YouTube is raising the eligibility requirements for YouTubers seeking to earn money on the platform, in a move that will make it harder for new content creators and musicians to qualify for monetisation from February 2027. Under the revised rules for the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP), new applicants will need 1,000 subscribers and either 8,000 valid public watch hours over the previous 12 months, or 20 million valid public Shorts views within 90 days to access full monetisation. Shorts are YouTube’s short-form vertical videos, comparable to TikTok clips or Instagram Reels. A separate 10 million-view threshold will remain in place…
Author: Davin Muthoni
East African Breweries PLC (EABL) has posted a 49 per cent jump in after-tax profit to Sh18.2 billion for the financial year ended June 30, 2026, alongside a sharply higher dividend payout, as the brewer credited stronger sales, tighter cost controls and reduced borrowing costs for the turnaround. The results, announced on Thursday in Nairobi, show net revenue climbing 13 per cent year-on-year to Sh146 billion. EABL credited healthy sales across its beer and spirits brands in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, its three biggest markets, for the growth. The company also cut its total debt by Sh6.2 billion over the…
Airtel has launched a product to rival Safaricom’s Pochi la Biashara, intensifying competition in a market where the cost of customer transfers into micro-business wallets has now fallen to zero. Airtel Money’s new Bizna Wallet is aimed at competing in the same market segment as Safaricom’s M-Pesa Pochi la Biashara, a low-cost tool built to give small-scale traders a simplified digital payment solution. Customers paying for goods through Airtel’s wallet will not be charged a fee, as the telco pushes to grow its merchant base and increase adoption of its mobile money platform. Safaricom responded within days. On Saturday, it…
Kenya is preparing to assert legal authority over artificial intelligence companies operating outside its borders, in a draft policy that would compel firms such as OpenAI and Meta to answer to Kenyan regulators even without a physical presence in the country. The proposal, drawn up by the ICT Ministry, applies to any foreign entity whose AI systems are used within Kenya or whose outputs have a direct effect on Kenyan individuals, rights or public interests; a legal standard known as extraterritorial jurisdiction. It is the same jurisdictional approach the European Union relies on to fine global tech companies over privacy…
Directline Assurance has regained its position as Kenya’s leading insurer of public service vehicles (PSVs), overtaking Africa Merchant Assurance Company (Amaco) after a sharp shift in market shares during the first quarter of 2026. Data from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) shows Directline controlled 62.11 per cent of the PSV insurance market in the quarter ended March 2026, having collected Sh610.16 million out of the Sh982.41 million in gross premium income generated from the commercial PSV class. The insurer’s market share rose from 35.67 per cent during the same period in 2025, marking a significant recovery in a segment where…
Patients seeking specialised treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) are grappling with significantly higher medical bills following a revision of charges for several diagnostic and specialised procedures, leaving some unable to afford essential healthcare. The revised fees, which took effect in April, have more than doubled the cost of some procedures and nearly tripled others. Patients say they were not informed of the changes before arriving for scheduled appointments, while many have been forced to pay out of pocket because the procedures are either not fully covered or excluded from the Social Health Authority (SHA). Among the services affected is…
The World Bank Group has revised Kenya’s public debt assessment, adding Sh588 billion in securitised revenues and verified pending bills to the country’s debt stock, a move that paints a heavier debt burden than reflected in official government records. In its May 2026 debt sustainability assessment, the lender estimated Kenya’s public debt-to-GDP ratio at 71.3 per cent in 2025, up from the previously reported 67.3 per cent after broadening the definition of public debt. The revised assessment incorporates three additional elements into Kenya’s debt profile: securitised future revenue streams, verified but unpaid pending bills, and proceeds from privatisation programmes, which…
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya has been appointed to facilitate the purchase and safekeeping of Kenyan government securities for international investors under a new partnership between the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and global financial services provider Clearstream. The agreement establishes a domestic market link that will allow institutional investors to access Kenya’s government bonds, infrastructure bonds and Treasury bills through a single master account, making it easier for foreign investors to participate in the country’s debt market. Under the arrangement, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya will serve as the link between Clearstream and the CBK, executing transactions through the Dhow Central…
The National Assembly has passed the Finance Bill 2026, clearing the way for it to be transmitted to President William Ruto for assent, even as lawmakers approved a package of controversial tax measures expected to raise about Sh98.5 billion in additional revenue. The Bill was adopted on Thursday evening, after MPs voted electronically, with 122 members supporting it and 40 opposing it. No member abstained. The vote followed an earlier attempt to pass the legislation by acclamation before a division was called and a formal electronic tally ordered by the Speaker. The legislation, which amends key tax laws including the…
Kenyans living abroad are channelling an estimated Sh280 billion into the country each year through informal and non-monetary means, significantly increasing the scale of diaspora support to households beyond what official banking data captures. A new nationwide survey indicates that total diaspora remittances reached Sh931.8 billion in the 12 months to May 2025. The figure includes both formal transfers and informal inflows, such as cash carried by individuals and goods sent through non-banking channels. The study found that informal inflows amounted to Sh280.6 billion, bridging the gap between the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) formal remittance record of Sh651.2 billion…
