African CEOs say Kenya is the best place to invest

African chief executive officers and public sector leaders believe Kenya offers investors the best return for their money.

According to a new report by audit firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Kenya is top in the list of countries with best investment prospects in the next 12 months. PwC's Africa Business Agenda, 2016 report said 22 per cent of the 153 African CEOs interviewed view the country as the most important for growth against 17 per cent for the United States of America and 16 per cent for United Kingdom.

The CEOs' view of Kenya was a stark contrast to their view on the African and indeed the globe's investment prospects. Africa's CEOs were less optimistic about global prospects than a year ago, with 66 per cent of CEOs thinking the economy will not improve in the next 12 months, while 92 per cent saying they are 'extremely concerned' about exchange rate volatility.

The Kenyan Government has already put in place a number of initiatives to attract more capital inflows which stood at around Sh200 billion last year, according to Cabinet Secretary for Industrialisation and Enterprise Development Adan Mohamed.

Last year, Kenya moved up 28 places in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report as the government put in place initiatives including setting up Huduma Centres which makes it easier to register and transfer property. The improved performance was also attributed to improved electricity connections and credit access.

The PwC report also found East Africa to be best place to invest. Anne Eriksson, Country and Regional Senior Partner for PwC in Kenya and East Africa, said: "East Africa is in a good place now in terms of demographics and relative political stability. The region is seen as a good destination to invest, whether for multinationals or venture capital or private equity funds."

She added: "We have seen a multitude of organisations expand significantly in East Africa – what continues to be a challenge for most of them is ensuring that they can meet demand and so achieve their shareholders' objectives, and at the same time maintain high standards of quality."