Around 50 Swedish related companies are entitled in Kenya, with the majority located in Nairobi.
This includes ABB, Alfa Laval, Atlas Copco, Bahco, Ericsson, Saab, Sandvik, Scania, SKF, TetraPak and Volvo. Several of these companies cover East and other parts of Africa from Nairobi.
Sweden foreign minister, travelling to Africa to look for investment opportunities for her country and recently conducted bilateral talks with Kenyan officials.
Margot Wallstorm, the feminist proponent minister and a hard hitting critic of Brexit has notified that Sweden has already identified areas that it want to invest in Kenya as a gateway to East Africa.
She has held consultative meeting with Kenya’s Foreign Affairs CS, Monica Juma on different bilateral fronts between Kenya and Sweden.
A Swedish delegation to Kenya that she is leading has realised opportunities for further growth in the sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, ICT and renewable energy.
Important export products from Sweden are telecommunication equipment, paper, machinery, manufactured products, medical equipment and vehicles. Imports from Kenya includes mainly of coffee, cut flowers, fruits and vegetables.
A growing number of Swedish companies have settled themselves in Kenya.
Swedfund, the Swedish development finance institution, has a regional office in Nairobi since 2009. There are remarkable opportunities for future growth in the trade relations, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, ICT and renewable energy.
The interest in Kenya and East Africa among Swedish institutional and private investors is growing.
Sweden has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Kenya since 1973.
As a result, the Government has come up with a number of policies focusing at facilitating foreign direct investments and improving the business atmosphere in Kenya.
Kenya’s deliberate geographical location also makes it favourable as a manufacturing spot, something which the Government pursue to promote. The outlook for economic growth in Kenya is considered promising.
“We’re very happy and delighted at the interest we’ve seen amongst the Swedish private sector and I have emphasized the dedication of government to continue improving the ease and interest of doing business so that we can really move smoothly from aid to trade,” Wallstorm stated.
