Kenya will emerge stronger from Covid-19

Two months ago, on March 5, a Kenyan returned home from abroad. A week later, she became the first Covid-19-positive case in Kenya.

Kenya is probably still at the beginning of a pandemic that has revealed a frightening propensity to lay bare the strengths and weaknesses of governance systems. But it can build on several inherent assets to overcome the coronavirus.

An undeniable force of the Kenyan people is their innovation and entrepreneurial capacity. In the blink of an eye, local businesses have switched their production: Textile manufacturers fabricate more than 60 million protective masks and suits while distilleries and breweries provide thousands of hectolitres of ethanol to sanitiser makers.

The well-established mobile and tech-savviness may turn out to be an asset in the prevention and response to the virus.

Nairobi has proved yet again to be a crucial regional hub. East African neighbours ship their Covid-19 samples for testing to centres such as Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri).

But the lower middle-income country suffers extreme socioeconomic disparities and geographic inequality. Most of the urban poor and half of the rural populations lack access to safe water and basic sanitation. It also happens that today is the 50th anniversary of the signing — on May 5, 1970 — of the bilateral cooperation agreement between Kenya and Switzerland. For the past half century, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has partnered with Kenya to address its humanitarian and developmental needs.

A guiding thread of past and present SDC programmes has been to address some of those fragility factors while leveraging on the comparative advantages of Kenya. Examples abound.

Socioeconomic disparities are best addressed by specialised training and job creation. And so, we find the establishment of training centres such as the Kenya Utalii College (KUC) for Hospitality and Tourism.

Opened by Switzerland in 1970 and handed over to Kenya in 1983, Utalii has trained more than 60,000 graduates, including from 15 mostly African countries, significantly boosting the sector, which contributes almost a tenth of Kenya’s GDP.

Less well-known is the Kisii Training Centre (KTC) for labour-intensive road construction and maintenance, supported in 1984-2001. It has highly contributed to the accessibility of rural areas and socioeconomic integration.

Our main partners are the counties and the vibrant private sector—even in the Kakuma refugee camp. SDC is part and parcel of the National Business Compact Coalition. Since 2012, Switzerland is focusing its programme on north-eastern counties by partnering with, among others, the Frontier Counties Development Council, in strengthening livestock and water sectors.

It has been repeatedly said that, the world after Covid-19 won’t be the same. That could be a unique opportunity for Kenya to advance the ‘Big Four Agenda’. Should it maximise its clout as a regional hub and pivot for creative entrepreneurship, it may emerge stronger than ever.

The Swiss will remain a partner to the Kenyan people in the global journey to resilience and sustainable development.

Dr Oertle is the regional head of International Cooperation, Horn of Africa, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). [email protected]