In February 2023, the first ever EU-Kenya Business Forum took place here in Nairobi. The forum aimed to foster European trade and investment in Kenya by highlighting economic opportunities and potential, whilst also discussing areas for improvement. Dutch companies were present to share their expertise and experiences of doing business in Kenya.

Our very own deputy ambassador Joris van Bommel moderated a panel discussion on logistics and freight. In light of this, we have talked to CEVA Logistics to share some of their expertise and experiences of doing business in Kenya. Axel Herzhauser talks about doing business in Kenya and describes the business-friendly environment. He discusses opportunities “Kenya has an enormous potential to export its fresh produces to global markets”, challenges  "(…) to further improve this export, there should be a war on waste” and looks ahead  “There should be a holistic approach to cold chain transport, starting from having cold stores near farms and relatively close to a functional rail that can accommodate reefer containers. Read more about CEVA Logistics and their work in Kenya on LinkedIn.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Kenyan economy, accounting for around a quarter of Kenya’s total GDP and 60 per cent of its export earnings from trade in agricultural goods. To boost foreign exchange earning potential and employment specifically, successive Kenyan governments have argued to increase efforts into creating a vibrant agro-processing industry. NatureLock Foods is one of the companies active in this sector, contributing to reducing post-harvest losses and creating affordable nutritious food for all. Tei Mukunya Oundo was a panelist during the business forum and talked about business opportunities in the agro-processing sector and shared her own experiences. Read the article to find out more about NatureLock and what project Tei is specifically excited about. Hint: it includes job creation for women and adapting to the effects of climate change.

 

Out of all EU Member States, the Netherlands is the second largest investor in Kenya. A big player in this field is FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial devepment bank. FMO joined the panel on sustainable finance. This means: making investment decisions that take into account the environmental, social and governance considerations. FMO has an office in Kenya covering the whole of East Africa to support entrepreneurs in the agribusiness, financial institutions and energy sectors. Their motto: pioneer – develop – scale. It’s based on their long-term commitment to companies, supporting them from an initial high-risk phase to the point where commercial investors can take over. We spoke with Keval Bid, who is based in Nairobi as a Local Representative. Read our conversation with Keval on our LinkedIn page.

We give regular updates on the Netherlands Embassy’s work in Kenya. Our activities and programs & financial instruments are available on our website and on our twitter @NLinKenya. We also send out a newsletter with information on relevant developments in the sector. If you would like to subscribe, please use the contact form, so we can add you to our contact database.