Kenya

About Kenya

With the emergence of a large middle-class with disposable income, the expat business and local communities are not as segregated as they used to be. Kenyan and expat parents mix openly at kids’ schools, country clubs, bars, shopping centres and local restaurants.

A century ago Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, was a tent town named after the Maasai expression for cool water. Today it is a thriving metropolis in the midst of a construction boom with an international airport, shopping malls and several upmarket residential areas. It is also the base for the United Nations in Africa giving the city a strong international feel.

Nairobi was founded by the British as a railway junction between Kampala in Uganda and Mombasa on the East African coast. Its British town planning legacy means the city has several parks and colonial-era buildings. In recent years, with the help of the Chinese government, the road infrastructure has been expanded and upgraded to ease congestion. Driving in Nairobi is not for the faint hearted and with the added overlay of Matatus, the mini-bus taxis that are a law unto themselves, is chaotic.

On the city’s boundary is a game reserve – complete with lions – and, in the distance, are the Ngong Hills, immortalised by Karen Blixen in the opening lines of her book Out of Africa.

Since its inception Nairobi has been a city of many cultures. The Kikuku and Maasai tribes both lived in the region when the colonialists chose the site for a stopping place. Indians, Somalies, Sudanese and now Chinese have sizeable communities.

On the cultural side Nairobi is ALIVE! This is the heart of the East African music scene with many artists from war-torn countries relocating to the city to continue their work. The city has several newspapers and a literary journal.

No visit to Nairobi is complete without a meal of Nyama Choma or roast meat. This is eaten with ugali, a stiff maize or sorghum porridge and greens. There is a wide variety of food to suit all tastes including takeaways, coffee shops and popular tourist venues like the Carnivore Restaurant.

Nairobi’s internet speed is excellent. The content delivery network Akamai said in a recent report that Kenya had the world’s 14th fastest mobile internet speed – beating the United States. This, coupled with the world’s friendliest people, makes Nairobi extremely popular with tourists and the international business community.