International Affairs
The Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the embassy of Kenya in Brussels hosted a seminar on the business opportunities in the Republic of Kenya for Luxembourg companies.
40 company and official representatives attended the event, which served as a first step in the preparation of the upcoming economic mission to Kenya (and Rwanda), set to take place from the 9th to the 14th of June 2019.
The trade mission to Kigali and Nairobi was officially announced during this seminar by Mr. Jeannot Erpelding, Director International Affairs. Interested companies are invited to contact Mr. Thomas Bertrand (africa@cc.lu, +352 42 39 39 337), for more details.
H.E. Prof. Jacob T. Kaimenyi EGH, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, and Mr. Joshua Mugodo, Head of Chancery, gave a broad overview of Kenya’s current economic situation and the regulations implemented in the last 6 years, which allowed the country to go way up in the “Doing Business World Ranking”. From the 136th position in 2014, the country is now ranked 61st worldwide.
East Africa ranks as the fastest growing part of Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019.
As the largest and most advanced economy in East and Central Africa, Kenya’s GDP accounts for more than 50 per cent of the region’s total and in terms of current market prices. The report said overall economic expansion in East Africa measured 6.2 percent in 2018 and is forecasted to accelerate to 6.4 percent (2019) and 6.5 percent in 2020. Kenya’s economy grew by nearly six percent in 2018 and will sustain that level in 2019 and 2020, according to the same report.
Kenya’s strong growth prospects are supported by an emerging middle class and an increasing appetite for high-value goods and services. The country’s investment climate is the strongest in the East African Community (EAC), with Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) flowing in from emerging and developed markets and a high volume of multinational companies with regional and continent-wide headquartered in the country. Given its position as the economic, commercial and logistical hub of East Africa, private equity capital is now flowing into Kenya.
Kenya has relatively well developed infrastructures including four international airports, an extensive road and railway network, a modern deep sea port in Mombasa capable of handling bulk and other containerized cargo, an expanding, liberalized energy sector and digital telecommunication networks. Air freight operations (direct flights) are currently running between Luxembourg and Jomo Kenyatta international airport.
Mr. Patrick Jeanne, Senior Manager, Government Relations and Traffic Rights at Cargolux, gave a detailed overview of the company’s activities in Africa and more specifically in Kenya. After 20 years of experience in Nairobi together with a local partner, Afrika Aviation Services, Cargolux can truly be considered as a pillar of the economic relation between Kenya and Luxembourg. Positive and challenging experiences were described by Mr. Jeanne, who stressed the crucial need for a Double Tax Treaty Agreement between Kenya and Luxembourg.
The seminar was concluded by a truly inspiring presentation by Mrs. Annette Houtekamer, Product Lead at IBISA / BitValley, Their project is based on a peer-to-peer architecture supported by blockchain and Earth Observation technology to reduce costs typically incurred by traditional insurer-centric paradigms. This seminar was an opportunity for them to address the various challenges they are currently facing to implement their solution in Kenya.
