- Afreximbank to finance development and operationalisation of industrial parks and special economic zones to bolster industrialisation and export manufacturing
- Afreximbank also commits to three-year US$3 billion Kenya country programme to support trade and trade-related investments
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), on 28 February 2025, in Mombasa, Kenya, ratified a series of initiatives designed to support Kenya’s industrialisation and export-led development agenda. Under the terms of the initiatives, formalised at the signing ceremony with the Kenyan authorities, Afreximbank will finance the development and operationalisation of industrial parks (IPs) and special economic zones (SEZs) to bolster the country’s industrialisation and export manufacturing.
The proposed industrial parks, to be developed by Afreximbank through its affiliate company, Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP), will create and sustain an environment in which export-oriented industries can thrive, by leveraging economies of scale, shared infrastructure and access to global markets.
Two projects to be undertaken by Afreximbank, with the support of the Government of Kenya and other strategic collaborators, are the development of the Dongo Kundu Integrated Industrial Park and the Naivasha Special Economic Zone II (Naivasha II), for which, having secured leases of the relevant land, Afreximbank intends to leverage the expertise and experience of Arise IIP, a special economic zone developer with experience in the development of integrated industrial parks in Africa.
Both the Dongo Kundu Integrated Industrial Park and the Naivasha Special Economic Zone II are included in the Fourth Medium Term Plan (2023-2027) of the Kenyan government’s Vision 2030, entitled “Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda for Inclusive Growth”, reflecting the high priority which state institutions are giving to measures that strengthen, expand and accelerate Kenya’s capacity to export value-added goods within Africa and globally.
The Dongo Kundu Industrial Park within the Mombasa SEZ is expected, upon completion, to boost the area with a state-of-the-art industrial park that will contribute significantly to economic growth and industrialisation efforts in Mombasa County and in Kenya as a whole.
The Naivasha II Special Economic Zone – Naivasha II project is located at Mai Mahiu and will include a free trade zone, an industrial park, a logistics zone and a public utility area with a supporting road network. The project will occupy an area of approximately 5000 acres.
The Naivasha II project will also derive value from its strategic geographic position as it sits on the gateway to East and Central Africa through the Northern Corridor Transport System, which comprises both a standard gauge railway and a major highway. Moreover, the SEZ will be close to the Naivasha Inland Container Depot, which serves the East African hinterland countries of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.
