Kenya woos Ethiopian investors

NAIROBI: Ethiopian delegates from more than 20 sectors are in the country to scout for investment opportunities. The two-day forum, the fourth since the two nations signed the Special Status Agreement, opened yesterday with both expressing concern over low trade volume.

Addressing delegates, Principal Secretary of International Trade Chris Kiptoo said even though trade between the two countries has been growing, the volumes are still low. He encouraged investors to tap into opportunities in major sectors such as energy, ICT, agribusiness, engineering and manufacturing.

This was echoed by Kenya Investment Authority Managing Director Moses Ikiara who noted that the range of products involved have been narrow. He encouraged Ethiopian investors to take advantage of incentives in Export Processing Zones and Special Processing Zones (SPZs) to boost the volumes.

“Kenya has a strong private sector with strong bodies to support its growth. This is supported by attractive incentives such as reduced corporate tax rate of 10 per cent for the first 10 years and 15 per cent for the next 10 years,” said Ikiara.

Ethiopia’s imports from Kenya in 2012 were worth $55.9 million. The country, in turn, exported goods worth $4.3 million to Kenya.

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