New bid to double Kenya-UK trade to Sh680b

President William Ruto and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer after signing the Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership pact at the 10 Downing Street in London. [PCS]

Kenya this week initiated discussions with the United Kingdom regarding a digital trade agreement as the country aims to double its business with the UK to Sh680 billion by 2030.

In addition to the impending digital trade agreement, the government plans to liberalise foreign ownership of insurance companies for the benefit of the UK by amending the Business Laws Act (2024) through the Business (Amendment) Laws Bill, 2026.

Additionally, the Companies Act will be amended to permit foreign lenders to operate in the domestic market, which is expected to boost capital inflows, according to the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Investment Promotion, Abubakar Hassan Abubakar.

Speaking at the UK-Kenya Business Forum 2026 in Nairobi on Thursday, PS Abubakar stated that the Companies Act needs to be changed because foreign lenders provide funding for Kenyan courts.

The PS stated, "We have observed that these foreign lenders are unable to enforce their lending instruments when they lend to Kenyan banks or foreign companies, and there is a dispute because they have not been registered in Kenya."

According to him, these foreign lenders can lend money to Kenyan business owners, but in the event of a dispute, the money cannot be returned because the lender is either unregistered or not present in Kenya.

"We are amending the Companies Act to ensure that (registration requirement for foreign lenders) is removed in order to increase the flow of financing coming to Kenya," he said.

A foreign company cannot conduct business in Kenya unless it is registered under the Companies Act (2015) or has applied to be registered, but the application has not been processed within the designated time frame.

He went on to say that the insurance industry's ban on foreign ownership is one of the issues brought up by the UK business community.

"In our Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, we are also liberalising that," he stated.  "By 2030, we want to double bilateral trade and investment."

Foreign direct investment (FDI) averaged $1.3 billion (Sh173.1 billion) in September 2025, while trade between the two nations was valued at $2.6 billion (Sh340 billion).

Sonal Tejpar, chairperson of the British Chamber of Commerce Kenya (BCCK), stated, "That (trade value) is 11.9% increase from the previous year."

According to Tejpar, this shows that businesses and investors are confident in the two nations' partnership because of its strength, resiliency, and growing ambition. She pointed out that as economies struggle with supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, and evolving technologies, the global trade landscape is currently functioning in a complex and difficult business environment.

"Partnerships are more important than ever in these times," she stated.

Edd Barnett, the acting British High Commissioner to Kenya, noted that Kenya is home to 150 businesses that employ more than 250,000 people, making them important contributors to tax revenue.

He claimed that the two nations' partnerships have changed and are now much more in line with the 21st-century economic demands.

According to Barnett, Kenya and the UK are developing a fascinating alliance based on value creation, sustainability, and innovation.

"We are currently investigating the possibility of a digital trade agreement between the UK and Kenya, a frontier area of trade that is extremely important to both of our economies," he stated. "On Monday of this week, talks on that agreement began."