The Kisumu government will hold an investment conference next week as it gets ready to host the ninth edition of Africities Summit next year.
Governor Anyang' Nyong’o said the conference, which will act as a precursor to the summit, will be held between December 19 and 22 this year.
The Africities Summit is set to run between May 17 and 22 next year.
Nyong’o said various players were consulted in readiness for the investment conference. They include the diplomatic corps, national government agencies and the private sector.
The conference is also targeted at marketing the lakeside city, which has witnessed growth over the last three years.
More than 3,000 investors are expected to attend the conference.
The region will showcase what it has to offer in agriculture, tourism, industrialisation, manufacturing, sports and culture.
“This conference seeks to lay the ground and prepare us to fully reap the benefits of Africities when the world converges in Kisumu,” Nyong’o said during his fourth state of county address.
Nyong'o said plans to host the summit in Kisumu were well on course.
He said ongoing developments such as the construction of Africities convention centre in Mamboleo will position Kisumu as the investment hub for the Lake Region Economic Bloc.
The governor said the summit will be critical in putting Kisumu and the LREB on the international map as an investment destination, besides showcasing the rich resources in the region.
“We remain truly grateful to the government and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa for keeping faith with our capability to deliver," Nyong'o said.
The Africities Summit had initially been scheduled to take place between November 16 and 20 this year, but was moved to April 26 and 30 next year because of Covid-19 concerns.
Travel bans and bans on large gatherings also affected the preparations.
It was later moved to May 17-21 next year.
After the second postponement in August this year, the summit secretariat in Kisumu said new dates were announced following consultations with the tripartite organising agencies, the national government, the Council of Governors and the Kisumu government.
In a statement, they said the event was postponed as the dates coincided with important international events hosted by the UN-Habitat Board of Directors and the United Nations High-Level Council on the Global Urban Agenda.
These activities will mobilise national governments, local authorities, international organisations, civil society and other key stakeholders that are targets for Africities.
"In addition, the UN-Habitat, the African Union Commission, and the Economic Commission for Africa are key partners of UCLG-A agenda and are expected to play an important role at the summit," the statement reads.
The theme of the Kisumu forum is 'The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the Implementation of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063'.
The agenda calls for the development of resilient dwellings that will be home to the bulk of the African population.
Apart from the construction of a 6,000-seater convention centre at the ASK Showground in Mamboleo, the government has also committed Sh1.2 billion to upgrade the Kisumu International Airport by building another terminal ahead of the event.
The upgrade will increase the airport's capacity to about one million passengers annually.
The airport was originally upgraded to process 250,000 passengers annually, but demand has grown to 500,000 passengers.
The government has further mobilised resources to improve roads leading to the conference venue.
Edited by A.N
