Economic Slowdown in Kenya: The news of the spread of the novel coronavirus disease first broke out in Wuhan, China towards the end of 2019. The seriousness of the disease had not been established and no one took it casually.
As we entered 2020, with high hopes of businesses growing, and fulfilling our ‘new year resolutions’, all was going on well until the first case was reported in Kenya on March 13, 2020. We all went into panic, and as the numbers kept growing, measures had to be taken, business had to close down and those that did not had to scale down operations, and this move affected very many sectors of the economy.
However, specific sectors of the economy have continued to grow, despite the challenges posed by the spread of covid-19 not only in Kenya but across the world.
We take you through some of the sectors that defied the economic slowdown in 2020
Food
The food industry experienced a tremendous growth because of the obvious reason that people cannot survive without eating. School going kids were all at home and the demand for food to almost all homesteads had increased. If you ask most people, around, most of them will tell you that they found themselves eating more when working from home, compared to when they went to the offices.
This also led to the increase in demand for food delivering services, for people who have little time to cook.
Real Estate
The real estate sector despite the uncertainty that was being experienced all over managed to stand strong. In the beginning, there was a drop in sales because of uncertainty, but the business picked up faster than expected, and in the sector, business continues as usual.
People have continued to acquire property despite the economic slowdown, because they know that the more, they wait, the more expensive the properties will be, and so why not make that purchase Asap! And while it’s still affordable.
Some real estate companies adjusted their prices to make it easy on people looking to buy land, in specified areas.
Mobile Money transfer
The Mobile money transfer industry recorded a tremendous increase after the Central Bank order for the scraping off, of checking balance charges, and the cost incurred when one sends money up to a maximum of Ksh1,000.
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With the widespread of the pandemic, businesses restricted the use of physical cash for transactions and this also led to an increase in online banking services.
E-commerce
E-commerce platforms grew stronger with the economic slowdown brought about by Covid-19. The likes of Kilimall and Jumia saw demand from them increase as people restricted physical contact. People preferred shopping online whenever they wanted anything, which would later be delivered to their homes from these e-commerce shops, at a very affordable fee.
This saw some Supermarkets partner with companies that offer delivery services to enable customers shop without having to come to their premises physically. All they have to do is call numbers provided by the supermarkets and shop for a specified (Minimum) amount, and have it delivered at their doorstep.
