FEBRUARY 2025
Kenya’s Economic
Initiatives in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo
Analyzing the Rise of a Regional Power
Within the East African Community
By Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Balingene Kahombo, and Beverly Ochieng
Key Findings
▪ Kenya’s political stability outlook and its role in shaping regional peace and stability have made it
an inuential member of the East African Community (EAC).
▪ Over the years, Kenya has sought to consolidate partnerships in the bloc as a means of economic
expansion, particularly in the nance and transport sectors.
▪ Peace and security initiatives have accompanied this eort, as instability inhibits economic growth.
▪ Kenya’s economic expansion has generated geopolitical tensions that threaten long-term
cooperation and broader stability in the EAC, particularly as Kenya takes the helm of the bloc
instead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which had been tipped for the position.
Summary
This report analyzes Kenya’s political and economic inuence in the EAC through the nation’s initiatives
in the DRC as Kenyan President William Ruto takes up the rotational leadership of the bloc for the next
year.
i
The EAC now comprises eight member states: Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South
i The eld research for this report was conducted in the fall of 2024, when the Rwandan-backed M23 ghters were still outside of Goma. Goma
fell to M23 on January 27, 2025, and the ghters have threatened to expand their operations to South Kivu province and lay siege to the provincial
capital city of Bukavu. These developments would certainly aect the public attitudes and sentiments the authors heard during their eld research
and impact the East African Community’s standing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
