veri blog

Kenya is rewriting its debt story in real time. In the space of a few weeks, Nairobi has: Agreed a $1 billion debt-for-food security swap with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); and Launched a $1.5 billion Chinese-backed highway expansion , with Kenya’s own National Social Security Fund (NSSF) taking equity risk in a 28-year toll concession.() Two very different deals. One goal: create breathing room on the public balance sheet while still funding

For decades, African finance ministers flew to Washington, London or Beijing when they needed capital. Today, a quiet reversal is underway. According to new data from state-owned investor tracker GlobalSWF, African public institutions now manage close to $1 trillion in assets  – a historic high. That pool sits not in foreign aid budgets, but in: Public pension funds Central bank reserve portfolios Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) Public development banks and social security inst

If you work in Africa’s finance world long enough, you start to see the same pattern. Two people. Same salary. Same contribution rate. Same number of years saving. On paper, they’re doing everything “right”. Yet when retirement finally arrives, their outcomes are miles apart. One has a portfolio that still buys real things – school fees, healthcare, travel, dignity. The other has a statement full of big numbers that don’t stretch nearly as far as they should. The difference o

Most investors start at home. It’s familiar: you understand the banks on your high street, the telco you use every day, the government securities your adviser talks about. In many African markets, those local instruments also offer attractive nominal yields. But the last decade has shown how fragile that comfort can be: Currency shocks  can wipe out years of returns when measured in hard currency. Inflation spikes  can quietly erode the real value of cash, deposits and even s

When global investors start talking about “squeezing the last drop out of the lemon,” they’re talking about places like Uganda. In late November, Uganda’s shilling government bond market has quietly become one of the hottest frontier trades in the world. More than $2 billion of Uganda’s domestic government bonds are now held offshore – a record – with S&P Global estimating non-resident holdings at roughly $2.7 billion, about 12% of total domestic government debt . For a coun

On paper, Tanzania is one of Africa’s steadier macro stories. Growth is holding around 6% , inflation sits comfortably inside target, and the IMF has just signed off on another review of a twin financing package that blends classic balance-of-payments support with climate-focused funding. But as 2025 closes, a different narrative is creeping in. In late November, President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned publicly that “financiers are starting to shut the taps” on Tanzania, days

For the first time since it tumbled into default in 2020, Zambia is beginning a new month with something it has not seen in years: two major rating agencies moving in the right direction at the same time. On 21 November 2025 , S&P Global Ratings lifted Zambia’s foreign-currency sovereign rating from selective default (SD) to CCC+/C with a stable outlook , explicitly acknowledging that the country had “exited default status” after making substantial progress in restructuring i

When President William Ruto’s government announced a new $1.5 billion highway expansion last week, it was the flags that told the story: Chinese and Kenyan colours flying side by side as officials unveiled plans to rebuild the country’s most important transport corridor. The project will upgrade sections of the road linking Mombasa, Nairobi and western Kenya , a route that carries much of the region’s trade to and from the Indian Ocean. It is also China’s biggest new infrast

On the streets of Harare, prices are still quoted in both U.S. dollars and ZiG. But for the first time in years, the headline number that has haunted Zimbabweans for decades is starting to look almost ordinary. According to the latest data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), annual inflation measured in Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) fell to 19% in November 2025 , down from 32.7% in October. It is a dramatic shift from just a few months ago. In July, annual ZiG infla

When the deal finally closed in October, it marked more than the end of a 30-year era. It was the moment Kestrel Capital – one of Kenya’s most recognisable investment managers and stockbrokers – formally moved from founder ownership to executive control , just as Nairobi’s capital markets are roaring back to life. Mwangi and Ruenji, have fired the starting gun and the new owners have taken over at a rare inflection point: a transformed balance of clients, a turbocharged bonds

On paper, Kenya’s macro story in late 2025 looks surprisingly calm. Inflation is 4.6% , right in the middle of the government’s 2.5–7.5% target range.   The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)  has cut its policy rate eight meetings in a row, from 13% in early 2024 to 9.25% today, arguing there is still room to ease. The World Bank  this week nudged its 2025 growth forecast up to 4.9% , citing a rebound in construction and still-solid agriculture. Yet scratch the surface and a more c

Five years after missing a US$42.5 million Eurobond coupon and tumbling into default, Zambia has finally clawed its way back into the good graces of at least one major rating agency. On Friday, S&P Global Ratings  lifted Zambia’s long- and short-term foreign-currency ratings to CCC+/C  from selective default (SD) , formally removing the scarlet letter that has hung over the country since 2020. “It confirms that Zambia has moved out of default status and is steadily restoring

When Ghana’s finance minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, stood up to present the 2026 budget, one line cut through the usual noise of deficits and debt targets: after 25 years, the government would abolish the 15% VAT on mineral exploration and reconnaissance . For most Ghanaians, it sounded technical. For the mining industry, it was seismic. For a quarter of a century, companies prospecting for gold and other minerals have paid VAT on high-risk, upfront spending – drilling, assayi

On a busy street in central Harare, shopkeepers still quote prices in both U.S. dollars and the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) – but the tone of the conversation has shifted. After years of relentless price surges, inflation has suddenly fallen hard , dropping from 82.7% in September to 32.7% in October 2025 , its lowest level in nearly two years. Business groups and policymakers say this is no accident. A new, partly gold-backed currency, firmer monetary policy and an unexpected gold p

When pension executives, regulators and investors gathered in Kampala this month for the All-Africa Pensions Summit, the talking point was not another foreign aid package or a new donor facility. It was Africa’s own money – more than US$1.3 trillion  in combined pension and sovereign wealth fund assets – and how much of it is still sitting in short-term instruments instead of building roads, power plants and hospitals. For Uganda, the host country, the moment felt symbolic. I

The money arrived first as a text message. In a parish on the edge of eastern Uganda, the chair of a small savings and credit cooperative opened her phone on Wednesday morning to see a balance she had never imagined: 50 million shillings – roughly US$13,700 – wired straight into the group’s new account. It was the first tangible sign that Kampala’s latest push to attack poverty from the bottom up is finally hitting the ground. This week, the Ministry of Finance confirmed it h

Traders on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) have spent much of 2025 watching green on their screens. The United States dollar-denominated bourse has climbed about 34% year-to-date , outpacing many regional peers and last year’s already strong gains. Mining counters and export-oriented companies have led the charge, turning the tiny resort city into an unlikely focal point for hard-currency investors. Yet 700km away in Harare, policymakers are preparing for the opposit

Malawi Stock Exchange’s 2025 Rally: Performance, Drivers, and Investor Outlook Meta Title:  Malawi Stock Exchange’s Record Rally in 2025 – Analysis and Investor Insights Meta Description:  The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) has delivered unprecedented returns in 2025, far outpacing peers. Explore the market’s history, recent reforms, sector winners, macro drivers, regional context, and what this means for local and foreign investors. Learn how the Veri Platform enables seamless

Safaricom PLC is Kenya’s largest mobile network operator and a dominant force in East African telecom and mobile. Founded in 1997 as a unit of state-owned Telkom Kenya, Safaricom’s ownership structure changed when Vodafone acquired a 40% stake in. By 2008 the Kenyan government sold 25% of its shares in an IPO on the Nairobi Securities Exchange – a landmark offering oversubscribed by over 500%. Today Safaricom is by far the biggest listed company in Kenya, controlling roughly

ISIN: US25460E8557 A Quiet Giant: The Origins and Heritage of Direxion Direxion has built its reputation as a pioneer in the world of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Founded in 1997 , the firm focuses on providing tactical tools that enable professional traders and sophisticated investors to amplify or hedge their market exposure. Headquartered in New York, Direxion has become synonymous with innovation in leveraged ETFs , offering products that provide 2