Nairobi- 30th
October, 2013- The
competitive advantages Kenya offers investors, which include ongoing regulatory
and political reforms, a
skilled workforce and well developed infrastructure, will be mapped out in a first-time
report to be published by the global publishing, research and consultancy firm
Oxford Business Group (OBG).
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Left to right: Mr. Adan Abdulla Mohamed - Cabinet
Secretary for Industrialisation and Enterprise Development, Ms. Karine Loehman
– Regional Director for Africa Oxford Business Group, Dr. Moses Ikiara – MD
KenInvest, Mrs. Anne Wangari Kirima – Muchoki – Chairlady, KenInvest, Ms. Annie
Michailidou – Country Director Oxford Business Group
The
Report: Kenya 2014
will provide key analysis of the country’s commitment
to moving forward from the complications of the past few years, which helped it
achieve solid growth in the first half of 2013, while supporting preparations for
its planned Eurobond launch. The landmark publication will also chart Kenya’s regional integration efforts, as the country
continues to carve a niche as a
gateway into Africa.
OBG has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on research facilities with the
Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) for its forthcoming report on the
country. Under the MOU, OBG will have access to the organisation’s
expertise and research resources, which will be used to compile The Report: Kenya 2014.
Speaking during the signing
ceremony, Adan Mohamed, the Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization and
Enterprise Development said, ‘We have begun to formulate county specific
industrial development master plans which are critical to attracting investors
in our devolved government/ counties.
‘However the game changers will
be the big industrial drivers like the Free Trade Zone, Special Economic Zones
and the petro-chemical industry especially after recent discoveries in oil,
that will offer investors longer term investments and at the same time create
the necessary economic impact’, added Mr. Mohamed.
Moses Ikiara,
Managing Director, KenInvest, said, “The Report: Kenya 2014 will provide a
platform through which the country’s investment potential will be communicated
to the rest of the world. As an institution charged with marketing Kenya as a preferred
investment destination, KenInvest will rely on this report to convince foreign
investors to set up shop in the country.”
OBG’s Regional Editor, Robert Tashima, said that
while Kenya had long been an economic
heavyweight in East Africa, in recent years the country also received a boost
from a number of disparate developments, ranging from expanded tertiary
activity, to upstream oil and gas discoveries.
“Kenya remains vulnerable to
exogenous problems, as the droughts and slowdown of the past few years have
demonstrated, and there is room for greater efficiencies,” he acknowledged, “but
for investors with a medium- to long-term horizon, it is a robust frontier
market opportunity.”
Country Director, Annie Michailidou,
said she was delighted to be teaming up with KenInvest’s experts for the
Group’s first report on the country’s economy. “KenInvest plays a major part in
the national drive to promote the country as an investment destination,” she
said. “‘I look forward to teaming up with its experts, who are key
representatives of the country’s business community, and benefiting from their
local insight, as we begin the groundwork for this milestone project,
which marks an exciting new phase in the Group’s expansion across
East Africa.”
The Report: Kenya 2014 will be a vital guide to the many facets of the country, including its
macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments. The
publication will be available in print
or online.
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