This election season, businesses are aware of the political risks they face.
Written by RadioVuna on January 18, 2022
As the New Year begins, businesses have ranked political risks and violence as their second most pressing issues.
An Allianz Risk Barometer, a study of Allianz customers, brokers, industry trade organizations and risk consultants as well as underwriters and senior managers has recently been released.
Business interruption (BI) and supply chain restrictions rank second and third, respectively, behind political risks, which were added to the list last year.
COVID-19
Businesses have learned to ‘live with the virus’ over the previous two years by adapting to the new normal of dealing with 19 linked hazards falling to third place.
At 44 percent, cyber events are the biggest threat to companies this year, ahead of business disruption, natural disasters and the pandemic.
Kenyan Business face risks ahead of 2022 General Elections
A jittery economy and lower growth forecasts have followed previous election cycles in the United States.
Economist Edward Kusewa stated that historically, economic development has slowed and foreign investors have pulled out during election years.
The lethargy that comes with the electioneering season has started to fade, according to Ramogi Odhiambo, the Managing Director of Elim Capital Limited.
It’s no longer a problem for African economies to suffer a blow from elections, he added.
Economic growth in 2022, on the other hand, is usually predicted to be much lower than in 2021 because of the low base effects of the previous year.
For example, the World Bank estimates that Kenya’s GDP would grow by only 4.7 percent in 2021, compared to an earlier prediction of 6.2 percent.
Kenya’s economy grew by 3.8% in the past economic cycle, down from 4.2% in 2016, before ramping up again to 5.6% and 5% in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
