Ruto meets German investors in Berlin, invites them to Kenya
President William Ruto (right) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the presidential Bellevue Palace in Berlin on March 27, 2023.
President William Ruto has invited German businessmen to Kenya to invest in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Speaking in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin on Monday, Dr Ruto said the country stands to benefit from the world's most experienced, organized and resourced establishments from Germany.
“We believe Kenya will benefit from the German sector which is one of the most vibrant, organized, experienced, and resourced in the world, providing more than 60 percent of the country’s employment,” said President Ruto.
He made the remarks when he met Dr Markus Jerger, chairman of Der Mittelstand-German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW).
Dr Ruto further said that the government is committed under its bottom-up economic transformation agenda to supporting small enterprises to flourish.
This, he said, was the reason they have put more than Sh50 billion in the Hustler Fund to provide affordable credit to citizens who depend on the MSME sector for a living.
The President also noted that the uptake of the Hustler Fund has been encouraging.
Dr Jerger said that BVMW represents the interests of more than 3.3 million individual enterprises in the country.
He also noted that there are huge opportunities for German businessmen in Kenya’s value addition program where they can invest in cold storage technology to reduce post-harvest losses.
The President also held talks with the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA) led by its chairman Mr Michael Schumann and agreed on approaches to bring more German and international companies into the country.
According to the association, food processing, digital economy, and intellectual property rights among others are potential areas to invest in.
And in a meeting with the chief executive officer of the European Organization for Sustainability Development (EOSD) Arshad Rab in Berlin, Dr Ruto said there is an urgent need for reforms in financial institutions to bridge gaps that risk the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) agenda.
He said that the country acknowledges the challenge and is working with countries and partners to achieve a better sustainable future for all.
President Ruto further said that they discussed approaches to tackling poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation and peace.
