Under the Finance Bill 2026 before parliament, the government wants to introduce a 15% capital gains tax on gains made by non-resident investors selling shares abroad when those shares derive value from Kenyan assets or operations.

If passed, the amendment to Kenya’s Income Tax Act would allow the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to tax transactions completed outside the country, even when the companies involved are registered in foreign jurisdictions such as Mauritius, Delaware, London or the Cayman Islands.

The proposal targets a long-standing structure used by venture capital and private equity firms investing in African startups. Many Kenyan startups operate locally but are incorporated abroad because foreign investors prefer offshore holding companies that simplify fundraising, offer stronger legal protection and make acquisitions easier.

Kenya now wants a share of the profits when those investors exit.

The bill states that gains arising from “the alienation of shares by a non-resident person where the shares derive their value from Kenya” would become taxable locally, regardless of where the transaction happens.

Treasury officials are also seeking powers to tax deals involving “a change of the group membership of a company resident in Kenya” as well as changes in ownership tied to Kenyan property.

The proposed law could impact investor exits in sectors including technology, energy and infrastructure, where offshore ownership structures are common.

For founders and investors in Kenya’s startup ecosystem, the changes may create fresh tax exposure during acquisitions, secondary sales and restructuring exercises carried out at the holding-company level.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) warned lawmakers that the amendment may go beyond standard asset sales.

“As drafted, the provision may create Kenyan CGT exposure for offshore investor exits, capital raising transactions, group restructurings and internal reorganisations undertaken at holding company level,” the body said.

Kenya’s move follows a string of high-profile disputes over offshore transactions linked to local assets.

Last year, Tullow Oil agreed to sell its Kenyan subsidiary, Tullow Kenya BV, to Gulf Energy in a deal connected to the Lokichar oil project in Turkana. Although the transaction was structured offshore, the KRA issued a KES 21 billion ($161.7 million) tax demand, arguing that the transferred shares drew their value from Kenyan oil resources.

The tax authority took a similar position in the 2017 sale of Java House by Emerging Capital Partners to Dubai-based Abraaj Group. Kenya’s Tax Appeals Tribunal later upheld a KES 773.8 million ($5.9 million) tax assessment after rejecting arguments that the transaction fell outside Kenya’s jurisdiction.

The Finance Bill 2026 also includes other tax measures. Kenya plans to raise rental income tax from 7.5% to 10%, introduce a 20% tax on gambling winnings and impose a 1.5% withholding tax on scrap metal sales.

Most provisions in the bill are expected to take effect from July 1, 2026, if parliament approves them.

Kenya is not alone in strengthening tax rules around offshore deals. Uganda already taxes some offshore transactions linked to local assets, while governments across emerging markets are increasing pressure on multinational investors to pay taxes where economic value is created.

For foreign investors already dealing with a slow funding market across Africa, the proposed tax could complicate and increase the cost of Kenyan startup exits.

Headquartered in Lagos, the company works with banks, fintechs and other lenders to acquire and manage non-performing retail and SME loans. 

The latest round drew support from several African private equity and venture capital firms, including AfricInvest through its Financial Inclusion Vehicle fund, as well as Algebra Ventures, which made its first investment in a Nigeria-headquartered business through the deal.

Existing investors, including Capria Ventures, VestedWorld, Axian CVC, Angaza Capital, 4Di Capital and DotExe Ventures, also returned for the round.

BFREE said the new investment will help it pursue larger acquisitions of bad debt portfolios while strengthening long-term agreements with financial institutions that regularly offload non-performing accounts.

Having raised $3 million in funding in 2024, the company started as a technology-driven debt collection business before shifting into direct acquisitions of distressed unsecured loans, ranging from nano credit to SME facilities. 

Since launch, BFREE has completed more than 35 transactions and now manages over 11 million borrower accounts across several African countries.

Chief Executive Officer Julian Flosbach said the company now plans to operate at a larger scale.

“The market opportunity is significantly larger than the infrastructure historically available to address it. This round puts us in a position to pursue substantially larger portfolio acquisitions, engage a broader range of institutional partners, and do so with the speed and certainty of execution that serious counterparties demand,” he said.

Rather than handling one-off recoveries, BFREE works through forward flow arrangements. Under those deals, lenders agree to sell newly non-performing loans to the company on a recurring basis.

BFREE said its collection model avoids intimidation and public shaming, practices that have long attracted objection in parts of Africa’s digital lending sector. Instead, it focuses on repayment structures that borrowers can realistically manage.

Patrick Herrmann, partner at AfricInvest, said the company is filling an important gap in Africa’s fast-growing digital credit market.

“BFREE’s approach to credit management, based on a unique set of proprietary data and a technology-enabled collection platform, closes an essential gap in the digital lending value chain. 

“High-velocity digital lending has become a core product across markets, with financial institutions, banks and fintechs alike requiring effective ways to manage small-ticket non-performing loans. 

“BFREE’s execution-driven team has brought the platform to an inflexion point, which will enable them to purchase larger portfolios and become a prime partner for banks and fintechs across African markets,” he said.

For Omar Khashaba, general partner at Algebra Ventures, the investment shows encouraging interest in Africa’s distressed debt market, where lenders still struggle to resolve billions of dollars in unpaid retail and SME loans every year.

“Billions of dollars in African retail and SME credit go unresolved every year because the institutional infrastructure to clear them simply does not exist. Healthy credit markets need a disciplined buyer for distressed debt. 

“The founders Julian, Moses and Chukwudi have built a platform that combines rigorous portfolio pricing, risk management, and deep data infrastructure to clear distressed retail and SME debt at scale. We are backing BFREE together with AfricInvest to scale them across Africa and beyond,” he said.

BFREE did not disclose the size of the investment round. However, the company said the capital will support expansion in both existing and new African markets where demand for distressed debt solutions continues to grow.

The venture, called The Deployment Company, brings together 19 investors, including TPG Inc., Brookfield Asset Management, Advent International and Bain Capital. SoftBank Group and Dragoneer Investment Group are also involved.

People with direct knowledge say the new company is valued at about $10 billion, not counting the new capital raised, while OpenAI will keep control of the business.

OpenAI wants its tools used inside more companies, not just tested. So it will place its engineers, who will help redesign workflows, automate routine tasks and ensure wider use of its software, directly within organisations backed by these investors.

This approach changes direction from simply selling access to software to focusing on hands-on deployment. It is closer to a service model, where companies pay not just for tools, but for implementation and ongoing support.

The investors backing the venture control more than 1,000 companies between them. That gives OpenAI a ready pipeline of clients without relying on long sales cycles. It also means faster rollout across sectors.

OpenAI has committed about $500 million upfront, with the option to increase that to $1 billion later. The rest of the funding will come from private equity firms over the next few years.

Interestingly, OpenAI is offering investors a 17.5% annual return, and if the venture doesn’t meet expectations, it will cover the gap, creating risk. On a $4 billion commitment, the shortfall could run into hundreds of millions each year if returns disappoint.

The development comes after Anthropic secured about $1.5 billion for a similar initiative. Its backers include Blackstone Inc., Goldman Sachs and Hellman & Friedman, who plan to deploy AI tools across their own investment portfolios.

Both companies are trying to prove that their technology can deliver value inside large organisations even as they move closer to potential public listings.

OpenAI is on track for about $30 billion in annual revenue this year, and at the same time, heavy spending on infrastructure could push losses as high as $14 billion.

The company behind ChatGPT will first invest $500 million in the venture, known internally as DeployCo, with the new business expected to reach a $10 billion valuation in a funding round due to close in early May.

DeployCo has been set up as a Delaware-listed limited liability company. Its main role will be to speed up the use of OpenAI’s workplace products as the company launches harder into the business market.

Financial Times reported that OpenAI will hold super-voting shares in the venture, giving it stronger control over key decisions.

The report also noted that OpenAI has the option to invest another $1 billion later. At the same time, investors including TPG, Bain Capital, Advent International, Brookfield and Goanna Capital are expected to provide a further $4 billion.

Private equity backers are said to be investing for five years, with OpenAI guaranteeing them an annual return of 17.5%.

If completed, the deal would rank among the biggest partnerships between an artificial intelligence company and private equity investors.

OpenAI has recently increased its focus on corporate customers. It is looking to grow products such as ChatGPT Enterprise and other workplace tools beyond its consumer business.

That effort comes as competition increases in the business market. Anthropic, maker of Claude, is widely seen as having gained stronger traction with corporate clients. The company has also benefited from partnerships with Amazon and Google Cloud.

Microsoft is another major competitor through its deep ties with OpenAI and the integration of OpenAI models into Microsoft 365 and Azure. Google is also expanding its Gemini products for enterprise users.

Private equity firms are valuable partners because many of them own or influence large companies and can impact software spending decisions across their portfolios.

Reuters said it could not immediately verify the Financial Times report. OpenAI, TPG, Bain Capital, Advent International, Brookfield and Goanna Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The proposed joint venture could help OpenAI open a new revenue stream outside ChatGPT subscriptions, while expanding artificial intelligence tools across sectors such as finance, healthcare and manufacturing.

This was revealed in a new report by the African Private Capital Association (AVCA), developed in partnership with the Chamber of Corporate Trustees of Ghana and British International Investment (BII) under the Ghana Investment Support Programme (GHISP).

The report discloses a steep increase in pension funds’ appetite for alternative investments. More than half of Ghanaian pension providers now hold exposure to private capital, and 65% say they intend to raise allocations to private equity within the next five years.

By the end of 2024, total pension assets under management in Ghana reached GHS 86.4 billion ($6.2 billion), yet only 4.4% of the 25% limit set by regulators is being channelled into alternatives such as private equity and venture capital. 

This figure lags far behind Nigeria’s 34% utilisation of a 5% cap and South Africa’s 8% allocation under its 15% ceiling.

Despite this underutilisation, the report says that Ghana’s pension funds are gradually shifting from conservative savings strategies to more productive, growth-oriented investments. 

Many are targeting healthcare (55%), agribusiness (45%), and technology (40%), while by asset class, 38% favour property and infrastructure, 24% prefer private equity, and 19% are exploring venture capital.

However, AVCA’s findings also expose major obstacles preventing deeper engagement with private markets. Pension providers identified currency volatility, complex fund licensing processes, limited investable pipelines, and weak institutional capacity as key challenges. 

Nearly nine in ten pension funds (89%) interacted with fewer than three fund managers in the past year, underlining the limited depth of Ghana’s investment ecosystem.

The government’s May 2025 directive, which encourages pension funds and insurers to allocate at least 5% of assets to private equity and venture capital by 2026, has provided much-needed policy backing. This move is expected to mobilise domestic capital and drive growth across productive sectors.

To speed up progress, AVCA’s report outlines four key strategies:

• Enhancing data transparency and engagement between funds and managers
• Building institutional capacity through targeted training and pooled investment structures
• Deploying blended finance and co-investment tools to mitigate risk
• Advancing regulatory reforms to recognise Limited Partnerships and streamline fund licensing.

Commenting on the report, Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, chief executive officer of AVCA, stated:

“Ghana’s pension funds are at an inflexion point. The data highlights both the scale of investable domestic capital and the practical barriers that continue to hold it back. Unlocking this potential will require a combination of regulatory clarity, institutional capacity-building, and deeper collaboration between fund managers and local investors. 

“This mirrors a broader shift across Africa, where governments are enacting policies to channel domestic savings into productive investments at home and across borders. With these foundations in place, Ghana’s pension system can become a catalyst for long-term, sustainable growth.”

AVCA projects that Ghana could become a leader in pension-led private capital mobilisation in West Africa within five years if this momentum is sustained. The report forms part of AVCA’s Knowledge Exchange Initiative (KEI), a year-long capacity-building initiative launched in partnership with BII to enhance local institutional participation in private markets.

If Ghana’s pension reforms and fund managers align effectively, the country could bring in billions of local investment, turning its pension base into a new engine for national development.