CIAO DATE: 07/2009
October 2008
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
The success of commercial activities in any city depends in great part upon the quality of infrastructure services available to businesses including (but not limited to) reliable electricity and liquid fuel supplies to power engines, sufficient supplies of clean water for irrigation and industrial processes, and reliable roads for obtaining raw materials and transporting finished goods in a timely and cost efficient manner. Poor quality infrastructure can drive up the cost of doing business and constrain economic growth in any city. The current state of infrastructure and related services in Kisumu presents a range of obstacles to commercial activities in and around the city. This study found that the major infrastructure constraints to business growth in Kisumu are related to poor roads outside the city limits, power shortages, liquid fuel supply shortages, and poor quality and unreliable water supply.
Resource link: Assessing Infrastructure Constraints on Business Activity in Kisumu, Kenya [PDF] - 280K