M-Pesa or baby elephant: What will 'son of the soil' mark his homecoming with?

When President Barack Obama visited the Republic of Ireland in 2011, the country where his maternal great, great, great grand mother lived, he took four gulps of Guinness stout, a rite of passage for any visitor to that country.

How will the US president and his wife Michelle mark their arrival in the birth place of his father upon landing in Kenya? Will they proceed to Nairobi National Park to inherit a baby elephant, cab cheetah or that of a lion to show the world what Kenya's tourism offers, or will they sign up as M-Pesa users to market what is perhaps the country's biggest international brand?

What is clear though is that the son of the soil will be bringing the world's spotlight to Kenya and it will only be fair that he does his fathers birth place a favour by acknowledging a few success stories like M-Pesa.

The service has transformed mobile telephony not only in Kenya but also across the continent of Africa, Europe and his home country US.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie, who is currently visiting the US, told The Standard on Sunday that the Obama visit will greatly benefit both local and American investors.

"We already have giant American companies like General Motors, Coca Cola, Visa, Citi Bank, General Electric and Visa doing business in Kenya and there is an opportunity for more investors to come after the visit," said Kandie.

Kenya's tourism will benefit in two ways: First, his coming will be an endorsement that the country is safe despite frequent travel advisories by the foreign department.

And secondly, there will be an inference that is a high level of cooperation on all issues including security operations between Kenya and the US.

A total of about 3,000 people are expected in Nairobi, among them 1,500 delegates attending the three days Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), hundreds of journalists and other visitors.

About 20 five star hotels in Nairobi are already fully booked for the duration of the summit and many more, especially in Mombasa, Nairobi and, most likely, Kisumu are expected to be occupied.

After several years of cold relations between Kenya and the US because of the International Criminal Court (ICC) cases against the President (dropped last year) and his deputy (ongoing), the future looks bright.

President Uhuru Kenyatta will eventually be standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's most powerful man addressing an international audience, a culmination that the Kenyan leader has finally been accepted on the world stage.

Kandie is in the US to meet the Association of Travel Agents, another indication of Kenya's rapprochement with the US in many fields. "With abundant renewable energy and cheaper electricity, it is expected that Kenya will get many investors because there are abundant opportunities for them now," she said.

Among projects that may interest the Americans, according to Kandie, are Konza City, the Lapsett project, ICT infrastructure development and roads.

Nairobi's status as the gateway to the region will also get a major boost, while the country's position as the financial hub should be an added incentive if the security of those investing is guaranteed.

After Obama's visit, the country will also host the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in Nairobi, the visit by Pope Benedict and that of Italian Prime Minister Mateo Renzi.