Investment in Housing and Construction

Posted in Investment Promotion & Private Sector Development

Quality engineering, building and architectural design services are readily available in the region. With an increase in population, investment opportunities exist in the provision of:

• Low-cost housing to cater to the needs of growing populations in urban and peripheral areas;
• Manufactured prefabricated concrete systems and other fittings for the building industry and the processing of non-metallic minerals to make sanitary fittings, tableware, floor and wall tiles, glass, lime, cement, glazes, etc.; and
• Mortgage services, although land legislation can make it difficult to engage in mortgage lending.

Investment in Horticulture

Posted in Investment Promotion & Private Sector Development

The climate, the soil and the existing water supplies in the EAC region provide a base for production of high quality horticultural produce in a natural environment.

The main export product is cut flowers, whose biggest market is the EU. Major horticultural produce in the region includes pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, avocado, mango, orange, passion fruit, apples, bananas, raspberries, beans, asparagus, snow peas and chillies.

Opportunities abound in the following areas:

• Production and export of horticultural produce (fruits, flowers and vegetables);
• Production of propagation materials;
• Establishment of soil-analysis services;
• Manufacture of greenhouse plastics;
• Production of inputs such as fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides;
• Production of packaging materials;
• Provision of cold-storage facilities as well as air-cargo transport to foreign markets; and
• Provision of accreditation services to meet market and regulatory requirements.

Investment in Healthcare

Posted in Investment Promotion & Private Sector Development

Health care in the Partner States comprises hospitals at district, provincial and national levels and healthcare centres / dispensaries at lower levels. Similar services are also provided by non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

Investment opportunities include the following: the establishment of hospitals and other health units, and modern testing facilities; training of medical personnel in specialised medical care; the manufacture of drugs, hospital equipment and furniture; and, the provision of family planning facilities and services.

Investment in Fisheries

Posted in Investment Promotion & Private Sector Development

The East African region is endowed with some of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, which harbour substantial resources for fishery. Lake Victoria, shared by three EAC Partner States: Kenya (6%), Tanzania (49%) and Uganda (45%), covers a surface area of 68,000 km² and the shoreline length is 3,400 km.

The lake is home to about 350 species of fish. The commercially important fish species of Lake Victoria are Lates niloticus (Nile perch), Oreochromis (Tilapia) and Rastrineobola argentea (Dagaa). The other species include Alestes, Barbus, Clarius, Haplochromis, Labeo, Mormyrus, Protopterus, Schilbe and Synodontis.

Lake Victoria and other lakes such as Lake Turkana (in Kenya), Tanganyika (in Tanzania) and Kyoga (in Uganda) provide ample opportunity in fishing, fish processing and fish by-product processing, as well as in the supply of fishery-related equipment and storage infrastructure such as fishing nets, cooler transporters, processing equipment, packaging materials, and freighters and cargo planes.

Other investment opportunities include fish farming (aquaculture) and establishment of accredited testing laboratories.

The EAC coastline extends for 2,104 km, including some 680 km in Kenya and some 1,424 km in Tanzania.

The marine resources that can be exploited include crustaceans, molluscs, Dermasal fish species, Pelagic fish species, and tuna and tuna-like species.

Other investment opportunities include deep-sea fishing, the provision of deep-sea fishing vessels, storage infrastructure, and the processing of marine fish and related by-products.