Safaricom Split Notifications: What M-PESA Customers and Merchants Need to Know
Safaricom has introduced Split Notifications, also known as M-PESA Jumbe, a new merchant feature for Lipa Na M-PESA Till (Buy Goods) and Paybill numbers that aims to improve customer privacy and cut down on constant interruptions for business owners. The service is purely a notification layer. It does not change how payments are processed, settled, […]
Why Kenya May Have to Wait Until After 2027 Elections for a New IMF Deal
Kenya is unlikely to secure a new IMF deal before the August 2027 general elections, largely due to IMF concerns over policy continuity if a new government takes power. This assessment, reported by sources familiar with IMF thinking, aligns with the broader pattern of stalled negotiations and Kenya’s pivot to alternative financing. Background on Kenya’s IMF […]
Ethiopia Finance Forum 2026 Unveils 2026–2030 Financial Strategies as Economic Reforms Enter New Phase
Ethiopia’s policymakers, bankers, investors and development partners gathered last week to map the next phase of the country’s economic reforms, declaring that the era of crisis management is giving way to one of results and structural change. The Ethiopia Finance Forum 2026, convened by the National Bank of Ethiopia, ran from September 29 to October […]
How Abdi Mohamed Rose From a Garissa Teller to Lead Absa and I&M Bank Kenya
Abdi Mohamed’s 32-year journey through East African banking stands as a striking example of long-term career ascent in the region’s corporate sector. Starting as a front-line teller in a small Barclays Bank Kenya branch, he rose through operational, regional, and executive roles to lead two major competing Kenyan institutions, capping a career marked by rebrandings, […]
Ethiopia Finance Forum 2026 Puts Banking Reform and Foreign Competition in Focus
Ethiopia’s tightly controlled banking sector is on the brink of a fundamental overhaul after regulators and industry leaders at the Ethiopia Finance Forum 2026 outlined aggressive plans for market liberalization, foreign bank entry, and digital transformation. Discussions at the forum centered on dismantling decades of protection for domestic lenders, aligning regulations with global standards, and […]
Safaricom Deepens Pesapal Partnership, Intensifying Co-opetition with KCB
KCB Group’s minority stake in Pesapal is giving Kenya’s largest bank by assets a financial interest in a payments platform that Safaricom is now using to expand M-PESA’s presence at physical retail outlets, creating an unusual overlap between KCB’s fintech investment and its competition with East Africa’s dominant mobile-money provider. In November 2025, KCB Group, […]
CBK Digital Lender Backlog Tops 600 as Number of Licensed Providers Hits 281
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) on Wednesday announced it has licensed an additional 29 Digital Credit Providers (DCPs), bringing the total number of authorized digital lenders to 281.The move, made under Section 59(2) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, follows the licensing of 25 providers announced in July. Since the regulatory framework took […]
Kenya’s $1 Billion Debt-for-Food Swap Raises a Key Question: Where Will the Savings Go?
Kenya’s planned $1 billion debt-for-food security swap has moved closer to execution after Citigroup stepped in to arrange the transaction, but questions remain over how the savings generated by cheaper borrowing will be protected and tracked once the deal is completed. Citigroup is set to arrange the US-backed transaction, which is designed to help Kenya […]
Why Global Banks Are Expanding Into Kenya’s $65 Billion Banking Market
Kenya has emerged as a major target for banking expansion in Africa as lenders seek access to a growing economy, a sophisticated digital financial system and a gateway to the wider East African market. The country combines relatively strong economic growth with an established banking sector, high mobile-money adoption and opportunities to expand credit to […]
Why Europe’s Biggest Banks Are Reducing Their Footprint in Africa
European banks have been steadily reducing their retail and subsidiary operations across Africa, a shift that began around 2016 and accelerated after 2022. British and French lenders including Barclays, Standard Chartered, Société Générale, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole have sold or scaled back operations in several African markets, while Moroccan, Nigerian and other regional banking […]