President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged investors in the United Kingdom to invest in Kenya, saying the country is one of the most attractive investment destinations in Africa.

Mr Kenyatta, who was speaking during a business forum hosted by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell,  showcased ten investment opportunities worth over USD 5 billion that are immediately available in Kenya under the PPP framework. These include; The Nairobi Smart Street Lights Project, Nairobi Bus Rapid Transport System, Intelligent Traffic Management System Project and Galana Kulalu Food Security Project, Lamu Fishing Port Project, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Training Complex Project, Mombasa Industrial Park, Meru Cancer Centre Project, Kenyatta National Hospital Project and Lamu Port Project.

Covid-19 Economic Recovery

President Kenyatta also informed the business forum that Kenya’s economy is among the least affected by the Covid-19 pandemic globally and is projected to rebound strongly from the slowdown occasioned by Covid-19, with an estimated economic growth of over 7 percent.

“We have also shown resilience during the last year, with our economy amongst the least affected globally. Further, underlining our stability is the fact that economic growth has averaged almost 6 percent over the last decade,” the President said.

President Kenyatta further announced Kenya’s ambition to deepen its cooperation with the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)  through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be formalized between the country’s National Treasury and the Private Sector Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG).

“I am also happy to announce that discussions have commenced between Kenya’s National Treasury and Planning and the United Kingdom’s Export Finance (UKEF) to unlock financing for British companies pursuing PPP investments in Kenya,” President Kenyatta said.

The Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC) and TheCityUK, a London business lobby group also signed a partnership agreement that will see the two entities collaborate in business and investment promotion, an idea as President Uhuru Kenyatta revealed, that was fronted when he was Finance Minister.

“The CityUK represents key financial and professional services firms in the UK and this partnership creates a framework for those institutions to deploy and share their expertise with their counterparts in Kenya and regionally. This is an important partnership, which my administration supports wholeheartedly,” the President said.

Ease of Doing Business in Kenya

Kenya ranks fourth in Africa and fifty-sixth, globally in the world Bank’s index of Ease of Doing Business.

Uhuru Kenyatta maintained that the country continues to pursue initiatives aimed at lowering the cost of doing business, which include improving the quality of infrastructure.

“Our infrastructure ranked amongst the best in sub-Saharan Africa,” President Kenyatta said.