Nairobi, July 28 -- Kenya's commercial state corporations are entering a new era. The Government Owned Enterprises Act, assented to on December 5, 2025, scraps the fragmented State Corporations Act regime and shifts Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) under the Companies Act. The result: uniform governance, commercial discipline and a clear separation between profit-making and public service mandates.

For taxpayers, it means fewer bailouts. For investors, it opens the door to partial privatisation and listings.

The new Act standardises everything. All GOEs-defined as companies majority-owned by the national government, operating on commercial principles and self-funded without annual parliamentary appropriations-must be incorporated as ...