In a landmark outcome of President William Ruto’s state visit to Beijing on April 23, 2025, Kenya secured investment commitments totaling Ksh.126 billion (approximately USD 920 million) from seven leading Chinese companies. The deals, signed during the Kenya–China Investor Roundtable, align closely with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), targeting transformative projects in manufacturing, agriculture and livestock, transport technology, and tourism. These commitments promise to create tens of thousands of jobs, enhance local value chains, and deepen Kenya’s economic integration with the world’s second-largest economy.

Diplomatic and Economic Context

This was President Ruto’s third official visit to China since assuming office in September 2022, following trips for the Third Belt and Road Forum in October 2023 and the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September 2024. These visits underscore Kenya’s strategic pivot toward diversified partnerships beyond traditional Western donors, and China’s continued drive to expand its overseas private-sector footprint.

China remains Kenya’s single largest bilateral creditor and trading partner. In 2024, two-way trade reached an estimated USD 9 billion, with Chinese contractors delivering signature infrastructure—from the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway to the Nairobi Expressway, Lamu Port and the Kipevu Oil Terminal. Amid global uncertainties, both sides emphasized stable cooperation, with discussions in Beijing also covering Global South initiatives, climate-finance pledges and regional security collaboration.

The Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)

Launched in 2022, BETA is Kenya’s five-year blueprint for inclusive growth, focusing on interventions in high-impact value chains to lift low-income households. Its five pillars are:

1. Agriculture Transformation and Food Security
   
2. Growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
   
3. Affordable Housing and Urban Development
   
4. Healthcare Improvement
   
5. Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy
   

By channeling foreign direct investment into these priority areas, the government aims to create sustainable jobs, reduce dependence on imports, expand the tax base and improve foreign-exchange earnings.

Manufacturing: Building Kenya’s Industrial Base

China Wu Yi – Special Economic Zone, Kilifi (USD 150 million / Ksh.19.4 billion)
China Wu Yi Co., Ltd., the overseas arm of Fujian Construction Engineering Group, will develop a 191-acre Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Kilifi’s Kikambala area. This precinct is envisioned to host light manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, leveraging SEZ incentives such as tax holidays and duty exemptions. The project is expected to create over 5,000 direct jobs and spur ancillary enterprises in packaging, transport and services.

China Wu Yi already operates a precast building materials hub at Athi River, where local workers assemble columns and slabs into modern housing units. Through mentorship and skills training, employees like Brian Kariuki, a geospatial engineering graduate turned assistant manager, have gained expertise in green, low-carbon construction technologies.

Rongtai Steel Co. Ltd. – Lukenya Expansion (USD 100 million / Ksh.12.9 billion)
Rongtai Steel, a high-tech rebar manufacturer established in 2023, will expand its Machakos County plant in Lukenya. The investment will add new production lines and establish an R&D centre for sustainable steel alloys. The bolstered capacity aims to meet rising demand from Kenya’s affordable-housing programs and infrastructure rollout. Management projects creation of 700 new jobs and up-skilling of existing staff in quality control and metallurgical research.

Chongqing Shangcheng Apparel Group / Pengfeng Investment – Athi River & Murang’a (USD 20 million / Ksh.2.5 billion)
Textile and garment maker Chongqing Shangcheng Apparel Group, in partnership with Pengfeng Investment, will set up new warehousing and small-scale manufacturing facilities in Athi River and Murang’a. Already employing 3,200 workers in ready-made garment production, the venture will unlock up to 7,000 additional jobs over ten years as it scales output for export markets. Plans include a 100,000-sqm warehouse complex on Mombasa Road to streamline raw-material imports and finished-goods distribution.

Kenya Smart Transportation Industry Park / Anhui Jiubao Electronic Technology – Murang’a Traffic Hub (USD 50 million / Ksh.6.4 billion)
Anhui Jiubao, a first-time Kenya investor, will establish a Smart Transportation Industry Park in Murang’a County dedicated to manufacturing traffic lights, intelligent road-sign systems and control-room electronics. The park is slated to employ over 5,000 technicians and factory-floor operators, supporting Kenya’s vision to modernize urban transport infrastructure and export smart-mobility solutions across East Africa.

Agriculture and Livestock: Boosting Rural Prosperity

Shandong Jialejia Agriculture & Animal Husbandry Technology – Kajiado Poultry Farm (USD 30 million / Ksh.3.8 billion)
This newcomer identifies a 100-acre tract in Kajiado County for a high-tech chicken farm housing 500,000 laying hens, integrated feed mill and hatchery. The project will generate 500 direct jobs and benefit 1,200 smallholder maize farmers via a contracted-out maize procurement scheme. By producing up to 150 million eggs annually, the farm aims to bridge a persistent domestic shortage while leveraging zero-rated import status on hatchery eggs to remain competitive.

Zonken Group (Biotech Corporation & Zonken Environmental Technology) – Baringo Aloe & Orchard Complex (USD 400 million / Ksh.51.8 billion)
Zonken—a biotech firm specialized in medicinal and industrial plant extracts—will develop a 300-acre aloe vera cultivation and processing plant in Baringo County, alongside a 72-acre high-density apple and grape orchard. The project will employ over 2,000 agronomists, factory workers and logistics personnel. Finished aloe gels, juices and grape wines targeting European and Middle Eastern markets will boost foreign-exchange inflows and diversify Kenya’s horticultural exports beyond cut flowers.

Tourism: Expanding Hospitality Capacity

Hunan Conference Exhibition Group / Huatian Hotel Management – Nairobi Hotel Chain (USD 230 million / Ksh.29.7 billion)
Huatian—a seasoned global hotel investor with properties across Europe and Southeast Asia—will acquire, refurbish and manage multiple mid- to upscale hotels in Nairobi. This investment highlights Kenya’s growing conference tourism and visa-free entry policy, which has driven visitor arrivals up by 14.7 percent year-on-year. The hotels will create 3,500 hospitality jobs, from front-office staff to culinary teams, while enhancing Kenya’s capacity to host international events.

Macroeconomic and Financial Backdrop

Kenya’s economy remains resilient despite headwinds. In the first half of 2024, quarterly GDP growth averaged 5 percent, underpinned by gains in agriculture, financial services and information technology. Inflation moderated toward 6 percent, allowing the Central Bank of Kenya to cut its benchmark rate to 10.75 percent in February 2025 to spur private-sector credit. The IMF projects real GDP growth of 4.8 percent for 2025, with further gains tied to infrastructure expansion, improved public finances and expanded foreign direct investment.

Analysts caution on rising debt—Kenya’s public-debt-to-GDP ratio stands around 70 percent—and urge rigorous project appraisal to ensure returns exceed financing costs. However, the spread of investments across multiple Chinese firms, equity stakes rather than purely sovereign loans, signals a shift toward risk-sharing partnerships that may alleviate direct government borrowing.

Kenya-China Economic Partnership and BRI

The newly signed deals build on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), under which Chinese state and private-sector actors have financed and constructed over USD 12 billion in Kenyan infrastructure. Key BRI-backed projects include:

• Standard Gauge Railway (Mombasa–Nairobi phase): modernizing the transport corridor linking the port to the capital.
  
• Nairobi Expressway: a 27-kilometer toll road easing city congestion.
  
• Lamu Port Development Project: the first deep-water port under LAPSSET.
  
• Kipevu Oil Terminal Expansion: boosting Mombasa’s energy-import capacity.
  

While these ventures have improved logistics and reduced transport costs, some critics flag high interest on Chinese concessional loans and limited local-content requirements. The latest wave of private-sector investments, structured as direct foreign-direct-investment commitments, may better align with BETA’s emphasis on MSME linkages and technology transfer.

Voices from the Roundtable

At the signing ceremony, President Ruto said, “Our goal is to harness private-sector expertise to drive job creation and industrial growth. These agreements mark a significant step toward realizing BETA’s promise of inclusive transformation, from our factory floors to our farms.”

Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui highlighted streamlined approvals under the new One-Stop Centre for investors, noting that “incentives such as 10-year tax holidays, unrestricted profit repatriation and robust legal protections make Kenya a highly competitive FDI destination.”

Industry veteran Denys Denya, Senior Executive Vice-President of Afreximbank, praised the deals as “testimony to Kenya’s improving ease-of-doing-business rankings and the traction our private sector is gaining across global value chains.”

Human Stories and Local Impact

• From Farm to Table: Mercy Nthiga, a 29-year-old poultry technician from Kajiado, will oversee daily operations at Shandong Jialejia’s new egg facility. She envisions 1,000 local youths joining her team.
  
• Green Skills Training: At Athi River, trainee supervisors learn precast-concrete techniques from China Wu Yi mentors, gaining internationally recognized certificates.
  
• Aloepreneurs: Smallholders around Baringo County are signing outgrower contracts with Zonken, guaranteeing offtake and technical support for their aloe plots—an income boost in a region prone to drought.
  

Challenges and the Road Ahead

While the infusion of capital is welcome, several hurdles remain:

• Standards Compliance: Firms like Rongtai Steel must address quality-control lapses flagged by the Kenya Bureau of Standards to avoid work stoppages.
  
• Infrastructure Bottlenecks: Reliable power and transport linkages will be critical to ensure industrial parks operate efficiently.
  
• Local Content and Skills: Effective transfer of technology and management practices depends on robust training programs and localization plans.
  
• Debt Sustainability: Kenya must balance FDI-backed projects with prudent fiscal management to keep public-debt ratios in check.
  

The coming months will test Kenya’s ability to convert these headline-grabbing deals into operational factories, farms and hotels. Success will hinge on close coordination between government agencies, county administrations and private investors to smooth land acquisition, utility connections and workforce development.

Conclusion

Kenya’s USD 920 million of Chinese private-sector commitments represent a significant vote of confidence in the country’s economic reform agenda. As projects roll out under the BETA framework, they promise to create more than 25,000 direct jobs, deepen industrial value chains and strengthen Kenya’s position as East Africa’s premier investment hub. For President Ruto and his team, the challenge now is to ensure these investments translate into tangible improvements in livelihoods, underpinning the broader vision of inclusive growth and shared prosperity.

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photo source: Google

By: Montel Kamau

Serrari Financial Analyst

23rd April, 2025