Absa Bank Bets Big on Green Finance

I am Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street…

In today's newsletter edition, ABSA is unveiling its aggravated stride in green finance. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has redeemed a two-year bond, one of the most expensive obligations in the government’s debt portfolio…

Absa Bank Bets Big on Green Finance

The Bank Targets Net-Zero and Inclusive Growth. 

By TKWS Desk

Absa Bank is no longer treating sustainability as window dressing but as the scaffolding of its business model. In 2024, it pumped KSh 47 billion into sustainable finance, with projects ranging from climate-smart farms to Kenya’s first warehouse built out of retired shipping containers.

The bank has set hard targets: 10% of its loan book must be green by 2025, rising to 30% by 2035. Its climate report outlines a net-zero journey, with solar-powered branches, sharply reduced energy use, and tree-planting programs designed to anchor future carbon credits.

At the same time, it is leaning into inclusivity, channeling billions to women-led firms, youth entrepreneurs, and low-income households. Digital platforms like Timiza and programs like ReadytoWork show how Absa links financing with skills. The larger signal is that sustainability and inclusivity are shifting from compliance check boxes to competitive advantages in Kenya’s financial sector. Read more here >>>>>

Also Watch 

‘Magical Kenya' On the Microscope 

By Brian Nzomo

Kenya has quietly set in motion a process to reimagine its once-unshakable “Magical Kenya” tourism brand. A 23-member taskforce, part boardroom veterans, part marketing mavericks, has been asked to dissect not only how the world sees the country, but how the country sees itself. Their assignment: to drag a safari-heavy image into the age of wellness retreats, digital-first campaigns, and AI-assisted promotion. Yet as rivals like Tanzania surge ahead of targets and Rwanda buys global visibility on football jerseys, Kenya’s experiment feels both overdue and oddly fragile. Whether this overhaul delivers a renaissance or a rebrand destined to be forgotten is the gamble. Read more here »»»»» 

Capital Markets 

CBK Redeems A High-Cost Bond

By Harry Njuguna 

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has redeemed a two-year bond worth KSh 94.6 billion, one of the most expensive obligations in the government’s debt portfolio. Issued in nine tranches since August 2023, the paper carried a steep 16.97% coupon, amplifying the fiscal hit compared to earlier maturities. The payout coincided with Treasury bill coupon obligations, straining CBK’s liquidity management at a time of elevated borrowing needs. Upcoming maturities through December are smaller and cheaper, offering only temporary relief for government cash flows. Read more >>>>>

NSE Gainers & Losers 

INSIGHT : Women in Kenya and their Economic Power

By Brian Nzomo

Fresh KNBS data shows a paradox: rural Kenyan women are more likely to own homes than their urban sisters, yet they remain underbanked, underemployed, and digitally disconnected. Ownership of land and houses hints at security, but the ledger tilts back to men when it comes to financial accounts, internet access, and jobs. The education gains of the past decade, more secondary schooling, more autonomy in households, have not translated into proportional leaps in income or control of big-ticket spending. Instead, women find themselves navigating a landscape of partial empowerment, with freedoms in some corners and walls in others. Here is the full report >>>>>

OPINION: Why Stablecoins are Africa’s Gateway to the Global Financial Highway

By Eric Wainaina 

Stablecoins, once dismissed as speculative curiosities, are fast emerging as Africa’s express lane to global finance. They collapse the clutter of correspondent banks, foreign exchange middlemen, and settlement delays into a single programmable pipeline where money moves at the speed of code. Wainaina argues this isn’t some distant promise. It’s already happening in fintech backrooms from Lagos to Nairobi, where “virtual accounts” give local entrepreneurs a digital foothold in global markets. What Africa lacks isn’t infrastructure, but the political will and regulatory creativity to make stablecoins safe, mainstream, and growth-friendly. Read this piece here »»»»»

Also Read 

Stories you missed 

♦️ Infrastructure. Tatu City, Africa’s leading new city development and a Rendeavour flagship urban investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, has reached a total investment value of $3 billion.

♦️ Companies. CFAO Mobility Kenya has appointed an official liquidator for DT Dobie, kickstarting the process of formally winding up the iconic car dealer brand more than two years after it transferred its business assets to its parent company.

♦️ Sustainability. Kenya is set to host a new Africa Center of Excellence in Sustainable Transport, headquartered in Nairobi and supported by the University of California, Davis.

♦️Banking. Absa Bank Kenya has reported a 9.05% year-on-year rise in profit after tax to KShs 11.68 billion in the first half of 2025.

♦️ Startups. Nairobi-based fintech startup, HoneyCoin, has secured US$4.9 million in a seed funding round led by Flourish Ventures.

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