President William Ruto has urged international investors to support Africa’s transition from raw material exports and aid dependency to local manufacturing, technology development and shared economic growth.
Addressing the ECAM Council Summit in New York, Ruto said Africa’s growing population, expanding cities and digital economy presented significant investment opportunities across key sectors.
He said Kenya was ready to attract investments that create employment, transfer technology, develop skills and establish sustainable industries.
“Our location, infrastructure, human capital, financial system and connectivity make us the natural gateway to East Africa and the wider African market,” Ruto said.
The President placed healthcare among the sectors requiring greater African capacity, warning that reliance on external production and supply chains had exposed the continent to risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He called for increased investment in specialist training, pharmaceutical manufacturing and local supply chains to strengthen health security.
On Kenya’s healthcare reforms, Ruto said more than 32 million people had registered for medical insurance through the Social Health Authority. He added that over 500,000 surgeries had been performed, more than 50,000 cancer patients treated and 107,000 Community Health Promoters deployed.
According to the President, the health promoters have reached more than nine million households, while 1.4 billion US dollars has been paid to health facilities across the country over the past two years.
Ruto also pointed to a proposed partnership with Italy under the Mattei Plan for Africa, involving the development of 15 hospitals across 15 counties through an estimated 419-million-dollar investment.
He said future partnerships must deliver jobs, technology transfer and stronger African institutions.
ECAM Council Executive Chairman Kamel Ghribi said Africa needed partners to unlock its resources and human talent, emphasising the importance of processing raw materials locally rather than exporting them in their unprocessed form.
