Author: Korir Issa

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,…

Abdi Mohamed has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Absa Bank Kenya, ending a three-year stint that saw the lender post consistent profit growth and deepen its digital transformation, even as macroeconomic headwinds tested the broader sector in his final months. The Business Daily first reported the departure. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Mohamed is set to take up a senior leadership role at another bank within the Kenyan market, with his name linked to regional lender I&M Bank — although that appointment had not been officially confirmed at the time of writing. Absa…

Kenya’s government securities market takes a decisive step toward global integration on June 29, 2026, when the Clearstream-Kenya Link goes live, connecting the Central Bank of Kenya’s DhowCSD platform to one of the world’s leading post-trade settlement networks. The link makes Kenya the 60th domestic market within Clearstream’s global network and only the second in Africa, after South Africa. For international investors, it removes a longstanding barrier: accessing Kenyan government paper no longer requires local registration or account opening. Everything flows through a single point of access.  What the Link Actually Does The connection provides institutional investors with access to…

Equity Group Holdings shareholders approved all resolutions at the 22nd Annual General Meeting on 24 June 2026, clearing a KSh21.7 billion dividend, three new insurance subsidiaries across Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a full slate of board appointments. The meeting, held electronically, also ratified the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 and reappointed Ernst & Young as external auditors until the next AGM. A dividend that reflects the distance travelled Shareholders approved a first and final dividend of KSh21.70 billion — KSh5.75 per share — for the financial year ended 31 December 2025.…

Murang’a County’s purple tea landed in Paris on June 23, 2026, when Gatanga Industries, French tea house Palais des Thés and Equity Group Holdings unveiled the product at the Hôtel de Crillon. The launch marked the first time Kenyan specialty purple tea entered the French retail market through a formal commercial arrangement, opening a route that producers hope will deliver prices well above what the Mombasa auction typically generates for bulk black tea. The partnership traces its origins to May 11, 2026, when the three parties signed an offtake and promotional agreement in Nairobi on the sidelines of the Africa…