TAG: Economy
The year 2017 was a challenging one for Kenya’s economy, which reported a GDP growth rate of 4.9% – its lowest since 2013 – according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Dropping from 5.9% in 2016, the slowdown of GDP growth can be attributed to a number of factors, including protracted elections, severe droughts, as well as a deterioration of credit growth in the private sector.
While numerous factors have contributed to Kenya’s declining GDP expansion rate, one of the main reasons is the slowdown in private sector credit growth as a result of the interest rate cap introduced in 2016. In the inaugural OBG Business Barometer: Kenya CEO Survey, 89% of CEOs say that the newly imposed interest
rate cap has made it more difficult or much more difficult to access credit. Despite this, overall sentiment about Kenya’s economic outlook remains positive, with 75% of respondents saying that it is likely or very likely that their company will make a significant investment within the next 12 months.
Jordan has been a bastion of stability in an otherwise volatile region. It largely escaped the throes of the Arab
Spring and, despite economic difficulties, has enacted reforms to meet IMF assistance requirements. However, recent years have seen increasing strain on finances, resulting in mixed – and even contradictory – reactions from business leaders, as can be seen in OBG’s Business Barometer: Jordan CEO Survey, conducted in late 2017. Despite 63% of our more than 100 respondents reporting positive or very positive expectations of local business conditions, 70% say investor confidence in the economy is not improving or definitely not improving.