Germany Urges Kenya To Make ‘Significant Adjustments’ For Investors
Robert Habeck, German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs, remarked on Monday, December 2, that despite Kenya’s difficulty in luring foreign investors, he saw enormous investment potential for the German energy industry.
However, before the European nation could begin investing in Kenya, Habeck warned that the country needed to make significant adjustments to reassure investors.
He went on to list three critical areas that Kenya, along with other African countries, needed to solve in order to attract not only German investors but also foreign investors overall.
“For investments in Kenya or in Africa as a whole, planning security, legal certainty, and a tax and legal system that also makes the investments secure are needed,” Habeck opined.
Germany and Kenya have a long history of collaboration, particularly in the energy sector. In 2019, Kenya and Germany signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the development of renewable energy in Kenya. #GermanyInOlkaria #GreenEnergyKE ^EM pic.twitter.com/Q64iK4UIW5
— KenGenKenya (@KenGenKenya) December 2, 2024
Even if he believed Germany could bear the dangers of political turbulence through investment guarantees.
“But of course not 100%. So companies need to have trust in the state,” he added.
The minister was speaking during a visit to Olkaria’s geothermal power plant, where he acknowledged the Kenyan government’s goal of running the whole energy system on renewables by 2030.
H.E. @KindikiKithure today hosted Germany's Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, H.E. @roberthabeck, where they discoursed the prospects for further collaboration between Kenya and Germany. pic.twitter.com/y3fAGExvPa
— Office of the Deputy President (@ODP_KEofficial) December 3, 2024
“Firstly, this is exemplary in Africa. And secondly, it is an invitation to the German energy industry to seek cooperation here,” he said.
He went on to describe geothermal energy’s enormous potential as “a very, very exciting field” for German businesses.
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Kenya currently pumps hot steam with temperatures of up to 300 degrees Celsius from depths of 1,000 to 2,000 metres in the East African Rift Valley, which is then turned into electricity in power facilities using turbines.
Renewable energy already accounts for more than 90% of the country’s electrical consumption.
Habeck is in Kenya for the two-day German African Business Summit (GABS), which concludes on Wednesday, December 4.
The conference is organized every two years to stimulate economic collaboration between African and German business and government leaders.
Germany Urges Kenya To Make ‘Significant Adjustments’ For Investors
