Author: Muindi

France is rewriting its Africa strategy, one summit at a time. Accused of neo-colonial meddling across the continent where it once held decisive influence, Paris chose Nairobi — an English-speaking capital well outside its traditional orbit — to co-host the Africa Forward Summit, a deliberate signal that the old rules no longer apply. Speaking in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron repeatedly reached for the language of reciprocity, invoking “co-investment” and “equal footing partnerships” as he addressed pressures that leaders on both sides of the relationship know all too well: regional insecurity, economic dependence and intensifying competition…

A group of minority shareholders controlling 13.59% of WPP Scangroup has formally requisitioned a general meeting to remove the company’s board of directors, citing five years of financial deterioration, client losses and what they describe as a failure of governance at one of East Africa’s largest marketing and communications groups. The requisition, dated 7 and 8 May 2026 and addressed to the Chairman of WPP Scangroup’s Board of Directors, carries the signatures of eight shareholders led by former Chief Executive Bharat Kumar Thakrar and his wife Sadhana Thakrar, who together hold 45,302,860 shares representing 10.48% of the company’s issued share…

Aliko Dangote is structuring a dedicated investment vehicle in Kenya that will give investors direct access to the Dangote Group before the planned pan-African initial public offering of his petroleum refinery. All returns will be paid in US dollars. The World Bank Group has committed to supporting what Dangote describes as the continent’s largest industrial ownership programme. Dangote disclosed the Kenya structure during a conversation with IFC President Makhtar Diop, identifying the country as a specific investor entry point separate from the secondary NSE listing first reported by Bloomberg in April. The vehicle forms part of a broader ownership restructuring…

Airtel Africa closed its financial year ended March 31, 2026 with profit after tax tripling to $813 million from $328 million a year earlier, as revenue climbed 29.5% to $6.415 billion. The results reflect the strongest customer additions in the company’s history and a mobile money business that is rapidly outgrowing its original remit. Revenue Growth Runs Across Every Region Group revenue grew 24% in constant currency, with reported currency growth running ahead of that figure as currencies appreciated across most markets. Nigeria led the charge, posting constant currency revenue growth of 47.5% following tariff adjustments introduced in the fourth…

Kenya has shelved its flagship $1 billion data centre project backed by Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-based G42, after the country’s electricity system proved unable to support the facility at its intended scale. The decision closes out one of East Africa’s most closely watched technology investments and exposes a gap that sits beneath almost every major AI infrastructure announcement on the continent. A Deal That Began at the White House President William Ruto announced the project during a state visit to Washington in May 2024, witnessed under the Biden administration as a signal of deepening technology ties between the United States…

Stanbic Bank Kenya delivered a solid first quarter in 2026, growing profit after tax by 5.5% to KES 3.52 billion, up from KES 3.33 billion in the same period last year. The results, released on 6 May 2026, reflect disciplined cost management and a rapidly expanding balance sheet. Lending Business Drives Revenue Net interest income climbed 11.7% to KES 7.57 billion, powered by a 4.7% rise in total interest income and a 6.4% reduction in interest expenses. That combination widened the bank’s lending margins considerably and anchored overall revenue growth. Loans and advances grew 5.8% to KES 258.2 billion, driven…