I had the privilege of presenting Kenya’s PPP investment proposition at the Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference (GICC) 2026 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, where governments, international financial institutions, infrastructure developers and leading engineering firms are convening to advance global infrastructure cooperation and investment. Our country is taking a substantive pipeline of investment opportunities to the market across transport, energy, water, irrigation, ICT and other strategic sectors, with 13 priority projects identified for active market engagement in FY2026/27. These include the Nairobi–Mombasa Highway, Mau Summit–Eldoret–Malaba Road, KPA port assets, Kibuka Falls Hydropower and Irrigation Dam, Dongo Kundu LNG Power Plant, transmission infrastructure, irrigation dams, the Kenya Commercial Spaceport and Konza Cloud Expansion and Smart City Facilities. Unlocking this pipeline requires a financing ecosystem capable of mobilizing long term patient capital and broadening investor participation in infrastructure development. The National Infrastructure Fund complements the PPP framework within this ecosystem, providing additional pathways for mobilizing capital and enabling greater participation by domestic institutional investors, including pension funds, insurance companies and collective investment schemes. These mechanisms strengthen Kenya’s capacity to structure and bring forward investable infrastructure opportunities while matching projects with appropriate sources of long term financing. The @ppp_kenya is advancing the preparation and structuring of these opportunities into credible and bankable investments capable of attracting serious market participation while delivering infrastructure aligned with Kenya’s development priorities. Our engagement at GICC 2026 strengthens Kenya’s infrastructure cooperation with the Republic of Korea and provides a strategic platform for substantive discussions with prospective investors, financiers and engineering partners interested in participating in Kenya’s growing infrastructure investment pipeline.

The inaugural Africa Capital Week marks a significant step in Africa’s pursuit of greater economic sovereignty, creating a first of its kind continental platform for mobilizing African capital, deepening capital markets and directing long term investment into the productive assets that will drive the continent’s development. I was privileged to participate in this landmark convening in Nairobi, graced by H.E. @MusaliaMudavadi , Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, alongside senior Government leaders, policymakers, regulators, securities exchanges, institutional investors and investment leaders from across Africa. As a panelist in the session on “Deepening Africa’s Capital Markets and Economic Sovereignty: SWOT, Policies, Progress and Promise,” I shared perspectives on strengthening the connection between Africa’s financial resources and its productive investment requirements. African financial institutions manage approximately US$4 trillion in assets, providing a substantial domestic financial base that can support infrastructure, enterprise development and other investments essential to economic transformation. Mobilizing these resources into infrastructure requires a sustained pipeline of investment-grade assets supported by rigorous project preparation, engineering maturity, economic viability, credible revenue structures, appropriate risk allocation and sound governance. These fundamentals determine the ability of infrastructure projects to attract suitable financing and meet the investment requirements of pension funds, insurers, banks and other providers of long-term capital. Public Private Partnerships provide an important framework for translating infrastructure priorities into credible investment opportunities with clearly defined commercial, financial and contractual structures. Deeper capital markets can support this agenda through local currency financing, infrastructure debt instruments, project bonds, infrastructure funds, refinancing and capital recycling. Strengthening Africa’s capacity to originate, structure and finance productive assets will expand investment in transport corridors, energy systems, ports, logistics networks, water infrastructure and digital connectivity. This financing capability is fundamental to industrial development, regional value chains, intra-African trade and the economic sovereignty envisioned under Agenda 2063.

Climate resilience must be embedded in the infrastructure investments we make today, particularly at the county level where infrastructure directly shapes economic productivity, service delivery, and the resilience of communities. Today, we commenced a two-week County Diagnostic and Project Development Workshop in partnership with the World Bank, Private Infrastructure Development Group, and Council of Governors. The engagement is designed to strengthen counties’ capacity to originate, structure, and advance climate resilient infrastructure projects with credible pathways to financing and implementation. Our priority is to cultivate a robust pipeline of investment-ready projects anchored in rigorous technical preparation, institutional readiness, stakeholder alignment, and the requisite approvals. This will position counties to leverage PPPs more effectively in mobilizing private capital, specialized expertise, and innovation to complement available public resources. The engagement also provides an important platform to connect county development priorities with climate finance and private investment, creating opportunities to accelerate infrastructure delivery and advance sustainable economic development across our counties.

Today, I led staff from the State Department for Public Investments and Assets Management and the PPP Directorate in planting 50,000 trees at Makutano Forest in Kericho County, achieving our annual tree growing target and bringing the cumulative number planted in the area to 96,000. This contribution to President @WilliamsRuto ‘s 15 Billion Tree-Growing Program, reflects the responsibility Government institutions carry in advancing our country’s environmental and climate agenda. In my remarks, I affirmed that sustainability must be firmly embedded in the infrastructure investments we prepare, structure and bring to market through the PPP framework. Our work at the @ppp_kenya Directorate places us at the intersection of infrastructure development, private capital and Kenya’s long term economic transformation. Integrating climate resilience, environmental safeguards and responsible resource management across the PPP project lifecycle strengthens the sustainability of these investments and the communities and economic activities they support. That commitment has particular relevance here in Kericho and across the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit corridor, where a major PPP infrastructure investment is being advanced. The 50,000 trees planted today give practical expression to the sustainability principles informing the country’s infrastructure investment agenda. I also delivered remarks on behalf of the Principal Secretary, Mr. Cyrell Odede Wagunda, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation and increased forest cover as Kenya advances toward the national target of growing 15 billion trees by 2032.