Kenya’s Wealthy Retreat From ‘Lifestyle’ Investments And Move To Revenue Generation As The Economy Slows

Kenya’s wealthy are adjusting their investment strategies in response to rising global economic uncertainty, shifting away from residential and foreign assets in favour of more liquid, higher-yielding opportunities within the country. This is according to the global property consultant Knight Frank’s Wealth Report: Kenya Edition – Attitudes Survey 2025. The report highlights that there is a marked pivot towards investments in food production and technology, reflecting a strategic emphasis on resilience and growth.

The report further notes that the growth in both the number and wealth of High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in 2024 was more subdued compared to previous years, with over 60% of wealth managers reporting an increase of less than 10% in HNWIs from 2024 to 2025.

Despite the slower pace of growth, Knight Frank notes sustained investor confidence heading into 2025. This optimism is driven by a strategic pullback from foreign markets and the divestment of non-primary residences, such as third and fourth homes. There is a notable trend among the HNWIs towards reallocating capital into productive domestic assets, including Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), treasury bonds, money markets, and direct investments in sectors such as technology, agriculture, and renewable energy.

Boniface Abudho, a research analyst at Knight Frank, explained, “This pivot in investment highlights the adaptability of HNWIs and their assessment of the country’s strongest opportunities ahead. With the slowdown in 2024, particularly in sectors that have been key to wealth creation, such as construction and mining, dampening overall wealth creation, there has been a considerably rapid shift in HNWIs’ portfolios and priorities.”

The Knight Frank Wealth Report also reveals a significant shift in asset allocation among HNWIs, with the proportion of wealth held in personal homes declining sharply from 60% in 2023 to just over 20% in 2024. Additionally, the percentage of HNWIs owning four or more homes dropped from 37.5% in 2023 to 22.2% in 2024.

The report highlights a growing sense of domestic focus among the wealthy Kenyans, as evidenced by a decline in foreign homeownership. As of 2024, only about 10% of Kenyan HNWIs own homes abroad, down from 14% at the beginning of 2023

Of the HNWIs planning to purchase a further home this year, 66% now favour Kenya as their first option, compared with 33% last year, further reinforcing the shift in interest towards domestic investment.

Mark Dunford, CEO Knight Frank Kenya, clarified, “In global terms, Kenyan returns remain sharply ahead of the world average, and rising uncertainty in many global markets is only serving to heighten HNWIs’ interest in their home market.”

In 2024, a majority of HNWIs also made significant investments in improving the energy efficiency of their assets while simultaneously reducing their carbon footprint through lower car ownership and less air travel.

Mark Dunford, CEO Knight Frank Kenya, added, “What we are witnessing, in essence, is a transition from consumption to conservation, with a heightened focus on social and environmental gains”.

The Knight Frank Report identifies data centres as the leading investment priority for the HNWIs in 2025, followed by development land, together representing over 28% of first-choice investments. Other key areas of interest include farmland, hotel and leisure, logistics and industrial, and office spaces, with 83% of farmland investors focusing specifically on food production.

According to the report, while commercial property remains a long-standing pillar of HNWIs’ investment and continues to attract capital, interest has softened, with 50% of wealth managers reporting that fewer than 10% of their clients plan to invest in this asset class in 2025.

Overall, the wealthy’s measured approach and shift towards funds and revenue producing assets is fueling cautious optimism, with almost half (48% of respondents) expecting a marginal increase in wealth in 2025 and 26% anticipating increases exceeding 10%.

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