President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured the private sector that his administration is keen on ensuring all obstacles that prevent businesses from thriving are removed.
The President emphasized that the government will continue formulating business-friendly policies as he encouraged more British investors to set shop in Kenya.
“We have tremendously improved the ease of doing business in Kenya. I think Kenya is now the third most attractive investment destination on the African continent,” the President said.
“This is in line with our policy of recognizing that we need to deal with all obstacles that prevent businesses from partnering with us to achieve our development objectives,” he added.
The President spoke on Monday in London during a leaders panel discussion session at the UK-Africa Investment Summit that was attended by over 20 African Heads of State.
President Kenyatta noted that as a result of the vibrant policies put in place, the country has in the last two years attracted more foreign direct investment than it has ever done at any other time.
“Programmes such as geothermal and wind power production have attracted foreign direct investment to the point that today about 70 percent of all the power that we generate in Kenya comes from renewable energy sources.
The President also spoke on the need for developing countries to come up with innovative ways that will accelerate sustainable economic growth in an environmentally friendly way.
“With the growing climate crisis, we are all going to have to work differently especially for those of us in the developing countries in order to sustain our development in line with our respective countries’ vision to create the jobs that we need in an environmentally friendly way,” he said.
Supported by the successful launch of Kenya’s first corporate green bond at the London Stock Exchange earlier in the day, President Kenyatta said Kenya is now working on a policy framework that will support the issuance of a Sovereign Green Bond in order to finance sustainable development projects.
Other panelists included President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, Secretary of State for International Development Alok Sharma and the African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina.
Dr Adesina announced a joint partnership between AfDB and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) on infrastructure in Africa, a facility that will inject 80 million UK Pounds into projects across the continent.
Earlier when he opened the UK-Africa Investment Summit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pitched for the UK as an investment partner of choice for African countries.
The British PM said the UK was Africa’s ultimate mutually beneficial economic partner and the continent’s one-stop shop for trade, education and technology.
Source: Capital FM Kenya.
