Chinese Firms in Kenya Struggle With Price Wars and Unpaid Bills

what happened

According to chinaglobalsouth.com, China-Africa trade climbed 17.7 percent in 2025 to a record $348 billion, yet Chinese entrepreneurs in Kenya are facing serious difficulties. An essay author who has spent 15 years in the country and runs a popular WeChat account on Africa argues that the cutthroat competition known in China as 'neijuan' (内卷) has followed Chinese companies abroad.

As an example, he cites washing powder production, where more than five Chinese-owned plants closed within a year. Each had cost between a few million yuan and under 5 million yuan (about $700,000). The machinery and buildings remained, but logistics, taxes, rent, waste and slow payments steadily ate into profits. Trading firms have had to cut prices and extend credit to buyers who sometimes never pay.

Kenya's development plans, including a metro system by 2030, largely remain on paper, while large Chinese investors buying land and building factories are raising costs for smaller players.

why it matters

The piece is descriptive and contains no market data, but it points to narrow margins, receivables risk, and rising land and labor costs for small exporters and suppliers in Kenya. It may matter to those assessing trade credit in frontier markets and Chinese overseas investment.

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