Economics

In 2023, roughly 66.9 million chickens were slaughtered for meat in Kenya. That single figure is not just large; it is five times higher than all other animals combined—goats, sheep, cattle, and pigs together barely reach a fifth of poultry’s tally. If meat were a parliamentary vote, chicken would have already passed the bill, amended it, and adjourned for lunch.

In the early 2010s, public debt across East Africa looked manageable—uneven, yes, but largely contained. A decade later, the picture is markedly different. Government balance sheets have expanded, fiscal buffers have thinned, and debt has become a central constraint on policy across much of the region.

East Africa’s 2026 growth outlook paints a picture that is both electrifying and deceptive. At first glance, the region is awash with green—strong real GDP growth across most countries. But beneath the surface, the data tells a more complex story about resource-driven surges, structural momentum, and the limits of growth rates as a measure of economic power.

📈Kenya’s Long Climb

Africa is no stranger to wealth, but the distribution of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) across the continent is as uneven as its rainfall. Some countries have built deep pockets, others are still reaching for loose change. The new African wealth report reveals where millionaires and centi-millionaires (those with $100m+) call home—and it tells a story of economic concentration, legacy industries, and a dash of inequality.

Debt has always worn a suit of irony—designed to bring growth, it often ends up choking the very system it sought to elevate. Kenya, like several of its African peers, now finds itself not merely servicing debt, but practically hosting it as the guest of honour at the fiscal dinner table. A recent UNCTAD report has put it plainly: Africa’s most vulnerable economies are not just paying interest—they’re bleeding revenue into it.

When it comes to oil diplomacy, Iran is both a pariah and a powerhouse. Sanctioned, squeezed, and sabre-rattling its way through the...

In an era where smartphones are practically extensions of our hands and QR codes have replaced handshakes, one might expect financial services to have gone fully digital. But not so fast. SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations) are telling a different story — one with ink-stained passbooks and queues at the branch counter.