The RMB report is developed from a scorecard for 31 countries drawing on 20 different metrics derived from data spanning from four measurement pillars.
The four pillars include economic stability & investment climate, economic performance & potential, Market accessibility & Innovation and Social & Human Development.
Kenya, dubbed the Silicon Savanah, is East Africa’s tech hub leading in fintech, mobile payments and agritech.
The metric gauges absence of violence, evaluates the probability of political stability or political motivated violence and terrorism.
On this index, Kenya scored poorly as it dealt with violent demonstrations that led to destruction of property, looting, closure of businesses and loss of lives.
“Investors will be watching Kenya’s approach to its lowest metric score: political stability. Kenya’s ranking of 25 out of 31 countries reflects political and social tensions that flow from inequality and corruption, as well as the security risks that come with ongoing conflict in the region,” the RMB report notes.
Corruption is another issue facing the country. According to EACC’s National Ethics and Corruption Survey report in 2023, “Each time a service seeker sought for registration of business, a tender, registration or transfer of vehicle, building or construction certificate, a bribe was paid.”
Lastly, forex stability and liquidity is another area that needs improvement. The metric provides a measure of the currency risk an investor takes on when choosing a particular market.
However, the country performed exemplary well in some metrics such as economic freedom ranking fourth and economic complexity at position six.
The report concludes by asserting that, “Signs of improvement in political risk will make the highly diversified economy with growing ICT and finance sectors more attractive to investors.”
