Kenya has been very much in the news. Feted with a state dinner in DC last Thursday night, Kenyan President William Ruto, his wife, Rachel, and a delegation of ministers concluded the first state visit to the US by an African leader in nearly two decades.

Among the new political and business alliances discussed, President Biden said, “We are stronger — and the world is safer — when Kenya and the United States work together.”

Considering Kenya’s position as a democracy in a tough neighborhood of countries in conflict, the subject of his conversation with Paige Alexander during his visit to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library — and through my personal observations and work in Kenya over many years and my interactions with President Ruto and his delegation during their two-day visit to Atlanta — I agree with President Biden on the promise inherent in that statement of support.

I believe Kenya is a keystone country for the future of the African continent. It has the potential to be a leader in solving some of the world’s biggest challenges. One of the biggest sources of that potential is its young population — over 80% of the population is under 35! Another source of optimism about Kenya is the leadership role that it's taken towards a sustainable clean energy future.

More than 80% of the country’s power is now coming from renewables and a big reforestation project launched by President Ruto in 2022 aims to provide the country with at least 30% forest cover by the year 2032. The initiative is rooted in the work begun many years ago by the great woman leader, Wangarĩ Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

I had the privilege and honor to plant trees with her daughter, Wanjira Mathai, a dear friend and colleague in the global climate and nature campaign, Project Dandelion, along with Wanjira’s daughter, Ruth, my husband, Scott, my granddaughter Vasser, and my daughter-in-law Laura Seydel. Our tree planting in a Nairobi park is part of the Green Belt Movement which Wangarĩ Maathai established in 1977. The movement continues to be a force for the essential reforestation and protection of Kenya’s great natural forests in recognition of the important role of trees in a healthy ecosystem.

Through Green Belt activities, over 51 million trees have been planted in Kenya and millions more around the world as the movement, one of the earliest initiatives to protect this important resource on every continent, spread. Today, Wangarĩ’s daughter, Wanjira Mathai, continues this reforestation work as the managing director for Africa and global partnerships at the World Resources Institute.

President Ruto’s reforestation initiative mentioned above promises 15 billion more trees to be planted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reverse deforestation. The measure and its promise is a bid to fight climate change, which has contributed to the catastrophic flooding that has inundated parts of Kenya recently.  

The UN reports that at least 291 people have died and thousands have been displaced. It’s heartbreaking. I want to offer appreciation for the frontline leaders who are doing the work of restoration and regeneration, responding to the depletion and degradation of ecosystems in Kenya by implementing new, long-view solutions.

I also want to acknowledge the impact of the support being provided to address Kenya’s climate and related health solutions by US philanthropies, including The Skoll Foundation’s grants to climate and health-focused nonprofits and Acumen's early investments in solar and other renewable energy innovations. A future newsletter will go deeper on some of these projects being developed and scaled for impact in Kenya, models which can be replicated across the continent and elsewhere.

Kenya is also modeling the importance of establishing new partnerships in business. That was one of the motivations for President Ruto’s visit to Atlanta which was in large part, as I understand it, envisioned and implemented by the US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, a woman leader I have known and admired for some time. During her time as ambassador, she has become a out-front champion for Kenya’s influence as a leader on solutions to many of the continent’s challenges.

President Ruto, Ambassador Whitman and their delegations chose to include Atlanta on their US itinerary for several reasons; primary among them, the partnership opportunities represented by the 17 global companies headquartered here, and especially to explore Kenya’s interests in growing its creative industries. In that sector, Atlanta is a model to consider and replicate for impact. More films were produced in Georgia than in any other state over the past few years. These creative industries (film, music, and gaming) are currently bringing in nearly $100 billion a year in revenue to the state.

Ruto shared his ambitious goal to develop the creative industries sector in Kenya from the current 3% of GDP to a more robust 30% and made this announcement at a luncheon with Atlanta's creative business leaders at the impressive Tyler Perry Studios complex (which is bigger than Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount's studios in Burbank, California, combined!) — a model in itself of ambitious dreaming becoming big business!

Steve Harvey, who dropped by the lunch to welcome Ruto and his party, commented on the proposal for new partnerships to bring more creative projects to Kenya, “Remember that part of show is Business!”

Business was very much on Ruto’s mind as he attended the opening ceremony for the first Kenya-made retail store in the US, Vivo in Atlanta’s Atlantic Station. Ruto congratulated Kenyan entrepreneur Wandia Gichuru on taking the risks and getting the investments to bring her successful retail franchise to the US. Based on what I saw in the beautiful new store, I will be a customer for sure. I love African designs and Vivo offers sustainably resourced products that support a bigger economic vision of partnerships with reciprocal value for both Kenyan designers and US consumers, as well as contributing to the economy of two countries.

Ruto also met with Mayor Andre Dickens, and together, they convened Atlanta’s business leadership, always an impressive convening, and announced additional business partnerships. These collaborations once again indicated strong support for sustaining and strengthening an African democracy that has the opportunity — now more than ever — to serve as an exemplary model to East Africa, the entire continent, and indeed, the world.

Ruto is an innovative leader who is embracing and optimizing his country's potential. Fulfilling that potential will hopefully include a review of the critical issue of LGBTQ+ rights which is essential for a fully inclusive democracy. Given the rise in authoritarianism around the world today — and our own rollbacks of rights in the US — democratically elected leaders need to support each other in the vital work of advancing equity and basic human rights for all citizens.

An African proverb I embrace and experience in my work with the women of Kenya and other African countries is “If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, travel together.”

Kenya and the US can travel faster and further, and be stronger democracies, together.

Onward!

- Pat