Even as Walmart raced to open its first store in Kenya, there were snags. It was forced to import the trademark bright magenta ink that adorns its brash price offers and doorway décor because nobody in the country could produce it.

It was one of several obstacles the world’s largest retailer has run into in Kenya. The US retail giant has spent the past few years trying – and failing – to crack the east African hub, whose growth is fuelled by aspirational consumption.

Walmart’s move into Kenya highlights the sea change in the continent, as a nascent consumer class expands and draws in foreign investors who had previously overlooked the African middle class – some 350 million people.

Accelerating growth in the continent outstrips that of all global regions bar developing Asia.

– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015)