treatment, their value is transformed.

Employee benefits can no longer be viewed solely as a human resources function. They are becoming an integral part of every organisation’s talent, productivity and resilience strategies.

In a world where products can be copied and technology replicated, pricing advantages rarely endure, so financial confidence may be one of the few sustainable competitive advantages that employers can create.

Ultimately, organisations cannot build resilient businesses without resilient people, and resilient people are rarely cultivated through salary alone. They are built through systems that protect income, preserve dignity during uncertain times and inspire confidence in the future.

Perhaps we have spent too many years asking whether organisations offer enough employee benefits. The more important question is whether those benefits build enough financial resilience because the true purpose of employee benefits is to strengthen lives, not simply to transfer risk.

In my view, future leaders in employee benefits will not necessarily be those who distribute the greatest number of policies. They will be those who create the greatest degree of financial confidence. They will understand that confidence is the true product, not insurance, healthcare or even retirement.

It is about having the confidence that your family can withstand unexpected life events, that you will be able to retire with dignity, and that your years of work will translate into lasting financial security. These are the real promises of employee benefits.

LeRoy is an Integrated Wealth Advisor and is currently Head of Distribution and Partnerships – Employee Benefits at Capex Life Assurance Company Ltd.

The High Court has ordered the revival of a company that ‘died’ six years ago to allow the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) pursue tax dues.

The court directed the Registrar of Companies to restore the registration of Bristol Estate Limited, clearing the way for the taxman to pursue the recovery of Sh475.8 million in taxes.

According to the court, holding that dissolution automatically extinguishes tax liabilities would create a perverse incentive structure.

‘It would mean that companies could divest themselves of tax liabilities through dissolution and effectively obtain an extra-legal waiver of taxation,’ the court in Mombasa stated.

The judge observed that the money claimed by KRA accrued while the company was in existence and, therefore, survived its dissolution.

‘They remain due, payable and recoverable in accordance with the Tax Procedures Act and the Companies Act unless successfully challenged through the available legal avenues,’ the court added in the June 26 ruling.

The decision closes what the court described as a potentially dangerous loophole that could have enabled companies to evade taxes through deregistration.

It affirms that striking a company off the register does not extinguish tax liabilities incurred during its existence, reinforcing the principle that corporate dissolution cannot be used to evade statutory tax obligations.

The KRA moved to the High Court in April last year seeking orders compelling the Registrar of Companies to restore Bristol Estate Limited to the roll, arguing that its removal was in breach of the Companies Act and tax laws.

KRA told the court that the firm was struck off the register through Gazette Notice 3876 of June 5, 2020, following an application for voluntary striking off under Section 897(4) of the Companies Act.

At the time of its dissolution, KRA said, the company owed Sh475.8 million, comprising unpaid income tax of Sh372.6 million and value added tax of Sh103.3 million, exclusive of accrued interest and penalties.

KRA added that Bristol Estate had incurred an additional Sh1 million penalty for failing to apply for deregistration of its tax obligations as required under Section 81 of the Tax Procedures Act.

‘Despite the outstanding tax liabilities, the company neither served KRA with the application for voluntary striking off as required under Section 900 of the Companies Act nor sought cancellation of its tax obligations and Personal Identification Number in accordance with the Tax Procedures Act and the Value Added Tax Act,’ the authority said.

Maintaining that it remained a creditor of the company, KRA asked the court to restore Bristol Estate to the register to enable it to pursue the outstanding taxes.

The agency sued Bristol Estate Limited, Pietro Bongiovanni, Ernesta Sciarra and the Registrar of Companies.

Despite being served with court papers, none of the respondents entered an appearance, filed a response or opposed the application, prompting the court to determine the matter as unopposed.

The High Court found that KRA produced the company’s tax ledger showing outstanding tax liabilities of Sh475.8 million at the time of its dissolution, comprising income tax and VAT, together with accruing penalties and interest.

The judge held that a tax debt arises by operation of law once a taxable event occurs and the tax obligation crystallises, with non-payment giving rise to the right by the government to recover the amount.

‘These owed taxes remain a legally binding debt until they have been challenged successfully. KRA has demonstrated sufficient reason for the grant of the orders sought to reinstate the company,’ the court said.

The judge also found that the company’s striking off failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of Section 900 of the Companies Act, which requires a firm applying for voluntary dissolution to notify every creditor within seven days of making the application.

The judge observed that the use of the word ‘shall’ in the law makes the requirement mandatory and is intended to protect creditors from suffering loss or prejudice without notice or an opportunity to be heard.

‘The applicant was entitled to be notified of the intended dissolution and afforded an opportunity to object thereto and safeguard its interests,’ the court said.

The one thing that I have always appreciated about the Despicable Me and Minions is that creators of these films know exactly what they are cooking and who they are cooking for. From the deliberate choice of the colour palette to the distinct character design, the production teams are fully aware that these films are primarily meant for young audiences.

Yet, they consistently find ways to sprinkle in jokes that grown-ups will catch, all while keeping the overall tone as silly as possible.

You have never heard of the Minions and are wondering what I am on about. The Minions are small, yellow, deceptively cute creatures characterised by their distinctive gibberish language (Minionese), childlike personalities and unwavering devotion to villainy and bananas. Their cinematic appearance began with their introduction as sidekicks in Despicable Me (2010), where they served the aspiring supervillain Gru. They continued this service in the sequels Despicable Me 2 (2013), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and Despicable Me 4 (2024). Their rising popularity eventually led to their standalone origin franchise, beginning with Minions (2015), which explored their prehistoric origins and historical search for evil masters. This was followed by the prequel Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), which depicted their first encounter with a young Gru.

Throughout this entire series, they have remained defined by their innate, historical urge to serve the most despicable bosses. With that in mind, the most impressive thing here is that the creators have never strayed away from what makes these movies awesome: silliness. That foundational understanding of their identity and their audience remains unbroken, and because of that, it was inevitable that we would get more Minion movies.

‘Minions and Monsters’

Minions and Monsters is a 2026 American animated comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and written by Coffin alongside Brian Lynch. Produced by Illumination on a substantial budget of $85 million, it stands as the third instalment in the ‘Minions’ prequel series and the seventh instalment overall in the broader ‘Despicable Me’ franchise. The film stars Pierre Coffin voicing the Minions, alongside an ensemble cast including Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan and Phil LaMarr.

Taking place in 1927, exactly 41 years before the events of the 2015 Minions film, the plot follows the Minions as they land in Old Hollywood with the aim of making movies.

From a technical perspective, Illumination and the production team did an expectedly great job with this. The colours are bright and vibrant, combined with flawless animation and exceptionally good sound design – the sort of technical element average cinema-goers will overlook. I must emphasise the animation is incredibly fluid and visually gorgeous. Even when the story ventures into its theoretically scary parts, the animators find a clever way of making those moments visually appealing and non-threatening to a younger audience.

A film class in disguise

The big surprise with this movie is how it relates to cinema history. If you have ever been to film school, or if you are a film student who has sat through lectures covering the history of early cinema, this movie will be a pleasant experience. Because it follows the Minions during the dawn of the golden age of cinema, when the industry was rapidly evolving, their journey in Hollywood to make movies becomes an interesting examination of the film business’s historical nods. That threw me off because Minion movies are meant to be slapstick silliness.

If you understand the silent era and the monumental technological transition into the ‘talkies,’ there is a good amount of detail to appreciate here. The movie is littered with clever nods and historical details about early cinema. Because of this unique angle, the movie serves a fantastic secondary purpose: it is the kind of film you can weaponise as an educational tool. If you have a child or a younger sibling who is showing a budding interest in filmmaking, but they find it incredibly hard to sit through black-and-white silent classics to understand how early movies were structured, Minions and Monsters might be an interesting alternative gateway because it acts as a vibrant, accessible introduction to that era. Though I caught glimpses of the Hollywood theme in the marketing trailers, I never expected the filmmakers to commit to that level of historical accuracy and intricate detail.

A structured Minions film?

Another major surprise is the narrative structure. With a typical Minions movie, I usually know exactly what to expect. I know the general direction the story will take, and I know it will ultimately lean on silliness. While that is still present, the filmmakers spent the entire first half of this movie carefully setting up a legitimate story.

Instead of just using the characters as vehicles for slapstick gags, they give us characters with clear ambitions and dreams. The narrative arc follows traditional, satisfying storytelling beats.

You experience high points where everything goes right for the protagonists, followed by genuine low points where their Hollywood dreams are challenged. The film captures the chaotic concept of fame and the fickle nature of becoming a Hollywood star remarkably well.

It portrays that classic entertainment trajectory where you experience the highest of highs, only to drop into devastating lows where you must dust yourself off and discover a completely new way to gain back your creative spark and trying to find the way back to the top.

Because of this narrative approach, these are characters you can actually follow and get attached to throughout the runtime. This is particularly true for creative people or anyone who has ever harboured a big dream. There is a surprisingly strong thematic focus on the artistic process and the joy of creating.

Balance

These mature, film-literate themes raise an obvious question for parents: does the movie still appeal to a young audience? The answer is yes. As the movie progresses, especially once the actual monsters are introduced, the film lets loose and goes back to its core identity.

The filmmakers strike a balance between the classic Minions we recognise from the older films and the version of the characters presented in this new era.

The world presented here is more expansive, with interesting side characters. Several characters are written with depth. At face value, they may seem primed to flip and become traditional antagonists, but they remain strangely positive and supportive influences on the story.

The film introduces executives who will feel instantly recognisable to anyone who has dealt with corporate higher-ups. The corporate lingo and bureaucratic approach to problem-solving are hilariously accurate and make the world in this film recognisable.

‘Minions and Monsters’ is a good film. As much as I was looking forward to seeing what Illumination would do with a 1920s setting, the final product exceeded my expectations, and I can confidently say that this is the best Minion movie to date.