African electric mobility company Spiro has closed an additional $55 million investment from NewTrails Capital, a Chinese growth stage fund. The new commitment pushes Spiro’s latest funding round to $270 million, just days after the company announced the round’s first close. For an industry still proving itself to global capital, that timing matters. It tells investors Spiro did not need to chase this money. The money came looking for Spiro. Gagan Gupta, the company’s founder, called the investment a signal rather than a transaction. “This is more than capital,” he said. “It is momentum building between Asia and Africa: Chinese…
Author: Muindi
Muindi
Experience working on communication and marketing departments and in the broadcast industry. Interested in sustainable development and international relations issues.
Kenya signed the long-awaited Samurai bond on June 22, 2026, bringing JPY 25 billion — about KSh22.1 billion — into the country through a structured deal with Japan backed by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). The signing took place at State House, Nairobi, and marks a concrete step in Kenya’s push to diversify its funding sources and reduce dependence on costly dollar-denominated debt. President William Ruto described the moment as the opening of a new chapter. “Today, Kenya and Japan open a new chapter in a friendship built over decades as we strengthen our strategic partnership through new commitments…
Kenya has laid out how it intends to pay for the long delayed overhaul of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, blending debt, airport revenue and a new state fund to cover a project the government caps at 154.2 billion shillings. The Ministry of Roads and Transport says roughly 70 percent of that figure, about 107 billion shillings, will come from debt financing. The remaining 30 percent will be raised through airport generated revenue and equity contributions, including a likely stake from the recently created National Infrastructure Fund. The government has appointed the Trade Development Bank and the Africa Finance Corporation as…
The Trustee of the TRIFIC Green USD I-REIT announced results for the Unrestricted Offer, reporting a subscription rate of 103.3 percent. Investors applied for USD 30,815,000 against USD 29,832,000 available, pushing demand past the offer size. The REIT priced units at USD 1.00 each. NCBA Bank Kenya Plc acts as Trustee, and Two Rivers Land Company (SEZ) Ltd serves as Promoter. Offer Results at a Glance Metric Figure Offer price per unit USD 1.00 Amount available for subscription USD 29,832,000 Amount raised USD 30,815,000 Subscription rate 103.3% New units applied for 30,815,000 Minimum aggregate subscription required USD 20,500,000 / 20,500,000…
Kenya’s High Court has thrown out a third attempt to derail Diageo’s sale of its East African Breweries stake, leaving the $2.3 billion deal with only one regulatory hurdle left to clear. Justice Gregory Mutai refused to grant conservatory orders sought by JILK Construction Limited, which wanted the court to stop, restrain or preserve the transaction between Diageo PLC and Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings for the transfer of majority shareholding in EABL. The ruling lands roughly six months after Asahi agreed in December to buy Diageo’s entire 65 percent stake in EABL for KES296.4 billion, a deal that will end…
Governments across sub-Saharan Africa do not rewrite education law for a connectivity grant. Yet that is precisely what happened. Through the Airtel Africa Foundation’s flagship $57 million partnership with UNICEF, two countries moved from receiving infrastructure support to embedding digital education permanently into national legislation. The Foundation’s 2025/2026 Annual Report documents that shift in detail, alongside the numbers behind a first full year of scaled delivery. From pledge to law: the $57 million UNICEF alliance The five-year partnership with UNICEF, launched in 2021, now stands as one of the most consequential digital learning alliances on the continent. In this reporting…