Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) posted a 41 percent profit dip to Sh3.8 billion in the financial year to June 2025, largely driven by a drop in revenues, surging costs and easing of foreign exchange gains.

New disclosures show that the airports operator’s revenues for the year declined by about Sh1.1 billion, with forex gains dropping by more than 10-fold, while its costs rose by Sh1.5 billion, putting pressure on its net earnings, which declined by Sh2.7 billion, from Sh6.5 billion in the year to June 2024.

This marked the second consecutive year of profit-making for the state corporation, after emerging from a Sh4.2 billion net loss in 2023, when it was forced to pay billions of shillings in compensation to Chinese contractors for a botched tender to construct a second terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.

The latest profit will go to the corporation’s retained earnings, supporting investments in airport resources across the country, including the ongoing upgrades of JKIA, the authority said.

‘While lower, this result reflects a cleaner, more sustainable earnings base, one less reliant on exceptional items and more aligned with core operational performance,’ said KAA Acting Managing at the time Mohamud Gedi.

‘Our financial health is not measured by a single year’s profit, but by our ability to deliver consistent, reliable service to the nation year after year.’

During the year, nearly all sources of revenue for the airport operator declined, signalling reduced aircraft activity and increased share of smaller and domestic planes in aircraft movement.

Money earned from the Airport Passenger Service Charge, for instance, reduced to Sh10.5 billion from Sh10.8 billion a year earlier, while airplane landing and parking fees fell to Sh4.5 billion from Sh5 billion.

Overall, revenue from aeronautical services dipped by roughly Sh1 billion to Sh15.6 billion from Sh16.6 billion the previous year.

Non-aeronautical revenue, which includes rental income for office spaces and desks at airports, concessions and fees for security passes for aviation employees, also declined slightly, from Sh21.9 billion to Sh20.8 billion.

Another significant income fall was in foreign exchange gains, which dipped by 96 percent to Sh18 million, down from Sh602 million in the year to June 2024.

The local currency appreciated significantly against the American dollar between January and June 2024, handing the state agency a gain in forex.

Compounding the impact of the revenue decrease was a surge in costs, driven largely by a rise in provision for bad debts, up from Sh1.4 billion to Sh2.2 billion.

Its total costs rose from Sh15.5 billion to Sh17.1 billion.

The airport operator is now banking on increased revenues, especially from the Air Passenger Service Charge Fund (APSCF), its single largest income source, to finance new airport developments.

The new terminal construction at JKIA is specifically expected to draw from the kitty, which will finance up to 30 percent of development costs, with the remaining percentage expected to come from a syndicated loan arranged by the Trade and Development Bank and the African Finance Corporation.

Stomach cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with men continuing to bear a larger share of the burden.

The latest figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer show that estimated deaths from stomach cancer among people aged 0 to 85 and above rose about 1.9 percent, from 642,000 in 2024 to 654,000 in 2025.

Men accounted for most of these deaths, with the number increasing from 419,000 in 2024 to 426,000 in 2025. Among women, deaths increased from 223,000 to 229,000 over the same period.

Kenya, too, recorded an increase, with stomach cancer deaths among men rising by 3.7 percent from 565 in 2024 to 586 in 2025. Among women, deaths jumped 3.5 percent from 488 to 505 over the same period.

Dr Joseph Abuodha, a consultant medical oncologist at Aga Khan University Hospital, says the number of deaths from stomach cancer almost reflects the number of new cases.

‘The biggest question is why would these numbers come to this much and why would the death rate be high? It’s because of predominantly late diagnosis,’ he says.

Why it is easy to miss

One of the difficulties with stomach cancer is that some of its symptoms can look like ordinary stomach problems.

‘A person may experience abdominal discomfort, bloating, pain or what they describe as ulcer-like symptoms. There may also be increased acidity or dyspepsia, symptoms such as bloating, acidity and abdominal discomfort.’

Other warning signs include darkening of the stool, which may indicate bleeding in the stomach, and early satiety, feeling full after eating much less food than one normally would.

Dr Abuodha gives a simple example. ‘If someone could comfortably eat a full plate of ugali six months ago but now feels full after half a plate, it could be because the stomach is not expanding as it should,’ he explains.

Weight loss despite eating what appears to be an adequate amount of food is another symptom.

He notes none of these symptoms automatically means someone has stomach cancer. Many other stomach conditions can cause similar problems. That is part of what makes the disease difficult to identify early.

‘What we find in patients who come to us with a diagnosis of cancer is that most of them will have come to hospital at some point for that diagnosis,’ says Dr Abuodha.

The problem is that they may have been treated repeatedly for what appeared to be ordinary stomach problems.

A patient may have persistent pain, dyspepsia or acidity and be treated for ulcers, gastritis or H. pylori. The symptoms may temporarily settle, only to return.

‘After a few sessions of treatment, you’re not getting better, you need to go for an endoscopy.’

The challenge, he says, very early stomach cancer may have no obvious symptoms.

‘A person may have no pain at all or may experience only mild discomfort that does not persist. In some cases, early stomach cancer is discovered while doctors are investigating an unrelated problem.’

For example, someone may undergo a CT scan because of abdominal pain and doctors notice something in the stomach that requires further investigation.

Once symptoms become more pronounced, however, the cancer may already be locally advanced. At that point, he says it may still be possible to cure it, but treatment becomes more difficult especially for those who present with more significant symptoms are more likely to have advanced disease.

‘The stomach has an opening at the top, where food enters from the throat, and another at the bottom, where food passes into the intestines,’ he explains. ‘If a cancer develops close to either opening, even a small growth can interfere with the passage of food. A feeling that food is getting blocked or is not passing properly can therefore appear relatively early when the cancer is in these areas.’

Still, this is not where stomach cancer most commonly develops. When it develops in the main part of the stomach, the early symptoms can be much less obvious.

The earliest symptoms that people may notice are often within that broad range of dyspepsia, that is, acidity, bloating and abdominal discomfort.

‘The challenge is not simply knowing what stomach cancer looks like. It is recognising when ordinary symptoms have persisted for too long and need a closer look.’

He cautions that if symptoms of gastritis or an ulcer persist despite appropriate treatment, further investigation may be necessary.

‘If pain changes or a new symptom appears, such as bleeding, vomiting blood or blood in the stool, the problem should be investigated rather than assumed to be simple gastritis.’

People with chronic H. pylori infection or gastritis should also have follow-up depending on the severity of their symptoms. For someone with chronic ulcers, a change in symptoms or the emergence of a new problem should prompt medical review.

There is, however, no direct association between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and stomach cancer.

Biggest risk factors

According to Dr Abuodha, the biggest risk factor is age. ‘The older a person gets, the more likely they are to develop the disease,’ he says.

Long-standing dietary and lifestyle preferences also matter. Heavy alcohol use can irritate the stomach lining, while heavy cigarette smoking has also been associated with stomach cancer.

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that very spicy or irritating foods, particularly when consumed frequently, may cause ongoing stomach irritation. H. pylori is another important consideration and is associated with a specific type of stomach cancer.

‘There are different types, including the more commonly recognised stomach cancer, as well as lymphoma and sarcoma of the stomach and other less common cancers,’ he explains.

However, Dr Abuodha notes that less than five percent have a genetic component. Some genetic syndromes can increase the likelihood of developing stomach cancer, sometimes alongside other cancers.

Still, the majority of people who develop stomach cancer have no family history of the disease.

So why are men more affected? ‘There are about two men with stomach cancer for every woman. Men tend to have more of these risk factors. They may also respond differently to symptoms,’ he says, adding that when men get pain, they don’t look for healthcare options easily.

Treatment options

When stomach cancer is suspected, getting the diagnosis right is critical because it determines what treatment is appropriate and helps doctors understand the likely course of the disease.

The gold standard for diagnosis is histology, which involves taking a tissue sample during an endoscopy and examining it.

‘None is better’ than histology, Dr Abuodha says, explaining that other tests are used alongside it to determine treatment options and prognosis.

‘Once stomach cancer has been confirmed, doctors may use a CT scan or PET scan to establish how far the disease has progressed. In some cases, an ultrasound through the endoscopy may also be used, particularly when dealing with small stomach cancers.’

Sometimes scans cannot provide the full picture. In such cases, doctors may perform surgical staging, using cameras inserted into the abdomen to look for signs that the cancer has spread and to take samples of anything suspicious.

For advanced stomach cancer, particularly stage four disease that has progressed after at least one chemotherapy option, an expanded gene panel may be recommended. The information can help guide treatment.

Late diagnosis is not always about a patient ignoring symptoms.

Still, there can also be delays within the healthcare system. Dr Abuodha says patients with suspicious symptoms should be referred quickly to the appropriate level of care. Another challenge is the cost and availability of certain diagnostic tests, including endoscopy.

He stresses that eating a well-balanced diet, eating less processed food and choosing quality food rather than focusing only on quantity are important.

Weight management matters because it affects several metabolic processes in the body. Exercise can also help with metabolism and the processing of sugars and fats while reducing inflammation and potential associations with cancer.

Dr Abuodha also advises caution among people who regularly take very hot or highly spicy meals, particularly if these are accompanied by stomach discomfort. Heavy alcohol use and cigarette smoking should be avoided or significantly reduced.

But not everyone carries the same level of risk. This can include someone who has had ulcers and undergone an endoscopy in which a suspicious lesion was found at the mouth of the stomach.

‘Depending on the findings and the individual’s circumstances, such patients may need repeat endoscopy every six to 12 months. People with a family history of stomach cancer who have not yet undergone genetic testing may be at risk also.’

There was a time a business could win a customer with a good product and fair price. That still matters, but no longer decides the contest on its own. Today, the businesses pulling ahead are those that have understood a quieter shift in what people actually want: not just to buy something, but to feel something while they buy it.

This is the logic of the experience economy. Consumers increasingly place a premium on experiences over transactions. A meal is no longer just a meal if the restaurant has turned dinner into a live jazz evening. A gym membership is no longer just access to equipment if it comes with a community of people who show up for one another other.

Entertainment has stopped being a nice-to-have bolted onto a business and become a core part of how that business builds relationships with the people it serves. Nowhere is this clearer than in the way people watch sport. Football has become a unifying experience of modern life, and the venues that understand this are thriving.

Think of a sports bar on a Saturday afternoon when the English Premier League kicks off, or a joint packed for a Champions League final.

The product on offer is technically the same. What people are paying for is something else. It is the shared gasp of a last-minute goal, the friendly needling between rival fans, the sense of belonging to something bigger than an individual transaction.

Businesses that have leaned into this understanding are seeing the payoff. Emotional connection is a far more durable foundation for loyalty than price competitiveness.

A customer who associates your establishment with the thrill of watching their team win will return without persuasion. They also do something more valuable – talk about it. Word-of-mouth marketing flows naturally out of genuinely experiences in a way it never flows out of a discount code.

This has implications on how businesses think about their offering. A bar or restaurant that treats live sport as background noise on a muted TV is missing the point.

One that treats it as a centrepiece, complete with reliable big-screen access to the matches, comfortable seating for groups and an atmosphere that rewards showing up, is building something closer to a destination than a venue. The margin between the two, in terms of footfall and repeat business, is significant.

Reliable access to that content is the quiet infrastructure behind it. None of the communal energy of a Champions League night matters if the screen goes dark at kickoff. This is part of why partnerships between hospitality venues and established content providers have become a fixture of how businesses plan their calendars around the football season.

Getting that infrastructure right without fuss is what allows a bar owner to focus on the experience itself rather than worrying about the signal holding. Behind every good customer experience sits a less visible chain of decisions about content rights, distribution and technical reliability.

Entertainment does not have to be your core product to be part of your customer experience strategy. A bank that sponsors community football viewing, a mall that sets up a fan zone during a tournament, a telco that bundles content into its offering, are making the same bet. That shared moments of genuine enjoyment builds brand affinity in a way advertising spend alone cannot buy.

Businesses that will keep winning are those paying attention to what customers value in the moment, and building around that with intention. In an economy increasingly defined by experience, that attentiveness may be the most important competitive advantage a business can have.

Kenya’s meat industry is a broad food system extending from livestock keeping and pastoralism to slaughter, processing, retail and consumption. It also connects with fisheries and the production and consumption of chicken and pork.

The sector supports household incomes, employment and food security, while creating opportunities for Kenya to participate more strongly in regional and continental food markets.

With an estimated 22 million cattle, 35 million goats, 28 million sheep and 6 million camels, effective governance and stakeholder engagement are important to its development.

Stakeholder management should be treated as a governance practice throughout the value chain. Livestock keepers, fishers, poultry and pig farmers, traders, transporters, slaughterhouses, processors, retailers, consumers, financiers and regulators have different interests, but their activities remain connected.

Disease outbreaks, transport disruptions, changing consumer preferences or new market requirements can affect several groups at once. Regular engagement provides an avenue for these concerns to be identified and addressed in policy and business decisions.

Information sharing is particularly important. For instance, the rollout of the animal identification and traceability system (ANITRAC) has introduced a system through which livestock can be identified and tracked along the value chain.

Since its enrolment it has been clear that more stakeholder education is necessary for its effective understanding and adoption. Farmers and pastoralists need to understand why animals are identified, what information is collected, how the system may affect movement and trade and their responsibilities under the system.

Traders, transporters, slaughterhouses and processors also require practical guidance on its application even as we grow our meat exportation. Communication should therefore accompany implementation and provide opportunities for stakeholders to ask questions and raise concerns.

The same approach should extend to meat production with key information on disease prevention, feed, markets and applicable standards as well as sustainable production, handling, safety and market access is easily availed to consumers.

Kenya is seeking to move beyond reliance on live animal exports towards local slaughter, cold-chain investment, feedlots and value addition. Retaining more value within the country can create opportunities for producers, processors, transporters and retailers while improving household incomes.

This sector is closely linked to food security. A functioning animal-protein value chain can provide livelihoods while increasing the availability and choice of nutritious foods.

Food security, however, requires safe products, functioning markets and reliable consumer information. Stakeholder engagement can help identify gaps between policy objectives and the realities experienced by producers and consumers.

This is increasingly important as meat processors expand their advertising and use of digital platforms. Technology can improve consumer awareness, but it can also amplify misunderstanding.

Claims concerning food safety, nutrition, animal welfare or environmental performance can spread rapidly and influence public confidence. Businesses therefore have a governance responsibility to ensure that public communications are accurate, accessible and supported by evidence.

Other key concerns include environmental conservation, waste management and the impact from climate change to livestock, fisheries and pastoral livelihoods. Engagement with communities, regulators and industry participants can help integrate these concerns into sector development.

The Kenya Meat Expo 5th edition coming up provides a practical forum for such engagement, bringing together producers, processors, innovators, investors and consumers through exhibitions, panel discussions, masterclasses, business forums and deal-making opportunities.

A well-governed animal-protein sector ultimately depends on informed stakeholders, credible information and meaningful engagement across the value chain, creating stronger livelihoods, greater consumer confidence and a more resilient food system.

The biggest mistake businesses make is believing that technology is an end in itself. Without it being purpose-led, there is no true value.

History is littered with examples of groundbreaking innovations that failed to gain traction and simple ideas that transformed industries.

The difference was whether the innovation solved a real problem, met a genuine need and created meaningful value for people.

As businesses rush to embrace artificial intelligence, automation, drones and other technologies, that distinction has never been more important.

Consider a knife. In the hands of a surgeon, it can save a life; in the hands of a chef, it can prepare a meal; in the wrong hands, it can cause harm. The knife itself is neither good nor bad. The impact of technology is determined not by the intentions, systems and people behind it.

Across boardrooms, conversations are dominated by AI, automation, drones, robotics and analytics. The pressure to keep up is immense. Organisations that succeed are rarely those that adopt technology first; they are often those that identify the clearest purpose for using it.

Kenya’s mobile money revolution offers a lesson. M-Pesa did not succeed because it was technologically superior to every financial innovation of the time. It succeeded because it solved a problem millions of people faced and addressed a real need.

The story is no different in healthcare. In remote parts of Africa, a shortage of doctors is not always the greatest challenge. Distance is. A patient may be hours away from a hospital, but drones are helping bridge that gap by delivering medicines, blood and vaccines in minutes.

The same technology that delivers blood to a rural clinic can help protect endangered wildlife. Drones in Africa are being used to monitor animal populations, detect illegal activities and survey vast landscapes. In one setting, the drone becomes a healthcare tool. In another, it becomes a conservation gadget. Technology remains unchanged; only the purpose differs.

Agriculture is another compelling comparison. For generations, farmers relied on observation and experience to make decisions on planting, irrigation and pest control. Today, drones and AI can analyse crop health in real time and provide insights that improve yields while reducing costs. Here, technology is not replacing the farmer but enhancing ability to make informed decisions.

Even AI, perhaps the most debated technology today, follows the same pattern. AI can help doctors detect diseases earlier, assist teachers in personalising learning and help businesses improve customer service.

At the same time, it can be used to generate misinformation, facilitate fraud or invade privacy. The contrasting outcomes are not a reflection of the technology itself. They are a reflection of how humans choose to deploy it.

Business leaders should pay close attention to this distinction. Too often, organisations pursue technology because it is fashionable.

They invest in digital transformation programmes, AI platforms or automation tools without first identifying the problem they are attempting to solve. As a result, many technology projects fail not because the technology is inadequate, but because the purpose is unclear.