I would be proud if we had more manufacturing industries to rival Egypt and South Africa to add value to our local agricultural and mineral products. Malls will just make people consume more foreign brands and will impact negatively on the country’s ability to increase its economic performance.
This comes with infrastructure. Kenya is only laying the appropriate infrastructure which will see a boom of manufacturing industries. That will only happen with good leadership and governance.
I only wish that we could consume local products more. But it saddens me that our manufacturing capacity has gone backwards compared to 20 years ago. Let’s hope things will improve in the near future. Because even the service sector that is crucial to the Kenyan economy is not performing well.
In any case, Lagos’ GDP is bigger than that of Kenya. But it is a city with many problems and if I was offered a chance to choose between Nairobi and Lagos, I would gladly stay here in Kenya.
But even that manufacturing isn’t primarily Kenyan based, what with government saying daily about how the want to set up a welcoming environment for foreign investment.
Two things. 1. we are poor. 2. we are moving from foreign aid to foreign investment. Kenya is a young country in terms of population. If it doesn’t attract foreign investors kutakua na crisis ya youths hawana kazi. We still don’t have a black economy ata kama hua wanatuchocha ati Kenyan economy. You also realize Kenyans lack faith in themselves, so we need foreign investors so that we can revive ourselves. (This explains why most of you shop at Nakumatt na kuna Tuskys)
Most of the manufacturing in African continent was government owned after independence, and we Africans are generally poor. Gova ni maskini haiwezani kurun both manufacturing na kudevelop infrastructure, so that’s where established foreigners come in.
Foreign investors are just like me and you. We need a predictably market, policies hivi hivi, security for us to invest here and these are the things they call welcoming environment.
What bothers me most is how some companies have been here like Bata na wakenya hawajawahi tengeneza viatu zao. Msupa mchina anaenda Ethiopia 2013 anaanza kuexport viatu high end.
Never ever buy the lie that Kenya is poor what we suffer from is selfishness pure and simple…this leads to clouded judgment hence poor governance leading to corruption…Kenya has never been short of funds or brains…if what we have can be put in the most productive sectors of the economy and the government improves social amenities and through proper regulations creates a strong economic and political institutions Kenya can grow in leaps and bounds…but you know what we had been made to believe banks are for rich peeps; cars can oy be acquired from franchises like CMC; bank loans can only be issued to salaried peeps; thika highway cannot be anything more than what it was; the old constitution was an impediment to our growth; government to survive had to privatize industries that were vibrant in the 60s and 70s…the beauty of time is that it has proved that if the head is rotten then the body is as good as dead…now we wonder was it really the constitution or the fucker who is the head of state that was/is the problem? But hey pengine we are better off increasing unemployment rate than improving the economy so as to buy sugar from Uganda…and its worse fr us because even the opposition is the shitiest on both sides of the river limpopo…
I like how you’ve broken it down. A few things though, Kenya isn’t as poor as we have been made to believe. Managing our resources I believe is the bigger issue.
Swali pia. How does one have predictability in a free market economy? I.e how do you decide to invest in sugar production for say the local market when next week somebody will decide to import cheaper sugar from Brazil?
Ingine, isn’t Nakumatt a locally owned company?(I shop at Uchumi in order to ‘support local’ but skuis wamebeat).
Of course its always the fault of the government…yet in the same country people JUST LIKE YOU are making millions, billions. You think James Mwangi was born with money? Was that Seven Seas guy Macharia born with money? Hizi matatu zoooooooooooooooooote wa those guys born with money?
NOTHING IRRITATES ME LIKE IDIOTS LIKE YOU WHO JUST WHINE, WHINE AND WHINE. STOP BEING SOOO IDIOTIC ALL THE TIME.
(Nothing personal. Am just so irritated with this line of thinking.)
By leadership i mean both political and business leadership.
This is what i mean by predictable market. Investors need policies in place that will allow all players to have equal competition. No succession issues, and firm institutions. Importing sugar from Brazil is no big deal. In fact, kama Kenya haingekua inatengeneza sukari this issue could not make headlines.
Capitalism 101: The role of any business is to make profits. As much as you are fixing a problem in a society you will always make it in business. So Mumias wametuangusha, 2005 kilo ya sukari ilikua 50bob saa hii sijui ni pesa ngapi. Sukari ya Somalia kilo nanunua na hio bei. Jaza pengo.
If you want to invest heavily you have to look at the trends and the future depending on how long you want to be in the business.