With biting shortage of jobs especially among Kenya's youthful population, President William Ruto has projected that the KES390 billion industrial park in Vipingo would evolve into an industrial hub, giving rise to 35,000 work opportunities, and thousands more across the value chain once the SEZ becomes operation.

With Kenya now home to 38 Special Economic Zones, 111 Export Processing Zones, complete with supply of green energy, Dr. Ruto said the country's industrialization push looks set to tap the country's "young workforce, and rich natural resources for value addition," offering local investors a great opportunity to harness intra-African trade.  

"This grand project will also generate 35,000+ direct jobs, and spark thousands more economic opportunities across industries," said the President when he launched the Vipingo Special Economic Zone in Kilifi County on Tuesday.

Vipingo industrial park is a joint investment between Centum Investment PLC and ARISE, a firm with strong presence in Africa's industrial ecosystems. 

Jobs for youth

“Vipingo SEZ is a transformative project that will create jobs for thousands of our youths and showcase Kenya as a top investment destination,” stated Dr. James Mworia, CEO, Centum Investments earlier this year.

The ambitios industrial complex, which sits on a 2,000-acre zone, is poised to enhance the country's standing as a competitive industrial zone in the continent. "We identify industrial gaps in African countries and design tailor-made solutions to enable the sustainable and local transformation of raw materials, boost exports, and promote trade," ARISE notes on its website.

According to the developers, Vipingo industrial zone, which is located just over 40 kilometres from Mombasa City, is structured to attract players keen on investing in Kenya's automotive, pharmaceuticals and agri-processing sectors. 

Investors eyeing textile, meat and animal products, food processing, pharmaceutical, fabricated steel and metals, construction materials, vegetable oils will also call Vipingo their address. 

With access to the Port of Mombasa, a hub of sea trade in East Africa's coast line the Vipingo SEZ is billed to attract investors keen on enhancing Kenya's coast as a part of global logistics trade.

However, investors will have to brace for various challenges in the area including inconsistent power supply, poor road networks, and ever changing regulations that continue to slow growth in Kenya's SEZs. 

A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a strategically planned area that is structured to attract billions worth of investments from both local and foreign investors. A SEZ features modern infrastructure Kenya offers liberal economic laws, tax and duty incentives to encourage investments.

Lower corporate income tax

Currently, enterprises operating in SEZs benefit from lower corporate income tax rates of 10 per cent for the first 10 years and 15 per cent for the subsequent 10 years—alongside a 100 percent investment deduction on capital expenditures. 

What's more, to make these parks even more attractive as business locations, property transfers within SEZs are exempt from capital gains tax.

With head offices in Dubai, ARISE, which has presence in more than 14 countries in Africa the firm designs, finances, builds, and operates tailor-made industrial zones that help strengthen local value chains, promote exports, and generate jobs.

Other ARISE-powered special economic zones in Africa include Kwala Industrial Park in Tanzania, Dibamba Industrial Port Zone in Cameroon, Plateforme Economique Industrielle d’Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone Industrial Zone (SIZ) in Koya area, and Plateformes Industrielles du Congo (PIC) in the Republic of Congo.

Other SEZs where ARISE has invested in Africa are: Laham Tchad, located in the Logone Oriental province, Chad; Industrial Platform Remo Free Zone (IPRFZ) in Nigeria; and Zone Economique Spéciale de Kin-Malebo in the DRC.

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