When the U.S. Sneezes...

The Tariffs have dominated world headlines since last week. Markets globally have tumbled, but what about African bourses?

Good evening! It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street. Here are the business stories we have compiled for you today…

Markets

When the U.S. Sneezes, Africa Catches a Cold…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs triggered a sharp selloff across African markets this week. From Johannesburg to Nairobi, investors dumped equities over fears of slower global growth and reduced foreign inflows.

Key Index Moves:

♦️ Nairobi (NSE): -6% | KSh124B wiped out

♦️ Johannesburg (JSE): -3% | Rand hits 18-month low

♦️ Nigeria (NGX): -1.2% | OANDO hits daily loss limit

♦️ Egypt (EGX): -4–5% | Pound weakens.

♦️ Morocco (MASI): -6–7% | Steepest drop in years.

Sectors Hit: Exporters, banks, and commodity-linked stocks

Currencies: Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt saw FX pressure; gold and USD surged.

Read this article for the full analysis »»»»»

RECOVERY : Trump Takes a Softer Stance, foreign markets breathe

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day suspension of his seismic tariffs on Wednesday, offering temporary relief to trading partners while escalating pressure on China with a steep tariff hike, 125%. Here is why Trump thinks China deserved it »»»»»

Today's Poll

Investments  

Kenya’s Pension Assets Surge 

Kenya’s pension industry has quadrupled in size over 12 years, with assets under management hitting KSh 2.25 trillion in 2024. This growth, averaging 11.6% annually, was fueled by higher contributions, favorable markets, and evolving investment strategies.

A 14% gain in H2 2024 alone was driven by increased NSSF inflows and a rally on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Government bonds now account for over 52% of total pension investments, though alternative assets like offshore and private equity are gaining traction. Read more about this »»»»»

REPORT : Hotel Room Development in 2024

Kenya has 4,344 hotel rooms in development across multiple projects, placing it sixth in Africa’s hotel construction rankings as the continent experiences record-breaking growth in hospitality investments. The 2025 Hotel Development Pipeline Report reveals that Africa now hosts 577 hotel and resort projects totaling 104,444 rooms—up 13.3% from 2024. Read more »»»»»

Banking

KCB Sets the stage for interest rate cuts

KCB Bank Kenya has reduced its base lending rate from 14.6% to 13.85% per annum, aligning with the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) recent decision to ease the Central Bank Rate (CBR). The revised rates take effect from 11th April 2025 for new loans and 11th May 2025 for existing facilities. Read it here »»»»»

~ The move follows the CBK Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) meeting on 8th April 2025, where the benchmark CBR was slashed by 75 basis points to 10.0%. Inflation rose slightly to 3.6% in March from 3.5% in February. Core inflation increased to 2.2%, while non-core inflation dropped to 7.4%. The CBK expects inflation to remain stable, helped by falling food prices and steady exchange rates. Read it here »»»»»

Tech & Startups

Users Turning to Mobile Money for Insurance Services

Insurance is the least adjacent financial service offered by Mobile money Providers (MMPs) after credit and savings, even though it grew last year to 28% compared to 19% in 2023, a new GSMA report reveals.

As of June 2024, 44% of survey respondents offered credit services to their customers. Savings is the second-most offered adjacent financial service with a third of respondents offering the service. Read more in this article »»»»»

More Stories in Tech 

♦️Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has launched the Electronic Rental Tax Information System (eRITS), as it aims to transform rental income tax compliance. This follows failure of the iTax system, which depends on self-assessment, and previous initiatives such as tax amnesties and property data collection, to bring all landlords into the tax net. Read about it here»»»»»

♦️Digital bank, Umba, has raised a US$5 million debt facility to scale its secured lending operations in Kenya, underscoring a growing interest among African neo banks toward sustainable, long-term credit products. Read more »»»»»

♦️Accelera Digital Group (ADG) announced today that it has been named a 2025 Google Cloud’s Partner of the Year for Africa. As one of Google Cloud’s largest partners in Africa, ADG is at the forefront of driving digital transformation in key industries, supporting businesses in adopting cloud-first strategies that enable scalability, efficiency, and AI-driven innovation. Read more »»»»»

♦️DigiTax, a Nairobi-based startup making tax compliance easier for Kenyan corporates, was selected by the judges in the The Next Stage, a high-stakes pitch competition, to take home the top prize of the competition; US$10,000 in cash to use for business growth and expansion, US$50,000 USD in AWS credits, and access to a highly-exclusive mentorship program giving the founders access to top-tier founders and investors from across the globe. Here is what went down at the event »»»»»

Markets at a Glance…

🟢NASI +1.75%

🟢NSE10. +2.09%

🟢NSE20 +0.92%

🟢NSE25 +2.21%

On your watchlist 

Yesterday's Poll Results

Now that the CBK has cut interest rates to 10%, do you think banks will reduce the cost of loans amidst high default rates?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes (50%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Not yet (50%)