Edited version of presentation to the Democracy Union of Africa forum in Nairobi on 27 October 2025.
I’m always slightly wary of speaking to experts about their own politics on their home turf. But I’m not a complete stranger. I spent some of my formative years in Nyasaland, now Malawi, and I’ve since been back to Africa more times than I could count. I’m pleased to say I’ve invested in a number of successful African businesses and philanthropic endeavours, including here in Kenya.
Even so, this is the first time I have conducted polling on any scale in Africa, and I should say a word about the work we’ve done. Our chosen topic is “Africa and the world: challenges for the continent’s centre right”. We have polled more than 12,000 people in ten countries which between them represent more than half of Africa’s total population: Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
Read more
