National Social Security schemes are created by governments to form the first pillar of social security. In Africa, Kenya was the second country after Ghana to form a national security scheme, The National Social Security Fund (NSSF), done in 1965 through an Act of Parliament (Cap 258). In recent years, discussions around the growth and reform of the NSSF have gained momentum, with key consi…

According to the ACTSERV Q4’2024 Pension Schemes Investments Performance Survey, the five-year average return for segregated schemes over the period 2020 to 2024 was 4.5% with the performance fluctuating over the years to a high of 13.2% in Q4’2024 and a low of 0.7% in Q4’2021 reflective of the markets performance. Notably, segregat…

In 2024, we published the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Commercial Office Report 2023 themed ‘Persisting Tenant’s Market’. The report provided an in-depth analysis of the sector's performance in 2023, along with insights into future prospects and investment opportunities. According to the re…

The Kenyan Shilling has experienced a marginal depreciation on Year-to-Date of 0.22% bps against the US Dollar, closing the week at Kshs 129.6 as of February 21, 2025, compared to Kshs 129.3 at the beginning of the year. This is a contrast to the 17.4% appreciation in 2024.  In 2023, 2022, and 2021 the currency depreciated by 26.8%, 9.0%, and 3.6% respectively. The appreciation experien…

Infrastructure development remains one of the key objectives of the Kenyan government in achieving its vision 2030 mandate as these systems are essential for economic growth and development of any country. Specifically, good infrastructure reduces costs of doing business, attracts foreign investment, opens up remote areas to investment and boosts the trade competitiveness of the country. Rec…

Real Estate Investment Trusts are crucial to the development given the limited funding available to the developers. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) represent an innovative financing avenue for real estate development in Kenya. REITs provide a structured mechanism for pooling resources from multiple investors to finance or acquire income-generating real estate assets. The Capital Market…

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), sometimes known as a Special Purpose Entity (SPE), is a legally separate and independent entity formed for a specific, defined purpose, typically to isolate financial risk. SPVs are widely utilized in securitization, project finance, structured finance, and asset-backed transactions. They are intended to be bankruptcy-resistant, meaning that their operations …

Insolvency refers to a financial situation where an individual or business is unable to meet their financial obligations or settle their debts as they become due. In most cases, the state of insolvency occurs due to an increase in business expenses, poor cash management, law suits, poor budgeting, fraud, business expansion, reduction in sales or uncontrollable phenomenon such as Covid 19.&nb…

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Q2’2024 Quarterly Gross Domestic Product Report, the Kenyan economy recorded a 4.6% growth in Q2’2024, slower than the 5.6% growth recorded in Q2’2023. For the sectoral performance, Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry sector grew by 4.8% in Q2’202…

According to the World Bank, the Sub-Saharan economy is projected to grow at a moderate rate of 3.0% in 2024, which is 0.6% higher than the 2.4% growth recorded in 2023. The expected recovery is primarily driven by private consumption growth as declining i…