Economy

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...