Kenya’s economic revival is gaining global attention, President William Ruto said, noting that the country has climbed from the eighth to the sixth largest economy in Africa. He described the recovery as the outcome of careful planning, strategic reforms, and disciplined management of public resources.
Speaking during his State of the Nation address, Ruto reflected on 2022, a year he described as one of deep economic strain. “At a time like this, in 2022 Kenya was in distress. Inflation had soared almost to double digits.
A fuel shortage threatened to paralyze our economy as Oil Marketers struggled to access dollars, the shilling was in free fall. Foreign reserves had hit historic lows. Debt service consumed more than half of our revenues,” he said.
The President credited his government’s corrective measures for stabilizing the economy. “Within that context, we acted. We restored fiscal discipline. We eliminated wasteful subsidies, we rationalized public expenditure, we strengthened revenue collection and placed our economy on a path of recovery and sustainability,” Ruto explained.
He highlighted that inflation has fallen from 9.6% in 2022 to 4.6% last month, easing pressure on households, while the shilling has remained steady at 129 to the dollar for nearly two years.
Kenya’s external finances have also strengthened, with foreign reserves topping $12 billion (Sh1.548 trillion), a record high. “This has restored certainty, cushioned our economy from external shocks, and restored investor confidence,” Ruto said, pointing to the country’s successful Eurobond redemption as proof of fiscal reliability.
The President said international institutions have noticed Kenya’s progress. “Just this week, 14 of the world's leading financial institutions, including Citigroup, JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, and Goldman Sachs, projected that Kenya's economy will expand by between 5 and 5.8% in 2026.
Standard and Poor's has upgraded Kenya's sovereign credit rating from B minus to a firm B, our first upward revision in many years, signaling renewed international confidence.”
Domestically, Kenya has seen a surge in foreign direct investment, which rose from $463 million (Sh59.73 billion) in 2021 to $1.5 billion (Sh193.5 billion) in 2024. More than 300 new businesses, including 500 foreign companies, have registered, while the Nairobi Securities Exchange has recorded an increase in investor wealth exceeding one trillion shillings since January 2025.
“This renewed vibrancy is a clear vote of confidence in Kenya's direction and in the reforms we have undertaken,” Ruto said, dismissing critics he called “high priests of eternal pessimism.” He emphasized that Kenya’s recovery is anchored on “deliberate choices, disciplined execution, and strategic reforms,” which have strengthened the economy and set the nation on a path of sustainable growth.
