•The growth and consolidation of  Al-Shaababin Somalia is a direct threat to  Kenya and its economy, especially the tourism industry. Kenya deployed 4,000 soldiers as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to fight the Al-Shaabab

•Major terror attacks include: US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998 (200), Westgate Mall in September 2013 (67) and Garissa University College in April 2015 (147)

•Drug smuggling, human trafficking, poverty, unemployment, under-employment, income inequality, disease burden, environmental degradation, pollution and poor waste management (air, land and water)

•Energy crisis (inadequate power supply shortfall)

•Droughts and floods  

•Poor governance, corruption, negative ethnicity (tribalism)

•Refugee influx from troubled neighboring countries
The worlds largest refugee camp:
Dadaab Refugee Camp, located in northern Kenya is host an estimated  500,000 refugees.
 This ‘temporary’ camp over 25 years old.

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•The Republic of Kenya is in East Africa

•Kenya falls along the world’s equator line

•In size, the country covers an area of580,367 km²

•The country is named after Mt. Kenya, the tallest mountain in the country located in the central region (height: 5,199 m or 17,057 ft) 

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•Kenya’s currency is the Kenya Shilling($USD 1=100  / 1 Rupee=2)

•Average inflation is 6.3 per cent 

•Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $ 70.53 billion US dollars  (2016)

•GDP per capita was $ USD 1,143.10

•Total imports Kshs 1,431.7 billion/$USD 16,394 million

•Total value of exports Kshs 578.1 billion/$USD 5,537 million 

•African countries are the leading destination of Kenya’s exports, accounting for 40.6 per cent 

•The East Africa Community accounts for more than half of the total exports within Africa
•Kenya’s trade partners include China, India, Japan, UK, US, Netherlands and  South Africa

•Exports to Europe account for 24.5 per cent of total exports  

•Asia accounts for 66.8 per cent of total value of imports  

•Kenya’s main economic sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining & services

•Services include: Accommodation and food services, information and communication, transport, storage, real estate, building & construction, mining and quarrying, financial and insurance services

•Leading exports: Tea, horticulture, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, and coffee were the leading export earners accounting for 56.7 per cent of the total domestic exports (2016)

•Tourism sector had a remarkable recovery because of Kenya’s improved security and successful conference tourism activities in 2016

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•Literacy rate: 78.7 per cent

•The formal language of instruction is English

•Swahili, the country’s national language, is taught as a subject in the main syllabus. It is compulsory and is examinable

•The current education system is 8 – 4 – 4, a new one is underway

•Education in Kenya is free and compulsory (primary level)

•The government recently introduced free secondary education

•Tertiary education is not free. Its cost shared in public colleges and universities

•There are many private vocational and tertiary institutions

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•Immediate neighbours are: Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan 

•Has a 536 km coastline along the Indian Ocean

•Shares Lake Victoria with Tanzania and Uganda

•Lake Victoria is amongst the world’s largest natural fresh water lakes
•Immediate neighbours are: Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia
 and South Sudan 

•Has a 536 km coastline along the Indian Ocean

•Shares Lake Victoria with Tanzania and Uganda

•Lake Victoria is amongst the world’s largest natural fresh water lakes
•The two official languages in Kenya are English and Swahili

•The capital and largest city is Nairobi (nicknamed city in the sun)

•Colonized by the British  (1886- 1963)

•Fought for its  freedom through a bloody rebellion from 1952-1960 

•Mau Mau uprising (war) 

•Gained independence in 1963 and became a republic in 1964
•4 presidents since independence:   
 Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta

•Attempted military coup in 1982
•Elected president and parliamentarians 

•Central government, led by a president and deputy

•Regional governance is constitutionally devolved to 47 counties, each led by a county governor

•Cabinet ministers (secretaries of state) are appointed by the president

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•Kenya’s internet is ranked 14th fastest in the world (130,Akamai)

•Its speed is 13.7 mega bits per second (faster than that of more developed countries such as India and Australia)
•The East African Marine System (TEAMS) provides 5,000 km of fiber optic undersea cable  from Mombasa to the UAE. 

•Kenya has internet users 31.9 million

•6.5 million broadband subscriptions

•Average data connection speeds - 12.5 mega bits per second (2016) and 13.7 mega bits per second (2017)
•Penetration of mobile phone in Kenya stands at 88.2 per cent 

•Kenya pioneered MPESA: a simple  and handy mobile phone based platform for cashless financial transactions

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•Bilateral trade stands at around $USD 4.3 billion

•Indian exports to Kenya alone account for approximately $4 billion. These include textile yarn, pharmaceuticals, steel products, vehicles and power transmission equipment.

•India’s Reliance Industries largely controlled the import of petroleum in Kenya through its majority stake in the Gulf African Petroleum Corporation (Gapco). Reliance sold its entire stake to the Total SA in June 2016.

•Another Indian conglomerate, Essar, burdened with massive debts, also exited Kenya’s energy sector, selling its 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries to the Kenyan government

•Kenya seeks greater engagement with India in the areas of  tourism, defense and healthcare

• India is looking to regain its position as Kenya’s number one trade partner (to beat China). According to the Kenyan Economic Survey  (2016), Indian imports were around 252.3 shillings ($USD 2.4 billion), while Chinese imports were 321 billion ($3.09 billion) 
•India promised Kenya a credit line amounting to $USD30 million to Kenya. The money will go towards upgrading the country’s manufacturing capacity, including refurbishing  of Rivatex Textile Factory, which is now placed under  Moi University. 

•Kenya spends over $482 million annually to import drugs, mainly from India. 

•More than 10,000 Kenyans travel to India every year for medical treatment (spending nearly $100 million) because of its inadequate health infrastructure. 

•India’s prime minister offered to help set up a fully-fledged cancer hospital in Kenya.

•India is keen to build up a strong maritime security relationship linked to Kenya’s coast on the Indian Ocean.

•India also seeks to collaborate with Kenya on hydrography and the sale of navigation charts to Kenya. While Kenya conducts is own hydrographic surveys, it has not produced charts of its territorial waters. Its currently being done by the UK.

•India had handed over 30 ambulances to the Kenyan Defenses Forces (KDF) last yearand promised an additional line of Credit to buy defense equipment

•Kenya is an ITEC beneficiary country

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•Two main political coalitions that comprise many parties (Jublilee & NASA)

•Smaller standalone parties and independent candidates

•Kenya’s August 2017 election was  disputed and contested in court.

•Presidential results annulled by the country’s Supreme Court,a first for Africa’s democratic history

•Repeat elections set for 26th October 2017

•Total cost of elections will translate to  Kshs 60 billion/$ USD 600 million