NAIROBI: Kenya will be host to thousands of delegates this week from over thirty countries across the globe for an investment conference that has the potential to unlock $2 billion (Sh204 billion) worth of business.
The conference is expected to bring together business leaders, local and international investors, entrepreneurs and top business personalities from the world to share, discuss and take up investment opportunities in Kenya.
Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Phyllis Kandie said that Kenya offers a consumer market of 44 million, but because of its strong trade ties in the East African region and the wider Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), investors can access the region’s close to 440 million consumers.
“Kenya is already attracting a multitude of global investors and over the past 12 months we have seen a marked rise in interest in sectors such as agribusiness, ICT, apparels and textiles, leather, renewable energy, property, tourism and logistics,” she said ahead of the conference.
The meeting comes four months after the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) that brought US President Barack Obama and over 3,000 delegates to Nairobi and just two weeks ahead of the World Trade Organisation’s Ministerial Conference that is expected to bring its tenth and first ever sitting to the African continent.
According to Anne Kirima, the chairperson of the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), which is putting together the conference, Kenya continues to enjoy significant goodwill as an investment hub internationally.
