Grace Ashiru
Entering Tatu City, located on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, feels like stepping into a completely different world. Even the nation’s most notorious drivers undergo a transformation, slowing down to a crawl and refraining from tossing trash out of their windows. This shift in behavior is largely due to the presence of surveillance cameras and the strict enforcement of penalties for speeding and littering.
For the 5,000 residents who have moved into Tatu, a “startup city” that began welcoming inhabitants four years ago, the strict enforcement of rules is part of its charm. “Tatu has more law and order than other places,” said Valerie Akoko, a digital content creator who relocated there two years ago. “I’ve never seen Tatu City dirty.”
Spanning 5,000 acres, Tatu City lives up to its name by aspiring to function as a privately owned city. Its developers envision a future population of 250,000. Currently, the city hosts 88 businesses employing 15,000 people. Among them are CCI Global, which operates a 5,000-seat call center, and Zhende Medical, a Chinese medical supply manufacturer.
This concept is not unique to Tatu, with similar developments appearing globally. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, proponents see these new-city projects as a potential solution to the region’s urbanization challenges. While urban growth has significantly reduced poverty in other parts of the world, sub-Saharan Africa has largely remained an outlier.
Historically, as populations migrate to cities, productivity surges, wages climb, exports expand, and nations grow wealthier. However, in Africa, urbanization has rarely driven such economic transformation.
In theory, the continent should be thriving. The United Nations projects that Africa’s urban population will grow by 900 million by 2050—a figure exceeding the current urban populations of Europe and North America combined. Yet, sub-Saharan Africa is urbanizing while remaining economically disadvantaged.
“Towns and cities in Africa today simply lack the tax base needed to invest in the urban infrastructure required to support the tsunami of people being added to their ranks in a short period of time,” explained Kurtis Lockhart, director of the Africa Urban Lab at the African School of Economics in Zanzibar.
Compounding the issue, weak property rights and political tensions often exacerbate the challenges.
Tatu City has not been immune to challenges from Kenyan politicians and influential businessmen. In 2018, the London Court of International Arbitration sided with Rendeavour, the multinational owner of the development, in a dispute with its former Kenyan partners, including a former governor of the central bank. The disagreement caused significant delays, setting the project back by several years.
More recently, Preston Mendenhall, Tatu City’s head in Kenya, made headlines by accusing the governor of the county where the city is located of extortion. Mendenhall alleged that the governor demanded land valued at $33 million in exchange for approving an updated master plan for the development. The governor denied the claims and responded by filing a defamation lawsuit against Mendenhall and Tatu City. The case remains unresolved.
Despite these hurdles, the vision of creating new cities with modern infrastructure continues to attract advocates. The Charter Cities Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit, believes that well-executed projects like Tatu City can fuel economic growth, generate employment, and “lift tens of millions of people out of poverty.” The institute views Tatu City as a promising model.
However, building new cities remains a daunting challenge, and Africa is dotted with examples of similar ventures that have failed to take off.
A few new-city projects in Africa have shown significant promise. Among them is Angola’s Quilamba city, which began construction in 2002 and is often regarded as the most successful example. Built by CITIC, a state-owned Chinese company, Quilamba now boasts a population exceeding 130,000 and is owned by the Angolan government.
Across Africa, approximately a dozen new-city projects—spanning from Zanzibar to Zambia—are in development, with the potential to replicate Quilamba’s success, experts suggest. Tatu City stands out as the most advanced of these, with 26,400 individuals already living, working, or studying there.
Experts widely agree that the private sector must play a key role in addressing Africa’s urbanization challenges, given that many African governments lack the fiscal resources to bridge the investment gap. Rendeavour, a private company with a multibillion-dollar balance sheet, has demonstrated the financial capacity to drive such ambitious projects forward.
However, relying solely on private-sector-led city-building can lead to challenges, particularly in exacerbating inequality. For instance, the average property price at Eko Atlantic, a new-city development on the outskirts of Lagos, is $415,000—well beyond the financial reach of most Nigerians
“Startup cities have the potential to become hubs for innovation and ease the burden on overcrowded urban centers,” said Anacláudia Rossbach, executive director of the UN’s Human Settlements Program, UN-Habitat. “To truly make an impact, however, these cities must emphasize inclusivity, affordability, and integration with existing urban areas, ensuring they cater to all socioeconomic groups rather than becoming exclusive enclaves for the elite.”
In Tatu City, a one-bedroom apartment costs $45,500—a price still out of reach for most Kenyans but attainable for some in the growing middle class. According to the World Bank, Kenya’s per capita GDP stood at $1,961 in 2023.
The city operates in collaboration with the Kenyan government, which has designated Tatu City as a special economic zone. This status provides tax breaks and other incentives to businesses setting up operations, making it a prime example of private-public partnership, according to experts.
Tatu City also attracts both businesses and residents with its transparent governance structure and access to services often unavailable in other parts of Kenya, such as an independent water supply and energy grid. While it remains under national law, the city has the autonomy to set its own rules on key issues like traffic regulations and housing standards, with all development plans requiring approval from Tatu’s management.
“If you consider the infrastructure, utilities, controls, and security, Tatu City is among the best,” said Sylvester Njuguna, a resident and restaurant owner.
Unlike many startup cities that are located far from major urban hubs, Tatu City sits just 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of Nairobi, making it close enough to tap into the capital’s labor market.
Lockhart, of the Africa Urban Lab, notes that new city projects are more likely to succeed when they are near a major urban center, feature a high-quality anchor tenant—such as CCI Global in Tatu City’s case—and offer access to good schools. Additionally, successful projects must operate under effective management and respond to market demand.
Tatu City checks these boxes and, unlike many overly ambitious African city projects, has developed organically. This aligns with the strategy behind Rendeavour’s other city projects in Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, and the Congo, explained Mendenhall.
“We are building what the market needs,” Mendenhall said. “We are not putting all the infrastructure in place on day one.”
