Ruto heads to Unga with Sh2.2 trillion refinery, AI and Africa-financing agenda

President William Ruto left Nairobi on Saturday evening for New York, where he is expected to turn the 81st United Nations General Assembly (Unga) into a platform for selling Kenya as an investment, technology and finance hub while pushing for greater use of African capital to finance the continent’s development.

The President’s five-day mission comes with what State House terms as a strong economic focus, outlining an agenda that brings together energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, health, technology and artificial intelligence.

It’s however, the proposed Sh2.2 trillion ($17 billion) East Africa Refinery in Lamu that is expected to provide one of the clearest investment pitches during Dr Ruto’s engagements in New York.

According to State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, the President will co-chair roundtables hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), alongside Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote.

The meeting will focus partly on the proposed refinery, a 700,000-barrel-a-day facility that the government says could create more than 60,000 jobs and strengthen energy security in the region.

The project is scheduled to break ground on September 30.

The Lamu proposal gives the President a major investment proposition to take to international financiers and businesses at a time when African governments are competing for private capital to fund infrastructure and industrial projects.

The government says that the refinery is also part of a broader effort to develop Lamu as an energy and logistics hub and deepen the country’s role in regional trade.

The President’s New York trip therefore comes against the backdrop of a wider attempt by his administration to move the country’s development financing model away from heavy reliance on public borrowing and towards private capital, institutional investment and partnerships.

A central theme of Dr Ruto’s Unga address will be the administration’s “Africa-financing-Africa” proposition.

State House says Africa holds more than $4 trillion in domestic savings and assets, much of which remains outside productive long-term investment.

“The President will call for reforms and international guarantees that can unlock this capital for infrastructure, enterprise and other development priorities,” Mr Mohamed said.

The argument has increasingly become part of Kenya’s international economic diplomacy.

African countries face a significant financing gap for infrastructure even as governments struggle with high debt-service costs, constrained budgets and expensive external borrowing.

Kenya’s position is that a greater share of African pension funds, sovereign funds, insurance assets, banks and other domestic pools of capital should be channelled into productive investments on the continent.

Large infrastructure investments

The President will also highlight Kenya’s National Infrastructure Fund, which the government says is designed to mobilise up to $40 billion without adding to public debt.

The fund is intended to support large infrastructure investments while bringing in private and institutional investors.

The pitch fits into the broader economic philosophy Dr Ruto has advanced in recent months.

The Head of State holds that African countries must increasingly become producers, investors and owners of economic assets rather than remaining dependent on foreign financing and markets.

The message is particularly relevant at the UN, where developing countries have repeatedly pushed for reforms to the international financial system, including greater access to affordable capital and increased representation in global institutions.

Dr Ruto is also expected to use his address to advocate greater African representation in global decision-making bodies.

Artificial intelligence will provide another major strand of the President’s international agenda.

Dr Ruto and Finnish President Alexander Stubb will co-lead the AI Middle Powers Initiative, which seeks to enable countries to combine computing resources, data and talent to develop their own AI capabilities.

The initiative provides Kenya with an opportunity to place technology alongside traditional areas of international diplomacy and development.

The President will also advance the Africa Development Bank-backed AI 10 Billion Initiative, which aims to mobilise up to $10 billion by 2035 for investment across Africa.

The objective is to position African countries not merely as consumers of AI products developed elsewhere, but as participants across the technology’s value chain.

That includes computing infrastructure, data, talent, applications and businesses capable of developing AI solutions for African markets.

Kenya has already sought to establish itself as one of the continent’s leading digital economies, with mobile money, fintech, digital payments and technology start-ups providing a foundation for the government's broader technology pitch.

Dr Ruto will present Kenya as a regional technology, trade and finance hub.

State House says Kenya moved Sh41.68 trillion through M-Pesa in a single year, while platforms such as Ziidi Trader have extended digital financial access from payments into investment and ownership.

The President is expected to use these developments to demonstrate how digital infrastructure can broaden participation in financial markets and create new avenues for investment.

The challenge, however, will be translating Kenya’s reputation in digital finance into larger investments in technology infrastructure, artificial intelligence and high-value digital industries.

The President will also participate in efforts to address the risks emerging from the rapid spread of artificial intelligence.

“He will sign a global declaration and roadmap on child online AI safety alongside leaders from Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.”

The initiative comes as governments grapple with how to protect children from online harms while ensuring that young people can benefit from emerging technologies.

Kenya is also expected to launch an Africa Resilience Compact, which will use artificial intelligence, satellite earth observation and predictive technologies to improve preparedness for El Niño and other climate-related shocks.

The proposal, State House says, adds a practical development dimension to Kenya’s AI agenda.

This could be particularly significant for Kenya and other African countries where climate shocks continue to affect food production, infrastructure and livelihoods.

The President’s American visit will also include engagements with Kenyans living in the United States.

State House says Dr Ruto will discuss the government’s proposed Diaspora Investment Platform, which is intended to channel diaspora savings and remittances into productive investments in Kenya.

The diaspora has traditionally been an important source of foreign exchange for the country, with remittances supporting households and contributing to the wider economy.

The government's ambition is to move beyond consumption and household support towards greater investment in businesses, infrastructure and other productive sectors.

This would fit into the administration’s broader effort to mobilise domestic and diaspora capital as part of its Africa-financing-Africa strategy.

The President will also pursue diplomatic and trade engagements with Heads of State and Government, multilateral institutions and global corporations on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

The New York trip comes at an important point in the President’s economic programme.

Dr Ruto has increasingly framed his administration’s development agenda around attracting investment, expanding productive capacity and creating jobs rather than relying exclusively on government spending.

His government has also launched a national conversation on Kenya’s future beyond Vision 2030, with the President arguing that the country needs a new long-term development framework capable of taking it beyond the current development blueprint.

The conversation has coincided with increased government emphasis on infrastructure funds, private investment and institutions intended to mobilise capital for long-term projects.

The Lamu refinery is likely to become an important test of that approach.

At $17 billion, Government argues that the project would rank among the largest proposed investments in Kenya and would have implications for the country's energy sector, employment, industrialisation and regional trade.

But its size also underscores the scale of financing required to convert the government's investment ambitions into actual projects.

The same applies to the AI agenda.

Experts say that mobilising $10 billion for African AI development by 2035 would require cooperation between governments, development finance institutions, technology companies, investors and universities.

Kenya will therefore be seeking more than political endorsements in New York, but will be looking for financing, partnerships, technology and markets.

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