NAIROBI, Kenya, October 15 – Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui has urged Kenyan businesses to increase local production and expand into regional markets to create jobs and reduce reliance on imports.
Speaking at KCB Group’s PowerTalk forum in Nairobi on October 13, Kinyanjui said local banks could help businesses finance growth and access markets across East Africa and the wider continent.
“Kenya is a basket of opportunities, and I really want to urge the people who are in this room to see those opportunities,” Kinyanjui said.
He challenged businesses to invest in manufacturing and value addition instead of relying on imported goods.
“You must manufacture here, you must start value addition here, and you must create employment,” he said.
KCB Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Russo urged businesses to maintain long-term investment plans despite political changes, warning against disruptions caused by election cycles.
“Our agendas must go beyond elections. Your business must go beyond. We can’t have a start stop because of elections,” Russo said.
KCB Group Treasurer Anthony Mulisa said East African economies were growing at an average rate of between 5.5 and 6 percent, compared with 4.1 to 4.3 percent across sub-Saharan Africa.
He identified infrastructure, agricultural processing, extractive industries and regional connectivity as areas that could support further growth.
However, participants warned that global conflicts, volatile energy prices and climate-related disruptions could raise business costs and affect investment.
They also called for more predictable tax policies, simpler licensing procedures and fewer overlapping levies to lower the cost of doing business.
KCB Bank Kenya Managing Director Annastacia Kimtai said the forum provided an opportunity to discuss challenges facing businesses and how the bank could support their growth.
The meeting, held under the theme Beyond Uncertainty: Unlocking Opportunities in an Evolving Global Economy, brought together government and business leaders to discuss investment, regional trade and ways to improve Kenya’s competitiveness.
