POLICY
Kenya applies to join the Digital Cooperation Organisation
Kenya is one of eight countries — with Albania, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Zambia — cleared to join the DCO, the intergovernmental bloc on digital inclusion and cross-border data flows. Membership takes effect once Nairobi completes accession and deposits its instrument; the expanded bloc would cover 24 members and roughly 980 million people.
The Kenyan Wall Street
FINTECH
I&M's half-year profit climbs 22% as 92% of customers go digital
I&M Group posted net profit of KSh 10.2 billion for H1 2026, on operating income up 23% to KSh 33.7 billion and total assets up 27% to KSh 746 billion. The lender says 92% of its customer base is now digitally active, and regional subsidiaries lifted their share of pre-tax profit to 33% from 25%.
TechTrends KE
FINTECH
Britam profit jumps 52% as it digitises marine cargo cover
Britam reported pre-tax profit of KSh 3.8 billion, up 52%, with the net insurance service result up 36% to KSh 1.8 billion — growth from underwriting rather than investment gains. The insurer launched a digital marine cargo platform as Kenya moved to mandatory electronic marine cargo certificates in July.
TechTrends KE
TELCOS
Kenya's carriers are not ready for the next wave of connected devices
With a 5G MacBook rumoured for late 2026, neither Safaricom nor Airtel supports cellular wearables or Wi-Fi calling, and only Safaricom carries 5G alongside eSIM. Bundles are shrinking too — Airtel cut its Smarta 1500 allowance from 90GB to 32GB this month — against 51.5 million mobile broadband subscriptions and just 2.46 million fixed lines.
tech-ish
SKILLS
TikTok leans on Kenya's appetite for STEM content
New GWI research commissioned by TikTok puts technology interest among Kenyan users at 56% and science at 31%, with Kenyan users 16 percentage points likelier than non-users to follow science. The platform is pushing a dedicated STEM Feed and the #LearnOnTikTok tag, now past 51 million video creations.
TechTrends KE
GOVERNMENT
KE plates roll out as NTSA plays down the switch
NTSA says the move from KD to KE registrations is routine alphabetical progression, not a new system — though the plates feed the automated enforcement and vehicle identification databases built since the 2022 new-generation rollout. Kenya registered 207,259 vehicles between January and June, 133,127 of them motorcycles.
TechTrends KE
