Kenyan President William Ruto has called on Russian companies to build factories and processing facilities in Kenya, arguing that Africa needs economic partnerships that create jobs and add value locally rather than perpetuating raw-material exports.
He made the remarks at the Russia-Kenya Business Roundtable, held alongside the third Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on October 28, according to Capital FM.
Ruto warned that arrangements under which African nations export unprocessed resources while importing finished goods have “constrained Africa’s industrial development” and denied citizens the full benefit of their natural wealth. He said such a model was neither sustainable nor acceptable.
The president invited Russian capital and expertise into mining and mineral beneficiation, transport, heavy engineering, manufacturing, energy, fertilizer production and agro-processing.
He framed Kenya as a production base for regional and global markets, saying that “invest in Kenya, manufacture in Kenya, and serve Africa and the world from Kenya.”
Bilateral trade reached about $380 million in 2025, but Kenyan exports were only $52 million, mainly tea, coffee, flowers, fruits and vegetables, while imports from Russia totaled $330 million, including wheat, fertilizers, iron and steel.
Ruto also said Russian investment in Kenya, estimated at $22 million, remained far below potential. He cited Kenya’s 55 million people, $136 billion GDP, 5.3% growth in 2025, private-sector strength, financial services and infrastructure as reasons for investors to expand.
As the African Union’s champion for the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Kenyan president is seeking wider access for African tea, coffee, cut flowers, fresh produce and value-added goods. He also pursues cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital innovation and technology transfer to strengthen Kenya’s digital economy.
The Moscow summit, hosted by President Vladimir Putin, has drawn dozens of African leaders and focuses on trade, investment, food security, energy, digital technology and AI. Kenya is also seeking infrastructure support, with Ruto presenting a decade-long, roughly $40 billion investment program to Russian investors.
