Shifting Kenya's Private Sector into Higher Gear

Shifting Kenya’s private sector into
higher gear: a trade and competitiveness agenda’ was born
out of the World Bank’s Trade and Competitiveness (T&C)
Global Practice recent stock taking of its work in Kenya.
This was part of a Programmatic Approach that aimed to
organize T&C’s knowledge, advisory, and convening
services to address Kenya’s development challenges in the
private sector space. By Sub-Saharan African standards,
Kenya has a large private sector, which accounts for around
70 percent of total formal employment. As a result, the
dynamics of the private sector are a key determinant of the
trajectory of the Kenyan economy. The country’s product
market regulations a restrictive for domestic competitors
and foreign entrants, and the actions of cartels and
behavior of dominant firms across sectors undermines
competition and hurts consumers. The Kenyan Government
recognizes these challenges and has invested significantly
in unlocking these bottlenecks with impressive results so
far and several important laws passed. Additional efforts to
ease regulatory constraints and expedite important
legislative changes could improve the investment climate at
national and county levels.