The Islamic banks in Kenya continue to face stiff competition in the industry. This has necessitated these banks to design and adopt strategies that can contribute to their performance and profit increment. Despite this, Kenya’s Islamic banks have recorded low market share rate as linked to conventional banks. These banks have recorded a declining trend in terms of profits where First Community Bank(FCB) total net gain plunged into almost half and Gulf African Bank(GAB) slowed their growth. It is therefore, against this backdrop that this study arose to examine the strategies adopted by Islamic banks to increase their profits in Kenya. The investigation embraced a comparative case study approach to provide an insight understanding of strategies adopted by Islamic banks to increase their profits in Kenya. The study covered two Sharia Compliant Banks in Kenya namely Gulf African Bank (GAB) and First Community Bank (FCB). The researcher interviewed one (1) middle and (1) top management staff in Nairobi of the two Sharia Compliant Banks. From the analysis of the findings, it was concluded that most Islamic banks embraced cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies. The findings also indicated that the brand and vision was instituted around the specific customer promise making it visible to the niche market. The findings of the study also indicated that Islamic banks have introduced aspects of technology to include the impact of internet, emerging technological impact, reduction in communication costs, technological incentives, activities in regard to R&D, rate at which technology was changing and levels of automation. From the study results, it was therefore recommended that employees of both GAB and FCB should be trained on the ways of implementing cost strategies to ensure banks are able to implement the cost leadership strategy. This will ensure that all the Islamic banks get cost advantage over their rivals and this can be conducted through continuous automation of systems. The study also recommends that Banks to aim beyond Muslim clients and aim for non-Muslim clients as most Islamic banks name their products using Arabic terms that non-Muslims cannot understand and relate to which gives the impression that Islamic banking is only for Muslims. The most basic requirement is the need for an Islamic bank to work perfectly on the demand of, or response to its customers ‘needs and wants. Moreover, these banks should invest on ICT infrastructure which should help the bank to grow towards achieving the set goals. Islamic banks need to come up with ICT strategies which are in line with the ever changing business environment. ICT strategies adopted by Islamic bank should focus on reducing cost of doing business. Both banks should asses the marketing strategies effectiveness by coming up with quantitative characteristics which can be obtained from Islamic banks sample. Islamic banks should change their sales strategies according to the changing business environment. Marketing strategies should help banks in understanding the types of expectations so as to appreciate benefits customers expect to receive. They should also constantly evaluate their marketing strategies. Further, Islamic banks should strive for quality customer service as a way of increasing the number of customers.

In the last two decades, the need for time and cost saving banking process for SMEs coincided with modern banks seeking to improve customer service and add value to banking experience for SMEs. Since internet banking aims to enhance the customer experience, the key factors that relate to the objective of internet banking warrant attention and investigation to facilitate informed decision making. Regardless of the fact that factors influencing the adoption and use of internet banking services has been extensively done in developed countries as opposed to developing countries in Africa like Kenya since technology adoption in these countries is still in its infancy. Therefore, this study investigates the determinants of SMEs’ use of IB in Kenya from users’ perspective. Descriptive survey will be applied where 132 SMEs in Kisii town will be interviewed. A structured questionnaire will be randomly administered to gather data information from the customers. The data gathered from the customers will be analysed using statistical tests conducted using MS Excel and SPSS version 20.0. The study identified perceived usefulness, ease of use, risk, and customer’s innovativeness as key factors influencing SMEs use of IB in Kisii County. The study recommends SMEs to embrace the use of IB so as to be resilient in hard economic times. The study recommends more representative study to be carried out of the whole country to be conducted because the findings could not be generalized for whole country.

Kenya has been faced with a mounting security threat primarily from terrorism orchestrated by the Al-Shabaab terror organisation. The research focused on military involvement in internal security operation focusing on assessing the Kenya Defence Forces in terrorism operations in kenya from 2000-2021. The research objectives was to determine the scope of military roles in internal security, explore the strategies the KDF can apply when involved internal security and examine the challenges the KDF could face in internal security operation. Qualitative research methodology was usedrelying heavily on secondary datafor content analysis. Data was obtained from several secondary sources which included information from official documents within the areas that constitute the key elements of the current study including at the global, regional, and national levels, with Kenya as the as the case study. The study‘s findings revealed the need to intensify multi-agency collaboration involving the NPS and the KDF in combating terrorism. The government needs to prioritise addressing the innate challenges like poor working conditions and remuneration for the police, in addition to endemic corruption. Continued investment in multi-agency cooperation and leveraging intelligence as opposed to always reacting to attacks. The study therefore recommends that, that the government should champion the development of high-level multi-agency cooperation and collaboration among these agencies, improving the working conditions and remuneration to the police and other security agencies, prioritise equipping the security agencies especially the KDFand prioritise intelligence.

The employment of workers on casual terms denies them protection by minimum wage standards, social benefits and labor union membership. The Chinese Multinational Corporations (MNCs) operating in the road construction sub sector have been accused of providing inadequate wages and wrongful termination. Disagreements between Chinese enterprises and Kenyan workers have a severe impact on infrastructure development and, as a result, bilateral ties between the two nations. The study‘s main objective is to evaluate Kenya-China bilateral relations in infrastructural development: a case study on remuneration of local employees within Nairobi region. The study sought: to determine the influence of Kenya-China bilateral relations on infrastructural development within Nairobi region; to establish the influence of company ownership on the remuneration of local employees under Kenya-China bilateral relations in infrastructure development within Nairobi region; to assess the influence of Kenya-China bilateral relations in infrastructural development on the average level of wages of local employees within Nairobi region. The Liberalism theory, Herzberg two factor theory and the theory of Wage Norms guided the study. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to provide a clear description of the phenomenon under study. The study targeted four projects two of which are operated by Chinese companies while the other two are operated by local Kenya indigenous companies. Primary and secondary data was gathered for the study. A questionnaire and an interview guide was utilized to gather primary data. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of the quantitative data. A qualitative approach of data analysis was adopted to analyze data collected from the interview guide. Tables and figures were adopted to present the quantitative data while narration format was used to present qualitative data. According to the findings, China's involvement in Kenya's infrastructure has led in the country's development and growth. However, this progress has been followed by a negative effect of Kenya increasing its debt to China. The study found that the Chinese construction companies remunerated the local employees poorly as compared to the Local construction companies. The findings indicated that the work environment of the local employees in the Chinese companies was poor. The study concludes that Kenya-China bilateral relation on infrastructure projects has an influence on the remuneration of local employees in Kenya. The study suggested that the government should implement accountability and transparency with reference to the financing borrowed from China. A recommendation made in the study is that the government through COTU should ensure that the labour laws of Kenya are followed by all employers including international companies with subsidiaries in Kenya. The study suggests that research should be conducted focusing on the working environment in Chinese operated projects.

The objective of this study was to establish the relationship between profitability and financial deepening among commercial banks in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey design covering quantitative methods. The study targeted 39 commercial banks operating in Kenya and census was used. Secondary data was gathered over a period of 5-years (2016-2020) and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were that ROA (β=.112, t>1.96 & p<0.05), ROE (β =.101, t>1.96 & p<0.05), bank size (β =.119, t>1.96 & p<0.05) as well as capital adequacy (β =.105, t>1.96 & p<0.05) were all significant predictors of financial deepening among commercial banks in Kenya. The study concludes that profitability is a significant predictor of financial deepening. The study recommends that finance managers of commercial banks in Kenya should come up with sound strategies aimed at improving profits so as to contribute towards financial deepening. The policy makers of the commercial banks in Kenya should develop sound policies and strategies aimed at enhancing the profits generated and thus improving on financial depth. The policy makers at the CBK should develop relevant and sound regulations that encourage and promote financial deepening among commercial banks. The policy makers at KBA should also develop relevant policies for their members that encourage financial deepening.

The purpose of this research paper was determining the influence of current asset structure towards profitability of listed firms under category of construction and allied firms. The study measured current asset structure in terms of cash and cash equivalents, inventories, and trade and other receivables. The main goal current asset management is to ensure a steady flow of revenue. Maximum utilization and management of current assets by controlling aspects like accounts receivables, cash, as well as inventory, is strategically related to high profitability through improvement of business liquidity. Nonetheless, poor financing decisions have led to most firms’ failure, which has posed a big dilemma to researchers, business managers, and investors. Such declines have been experienced by companies on Nairobi security exchange making them perform poorly. In addition, a number of them have ended up being either delisted or suspended from stock market. This study was informed by stakeholders’ theory and trade-off theory. This study employed use of longitudinal study approach. The study’s population comprised of the five companies which were listed on Nairobi Security Exchange under construction and allied category as at December 2021. Study collected secondary data extracted from available records of the firms under study. The study was based on a period of ten years ranging from 2012 to 2021. The research applied descriptive and regression methods in analyzing data. The study revealed that current asset influenced financial performance through firms’ cash and cash equivalents. It was further established that firm size tends to have a strong control effect towards the linkage of current asset and profitability. Constructs of inventories and trade and other receivables were found to have insignificant effect towards financial performance of construction. The management of construction and allied listed firms should devise ways of intensifying short-term investment securities in terms of cash in order to ensure high credit quality.