Author: Muindi

Kenya’s banks recorded their strongest customer satisfaction scores on record in 2025. Then customers tried to raise a complaint. The Kenya Bankers Association Banking Customer Satisfaction Survey 2025, which drew 40,854 responses — the largest sample in the survey’s history — reveals a striking contradiction: satisfaction with primary banks climbed to 84.6%, yet the share of banks that always resolve complaints within two days fell from 75.4% to 66.5%. One in three customers no longer receives timely, consistent resolution. Mobile banking now ranks first for 60.1% of customers. The industry Net Promoter Score, however, slipped from 44.0 to 42.6, driven…

Safaricom has upgraded its Home Fibre packages, delivering speeds up to 2.5 times faster at no additional cost. Every plan benefits from the boost. Entry-level packages now reach 15 Mbps, mid-tier plans move to 35 Mbps and 80 Mbps, and premium tiers climb to 400 Mbps, enough for households running multiple streams, video calls, and connected devices simultaneously. “As homes become increasingly connected, reliable high-speed internet is no longer a luxury, it is an essential service for modern living. With this upgrade, we aim to provide smooth multi-device streaming, buffer-free video calls, and reliable performance,” Peter Ndegwa, CEO Safaricom. Safaricom…

Equity Group Holdings is moving to acquire banks in Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique, Group CEO James Mwangi confirmed this week, as Kenya’s most profitable lender extends its reach along the mineral and trade corridors that now define sub-Saharan Africa’s economic geography. The expansion push follows the group’s strongest financial year on record. For the full year ended December 2025, Equity posted a 55 percent rise in profit after tax to KShs 75.50 billion. Regional subsidiaries outside Kenya generated 51 percent of banking profit before tax — a milestone that confirms the group’s transformation from a Kenyan lender into a genuinely…

I&M Bank has launched a public Medium-Term Note programme worth up to KShs 20 billion, opening one of its most significant funding rounds in recent years as it accelerates lending and expands across the region. The first tranche targets KShs 10 billion. A 30 percent greenshoe option — a provision that allows the bank to accept excess demand — could push the total raised to KShs 13 billion if investor appetite comes in strong. The offer opened on 30 April 2026 and closes on 15 May, with allotment scheduled for 18 May and listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange fixed…

Access Now confirmed on 29 April that the 14th edition of the world’s largest digital human rights conference would not proceed — in Zambia or online — after the Zambian government pulled its support just days before the opening session. RightsCon 2026 was scheduled to run in Lusaka from 5 to 8 May, drawing over 5,000 delegates including advocates, technologists, academics, and policymakers working at the intersection of human rights and technology. Many participants were already airborne or on the ground in Lusaka when the announcement landed. Access Now wrote to registered attendees: “It is with heavy hearts that we…

Standard Chartered has arranged a $2.33 billion syndicated financing package for Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), one of the largest infrastructure transactions in East African history. The deal funds the construction of 679 kilometres of new track across three lots, moving Tanzania’s most transformative transport project significantly closer to completion. How the $2.33 Billion Breaks Down The financing covers two separate tranches across three lots of the SGR, each with distinct funding structures and construction partners. Tranche Amount Instrument Route Constructor Lots 3 and 4 — ECA financing USD 1.32 billion Export Credit Agency facilities (signed 2025 and 2026) Makutupora…