By John Mbadi
In many ways, Kenya continues to enjoy a coveted position at the table of African intellectual and policy leaders.
Just this week, I’ve had the honour of officiating at the opening of the three-day African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) Summit 2025. This gathering of brilliant minds, policy architects, and economic visionaries was not just a conference; it was a crucible that could shape Africa’s economic prosperity.
In my view, the AERC Research and Policy Summit, hosted in Nairobi, could not have come at a better time in our ongoing economic transformation and planning journey.
Beyond our borders, the winds of change are blowing across the continent, carrying both the promise of transformation. Our development priorities must evolve, not incrementally but boldly, to meet the demands of a new era in which Africa must generate its own financial resources to support its development.
From my National Treasury office, we have had the opportunity to engage in this stimulating discussion with my Economic Planning Principal Secretary and colleague Bonface Makokha. I often remind the brilliant Economic Planning teams that it is not lost on me that in the post-COVID period, Africa continues to confront compounding risks that are disrupting the path to recovery. The emerging global economic uncertainties, intensified climate shocks, and rising debt burden are calling for significant momentum in macroeconomic management.
For this reason, the ongoing collaborative research between the National Treasury and the AERC is a step in the right direction. It demonstrates the power of co-creation to generate knowledge and new evidence that equip a policymaker for effective macroeconomic management.
Policy without evidence is always perilous, and the role of research and evidence cannot be understated. We must embed research into every stage of our development planning by building bridges between academia and policymaking, between data and economic plans.
Our scholars have to be bold, be disruptive, and be unapologetically African in their research agenda.
For decades, Africa’s development discourse has been shaped by external prescriptions and reactive policies. We must redefine our development perspectives not merely as economic data sets, but as people-centred systems and dignified livelihoods. This year, Africa’s GDP growth is projected to average around 3.5%, and Kenya’s economy continues to outperform the continental average, with growth estimates of 4.5% to 5.4%, according to available Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data.
Undoubtedly, Africa’s marginal economic growth reflects ongoing global uncertainty, including climate shock and debt pressures. Our national resilience is driven by strong performance in agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and a robust service sector, including information technology.
Our inflation remains contained, and recent monetary policies, such as lowering the benchmark interest rate to 10% have helped stimulate private-sector investment and underscore our relative economic stability amid wider continental challenges.
Our new priorities as a continent must, however, be rooted in five transformative pillars: The first one is Human Capital, as the Cornerstone of our local and continental growth.
See, Africa’s demographic dividend is our greatest asset. But it will remain latent unless we invest aggressively in education, healthcare, and future skills. We must shift from literacy to digital fluency, from survival to innovation, as we are doing right here in Kenya with the roll-out of the Competency-Based Curriculum.
The second pillar revolves around Climate-Conscious Growth. It’s always sad to note that Africa contributes the least to global emissions but suffers the most from climate shocks. Our development must be green, adaptive, and regenerative. As policymakers and economic management leaders, we must lead the world in climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, and circular economies.
Thirdly, we have to pursue our Regional Integration and Trade commitments boldly.
In my view, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is not just a treaty; it is a long-overdue revolution. In this revolution, as Africans, we must dismantle barriers, harmonise standards, and build infrastructure that connects our people and markets and sustains our dreams.
These three pillars will, however, be underpinned by solid corporate governance and Institutional strengthening. Development without accountability is but a mirage. We must build institutions that are transparent, efficient, and citizen-centred. Fiscal discipline, data-driven planning, and participatory budgeting must become the norm.
Lastly, we must bank on innovation and digital transformation. Africa must leapfrog as it cannot afford not to crawl into the digital age. From fintech to e-health, from Artificial Intelligence (AI) to blockchain and related virtual assets, we must harness technology for good to solve African problems with African solutions.
While at it, we must also rethink our aid dependency in Africa, and particularly here in Kenya. For decades, foreign aid has been a lifeline, but it has also been a leash tying our progress to external goodwill rather than our own ingenuity. That era must now start giving way to a new chapter of self-reliance, innovation, and sustainable growth.
Kenya, like other African countries, is not poor in resources. We are, for instance, rich in human talent, fertile land, digital creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit. What we really need is not more aid, but more courage to harness what we already have in several sectors.
For example, in Agriculture, we must strive to modernise farming with technology, irrigation, and value addition, to transform our rural economies into global food supply bases.
We must also face the revenue bull by the horns by undertaking Tax reforms to broaden our tax base and seal loopholes. Such loopholes will help us generate revenue fairly without overburdening ordinary citizens. This correlates with the commitment to adopt innovation and technology. As I mentioned to the delegates attending the AERC Summit, Kenya is already a leader in mobile money, and this gives us a platform to expand fintech, digital trade, and green energy solutions to create new revenue streams.
In a growing economy, we also cannot afford to shy away from Public-Private Partnerships. Such PPPs help to provide much-needed resources to develop our infrastructure, healthcare, and education. There’s no doubt that we can accelerate development if the government collaborates with private investors transparently and effectively.
In tapping into available resources, diaspora bonds, alongside remittances, are proving to be a powerful engine of growth. Our brothers and sisters abroad are a powerful asset and resource. By creating secure investment channels, we will tap into their patriotism and financial strength.
This is not just about money; it is about dignity. Generating our own resources means charting our own destiny, setting our own priorities, and building resilience against global shocks.
Africa’s Moment is Now: Let us not be defined by our challenges, but by our courage. Let us not inherit development models; we must invent them to deliver Africa’s economic prosperity. The future of Africa is not etched in the stars; it is written in our choices, our policies, and our unity.
John Mbadi is the Cabinet Secretary; the National Treasury and Economic Planning and the thoughts here have been adapted from his official speech at the AERC Summit 2025