President William Ruto during a past AmCham Summit in Nairobi/FILE
Kenya is eyeing new investment commitments and deals as senior government and business leaders
from the United States and East Africa converge in Nairobi next month.
This is for the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)
Business Summit 2026.
The two-day summit is expected to build on more than $2
billion (Sh258.9 billion) in investment commitments and grants associated with
previous editions, as Kenya seeks to attract fresh capital into strategic
sectors of the economy.
President William Ruto will be the chief guest at the
summit, underscoring the government’s efforts to deepen commercial ties with
the United States and position Kenya as a regional investment hub.
The summit will focus on seven sectors seen as critical
to Kenya’s economic transformation, which are agriculture, the digital economy,
energy and infrastructure, manufacturing, health, critical minerals and the
creative economy.
It will bring together government officials, investors
and corporate executives for policy discussions, sector-focused investment
sessions, business-to-government engagements and business-to-business
matchmaking aimed at converting investment discussions into commercial deals.
“The summit brings our business communities together to
build partnerships and advance shared priorities,” said Susan Burns, Chargé
d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Kenya.
She said the Kenya-US commercial relationship was built
around innovation, investment and shared economic interests, adding that
President Ruto’s participation would help strengthen bilateral ties and
translate regional opportunities into economic growth.
AmCham Kenya board president Angela Ng’ang’a said the president’s
participation sends a strong signal to investors that Kenya is competing for
capital.
“Public-private collaboration is what turns policy intent
into a predictable investment environment,” she said.
The summit comes at a critical time for Kenya’s trade and
investment relationship with the US following the extension of the African
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to December 31, 2028.
The extension has provided renewed certainty for Kenyan
manufacturers and exporters by maintaining duty-free access to the US market.
Kenya’s apparel industry, in particular, stands to
benefit from the extended trade preference.
Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Lee
Kinyanjui said apparel accounts for about 70 per cent of Kenya’s exports to the
US.
According to the 2025 Economic Survey, apparel exports
under AGOA increased by 19 per cent to Sh60.6 billion in 2024, from Sh50.8
billion in 2023.
The sector supports more than 66,000 direct jobs,
particularly in Export Processing Zones, making the US market an important
source of employment and foreign exchange.
The AGOA extension also retains the third-country fabric
provision, allowing Kenyan manufacturers to source yarn and fabric from outside
the AGOA region, manufacture garments locally and export them to the US
duty-free.
The government is urging manufacturers to use the
extended window to expand capacity and diversify exports.
Beyond textiles, agricultural exporters of flowers,
coffee, tea and macadamia nuts are expected to benefit from continued
preferential access to the US market.
The investment summit therefore presents an opportunity
for Kenya to leverage stronger trade access to attract capital into
manufacturing, agriculture and other export-orientated industries.
The previous fourth edition of the regional AmCham
Business Summit, held in Nairobi in 2024, secured more than $1 billion in
cumulative investment commitments and grants since the event began, including
12 new project and grant announcements during that edition.
The 2026 meeting is expected to push that investment
pipeline higher as Kenya seeks to attract long-term capital amid increasing
competition among African economies for foreign direct investment.
The summit will be co-convened by AmCham Kenya and the US
Embassy in Kenya and co-hosted with the government through the Ministry of
Investments, Trade and Industry.
Other partners include the US Chamber of Commerce, Invest
Kenya, the US Trade and Development Agency and AmCham chapters from Uganda,
Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania.
With more than 300 companies in its membership, AmCham
Kenya represents a broad network of American and Kenyan businesses operating
across key sectors of the economy.
The chamber says the summit will provide a platform for
businesses to identify market opportunities, strengthen partnerships and
address policy issues affecting investment and trade.
