Fintech Association Of Kenya

𝐂𝐁𝐊 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧. The Central Bank of Kenya wants the Microfinance Bill 2026 amended to expressly authorise it to regulate, supervise and enforce compliance with anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing requirements. Governor Kamau Thugge warned that the omission, including the absence of penalties for violations, could undermine Kenya’s efforts to leave the Financial Action Task Force grey list, which it joined in February 2024 over weaknesses in tackling illicit financial flows. CBK has asked Parliament’s Finance and Planning Committee to transfer Sections 36B and 36C of the Microfinance Act 2006 into the new Bill without alteration. The government-sponsored Bill, tabled in the National Assembly on 29 May 2026, would repeal the 2006 law and raise the minimum core capital for microfinance banks to KES 250 million from KES 60 million, with institutions given five years to comply. At least half of Kenya’s 14 licensed microfinance banks face an estimated KES 2.9 billion capital shortfall, raising the prospect of mergers and acquisitions. The sector’s total assets fell 9.8% to KES 57.9 billion in 2024, while net loans and advances declined 16.8% from KES 37.5 billion in 2023 to KES 31.2 billion.

𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐄-𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭. Nigeria is replacing months-late corporate sales reporting with a nationwide e-invoicing system that will transmit qualifying invoices to the Nigeria Revenue Service as they are issued. Large taxpayers are already under compliance monitoring, medium-sized businesses begin mandatory onboarding in July 2026, and emerging businesses follow in 2027 under a three-year phased rollout. Each invoice will carry a unique reference number, allowing the NRS to compare recorded sales with subsequent tax declarations, deter under-reporting and gain a continuous view of commercial activity. The platform could eventually connect more than 2.5 million registered businesses, ERP systems and accounting software, making it potentially Africa’s largest e-invoicing programme. The system will connect existing business software to the NRS through APIs and approved Access Point Providers and System Integrators, avoiding costly replacements of platforms such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Sage. NITDA Nigeria has certified roughly 50 providers against cybersecurity, data protection, reliability and invoice-format standards, while requiring all e-invoicing data to be hosted in Nigeria. The platform is designed to process about 50,000 requests per second and uses encryption, public key infrastructure, access controls and decentralised storage. Beyond tax administration, standardised invoice data could support VAT enforcement, fraud detection, cross-border trade, economic planning and access to trade finance, but officials say the reform’s success will depend on businesses completing integration and consistently transmitting invoices.

𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐏𝐎 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧. Airtel Africa has revived plans to list Airtel Money on the London Stock Exchange in the second half of 2026, after postponing the transaction in May because of unfavourable market conditions and geopolitical volatility. The group selected London to widen access to international investors and unlock the standalone value of its mobile financial services business. Airtel has not disclosed the offer size, valuation, listing date, stake to be sold or whether the transaction will involve new shares, existing shares or both. The Financial Times reported that Citi is leading preparations and that the flotation could raise about US$1.5Bn at a valuation of roughly US$10Bn, figures Airtel has not confirmed. Airtel Money’s customer base grew 23.3% to 56.5Mn in the quarter ended June 2026, while revenue increased 38.9% to US$404Mn. The platform processed US$61.4Bn in transactions during the quarter, up 51.5% in reported currency, lifting annualised processed value above US$245Bn, while monthly value per customer rose 13.0% to US$371. EBITDA increased 29.3% to US$198Mn, although the margin narrowed by 363 basis points to 49.1% following revised intra-group agreements that management said did not affect the consolidated group margin. East Africa remained the largest market with 41.7Mn customers and US$297Mn in quarterly revenue, compared with 11.4Mn customers in Francophone Africa and 3.4Mn in Nigeria.

𝐙𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤. Zenith Bank Plc has been named Africa’s Best Bank and Nigeria’s Best Bank for the second consecutive year at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026 in London. The awards recognised the lender’s financial performance, digital innovation, customer service and contribution to economic development, based on criteria including strategy, profitability, risk management, digital transformation and stakeholder impact. The bank recorded gross earnings of N4.19 trillion and profit after tax of N1.04 trillion in the 2025 financial year, while reducing its non-performing loan ratio to 3.8% from 4.7%. Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Adaora Umeoji said the recognition reflected customer and stakeholder confidence and would support the bank’s push to expand financial inclusion, customer value and business growth across Africa. Zenith Bank was also ranked Nigeria’s leading bank by Tier-1 capital for the 17th consecutive year in The Banker’s 2026 Top 1000 World Banks ranking.

𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 $𝟏.𝟖𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝟏𝟖𝟗 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧. Airtel Africa grew quarterly revenue by 31% year on year to $1.85 billion as rising mobile internet use and digital financial services lifted customer numbers and activity across its 14 sub-Saharan African markets, including Malawi. The telecoms group added nearly 20 million customers over the year, increasing its subscriber base by 11.6% to 189 million in the quarter ended 30 June 2026. Data customers rose by 15.5% to 87.3 million, while average monthly consumption per user climbed from 7.8GB to 10.6GB, driving a 56.3% increase in network data traffic. Smartphone penetration reached 51%, supporting wider adoption of online and mobile financial services. Airtel Money customers increased by 23.3% to 56.5 million, while annualised transaction value rose by 51.5% to more than $245 billion as digital payments and broader financial services gained users. Mobile services revenue grew by 19.1% on higher voice and data usage, and mobile money revenue increased by 25.8%. Chief Executive Sunil Taldar attributed the performance to investment in customer experience, digital services, and network infrastructure, as well as the use of data and artificial intelligence to improve service delivery. During the quarter, Airtel Africa deployed more than 920 network sites and expanded its fibre network beyond 82,000 kilometres to increase capacity, coverage and connectivity.

𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐀𝐘𝐄 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬. The National Treasury will begin a month-long nationwide public participation exercise in August on proposals to reduce Pay As You Earn tax, with Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi confirming that the planned relief for salaried workers remains on course. The Treasury’s initial proposal would exempt employees earning Sh30,000 or less from PAYE and lower the tax rate for those earning between Sh30,001 and Sh50,000. The government will also consider alternative proposals submitted during the consultations, including a Kenya Bankers Association plan to cut PAYE rates by five percentage points across all tax bands and cap the highest rate at 30%. KBA estimates the changes would add Sh28.1 billion to workers’ annual disposable income, create about 36,000 jobs each year and increase economic output by Sh210 billion. Mbadi will collect views across the country before submitting a report to President William Ruto at the end of August.

𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝟗𝟎.𝟏 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭. Kenya’s National Treasury missed its revenue target by Sh90.1 billion in the financial year ended June 30, 2026, widening from a Sh62 billion shortfall a year earlier and increasing reliance on domestic borrowing. Total revenue reached Sh3.168 trillion against a revised target of Sh3.259 trillion. Ordinary revenue, mainly taxes, fell Sh53.5 billion short at Sh2.587 trillion, while ministerial appropriations-in-aid missed their target by Sh36.6 billion, reaching Sh581.7 billion. Most tax categories, including import duty, PAYE and VAT, met revised targets, while excise duty recorded a Sh1.5 billion shortfall. The largest gap in ordinary revenue came from non-tax receipts, which totalled Sh125.3 billion against a Sh183.2 billion target. The revenue shortfall contributed to a fiscal deficit of Sh1.34 trillion, equivalent to 7.1% of GDP, financed through Sh1.135 trillion in net domestic borrowing and Sh205.5 billion in net foreign financing. Domestic borrowing exceeded the target by Sh161.7 billion. For the financial year that began on July 1, 2026, the Treasury is targeting total revenue of Sh3.629 trillion, including Sh2.985 trillion in ordinary revenue and Sh644 billion in ministerial collections. Revenue mobilisation faces pressure from higher fuel prices linked to the US-Israel war on Iran, a six-month reduction in petroleum VAT to 8% from 16% that is expected to cost Sh32 billion, and a possible revision of PAYE bands in September 2026. The Treasury has also lowered its 2026 economic growth forecast to 5% from 5.3%.

 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝟏𝟐.𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧. Hustler Fund borrowers can now repay State-backed loans using Safaricom Bonga Points as the government seeks to recover Sh12.5 billion in defaults and move the scheme towards self-sustainability. The Financial Inclusion Fund notified borrowers of the new option through text messages, and Chief Executive Henry Tanui said it recovered Sh3 million in its first week. At the current indicative rate of five Bonga Points to Sh1, a borrower would need about 2,500 points to clear a Sh500 loan, although Safaricom says redemption values vary. Customers held Bonga Points worth Sh3.6 billion as of March 2026. The repayment initiative follows the Treasury’s decision to stop fresh allocations to the fund in the current financial year after government support fell from Sh20 billion at launch to Sh300 million in the year ended June 2026. By March, the fund had disbursed Sh83 billion and recovered Sh71 billion, leaving a 15% default rate. The Auditor-General also found that 104,631 loans worth Sh116.5 million were issued to borrowers whose national identity card numbers were missing from the customer database, raising concerns over verification and credit assessment controls. Launched by the Kenya Kwanza administration, the scheme targets borrowers excluded from formal banking and links timely repayment to higher borrowing limits.

 𝟒𝐆 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐔𝐒$𝟏 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝟖𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎. 4G Capital has surpassed US$1 billion in cumulative lending to about 800,000 small and medium enterprises across Kenya and Uganda over 13 years, with women representing 77% of its customers. Using World Bank metrics, the financial technology company estimates that its financing has supported the creation of 1.4 million jobs, while non-repayment remains below 5%. Founder and executive chairman Wayne Hennessy-Barrett attributed the performance to a model that combines appropriately structured credit with financial literacy and enterprise training, aligning the lender’s returns with the success of its customers. The company is developing an infrastructure platform covering embedded finance, AI co-pilots and expanded data capabilities to reduce service costs while retaining the high-touch customer support behind its repayment record. 4G Capital has also backed regulation of Kenya’s lending market, including protections against blacklisting vulnerable borrowers over small debts, and called for a more predictable and competitive tax regime than the current 30% corporate rate. Following a recent investment from the Global Innovation Fund, the company plans to introduce additional products before considering expansion into other African markets and potentially beyond, while keeping Kenya and Uganda at the centre of its operations.

𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚’𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝟓% 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Kenya’s economy is projected to grow by 5% in 2026, rising to 5.1% in 2027 and 5.2% in 2028, supported by easing inflation, structural reforms and increased private sector investment. The National Treasury revised its 2026 forecast from 5.3% after the Middle East conflict raised global fuel prices, disrupted supply chains and weakened external demand. Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo said agriculture, financial services, manufacturing, construction and tourism would remain key drivers of growth. The economy expanded by 5.3% in the first quarter of 2026, led by 14.7% growth in accommodation and food services as international tourist arrivals increased. Manufacturing recorded its strongest performance in recent years, supported by higher output of cement, sugar, milk, soft drinks and locally assembled vehicles. The Central Bank of Kenya Rate fell to 8.75% from 13% in 2024, commercial lending rates eased, and private sector credit growth accelerated to 9.3%, particularly in agriculture, trade and construction. Kenya’s external position also strengthened through higher exports, resilient remittances and foreign exchange reserves of $14.1 billion, equal to six months of import cover.