Kenya’s president in German shopping for investors

President Ruto meets with Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA) led by its Chairman Michael Schumann. PHOTO| COURTESY

NAIROBI - Kenya President William Ruto is on a two-day state visit to Germany sourcing for investment for Kenya.

The head of state has urged invited German businessmen to consider investing in Kenya’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

Kenya stands to benefit from the world’s most experienced, organized, and resourced German establishments.

He pointed out that the sector is the backbone of the German economy, generating more than 60 percent of employment opportunities.

President Ruto was speaking on Monday in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin when he met Dr. Markus Jerger, the Chairman of Der Mittelstand-German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW).

According to Dr. Jerger, BVMW represents the interests of more than 3.3 million individual enterprises in the country.

The President noted that the Government is committed — under its Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda — to supporting small enterprises to blossom.

“That is why we have put more than Sh50 Billion in the Hustler Fund to provide affordable credit to millions of Kenyans who depend on the MSME sector for a living.”

He noted that so far, the uptake of the facility has been encouraging.

Dr. Jerger noted that there are huge opportunities “for us in Kenya’s value addition program”.

“We can invest in cold storage technology to reduce post-harvest losses. We are already doing it in Senegal,” he said.

Later, the President held talks with the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA) led by its Chairman Michael Schumann, and agreed on the approaches to bringing more German and international businesses to Kenya.

The Association cited food processing, the digital economy, and intellectual property rights, among others, as some of the potential areas to invest in.

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