Co-authored with Ambassador Professor Bitange Ndemo as part of a series on Value Chain Productivity and Innovation
Rethinking Credit Systems for MSME Inclusion
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), recently held in Seville, ended with what many are calling a “compromise.” The final document emphasized ambition but lacked the financial firepower that developing countries urgently need. While delegates renewed their commitments to sustainable development and multilateral cooperation, the gap between intention and implementation remains stark—particularly […]
Kenya’s Health Crisis Isn’t a Lack of Hospitals – It’s a Broken System
Across Kenya, counties are racing to build hospitals—new wards, upgraded facilities, and gleaming equipment are popping up across the country. On paper, the healthcare sector appears to be making bold strides forward. But behind the shiny exteriors lies a sobering truth: many of these hospitals are underutilised, under-resourced, or fundamentally misaligned with the country’s most […]
Why rural electrification risks failing—unless we change what it’s designed to deliver.
Across rural Africa, new energy infrastructure is steadily rolling out. From solar mini-grids to national grid extensions and last-mile connections, power is reaching communities that have long lived without it. On paper, this development is a game-changer. For communities that have long lived without power, this should be transformative. But it isn’t. Instead of unlocking […]
The Transformative Potential of the Lunch Economy in Kenya
Kenya’s lunch economy is a vital yet vastly underestimated force in the country’s socio-economic landscape. It feeds millions daily, acting as an indispensable pillar of sustenance and survival. But its true potential transcends mere nourishment—it is a hidden powerhouse capable of driving innovation, fostering domestic brands, and igniting economic growth. Currently shackled by cultural norms, […]
Unlocking True Productivity: Why Funding Must Evolve Beyond Activities
Across the globe and especially in developing economies like Kenya, a quiet but profound failure persists within development efforts: the inability of traditional funding models to catalyse systemic productivity. Despite vast injections of capital into agriculture, health, education, and manufacturing, value chains remain fragile, fragmented, and underperforming. In this article, we propose a new perspective […]
Do Your Operations Feel Stuck? Welcome to the Way My Brain Works.
You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See Many African value chains aren’t broken because we lack ideas, ambition, or funding. They’re broken because no one has taken the time to trace the flow, spot the friction, and redesign the process for performance. Over time, we’ve normalised systems that are held together by workarounds. A delivery […]
The AI Field Guide: What to Use When, and Why It Matters
AI means many things these days. What we call “AI” often refers to a mix of very different tools — with very different purposes. If you’re building, improving, or rethinking how things work in your organisation, you need to know which tool fits which kind of job — from decision models that have been around […]
