Ruto Urges German Enterprises to Invest in Kenya

President William Ruto has invited German businessmen to invest in Kenya’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

He claimed that Kenya stands to gain from the most experienced, well-organized, and resourced German institutions.

Ruto pointed out that the industry, which creates more than 60% of job opportunities, is the backbone of the German economy.

He was speaking on Monday in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin when he met Markus Jerger, the Chairman of Der Mittelstand-German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW).

Jerger claims that BVMW represents the interests of more than 3.3 million distinct businesses countrywide.

According to the President’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, the government is dedicated to fostering the growth of small businesses.

“That is why we have put more than Sh50 Billion in the Hustler Fund to provide affordable credit to millions of Kenyans who depend on the MSME sector for a living.”

He noted that so far, the uptake of the facility has been encouraging.

Jerger noted that there are huge opportunities “for us in Kenya’s value addition programme”.

“We can invest in cold storage technology to reduce post-harvest losses. We are already doing it in Senegal,” he said.

Later, the President discussed strategies for attracting more German and foreign companies to Kenya with the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA), which is chaired by Michael Schumann.

The Association listed several possible investment areas, including the food processing industry, the internet economy, and intellectual property rights.