Author: Korir Issa

Money sent home by Kenyans abroad kept sliding in June, extending a slide that started in April. According to the Central Bank of Kenya, remittance inflows totalled 375.6 million dollars in June 2026, down from 394.2 million dollars in May, a drop of 4.7 percent. The 12 month total to June fell too, down 2.4 percent to 4,960 million dollars from 5,084 million dollars over the same window a year earlier. CBK pointed to weaker inflows from key source markets as the main driver. What the 2026 Numbers Show Month by Month Remittances did not fall in a straight line…

Tullow Oil has agreed to squeeze an additional 9 million dollars, roughly 1.16 billion shillings, out of its Kenya exit deal with Gulf Energy, trading away royalty rights and a stake in future development for cash it can bank now. The company confirmed that its subsidiary, Tullow Overseas Holdings BV, has struck the new agreement with Auron Energy E&P Limited, the Gulf Energy affiliate that bought Tullow’s Kenyan assets last year, with payment expected no later than July 17, 2026. What Tullow Is Giving Up Under the new arrangement, Tullow walks away from two rights it held onto when it…

Kenya still wins the trust of its wealthiest investors. Despite easier access to markets abroad, high net worth individuals continue to build most of their wealth inside the country, according to Knight Frank Kenya’s Wealth and Investment Trends Report 2026. Local Assets, Local Oversight The report found that most affluent investors keep the bulk of their residential property inside Kenya. Interest in second citizenships and foreign residency programmes stays low. Investors gravitate toward markets they know, where they can watch over their assets directly and lean on networks they already trust. Boniface Abudho, research analyst at Knight Frank Africa, connects…

Kenya’s economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 4.9% in the same period last year, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Every sector expanded, though the pace varied widely. Accommodation and Food Services led the pack at 14.7% growth, followed by Mining and Quarrying at 9.1% and Construction at 6.6%. Where Each Sector Stood: Contribution and Growth The table below from KNBS data, breaks down how much each sector contributes to GDP and how fast it grew. Sector Contribution Q1’2025 Contribution Q1’2026 Growth Q1’2025 Growth Q1’2026 Agriculture and Forestry 19.1% 19.0% 5.3% 4.9%…

Safaricom poured billions of shillings into education, health and community programmes in its 25th year, even as its own climate targets kept slipping further out of reach. The telecom giant’s FY26 Annual Report shows a company investing heavily in people while its Planet ambitions, the ones it set for itself, continue to lag behind schedule. A New Strategy For A 25 Year Milestone Safaricom marked its 25th anniversary in October 2025 by rolling its climate, circularity and community work into what it calls the Purpose Strategy, split into two pillars: People, focused on transforming society, and Planet, meant to catalyse…

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated marked a milestone for African sustainable finance on July 9, 2026, ringing the opening bell at the London Stock Exchange to celebrate the listing of its US$450 million Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Capital Bond. The bond had priced in May and settled that month, but the ceremony formally recognized what the market had already confirmed: Ecobank had pulled off the first ICMA designated Nature Bond ever issued by a commercial bank. The designation matters because it separates marketing language from measurable commitment. The Notes carry the ICMA Nature Bond secondary designation under the ICMA Sustainable Bonds for…