Africa, Kenya open and ready for business, President Kenyatta says

Africa is open and ready for business, President Uhuru Kenyatta said Saturday, inviting the world to support local entrepreneurs.

He described Kenya as a “hotbed of vibrant culture, natural beauty and infinite possibility”, adding it was one of the economies whose growth over the last decade told the story of a new generation committed to an African Renaissance.

“This is our moment to complete the task started by our fathers in pursuit of economic freedom. It is the time for the new generation of Africans to promote inclusive prosperity,” President Kenyatta said.

He added: “Let the world hear a simple message: the narrative of African despair and indignity is false – indeed, it was never true.”

President Kenyatta spoke at the opening of the historic Sixth Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) at the United Nations African headquarters at Gigiri, Nairobi.

US President Barack Obama, who co-hosted the global summit — the first in sub-Saharan Africa — with President Kenyatta, said Africa is on the move.

“People are being uplifted out of poverty, incomes are up, the middle class is growing and young people are harnessing technology to change the way Africa is doing business,” President Obama said.

The US President said Kenya is leading the way towards making Africa a hub of global growth.

“Kenya is the largest economy in East Africa. High speed broadband and mobile connectivity are unleashing the entrepreneurship spirit,” he said.

He announced more than $1 billion (about Sh100 billion) in new funding to Africa, saying half of the money will support women and young people.

As Kenya’s development agenda gains momentum, President Kenyatta said the country could not afford the luxury of the old language of East versus West.

He said Kenya is neither aligned to the West or East but is firmly and irreversibly aligned to progress.

“Africa’s relationship with the rest of the world must be premised on mutual benefit, where our people and our resources are leveraged to secure the growth of our economies and prosperity for all,” he said.

President Kenyatta emphasized that Kenya typifies the change sweeping across the continent where young Africans are reaching for a new future in which their innovation and curiosity will transform the world.

He observed that Kenyans, using their mobile phone airtime, inspired the development of MPesa that is now the world’s leading mobile money platform.

President Kenyatta also cited M-Kopa as another new Kenyan innovation that has brought the benefits of solar lighting to hundreds of thousands of rural homes, enabling children to study after school and relieving mothers from the burden of fetching firewood and burning kerosene late into the night.

“These examples demonstrate the ability of this continent to transform challenges into opportunities,” he said.

On the fight against terrorism, President Kenyatta pointed out that the recent reopening of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi — that suffered a terrorist attack almost two years ago — was a testimony of Kenya’s resilience in the face of adversity.

President Kenyatta also spoke on the democratic space in Kenya which was secured by a transformation in governance.

He said his Government has been implementing a new constitutional dispensation that Kenyans aspired for, fully devolving government and taking services closer to the people.

“From the big cities of Nairobi and Mombasa to the promising towns of Isiolo and Machakos, the impact of devolution means that no part of the country is left behind; that national prosperity will be shared in every corner of our land,” he said.

President Kenyatta and President Obama acknowledged the role of the youth in driving Africa’s economic growth through the entrepreneurship spirit.