Author: Lynet Awino

Small and medium enterprises across Kenya can now transfer funds directly from Airtel Money wallets into Absa Bank Kenya accounts and pay to Absa merchant paybill numbers, following a partnership the two companies signed this week. The integration targets a gap that has long slowed down everyday business transactions, the friction between mobile money and formal banking. The service covers business payments, bill settlements, and fund transfers, all accessible from a mobile phone. Airtel Money customers also receive up to 100 percent cashback as airtime on all paybill payments made through the service. Why This Partnership Addresses a Real Problem…

Gulf African Bank has confirmed the completion of two separate shareholding transactions, each bringing a new strategic investor into its ownership structure. Soren Investment Company acquired a 42.78% stake from Al Salam Bank and Istithmar World Limited. Auron Holdings, in a distinct transaction, acquired 14.94% from the International Finance Corporation. Both deals cleared all required regulatory approvals. “The acquisitions reflect confidence in both Gulf African Bank and the banking industry in Kenya.” Together, the transactions transfer a combined majority interest to two investors with very different profiles but a shared commitment to the bank’s growth. For Gulf African Bank, the…

Kenya has launched the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), committing the country to a structured approach to funding conservation and building a nature-positive economy. The launch, held in Nairobi and attended by senior government officials, development partners, financial sector representatives, and civil society, marks the formal establishment of the BIOFIN Kenya Chapter. Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Dr. Festus Ng’eno described the initiative as an evidence-based response to a persistent financing gap that has long undermined Kenya’s biodiversity conservation efforts. Why Biodiversity Finance Is an Economic Priority Kenya’s ecosystems are not peripheral to its economy. They sit at the…

Anita Wawuda did not audition for the role that changed everything. She walked into the room for a different part entirely, got called back, and heard four words that stopped her in her tracks: we want you for Nimo. What followed was the role she had been waiting for without knowing it had a name. Nimo is an undercover DCI officer at the centre of Mizani, the crime drama now streaming on Maisha Magic Plus and Showmax. She is recruited by a governor to dismantle a syndicate operating in his jurisdiction, and her primary target is a man named Solo,…

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya is reorganising its entire corporate structure. The board has approved a transition into a Non-Operating Holding Company (NOHC) model that will separate its core banking business from the broader group, rename the listed parent entity Co-opbank Group PLC, and incorporate a new subsidiary, Co-op Bank Kenya Limited, to carry on the banking operations in Kenya. What the Restructuring Changes The reorganisation places a holding company at the apex of the group, with Co-op Bank Kenya Limited sitting beneath it as the licensed banking entity. The listed parent will oversee subsidiaries and regional investments rather than…

Kenyan university students, diplomats and other non-income earners can now obtain a Kenya Revenue Authority PIN without the requirement to file tax returns, following the rollout of the PIN Without Obligation (PWO) option on the KRA iTax portal. The option targets people who need a PIN for official purposes but earn no taxable income. Students applying for Higher Education Loans Board funding, individuals registering businesses for the first time and diplomats posted to Kenya all fall within the eligible group. The PIN remains valid for those purposes without triggering any filing obligations, unless the holder later begins earning taxable income,…