How Gov't Shared out Climate Funds

In today’s newsletter, we look at why Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kiambu missed out on KSh 11.2 billion in climate resilience grants and why the NSE bond market hit a record KSh 1.55 trillion turnover in just seven months.

I am Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street and this is today's edition of our daily newsletter…

How the Gov't Allocated Climate Funds to Counties…

Urban giants left out as climate billions flow to rural counties.

By Harry Njuguna 

In a move to decentralize climate finance, the National Treasury has allocated KSh 11.2 billion in resilience grants to 44 counties, but Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kiambu are nowhere on the list.

The funds, under the newly enacted County Governments Additional Allocations Act, 2025, are part of a rural-focused effort to bolster local defenses against drought, floods, and other climate shocks, with support from the World Bank, Germany’s KfW, and county co-financing.

Kakamega, Nandi, and Homa Bay topped the allocation charts, receiving hundreds of millions for water harvesting, forest restoration, and sustainable farming projects. Critics, however, have raised eyebrows at the exclusion of Kenya’s largest urban centers, whose climate vulnerabilities, though different in nature, are no less urgent.

Officials defend the decision, pointing instead to separate urban-targeted programs. Still, as rural counties prepare to green their landscapes, city dwellers may be left wondering whether concrete jungles are being quietly left to weather the climate change storm alone. Read full article »»»»»

Also Read 

Capital Markets 

🧾 In Bonds We Trust : A Review of a Historic Turnover 

By Harry Njuguna 

Kenya’s bond market is in overdrive, with the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) recording a historic KSh 1.55 trillion in turnover just seven months into 2025—eclipsing last year’s full-year record. The surge owes much to a retail revolution: individuals, Saccos, and private groups are piling into government bonds, thanks in part to the CBK’s new Dhow digital platform. Meanwhile, falling interest rates have turned older, high-yield bonds into hot commodities, fueling a flurry of secondary market trading. Read more »»»»»

NSE Gainers & Losers 

Tech Frontier

💊💉 A Pharma’s Bet on African Health-tech

By Brian Nzomo

Boehringer Ingelheim, a German pharmaceutical firm, is placing a high-stakes bet on Africa’s health-tech frontier, investing in two Kenyan startups; Kasha Global and Reach52, through its Social Engagement Fund. With Boehringer’s support, both startups are poised to scale their reach across the continent, tackling systemic gaps in medicine access and public health education. Read full article »»»»»

🚨 Africa’s Life-Saving Tech Heads West

By Fred Obura 

Aura, a fast-rising African tech firm specializing in emergency response, is setting its sights on the U.S. after closing a KSh 2 billion (€13.5 million) Series B funding round co-led by Cathay AfricInvest and Partech. Operating in Kenya and South Africa, Aura has built a platform that aggregates private security fleets to deliver rapid, tech-enabled emergency services in regions where police infrastructure is stretched thin. In a world where response times can mean life or death, Aura is betting that speed and software can save lives. Read more »»»»»

Stories you missed 

♦️ Companies. Sameer Africa PLC has undertaken a significant pivot over the last decade, shifting from tyre manufacturing and distribution to becoming a key player in the industrial real estate sector.

♦️Narcotics. Kenya has become a major player in the continent’s illicit drug trafficking economy, with industrial-scale methamphetamine production, widespread cannabis cultivation, and an emerging threat of synthetic opioids, even as cocaine floods in from Latin America.

♦️ Capital Markets.The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has eliminated the long-standing minimum board lot of 100 shares, allowing securities to trade in multiples of just one share.

On your watchlist 

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