How Inflation Has Eaten Away Your Paycheck?

Good evening 👋🏽. It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street

Missile and drone attacks between the U.S. and Israel on one side, and Iran on the other, are intensifying a Middle East conflict that threatens to spiral beyond regional bounds.

But first…

• Did you know that KSh 1,000 in 2019 is Now Worth KSh 670 in February 2026?

• The auditor general, among others, have pointed out some legal fault lines that could crumble Kenya's Infrastructure Fund.

How Inflation Has Eaten Away Your Paycheck? 

By Harry Njuguna  

Kenya’s cost of living has surged nearly 50 percent since 2019, leaving a KSh 1,000 note worth only about KSh 670 today. Even as headline inflation slows, the real bite has already been taken, with households paying far more for staples like cabbages, kale, and maize. Core goods may rise gently, but food and energy relentlessly erode incomes, widening the gap between paychecks and daily needs. For anyone earning the same as six years ago, the numbers tell a stark story: stability does not restore what has already been lost.

Read more here >>>>>

The Middle East At a Glance 

🚨 Between Tehran Strikes and UAE Deals

By Fred Obura  

Kenya has condemned a series of strikes across Gulf states by Iran, warning that the Middle East conflict is slipping into dangerous regionalization. President William Ruto framed the attacks as a “grave threat” to global stability, urging reliance on multilateral institutions to cool the crisis.

The escalation follows U.S. and Israeli strikes on top Iranian figures, prompting Tehran’s sweeping retaliation across the Gulf. For Nairobi, the stakes are both diplomatic and commercial, with tens of thousands of Kenyans working in the region and trade ties spanning the UAE to Iran.

As missiles fly, Kenya’s delicate balancing act underscores the fragile interdependence between geopolitics and commerce in an increasingly volatile neighborhood.

Read the full article here >>>>>

The Infrastructure Fund Faces Legal Test

By Brian Nzomo

Kenya’s ambitious KSh 5 trillion National Infrastructure Fund promises to build roads, railways, and airports without leaning on debt…but the legal groundwork is far from settled. Auditor General Nancy Gathungu warns of gaps that could let public money slip outside established oversight, while overlapping roles risk confusion at the top. Even the bill’s push to sell state assets to capitalize the fund raises constitutional and fiscal eyebrows. Parliament now faces a choice: tighten the guardrails or launch a flagship project under a cloud of uncertainty.

Read the full article here >>>>>

Heads Up 

Crypto Insights with Luno

Last week saw regulatory developments in Africa to renewed institutional engagement. 

🔸Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, is in talks with Kenyan authorities to launch its Circle Payments Network, potentially enabling faster, compliant cross-border payments.

🔸Stablecoins move closer to everyday use across Africa. According to a Stablecoin Utility Report by YouGov, stablecoins are increasingly offering faster and cheaper ways to move value, especially in lower-income countries.

🔸US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their largest daily inflows in three weeks, and BlackRock announced plans for a new Ethereum staking ETF, signaling growing institutional interest despite volatile market conditions.

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Is Kenya’s US$10 Billion crypto market the silent solution to the nation’s persistent dollar shortage? In this technical deep dive, we sit down with Felix Macharia, CEO of Kotani Pay, to explore the massive institutional shift toward stablecoins in East Africa.

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