US companies have highlighted their limited success bidding on government tenders, citing corruption and initiatives such as the ‘Buy Kenya Build Kenya’ as reasons, according to the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.
- •Other setbacks include delays by the judiciary in settling tariffs and taxation disputes, export ban, real estate restrictions, limitations on foreign equity participation and intellectual property protection.
- •The report says that tenders are often not announced in a transparent manner and that foreign firms, some without proven track records, have won government contracts when partnered with well-connected Kenyan firms or individuals.
- •The report further noted that U.S. firms have had limited success bidding on Kenyan Government tenders over its ‘Buy Kenya Build Kenya’ initiative.
“Kenya has not effectively implemented its anticorruption laws. U.S. firms continue to report direct and indirect requests for bribes from multiple levels of the Kenyan Government. Corruption is widely reported to affect government procurements at the national and county levels,” notes the report.
In February 2025, the Trump administration paused the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ‘to further American economic and national security.’ In the executive order on the pause, US President Donald Trump said it was meant to boost the competitiveness of American businesses.
The Kenyan government mandates that all tenders and procurements be undertaken through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). Concerns about IFMIS include insufficient connectivity and technical capacity in county government offices, central control shutdowns, and security gaps that render the system vulnerable to manipulation and hacking.
Since May 2015, an initiative dubbed “Buy Kenya Build Kenya” has required government institutions to procure at least 40% of their supplies locally. For example, government entities are required to give an exclusive procurement preference to motor vehicles and motorcycles produced by companies that have assembly plants in Kenya. Procurement preferences are given to companies that have assembly plants in Kenya-even if the specific item procured is not assembled or manufactured in Kenya.
The 2016 Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPADA) reserves procurement preferences for Kenyan-owned firms and goods manufactured or mined in Kenya. For tenders funded entirely by the government with a value of less than KSh 50 million (approximately $388,000), the preference for Kenyan firms and goods is required.
“If the procuring entity seeks to contract with non-Kenyan firms or procure foreign goods, the PPADA requires a report detailing evidence of an inability to procure locally. In April 2020, the National Treasury issued implementing regulations for the PPADA, which mandate that tender proposals include offset requirements such as skills and knowledge transfer to Kenyan citizens, a 75 percent set-aside of employment opportunities for Kenyans, and a local content plan.”
