Wealthy Kenyans are quietly redefining their investment playbook, moving away from the glitz of traditional lifestyle assets like foreign real estate, luxury construction and mining.

Instead, they are zeroing in on high-yield, locally anchored ventures that promise resilience and long-term value in an economy that has shown signs of slowing—dropping to 4.7 per cent growth in 2024 from 5.7 per cent the year prior.

Once drawn to prestige-driven sectors, High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) are turning their focus to leaner, more strategic investments.

According to Boniface Abudho, a research analyst at Knight Frank, this shift reflects the agility of Kenya’s wealthy elite as they recalibrate their portfolios to align with the country’s and evolving global economic realities. “With the slowdown in 2024, particularly in sectors like construction and mining that have historically fueled wealth creation, there’s been a notable and rapid pivot in HNWI investment strategies.”

The report reveals that a growing number of Kenya’s ultra-wealthy are directing their funds toward food production, technology, logistics and infrastructure—sectors seen as both future-facing and robust against volatility. Topping the list are data centres and development land, which together captured the attention of 28 percent of respondents.

Specifically, 17 per cent ranked data centres as their top investment priority, driven by Kenya’s surging digital economy and reinforced by government policies on data localisation, expanding internet access, and growing demand for cloud-based services.

Diverse offering

About 18 per cent of wealthy investors are eyeing hotel and leisure ventures, lured by Kenya’s diverse offerings—from iconic safari destinations to luxurious coastal getaways. The sector’s appeal lies not just in its glamour, but in its steady recovery and promising returns.

Meanwhile, industrial real estate and logistics are emerging as critical targets. Fifteen percent of the super-rich are steering capital into modern warehouses, industrial parks, and transportation infrastructure to meet rising demand for streamlined supply chains.

A similar percentage is investing in student housing, banking on the growing youth population and expanding education sector, particularly in urban areas where accommodation remains a challenge. Development land and farmland continue to draw significant attention, with 14 per cent of respondents seeing value in both. Investors view these assets as dual-purpose—ideal for immediate use and long-term capital appreciation.

Food production

Farmland, in particular, is commanding attention in 2025, with 83 percent of investors in this category focusing squarely on food production. This signals a deeper move into agribusiness and commercial farming, especially in export-oriented, high-value crops where Kenya maintains a competitive edge.

As cities expand and infrastructure projects accelerate, the appetite for prime development land has surged. Investors are increasingly looking at opportunities tied to urban sprawl, road networks, and housing demand—sectors that offer both financial upside and a chance to shape Kenya’s future growth.

“What we are witnessing, in essence, is a transition from consumption to conservation, with a heightened focus on social and environmental gains,” says Knight Frank Kenya CEO Mark Dunford. He notes that the modern investor is no longer content with prestige alone; they want impact, legacy, and returns that speak to sustainability. With the shift in perceptions where the wealthy no longer consider investments as something to flaunt but rather as revenue generation, the report paints a clear picture. Strategic deployment of investments. This wider shift towards risk-conscious wealth creation, aligning the elite more closely to global investment patterns

However, while rich investors are prioritising non-luxurious high-return ventures, this could spell doom for luxury developers who should be worried of tough times ahead, owing to this shift.

This is as a Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) report estimated that about one per cent of Kenyans held a whopping Sh5 trillion in their bank accounts as of December 2023.

During that period, the banks held Sh5.8 trillion customer deposits, out of which, the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) insured deposits amounting to Sh857.80 billion.

Various stakeholders

The agency insured 107 million bank accounts in the period under review, which accounted for 99 per cent of the bank accounts fully covered, which means that 1 per cent had more than Sh500,000 in their account.

The KDIC is an independent State Agency that provides a safety net to deposits, covering up to Sh500,000 per depositor in case of a bank failure.

This highlights that 99 per cent of Kenyans have less than or equal to Sh500,000 in their bank accounts. This reflects the continuing widening gap between the super-rich and the poor in the country as experts predict that in the next 10 years, the number of millionaires will grow by 80 per cent.