The 4th edition of the AmCham Business Summit in Nairobi, Kenya is set to occur on April 24-25, 2024, spanning two days.
The Business Summit is the premier platform for strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the United States, Kenya, and East Africa.
Kenya’s President William Ruto has been confirmed as the Chief Guest and will lead a government delegation to the summit, with the aim of expanding commercial opportunities and markets.
The event is expected to draw close to 1,000 delegates, including business and government representatives from the US and across the East African region.
Mr. Peter Ngahu, the Board President of AmCham, emphasized that the Summit would delve into opportunities to promote sustainable and inclusive growth while boosting investment in Kenya and the broader East African region.
He described the summit as a beacon of opportunity celebrating years of shared value and interests. The focus will be on leveraging these opportunities to drive investments in East Africa.
Encouraging delegates to confirm their attendance, AmCham’s CEO Maxwell Okello highlighted the summit as a platform to explore abundant trade and investment opportunities that can foster economic growth and prosperity across the region. The event aims to facilitate discussions on critical topics such as trade and investment, technology, sustainability, healthcare, and economic growth, fostering connections between businesses and nations.
The summit will feature panel discussions, keynotes, and roundtables moderated by experts from the public and private sectors, covering a wide range of topics crucial to the economic development of the region. These include discussions on shaping the future of US-East Africa trade and investment, climate action, digital transformation, and sustainable finance for East African economies.
According to the African Development Bank’s East Africa Economic Outlook, East African economies are projected to exhibit the highest regional economic performance on the continent, with growth figures exceeding 5 percent. However, the region continues to face challenges such as illicit trade, counterfeits, currency volatility, and inflation, which hinder the business landscape.
In 2022, the United States emerged as Kenya’s largest export market, with approximately $890 million worth of goods exported to the U.S.
The U.S. also exported around $600 million in goods to Kenya, reflecting a balanced trade relationship that is expected to strengthen further as negotiations progress on the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership, a unique bilateral trade agreement between the United States and a sub-Saharan African country.
