Author: Jack Oduor

• Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o said the public debt stock increased by 3% from KSh10.58 trillion as of June 2024, to KSh10.93 trillion as of December 2024.
• Nyakang’o said major funds, including the Housing Fund, the Railway Development Fund, and the Petroleum Levy, are not part of the Consolidated Fund.
• She has raised concerns about the government’s reliance on overdrafts from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to service both domestic and external debt.

Kenya’s Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango is calling for the adoption of prudent strategies focused on debt management and revenue collection reforms to check the country’s piling debt. According to her, allocation towards servicing the public debt in the financial year 2024-2025 is set at KSh1.91 trillion, compared to KSh1.87 trillion in 2023-2024, with the country’s average time to maturity for public debt reducing to 7.8 years, down from 9.4 years in 2023.

The allocation comprised …

• The tussle comes at a time that the harvesting period for mature macadamia nuts in Kenya has just started since 1st March, 2025.
• Lobby MACNUT and macadamia farmers have called for the regulation of selling prices across the nation.
• However, the Nut Traders Association of Kenya (NUTAK) contends that an onging ban disproportionately favours processors.

Kenya’s macadamia sector is in turmoil following a ban on raw macadamia imports, ripening nuts, and ongoing disputes over the industry’s future. Stakeholders are at a crossroads, with two rival lobbies clashing over export policies. While the government enforces the ban to boost local processing, industry players remain divided on its impact.

Macadamia Nut Association (MACNUT) declared support for the government’s ban on exporting unprocessed nuts, while The Nut Traders Association of Kenya (NUTAK) contends that the ban disproportionately favours processors.

According to MACNUT the move to stop raw imports could inject over $80 million …

• Kenyan women lead region in entrepreneurship spirit, with older women leading the younger pack.
• Women (49%) are more likely than men (37%) to be uncertain about how to protect their business from cyberattacks.
• Among women founders in Kenya, 45 per cent started their business to follow their dream.

Kenyan women are outshining their regional peers in entrepreneurial spirit, with nine out of 10 considering starting or running their own businesses, a new survey by Mastercard has shown. Compared to the region, 93 per cent of Kenyan women consider starting or running their own business, way above the Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA) average of 51 per cent.

According to the survey, older generations in Kenya, including Baby Boomers (93 per cent) and Gen X (90 per cent), are slightly more likely to view themselves as entrepreneurs compared to the 85 per cent of Gen Z, and 89 …

• Kenya’s diaspora remittances in October increased by $18.7 million compared a month earlier.
• CBK in its weekly dispatch announced that the cumulative inflows for the 12 months to October 2024 increased by 15.3%.
• Despite the dollar inflows from diaspora remittances, Kenya’s currency weakened marginally against the USD in the week ending Nov 15.

Kenya’s diaspora remittances increased by $18.7 million (KSh2.4 billion) between September and October 2024, the latest data from the Central Bank shows. Kenyans living and working abroad wire home $437.2 million (KSh56.7 billion) in October, a significant increase from the $418.5 million (KSh54.4 billion) reported the previous month.

Compared to a similar period last year this was an increase of 22.9 per cent when the foreign remittance stood at Ksh46 billion ($355.6 million).

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in its weekly bulletin published on Friday, November 15, announced that the cumulative inflows for the 12 months …

• China integrates mega logistics firms to form the Global Silk Road (Chongqing) Hub Port International Supply Chain Ltd.
• It would be the major shipping and logistics link between China and its African trade partners, with Congo taking the lead in the greater EA region.
• Togo, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Madagascar are also set to benefit from the joint logistics approach.

Kenya is set to benefit from a new plan by China to consolidate several mega logistics firms and development companies into one entity for better trade dealings with Africa. The Global Silk Road (Chongqing) Hub Port International Supply Chain Ltd was launched in Chongqing, China, last week.

The discussion featured exchanges on building an integrated platform for global commerce and mega logistics centres, all aimed at bolstering trade between China and Africa.

Shanghai Greenroad Warehousing and Logistics Group Co., Ltd, Zhejiang Holley Global Industry Development Ltd, Chongqing Jiangjin …

• Africa’s hospitality sector has matured in ways that not only meet but anticipate the desires of modern travellers.
• By embracing responsible tourism, fostering local community interactions, and providing avenues for health and wellness, Africa is redefining what it means to travel meaningfully.
• Africa’s lower cost of living is making it an attractive destination for digital nomads.

Africa’s hospitality sector has long offered unique experiences and the 2025 travel trends show a continent aligning in unique way to tap changing preferences of holidaymakers from different source markets across the world.

By February this year, an estimated 150,000 European tourists had visited South Africa. The succeeding months look promising as this year’s United Nations Tourism Report says there is increasing interest in East and West Africa holiday destinations by holidaymakers from Europe.

At the moment, tourists from Britain and German are the trailblazers with their changing values and preferences setting the tone …

• The Policy Guide for the Gig Economy proposes five key interventions, including the establishment of a tripartite forum to set industry standards
• Currently, 1.2 million workers, most of whom operate within the informal sector, are employed in the gig economy.
• It also outlines the steps needed to expand special economic zones to accommodate gig work’s virtual, international nature.

Kenya has developed a policy guide that will structure how the Gig economy works. The “Policy Guide for Digital Economy Progress,” developed in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, eMobilis Technology Institute, and Africa Practice, offers a comprehensive roadmap to reform Kenya’s gig economy and create a more equitable and sustainable sector for over one million workers and businesses.

According to the toolkit’s developers, it offers a detailed policy proposal to address the pressing challenges faced by digitally delivering gig workers and promote the sector’s growth and development.

EMobilis Managing Director and Co-founder …

• Mandatory IFRS sustainability reporting in Kenya will begin from 2027 to 2029.
• For the SMEs that are non-public interest entities, mandatory onboarding will begin on January 1, 2029.
• This unified framework aims to provide consistent and comparable information, benefiting investors and fostering transparency across Kenyan markets.

Kenyan firms will from 2027 be able to directly compare the performance of their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives with other companies globally as the country moves to adopt reporting under a common standard worldwide.

The country has initiated a plan to adopt the sustainability reporting under the International Financial Reporting Standards two (IFRS S2), designed to make public disclosures uniform, transparent, and easy to compare globally.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) has set January 1, 2027, as the commencement date for the mandatory adoption of the sustainability reporting under the IFRS.

Under the plan, in phase one that …

• AMSONS Group granted regulatory go ahead to acquire Bamburi cement.
• The family-owned business has partnered with KCB Investment Bank as its transaction adviser.
• Amson made its initial offer when Bamburi Cement’s shares were trading at Sh45, but the stock has since risen, trading at Sh66 on Thursday afternoon.

Tanzanian business conglomerate AMSONS Group has received regulatory approval from the COMESA Competition Commission for its proposed acquisition of up to 100 per cent of Bamburi Cement.

The move coming at a time that Kenya’s Savannah Clinker Limited has already raised its bid for the acquisition of Bamburi Cement, even though its offer already exceeds Tanzania Amsoms’ competing offer.

In a statement, the COMESA Competition Commission confirmed that the proposed acquisition falls within its ambit and does not pose a competition risk within the common market.

“It is unlikely that the proposed merger will lead to the creation of a dominant position …

• Investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) lost $263.5 million (Sh34 billion) in paper wealth in the three months to September 2024.
• The volume of shares traded decreased slightly by 0.65% to 1.092 billion compared to 1.097 billion in Q2 2024.
• In the bond market, the turnover decreased by 29.37%, with Sh323.61Bn traded in Q3 compared to Sh458.2Bn in prior quarter.

Investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) lost $263.5 million or Sh34 billion in paper wealth in three months to September as the country recovered from shocks of the bloody Gen Z protests in June. The third quarter Statistics released by the Capital Markets Authority shows the market capitalisation at the Nairobi bourse dropped by 2.01 per cent during the period to Sh1.67 trillion from Sh1.71 trillion.

The $263.5 million drop in paper wealth is, however, lower than the $410.7 million (Sh53 billion) hit suffered in the three months …