President William Ruto used the Norway-Kenya business forum in
Oslo to make a bold pitch that Kenya is no longer seeking aid-driven
partnerships but strategic investment and industrial co-production
with Europe, particularly Norway’s deep-pocketed sovereign wealth
ecosystem.
Ruto framed Kenya as the “gateway to Africa,” urging Norwegian
investors to shift from traditional development cooperation to
long-term commercial partnerships anchored on manufacturing,
innovation and value addition.
He argued that Africa is entering a new economic era defined not
by scarcity but by underutilised opportunity, citing vast natural
resources, renewable energy potential, a youthful population and the
African Continental Free Trade Area market of 1.4 billion people.
“The question for global investors is no longer whether to
engage Africa, but how, and through which gateway. I am here to make
the case that the gateway is Kenya,” Ruto said Tuesday at the
Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise in Oslo.
A central theme of his address was the repositioning of Kenya as a
clean-energy manufacturing hub for global markets.
He said more than 90 per cent of Kenya’s electricity is
renewable, giving investors a rare opportunity to produce goods with
a low carbon footprint for both African and European markets under
existing trade agreements.
“Make it in Kenya. Make it clean. Sell it to Africa, Europe, and
the world,” he said, pitching Kenya as a dual-access production
base.
Ruto also highlighted reforms aimed at improving investor
confidence, including digitised permits, tax incentives for exports,
removal of ICT restrictions, and a one-stop investment centre.
He pointed to growing foreign direct investment inflows and strong
returns on the Nairobi Securities Exchange as evidence of improving
market confidence.
President William Ruto engages in OSLO FORUM panel discussion on the cost of war, the price of peace moderated by Chief International Correspondent, BBC at Forstanderskapssalen, Sentralen in NORWAY
He directly courted Norwegian capital, referencing the country’s
$2 trillion sovereign wealth fund and urging investors to tap into
Kenya’s infrastructure pipeline, estimated at $40 billion.
“We have made investing faster. We have made it more
predictable,” he said, adding that Kenya is correcting “perceptions
that continue to price African risk far above its reality.”
Sector-specific proposals formed a key part of the speech.
Ruto called for deeper cooperation in renewable energy storage and
transmission, expansion of blue economy partnerships in fisheries and
aquaculture, and a green ammonia fertiliser initiative with Norwegian
firms to boost food security.
He also positioned Kenya as a fintech and digital innovation hub,
inviting Nordic tech and venture capital firms to scale solutions
across Africa through Nairobi.
Citing existing Norwegian investments through institutions such as
Norfund, Ruto argued that Kenya has already proven its credibility as
an investment destination.
He said Kenya is now seeking to move beyond pilot projects into
large-scale industrial transformation driven by private capital.
“Kenya offers a clean grid, bankable projects, and one of the
most attractive green investment opportunities anywhere in the
world,” he said.
