MOGADISHU, July 7 — East Africa’s economies are moving in different directions: Ethiopia has logged unprecedented export earnings and Kenya has drawn a surge of foreign capital, while Somalia scrambles for new security financing after U.S. assistance cuts.
Ethiopia reported a record $10.7 billion in export revenue for the past fiscal year, beating official targets thanks to robust global demand for gold, coffee, oilseeds, and cut flowers.
Authorities said the tally was further lifted by rising electricity sales to neighboring states and higher manufacturing output, hailing the outcome as a landmark for the country’s economic trajectory.
Next door in Kenya, officials said foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows hit $3.2 billion in 2025, up 38 percent from a year earlier.
The government credited ongoing economic reforms and a friendlier investment climate for the upswing, while analysts said the data cements Kenya’s standing as a premier hub for international investors in East Africa.
The upbeat news contrasted with Somalia’s mounting fiscal strain after the United States halted key funding for security operations.
The reductions touch both Somali security institutions and the African Union stabilization mission, stoking concerns about the viability of continued counterinsurgency efforts against the Islamist group Al-Shabaab.
Somalia’s federal authorities are now pursuing alternative financing to keep security operations running and avoid setbacks to stabilization efforts, warning that diminished external backing could further burden the nation’s already limited coffers.
AXADLETM
