Kenya steps on the highway to economic success

• Main Author: Maluki, Patrick
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Newsletter
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Business; Business::General::Economic and business aspects; Africa; Economy; Information and Communications Technology; Transport; Housing
• Online Access: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/cas/news-events/news/details/kenya-steps-on-the-highway-to-economic-success; https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166351
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Over the last decade, Africa has witnessed a considerable investment in infrastructure which has single-handedly triggered over half the improvements in the continent. Experts believe that the continent has the potential to grow more given a conducive environment, especially if its developing nations invest in strengthening their infrastructure which is considered critical to a country’s economic growth. Kenya is one country in the continent that has grasped this concept well, but is trailing behind in translating this knowledge into tangible outcomes. This largest and most advanced economy in East and Central Africa, is keenly aware of the increasing aspirations of its middle classes and the strong growth prospects this has stimulated. In its Vision 2030 document, launched way back in 2008, the then Kenyan government had outlined infrastructural expansion as the key element in its three-pronged strategy to unlocking the country’s potential, and transforming it into a middle-income nation of rapid industrialisation. The current ruling Jubilee Party, which came to power in 2017, added to the Vision 2030 plan with a Big 4 Agenda of its own with a promise of food security, affordable housing, affordable healthcare and manufacturing to its people. With 2030 around the corner, the time is rife to take a look at the steps taken by Kenya to meet its Vision, and gauge the progress of their efforts to reach the goal. We will use data from a cluster of repositories like economic surveys, World Development Indicators and African Infrastructure Trackers to investigate the past and determine the future.