Kenya

A stable and expanding energy supply is central to Kenya’s ambition to establish itself as an industrialised middle-income country, as set out in its Vision 2030 development strategy. The nation is fortunate in its energy mix: hydro, geothermal, solar and wind energy already play a significant role in power generation, and – particularly in...

Kenya’s first mining laws were promulgated in 1940. The Unwrought Mineral Act and the Diamond Industry Protection Act served as the legislative backbone of the industry for more than 70 years, during which the sector seldom accounted for more than 1% of the nation’s GDP. The slow growth of Kenya’s mining industry was in contrast to its East...

A new Energy Bill – which completed its public consultation phase in February 2018 – may result in a significant shake-up of Kenya’s geothermal segment. Significantly, the draft legislation lays out a royalties schedule. The raft of laws has been passed by the National Assembly but was still awaiting Senate approval as of September 2018. The...

The retail sector in Kenya has faced a number of challenges in recent years. The collapse of two of its main supermarket chains dealt a major blow to the sector, affecting mall footfall and supplier’s balance sheets, and taxing goodwill. However, with the economy strengthening, foreign investors entering the local retail market and the middle...

After a challenging 2017, the industrial sector has started to show signs of recovery, suggested by improved output figures. The turnaround came about at the end of 2017, as the sector continues to focus on longer-term prospectives and transforming itself into a key driver of economic activity.

For many years Kenya’s interaction with the global exchange-traded fund (ETF) arena was a passive one. The nation’s reputation as a lively frontier market meant that it was frequently a component of foreign-based ETFs which targeted global investors with an interest in the potentially higher returns of emerging markets. For instance, in the US...