Dubai-based AriseIIP intends to invest more than $3 billion in Kenya over the next five years, according to an executive director at the African infrastructure development firm, speaking to Reuters.
The planned investment will be directed toward three industrial and export parks as well as a textiles company, supporting Kenya’s push to attract foreign investment and create jobs.
“Our total investment in these projects is going to be upwards of about $3 billion,” said Nikhil Gandhi, AriseIIP’s executive director responsible for special economic zones development, on the sidelines of an investment conference.
He added, “We are looking to attract global companies from more than 14 countries globally to set up their manufacturing base here,” noting that AriseIIP will contribute between 30% and 40% of the funding itself in exchange for equity stakes in the projects.
The remaining financing will come through debt raised from development finance institutions and other lenders. Gandhi said the funds will support the development of two export zones along Kenya’s coast, a third in Naivasha in the Rift Valley, and the Rivatex textiles firm.
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AriseIIP is backed by Afreximbank’s private equity arm, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the Africa Finance Corporation, Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest, and UAE-based Equitane Group. While the company has major projects in Benin and Gabon, this marks its first investment in Kenya.
In partnership with Kenyan lender KCB Group and Afreximbank, AriseIIP also plans to establish an $800 million financing facility to support investors that will occupy the zones once they are developed, Gandhi said.
He noted that dozens of companies from China, Lebanon, and India have already shown interest, although he declined to name specific firms.
Gandhi added that geopolitical shifts, including the war in Iran and higher U.S. tariffs, could benefit parts of Africa as global supply chains adjust.
“People will shift value chains to this continent,” he said, pointing to sectors such as textiles, minerals, and electric vehicles. “In the context of where Kenya lies, I can already see a tectonic shift.”
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Image Credit: Reuters
