US fund opens Nairobi office in hunt for mega deals

America’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) which mobilises private capital and invests in development projects to advance US foreign policy is Friday set to open an office in Nairobi, raising the Kenyan capital’s profile as a key hub for investors seeking big-ticket infrastructure deals.

The Nairobi office will serve the East African region.

OPIC has opened two other offices in Africa during President Barack Obama’s administration; in Abidjan, Coted’Ivoire and Johanesburg, South Africa.

“I am thrilled to announce that we are opening a third office in Africa to increase OPIC’s regional presence. This office will cultivate a strong US business presence in a fast growing investment environment,” OPIC president Elizabeth Littlefield said. This comes just one day after China-Africa Development Fund (CADF), the largest Chinese fund capital operating on the continent, opened an office in Nairobi to cover the entire East African region.

The two global economic powers will be angling for the huge infrastructure projects including the Lamu Port South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lappset).

The Americans had expressed interest in the Sh2 trillion project last year during President Obama’s visit for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES).

Part of the commercial arrangements signed between the US and Kenya governments include an investment of $9.5 billion (Sh950 billion) in the Lappset corridor and an additional $7.55 billion (Sh755 billion) in the projected value of exports to flow through the same corridor.

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Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker signed a memorandum which indicated the Americans had undertaken to have OPIC invest in infrastructure development.

“East Africa is a fast-growing region and need for investment in power, infrastructure, water, agriculture and other development sectors is growing,” OPIC Nairobi office Managing Director Suresh Samuel said on the heels of the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in New York City.

The corporation works with the US private sector, helping American businesses gain footholds in emerging markets by providing investors with financing, political risk insurance, and support for private equity funds.

OPIC has already invested in the 310-megawatt project Lake Turkana Wind Power project in northern Kenya though a investment guarantee of up to Sh25 billion ($250 million).

It also currently has about Sh70 billion ($700 million) of active financing and political risk insurance commitments in Kenya.

OPIC is also engaged in agriculture projects across Africa as well as power generation in Nigeria.

According to the details of the US-Kenyan agreements worth up to Sh1.2 trillion signed last year, American businesses will also be keen on, an oil pipeline, power plants, urban commuter rail and highways, and various projects in the health and tourism sectors.

The massive agreements are expected to deepen Kenya-American ties at a time when the Chinese and Japanese are flexing their financial and diplomatic muscles which have threatened to overshadow American interests.

About 5.6 per cent of Sub Saharan trade last year was with the US as compared to China, which made up 19.4 percent.