At least 1,000 investors in the coast region will be converging in Mombasa for the fifth edition of the Jumuiya Agribusiness and Blue Economy Investment Conference (JABEIC) in Mombasa.
The event, which will be both an exhibition and conference, will be held at the Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa from the 28th to the 30th of November.
The conference organized by the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani and the Mombasa Investment Corporation will see stakeholders and investors showcase the investments made in the six coastal counties.
“JABEIC 2023 is a great opportunity for traders and an investment opportunity for everybody. The main agenda is to give Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the coastal counties an opportunity or chance to get investors. We will also be working as one under the Jumuiya bloc to showcase the strength of the six coastal counties in terms of investment opportunities,” said Mombasa County Executive Committee Member for Tourism Mohammed Osman.
Mombasa County will be hosting the Investment Conference for the second time having hosted the first edition of JABEIC in 2018.
Kilifi County hosted the second conference in Malindi in 2019, Kwale hosted the third in Diani (2021) and Tana River hosted the fourth in 2022.
“Right now the center of the economy and trade of the coastal region is Mombasa. That is why we decided to host the conference here. The other reason is that Mombasa County has an investment organization (Mombasa Investment Corporation) which is a very big step in bringing in investors,” said JKP CEO Dr. Emmanuel Nzai.
“We have been fighting to ensure we have such organizations. We currently have them in Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River, and Taita Taveta counties. That is what we will show investors that we are ready for business and we have the necessary tools in place for quality investment,” he added.
The Investment Conference will also give investors who have been visiting the counties an opportunity to show the investments they have made.
Speaking during the briefing, MIC CEO Sahale Bawazir said the importance of the conference is to make sure that coastal counties stand as one bloc in seeking investment opportunities.
“We are expecting around 1,000 people from different stakeholders, and investors, we will have national government officials, of course, participation from the different coastal county governments, and other stakeholders from SMEs and even delegates from different embassies that are interested to see what investment in the coast is all about,” said MIC CEO Sahale Bawazir.
“We will have an opportunity from the different coastal counties to showcase their priority projects so that it is all very clear that we are very serious and we want to work together to make sure that we open up the economy for the coastal counties,” she added.
JABEIC 2023 theme is “Strengthened Devolved Institutional Mandates and Partnerships to catalyze green-blue Blended Finance” inspired by a combination of four emerging trends and opportunities experienced at global and local levels of engagements in the period 2022-2023.
Key bankable investor-ready projects across the Six (6) counties will be presented with an aim to create synergies as well as Catalyze partnership discussions towards Jumuiya 2030 investment opportunities.
