Mombasa to host 5th Jumuiya Agribusiness and Blue Economy Investment Conference

Mombasa County through the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP) is expected to host the fifth Jumuiya Agribusiness and Blue Economy Investment Conference (JABEIC) 2023.

The conference will bring together small and medium enterprises and investors from different regions.

This is the second investment conference being held in Mombasa after the first one took place in 2018.

Kilifi County hosted the second investment conference which took place in 2019 in Malindi.

In the year 2020, it did not take place due to COVID-19 but in 2021, the third conference was held in Diani, Kwale County as Tana River County hosted the fourth one last year.

Speaking in Mombasa, JKP Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Nzai said that the conference will take place in Mombasa for the second time because it is the epitome centre of the coastal region.

“The whole economy of coast region counties starts in Mombasa because of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the blue economy,” he said.

“Mombasa also passed the Mombasa investment corporation and this is a big step which as JKP, we have been working on for the last five years for the six counties to have a corporation which will help to bring in the investors."

JKP CEO said that currently, Mombasa, Kilifi, Taita Taveta and Tana River counties have investment corporations and existing boards, adding that this is one of the things they will showcase to investors during the conference.

He added that as a region, they are ready to do business and have special resources that have been made to do the business and make the investment easy.

The CEO  said that among the invited investors, there are those who have been visiting and having discussions with Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and his administration.

Nzai said they want them to come and also showcase what they have done and what they need from the residents, SMEs and the government which will help to grow the investment of the region.

“We are happy that this is happening in Mombasa, especially during the time when we have rains which have affected the small businesses as we have all seen. Our focus will be on the business and how we will bring the business into the region,” he said.

The Mombasa Investment Corporation CEO Sahale Bawazir said that the importance of the conference is to ensure that they all stand as one and work together as coastal cities.

“We are the investment corporation in Mombasa and currently, we have other coastal counties following suit and having the investment corporation, this year’s main theme will be agriculture and the blue economy,” she said.

About 1,000 people including investors, national and county government officials and other stakeholders from SMEs and delegates from different embassies are expected to attend the conference.

“We will have an opportunity for the different Coastal counties to showcase the priority projects we have so that it is all very clear that we are very serious and we want to work together to open up the economy of coastal counties,” she said.

Mombasa County executive member in the Department of Tourism Mohammed Osman said that the conference which will be held at the Mama Ngina Waterfront is expected to help the Mombasa entrepreneurs to realize which kind of business they can tap into within the region.

“This is a great opportunity for traders, and tourists and an investment opportunity for everybody to come and see the Mombasa investment hub. Our main aim is to ensure that the young SMEs get opportunities in Mombasa County and across the coastal region counties,” he said.