Six Conditions on the Safaricom Stake Sale

Hello 👋🏽 It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street. In today's newsletter edition…

• Parliament has approved the gov't's sale of its Safaricom stake…but there are conditions

• KCB’s financial book shines in 2025, recording historic highs in profit and dividends

Six Conditions on the Safaricom Stake Sale

By Harry Njuguna

Parliament has cleared the Government’s plan to sell a 15% stake in Safaricom to Vodacom Group…but with six unusually strict conditions attached. The KSh 204.3 billion deal would give Vodacom majority control of the telecom giant behind M-Pesa, whose transaction volumes now eclipse Kenya’s economic output several times over. Lawmakers demanded permanent protection against acquisition-related layoffs and a decade-long safeguard for Safaricom’s vast dealer and agent network. The real question now sits with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), which must decide whether the change in control over the country’s most important payments rail is acceptable.

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Kenya and Rwanda Cut Red Tape

By Fred Obura 

In Kigali, the Kenyan and Rwandan Central Banks quietly inked a pact that could reshape East Africa’s digital payments landscape. The deal, part of a broader East African Community push, aims to let fintech firms licensed in one country operate seamlessly in the other. For regulators, it’s a nod to efficiency; for startups, a potential passport to a regional market long fractured by red tape. Somewhere between policy wonk and entrepreneurial ambition, the agreement hints at a future where money flows as freely as ideas.

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KCB Profits, Dividends Hit Historic Highs

By Harry Njuguna 

KCB closed 2025 with a record profit, a milestone that reflects not just size but the subtle advantages built into its deposit and loan structure.

Financial Snapshot :

🟢 Profit after tax rose 10.6% to KSh 68.35 Bn, the highest in the bank’s history.

🟢 Net interest income grew 7.8% as funding costs fell sharply, while total operating income rose 4.3% to KSh 213.78 Bn.

🟢 Net loans crossed KSh 1 trillion and deposits hit KSh 1.59 trillion, lifting total assets to KSh 2.15 trillion.

🟢 Dividend per share surged 133% to KSh 7, representing a total payout of KSh 22.5 Bn, the largest in KCB history.

Read the full analysis here >>>>>

INSIGHT : Africa is Building Trade Momentum Despite Structural Frictions

By Chelsy Maina

Africa’s trade architecture is quietly improving, even if businesses still feel the friction. The latest Africa Trade Barometer from Standard Bank Group shows infrastructure indicators rising across ten major economies, from ports and railways to digital border systems. Yet the data also exposes a familiar gap: strong macroeconomic metrics alongside cautious business sentiment on the ground. Mozambique tops the rankings, buoyed by foreign investment in liquefied natural gas, though the gains remain concentrated in capital intensive sectors. For many firms across the continent, trade may be getting easier in theory, but not always in practice

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