Business Daily at 18: A Story of Grit, Faith, and Outstanding Journalism
March 7, 2025, marks 18 years since the launch of Business Daily, Kenya’s premier financial newspaper. Looking back at its inception, it is clear that the journey was anything but easy. The challenges were daunting, and the odds were stacked against the team that dared to bring the publication to life.
“When we set out to launch the Business Daily, the challenges were daunting. There were no ready pools of economic journalists to assemble for the project,” recalls the founding team (Business Daily, 2024). The vision was bold, yet the resources were scarce. Kenya’s economy, modest in comparison to global peers, raised skepticism about whether it could generate enough business stories to sustain a daily publication.
Kenya’s economy, modest in size compared to global peers, seemed unlikely to generate enough business stories to fill a daily newspaper.”
Despite these challenges, the team pressed on, driven by a shared belief in the importance of business journalism in shaping economic discourse.
Nothing like this had been attempted in our part of the world. But we were the ones that fate had entrusted with the Herculean task!
Leadership played a crucial role in navigating these uncharted waters. “Yet, under the stewardship of Linus Gitahi , the CEO, Wangethi Mwangi ’s steady hand in editorial leadership and Nick Wachira, the managing editor, we pressed on with faith and a blind belief in ourselves.” With their guidance, a rigorous training program was initiated. “It took six months of intensive training to mould a team capable of delivering economic content befitting our ambition to become Kenya’s Financial Times.”
As the launch day approached, the team had transformed into a formidable unit, fully prepared to take on the challenge. “By the time we were ready, we had transformed into a tightly knit unit eager to take on the beast of daily business reporting.” Then came March 7, 2007—a defining moment not just for Business Daily but for Kenya’s media landscape.
On that historic day, March 7, 2007, just nine months before the ill-fated December election that would plunge Kenya into chaos, we fought the most onerous professional battle and went to press at midnight.
Eighteen years later, Business Daily stands as a testament to resilience, quality journalism, and the power of unwavering commitment. From a seemingly impossible dream to a cornerstone of Kenya’s financial journalism, the publication continues to shape conversations, inform markets, and set the standard for economic reporting in the region.