Kenya-EU Business Forum Seeks to Realize Full Potential of Partnership

The Kenya-EU Business Forum took place in Nairobi from the 21 to 22 February 2023. The event forms part of the EU’s #GlobalGateway initiative and the theme of this Forum was “Connected Partnership” with the aim to strengthen links in various domains.

Currently, the EU is the largest trading partner of Kenya. The #EU imports 21% of all Kenyan exports. However, analysts believe that there is room for improvement and the trade volume can grow by at least EUR 500 million in the years to come. In terms of investment, the EU is the top source with more than 30% of Kenya’s total #FDI.

Kenyan President William Ruto delivered the keynote speech at the opening ceremony. He announced that the Tripartite Agreement linking the #SADC, #COMESA and #EAC is expected to be operational in April 2023. This will create a bloc of 28 countries with a market of 750 million population and a combined GDP of USD 1.5 trillion. On the other hand, the #EU consists of 27 countries made up of a population of nearly 450 million with a combined GDP of EUR 15 trillion.

To boost partnership, several sectors for cooperation were explored during panel discussions and various sessions.

• Investing in Young Business in Africa (IYBA)
• Agriculture
• Circular Economy
• Digitalization
• Waste Management
• Agro-processing
• Health
• Water
• Construction
• Renewable Energy
• Logistics and Freight
• eMobility
• Finance

Kenya ambitions to position itself as the gateway and to act as the trade and investment hub for this region. In recent years, it has worked hard to improve its Ease of Doing Business Index (#EDBI) in order to be more a more attractive destination for investors. The opportunities afforded by the Tripartite Bloc and #AfCFTA further afield provide enormous potential for mutually beneficial partnerships.