Experts say<\/a> that with this new approach, China is seeking to restructure its overseas investments in the face of global uncertainties and criticism over its projects\u2019 impacts on host countries. However, instead of adapting to this reorientation to small projects, for political reasons Kenya remains preoccupied with pursuing megaprojects. These include extending<\/a> the Chinese-made 472km Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi, almost doubling the line\u2019s current length onwards to Kenya\u2019s border with Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To begin alleviating Kenya\u2019s energy situation, and head towards a green future, requires looking instead to lower-cost, bankable projects funded by private financing that benefit local communities, as well as to scale the transfer of green skills and jobs across the country. A number of recent projects in Kenya, especially in the realm of electric vehicles (EVs), showcase what China\u2019s new development paradigm could look like for the country and the African continent. China is in a good position to offer more of such financing partnerships, but Kenya must develop a clear strategy for taking them on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How transformational can a \u201csmall and beautiful\u201d outlook be, and how would it solve Kenya\u2019s energy crisis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n While a 50 MW project may be modest by China\u2019s standards, for Kenya, this size represents a major undertaking, underlining the stark contrast in developmental contexts. Projects of a similar scale, such as the much-hyped 27km Nairobi Expressway cutting across the capital city, or the 35 MW Sosian Menengai geothermal plant<\/a>, showcase the \u201csmall and beautiful\u201d concept for African countries and what they stand to gain, notes Daniel Oloo Ong\u2019ong\u2019a, an academic researcher and lecturer on communication and digital media at Mount Kenya University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ong\u2019ong\u2019a says the concept must be understood from two points of view. One is the government-backed projects, like the Nairobi expressway, while the other is commercial business partnerships, such as new shopping malls, trading parks and shops. He points out that entities like Chinese-built \u201cmalls, squares, gardens or parks are essentially ventures to win hearts and minds by selling locally assembled goods like solar to Kenyan locals, while the expressway is a symbol to the world of how good they are in infrastructure development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kenya needs to find more such opportunities to leverage Chinese green soft-power interests<\/a> of establishing a working African model that exemplifies its emergent climate leadership. This will result in projects that offer impactful development, and invigorate local commercial prosperity as a form of continental structural transformation. It will form the basis for \u201ca shared future for a new era<\/a>\u201d, as highlighted in a joint statement during President William Ruto\u2019s state visit to China in April 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cliff Mboya is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg\u2019s Centre for Africa-China Studies. He points out that on the Kenyan side, there is no definitive thinking \u2013 especially on the business front \u2013 as to how \u201csmall and beautiful\u201d is considered transformative other than prevailing Chinese understanding. Kenya is simply adapting so that it may gain whatever is possible for its own development demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mboya believes that part of the dynamics at play involve Beijing seeking to reorientate its strategy in response to mounting criticism over its overseas projects. \u201cThe Chinese political system offered the small and beautiful idea as a reactionary solution to President Xi Jinping\u2019s need to answer various criticisms against the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects,\u201d he notes. These include debt-trap diplomacy<\/a> and environmental harm<\/a>. He adds that it is also a response to global financial instability and rising geopolitical risks from events like tariff wars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, on Kenya\u2019s part, Mboya\u2019s view is that \u201clike many other African countries, [it] does not have an original perspective of its own, but it is quick to not let such opportunity slip through its grasp due to desperate need for projects\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n African governments need to approach the shift in Beijing\u2019s plans with a clear strategy of their own, he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One key strategy could be energy. In East Africa, energy projections<\/a> point to continued frequent brownouts and blackouts and an unreliable national grid. This is true in Kenya, which is hurtling toward an energy crisis, plagued<\/a> by frequent blackouts due to soaring demand, grid instability, high electricity costs and aging infrastructure. The country\u2019s reliance on hydropower leaves it vulnerable<\/a> to climate-change shocks. The principal secretary of the State Department for Energy, Alex Wachira, claims Kenyan energy problems are primarily caused by infrastructure issues<\/a> and associated financing gaps, including for renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet according to Isaac Ndereva of the Electricity Consumer Society of Kenya, the country\u2019s unreliable and unaffordable power is not down to lack of investment or technological adaptation. He says it is a problem of shadowy rules and practices that result in billing surprises<\/a> and costly electricity<\/a> for consumers due to inappropriate meter charges, transformer shortages<\/a> and unfairly backdated bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kenya urgently needs a wave of direct commercial partnerships that operate beyond the opaque and restrictive confines of the government. Such partnerships can also invest in the required infrastructure to support an energy transition. But unless the corrupt and inefficient bureaucratic system is overhauled, it will continue to act as a gatekeeper that risks choking off the much-needed financing that could power Kenya\u2019s clean-energy future. Increasing Kenyan banking sector support<\/a> of such partnerships could help facilitate the opening of this sector, including from Chinese companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, for \u201csmall and beautiful\u201d transformation to take hold, Kenya\u2019s energy-transition needs to start planning for bankable projects that impact local communities, thereby easily and rapidly transferring green skills countrywide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where Chinese electric automakers such as BYD come in as being part of a beneficial new wave of green investment for Kenya offering solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ongoing examples of its investment include its practical partnerships, such as that with the Corporation for Africa and Overseas (CFAO) Group, whose subsidiary Loxea Kenya serves as the sole dealership for BYD. In case of mechanical or other issues, Loxea offers round-the-clock roadside assistance<\/a> in its Kenya network. Other Chinese electric automakers have also entered the fray via BasiGo. The Kenyan company was the first to launch an electric passenger bus in Kenya, an imported BYD. BasiGo buses are now locally assembled<\/a>, and not just using BYD technology, but other Chinese suppliers including Zhongtong, Higer and BLK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2021, Hyundai Kenya launched Kona Electric as the first commercially available EV locally. Since then, the country has gone on to register 9,000 EVs<\/a> as of December 2024. Other companies like Roam, Autopax and Moja EV, among others, have joined the market in offering cars, motorcycles and repair or charging services. The EV infrastructure is steadily expanding, with highway charging stations now available even in cities and towns beyond Nairobi, such as Naivasha, Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret in western Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kenyan government is enthusiastically betting big<\/a> on an electric future. With EVs identified as key to revamping transportation, Nairobi has rolled out new incentives, including tax breaks<\/a> and import duty exemptions, to accelerate adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, both Mboya and Ong\u2019ong\u2019a note that Chinese interest in Kenyan domestic business without government backing can easily falter under the weight of clashing cultural expectations. Chinese commerce, for instance, often takes a \u201cslow burn\u201d approach \u2013 based on long-term relationship building and trust. Consequently, Chinese investors tend to favour ventures with state guarantees, using them as a form of risk-proofing in an unfamiliar and sometimes unpredictable market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This contrasts sharply with the more fast-paced, high-turnover investment culture many Kenyan entrepreneurs are accustomed to. Both experts say it is likely to create a clash of expectations if not properly navigated through cultivating clear business practices that take advantage of supply-chain opportunities, South-South cooperation, sustainable grants towards commercial upscaling, and ensuring lending bankability in line with the \u201csmall and beautiful\u201d dream of transforming local lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Smaller-scale projects from Chinese investors could offer solutions to the country\u2019s energy crisis, but a national strategy is needed, writes Leonard Wanyama<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60095402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[758],"tags":[510,13444,556,50042156,20000237],"country":[50040759],"class_list":["post-60095388","opinion","type-opinion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-china-in-the-world","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-infrastructure","tag-overseas-investment","tag-sustainable-development","country-kenya"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nModest standards, major undertaking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"dammed](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Busanga-hydroelectric-power-plant_Alamy_2T0GGET.jpg\")
<\/div>The Kenyan energy crisis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
EV as practical green transformation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Clash of business expectations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n