Shareholders of Equity Group Holdings Plc have granted approval for the financial services giant to establish a representative office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), pending regulatory clearances. Concurrently, they endorsed a substantial cash dividend payout of Sh16 billion for the year. During the Group’s 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Nairobi, shareholders backed management’s plan to open the UAE representative office. This move, subject to approvals from Kenyan and UAE authorities, marks a deliberate step to enhance Equity’s regional and global reach. Equity Group Chairman Prof. Isaac Macharia emphasized the strategic intent, stating the office aims to “deepen…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
The Court of Appeal has delivered a significant ruling, ordering Stanbic Bank Kenya to compensate logistics firm Kenya Haulage Agency Ltd (KHA) Sh25 million for negligence arising from a critical error in a tender security bond that cost the firm a lucrative Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) contract. The dispute originated from a 2018 tender where KHA sought to supply KPA with ribbed-type pneumatic rubber fenders, a crucial port equipment. To secure its bid, KHA required a bank guarantee (performance bond) from Stanbic Bank, valid for the mandatory 120 days stipulated by KPA. Stanbic Bank issued a bond for USD 1,250,000…
Two Kenyan tech innovators, agricultural platform Shamba and logistics solution Apexloads, have been selected for Google’s prestigious AI-focused accelerator program, positioning Kenya at the forefront of Africa’s artificial intelligence revolution. This development coincides with new insights revealing how Generation Z’s social media-driven shopping habits are reshaping Kenya’s retail landscape. Shamba and Apexloads are among 15 African startups chosen for the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First program (Class of 2025), following a competitive selection process that drew nearly 1,500 applications across the continent. The intensive three-month hybrid program (running from June 22 to August 22, 2025) provides critical support including: ü Technical mentorship…
Kenyan businesses, particularly SMEs targeting younger consumers, must urgently adapt their marketing strategies as new data reveal social media platforms have become the primary shopping destination for Generation Z, fundamentally altering traditional retail pathways. This shift is driven by seamless in-app purchasing and a strong preference for authentic content over conventional advertising. Research indicates social media is now the dominant product discovery channel for Gen Z (those born roughly between 1997 and 2012). In 2024, 68 percent of Gen Z consumers globally discovered new products via social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube—a significant rise from 60 percent just a…
Kenya has launched an ambitious and highly coordinated financial risk mitigation strategy aimed at shielding the economy from internal and external shocks. For the first time, regulators, policymakers, financial institutions, and international partners are coming together under a unified risk governance framework. Dubbed the National Integrated Financial Risk Mitigation Strategy, the initiative seeks to identify vulnerabilities in advance, absorb disruptions effectively, and ensure recovery mechanisms are in place to protect the economy from systemic collapse. This comes in the wake of recent economic turbulence, including currency depreciation, rising public debt, and recurring climate disasters that have tested the resilience of…
Amid rising trade and geo-economic tensions, extreme weather events, social polarization and disruptive technological changes, the global outlook may seem more uncertain than ever. Yet it is in such turbulent times that entrepreneurship demonstrates its enduring value. Entrepreneurship often thrives in difficult times, prompting shifts in our worldviews and ways of working, creating opportunities for new businesses to emerge and for existing ones to evolve and build new capabilities. Two areas are especially critical for entrepreneurial action and new collaborative frameworks: addressing the climate emergency and shaping global technology governance. Vision and strategy must be anchored in values, ethics and…
Mounting pressure from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is creating widespread anxiety among compliant taxpayers, even as authorities struggle to bring millions of non-filers into the tax net. The tension follows Parliament’s recent rejection of a contentious Finance Bill clause that would have granted KRA access to personal mobile money and bank transaction data. KRA Chairperson Ndiritu Muriithi revealed stark compliance gaps at a mid-June forum: Of 20 million Kenyans registered with KRA PINs, only 10 million file tax returns annually. Within this group, 6 million declare zero taxable income. This leaves approximately 16 million potential taxpayers outside the system,…
Paul Russo, the Group Chief Executive Officer of KCB Group PLC, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA). Russo’s election was officially announced by the KBA on Monday, 23 June 2025, marking a significant leadership transition for the umbrella body representing Kenya’s banking sector. He succeeds John Gachora, the Group Managing Director of NCBA Group PLC, who has served as KBA Chairman since 2021. The KBA, which represents all commercial banks regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), noted that Russo brings over 25 years of extensive leadership experience in the financial services…
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has raised serious concerns over Sh8 billion allocated to the government’s Hustler Fund in the financial year ending June 2023, declaring it unaccounted for—despite the amount having been disbursed by the National Treasury to the State Department for Cooperatives Development. In her audit report for that financial year, Gathungu revealed the State Department spent Sh14 billion against an approved budget of Sh12.26 billion, resulting in an under-absorption of Sh8.2 billion—representing 36 percent of the total allocation. This discrepancy centres on the Hustler Fund. Appearing before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Butere MP…
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has faced a significant setback in its push for expanded powers to access personal data without judicial oversight, as the National Assembly rejected a controversial proposal in the Finance Bill 2025. On 17 June 2025, the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, responding to public outcry and memoranda from stakeholders, voted to strike down the clause. The decision echoed a similar rejection in the Finance Bill 2024, where a comparable proposal was defeated following concerns about unchecked surveillance and potential abuse of power. The decision, hailed as a victory for privacy rights, followed intense public and…