Sustainable Investment in Kenya: Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Investment Flows

The report identifies 34 policies and measures to enhance sustainable investment in Kenya, emphasizing the need for sector-specific ESG guidelines, digitized licensing, and improved coordination between national and county governments. It highlights the impact of COVID-19 on investment flows and proposes a 'Recognized Sustainable Investor' category to reward high-standard firms. Sector-specific recommendations include R&D investment in agriculture, carbon-credit incentives for tourism, and clearer digital regulations for the digital economy.

• COVID-19 caused 50% of participating investors to change their investment allocation to new portfolios, while 10% cancelled or postponed their investment plans.
• Kenya's climate finance is insufficient; a National Treasury and Planning report found that in 2018, only half of the financing required to meet Paris agreement targets was actually invested in climate-related activities.
• The report recommends operationalizing the National Investment Committee (NIC) as provided in the Investment Promotion Act of 2004 to improve inter-ministerial coordination and investment strategy.
• Visa and work permit requirements are a significant barrier to investment, specifically the $100,000 minimum capital requirement for entrepreneurs to obtain a work permit.
• To mobilize sustainable finance, the report suggests creating a 'Recognized Sustainable Investor' (RSI) category, providing incentives or fast-tracked approvals to firms meeting international responsible business conduct standards.
• The report proposes the creation of a supplier database with sustainability dimensions (SD2) to help foreign investors find domestic firms that follow ESG principles, citing a similar successful implementation in Cambodia.
• Coordination between national and subnational authorities is ranked as the most significant measure for facilitating sustainable investments, with a proposed shared Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to track investor interactions.
• In the agriculture sector, there is a critical need for increased R&D investment to maintain global competitiveness, particularly for coffee, where current investment is described as negligible compared to Brazil or Colombia.
• The digital economy is hindered by unclear regulations regarding taxation and emerging technologies, such as 5G, which creates challenges for mobilizing sustainable innovation financing.

APA

World Economic Forum (2021). Sustainable Investment in Kenya: Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Investment Flows. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Investment_Kenya_2021.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Sustainable Investment in Kenya: Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Investment Flows. 2021. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Investment_Kenya_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Sustainable Investment in Kenya: Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Investment Flows |date=August 2021 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Investment_Kenya_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2021sustainable, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Sustainable Investment in Kenya: Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Investment Flows}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainable_Investment_Kenya_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }