Author: Korir Issa

The Central Bank of Kenya has replaced a licence fee model that stood untouched since 1994. Legal Notice No. 81 of 2026, published on 8 May 2026, brings gross annual revenue into the calculation for the first time and retires the old branch count method entirely. Why the Change Matters Kenya’s banking sector barely resembles what it looked like three decades ago. Local branches grew from 371 in 1994 to over 1,500 today, and cross border operations expanded from zero to more than 500. A fee structure built around branch counts stopped reflecting how banks actually generate income or how…

KCB Bank has teamed up with Mastercard to roll out a Shariah compliant payments solution for customers under its Sahl Banking brand, giving Islamic finance customers in Kenya a new card and a wider network of agents to bank through. What Sahl Banking Actually Means Sahl, which translates to easy in Arabic, is not a new name at KCB. The bank first tested an Islamic banking window in 2007, but the effort stalled and lost momentum within a few years. KCB tried again in 2015, this time with full approval from the National Treasury, launching what it called KCB Sahl…

Marriott International has ended a beverage partnership with PepsiCo that lasted more than three decades, handing Coca-Cola control of drink service across nearly 10,000 hotels worldwide. The switch marks one of the biggest wins in the long running rivalry between the world’s two largest soft drink makers, and it puts Coca-Cola back where it started before Marriott dropped it for Pepsi in the first place. Coca-Cola and Marriott announced the new agreement on July 1, with the rollout reaching properties across 146 countries and territories. The change touches hotels in the United States, China, France and African markets including Kenya,…

TransCentury Plc’s joint receivers have signed agreements to sell two of the group’s core subsidiaries, a decisive step in the effort to recover value for creditors more than two years into the company’s receivership. PricewaterhouseCoopers, acting through receivers George Weru and Muniu Thoithi, confirmed the deals in a statement released this week. Msufini (T) Limited will acquire TransCentury’s 70% stake in Tanelec Limited for USD 16.35 million (roughly KES 2.1 billion). Separately, SPAC Hill Capital Limited will acquire the group’s 94.4% stake in Avery East Africa Limited for USD 861,538 (about KES 111 million). Both transactions still require regulatory approval,…

Vodacom Group now controls Safaricom. On 30 June 2026, Vodafone Kenya completed a block trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, acquiring 6.01 billion shares — representing 15% of Safaricom’s issued share capital — from the Government of Kenya at Ksh 34 per share. All conditions precedent were fulfilled or waived the same day. Vodacom simultaneously completed an internal reorganisation that transferred Vodafone International Holdings’ remaining 12.5% stake in Vodafone Kenya to Vodacom, lifting Vodacom’s ownership of the intermediate holding company to 100%. The combined effect raises Vodacom’s effective stake in Safaricom from approximately 35% to 55%, converting Safaricom from an…

Kenya has secured $1.25 billion in financing from the World Bank, capping a tense few months in which the lender held back disbursement until the government delivered on a list of governance and fiscal reforms. The package lands twelve days after President William Ruto met World Bank President Ajay Banga, and it arrives just as Kenya’s new financial year begins on July 1. A $750 million Development Policy Operation, the seventh such facility Kenya has drawn since 2018, matches the amount Treasury had already pencilled into its 2025/26 borrowing plan. Alongside it sits a separate $500 million Sustainability Linked Loan,…