The value of county investment summits

KenInvest, then the Investment Promotion Centre was at hand to assist. But the local authority – Nyahururu Municipal Council - struggled to understand what was being proposed and their role in it.

In those days, investment promotion was thought of in terms of the national level and at the capital. That early Nyahururu effort was immortalised in a video, Jewel by the Falls, which singled out the site on which Panari Hotel now stands, as ripe for development.

Laikipia conference will take a fairly common format – key note addresses, panels, plenary and exhibitions. A glance at the conference programme shows topic like understanding Laikipia’s economy and investment opportunities, investor-ready areas, as well as incentives.

It will delve into the contribution of horticulture in the economy, as well as export market dynamics, and trade options for Laikipia and Central Regional Economic Block Counties.

The role of key government agencies such as Kenya Industrial Estates, Numerical Machining Complex, and the Kenya Development Corporation, in supporting manufacturing will feature strongly.

The conference will do well to consider water for production. Basic irrigation can transform small holder agricultural output. A key opportunity in the region is manufacturing for agriculture. This should replace the import of basic agricultural machines and tools.

Resource mobilisation for counties, cities and municipalities is worthy of consideration. Some cities like Kisumu, are attracting global attention. Others should learn from them. Tourism and conservation, and red meat production are big topics for Laikipia.

The key hurdle for these conferences is the conversion. This tends to be the weakest point. Rarely do conferences present bankable projects. Rather, they present the general picture.

But we have come a long way in both quality and frequency. In recent times, Murang'a, Homa Bay, and Kisumu have held investment conferences. Some were regional in character.

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The Nyanza International Investment Conference covered the lake region. The Frontier Counties Development Council held a series of conferences, grouping two to three counties together for each event.

The emergence of the county level of government increased capacity at the local level to produce critical economic data, as well as plan and execute. County governments are expected to promote local economic development.

Some counties have been diligent in producing the economic data, publishing statistical abstracts. Others have lugged behind. Filling in the gap is the Gross County Product (GCP) report, published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

It is unfortunate that some counties don’t produce the statistics regularly, because it makes investment decisions more difficult. It is also useful to aggregate the data at the regional economic block level.

Doing so will change your perspective. For instance at $28 billion, the central region economy is bigger that Mauritius, and Botswana. It is twice that of Rwanda. Those countries have securities exchanges that assist the private sector to mobilise capital. Companies in Mauritius regularly issue bonds. Is it time to consider regional securities exchanges?

Laikipia County’s economy is primarily driven by agriculture, tourism, and real estate. Wholesale and retail trade, construction and financial Services also significantly contribute to the economy. Laikipia’s GCP grew from is Sh88.4 billion in 2019, to Sh128.1 billion in 2023. This strong growth signifies various opportunities.

There are those who question the value of such conferences. I have a different view. I support. In life, thoughts became ideas. Ideas become plans. Plans become action. Action brings change. These conferences provide the platform for us to see the opportunities in our counties, cities, and towns

One old limiting mindset still lingers. Too often, investment promotion is thought of in terms of foreign direct investment. Yet, the reality is that if the environment is not attractive for local investors, the foreign ones will not come either.

There of course, is the question of scale. The debate is about the capacity of local investors to mobilise capital at scale. It dove tails to the idea of flag ship projects. I think it is misplaced. Hundreds of innovative SMEs might be preferable to one gigantic economic entity.

Ndiritu Muriithi is an economist and partner at Ecocapp Capital.  He is also the chairman of KRA and former governor of Laikipia County. Email: [email protected]