1.            Agriculture

Food is a basic need a living being cannot do without, be it in times of sufficiency or scarcity. As such, the agribusiness sector when mastered rightfully has a lot of potential for willing investors.

Each time draught ravages Kenya, food becomes prices go up and those that benefit are those in the agribusiness sector.

If you are looking for good investment opportunities in Kenya, you could start a maize milling plant and sell maize flour in the East African region where Ugali is the staple food. Still rejected cash crops like Coffee have regained their value after new policies on coffee management were drafted.

Coffee is the world’s second most traded commodity and if you get your farming right, the returns are impressive.

2.            Manufacturing

This is a sector which plays an important role in the growth of Kenya’s GDP, though it is mainly agro -based. However, there is a shift to export oriented manufacturing as the main thrust of Kenya’s industrial policy since the country aims to raise the share of products in the regional market from 7 percent to 15 percent. The country is promoting development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Industrial Parks, Industrial Clusters, promotion of small and medium scale manufacturing firms, development of niche products, commercialization of research and development results. Investment opportunities include manufacturing of fertilizer, agro-processing, machine tools and machinery, garments, and engineering products for both domestic and export markets.

3.            Technology

Kenya has fully embraced the opportunities afforded by technology. The bubbly start-up scene is something to be admired. Favourable government policies have also enabled the sector, with the size of the local ICT market now is estimated at around $500 million.

The National ICT Masterplan aims to enhance Kenya’s competitiveness through utilisation of its resources in Business Process Outsourcing and strengthening its capacities to meet future technological challenges. The 2030 vision for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is for the country to become the top BPO destination in Africa.

Kenya currently boasts the highest share of population with access to financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa (more than 70 percent). This is largely thanks to the popular mobile money transfer service M-Pesa. Konza City, a modern technopolis is a project by the Kenyan government which promises to drive even more growth in the ICT sector.

4.            Tourism

Kenya prides itself as a major safari destination. Tourism is a key foreign exchange earner, and third largest contributor to the GDP after agriculture and manufacturing. Apart from the popular national parks and the coastal sandy beaches, the Kenyan government has earmarked several new areas where investment might come in handy. These include resort cities, branding of premium parks, development of high value niche products, and new high-end international hotels amongst others.

There are a lot of opportunities to invest in in the tourism sector. Kenya is amongst the top tourist destinations in Africa and the government is also committed to providing a tourism friendly environment to enhance tourism.

5.            Investing in Renewable energy

Kenya is one of the most active countries in terms of embracing renewable energy in Africa. An overwhelming 70 percent of power in Kenya is sourced from renewable energy. There are many profitable investment ventures in the Kenyan energy sector from renewable sources such as:

•             Bio fuels

•             Solar, wind and geothermal power generation

•             Innovations in the renewable energy sector

•             Drilling of geothermal wells

•             Cleaning services