Kenyan Government to Provide Incentives to Wealthy Foreign Investors

The Kenyan Government is considering providing citizenship opportunities to the wealthy foreigners who will bring in Foreign Direct Investment Flows. The foreign investors who create new jobs and export earnings in Kenya will no longer need to live in Kenya for seven years before applying for citizenship as presently required by the immigration laws.

Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) announced that the wealthy foreigner investors will be provided with a permanent residence status after a vetting process.

Moses Ikiara, KenInvest Managing Director gave an assurance that they have held discussions with Interior Cabinet Secretary Mr Fred Matiang’i on plans to develop a framework that will enable a transparent and smooth vetting.

This proposal is among other various plans that Kenya has put in place for implementation under its first ever investment policy unveiled on Wednesday.

The Kenyan Investment Policy aims to attract attention, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation of the impact of private investments at national and country levels. Investors will be offered conditional incentives based on their differentiated needs based on their respective sectors and that will include land banks in partnership with the county government.

The Kenyan Investment Policy was proposed by the National Investment Council and will be chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta with the representation of the private sector.

According to Mr Peter Munya, the Industry and Trade Cabinet Secretary, the policy will bring stability in the investment environment. The minimum capital requirement of KSh 10.3 million for foreign investors will also be reviewed as stated by Mr Ikara.

Kenya’s Foreign Direct Investments increased by 27.53% in 2018 to KSh 165 billion as reported in the World Investment 2019 report.