President Ruto secures Ksh.45B investments from Japan State visit

President William Ruto has secured investments worth Ksh.45 billion following his two-day official state visit to Japan.

Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura announced at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) on Thursday that out of the indicated sum Ksh.15 billion will be directed towards the construction of a wind farm project in Meru.

"The Ksh. 15 billion Meru Wind Farm Energy is a step towards environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. It promises to create several jobs and aims to lower the cost of electricity, benefiting millions of Kenyans and encouraging investments," said Mwaura. 

An additional Ksh.8 billion, Mwaura went on, will be designated for the development of a solar energy project in Isiolo County, aimed at increasing more power into the national grid. Additionally, Ksh.800 will be earmarked for the local manufacturing of Toyota vehicles.

"Toyota will now start manufacturing vehicles locally so that we reduce importation of over 120,000 vehicles to Japan leading to more jobs in the vehicle manufacturing value chain to the whole of Africa," said Mwaura who added that Ksh.19 billion will be directed towards the building of a Menengai Geothermal Plant.

Mwaura also announced that Ksh.3 billion will be allocated to KEMRI to bolster research efforts in developing tropical medicine, aimed at combating diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS. This funding will primarily come from public-private partnerships and grants.

Speaking at the Kenya-Japan Business Forum in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday President Ruto appealed to Japanese businesses to invest in Kenya’s manufacturing, agriculture and technology sectors. 

The President said the implementation of the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) has opened up numerous opportunities in the agriculture, manufacturing and technology value chains.  

He noted that the partnership would yield a win-win outcome, with Japanese companies gaining access to Kenya's highly skilled workforce in need of opportunities.

He explained that by investing in Kenya, Japanese companies will not only access the Kenyan market but also the East African Community and the 1.4 billion African market made possible by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. 

President Ruto also told  Japanese investors to exploit Kenya’s arable land which has the potential to make a significant contribution to global food security.