By Suleiman Mbatiah
Kenya is investing heavily in maritime infrastructure to improve sea routes, strengthen connectivity, and reduce cargo transit time and transport costs along its 536-kilometre coastline.
Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry, Lee Kinyanjui said the push is designed to position Kenya as a regional and global trade and logistics hub.
“The strategic ports and position along key Indian Ocean sea lanes are important enablers for competitive regional and global trade,” he said.
Kinyanjui spoke during an ocean investment meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where Kenya outlined its blue economy and maritime trade priorities to global investors.
He said the government is focused on translating ambition into delivery by aligning public policy with private capital.
The CS noted that for Africa to unlock the full potential of intra-African trade, governments must make deliberate investments while ensuring policy coherence across borders.
“This will lower logistics costs and incentivize private capital at scale,” he explained.
Kenya will host the Commonwealth Ocean Ministerial Meeting in June, an event expected to advance discussions on investment, trade connectivity, and policy alignment in the ocean economy.
The meeting will bring together ministers, investors, innovators, civil society actors, and community leaders to unlock capital and develop practical, bankable solutions.
Kinyanjui said the forum will boost tourism, increasing demand across hospitality, transport, and local enterprises, with at least 5,000 participants from across the globe expected.
He added that the meetings will further position Kenya as an investment-ready gateway for ocean-based industries in the region.
Later in the year, Kenya will host the 11th Our Ocean Conference, the first time the high-level forum will be held on the African continent.
Since its 2014 launch in the United States, the conference has generated 2,000 commitments to cut marine pollution, expand areas, fight illegal fishing, and advance blue economy.