During Q1’23, economic recovery remained challenged with downsides from 2022 creating spill-over effects that further dampened macro factors leading to a slower global growth, rising domestic interest rates and more geopolitical tensions. Global increase in the price of commodities has exacerbated the local inflation and has continued hurting the local currency. Reduced dollar inflows and higher import bill have contributed to further weakening of the shilling against the dollar creating a challenging business environment. Central Bank has continued to tighten its monetary stance to anchor inflationary pressures in an attempt to drive improvement in business activity. Going forward, we expect the economic growth to remain subdued due to persistent inflationary pressures, high commodity prices, global shocks and a heightened risk of debt distress.
