SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Dangote
Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on Friday said that his firm had concluded necessary arrangements to invest $400m (N64bn) in cement production in Kenya within the next two years.
Dangote stated this at a Nigeria-Kenya Business Forum which was jointly presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan and his counterpart from Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta, in Nairobi, Kenya.
The business forum, which had more than 500 investors from Nigeria and Kenya in attendance, was part of the activities to mark the second day of President Jonathan’s official visit to the East African country.
Kenyatta, at the Forum, announced five to 10 years visa duration for Nigerian businessmen who would want to invest in the Kenyan economy.
He said the policy would ease the challenges of visa procurement and encourage investors from Nigeria to Kenya.
Kenyatta said he was taking a cue from Jonathan who had already approved the policy in Nigeria.
Also at the forum, a leading Indian textile manufacturing company, Bei Textile Limited, expressed its intention to invest in the textile industry in Nigeria.
The forum witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the already existing Nigeria-Kenya Chamber for Commerce and Industry.
Dangote, who served as the Chairman Dialogue Group, said the forum underscored the need for Africa to look inward in terms of partnership in trade and investments.
He said the forum decried the situation where intra trade in the continent was below 12 per cent. He noted that the forum had decided to use the Nigeria-Kenya initiative as model in Africa.
Dangote commended the two Presidents – Jonathan and Kenyatta – for creating an opportunity for the business community to interact on ways to improve trade between both countries.
He said Kenya would assist Nigeria in boosting sectors where it had comparative advantages such as tourism and hospitality, horticulture, dairy, sugar and ICT.
On the other hand, Nigeria would assist Kenya in the oil and gas sector, movie and entertainment industry, agriculture and banking sectors.
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