Kenya set to Become the ‘Singapore of Africa’

Kenya is the most promising rising country in sub-Saharan Africa currently, with the economic and political forces converging to put the continent’s seventh-largest nation in a relatively favourable position.

At this moment, Africa is the fastest-growing continent and it is expected to account for one-quarter of the world’s population by year 2050. What that means is that more multinational corporations see a need to have a direct presence somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. A lot of companies have already realized that they need a presence in Asia. With Singapore proving increasingly popular as the hub, Hong Kong has been also absorbed into communist China.

Some of Africa’s leading nations have unfortunately been experiencing major troubles lately, economic growth has slowed in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation. The country has only begun to make much-needed reforms; Ethiopia, the second-most populous country, just went through a civil war; political problems and power shortages continue to plague South Africa. In the meantime, those places are not in the running to be a dominant sub-Saharan economic hub, if only because expats will be reluctant to move there.

Kenya also had a growth rate of about 5.5% last year, even though there were negative shocks to the prices of imported food and energy. Since 2004, growth rates have been in the range of 4% to 5%. The country also has some geographic advantages as it boasts an extensive coastline on the Indian Ocean, and research suggests that landlocked countries have worse economic performance.

Countries with a coast are usually able to stay in touch with the rest of the world easier, and Kenya has relatively easy access to China and India, which have large markets and sources of capital. In the current geopolitical climate, East Africa is attracting more interest from more sources than is most of West Africa.

When talking about scale, Kenya’s population of about 57 million cannot compete with Nigeria’s 222 million. However, East Africa has a larger population than West Africa, with almost 500 million people.

Just to the south of Kenya, Tanzania has a larger population than Kenya, but Kenya has more wealth and it has a superior infrastructure which includes digital infrastructure, and their internet access in Kenya is ranked among the most reliable in Africa.

Kenya is sitting at more than 80% renewable energy, and the climate is ideal for an ongoing expansion of solar power. Foreign companies looking to boost their green reputations might find Kenya an attractive destination.

The government in Kenya is proving more adept at preventing major terror attacks, often coming from groups in Somalia. As the country becomes wealthier, there is a good chance those problems will diminish further.