Kenya ad spend 2018-2020, by medium

It was projected that advertising spending in Kenya in 2019 would reach 329 million U.S. dollars, with TV and radio accounting for the largest chunks of these expenditures – 109 and 99 million U.S. dollars respectively. In general, adverting spending in the country is forecast to grow at seven percent CAGR between 2018 and 2023, with annual growth rates slowing down from 8.3 percent to 5.9 percent in the same period.

Radio advertising in Kenya

Radio plays a large role in Kenya, so much so that in 2018 spending on the medium was only seven million dollars lower than on TV ads. The radio advertising market in Kenya was expected to grow to 128 million U.S. dollars by the end of 2023, exhibiting consistent annual growth oscillating around seven percent between 2017 and 2022.

Radio audience in Kenya

In early 2019 it was found that radio stations broadcasting in Kiswahili – a common language adopted in Kenya – had the largest share of all radio audiences in the country at 44 percent, whereas English-language radio stations claimed a quarter of listeners in Kenya. While Swahili is the language of choice for general audiences, the trend is even more pronounced among those aged 35 and over – their preference for English radio is visibly smaller, with only 16 percent listening to such stations. Younger Kenyan listeners were more inclined to consume broadcasts in English, with one-third of the 15-24 age group reporting that preference in early 2019.