Singapore's renewed bid to tap into growing Kenyan market

When Rahul Ghosh, Enterprise Singapore’s Director for Africa and the Middle East, explains why his resource-scarce Southeast Asian nation is betting on Kenya, he starts with an unexpected metric - salon visits.

“Kenyan women are the largest consumers of hair extensions across Africa—more than Nigerian women,” he told Financial Standard in a recent interview. “They visit salons twice as often.” 

This insight anchors Singapore’s strategy to tap into the Kenyan market.  Singaporean Kenya-based companies such as Tolaram manufacture LUSH hair extensions not for export, but because “the domestic market is huge”—a gateway to 56 million consumers and the African Continental Free Trade Area’s 1.3 billion customers.

Founded in 1948, Tolaram has diversified business interests spanning consumer goods, fintech, infrastructure, and industrials across Africa, Asia, and Europe.  Others are Wilmar International, which refines “Fresh Fri” cooking oil and Food Empire’s Kenyan-brewed MacCoffee stocks supermarket shelves. “They manufacture here to serve Kenya first,” Ghosh emphasises.

This consumer-first approach defies old investment models. Unlike traditional powers fixated on minerals, Singapore builds partnerships from the ground up, argues Ghosh.

Landlocked Uganda

He says that when Tolaram expanded its Nairobi factory, it wasn’t just making hair wefts; it was weaving trust. That trust extends to Mombasa port, where Singapore’s CrimsonLogic deployed a digital clearance system, one that surpassed its own homeland’s technology.

“What is deployed here is better than what we have in Singapore,” Ghosh claims.  “They wanted the best.”

The system slashes cargo clearance by 65 per cent, accelerating trade for landlocked Uganda and Rwanda.

The collaboration reflects deeper synergies. “Mombasa serves all neighbouring countries, reflective of Singapore. We are also a maritime hub,” Ghosh notes. Port authorities exchanged expertise for years, but Kenya demanded cutting-edge solutions. “Other countries deploy systems that are well-used, comfortable. Here, they insisted on the latest.”

PSA International—Singapore’s global port operator—is now eyeing operational roles. “We hope to manage one or two berths with Kenyan partners,” says Ghosh as he acknowledges the Kenya Ports Authority’s prowess.

“They’re very experienced. It’s about collaboration, not takeover.”

Ghosh also reflected on Kenya’s latest most sought-after asset -carbon. 

Kenya, rich in forests and geothermal energy, holds vast untapped credits. “Kenyan companies come to Singapore seeking fair value for credits, not getting it locally,” Ghosh explains.   

Renewable energy

An Article 6 agreement under the Paris Accord—now in advanced talks—will formalise this exchange. “Once frameworks are set, you’ll see projects co-developed: reforestation, renewable energy, 20-year partnerships,” says Ghosh. 

He cites Ghana’s $20 million (Sh2.6 billion) Singapore-funded reforestation deal but stresses Kenya’s complexity: “Here, conservancy groups, counties, and pastoralists must align. It’s slower but right.” Not all flows smoothly.

A Double Taxation Agreement, signed between Kenya and Singapore in 2023, awaits Kenyan parliamentary ratification—a delay Ghosh attributes to democratic rigour. This agreement is crucial as it prevents companies from being taxed twice on the same income in both countries, making cross-border investment more attractive and predictable.

“Singapore is small. Things happen faster here. But Kenya’s inclusivity has merits.” Singapore’s patience stems from respect for Kenya’s sophisticated private sector. “Some are pan-African groups,” Ghosh notes. “Our modus operandi is finding partners, not pupils.” 

When Singapore shares urban planning expertise (like Surbana Jurong’s work on Konza City), it avoids prescriptive lessons. “We always tell countries: don’t copy us. Contexts differ.” The alliance thrives on reciprocity. Kenya’s fintech revolution—M-Pesa processes 80 per cent of the country’s GDP—taught Singapore regulators agility.

“The Kenyan government allows innovation while regulating quickly. We learn from that,” Ghosh says. 

He said the central banks of the two nations now collaborate on digital IDs and SME financing platforms.  Tech firms also operate in the background, with Singapore’s Tune Group powering M-Pesa’s cross-border transactions, enabling Kenyan artisans to sell on eBay.

 And now global fractures are set to amplify the partnership. US tariffs are pressuring Singapore’s export-reliant economy, also at a time when Kenya is seeking alternatives to the US markets.

Singapore’s Africa Business Forum—running for 16 years—matches Kenyan CEOs with Asian partners. “We show them: Your solutions for sustainable cities or fintech can scale in Indonesia or Vietnam.”

He said both nations transformed themselves against odds: Singapore from British naval outpost to AI hub; Kenya from colonial economy to tech pioneer. 

When Kenyan students study at Singapore Management University, or port officials tour PSA’s terminals, they carry home not blueprints, but conviction.