Make it in Kenya': Ruto dares Belgian firms to ditch raw material exports

President William Ruto with European Council President António Costa in Brussels, Belgium on June 8, 2026. [PCS, Standard]

President William Ruto has challenged Belgian manufacturers to set up factories in Kenya rather than extract the continent's raw materials for processing abroad.

Speaking at the Kenya–Belgium Business Roundtable in Brussels, where he presided over the launch of the Kenya–Benelux Chamber of Commerce (KBCC), Ruto told investors from Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to double the number of Benelux firms operating in Kenya and help triple bilateral trade from about $335 million in 2024 to $1 billion by 2030.

"I say to Belgian manufacturers: Do not buy Africa's raw materials to add value elsewhere. Come and build with us. Process Kenya's minerals in Kenya and Africa, on clean power, and help Europe secure the supply chains it needs. Make it in Kenya. Make it in Africa. Make it clean. Sell it in Europe and to the world," said Ruto.

The President said Europe's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism was reshaping global manufacturing and rewarding countries with clean energy.

Products made in Kenya using geothermal power enter Europe at a lower carbon cost and qualify for duty-free access under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and Kenya.

Kenya is the only East African Community (EAC) member state to have ratified the EPA.

Ruto said Kenyan exports to the EU had grown by more than 20 per cent since the agreement took effect in 2023.

"That is certainty an investor can build a factory on," he noted.

He identified agribusiness and agro-processing, ports and cold-chain logistics, technology and the digital economy, and clean energy as the four areas where Kenya and the Benelux region could deepen cooperation.

Kenya already supplies close to 40 per cent of Europe's cut flowers and is a leading exporter of tea and avocados. Ruto said the next phase must focus on processing those products locally before export.

He proposed a sister-port partnership between the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and the Kenya Ports Authority to improve reefer handling and export competitiveness, and floated a "Konza–Leuven Silicon Bridge" to link Belgium's semiconductor expertise with Kenya's tech workforce.

He also welcomed partnerships in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

On the sidelines of the forum, Ruto held talks with European Commission Executive Vice-president Henna Virkkunen, and witnessed the signing of deals worth Sh15.3 billion under the EU–Kenya Digital Partnership, alongside EU support for the Blue Raman submarine cable's Africa extension connecting Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania.

"Our partnership with the European Union continues to unlock investment, drive innovation and advance shared prosperity," he told the forum.

Belgian investors at the roundtable signalled readiness to act on the pitch. Steven Pope of SIEG Trade Solutions described Kenya as "a really golden opportunity" and said his firm was exploring tea value-addition that could create more than 50,000 jobs and generate between $180 million and $250 million in additional revenue by 2031.

Christophe Debrabandere of Renasci said his company was preparing investments worth "a few tens of millions of dollars," while Sirona Technologies' Thoralf Gutierrez observed that Kenya's renewable energy and carbon-storage potential made it a natural home for climate-technology operations.

Joris Totté of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) urged both sides to "double investments in Kenya, Kenyan businesses and in joint ventures between Belgian and Kenyan companies."

The Brussels visit is part of a week-long European tour during which Ruto is also scheduled to travel to Norway and Finland for bilateral talks and investment forums.