Kenya's industrial mandate for 2026; move to components

Farmers sort out coffee berries. We must move from shipping raw sacks of coffee to exporting branded products. [File, Standard]

Recently, I have argued that Kenya stands at a critical crossroads. A large, young population can either anchor prosperity or strain social cohesion.

As we step into 2026, the debate must move beyond diagnosis to design. The question is how does a country like ours convert people into productivity. If a demographic dividend is a pile of dry wood, industrialisation is the spark. Without it, we are simply waiting for a fire that will never start.