Leaders follow speeches during the Nyanza International Investment conference in Kisumu on February 6, 2025/HANDOUT
The highly anticipated Nyanza International Investment Conference (NIIC) is now underway in Kisumu, bringing together more than 600 delegates and dignitaries from various sectors to explore and shape the future of the region’s economic prosperity.
The three-day event, which kicked off on Thursday and expected to end on Saturday,.
The conference themed “Nyanza Rising: Towards Economic Transformation for Socio-Economic Growth and Development."
The event has brought together key stakeholders, including cabinet secretaries, county governors, CEOs, investors, scholars, and the Nyanza Diaspora, to explore investment opportunities and strategies for sustainable development.
In his opening address, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Migos Ogamba, noted that the conference is not just a gathering of minds but a convergence of ideas, aspirations, and the will to act.
He noted that this was a call to action for all across to seize the opportunity to unlock the untapped potential that lies within the region.
The CS highlighted the region’s rich cultural heritage and the critical role education plays in shaping the future of the region and Kenya.
Eliud Owalo, the Deputy Chief of Staff serving as the co-patrons of the Nyanza International Investment Conference, giving his address on February 6, 2025/HANDOUT
Ogamba acknowledged the region’s academic achievements, noting that Nyanza has one of the highest literacy rates in Kenya, with Kisumu and Kisii counties showing particularly high figures for both men and women. However, he emphasized the need to tackle the socio-economic challenges Nyanza faces, including its limited contribution to Kenya’s GDP, which stands at just 10%, and its minimal role in the country’s manufacturing sector.
Ogamba urged the conference participants to work collaboratively, stressing the potential of the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) to drive industrial growth and investment in sectors like agriculture, renewable energy, tourism, and technology.
He emphasized the importance of modernising infrastructure, particularly roads and ports, to unlock trade opportunities and further Nyanza's economic growth.
“These investments will help address the gaps that currently limit our ability to fully contribute to the nation’s industrialisation and economic growth.”
Eliud Owalo, the Deputy Chief of Staff serving as the co-patrons of the event, noted that the idea of the conference was conceived in 2023 after looking in retrospect at how Nyanza professionals were complaining of the region’s underdevelopment, only to take a back seat.
Education CS Julius Ogamba gives his address at the Nyanza International Investment conference in Kisumu on February 6, 2025
He said beyond the conference, the bigger vision is the establishment and operationalization of fish processing plants to boost Nyanza’s economic development.
“We want to facilitate, in partnership with the private sector, the establishment and operationalisation of fish processing factories as a major intervention in the fish value chain,” he said.
“There is a plan to establish a total of 13 fish processing plants, and most of these are along Lake Victoria.”
KCB Group Director of Technology, Dennis Volemi, expressed the bank's commitment to supporting the region’s transformation.
“We are here to support this forum, to back leadership and professionals in the region, and to drive the development of Nyanza," Volemi stated.
He emphasized that KCB was ready to provide various financial products to help investors looking to invest in the region to help drive economic growth but also enable initiatives that would further advance the region’s development.
