The Grand Shuffle at Safcom

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

In today's newsletter, the Kenyan government will sell a big chunk of its Safaricom shares to Vodafone Kenya, cutting its stake from 35% to 20%. We analyze how the deal will restructure the country's most capitalized company….

This and more stories in today's edition…

The Grand Shuffle at Safcom 

By Harry Njuguna

Safaricom’s ownership shake-up has finally taken a definitive shape: Vodafone is handing its remaining stake to Vodacom, and the Kenyan government is preparing to surrender part of its own. The choreography is tidy: Vodacom emerges as the single, consolidated foreign shareholder; Treasury gets the fiscal relief; Safaricom gets a clearer control tower. What had been a maze of cross-holdings now becomes a straight line, aligning the country's most valuable company squarely under a South African-run multinational with global reporting rhythms. By early next year, the market will be looking at a Safaricom that hasn’t changed its patriotic wardrobe but has unmistakably rearranged who sits behind its steering wheel.

Read the full article here >>>>>

Family Bank : Oversubscribed & Ambitious

By Chelsy Maina

Family Bank has closed a private placement that raised KSh 8.004 billion, well over its KSh 6.09 billion target, as a wave of pension funds, insurers, and retail investors lined up to buy into what many see as a banking underdog ready to grow. The oversubscription feels like a nod of confidence, a sign that investors believe the lender can turn its modest profits into something more ambitious. With assets nearing KSh 193 billion and strong deposits, the bank seems positioned to channel new capital into MSMEs, green financing and youth-led enterprises while still riding the renewable wave of everyday Kenyan banking. The move also signals a prelude to a planned Nairobi Securities Exchange listing in 2026, a potential catalyst for further expansion and liquidity.

Read the full article here >>>>>

The Private Sector Rebound 

By Fred Obura 

Kenya’s private sector delivered one of its strongest performances in years in November, with activity rising in a way that finally felt broad rather than selective. Firms across services, retail and construction reported a steady flow of new orders, enough to push many of them back into hiring mode after months of hesitation. Yet despite the momentum, business confidence stayed muted, shaped by anxieties over taxes, shifting policy signals and the sense that the good stretch might be temporary. For now, though, November stands as a moment when the economy moved with a little more coherence.

Read more here >>>>>

INSIGHT : Investing in Africa’s Future Through Private Equity

By Chelsy Maina

Africa, we’re told again and again, is on the brink of something transformative, though the capital meant to fuel that transformation still arrives in hesitant trickles rather than confident waves. Private equity, which elsewhere strides in as a force of discipline and expansion, remains oddly tentative on the continent held back as much by old myths as by real structural flaws. Even so, a new ecosystem is slowly cohering; one shaped by tech founders solving local problems, by patient funds hunting long-term value, and by the growing realization that the continent’s future won’t be financed from abroad alone.

Read the article here >>>>>

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

 Happening this week 

On December 4–5, Latitude59 Kenya brings together founders, investors, operators and ecosystem builders for two days of real insight not hype. Expect candid discussions on what it truly takes to build sustainable, revenue-driven companies, practical workshops led by top experts, and masterclasses you can apply immediately.

Plus, the Top 10 startups selected from 222 applicants will pitch live on stage for the 2025 title. If you’re building, investing, or shaping the future of tech in Africa, you cannot afford to miss this.

Grab your ticket here »»»»»

More Stories 

On Your Watchlist 

For up-to-date market insights and data from the NSE, join our Whatsapp channel here »»»»»