Ruto Rallies German Enterprises to Invest In Kenya
Date: 2023-03-27
Kenyan President William Ruto has invited
German businessmen to invest in the country’s micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises.
In a
statement released by the State House, Ruto said Kenya stands to benefit from
the world’s most experienced, organised and resourced German establishments.
President
Ruto noted that the sector is the backbone of the German economy, generating
more than 60 percent of employment opportunities.
He spoke 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 Kenyan Government is committed — under its Bottom-Up
Economic Transformation Agenda — to supporting small enterprises to blossom.
“That is why
we have put more than $380 million in the Hustler Fund to provide affordable
credit to millions of Kenyans who depend on the MSME sector for a living,” said
Ruto, noting the uptake of the facility has been encouraging.
Dr. Jerger
noted that there are huge opportunities “for us in Kenya’s value addition
programme”.
“We can
invest in cold storage technology to reduce post-harvest losses. We are already
doing it in Senegal,” he said.
Later, the
Kenyan Head of State 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, digital economy, and intellectual property
rights, among others, as some of the potential areas to invest in.
