Kenya is lining up investment deals worth more than $2 billion (Ksh 257.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2026 as the government moves to sharply raise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in the short term.
The target follows a strong performance last year, when investment facilitation climbed past the $1 billion mark to $1.78 billion (Ksh 229.5 billion), up from $881 million (Ksh 113.6 billion) in 2024, supporting the creation of at least 38,849 jobs.
The actual value of FDIs in 2024 stood at $1.5 billion (Ksh 193.4 billion), with Kenya targeting $2 billion last year. The final numbers are expected to be confirmed in the Economic Survey 2026, due later this year. The United States, China and Japan remain key sources of investment inflows.
Figures from Invest Kenya (Kenya Investment Authority) show that 167 investment projects were registered last year, with renewable energy, communications, electronic components, fossil fuels, manufacturing and agriculture emerging as the main sectors driving FDI growth.
Officials say the rise is largely linked to Kenya’s position as a regional hub, ongoing infrastructure expansion, a fast-growing digital economy and policies aimed at improving the investment climate.
Speaking in Nairobi during a briefing on the state of Kenya’s investment landscape and the launch of the upcoming Kenya International Investment Conference (KIICO) 2026, Investment Promotion Principal Secretary Abubakar Hassan Abubakar said the forum is expected to support the signing of deals worth over $2 billion.
He said several transactions are already in the national investment pipeline, mainly in agriculture, manufacturing, renewable energy, ICT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
“These are not speculative commitments; they are bankable, advanced-stage projects aligned to Kenya’s development priorities,” Abubakar said.
BPO involves outsourcing non-core operations such as customer service, finance, human resource functions and IT services to third-party providers, a move companies use to cut costs, improve efficiency and tap specialised expertise.
COMESA Investment Forum
Kenya is also set to host the COMESA Investment Forum and the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative Forum in Nairobi in March, which the government says will boost Kenya’s push to position itself as a regional and global hub for investment dialogue, partnerships and deal-making.
To speed up deal closures, the government is rolling out reforms touching on VAT refunds and transfer pricing, land leases, and alignment of Export Processing Zones and Special Economic Zones.
Invest Kenya has also set up a One Stop Centre that brings together services from multiple government agencies into one physical and digital platform, allowing investors to handle registration, tax matters, work permits and investment certification in one place.
“We want to offer seamless services, quality data, be reliable and facilitate investments in a very agile manner. We have to be innovative because the world is moving,” Invest Kenya chief executive John Mwendwa said.
The government says it will also address long-standing investor concerns, including the high cost of doing business driven by expensive electricity and high taxes, with corruption remaining another key risk.
Kenya has set a long-term plan to expand national grid supply from 3 gigawatts to 100 gigawatts by 2040, while also pursuing a target of ensuring 100 per cent renewable power on the grid.
Industries are already benefiting from lower night-time power costs under the Time of Use tariff programme, which offers a 50 per cent discount during specific hours to improve industrial competitiveness and manage demand.
Kenya is currently Africa’s sixth-largest economy, estimated at $136 billion in 2025, supported by around five per cent GDP growth, low inflation and a high literacy rate that continues to attract investors across key sectors.
Leave a comment