Telkom, A Fading Signal...

Kenya's #1 newsletter among business leaders & policy makers

July 07, 2025

Once a pioneer in Kenya’s telecom revolution, Telkom now lingers as a faded signal, outpaced by rivals, trapped in bureaucratic inertia, and silent as the digital future races ahead.

I am Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street and these are our day's business stories:

Leading Stories 

📡 Telkom Kenya : A Fading Signal

By Chelsy Maina

Once a pioneer in Kenya’s telecom revolution, Telkom Kenya now trails as a faint echo in a sector dominated by Safaricom and Airtel’s roaring competition. Its shrinking market share, outdated infrastructure, and failure to crack the mobile money gold mine have left it limping in a high-speed race.

Years of investor uncertainty, bureaucratic delays, and underwhelming leadership have hollowed out its strategic edge; leaving even its own employees disillusioned and stuck. As 5G dreams take flight and digital wallets become mainstream, Telkom’s silence on the frontier is both deafening and damning. Read more…

📈 The Exuberant Trading Floor 

By Harry Njuguna

The Nairobi Securities Exchange has added over KSh 600 billion in investor wealth this year, continuing a 20-month rally that shows no sign of fatigue. Sameer Africa is the market’s unlikely star, soaring 82.3% in a month on the back of a 461% profit surge and a cleaned-up balance sheet.

Kapchorua Tea, battered by a global tea glut, managed to charm investors with a hefty dividend, proving that shareholder loyalty still moves markets. All major indices are firmly in the green, with the NASI up 30.5%, the clearest signal yet that Nairobi’s bulls are charging. Read more.

NSE Gainers & Losers 

Source : NSE

🔚 The Final Bow : ECP Kenya 

By Brian Nzomo

ECP Kenya, once a polished outpost of Washington-backed private equity in Nairobi, has filed for voluntary liquidation, quietly drawing the curtain on its decade-long presence in the region. Its unraveling follows a costly tax dispute linked to a high-profile exit deal that regulators didn’t quite see as clean, and a court appeal that faltered before it even found its voice. Read more 

What you missed…

Old Mutual Winds Down South Sudan Operations after Two Decades

UAP Insurance South Sudan (UAPISS), a subsidiary of Old Mutual Holdings, has halted Insurance business in South Sudan beginning this month.

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COMESA's e-Certificate of Origin Nears Full Integration

COMESA Secretariat is nearing completion of the e-Certificate of Origin (e-CO) integration with the national e-CO systems of Kenya, Seychelles

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Kenya's Commercial Banks' Average Lending, Deposit Rates Continue Downward Trend

An analysis of lending rates for May 2025 reveals a continued downward trend across Kenya's commercial banks, mirroring CBK's policy.

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Opinion 

East Africa's Central Banks Turn to Gold as Shield Against Global Economic Shocks

East Africa is turning to gold as a strategic component of their foreign exchange reserves, joining a growing global shift

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Last Friday's Poll Results

Are you satisfied with the pace in which commercial banks are slashing interest rates? 

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes (20%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No (80%)

On your watchlist

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