Structural Obstacles to Indigenous Industrialization: The Softa Case Study, Mo Dewji’s Ambition, and the Neoliberal Continuity from Kibaki to Ruto

This article examines the structural barriers facing indigenous industrialization in Kenya through the historical collapse of Softa Bottling Company and the proposed Sh6.5 billion Kenyan expansion of Tanzanian billionaire Mohammed Dewji’s MeTL Group. It argues that Softa’s rise and eventual destruction exposed how multinational dominance, weak anti-trust enforcement, and state inaction undermined local manufacturing despite strong consumer demand for affordable domestic products. The analysis situates Softa’s collapse within the broader neoliberal transformation of Kenya’s economy under President Mwai Kibaki, whose market-oriented reforms emphasized liberalization, privatization, and integration into global capital flows while reducing state protection for domestic industries. The article contends that these policies accelerated deindustrialization, weakened local manufacturing competitiveness, and exposed indigenous firms to predatory corporate practices. It further argues that President William Ruto has largely continued and intensified this neoliberal economic framework through IMF-aligned fiscal austerity, subsidy removals, aggressive taxation, and policies critics say have deepened Kenya’s dependence on imports while eroding mass consumer purchasing power. Within this environment, Dewji’s attempt to challenge Coca-Cola and Pepsi through low-cost regional manufacturing is presented as both a major industrial opportunity and a high-risk confrontation with the same structural conditions that destroyed Softa. Ultimately, the article frames the struggle over Mo Cola’s Kenyan expansion as part of a wider debate about economic sovereignty, industrial policy, regional African capital, and the long-term consequences of neoliberal governance on East Africa’s ability to build and sustain indigenous industrial champions.