Nairobi, Sept. 12 -- After many years, Centum Investment Company became a debt-free holding company in the year ended March 2026.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm had used large amounts of debt to fund its expansion, sometimes borrowing and issuing guarantees on behalf of subsidiaries which also contracted debt on their own in some cases.

While the holding company became debt-free, the risk of debt has grown in the portfolio companies according to disclosures in Centum's latest annual report.

The group's bank borrowings-representing amounts owed by the operating units-rose to Sh13.6 billion in the review period from Sh12.2 billion a year earlier.

More of the businesses-compared to the prior year-are struggling to repay thei...