Regulations frozen in time

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December 05, 2025

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In today's newsletter, the World Bank says that Kenya's telco market is on a commendable surge but the regulators have swallowed a time capsule; enforcing fair rules using a playbook that is now outdated.

Also, Kenya becomes the first African country to seal a bilateral health deal with Washington's new frugal hand…

Regulations frozen in time

By Brian Nzomo

The World Bank has noted that Kenya won’t get a fair telecom market until tower infrastructure is pulled out of the operators’ hands and placed with independent companies. For now, the biggest networks still own most of the masts, and that ownership quietly shapes who grows and who merely survives. Smaller players spend fortunes duplicating towers they should be able to share, while consumers pay the price in patchy coverage and pricier calls. Whether Kenya is ready to pry the steel from the incumbents’ grip remains the unanswered question.

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The Art of the Health Deal

By Brian Nzomo

Kenya's Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sign health deal. President William Ruto witnesses the signing in Washington DC

Washington is quietly recalibrating its approach to global health aid, moving from broad handouts to performance-driven partnerships; a shift made starkly clear after the Trump administration slashed over four-fifths of USAID programs earlier this year. Kenya emerges as the first African country to negotiate under this new framework, securing a multi-billion, five-year cooperation deal that balances American strategic interests with local health needs. The agreement phases in Kenyan responsibility, gradually taking over financing, procurement, and health-worker payrolls. For Washington and Nairobi, the deal is both a reset and a test: can targeted, accountable aid sustain decades of progress without the old open-ended lifelines?

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OPINION : Sustainable Aviation Fuels Could be Africa's Next Industrial Frontier

By Henok Teferra Shawl

Africa spends billions importing jet fuel each year, but the continent’s own feedstocks and renewable resources could anchor a homegrown sustainable aviation fuel industry. Boeing argues that domestic SAF production would chip away at the structural costs that have long hobbled African carriers and drained national coffers. The demographic wave coming by 2050 makes the push more urgent, with SAF value chains offering rare potential for skilled jobs at scale. The bigger challenge is timing: SAF won’t scale fast enough on its own, so airlines will need both smarter fleets and coordinated policy to turn all that latent potential into actual industry.

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Visit our new website here to get updated on this story and others…

Is Crypto Uniquely Positioned as an Alternative Investment?

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Apollo Sande writes

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