For more than a decade, Posta Kenya has struggled to stay afloat. Declining mail volumes and a crippling debt burden nearly pushed it to collapse. Domestic letter delivery shrank by almost 90 per cent, from 1.42 million in the second quarter of 2024 to just 145,627 in the first quarter of 2025, as private couriers aggressively captured market share.
Financial audits revealed the extent of the crisis: Ksh147 million lost to avoidable interest payments, annual net losses of over Ksh1.1 billion, liabilities in excess of Ksh9.5 billion against assets of only Ksh1.8 billion, and a suffocating Ksh7.7 billion negative working capital. At one point, the corporation’s very survival seemed in doubt.
Yet against the odds, Posta is charting a recovery-driven by reforms spearheaded by ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo. Central to this revival is a Ksh300 million logistics partnership with the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KeMSA), which leverages Posta’s unrivalled nationwide network of more than 600 outlets. This deal alone is expected to generate upwards of Ksh2 billion in logistics revenues annually.
The corporation’s 2023–2027 strategic plan further signals bold ambitions. Posta is expanding aggressively into e-commerce and last-mile delivery, targeting lucrative niches in the distribution of passports, fertilisers, medicines, and electronic goods. Passport services alone are projected to generate Ksh300 million annually.
Expedited Mail Services (EMS), previously in decline, is once again showing vitality. Revenues rose from Ksh600 million in 2022/23 to Ksh800 million last year, with projections pointing towards Ksh1 billion annually.
Digital transformation is also reshaping Posta’s future. A nationwide addressing system is being rolled out, while post offices are being redesigned as e-commerce fulfilment centres and digital hubs, mirroring the popular “Huduma centre” model for rural service delivery. Through the Universal Postal Union’s “Post4Health” initiative, backed by a Ksh23.6 million grant, Posta is also boosting its ability to deliver health-related services.
Fintech is another frontier. The launch of PostaPay, a digital payments platform compatible with all mobile wallets and banks, has already processed more than 21,000 transactions. The platform supports government payments, micro-enterprises, and escrow-based transactions, positioning Posta as a credible player in the financial technology sector.
Meanwhile, decisive cost restructuring is yielding results. Posta’s wage bill, which once consumed a staggering 82 per cent of revenues, has been slashed to Ksh120 million per month, with further reductions expected to bring it down to Ksh80 million. At the same time, each revenue stream has grown by 11 per cent, driving overall income from Ksh1.9 billion last year to Ksh2.3 billion this year.
Parliament has reinforced this reform drive with a Ksh3 billion support package, Ksh1 billion for corporate governance restructuring, and Ksh2 billion for ICT modernisation in the 2024/25 financial year. The government has also pledged to settle Ksh1.6 billion in pending bills owed by state agencies, while overdue pension and tax remittances are being prioritised.
From the brink of insolvency, Posta Kenya is re-emerging as a modern logistics, fintech, and service powerhouse. With commercialisation firmly on the horizon, the corporation could soon transform from a perennial loss-maker into a net revenue contributor to the national exchequer.
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