Author: Lorine Otamo

Global Banking and Finance Review has named Absa Bank Kenya PLC the Best Retail Bank in Kenya for 2026. The award highlights the sustained transformation of the lender, which recently abandoned traditional product-centric operations to favor a modern, segment-driven framework. This structural shift addresses the rapid evolution of the domestic banking landscape by prioritizing tailored, mobile-first financial solutions. To drive this growth, management restructured consumer operations around three distinct client segments, all fed by a unified product development pipeline. Performance metrics from the latest financial year validate this strategy. The mass-market personal banking division increased its customer base 1.1 times,…

Oraimo has brought its SpaceBuds 2 (OTW-631) to Kenya, and the earbuds carry credentials that go well beyond the spec sheet. The global smart accessories brand worked with Jesse Ray, the Grammy Award-winning audio engineer behind Burna Boy’s sound, to tune the acoustics, a decision that sets these earbuds apart from the crowded TWS market before you even put them in your ears. Grammy-Level Sound, Built for Daily Life The SpaceBuds 2 builds on the success of oraimo’s Space series, adding immersive spatial audio that gives music, gaming, and film a three-dimensional quality that standard earbuds rarely achieve. Jesse Ray’s…

Kenya has its highest ranking official in United Nations history. Monica Juma assumed office on 11 May 2026 as Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres to one of the most consequential roles in the multilateral system. She holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General, the third highest position in the UN hierarchy, and takes charge of an organisation that leads the global response to drug trafficking, organised crime, corruption and terrorism. “I am incredibly proud and honoured to be leading these two offices in Vienna…

Glovo has opened its new corporate headquarters in Nairobi and pledged KSh 10 billion in fresh investment in Kenya by 2030, marking its largest commitment to the country since entering the market in 2019. Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry Lee Kinyanjui presided over the inauguration, lending government weight to an occasion that drew senior officials from both Kenyan ministries and the diplomatic community. A Market That Has Earned the Bet The investment pledge does not arrive in a vacuum. Glovo recorded a 40% year-on-year rise in orders by the end of 2025, the highest in its Kenya history.…

The National Treasury has replaced the KSh 50 flat fee charged on eCitizen transactions with a tiered structure that scales with the cost of each service, reaching up to KSh 100 for high-value government transactions. The change, proposed by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi under the Public Finance Management (e-Citizen System Management) Regulations 2026, takes effect across all national and county government services on the platform. “There shall be a convenience fee charged for services offered by national or county government entities onboarded on the system,” Mbadi stated. The flat KSh 50 fee it replaces had been in place since…

For the first time, a boda boda rider, a market trader, or a digital content creator can walk into KCB Bank and apply for a mortgage. Not a promise of one someday, an actual product, live now, designed around how they earn. KCB Bank has launched a mortgage facility targeting Kenya’s informal sector, offering loan amounts between KShs 1 million and KShs 4 million at a single-digit interest rate, with a repayment period of up to 15 years. To qualify, an applicant must have run a business for at least two years. No payslip required. The bank built the product…