Commuters across Kenya will pay significantly more for public transport starting immediately, after matatu operators announced a 50 percent fare increase and threatened to pull all vehicles off the road from Monday, May 18. For a commuter who paid Ksh100 for a single trip Friday, that journey now costs Ksh150. Operators say the new fares take effect across all routes in Nairobi and the rest of the country without delay. What Triggered the Increase The announcement came within hours of the government raising fuel prices for the cycle running May 15 to June 14, 2026. Super Petrol in Nairobi now…
Author: Muindi
Muindi
Experience working on communication and marketing departments and in the broadcast industry. Interested in sustainable development and international relations issues.
Kenya’s diaspora sent home $397.8 million in April 2026. That figure fell 11.7 percent from the $450.3 million recorded in March, as flows retreated across all three major source corridors at the same time. Cumulative inflows over the 12 months to April 2026 reached $5.053 billion, up 1.1 percent from the $4.997 billion recorded over the same period in 2025. For the first time, Kenya’s diaspora transfers have crossed the $5 billion annual mark, placing them firmly alongside tea and tourism as a cornerstone of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. North America Carries More Than Half the Load The corridor…
The Two Rivers International Finance and Innovation Centre (TRIFIC) opened a Sh4.8 billion green, US dollar denominated Income Real Estate Investment Trust on 13 May 2026, the first instrument of its kind in Kenya. The offer closes on 12 June 2026. The I-REIT is expected to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on 23 June 2026. The minimum investment is Sh129,000 ($1,000), open to both retail and institutional investors. What the Offer Covers The I-REIT comprises 29.83 million units priced at USD 1 each, representing 80 percent of the total 37.29 million units, with the promoter retaining the remaining 20…
Co-operative Bank of Kenya opened 2026 with its strongest quarterly performance on record, posting a net profit of Sh8.41 billion for the three months ended 31 March 2026, a 21.3 per cent jump from Sh6.93 billion in the same period a year earlier. The results, approved by the Board of Directors on 13 May 2026, cut through a difficult economic environment where many Kenyan businesses have struggled with rising costs and shrinking margins. What Drove the Growth Total operating income for the Group climbed 13.6 per cent to Sh24.05 billion, anchored by stronger lending activity and a meaningful contribution from…
United Bank for Africa (UBA) took a prominent seat at the Africa Forward Summit 2026 in Nairobi, using the platform to advance its vision of a continent built on enterprise, trade and purposeful global partnerships. The summit, themed “Africa–France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth” and co-hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron on 11 and 12 May 2026, drew approximately 30 African heads of state, more than 3,000 delegates, investors and business leaders from across Africa and Europe. Macron used the occasion to announce €23 billion ($27 billion) in combined investment commitments directed at energy transition,…
Consolidated Bank of Kenya faces a capital crisis that a KSh1.125 billion National Treasury bailout will not fully resolve. The state-owned lender closed December 2025 with a negative core capital position of KSh546 million, meaning its liabilities exceeded its assets before a single new regulatory requirement came into force. Then the Central Bank of Kenya raised the minimum capital threshold to KSh3 billion, effective 1 January 2026. That single adjustment widened the bank’s capital shortfall to at least KSh3.546 billion. The Treasury injection covers barely a third of that gap. A plan that raises more questions than it answers To…