AFA Acting Director General Calistus Kundu speaking during the a two-day farmers forum. Photo Courtesy
Macadamia farmers to form Cooperatives as sector sets Ksh 100 farm gate price
Farmers in Kenya’s macadamia sector have agreed to form cooperatives as part of extensive reforms aimed at streamlining the value chain and improving earnings. The resolution was reached during a two-day forum that brought together Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) as a regulator, processors and farmers, where participants emphasized that cooperatives will enhance bargaining power,…
Absa Bank commits Ksh100 billion to revamped asset financing model for MSMEs
Absa Bank Kenya has unveiled a new asset financing model dubbed ABF 2.0 that will deploy Ksh100 billion over the next three years to empower micro, small, and medium‑sized enterprises (MSMEs) as well as individual customers. The revamped model is designed to improve access to productive assets and accelerate growth across key sectors of the…
National Irrigation Authority (NIA) offices-Photo|Courtesy
National Irrigation Authority directed to fast-track stalled irrigation projects
Members of the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy have directed the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) to urgently complete several delayed community irrigation projects, some of which have stalled for up to six years. The concerns emerged during a committee session reviewing NIA’s financial records following queries raised by the Office…
Gov’t moves to modernise county markets, boost MSME competitiveness
Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Investment, Trade and Industry Lee Kinyanjui has outlined a comprehensive government strategy to modernise county markets and strengthen support for traders and small businesses, signalling a sharper policy focus on the informal and micro-enterprise sector as a driver of economic growth. Appearing before the Senate Plenary at Parliament buildings on May…
TNT-DT SACCO head office-Photo|Courtesy
TNT DT Sacco members hit by halved dividends and deposit returns under SASRA directive
Trans National Times (TNT) DT Sacco has slashed members’ dividends and deposit returns for the year ended December 31, 2025, following a directive from the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA). The regulator capped payouts and ordered additional provisions linked to claims involving the troubled Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co‑operatives (KUSCCO), triggering one of the…
Kericho County, Commissioner of Cooperatives Dr. Leonard Otii-Photo|Benedict Ng’etich
Alarm raised over rising Non‑Performing loans threatening SACCO dividends and stability
Alarm is mounting across Kenya’s cooperative sector as non‑performing loans surge to unprecedented levels, forcing savings and credit societies (SACCOs) to tighten risk provisions and slash member payouts. Regulators and officials warn that unchecked defaults are eroding liquidity, weakening lending capacity, and undermining the financial sustainability of institutions entrusted with billions in member savings. In…
Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), David Sandagi-Photo|Courtesy
SASRA warns of fragile SACCO funding structure as wealthy savers dominate majority deposits
The SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) has raised concerns over the stability of Kenya’s SACCO sector after new data revealed that the bulk of cooperative deposits are concentrated in a small fraction of wealthy accounts, even as millions of low‑value savers continue to join the movement. According to SASRA’s supervisory report, total deposit accounts rose…
Macadamia stakeholders during the AFA consultative meeting. Photo Courtesy
AFA,Macadamia stakeholders meet to chart reforms to strengthen the sector
The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) on May 5, convened a stakeholders’ consultative forum bringing together key players in the macadamia subsector to plan reforms aimed at strengthening the value chain. The meeting focused on building consensus around price stabilization and introducing measures to guarantee fair compensation for farmers. During the session, macadamia farmers raised…
PS State Department for Science, Research and Innovation Prof. Abdulrazak Shaukat, during the launch of the World Agriculture Forum Kenya Country Council-Photo|Courtesy
Kenya launches World Agriculture Forum Council to drive AI‑powered farming transformation
Kenya has unveiled the World Agriculture Forum (WAF) Country Council, a new platform designed to accelerate the transformation of the agriculture sector by linking global innovation to local farming systems. Speaking at the launch, Science, Research and Innovation Principal Secretary Prof Abdulrazak Shaukat said Kenya must urgently scale both the quality and quantity of agricultural…
SACCO sector posts KSh 845 billion in loans as NPL ratios hold steady amid rising risks
According to data from the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), the SACCO industry closed 2024 with gross loans valued at KSh 845.11 billion, marking an 11.41 per cent increase from KSh 758.57 billion a year earlier. Despite the rapid credit expansion, the sector’s non‑performing loan (NPL) ratio remained steady at 8.39 per cent, according to…
