Research Series: The Economic Case for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in East Africa

As previous Open for Business reports show, the correlation between LGBTQ+ inclusion and economic and business performance can be striking, but is often overlooked. This East Africa report has a special focus on four countries – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda – each of which has its unique economic potential and journey on supporting greater LGBTQ+ rights.

We estimate these four countries lose up to USD 5 billion each year due to the financial costs associated with factors including foreign direct investment (FDI), talent flight, healthcare-related costs and the price of anti-LGBTQ+ policing.

This report is also available in French and Swahili. In addition to the full report, see below for shorter, focused documents on each of the four focus countries (with further translated versions of this available soon).

Focus: Kenya

Download in English and Swahili.

Focus: Tanzania

Download in English and Swahili.

The indicators selected for analysis in this report come from Open for Business’ own 27 propositions, established as part of its extensive global research and analysis to understand the links between LGBTQ+ inclusion and performance.

For East Africa, the specific propositions used were guided by a small stakeholder survey of business leaders, LGBTQ+ advocates and others living in the four focus countries, as well as interviews with key informants from the region including academics, economists, business executives, and human rights activists.