Ideas & Debate

Kenya had shed an ill-fated image, what will a Trump lens reflect?

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Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg with Kenyan techies in Nairobi during his visit in September. Corporate US is keen on local investment opportunities. PHOTO | FILE

How the world views Kenya has been to a large extent shaped by how America, through the media and Hollywood lens, views our motherland.

Over the decades, I’ve seen our identity diversify away from the oversold story of starving bushmen in need of a Caucasian saviour, to include elements that capture the true vibrancy of our people. Granted not all depictions and stereotypes are inaccurate.

Indeed, we have had and continue to have our dark moments, with very real desperate poverty and a lack of basic needs that thousands bear each day, thanks to a government that’s more interested in politics than people.

Not to mention an economy struggling to free itself from the same politics and reprobate syndicates. And of course, security concerns.

Nevertheless, Kenya isn’t all doom and gloom. And the American psyche, especially corporate US, is beginning to recognise this.

I recently had the opportunity to engage with top business leaders across America, in conjunction with the US President Eisenhower Fellowship programme, and during my sojourn I learned that Kenya had finally earned a seat at the corporate America table.

This was a stark departure from nearly a decade ago, when I worked there and boardroom conversations were mainly around going on safari and long-distance running. All too often the question an executive would ask after detecting my “African” accent was: “can you run?”

Always disappointed in my inability to reinforce their image of what Kenyans are known for, the conversation would end as quick as it began with their insincere wish to come “for safari one of these days.”

But now, the engagement is robust, covering economic prospects and investment opportunities and a mobile-led tech revolution that few have been able to replicate.

I was pleased to find that Kenya is admired by millennials in Silicon Valley, leading scholars at Stanford University, bankers on Wall Street, and policymakers in Washington DC.

Fintech circles and investment forums more than ever before are asking the “Africa question,” thanks to the M-Pesa case study that demonstrated how investors can leverage on mobile communications technology to make “real money” and at the same time create economic and social value.

So why should we care about what American business leaders think of us and if they’ve heard of M-Pesa? As much as we begrudgingly accept, the fact is the world still revolves around (for now at least) the almighty greenback.

Therefore, having visibility in these circles means more business opportunities for local companies and start-ups.

Also, positive visibility is spurring interest from Americans who genuinely want to come on safari, which is good for local tourism and affiliated sectors — in 2016 Americans were the number one visitors to Kenya, beating out the UK, India and China for the first time.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we need America. I am a pan-Africanist and I believe that we must build Africa from within.

However, building intra-Africa trade does not mean neglecting economic opportunities elsewhere; there is still a role for US foreign direct investment and private sector investment to boost Kenya’s output and productivity of export-oriented sectors.

Partnerships such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) were enhanced during President Barack Obama’s administration, and programmes such as the US East African Community Trade and Investment Partnership have been introduced to stimulate new exports and build our local capacity.

However, we still rank low in terms of being a US trade partner, standing at 80th place in 2015 in terms of supply of goods to the US, and according to the US Trade Department, goods imports from Kenya totalled $565 million in 2015, down from about $540 million in 2014. 

The US foreign direct investment to Kenya has also decreased by about six per cent between 2013 and 2014, according to the latest data available.

When you compare the levels of trade Kenya enjoys exporting to Europe and central Asia, for example, you can see we are scratching the surface with our friends in the West.

If American business leaders finally see Kenya beyond athletics and safari, and our beloved Obama has reinforced policies that promote investment, trade and enterprise development, why isn’t all this attention translating into more biashara (business) for us, especially in the SME sector?

There are hurdles we must overcome if we are to attract meaningful investment from American companies and investment funds.

Investing in Africa is still seen as quite difficult, and although returns are good, what unnerves US investors is their view of our politics and the rule of law.

Enforcement of business contracts was the single most cited reason why the executives and investors I spoke to were deterred from engaging in Kenya.

In this case, programmes such as enhancing the commercial court system and ease of doing business can go a long way in promoting efficiency and effectiveness to provide some level of comfort to investors.

We also must genuinely fix our corruption and insecurity problems, which unfortunately are not only a global perception reinforced by right-wing US media.

Speaking of media, Trevor Noah, who I had an opportunity to meet the day after the “Trumped-up” US election outcome, said the president-elect regards facts “like a toddler”.

If this is the case, then it’s anyone’s guess how US-Kenya trade relations will play out over the next four years.

Hopefully Donal Trump’s administration will see past their tantrums about anything remotely related to President Obama, and regard the opportunities that corporate America sees in Kenya’s business potential.

Nevertheless, we will thrive with or without Trump and Agoa, provided we fix the issues that deter American investors and which are the same issues that generally hold us back as an economy.

Ms Mugambi is a director at Kenya Bankers Association and head of the Sustainable Finance Initiative.