New continental competition rules set for December

African Union Member States after signing the African Continental Free Trade Area (PHOTO: Courtesy)

Kenya’s budding fintech and banking sectors are among the areas the country will consider as it seeks to domesticate continental competition rules in line with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The country has already taken the lead in anticipation of these changes through the introduction of the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to extend the regulator’s mandate into digital markets.

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) on Wednesday expressed optimism that the domestication of the competition rules will be in place by the end of the year.

CAK Director-General David Kemei said one of the requirements for this to happen is Parliament debating and adopting the rules.

Once assented to, these rules, as contained in the AfCFTA Protocol on Competition Policy, should then be submitted to the African Union Commission (AUC) for ratification. This will make them official.

“Because it is very critical in terms of enhancing the regulatory strength of the continent, I think it is in our interest to ensure that this is accomplished by December 31,” he said.

These competition rules are intended to support intra-African trade through AfCFTA. At least 49 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification for AfCFTA with the African Union Commission. Countries also follow the same procedure when ratifying the competition protocols.

AfCFTA is expected to increase trade among African economies, leveraging the continent’s population of 1.3 billion — comparable to China’s.

Kemei said open borders without credible competition risk exposing markets to abuse of dominance and predatory cross-border conduct.

“That is precisely why the Competition Policy Protocol matters. It ensures that the anticipated benefits of AfCFTA are shared by consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and businesses across Africa,” he said during a sensitisation workshop on the protocols currently under way in Nairobi.

The meeting will also examine how the protocols interface with domestic laws and the regional regimes of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the East African Community (EAC).

In addition to fintech and banking, the discussion will also cover the agriculture value chain and digital markets.

Principal Secretary in the State Department for Trade Regina Ombam, who was part of the discussions, said the competition policy seeks to protect consumers from unfair pricing, encourage innovation, prevent monopolistic practices, and create opportunities for enterprises of all sizes to participate in regional markets.

She said the protocol, negotiated and adopted in February 2023, establishes a harmonised continental competition framework that supports fair markets and regional integration.

“This protocol ensures that the benefits of trade liberalisation under AfCFTA are not undermined by cartels, abuse of dominance, anti-competitive mergers, or other restrictive business conduct,” she said.

She pointed out that for Kenyan enterprises, particularly SMEs, fair competition means better opportunities to access regional markets, attract investment, and integrate into larger value chains.

“For consumers, it means better-quality goods, competitive prices, and greater choice,” she said.

Malick Diallo, head of the Competition Division at the AfCFTA Secretariat, spoke highly of Kenya as an experienced market in the competition space.

“Kenya’s ratification of this protocol would therefore serve two purposes: strengthen Kenya’s own legal and institutional framework and send a strong signal across the continent that the country chairing AfCFTA implementation is prepared to lead by example,” he said.