Kenya is Educating Youth for a Lifetime of Unemployment - Employers Warn

Hello Moneymakers, Kubasu here. In this newsletter, we are covering employers' concerns over the worsening economy as well as Gen Z leading in luxury travel and a woman who vanished with a Ksh250,000 deposit only to end up dead.

Spiking Unemployment

The Federation of Kenyan Employers (FKE) has lamented that Kenya is increasingly becoming untenable for businesses to thrive.

FKE leaders, while attending its 66th Annual General Meeting, lamented that rising costs and unpredictable policies were hurting businesses, pushing Kenya further behind in the list of most preferred investment destinations in the region.

These costs included statutory deductions such as the housing levy and shifting regulations that weakened enterprise resilience, leading to redundancies.

What FKE National President Gilda Odera is Saying: "Notably, the 2024 World Citizenship Report ranked Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania as more attractive destinations for high-net-worth individuals than Kenya, highlighting growing concerns about our investment climate — and this is unprecedented."

The Numbers: According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data, only 75,000 formal jobs were created in 2024, a drop from the 123,000 jobs created in 2023.

What FKE CEO Jacqueline Mugo is Saying: "This decline comes at a time when between 800,000 and 1.2 million job seekers enter the labour market annually, while more than 5 million people remain unemployed.
This stark mismatch between job creation and the labour market illustrates a harsh reality — that Kenya is educating its youth for a lifetime of unemployment unless something changes."

View From State House: The Kenya Kwanza Administration estimates that north of 700,000 jobs have been created for Kenyans since President William Ruto took power. In his Labour Day speech, Ruto announced that 250,000 jobs had been created in the affordable housing sector alone, insisting that the stabilised shilling, trading at Ksh129 against the dollar for 10 months now, strengthens the business environment.

Here are top business headlines this morning;

Gen Z Kenyans Fuel Rise in Luxury and Experience-Driven Travel

Kenya's Gen Z travellers are reshaping the local tourism industry, with a growing demand for luxury, authentic, and experience-rich travel, a new survey reveals.

Motivated by a strong appetite for sustainable and meaningful experiences, young Kenyans are increasingly organizing trips — both solo and in groups — that span multiple days and focus on unique, immersive activities.

“Kenyan travellers are highly experience-driven and value-conscious. Peer reviews and digital platforms play a key role in influencing their travel choices,” said Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO June Chepkemei during a stakeholder forum marking the 15th edition of the Magical Kenya Travel Expo. Read Business Daily’s coverage here.

State House Blows Through Budget on Salaries

According to a report by Business Daily, the State House and the Department of Social Protection had exhausted their allocations for salaries and other routine expenses by the end of last month. This financial strain comes as the Treasury moves to draft a third supplementary budget for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, which wraps up in June.

Disclosures from the National Treasury reveal that the State Department of Social Protection and Senior Citizens spent Ksh35.7 billion on salaries, allowances, and other recurrent expenditures — surpassing their Ksh33.3 billion budget by month-end.

Trump’s USAID Cuts Continue to Affect Kenya’s Wealthy Estates

Investors in Nairobi’s high-end property markets like Kitisuru, Muthaiga, and Gigiri are facing uncertainty following budget cuts to USAID, a major funder of NGOs in Kenya, the Standard reports. The cuts, initiated under President Donald Trump’s administration and reinforced by the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, have led to a decline in both NGO tenants and property prices. These suburbs, traditionally buoyed by demand from the diplomatic and NGO community, are now struggling to maintain their market value.

Real estate experts, including Knight Frank Kenya CEO Mark Dunford, are urging a strategic pivot toward the domestic market to cushion against the volatility of foreign aid. Citing examples like Dubai and Europe, Dunford emphasizes the need for developing countries to reduce reliance on international clients and build a more sustainable, local demand base to withstand global shocks.

Woman Who Vanished With Ksh250,000 Deposit Found Dead

Hannah Waithera, a 23-year-old businesswoman from Nakuru, went missing on May 21, 2025, after leaving her shop to deposit over Ksh250,000 at a local bank, Kenyan.co.ke reported. A week later, her body was tragically discovered in a dam in Soilo, Nakuru, covered in grass and dumped in dirty water. Her disappearance and death have left her family devastated, with her mother and husband expressing deep frustration at the slow police response.

The family last tracked her phone showing movement toward Nairobi, but it was switched off by 6 p.m. on the same day she vanished. Her mother, Mary Njeri, and her younger sister accused the authorities of negligence. Meanwhile, Waithera’s three-year-old daughter continues to ask for her mother, unaware of the tragic loss.

KRA Under Fire as Undervalued Tyre Imports From China Cost Kenya Billions

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is facing increased scrutiny after it was revealed that several shipments of tyres imported from China were significantly undervalued. This has led to a massive revenue shortfall for the country, amounting to billions of shillings.

According to a report published by Business Daily, a comparison of customs declarations uncovered that the undervaluation of these tyre imports is causing a substantial financial leak. Experts cited in the report estimate that Kenya could be losing as much as Sh9 billion annually—or between Sh250 million and Sh500 million each month—due to this loophole in customs enforcement.