South African firms are accelerating their push into Kenya’s corporate sector, lining up deals worth about Sh413 billion as they use Nairobi as a launchpad into East and Central Africa. The latest move came from Absa Group, which announced plans to increase its stake in Absa Bank Kenya from 68.5 percent to as much as 85 percent through a Sh30.9 billion tender offer for up to 895.9 million shares at Sh34.50 apiece. Reuters and Absa disclosures show the transaction is still subject to regulatory approval, but it underlines how Kenya is becoming central to South African lenders’ regional growth strategies.
Absa’s bid follows two other high-profile South African transactions targeting Kenyan blue-chip firms. Vodacom is seeking to lift its stake in Safaricom to 55 percent through the purchase of a 15 percent stake from the Kenyan government for Sh204.3 billion and a further five percent from Vodafone for Sh68.1 billion, taking the total deal value to Sh272.4 billion. Separately, Nedbank is pursuing a 66 percent acquisition of NCBA Group in a deal valued at roughly Sh110 billion, with the South African lender saying the transaction is intended to anchor its East African expansion. Together, the Absa, Vodacom and Nedbank transactions add up to roughly Sh413 billion in fresh South African bets on Kenya’s listed corporate sector.
The appeal of Kenya for South African corporates is rooted in both scale and geography. Kenya remains one of the fastest-growing large economies in the region and acts as a commercial gateway into Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For banks and telecoms firms, the country offers an established financial system, deep capital markets, a strong mobile-money ecosystem and access to the Northern Corridor trade route that links East Africa to the Middle East and Asia. Nedbank explicitly cited Kenya’s role as a regional financial hub with strong institutions, sophisticated markets and a dynamic technology sector when unveiling its NCBA bid in January.
For Absa, the logic is also financial. Since the Kenyan unit split from Barclays and rebranded to Absa in 2020, its profitability has grown sharply, with net earnings rising from Sh7.4 billion in 2019 to Sh22.9 billion in 2025. That profit growth has supported stronger dividend payouts, making Kenya a more attractive earnings engine for the Johannesburg-based parent. Reuters reported that Kenya contributed about 19 percent of Absa’s Africa Regions profits in 2025, underscoring why the group now wants a larger share of future returns from the subsidiary.
Vodacom’s pursuit of a larger Safaricom stake is similarly about securing a greater share of one of East Africa’s most profitable corporate assets. Safaricom paid out Sh80 billion in dividends for the year to March 2026, while its Kenyan business remains a cash-generating giant even as the company continues investing heavily in Ethiopia. A larger stake would deepen Vodacom’s exposure to Safaricom’s dividend stream and strengthen its influence over a telecoms group that is increasingly regional in reach.
Nedbank’s proposed acquisition of NCBA reflects a broader strategic shift by South African banks toward East Africa at a time when some have been retreating from more volatile West African markets. Nedbank said its offer for NCBA is designed to give it a strong platform in a region with attractive growth prospects, while allowing it to plug into NCBA’s digital lending business, regional banking network and strong corporate franchise. The deal is structured as a partial offer for 66 percent of NCBA, and the South African lender has already secured commitments from shareholders representing more than 77 percent of the Kenyan bank’s issued shares.
The rush by South African firms into Kenya also highlights a broader reordering of capital flows on the continent. European banks have been shrinking their footprint in parts of Africa over the past decade, while South African groups with stronger regional ambitions and balance sheets have stepped into the gap. Kenya, with its combination of regulatory depth, growing middle class, digital financial infrastructure and regional connectivity, is emerging as one of the clearest beneficiaries of that shift.
If all the current deals go through, South African corporates will tighten their hold over some of Kenya’s most strategic listed firms in banking and telecommunications. That would not only deepen their earnings exposure to the Kenyan market, but also give them stronger platforms from which to expand across East and Central Africa. In effect, the Sh413 billion acquisition wave is not just a vote of confidence in Kenyan companies. It is also a signal that Kenya is increasingly being treated as the boardroom gateway to the next phase of African regional growth.
