President William Ruto (left) and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga at the Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay County for this year's Genowa Governor's Cup on December 27, 2024.
President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga will be attending an investment conference initially cancelled over the June youth-led protests last year.
The three-day inaugural Nyanza International Investment Conference (NIIC) scheduled for February 6 – 8 in Kisumu, comes even as President Ruto appears to shift his focus to Mr Odinga’s bastions to shore up support for his administration.
Since the impeachment of his deputy, Mr Rigathi Gachagua, Dr Ruto has made several working trips to the region, some jointly with Mr Odinga, with analysts observing his efforts to woo the region to his political corner ahead of the 2027 re-election.
The conference was initially scheduled for June 28-28, 2024 before it was postponed at the height of the youth-led protests. It had also attracted controversies after some of the region’s six governors complained of not being involved.
But with the rapprochement and the involvement of the two leaders, preparations for the conference are in top gear, with the organisers expressing confidence to secure pacts and unlock the region’s economic potential.
The event has been organised by the Nyanza Professionals’ Forum (NPF), which is an entity established by professionals from the region to foster socio-economic growth and development.
Dr Ruto is expected to formally open the conference on February 7, while Mr Odinga has been invited to officially close the conference – to be held at Ciala Resort in Kisumu – on February 8. Day One of the conference will feature keynote addresses and presentations by key public sector leaders and subject matter experts.
The conference will also entail business, industrial, and county networking sessions for investors as well as opportunities for business and industrial exhibitions by the business communities, Chambers of Commerce as well as higher education institutions.
A total of 600 delegates are expected to attend the conferences. The organisers have since held a series of meetings with various stakeholders, including 10 European Union (EU) ambassadors, officials of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce (KNCCI), members of Built Environment including Architects and Quantity Surveyors as well as the officials of Law Society of Kenya.
Six governors from Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Homa Bay, Kisii, and Nyamira counties are expected to showcase investment opportunities in their counties for potential investors.
The conference seeks to secure public-private partnerships (PPPs) between investors and the county governments in the region to spur economic growth.
Themed ‘Nyanza Rising – Towards Economic Transformation for Socio-Economic Growth and Development seeks to bring all actors together and provide an opportunity for the region’s leaders, professionals, and international, national, and local stakeholders to showcase the region’s investment opportunities.
“The conference will offer such opportunities in the form of commercial and development investment projects that are impactful to the local communities, the County Governments, the National Government, and the investors investing in various solicited and unsolicited opportunities,” said Mr Japh Olende, Chairman of the Conference.
According to Mr Olende, the expected outcomes of the conference include at least 10 joint commercial or investment deals, investment opportunities taken up by both local prospecting investors and Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs), plans for establishing and marketing ‘blended blue fund’
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba and Deputy Chief of Staff for Performance and Delivery Management, Eliud Owalo are the co-patrons of the Nyanza Professionals Forum.
The forum chaired by Engineer George Omolo MacOdawa is the brainchild of Mr Owalo. He started the forum when he was the ICT Cabinet Secretary.
Some of the key projects among them the Koru-Soin dam and the Lake Victoria ring road will be showcased to the investors as the government moves to scale up Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
In Kisumu, agriculture has been listed as a major economic activity, with crops such as rice and sugarcane being grown.
Fishing is also a significant contributor to the economy. Some of the opportunities the organisers seek to showcase include a fish processing plant, which aims at creating an immediate wholesale and retail market through value addition.
For Kisii, agro-industrial and high-level value addition park, construction of avocado processing plant, milk, tea and coffee processing plants, pineapple processing factory, water and solid waste investment, and soapstone cottage industries are some of the opportunities listed for showcasing.
