Author: Kevin Odero

Kenya’s private sector contracts for first time in seven months as PMI slides to 47.7 in March from 50.4 in February as shipping costs, fuel prices and consumer caution spill over from the Strait of Hormuz to Nairobi. For six months, Kenya’s private sector defied gravity until over a month ago when the Middle East war broke out. Through currency volatility, drought, and the lingering aftershocks of Covid-19 pandemic-era debt, businesses kept expanding. But March brought an unwelcome milestone: the first contraction since August 2025, driven not by a domestic crisis but by a war 3,000 kilometres away. The Stanbic…

As Mauritius consolidates its role as an investment gateway to Africa, newly merged conglomerate, ER Group, moves its regional headquarters to Kenya, placing a disciplined bet on logistics, energy, and hospitality. ER Group is betting that its future growth, targeting an increase in international revenue from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, will be written in the economic corridors of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. For companies in Africa exploring expansion, patience is not usually a virtue associated with the word “conglomerate.” Yet, when the newly formed ER Group announced this week the establishment of a regional office in…

In a strategic leap across the continent, Moniepoint, a $250bn payments powerhouse secures Kenya’s licensing approval to take on Safaricom’s M-PESA and Equity Group on their home turf. If successful, Moniepoint could emerge as a template for how African fintechs scale across the continent: not by building from scratch, but by acquiring local expertise and regulatory standing, then overlaying technology at scale. Nigeria’s most valuable fintech unicorn, Moniepoint Inc., has officially crossed into East African territory. Moniepoint Inc., the Lagos-based digital banking platform that processes over $250 billion in annual transactions, announced today the completion of its acquisition of a…

By financing receivables within hours instead of months, a new alliance between Avenews Kenya and fresh produce consortium aims to reduce the 40% post-harvest loss rate, ensuring that premium Kenyan produce reaches export markets before spoilage. The reliance on trade data over physical collateral lowers the barrier for entry for youth and women-led SMEs, who are often locked out of mainstream bank lending. Immediate payment cycles reduce the dependency on informal shylocks and predatory lending rates, stabilizing the cost of capital for farmers and aggregators. In the push to revolutionize how agricultural trade is financed in East Africa, Avenews Kenya,…

BCG analysis finds that scaling Africa’s software developer base could unlock major economic value, competitiveness and long‑term growth across the continent, with the inclusion of women representing one of the continent’s most powerful yet underutilised accelerators. Africa’s developer community is expanding faster than anywhere else in the world, a new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analysis shows, underscoring the continent’s growing influence in global technology creation. Although the continent currently has 4.7 million developers – far fewer than regions such as Asia with 73.9 million and Europe with 27.5 million – the talent base has been expanding at 21 per cent…

Global investors eyeing DRC are on the rise. With DRC supplying over 70% of the world’s cobalt and ranking second in copper output, investors are exploring opportunities across services, logistics and processing. The DRC’s EAC membership, combined with the new EAC Customs Bond and the elimination of non-tariff barriers by June 2026, dramatically lowers the cost of moving goods from Mombasa and Dar es Salaam to Lubumbashi, making Kenyan and East African firms natural partners in the supply chain. From agro-processing to light manufacturing and the consumer economy around mining towns, the mission highlights that the DRC’s opportunity extends far…

The World Bank’s debarment of PwC and EY for fraud in Ethiopia and Somalia has lifted the veil on the fragility of the Western development model, creating a strategic opening for Gulf states and China to reshape infrastructure finance in the Horn of Africa. PwC units admitted to collusive practices, including bid-rigging and misuse of confidential information, on the $1.3 billion Eastern Electricity Highway Project, while EY Kenya confessed to corrupt practices in Somalia. These scandals shatter the reputational shield that global advisory firms once provided to multilateral lenders. A 21-month debarment is a reputational blow but not an existential…

For the first time, the total monthly cost of employing a tech product manager in Nairobi ($2,425) has overtaken that of a senior software engineer ($1,900), marking a 28% premium for product strategy over pure engineering execution in Kenya’s tech outsourcing market. Global tech retrenchment and new statutory costs (SHIF, Housing Levy) have pushed employers toward “calculator hiring”, prioritising force-multiplier product talent who de-risk investment over mass recruitment of coders, with demand strongest in fintech and commercial roles. Mombasa’s fibre-optic advantage offers cheaper engineering talent at 26–35% lower cost of living, while AI tools commoditise junior coding. Conversely, strategic product…

Equity Group’s record $581.6 million (KSh75.5 billion) net profit for fiscal year 2025 underscores success of diversification strategy as DRC, Uganda and Tanzania post triple-digit growth. Equity Group has delivered the most profitable year in Kenyan corporate history, with regional subsidiaries now accounting for nearly half of the lender’s banking profits, a landmark validation of its long-standing bet on pan-African expansion. The Nairobi-based financial services group reported a 55 per cent surge in profit after tax to KSh75.5 billion for the financial year ended December 2025, propelled by robust double-digit growth across its East African operations and a dramatic turnaround…

KCB Group, Equity Group, and Co-operative Bank consistently offer yields between 6-10%, supported by strong regional diversification and robust cash flow generation, though investors must monitor NPL trends and regulatory capital requirements. With its dominant market position and M-PESA-driven cash flows, Safaricom offers a reliable mid-to-high single-digit yield, making it a core holding for income investors prioritizing consistency over maximum returns. BAT Kenya and EABL provide attractive yields (up to 10%) backed by strong cash generation, but investors must factor in exposure to excise tax hikes and potential impacts on consumer demand. As we move into the second quarter of…