Kenyan billionaire Mary-Ann Musangi, plans to expand Haco Industries, the consumer goods maker founded by her late father Chris Kirubi, from eight export markets to 30 African countries by 2030, using local manufacturing partners and five regional hubs.

Musangi, the managing director of the Nairobi-based company, set out the target in an interview with CNN published this week. Haco, which makes about 90 household, hair and skincare products, currently exports to eight African countries. Kenya is its largest market, and it also sells in Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

She identified distance and logistics as challenges making sells across the continent from a single base in Kenya difficult. That is why local partners would be used rather than build all of its capacity itself. She told CNN:

“The only way I see we can do it is through these partnerships, working with local people,”

Ghana as a West African base

Ghana is set to become the company’s manufacturing base for West Africa. Haco this month signed a manufacturing and distribution agreement with Ghanaian company Ayewa Aberfur to produce and sell its Amara skin lotion in Ghana. Under the deal, Haco keeps control of formulations, quality standards and technical processes, while the Ghanaian partner provides production capacity and knowledge of the local market.

Musangi told Kenya’s Business Daily earlier this month that the company is “not investing in factories and in equipment” in Ghana and declined to disclose the size of its investment. Haco supplies the raw materials from Kenya. Nanayaa Bates, the founder of the Ghanaian partner, told CNN that the arrangement had increased her company’s manufacturing output tenfold.

Haco has identified Nigeria and Senegal as its next markets, according to earlier reports.

Inside the Nairobi plant

Haco’s factory in central Nairobi includes a plastics plant that makes the company’s own packaging and can produce 5 million components a month, manufacturing director Peter Ndichu told CNN. A separate plant can process and pack 1,365 metric tons of products a month. Packing lines currently handle about 3,000 pieces an hour, and the company says automated machinery could raise that to about 12,000, which it plans to install in a new factory.

The company sources raw materials from more than 500 farmers across Africa and says its brands reach more than 3 million families. It has shifted some sourcing to the continent to cut costs. Shea butter imported from the United States cost about 5,000 Kenyan shillings ($38.50) a kilogram, compared with about 1,000 shillings ($7.70) when bought from Uganda, CNN reported. The company now buys it from Uganda and Ghana.

“It is unacceptable that we continue to simply extract raw materials from Africa,” Musangi told CNN.

The expansion plan leans on the African Continental Free Trade Area, the agreement meant to cut tariffs and other barriers to trade among African countries.

Kirubi’s heir

Kirubi founded Haco in 1974 and built it into one of Kenya’s best-known household goods makers. He became one of the country’s most prominent businessmen, with interests in manufacturing, media, real estate and finance, and was a major shareholder in Nairobi-listed investment firm Centum Investment.

Musangi, a former marketing director at Kenya Commercial Bank, became managing director of Haco in February 2019, after her father was diagnosed with cancer. When Kirubi died in June 2021, he left 80% of his estate to Musangi and her brother, Robert, and she took over the management of his business interests. In July this year, she was elected vice chairperson of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, the country’s main industry lobby.

The family has considered the company’s long-term ownership. Haco has explored a stock market listing or bringing in a strategic investor as part of succession planning, according to The Africa Report.

By Isa Abdul, Abuja
 
Young girls across the country have been warned against joining the growing sextortion trend in the country by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes, Ola Olukoyede.

The chairman gave the warning in Abuja on Monday, October 12, 2026 at an event to mark the International Girl-Child Day, organized by the African Girl Guild, AGG, with the theme: “Invest in her, Empower her and Let her Lead.”
 
While noting that incidents of sextortion are on the rise in the country, Olukoyede disclosed that the criminal elements involved in the crime take advantage of the vulnerable moments of the female gender to extort money from them and urged the girls to choose integrity in their relationship with the opposite sex.

“Girls need to be careful about relationships and not fall into the antics of criminals and sextortionists. Integrity in a relationship will safeguard you against such villains. A girl with integrity will always outlast a girl with only make-up. Your integrity is your crown. Do not sell it cheap,” he said.
 
Olukoyede,  who was represented by the Head of the EFCC’s Enlightenment and Re-orientation Unit, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE I Aisha Muhammed, further warned young girls in the country to stay away from cybercrime. “If you engage in cybercrime; if you become an account mule for Yahoo boys; if you blackmail people online, you are not just committing a crime, you are destroying Nigeria’s image, the same Nigeria you will need for a lot of things.”
 
He spoke on the need for girls to be responsible citizens, to shun cybercrime as it often makes them the tools of online blackmail by fraudsters.

“A responsible girl child reports wrongdoing, she volunteers, she respects the law, she knows that she is a stakeholder in Project Nigeria. As young girls, you must learn how to earn legally. Learn a skill, tech, tailoring, baking, content creation, coding. Not everything you earn is for squandering, save at least a certain percentage like 20%, know your needs and wants. Financial awareness is self-defence. Don’t let anyone use your account to commit fraud. That account in your name can take you to prison.”

Self-reliance, he said, brings empowerment, which the girl child can leverage to attain a glorious height in the future.  “An empowered girl is not waiting for someone to rescue her, she is educated; she is skilled; financially independent and because she is independent, nobody can buy her conscience. That is why the EFCC has established Integrity Clubs and Zero Tolerance Clubs in schools across Nigeria. We want you to become ambassadors of integrity in your schools and communities.
 
Speaking on the need to invest in the girl child, Denen Petronella, Executive Assistant to Jindu Peter,  founder of African Girl Guide, stated that investing in the girl-child means giving her confidence, knowledge, skills, protection, mentorship and opportunities to be able to discover her potential.

“At African Girl Guide, we believe a girl should not only be prepared for her future; she should be given the confidence, support and opportunities to help shape it. She learns; she leads; she thrives. Our responsibility therefore is not simply to tell girls they can succeed. It is to help create the support systems that make that success possible.”

As part of African Girl Guide commitment in ensuring the empowerment of the girl child, the launch of the AGG Camp Amani School Club was announced.

According to Petronella, Camp Amani School Club will give girls a continued platform “to learn, build leadership and life skills, develop confidence and explore opportunities throughout the school year.”

Participants at the events include representatives from ministries, agencies, departments, institutions and students from different secondary schools within Abuja.

By Nick Ibe, Abuja

A fresh petition aimed at prosecuting former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, over alleged financial crimes, dating back to 2006 has been submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

Filed by a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma, he is urging the anti-graft agency to revisit its earlier investigation into the allegations and consider a subsequent report by a United States Senate subcommittee.

Agbonayinma said the EFCC acknowledged his petition, dated August 27, 2026, and received on September 1. The petition, submitted through his lawyer, Chief Hannibal Egbe Uwaifo, SAN, called on the commission to reactivate its previous findings and take appropriate action.

The former lawmaker appeared at the EFCC headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, where he formally adopted the petition and responded to questions from investigators.

Speaking on the development, Agbonayinma insisted that the matter should not be left unresolved, stressing that the law should apply equally to all Nigerians, regardless of their social or political status.

“I want to thank Nigerians, the EFCC, and those praying for me in this struggle. The laws are meant for both the rich and the poor. After the EFCC has done a fantastic job, it should not be kept under the table.”

In the petition, Agbonayinma asked the commission to revisit its September 2006 report on Atiku and a February 4, 2010, report by the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

He argued that the two documents should provide a basis for renewed scrutiny of the allegations and further action by the anti-graft agency.

The petition further alleged that the EFCC had previously indicated that Atiku could be prosecuted after leaving office as vice-president, when his constitutional immunity no longer applied, but that no prosecution subsequently followed.

Agbonayinma said the alleged failure to pursue the matter as a dereliction of duty, arguing that revisiting the case would demonstrate the commission’s commitment to holding politically influential individuals accountable under the law.

He also disclosed that he had petitioned United States President Donald Trump over the allegations.

Meanwhile, EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, had yet to respond to messages seeking clarification on the status of the investigation as of the time of filing this report.