Innovations and spurring industries needed in new Kenya’s economic order

Year 2015 was a tough one for businesses and majority of Kenyans particularly middle, low income earners and the many who are finding getting suitable employment difficult and increasingly so. Going even by the numerous profit warnings issued by listed companies in the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) plus the retrenchments going on, it tells that the economic atmosphere is not that good. So what to do? We certainly need a lot of attention on economic management and this includes killing corruption plus creates and encourages spurring of new industries.

I usually study the number of Kenyans who have been employed by telecommunications services such as money transfers led by the famous MPESA, the phone sellers and the bodaboda transport services (notwithstanding the indiscipline in the industry) and compare it to some years back. It means that changing the nation’s economic paradigm can spur a lot of industries that can take in more people. As we speak the Information Communication Technology (ICT) can only grow bigger and create more opportunities. So is tourism, if we sorted the many hiccups to the trade in terms of security and infrastructure. There is great room for growth in production and exports of manufactured goods. If intra Africa trade is streamlined Kenya and many African countries stand to grow exponentially. Manufacturing for instance in Kenya and in Africa has huge opportunities to tap into changes in global economic dynamics. The prevailing conditions are not far from what China foresaw and tapped to be the global manufacturing hub.