Business

The search engine giant was slapped a Sh448.6 billion fine over favoring its own advertising services. Google said it will appeal, while Trump condemned the fine as "discriminatory."

The latest national budget review report by the Office of the Controller of Budget reveals that as of June 30, 2025, Kenya’s total public debt stood at Sh11.73 trillion.

The Ministry of Roads and Transport is the largest contributor to the accumulated fines, with penalties totalling Sh21.3 billion on top of its pending bills of Sh121.8 billion.

The tech workers argue that the Bill results from legislative capture by Big Tech and denies them public participation, exposing Kenyan workers to exploitation.

The dispute stemmed from legal services rendered in Nairobi RMCC No. 2 of 2003, where the advocate was initially instructed by the then City Council of Nairobi to recover contribution in lieu of rates from the Commissioner of Lands.

Treasury records show the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) exceeded the Sh63.2 billion target by Sh10 billion, achieving 115.82 per cent of the planned amount.

Unremitted contributions to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) rose sharply to Sh125.62 million, compared with Sh76.45 million in the previous year.

The report paints a worrying picture of a state-owned enterprise hampered by unresolved loans, disputed land assets, unpaid debts and questionable accounting practices.

The fare adjustments, implemented on January 1, 2024, saw first-class tickets jump from Sh3,000 to Sh4,500, while economy class tickets rose from Sh1,000 to Sh1,500 for the same distance.

The licensing brings the total number of regulated digital credit providers (DCPs) to 153, following the approval of 41 additional providers in June 2025.

Between 2021 and 2024, the total fund value grew by 41 per cent, and by 182.6 per cent over the past decade since 2014, when it stood at Sh789 billion.

Looking ahead, businesses showed a greater level of optimism towards future output for the third consecutive month in August, which took overall sentiment to its highest since February 2023.

This reliance has forced the National Treasury to roll over obligations repeatedly, creating a cycle where new borrowing is primarily used to pay off interest on old loans.

Real wages fell from negative 1.4 per cent in 2020 to negative 4.1 per cent in 2023, before showing only minor recovery in 2024.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reports that the 14 licensed microfinance institutions (MFBs) are finding it difficult to grow their lending portfolios.

CoB Margaret Nyakang’o said the unpaid bills are causing “liquidity challenges, potential business closures, job losses, and increased government expenditure in the form of penalties, interest charges, and eroding trust from the private sector”.

A US court ruled the company must share certain information with rival companies to increase competition. Google said the move could result in its rivals having access to its technology.

A key driver of this momentum is the rapid expansion of e-commerce, with the continent’s online retail market projected to surpass $75 billion (Sh9.7 trillion) by the end of 2025.

Ould Tah becomes the ninth president of the regional lender that plays a vital role in financing development projects across the continent.

Uganda’s leading yield of 13 per cent indicates a robust appetite for its industrial assets, while Kenya’s comparatively lower rate points to concerns around return on investment, regulatory hurdles, or slower industrial growth.

Entrepreneurs are now urging the government to step in by reducing licensing fees and easing the cost of raw materials, which they believe would help small businesses expand and create jobs.

Kenya's ambassador to Angola, Joyce M'maitsi, hailed the flights as an opportunity to deepen trade and interconnectivity.

He outlined four priorities for his first 100 days: listening intently, fast-tracking reforms, deepening partnerships, and accelerating practical solutions.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that overall exports stood at Sh554.08 billion, down from Sh571.6 billion in the same period last year.

Net domestic borrowing closed the fiscal year 2024/25 at Sh854.5 billion, 3.24 times the initial target of Sh263.2 billion, as the State tapped local credit to offset shortfalls in external financing.

AirAsia X, the long-haul subsidiary of Malaysia's pioneering low-cost carrier, is grounding its direct service between Kuala Lumpur and Nairobi effective September 1, 2025.

In its August Consumer Price Index (CPI), KNBS reported that the food and non-alcoholic beverages index rose by 8.3 per cent, transport increased by 4.4 per cent, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels went up by 0.8 per cent year-on-year.

For users currently on iPhone 13 or earlier, the iPhone 17 Air or Pro models bring significant improvements in camera quality, AI tools, and performance.

KEBS had been accused of presiding over forged documents that enabled the entry of untaxed goods such as rice, edible oil, powdered milk and substandard fertilisers.

Under the new system, when users launch Word and begin typing, the document is automatically saved to OneDrive (or a designated cloud account) without needing to hit “Save As.”

The Malaba and Busia border crossings are among the busiest in East Africa, linking Kenya with Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and other regional markets.

According to a recent white paper report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the region receives less than 10 per cent of global investment in this vital sector.

The new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to tackle the physical and digital infrastructure deficits that have long constrained trade and economic integration across the continent.

The feature, available to free and premium Gemini users globally, has already begun generating buzz across creative industries, education, design, and tech communities alike.

Yiwu, a county-level city in east China's Zhejiang Province, is a global hub for consumer goods manufacturing, known for offering products that combine quality with affordability.

Claude is the flagship artificial intelligence model developed by Anthropic, a company founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei.

Kenya Editors Guild Chief Executive Officer Rosalia Omungo said the training offered valuable insights into AI’s potential in African newsrooms.

The e-GP rollout, launched last month, requires all county and national budgets to be uploaded before procurement can proceed.

In contrast, thousands of Kenyans continue leaving the country in search of employment and higher wages, particularly in the UK, the US, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.

The analysis also reveals a notably strong relationship between capital stock and agricultural productivity, a 10 per cent increase in capital stock is associated with an approximate 3.0 per cent rise in productivity.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) says this huge loss is not only slowing the country’s development but also eroding the confidence of investors.

Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui said Kenya faces a gap of nearly 400,000 metric tonnes of sugar, a deficit that has left billions of shillings invested in the sector idle.

On the other hand, notable increases were recorded for vegetables, with cabbage prices registering the highest rise at 6.3 per cent, followed by prices of carrots (2.4 per cent), sukuma wiki (1.9 per cent), and tomatoes (1.2 per cent).

Among the worst financial mistakes highlighted was a disputed maize procurement contract that ended in arbitration, resulting in huge losses, with several related bills still unpaid.

Using the Russia-Ukraine conflict as an example, panellists showed how structured storytelling timelines, actors, data can “inoculate” audiences. Still, they noted, even the most accurate fact-checks rarely travel as fast or far as misinformation.

Structural slowdowns across investment, productivity, trade and labour force expansion are dragging the global economy toward its weakest potential growth rate in three decades.

The move, which aims to stabilise retail prices and curb exploitation, comes amid a rise in illegal gas dealers and growing concern over market price distortions in the sector.

The lender attributed the strong performance to operational excellence and prudent pricing strategies, achieved despite a challenging economic environment. Profit before tax grew by 11.4 per cent to Sh13.6 billion.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority has outlined several proposed rules aimed at boosting local participation, tightening cost oversight, and protecting the environment as Kenya prepares for commercial oil production.

Findings show that universities are producing an average of only 1,500 cybersecurity graduates annually, far below the 45,000 positions available in the sector.

The new policy comes in response to a growing trend where malicious apps are disproportionately found outside the Play Store.