On Friday, February 16th, 2024, the Kenya Investment Authority held a public participation forum at the Pride Inn Hotel in Westlands, Nairobi, to seek the views of the public regarding the Draft Investment Promotions Act 2023. The event was the fifth of its kind, following successful iterations in Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, and Nyeri.
During the event, the KenInvest team presented an overview of each section in the draft bill, by questions and proposals as well as individual submissions to the document. Some of the key questions raised concerned how KenInvest, through the new bill, would collaborate with counties and trade agencies at the county level to promote trade. ‘As an agency at the national level, we understand and value the importance of county governments, as a lot of trade and investment happens at that level,’ said June Chepkemei. In response to this concern, KenInvest has accommodated the counties at the One Stop One Go Centre by providing space for an office representing the Council of Governors to create a coordinated investment attraction approach.
Concerns were also raised about the need to promote Direct Domestic Investment (DDI) and support local investors instead of solely focusing on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). KenInvest Chairperson, Sally Mahihu explained that Domestic Investment was just as important and emphasized the need to push for more benefits for local investors, a sentiment echoed by the Ms. June. ‘Our greatest investors are our local investors. We call for feedback from all our collaborative agencies to help formulate the bill regarding local investors as well,’ she said.
During the presentation, KenInvest also emphasized the importance of the One Start, One Go (OSOG) Centre in easing the investor journey. The Centre currently hosts 12 agencies and expects to add 14 more agencies to facilitate easier integration into the Kenyan market. ‘OSOG is a blessing to every investor; it will save investors a lot of hassle and time. I encourage each investor to come on board and be part of the experience,’ said Ms. Khadija Mustafa, a member the Keninvest Board.
In her concluding remarks, Sally Mahihu thanked all the stakeholders for their attendance and contributions. ‘We appreciate all the stakeholders present who have committed to joining us today despite your busy schedules. We will review all the submissions, and we look forward to receiving even more submissions in writing through our emails. No submission will go unrecognized,’ she said. She further reiterated KenInvest’s commitment to streamline the investor journey and appeal to more investors.
KenInvest is scheduled to host the last public participation event in Isiolo on March 5th, 2024.
