Trillion-Shilingi Baby – Kenya’s National Debt and Your Fuliza Are Cousins

Kenya’s national debt hit Kshs 13.01 trillion at the end of June 2026, this is according to the National Treasury data. Treasury has also budgeted to borrow another Kshs 1.15 trillion this financial year to help finance the gap between what the government collects and what it spends.

Now look at your M-Pesa.

In the financial year ended March 2026, Safaricom’s Fuliza overdraft facility processed Kshs 1.47 trillion in disbursements across 17.7 million Kenyans — yet the average transaction was just Kshs 218.

That tells an uncomfortable story: for many people, borrowing isn’t about one big purchase. It’s about repeatedly bridging the gap between what comes in and what goes out. Its mostly about survival at best.

This is where the government-and-household comparison becomes useful: a nation’s economic health, or lack thereof, is almost a direct reflection of its people.

A government can borrow to build infrastructure, invest in productive capacity, or manage temporary fiscal pressures. Likewise, a household can borrow productively to finance education, a business, or an asset.

The danger begins when borrowing becomes the way you fund everyday living.

When today’s Fuliza pays yesterday’s Fuliza, or a new loan pays off an old one, the debt isn’t being solved. The repayment is simply being pushed forward, often at a cost.

The Debtors Care principle: Know Your Debt Load.

Add up all your monthly debt repayments: Bank loans, Fuliza, Digital loans, Hire purchase, Chamaa obligations and even Informal loans. Then compare that total with your net monthly income.

As a practical warning sign, if debt repayments are taking on more than about 35% of your take-home pay, your financial flexibility is becoming dangerously thin.

This month’s move:

1. Stop borrowing to fund recurring expenses.
2. List every debt, its interest or fees.
3. Prioritize the most expensive debt first.
4. Redirect every extra shilling towards becoming debt-free.
5. Build a small emergency buffer so the next unexpected expense doesn’t send you back to Fuliza.
6. If your income isn’t enough to cover expenses without taking on debt, build on high-value skills to launch a profitable side hustle.

Because the goal isn’t simply to borrow less. The goal is to reach a point where your income can carry your life without tomorrow’s money paying for yesterday’s expenses.

Debt can solve a moment. But when debt becomes the debt solution, you’ve entered a cycle.

Break the cycle.

About This Series

Shilingi Yako Newsletter is produced by Debtors Care to help everyday Kenyans connect the dots between governance, policy, and their personal finances and to build practical debt-management muscle one issue at a time.