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...
Recent decades have seen a downward trend in corporate taxation, with headline corporate tax rates falling by 20 percentage points since the early 1980s. The average for advanced economies dipped to 22% in 2015, and investment incentives have further reduced effective rates for transnational corporations. After the 2007-08 global financial crisis, many countries had to slash...
After the costly drought and political uncertainty of 2017, in 2018 the Kenyan economy appears to have stabilised on an upward trajectory, with most forecasts seeing a more robust expansion of economic activity. However, a structural fiscal deficit and ballooning public debt continue to pose significant challenges. Consequently, an increased...
As the largest economy in the EAC and COMESA in terms of GDP, Kenya has positioned itself as a major economic power in the region and across sub-Saharan Africa. Traditionally a largely agrarian economy, Kenya has quickly entrenched its position as a manufacturing, logistical and technology hub in the region. As a market-based economy with a supportive domestic policy...
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...
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...
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