The Congolese stumbling block...

In recent years, Access Bank Plc, the biggest lender in Nigeria in terms of assets, has aggressively expanded across the continent. However, a regulatory maze involving its activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has thwarted its pan-African aspirations…

Good evening! It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street. This and more business stories in today's edition of ‘The Daily Brief’

THE CONGOLESE STUMBLING BLOCK: Access Bank's Acquisition Woes

Access Bank’s acquisition of Kenya’s National Bank (NBK) has stalled due to unresolved regulatory issues involving its subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A 2023 rule by the DRC's central bank requires all banks to have at least 45% local or minority ownership, which Access Bank DR Congo currently violates, being 99.98% foreign-owned.

Despite showing modest profits, Access Bank has struggled to find local investors to meet the requirement. This lack of compliance has led the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold approval for the NBK acquisition, citing the risk of overexposure in foreign markets. Kenyan regulators have approved the deal, but CBN’s position has effectively frozen the process. The bank has until December 2026 to meet the DRC’s ownership rules but has made no concrete progress so far. Here is the full analysis »»»»»

Markets at a Glance

HACKERS’ PARADISE : The Battle For Kenya's Cyber Space

Kenya’s digital space just saw a jaw-dropping 2.5 billion cyber threats recorded in Q1 of 2025. According to KE-CIRT/CC, that’s a 201.85% jump—plus a 14% increase in cyber threats authorities issued by the authority. System-based attacks led to chaos, with brute force and malware not far behind. Blame it on misconfigured setups, rusty software, and the proliferation of insecure IoT devices. Clearly, innovation is booming, and there is a plethora of activity online, but so is the prevalence of break-ins. Here is what the authority proposes »»»»»

CLEARING THE PITCH : Somalia’s Quest to Demolish Trade Barriers

Somalia has kicked off its regional trade journey in the EAC by forming a National Monitoring Committee to tackle non-tariff barriers (NTBs) head-on. With reps from 16 public agencies and 8 private sector bodies, this is less of a bureaucratic tea party and more of a trade dream team. They're plugging into regional tools like the EAC NTB Mobile App to squash trade hurdles. Somalia's officials say this move is both an institutional milestone and a love letter to regional integration. In short, Somalia isn’t just showing up to the EAC party—it’s bringing a plan. Read more »»»»»

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📌 News Desk

An Acquisition…

Global risk management consultancy Sicuro Group has acquired Kenyan risk management firm John Andrews Risk Management (JARM), and renamed it Sicuro Group East Africa. Read more»»»»»

Facilitating Trade Along the Kenya-Ethiopia border…

Kenya and Ethiopia have signed a landmark agreement to ease cross-border trade, setting a $1,000 threshold for goods moving through the Moyale border under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), concluded after two years of negotiations, aims to simplify customs procedures and foster economic integration between the two neighbors. Read more »»»»»

📌 Opinion and Commentary

MURAGURI : Elections are a Public Finance Issue…

Kenyans expect the incoming IEBC commissioners not only to be legal experts or seasoned administrators but also electoral stewards who grasp the full weight of public finance and the future of the republic. As James Muraguri — Founder and Group CEO at the Institute of Public Finance (IPF) writes in this article, while these are essential qualities, one crucial dimension that has been largely overlooked is public finance…

On your watchlist

Last Thursday’s Poll Results

Do you trust the government's verification process that found nearly half of pending bills to be inauthentic?

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes (25%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No (75%)