Chamber President Dr. Erick Rutto today delivered keynote remarks during the Kenya–Namibia Business & Investment Meeting, calling for stronger commercial partnerships and increased intra-African trade between the two nations.

Dr. Rutto highlighted Kenya’s strengths as a regional commercial and logistics hub with strong capabilities in fintech, ICT, agribusiness, renewable energy, logistics and aviation, while positioning Namibia as a strategic investment destination with competitive advantages in mining, energy, tourism, fisheries, livestock and logistics through the Port of Walvis Bay.

The Chamber President noted that current trade volumes between Kenya and Namibia remain below their true economic potential, but emphasized that this presents a major opportunity for growth under the AfCFTA framework. He cited Kenyan enterprises such as Kenya Airways, Safaricom, Equity Group Holdings and Centum Investment Company as examples of Kenyan businesses increasingly expanding their footprint across the continent.

Dr. Rutto further identified key areas for bilateral collaboration including agribusiness, food processing, renewable energy, digital trade, tourism, logistics, mining support services and SME partnerships, emphasizing that Kenya offers Namibia access into East Africa while Namibia provides Kenya with a strategic gateway into Southern Africa and the wider SADC market.

He concluded by urging African private sector leaders to transform relationships into transactions, discussions into investments and opportunities into sustainable enterprises, noting that “the future of Africa will be built not through aid, but through African trade, African investment and African enterprise.”