Fred Aminga

Kenya is staring at a projected Sh1.15 trillion budget deficit for the 2026/27 financial year as government expenditure significantly outpaces revenue mobilisation, reinforcing concerns that the country is sliding deeper into a structural fiscal trap. The gap, which represents about 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), will be financed largely through domestic borrowing, even as the Treasury also leans on limited external financing to cushion the widening shortfall.

Kenya’s push to position itself as a regional financial and innovation hub has received a major boost after the Two Rivers International Finance and Innovation Centre (TRIFIC) launched a Sh4.8 billion ($37.3 million) green, dollar-denominated Income Real Estate Investment Trust (I-REIT). The move by the subsidiary of Centum Investment Company Plc marks one of the country’s most ambitious attempts to merge sustainable real estate financing with global capital markets.

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya is in the market for what could be its most ambitious expansion yet, as it moves to transform itself from a local banking giant into a regional financial services group. This shift leverages a major restructuring plan that will see the bank create a non-operating holding company and rebrand to Co-operative Bank Group. The idea is simple: separate its core Kenyan banking business from other investments so it can grow more easily across different markets in Africa.