NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 14 — The Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) has renewed its bilateral cooperation agreement with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) as part of efforts to facilitate investments in the country.
KenInvest is responsible for facilitating the implementation of new investment projects, providing After-Care services for new and existing investments, as well as organizing investment promotion activities locally, regionally and international
While marking the extension of the partnership which has been in place for eight years, KenInvest Ag. Managing Director June Chepkemei and JETRO Executive Vice President Kazuya Nakajo reaffirmed their shared commitment to collaborate in the areas of promotion and facilitation of investments between Kenya and Japan.
The bilateral partnership by KenInvest and JETRO was first formalized in 2014 and the robust cooperation has seen unprecedented growth in investments and trade volumes.
Kenya is the most preferred and leading recipient of Japanese investment in Africa. The number of Japanese companies investing in Kenya increased from 24 in 2010 to 103 in 2021 with an investment value of approximately US$ 7 billion.
Key investments
Some of the landmark investments made by Japan in Kenya include: The Toyota Tshusho Corporation; ISUZU Motors Limited; The Honda Motors Co. Ltd; Kansai Plascon Africa Ltd; LIXIL Corporation, Marubeni Corp, Toyo Construction, Yamaha Assembling, Nissin Foods, Toridoll, Rhoto and Hankyu Hanshin Express among others.
In 2021, Kenya’s exports to Japan totaled $62 million while imports from Japan stood at $1 billion compared to 2020, where Kenya’s imports from Japan was approximately USD 877 Million while Kenyan exports to Japan were valued at about USD 48 Million.
Other notable achievements include organizing three Japan-Kenya Business Dialogue sessions that have brought together stakeholders from different Ministries committing to speedily address the challenges faced by Japanese investors in Kenya so that investors may concentrate on doing business and making good returns, capacity building for KenInvest staff and organizing joint investment and trade missions and conferences.
Under the renewed MOU, KenInvest and JETRO will collaborate in promoting and facilitating investments in Kenya to Japanese companies; conduct joint investment promotion and trade missions; joint policy and commercial advocacy to support a conducive investment climate; and compile comprehensive and reliable investment statistics, including information exchange and arrangement for the sharing of such information in the trade and investment sector.
