Averaging 5% per year over the past decade, according to the most recent figures from the IMF, Kenya’s economic growth has been impressive. Revenue growth, however, has followed a more volatile trajectory and has often failed to meet government projections. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected some KSh656.9bn ($6.4bn) in tax revenue in the second half of 2017, a figure which was nearly 7%…
The government has a long history of intervening in Kenya’s banking industry. Before the financial sector was fully liberalised in the 1990s, state actors maintained a firm grip on credit allocation to various areas of the economy, only granting a greater share of funds to sectors it deemed to be strategically important. This approach, however, took little account of the ability of these industries…
Kenya has followed an export-oriented trade policy since the mid-1980s, when it shifted from its previous strategy of import substitution. While the efforts of successive governments have met with some success, the trading data for 2017 makes for uncomfortable reading for planners at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the trade deficit…
As the largest economy in the EAC and COMESA in terms of GDP, Kenya has positioned itself as a major economic power in sub-Saharan Africa. Traditionally a largely agrarian economy, Kenya has quickly entrenched its position as a manufacturing, logistics and technology hub in the region, and this diversification forms a solid platform from which the government can generate economic growth over the c
In recent years the accelerating uptake of new means of crop production and distribution have begun to change Kenyan smallholder farming. Between 2015 and 2017 Kenyan start-ups involved in agricultural technologies and innovations – also referred to as agri-tech – raised KSh1.37bn ($13.4m). In the wake of this explosive growth, Kenya, which was an early leader on start-up investment in…
Growth in mobile payments reached 8% in 2017, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). While steady, this was slower than in 2016 and 2015, when industry growth was 19% and 17%, respectively. Industry stakeholders reported that muted consumer spending was partly due to lower-than-expected economic growth. Growth Market Despite more subdued expansion, the market has remained robust, with…
Bridging Kenya’s affordable housing deficit was one commitment made by President Uhuru Kenyatta when he announced his Big Four agenda in 2017. Specifically, a goal was laid out to add up to 500,000 affordable housing units to the nation’s stocks during this second term in office, which ends in mid-2022. The policy could prove to be a key driver of change, according to Palkesh Shah, director…
In mid-June 2018 the cabinet secretary of the National Treasury unveiled a comprehensive raft of tax administration measures tailored towards financing the government’s KSh3trn ($29.4bn) budget for FY 2018/19. Some of the measures were a reiteration of proposals envisaged in the Income Tax Bill, 2018, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill of that same year, and recommendations from the 2018 Budget…
The increasing need for skilled labour is both a cause of and a requirement for accelerated growth across markets. This demand for technical specialists is often most concentrated in the sectors that are vital to economic advancement, including infrastructure, oil and gas exploration and extraction, and value-add processes for agricultural commodities. Efforts to expand this expertise locally,…
