During his keynote address at the 2026 Kenya International Investment Conference (KIICO), President William Ruto delivered a blunt message to foreign investors: the country’s new investment strategy will rely less on promises and more on tax incentives, regulatory reforms, and faster approvals.
- •President Ruto said the government expects more than US$2.5 billion worth of investment deals to be unveiled during the event, positioning the forum as a platform for commitments rather than policy discussion.
- •The government has framed the conference as part of a broader push to reposition Kenya as a regional investment hub at a time of rising geopolitical tension and increasingly cautious global capital flows.
- •His speech focused heavily on the incentives being offered to investors, suggesting a shift in tone from earlier conferences that emphasised broad economic potential.
“As we navigate these evolving contexts, our collective responsibility is to ensure that our economies remain resilient, adaptable, and capable of withstanding global shocks,” President Ruto said.
President Ruto said that Kenya has already removed many of the regulatory and tax barriers that previously discouraged foreign investment.
Among the key measures highlighted were new tax provisions allowing companies to offset verified tax claims against future liabilities, zero-rating VAT on exported services and the removal of the 30% domestic ownership requirement for ICT firms.
The government is also planning to introduce clearer transfer-pricing rules and new VAT-refund mechanisms aimed at improving liquidity for foreign companies operating in the country. Moreover, a new digital one-stop investment platform is expected to allow investors to secure permits and licenses entirely online by the end of the year, while a new investment law is being prepared to replace the existing 2004 framework with a faster approval system and stronger after-care services for investors.
“These reforms are being reinforced by broader regulatory improvements, including the fast-tracking of the Business Laws Amendment Bill 2026 and the introduction of the Invest Kenya Bill, which will form our 2004 Investment Promotion and Facilitation Act to establish a unified modern framework for investment facilitation, faster approvals, and enhanced aftercare services,” Ruto added.
The emphasis on incentives comes as the government tries to persuade investors that Kenya can remain competitive despite global economic volatility. Ruto argued that Kenya’s macroeconomic position has improved enough to justify renewed investor confidence.
He pointed to foreign-direct-investment inflows that rose more than 15% last year to exceed US$2 billion for the first time, alongside a recent sovereign credit upgrade that the government says reflects stronger fiscal and monetary stability.
The government is also leaning heavily on the performance of domestic capital markets to reinforce its case. The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) ranked among Africa’s best performers in 2025 with returns of more than 50% in dollar terms, and a multi-billion listing by the state-owned Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) earlier this month is being presented as evidence that large-scale capital raising is once again possible in the local market.
The message from investors speaking at the conference was notably pragmatic. Arise IIP, which is planning to develop three special economic zones in Kenya, said it intends to invest more than US$3 billion over the next three years, but made clear that capital is now being driven less by broad macroeconomic stability and more by operating conditions on the ground.
According to the company's Executive Director Nikhil Gandhi, manufacturers are increasingly focused on predictable power tariffs, clearer tax structures and policy frameworks that make large-scale industrial production viable. The emphasis on electricity pricing, industrial land and export-oriented incentives suggests the government’s investment push is now being tested primarily on whether it can make Kenya competitive as a manufacturing base rather than simply a regional services hub.
“Capital is looking for stability. Investors are looking for enablers in the form of power tariffs. They are looking for policy frameworks that enable the unlockment of key sectors and also import subsidies where there is unlocking of great potential to develop over 100,000 and millions of jobs,” Gandhi said.
If the expected deals materialise, the conference would mark one of the largest coordinated investment pushes since the government began its reform programme, and a test of whether the new incentive-driven approach can translate policy changes into actual capital inflows.
