NAIROBI, Kenya—The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) is seeking enhanced legal powers to regulate digital markets, with digital lenders singled out as the primary source of consumer complaints.
Through the proposed Competition Amendment Bill, CAK aims to gain the authority to define and oversee digital markets, enabling it to enforce competition and consumer protection laws more effectively.
“Digital lenders; that is the biggest area,” said CAK Director-General David Kemei.
“This law gives us now the room to work with other agencies to rein in anything that is not being done well in that area.”
The Competition (Amendment) Bill 2024 has already received approval from the Attorney General and is now awaiting Cabinet endorsement before it moves to Parliament for debate.
If passed by early October, the law will pave the way for CAK to roll out regulatory guidelines tailored to Kenya’s evolving digital economy.
The move aligns Kenya with global efforts in countries such as the UK, US, and Japan, which have already enacted digital market regulations.
