Kenya partners with global advisory firm to analyze investment climate

The Kenya Investment Authority on Monday inked a partnership deal with global advisory firm, Oxford Business Group, to fast track and analyze the country's plans to expand its investor base.

Managing director of the Kenya Investment Authority, Moses Ikiara, said the country's efforts to create a more business-friendly environment as a means of attracting investment, particularly for large-scale projects, would be a key focus of the authority's research with Oxford Business Group.

"The numerous international investor delegations that have visited Kenya this year and the previous two years and the level of enquiries for investors from different parts of the world point to an expanding base of investor interest in Kenya," Ikiara said.

Under the deal signed in Nairobi, the two sides will collaborate to produce a report that will give wide-ranging analysis on various sectors to help enhance the country's business climate, which the government hopes will generate a new wave of public-private partnerships.

There will also be an in-depth analysis of the broader range of regulatory reforms earmarked for implementation over the coming months.

Oxford Business Group's country director in Kenya, Veselina Kracheva, said the group was delighted to have the Kenyan authority on board for a third year of research on East Africa's largest economy.

Kracheva said Kenya's economic growth was expected to remain strong, despite a lacklustre international backdrop, buoyed by an increasingly active private sector and higher levels of regional integration. Endit