Dubai-based AriseIIP has announced plans to invest more than $3bn for industrial projects in Kenya in the next five years, the company’s executive director Nikhil Gandhi told Reuters.
The infrastructure developer will direct funds towards three industrial and export parks as well as the Rivatex textiles firm.
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The projects include two export zones along Kenya’s coast and one in Naivasha, Rift Valley.
AriseIIP intends to contribute between 30% and 40% of the investment for an equity stake, while the remaining capital will be sourced through debt from development finance institutions and additional lenders.
This initiative marks the company’s first investment in Kenya, though the company has previously carried out significant developments in Benin and Gabon.
The firm, which is owned by Afreximbank’s private equity unit (FEDA), Africa Finance Corporation, UAE-based Equitane Group and Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest, will collaborate with KCB Group and Afreximbank to create an $800m facility that will support future investors occupying the new zones.
Gandhi stated that firms from Lebanon, China and India have expressed interest in participating, but did not provide specific names.
Furthermore, Gandhi noted that changes in global supply chains, influenced by geopolitical tensions such as conflict in Iran and increased US tariffs, could result in advantages for some African countries.
Kenya is currently seeking to attract further foreign investment as part of its economic development strategy.
“We are looking to attract global companies from more than 14 countries globally to set up their manufacturing base here,” Gandhi said. “People will shift value chains to this continent. In the context of where Kenya lies, I can already see a tectonic shift.”
