Ethio Telecom traded on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange for the first time on May 26, becoming the first state enterprise and the first non-financial company to list on the Addis Ababa bourse under the ticker TELE. The debut closes a two-year transformation that began in June 2024, when the company converted from a closed government monopoly into a public share company. A Milestone for the Exchange, Not Just the Company The listing also marks a significant moment for the ESX itself. The exchange launched in January 2025 and now carries four listed equities, following earlier introductions by Wegagen Bank, Gadaa…
Author: Muindi
Muindi
Experience working on communication and marketing departments and in the broadcast industry. Interested in sustainable development and international relations issues.
Kenya’s small businesses employ more than 80% of the country’s workforce, yet many owners still lack the digital skills to compete in a market reshaped by artificial intelligence. I&M Bank is closing that gap. Through a new partnership with Google, I&M Bank now offers eligible MSME customers free access to the Google Hustle Academy, a bootcamp programme that teaches practical AI and digital skills to help entrepreneurs market smarter, sell more, and build businesses that last. Why This Matters Now AI tools are no longer a luxury reserved for large corporations. They are reshaping how businesses of every size operate,…
A private cables company with no prior public profile has signed a deal to acquire East African Cables, the once-dominant NSE-listed manufacturer whose years-long insolvency battle erased shareholder value and brought trading in its shares to a halt. Cable Experts Limited (CEL) signed a Share Purchase Agreement on May 19, 2026, to acquire the entire 68.37% controlling stake that TransCentury PLC holds through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cable Holdings (Kenya) Limited. The sellers are TransCentury’s court-appointed Joint Receivers, Muniu Thoithi and George Weru of PricewaterhouseCoopers Kenya, acting under High Court supervision. If regulators approve the deal, it would mark the end…
NCBA Group delivered its strongest net interest income since its 2019 merger, posting a first quarter profit after tax of KSh 6.0 billion for the three months to March 2026, up 8.8% from KSh 5.5 billion a year earlier. The result arrived days before Nedbank Group Limited’s partial offer to acquire approximately 66% of NCBA’s issued shares opens on 28 May 2026. Falling Deposit Costs Drive Income Growth Interest expense has dropped 49% from a KSh 10.84 billion peak in Q1 2024, tracking ten consecutive Central Bank of Kenya rate cuts that steadily repriced the deposit base downward. Customer deposit…
Sidian Bank earned KSh 607.03 million in profit after tax for the quarter ended 31 March 2026, a 9.0% increase from KSh 556.94 million in the same period a year earlier. The result extends a profit recovery that has repositioned the lender as a credible mid-tier player in Kenya’s banking sector over the past two years. Income: Government Securities Drive the Gains Net interest income more than doubled to KSh 1.61 billion from KSh 736.58 million in Q1 2025. The jump traced back to a 61.9% surge in total interest income to KSh 2.88 billion, as the bank collected increasingly…
I&M Bank Limited has closed the first tranche of its Kenya Shilling denominated Medium Term Note Programme, attracting KES 23.22 billion in total applications against a KES 10 billion target. This overwhelming response represents a 232.26% subscription rate. To accommodate the intense investor appetite, the bank activated its KES 3 billion green shoe option, increasing the total allocation for this initial tranche to KES 13 billion. This exceptional turnout demonstrates deep investor trust in the financial stability, governance, and long term trajectory of the bank. The transaction also signals a broader revival within the Kenyan capital markets. Institutional and private…