Kenya International Investment Conference (KIIC) 2026 Brings in the Bacon

Organized by the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), the Kenya International Investment Conference 2026 (#KIIC2026) brought in nearly USD 3 billion in investment commitments, well above the initial target of USD 2 billion. This year, the Government of Kenya went all-out to make it a big success and scheduled the KIIC in conjunction with the 2nd COMESA Investment Forum, and the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative (AFII) Forum which all took place in the week around the 26 to 27 March 2026.

Mozambican President Chapo was the Chief Guest of Kenyan President Ruto, and both participated in the opening session. President Ruto highlighted that Kenya has put a lot of effort into improving the business climate and is currently pushing green manufacturing. President Chapo echoed his host and stated that Africa must ‘definitely break with the pattern of exporting raw materials.’

The agribusiness sector took in the lion’s share of investments. Sukari and Tana Sugar are each investing USD 300 million each to expand sugar cane cultivation and processing. Manufacturing came in second with more than USD 600 million in foreign direct investments (#FDI)

The UEA is investing nearly USD 650 million to build two large-scale residential and commercial estates: the Nairobi Belle Vue Arch and the Mombasa Creekside Gardens. India is partnering with a local partner to open the Balmer Clinic and plans to invest nearly USD 200 million in the project. China is backing Fullcare and Lucky DJX to expand the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) to the tune of USD 165 million.

It is worth noting that sustainable financing started to gain momentum at #KIIC2026. Kenya’s largest telco, Safaricon, announced that it has successfully issued USD 115 million in #GreenBonds. The funds will go towards greening its network by switching its towers and nodes to renewable energy.

In addition, the British International Investment (BII) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) committed USD 100 million and USD 70 million, respectively. As part of BII’s broader Manufacturing Africa Initiative (MAI) and eMobility Drive, BII announced its commitment during the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative Forum.

The IFC is making available a USD 70 million facility to promote Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and technical support to take projects from concept to bankability. Both #DFI also emphasized the importance of #BlendedFinance and the involvement of the private sector to lower the risk of projects.