Tatu City, the privately developed 5,000-acre Special Economic Zone (SEZ), 20 km north of Nairobi, has quietly become one of East Africa’s most important manufacturing and logistics clusters. Today the development hosts just over 100 manufacturing companies, roughly 70% of which are Kenyan-owned, a mix of domestic and international firms choosing to locate where world-class infrastructure, tax incentives, and logistics converge.
Why firms are setting up at Tatu City is straightforward: the SEZ offers predictable and reliable infrastructure (dedicated power, water, and fibre), lower effective taxes for SEZ Enterprises, and modern warehouses that are effective and efficient to bring into operation than retrofitting older industrial areas around Nairobi. That proposition has been compelling for manufacturers, cold-chain operators and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors facing supply-chain constraints and high logistics costs elsewhere.
Concrete examples show the dynamics.
FullCare (Kenya) Medical SEZ Limited, a global medical-apparel manufacturer, opened a major production facility in Tatu City in 2024. The project represents an estimated investment of about US$100 million across its first two phases. Phase 1 has already created approximately 1,800 jobs for Kenyans, with Phase 2 expected to scale employment to around 7,000 as operations expand. That kind of anchor investor both creates direct jobs and builds the skills base for ancillary suppliers.
Health-sector supply chain firms are also attracting significant investment. Hewatele SEZ Enterprises Limited secured US$ 20 million in financing from Finnfund, SEDF, Grand Challenges Canada, USDFC, and IFC to expand its oxygen and medical gas manufacturing capacity for the East African region, emphasizing rising investor confidence in Africa’s healthcare manufacturing sector.
Logistics and warehousing are core to Tatu’s value proposition. Africa Logistics Properties (ALP) developed a Grade-A logistics park inside Tatu- ALP North comprises some 50000m2 of modern high-bay warehousing built to international standards- and has signed large leases to regional operators including distribution centres for firms such as Sun King. That capacity makes Tatu a natural consolidation point for regional distribution and export logistics.
Temperature-controlled storage has been a particularly visible success story. Cold Solutions Kiambu SEZ Limited (backed by ARCH’s Cold Chain Solutions fund and with support from development financiers) built a 15000 m2 cold-chain complex on six acres inside Tatu City- at commissioning it was described as among the largest, most advanced cold-storage facilities in East Africa- enabling exporters, processors, and pharmaceutical distributors to store and move perishable goods reliably.
Beyond large-scale investments like Cold Solutions, Tatu City has also developed infrastructure tailored for smaller enterprises. SME access to modern logistics is tackled by “The Link,” Tatu’s leased warehousing park for small and medium enterprises. The Link provides flexible units, ranging from about 849, and SEZ benefits that exempt import duties and VAT friction for import-dependent manufacturers and assemblers- this product lowers the barrier for Kenyan SMEs to scale without committing to large land purchases or lengthy builds.
When combined, these developments explain how a mix of local firms, coffee roasters and processors such as Dormans, local distributors, and homegrown logistics players, and international manufacturers are building clustered value chains inside Tatu. The city’s combination of SEZ incentives, ready-to-use warehousing, and modern utilities is allowing over 100 businesses, and a majority owned by Kenyans, to industrialize faster than in older industrial precincts, generating thousands of jobs and creating a platform for exports across East and Central Africa.
If Kenya aims to bring more value creation within its borders, Tatu City stands as a compelling proof of concept- a modern, well-planned industrial hub where reliable infrastructure and scalable facilities make “Made in Kenya” both competitive and sustainable.
