Economy

American firms hired 5,964 more Kenyans in a decade

dollar

Since 2010, 85 American companies have invested an estimated total of Sh311.78 billion in Kenya. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Some ten American firms invested Sh207 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Kenya between 2010 and 2019, a report released by the US Embassy last week shows.

The report compiled by AidData, a global research arm of the William and Mary's Global Research Institute, says the investments have created jobs for 5,964 Kenyans.

"US companies increasingly see Kenya as a destination for investment: they are building new facilities, expanding existing operations, and creating manufacturing jobs in line with Kenya’s goals of modernising its economy that is predominantly occupied by domestic workers," the AidData report reads.

The corporations include Cummins (Sh48.95 billion), Dupre Investments (Sh42.35 billion), General Electrics (Sh38.20 billion), Coca-Cola (Sh25.86 billion), IBM (Sh13.51 billion), Ormat Technologies (Sh11.07 billion), Alternate Systems (Sh7.77 billion), Mars (Sh6.92 billion), Mastercard (Sh6.597 billion) and Microsoft (Sh5.85 billion).

"Since 2010, 85 American companies have invested an estimated total of Sh311.78 billion in Kenya through greenfield investments and acquiring physical assets (as opposed to mergers and acquisitions or leasing of existing facilities)," the data shows.

The data shows that the US bilateral assistance went to the health sector (61.6 percent) followed by social development (17 percent), crises and conflicts (8.7 percent), agriculture and food security (6.1 percent) then education (1.7 percent).

Other investments derived from policies include trade (Sh58.62bn), investment guarantees (8.38bn) and scholarships (Sh1.9bn).

Some of the biggest US donors to the country include Arcus Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation and the Ford Foundation.