President William Ruto Woos German Investors to Kenya

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

Speaking on Monday, March 27, in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin when he met Dr Markus Jerger, the Chairman of Der Mittelstand-German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW), Ruto said Kenya stands to benefit from the world’s most experienced, organised and resourced German establishments.

The President noted that the sector is the backbone of the German economy, generating more than 60 percent of employment opportunities.

“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," Ruto said. 

According to Dr. Jerger, BVMW represents the interests of more than 3.3 million individual enterprises in the country.

Dr 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 held talks with the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA) led by its Chairman Michael Schumann and agreed on the approaches to bringing more German and international businesses to Kenya.

The Association cited food processing, digital economy, intellectual property rights, among others, as some of the potential areas to invest in.