Author: Muthoga Mungania

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has called for its member states affected by US tariffs to take a unified stance as they look for ways to navigate trade relations under Donald Trump’s regime. This comes as eight member countries stare at trade difficulties occasioned by the tariffs. The reciprocal tariffs instituted...

Rwanda’s national carrier has abandoned three of its West African routes and shifted to other parts of the continent as it broadens its flight frequencies. This comes after a February ban by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from using its airspace citing ‘insecurity due to armed conflict.’ RwandAir is looking to focus on the...

Rwanda’s Central Bank has maintained its key interest rate at 6.5 percent in its latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting, citing stable inflation within the target range of two and eight percent. This decision underscores the bank’s confidence in its current policy stance to support economic stability. “The MPC has decided to maintain the central bank...

Alterra Capital, a fund backed by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has acquired Kenya’s old company, Pollman’s for $30.95 million (Ksh4 billion). In a notice from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), Africa Travel Limited will acquire 100 percent stake in Pollman’s Tours and Safaris. Alterra Capital Partners, an Africa-focused private equity firm, is behind...

Kenya is considering a ban on cashless payments for routine consumer transactions under a new amendment to the Central Bank of Kenya Bill 2025. The change will make it mandatory for businesses to accept physical cash for payments below Ksh100,000 ($775). This measure is designed to guarantee that all individuals including those who may lack...

Kenya’s largest telecom, Safaricom Plc, has reported a net profit of $354.3 million (Ksh45.8 billion) for the year ended March 2025, representing a 7.3 percent growth from the previous year. The company faced an income tax expense of $384.5 million (Ksh49.7 billion) from its Ethiopian business, which reduced its profit before tax to $720.99 million...

Warren Buffett, the world’s sixth richest person, has donated billions to Kenya after United States President Donald Trump slashed off funding to some of the critical sectors including healthcare. In new disclosures from the National Treasury, through Buffett’s foundation, named after his first wife Susan and run by his children, Kenya will receive $29.4 million...

Airtel Africa has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to expand high satellite internet speed across the continent. The partnership was announced on Monday and aims at enhancing connectivity in underserved areas in the continent. SpaceX has already acquired nine operating licenses in 14 countries where Airtel operates with a cumulative 163.1 million customer base. The...

Foreigners in Ethiopia will be allowed to own real estate in the country after the Council of Ministers ratified a draft law on the matter in a bid to encourage foreign investment. The Horn of Africa nation does not allow non-citizens to own real estate, whether residential or commercial limiting investment in the sector and...

Kenya has started formal talks to increase electricity imports from Ethiopia amid rising demand. The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (Kenya Power) chief executive Joseph Siror has revealed that the country is engaging with Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP) to allow importation of an extra 50-100 Mega Watts. “We are just asking for additional power between...

African traders in petrol, diesel and jet fuel among other oil products are set to benefit from a $3 billion facility from the African Export-Import Bank. The bank rolled out the $3 billion revolving credit line for African and Caribbean buyers to source oil products more easily from refineries on the continent. Afreximbank expects the...

Four Kenyans are among criminals wanted by Nigerian authorities for hacking a popular cryptocurrency and forex trading platform known as Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX). Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is looking for eight people including four Kenyans who are suspected of involvement in an incident in which users lost money on CBEX. The platform had attracted many Africans with the promise of Al-powered returns, lucrative referral bonuses, and easy withdrawals. CBEX promoters claimed the platform would offer returns of up to 30 percent in just 30 days. “The public is hereby notified that the persons… are suspected foreign…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set a string of targets for Kenya before unlocking new funding. Kenya will be required to meet the set revenue and spending targets from the IMF. Before signing off on the new loan under the new program, the IMF insists on seeing the upcoming budget estimates for the fiscal...

Investors have snubbed Ethio Telecom’s shares offered in an initial public offering (IPO) amid local investment rules in the Horn of Africa nation. Ethiopia’s telecommunications company, Ethio Telecom decided to go public offering up 100 million shares but has sold 10.7 million shares. The company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Frehiwot Tamiru has said the IPO...

Kenya’s President William Ruto has secured a total of $823 million in deals on the second day of his four-day state visit to China. The deals cut across different areas such as manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and transport technology. They were signed during the Kenya-China business forum organised by the Ministry of Trade in partnership with...

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Equity Group will be required to sell at least 30 percent of their stakes in their Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) subsidiaries as is required under Instruction 18. According to DRC’s central bank (Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC)), banks operating in the country should have at least four unrelated shareholders,...

Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, has cancelled his planned visit to Nairobi, hours after Kenya’s President Ruto took off to Beijing for a five-day state visit to China. The Secretary of State was expected to visit Nairobi and then Addis Ababa in his first official tour of the continent. During his visit, Rubio was to discuss the Chinese influence on the continent and the multinational security support mission in Haiti. The cancellation comes a few hours after Kenyan President William Ruto departed Nairobi for a five-day state visit to China, marking him as the first African leader…

New banks will be allowed to operate in Kenya as long as they meet the minimum core capital requirements, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) says on wednesday 16 April, 2025, following the lifting of a decade-long moratorium on licensing new lenders.  The ban was imposed in 2015 against a backdrop of governance, risk management...

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has caught four smugglers trying to transport thousands of live ants out of the country for sale on the black market in Europe and Asia. The smugglers will be sentenced for trafficking wildlife to exotic pet markets abroad. Court documents seen by Kapital Afrik show that the officers intercepted about...

Somalia’s communications authority has granted Elon Musk’s Starlink an operating license as the internet service provider expands its offerings on the continent. This approval makes Somalia the 21st country on the continent using satellite internet service. Somalia’s National Communications Authority (NCA) made the announcement in Mogadishu where Starlink and government officials were present. The NCA...

Africa loses $88.6 billion annually to illicit financial flows (IFFs), a new report shows. The Illicit Financial Flows in Africa—which covered 12 countries shows that this represents 3.7 percent of the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP). Speaking on Thursday (10.04) during the launch of the Audit Report on IFFs in the continent—Kenya’s Auditor General Nancy...

Listed lender Stanbic Bank has cut a deal with Kenya’s criminal investigations body to stop the police from looking into its chief executive officer and other directors in a controversial airline deal. The bank together with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have agreed to withdrawn a petition it had filed stopping the police from...

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) among other East African stock markets suffered losses on new United States tariffs imposed in different countries. Global markets convulsed as sweeping new U.S. tariffs went into effect and China retaliated, amid recession fears among the world largest economies. In Kenya, investors at the NSE were not spared the losses,...

Kenya’s Treasury will force virtual currency exchanges and wallet providers to disclose cryptocurrency owners, if Members of Parliament (MPs) approve a new bill that seeks to rein in on money launders and financial criminals. If majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah’s virtual assets service providers (VASP) bill is passed, it will remove anonymity for crypto traders and...

Kenya’s trade minister is holding talks with the United States administration in a bid to lobby for the extension of the duty free access to the American market. This comes after US President Donald Trump Thursday imposed sweeping tariffs on goods from countries across the world, ranging from 10 percent for nations like Kenya to...

A United States senior officer has said that America is set to invest billions of dollars to war-ridden mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a bid to protect its interests in the region. Speaking during a visit to DRC, Massad Boulos, Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Africa said that in addition to the mineral...

Kenya’s trade with the United States was dealt a blow after President Donald Trump signed a new executive order imposing retaliatory tariffs on goods from the East African nation among other countries. Trump imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all U.S. imports from 185 countries and higher duties on some of America’s top...

The government of Uganda has signed a deal with UAE-based Alpha MBM Investments for a 60 percent stake in a crude refinery in Kabaale, Hoima District. The deal will see the construction and advancement of the long planned but delayed country’s first crude oil refinery in Western Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni’s office said in a...

Uganda’s largest electricity distributor, Umeme Limited said on Monday that it had received $118 million in compensation from the government for unrecovered investments, but raised concerns that it had been undervalued. The firm signed a 20-year concession agreement in 2005 and has handed over its distribution system to the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL)...

The World Court has set April 10th as the hearing date for Sudan’s genocide case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Friday that it would hear a case brought forth by Sudan demanding emergency measures taken against the Gulf state. Sudan accuses the UAE of violating obligations under...