NAIROBI (Realist English). Investment agreements between Kenya and Chinese companies are often moving from signing to construction in under a year, according to the head of the country’s investment promotion agency.
John Mwendwa, chief executive of the Kenya Investment Authority (InvestKenya), said most of the projects agreed during President William Ruto’s visit to Beijing in 2025 are already operational or under construction.
In an interview published on January 30, Mwendwa said six of the seven agreements signed during Ruto’s trip in April had progressed rapidly. “Most of those have already come to fruition because Chinese investors have a very fast conversion rate,” he said.
Among the projects are a $150 million Rongtai Steel processing plant in Machakos, near Nairobi; a $300 million poultry hatching facility by Shandong Jialejia in Kajiado County; and the China Wu Yi Special Economic Zone in Kilifi on the Indian Ocean coast.
Additional investments include a $400 million aloe processing and vineyard project by Zonken Group in the Rift Valley and a garment manufacturing plant by Chongqing Shangcheng Apparel Group. According to InvestKenya, these initiatives also transitioned from memorandum stage to implementation in less than 12 months.
Mwendwa contrasted the pace of Chinese-backed investments with Western-funded projects, which he said often require extended environmental, social and governance reviews and more complex regulatory procedures. Western initiatives can spend years in preliminary feasibility assessments and due diligence phases before construction begins, he added.
China remains one of Kenya’s largest infrastructure and industrial partners, with cooperation spanning manufacturing, logistics and special economic zones — sectors Nairobi sees as critical to job creation and export growth.