Nairobi — Kenya stands to gain more than Sh77.7 billion in additional GDP if it accelerates pro-competition reforms across key sectors, a new World Bank-Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) report shows.

Launched in Nairobi, the study finds that opening up markets - especially in electricity and professional services - would lift value-added growth by 7.5 percent, while wider structural reforms could boost annual GDP by 1.4 percent and create over 400,000 jobs.

CAK Director-General David Kemei said the findings reaffirm the link between competitive markets, productivity and resilience.

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He noted that despite progress since the 1980s, Kenya is still held back by restrictive regulations, state dominance in some sectors, and high barriers to entry.

"The room for growth is still quite high, even within the current fiscal realities," he said.

The report urges removal of rules that distort competition, including discriminatory licensing regimes, rigid minimum fees, and loss-making state-owned enterprise interventions that crowd out private players.

It also cites county-level barriers, inefficient logistics, and structural bottlenecks in agriculture, electricity, fertilizer distribution, and professional services.

Kemei called for a whole-of-government approach to reform, stressing that uncompetitive markets raise business costs, stifle SMEs and hurt consumers.

He said ongoing changes - such as the Competition Amendment Bill 2025, stronger buyer-power enforcement and digital-market oversight - are critical to lowering prices, improving services and attracting investment.