Ruto Urges Russian Firms to Set Up Kenya Factories to Address $330m Import Gap

President William Ruto wants Russian investors to set up manufacturing hubs in Kenya, pointing to a severe trade imbalance where Nairobi imports six times more from Moscow than it exports.

Addressing business leaders at the Russia-Kenya Business Roundtable in Moscow on Wednesday, October 28, Ruto revealed that bilateral trade hit $380 million (Ksh49.38 billion) in 2025.

However, Kenya’s exports accounted for just $52 million (Ksh6.76 billion) of that total. Imports from Russia stood at $330 million (Ksh42.88 billion).

"These figures challenge us to rethink the nature of our partnership," Ruto said.

The President argued that the traditional arrangement where African nations export raw materials and import finished goods has starved local economies of industrial development, jobs, and value addition.

"This model has constrained Africa’s industrial development and denied our people the full economic benefits of their resources. It is neither sustainable nor acceptable," he told the delegation.

Kenya primarily sells tea, coffee, cut flowers, fruits, and vegetables to the Russian market. In turn, it buys wheat, fertilisers, iron, and steel products from Moscow.

Russian investment in Kenya currently stands at $22 million, a figure the President said must grow through direct manufacturing partnerships rather than simple commodity trade.

Ruto called on Russian capital and technical expertise to focus on value addition, targeting key sectors such as energy, mineral processing, agricultural production, transport, engineering, and fertiliser manufacturing.

"Our ambition is not to divide existing value differently, but to create more value together and share in the prosperity it generates," he said.

Pitching Kenya as a regional entry point, the President told investors that factories based in the country could use the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to supply a broader market of 1.5 billion people across the continent.

To support industrial growth, Ruto noted that Kenya is working to raise $40 billion (Ksh5.197 trillion) over the next ten years for infrastructure projects through the National Infrastructure Fund.

He urged Russian companies to invest in green energy initiatives, including geothermal power, green hydrogen, electric mobility, and grid infrastructure.

"Our proposition is straightforward: Invest in Kenya, manufacture in Kenya, and serve Africa and the world from Kenya," Ruto said.

The President said that the success of the Moscow meeting should not be judged by signed documents, but by real factories built and jobs created on the ground.

The push in Russia aligns with Ruto's current domestic drive to expand local manufacturing and reduce import dependency. He recently broke ground for a Ksh70 billion cement and clinker plant by Devki Group in Kitui County, and announced plans to commission a new steel plant in Taita Taveta.