Kenya Industry

Power is one of the biggest hurdles to stronger growth in sub-Saharan Africa, with households and industrial firms struggling to ensure a reliable supply of electricity. A number of solutions are being rolled out, from off-grid networks to new transmission infrastructure, but one of the most necessary is new generation capacity.

Tariffs are a core aspect of debate in the Kenyan power sector, with a focus on ensuring that they fall to levels low enough to stoke consumption but that they remain sufficiently high to attract investment. Finding the right balance can be tricky.

Kenya’s power grid is in the midst of an international upgrade, featuring increased connection capacity with neighbouring Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The country’s potential as a power generator is significant, with supply already outstripping demand and geothermal sources in particular seen as an inexpensive, reliable option. Kenya’s...

Increasingly a mainstay of the manufacturing and retail industries, Kenya’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) have shown considerable expansion in recent years, buoyed by a rising middle class, significant opportunities for regional expansion and local brand loyalty.

The retail sector in Kenya is benefitting from rising middle-class purchasing power, robust macroeconomic growth and a surge of investment in high-end formal retail space, with a host of foreign retailers, brands and producers entering the market. Although well-entrenched local players remain dominant in the supermarket segment, the entrance...

Under the auspices of the overarching Vision 2030 economic development plan, industrialisation remains a top priority for the Kenyan government, with the sector recording steady growth in 2015 against a backdrop of falling energy and input prices, lending an optimistic outlook for 2017 and beyond. The food and beverage segment continues to...