News and Analysis
November 10, 2026
Hello and welcome to the Money News Roundup. Today, we cover Kenya’s deal with a Moldovan firm to delete stolen business data and Vodacom CEO’s latest remarks on its Safaricom stake acquisition.
A Moldovan firm, B2bhint, exploited a vulnerability in the Business Registration Service (BRS) IT system in February 2025 to access sensitive information belonging to more than two million businesses registered in Kenya.
As reported by the Business Daily, the company subsequently put more than eight million pieces of stolen information up for sale, charging as much as Ksh24 million for a complete package and as little as Ksh2 for an individual phone number. The stolen data was valued at Ksh2.4 billion.
The exposed information included 812,863 phone numbers, 832,648 email addresses, 2,091,046 physical addresses and details of beneficial owners, including individuals linked to prominent Kenyan families.
Outgoing Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait said her office worked with the European Union Commission and Moldova's data protection authority to trace B2bhint and secure the deletion of the information.
The intervention ended an 18-month investigation. B2bhint confirmed deleting the data following contact from Kenyan and Moldovan authorities, although previous buyers may still retain copies.
Kassait said the Data Protection Commissioner's office also issued an enforcement notice requiring BRS to strengthen its cybersecurity systems. The agency subsequently implemented the recommended security improvements, avoiding further regulatory penalties.
The government expects the rehabilitation of the Nairobi-Kibera-Talanta metre-gauge railway line to be completed by the end of December 2026, ahead of the January 5 inaugural match at Raila Odinga International Stadium (commonly known as Talanta Stadium).
As reported by the Nation, Transport PS Mohamed Daghar said the line would transport at least 1,500 passengers per trip, with trains operating every 10 minutes to ease access to the stadium.
The government is also constructing new stations at Talanta and Nyayo Stadium while clearing structures along the railway corridor to improve passenger safety.
Meanwhile, Kenya Railways is replacing old railway sleepers with heavier concrete alternatives to prevent vandalism. The corporation also plans to modernise and electrify the Nairobi-Thika railway line, with implementation expected to begin in 2027.
Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub has maintained that the acquisition of a 55% stake in Safaricom was done by the book, expressing confidence that the company will overturn a Kenyan court ruling ordering the return of 15% of the shares to the government.
As reported by Reuters, Joosub said Vodacom followed all required procedures and remained confident in its appeal against the September High Court judgment.
The Ksh207 billion (US$1.6 billion) acquisition, completed in June 2026, helped boost Vodacom's half-year earnings per share to Ksh46.37 (5.87 rand), up from Ksh36.89 (4.67 rand).
Service revenue increased 29% to Ksh11 trillion (85.1 billion rand), while financial services revenue nearly doubled to Ksh2.1 trillion (15.9 billion rand).
Absa Bank Kenya has expanded its Absa Next digital banking platform to include five unit trust funds, allowing customers to invest from as little as Ksh1,000.
As reported by Capital Business, the funds include the Equity, Balanced, Shilling Money Market, Dollar Money Market and Fixed Income Funds, catering to different investment goals and risk appetites.
As of November 6, 2026, the Equity Fund had returned 15.95% year-to-date, despite recording losses of 0.80% over three months and 4.13% over one month.
Customers can open investment accounts, manage multiple portfolios, make contributions and track performance. The platform also supports real-time withdrawals from the Shilling Money Market Fund into Absa Wallet.
Launched in September 2026, Absa Next has attracted over 300,000 users.
Equity Group increased procurement spending on women-owned businesses by 303% to Ksh3.72 billion in 2025, up from Ksh923.53 million in 2024, according to its Sustainability Report.
As reported by Capital Business, spending on youth-owned businesses also rose 75% to Ksh491.05 million. Overall, the Group spent Ksh52.79 billion on procurement, with Ksh47.59 billion (90%) going to local suppliers.
The lender also recruited 67 persons with disabilities, up from 54 in 2024, and onboarded 306 new suppliers who underwent environmental and social screening.
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