Author: Kevin Odero

Students in Covenant University (Nigeria), USIU-Africa in Kenya and the University of Cape Town (South Africa) are working with U.S.-based Interledger Foundation to build open financial systems that solve today’s interoperability challenges of payment systems. Tech students from Nigeria, Kenya and South African universities have been drawn into a select pool of programs that are geared at building the next generation of payments leaders, who understand where today’s financial systems fall short and how to build something better with open finance. In an update on Monday, the Interledger Foundation (ILF), an organization building and advocating for an interoperable payments network,…

Steep rise in global oil market prices has seen Kenya announce steepest monthly increase in years, with petrol and diesel increasing by KSh28 and KSh40 a litre. Kerosene prices remain unchanged. Kenyan consumers and businesses are bracing for a severe economic jolt after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced maximum retail petroleum prices that will see super petrol rise by KShs 28.69 per litre and diesel by a staggering KShs 40.30 per litre effective 15th April 2026 through 14th May 2026. In what ranks as one of the steepest monthly hikes in recent memory, the new prices reflect…

Dangote Refinery’s transaction is poised to have cross-listings in five African exchanges, setting a template for continental capital market integration. Success hinges on transparent pricing, currency stability, and regulatory execution. The IPO would fund capacity expansion to 1.4m bpd, challenging European and Middle Eastern refiners in Africa’s fuels market. Dangote Refinery is mulling a grand undertaking by raising $5 billion through a Pan-African Initial Public Offering (IPO), a deal that is poised to raise the bar for capital markets across the continent. Analysist observe that the initiative is set to involve at least six stock exchanges across Africa, possibly involving…

Even as Kenya’s telecoms industry recorded 4.07 million new smartphone subscribers, cyber threats continue to rise, with vulnerabilities across systems accounting for 96% of all incidences, putting at risk the country’s cash lite economy. Telecoms industry watchdog says 5G users consumed 46.4GB per user, which is three times more that of 4G, users even though coverage remains limited, giving telecoms an opportunity to cash in. The latest Oct-Dec report shows that smartphones outnumber feature phone users by 19 million units, pushing Kenya’s telecom providers closer to high-margin data and mobile service revenue streams. Cyber threats continued to put Kenya’s increasingly…

Policymakers in East Africa’s largest economy have left the benchmark lending rate unchanged at 8.75% as a cautionary measure to counter potential fallout from the ongoing U.S. and Israel strikes in Iran. CBK’s decision comes amid a two-week ceasefire announced this week even as the military attack on Iran crossed into its second month, leaving global prices spiraling and markets on edge. Kenya’s inflation stood at 4.4% in March 2026, still below the 5% midpoint of the CBK’s target range of 2.5–7.5%. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has slammed the breaks on easing the benchmark Central Bank Rate (CBR),…

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…