America to hold a private business summit in Nairobi
America to hold a private business summit in Nairobi
The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has today announced plans to hold a private business summit on the 4th and 5th of November at the United Nations Complex in Gigiri.
The summit will focus on direct business to business engagements and mutually beneficial partnerships between the United States, Kenya, and the East African region.
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Commercial deals worth over One Billion Kenya shillings were birthed at a similar summit last year.
The AmCham summit this year follows a growing interest in the East African region with Kenya being a hotcake for investors, seeing its proximity to major global trade routes and its vibrant private sector coupled with the growing ease of doing business.
Last year, for instance, China announced that Nairobi will be a key link to its ‘One Belt, One Road initiative’ a signature global infrastructure project eyeing to move at least 25 percent of global cargo through several countries.
American companies have also fallen in love with the region's investor-friendly climate and are also looking to set up or expand operations in the region.
In the last twelve months alone, five American multinational companies have entered the Kenyan market, pumping millions of dollars into mega-projects that have resulted in a jobs boom for the local populace, driving overall economic prosperity.
To date, the American Government remains the single largest contributor of foreign aid to Kenya, donating up to one billion dollars every year, much of it going into Security, health and education projects.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has often reiterated that what Kenya needs is massive investments in trade and infrastructure to cure the economy.
And if this diagnosis is right, initiatives like the AmCham summit are among the first steps that investors must take advantage of; as they are focal points of economic transformation.
Also speaking at the media briefing, Chris De Angelis, Deputy Economic Counselor, U.S. Embassy Kenya emphasized that “The United States is committed to expanding two-way trade and investment with Kenya. U.S. companies deliver world-leading technologies and innovation that support the Big Four and economic growth with a business model that focuses on long term growth and sustainability.”
In August last year, a meeting by US President Donald Trump and his Kenyan Counter Part President Uhuru Kenyatta set the pace for the beginning of bilateral strategic dialogues between Kenya and the US.
