Why Is Stephen Jennings Optimistic About Kenya?

Stephen Jennings says Kenya has been on a path of political and economic modernization and development going back to the 80s, and has averaged over 5% GDP growth over that period. Kenya moved away from a one-party system, essentially a dictatorship, toward a vigorous democracy and pluralism, which he says showed up last year.

Infrastructure, the wider economy, school enrollment, and life expectancy have improved with that record. Jennings says every indicator of development, as with much of the continent, has been transformed over the last 25 years, and his expectation is that the transformation will continue. He is more optimistic about the politics because Kenya has a more pluralistic system and has not had the coups, dictators, or disruption seen in many other African countries. The transition has been organic, with the checks and balances he wants in a country he is investing in for the very long term. He says that is not necessarily the case in Nigeria, Rwanda, or even South Africa today.