Record foreign investment inflows have put Kenya on the radar of global investors, but the next battle is likely to be fought over artificial intelligence infrastructure, green data centres and the digital economy.
Kenya Investment Authority (Invest Kenya) chief executive John Mwendwa says the country is betting on its renewable energy, skilled workforce and strategic location to attract the next wave of capital.
Kenya attracted a record $3.2 billion (Sh413.6 billion) in foreign direct investment in 2025 according to UNCTAD. What drove that performance?
It’s always good to set the landscape before jumping into the numbers. Globally, capital is looking for favourable places to locate, and Africa is increasingly becoming the next frontier for investment because by 2040 it will be home to the world’s youngest population.
Kenya is riding that wave. For the first time in our history, foreign direct investment exceeded $3 billion. That did not happen by accident. It reflects a sustained government push to facilitate investors throughout the entire journey.
We work with investors from the moment they begin considering opportunities in Africa and Kenya, providing business intelligence and helping them evaluate projects. We stay with them through implementation until they are commercially operational.
For the first time, we’ve also strengthened what we call ‘aftercare’, ensuring investors continue receiving support after establishing operations. That complete investor journey has become a major differentiator.
Much of the global investment conversation has shifted from traditional manufacturing to artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centres. Is Kenya seeing that shift?
Absolutely. AI and technology continue evolving faster than most people imagine.
We already have a pipeline of several data centre investments interested in Kenya, not only to serve the domestic market but to use Kenya as a springboard for the rest of Africa.
Green data centres represent the future. Sustainability has become a significant consideration for investors, and Kenya has a strong advantage because our electricity mix is about 93 percent renewable.
We have also seen important announcements such as Oracle’s data centre investment, and there are others evaluating similar opportunities. The demand is definitely there.
The key question now is ensuring power supply grows alongside demand.
Can Kenya realistically compete with established investment destinations like South Africa, Morocco or even the UAE for AI infrastructure?
Investors make decisions based on different competitive advantages, and I believe Kenya possesses a combination that very few countries on the continent can match.
We are strategically located on Africa’s eastern seaboard, giving us access to regional and international markets.
Our electricity is largely renewable, with a national ambition of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in the coming years. That becomes a very important consideration for companies building energy-intensive digital infrastructure.
Remember, these are not data centres designed only for Kenya. They are regional facilities serving customers across Africa and beyond.
The building blocks required to make Kenya a technology hub are increasingly falling into place.
If you want evidence, look at startup funding. Kenya attracted nearly $1 billion in startup investment in 2025, with a significant share flowing into technology businesses.
We believe Kenya is competitive, and this is one area where we can become a continental leader.
How is Invest Kenya helping investors move faster once they decide to invest?
One of the biggest initiatives we have introduced is what we call the ‘Investment Deal Room’.
Essentially, it brings together different government agencies to resolve investment bottlenecks in one coordinated process.
If an investor has challenges with land titles, we engage the Ministry of Lands. If there are taxation issues, company registration concerns or regulatory approvals, the relevant agencies come together and work through those challenges collectively.
Rather than leaving investors to navigate multiple institutions independently, we coordinate solutions.
That dedicated collaboration has significantly improved the investment process.
Apart from approvals, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to attract global capital?
One challenge that doesn’t receive enough attention is the quality of investment opportunities.
A project cannot simply be an idea. Investors need detailed financial assumptions, realistic projections and credible data before committing capital.
That is why, for the first time, we have published an investment projects catalogue.
It brings together public, private, public-private partnership and infrastructure projects that have been developed to a standard investors can evaluate.
Instead of spending months trying to understand whether an opportunity is viable, investors can immediately see where the opportunities are and what the potential returns look like.
That shortens the investment discovery process considerably.
If you could change one thing over the next 12 months to improve Kenya’s competitiveness, what would it be?
The biggest priority is creating an even more predictable and conducive business environment.
Investment promotion is not something one agency can deliver alone. It requires coordination across government because investors interact with many institutions.
For us, the most consequential issue is improving the overall business climate. If investors know what is coming, if regulations are fair and consistent, and if decisions happen quickly, Kenya becomes much more competitive.
What are some of biggest investment projects that Kenya lost to competing countries in recent years?
If you asked a bank how many customers it declined compared to those it financed, you would probably find they turned away far more than they approved.
Investment promotion works in a similar way. Not every project comes to Kenya, and that’s perfectly normal. Sometimes another country is simply a better fit.
If another African country wins an investment, Africa still benefits.
What matters is understanding why we didn’t secure a project and whether there are lessons we can apply next time.
The encouraging part is that Kenya’s numbers continue moving in the right direction. Foreign direct investment is growing. Our pipeline continues expanding.
Our focus remains on improving conversion.
Looking ahead, are you confident Kenya can surpass the record FDI inflows recorded in 2025?
I’m optimistic, but we are only halfway through the year, so I don’t want to give a specific number.
When we held our international investment conference in March, I thought we might announce around $2 billion worth of investment commitments.
Instead, we announced $2.9 billion. That shows the strength of the pipeline.
Based on what we are seeing today, I believe 2026 can perform better than 2025.
Exactly where the number lands, we will know when the year closes. But the trajectory is positive.