Kenyatta seals multi-billion investment deals

NAIROBI - President Uhuru Kenyatta has secured major investment deals worth over Sh170.8 billion in the ongoing UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.

On Monday, the country also set history after its first ever green bond, called the “Simba Bond,” was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The bond is the brainchild of Acorn Holdings Ltd, a residential real estate developer.

The deals include job and investment opportunities in various sectors, among them housing, finance, renewables and entrepreneurship.

“The United Kingdom (UK) has a huge amount to offer ambitious African firms and we have a strong reputation for quality, integrity and reliability,” British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said in a statement.

“Today’s summit showcased to the world the best of Kenyan government, business and entrepreneurship and the partnerships today will help Kenya continue to flourish.

We believe that a strong, diverse, accountable private sector is key to unlocking Kenya’s economic potential and creating the jobs and opportunities Kenyans tell us they want.”

Some of the announcements made include a Sh3.9 billion investment in affordable energy-efficient housing that will see the building of 10,000 low-carbon homes for rent and sale. The deal will also see a Sh21.9 billion investment by British firm Diageo in building environmentally friendly breweries in Kenya and in the wider East Africa region.

“Diageo already invested Sh15.76 billion into East Africa Breweries Limited in Kisumu in 2017,” a statement from the UK Embassy in Nairobi reads.

“This investment is supporting over 100, 000 direct and indirect jobs (over half for women); including recruiting 15, 000 new farmers taking the total number of farmers employed in their Kenyan supply chain to 45, 000.”

The inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit is aimed at rejuvenating the partnership between the UK and Africa using trade and investment to boost growth and improve the lives of the citizens of the two continents.