In March 2020, the cabinet secretary for health; Mutahi Kagwe confirmed the inevitable. Corana Virus had found its way through the Kenyan boarders. Curfews, lockdowns and numerous hygienic measures were outlined by the government in a bid to slow and eventually end the spread of the virus.

As a result, these measures affected the economy of the country.  Businesses restructured their systems, others closed their doors, and are unlikely to ever open again. But despite the hardship occasioned – the agriculture, health, financial services and construction sectors proved to be more resilient. It is expected the economic upturn in 2021 will be led by the education, hospitality, manufacturing, trade and transport sectors.

One of the reason why the financial services was resilient, SMEs reported low Non-Performing Loans compared to corporates, debunking the notion through the banking industry that SMEs represent high risk borrowers. Hopefully banks would be willing to lend to SMEs.

‘The new normal’ has become a common phrase during the pandemic. The disruption has created new and unique investments opportunities especially with the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Digital investments platforms offer agile investors opportunities to generate returns. Fixed income investors should focus on short term securities, this way they should be able to benefit from rising interest rates on government securities.

In 2021, the NSE offers a potential for strong double digits returns because the financial market is expected post high returns as a result of reduced defaulting on loans all through the banking sector.