Road Construction Supply-Chain & Building-Materials SME Co-Investment under the National Infrastructure Fund

Kenya is East Africa's dominant investment destination, recording a historic US$3.2 billion in FDI in 2025 — a 37.7% year-on-year increase — driven by capital inflows into renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and agritech. The country's electricity grid is nearly 90% renewable-sourced, anchoring a credible clean-energy story that is attracting global tech and climate-finance investors. The Nairobi Securities Exchange delivered roughly 52% in dollarised returns in 2025, and Kenyan startups raised US$1.04 billion — one-third of all African venture capital. Key policy catalysts include the EU-Kenya EPA granting duty-free EU market access, a new UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership signed in January 2025, digital investor onboarding reduced to under one hour, and a KES 1.5 trillion National Infrastructure Fund targeting 10,000 km of new roads. Structural risks include a public debt burden, corruption perceptions (ranked 121st on TI's 2024 CPI), and currency sensitivity, though the Shilling recovered 17.4% against the USD in 2024 following Kenya's full Eurobond repayment.

President Ruto announced a KES 1.5 trillion (~US$11 billion) National Infrastructure Fund targeting 10,000 km of new tarmac roads, mobilised via PPPs, privatisation proceeds, and infrastructure bonds — creating a multi-year pipeline of construction procurement. Kenya's public procurement market is already valued at approximately KES 1.2 trillion (~USD 9 billion) annually, and the Infrastructure Fund represents an incremental surge; 223,000+ construction jobs were created in 2024 alone, confirming that upstream supply-chain SMEs (aggregates, steel, bitumen, traffic management tech) are actively scaling.

Market drivers:

- KES 1.5 trillion National Infrastructure Fund creates a decade-long public-private procurement pipeline across 47 counties

- Vision 2030 and AfCFTA membership elevate Mombasa Port as the logistics gateway for 500 million East African consumers

- Kenya Digital One-Stop Centre reduces investor onboarding to ~1 hour, lowering barriers for European SME entry

Risks:

- Government procurement delays and bureaucratic licensing across counties can extend contract timelines

- Corruption risk in public tendering processes (Kenya ranked 121st on TI 2024 CPI) requires robust compliance structuring