Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui during the World Habitat Day celebration at the Nawascoal briquettes plant at Kaloleni in Nakuru County on October 7, 2019 Last week, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui was among three Kenyans who won prestigious African Magazine Leadership Awards 2020. The editorial board of the Africa Leadership magazine also picked KenGen CEO Rebecca Miano as the winner in the African Inspirational Business Leadership Award category. The runners-up in this category was Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO of Axian Group in Madagascar. James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group Holdings, won the African CEO of the Year category ahead of Mauricio Alarcon, former CEO of Nestle Nigeria Plc. Mr Kinyanjui was declared winner in the Business-Friendly Governor of the Year category. The first-term governor beat David Makhura of South Africa Gauteng Province Premier to scoop the prestigious the award. The award recognises a state or regional governor across African countries. It also promotes a governor able to drive investment into his state or region remarkably. When Kinyanjui took over power from his predecessor Kinuthia Mbugua in 2018, he promised to make the county a preferred investment destination after Nairobi. His first key event was an International Investment Conference just a month after he was sworn into office. The Nakuru International Investment Conference attracted more than 2,000 local and foreign investors to the lake side town of Naivasha where the county marketed itself by showcasing opportunities in green energy, horticulture, tourism and general agriculture. Investment conference Although critics termed the investment conference that consumed more than Sh30 million of tax-payers money a waste of funds, Kinyanjui maintained that his dream was to make Nakuru an investment destination of choice in the region. With an estimated investment opportunities standing at over Sh200 billion, the governor’s key agenda was to reduce the cost of doing business for both micro and mega entrepreneurs seeking to tap the county’s huge potential. This saw an influx of manufacturing firms into the county, like the consumer goods producer BIDCO Africa Group which unveiled a Sh21 billion ultra-modern animal feed plant in the town’s Industrial Area. Last year, another multinational animal feeds maker Maxim Agri-International set up a Sh1 billion factory at Oserian Two Lakes Industrial Park in Naivasha. Kinyanjui’s election coincided with some key events in the county that helped in its rapid economic growth. A recent survey on the Gross County Product by the Kenya National Bureau […]
What Governor Kinyanjui’s continental award means for Nakuru residents
