Ruto tells Moscow summit: build factories in Africa, not just buy its raw materials
Kenya's president asked Russia to invest in manufacturing, fertiliser, energy and skills under the AfCFTA.
Moscow — Kenya's President William Ruto used the third Russia–Africa Summit in Moscow on Thursday to call for investment in African factories rather than trade in raw materials.
He said Africa has helped create global wealth through its resources but keeps only a small share of the value, because most processing happens elsewhere. The continent, he said, must now manufacture, innovate and compete, and a more industrial Africa threatens no one.
What Kenya is asking for
- Factories in Africa that transfer skills and let local firms compete in regional and global markets.
- Help with affordable fertiliser, local fertiliser plants, farm machinery, irrigation and research.
- Investment in energy, engineering and mineral processing.
- Use of the African Continental Free Trade Area as one large market.
- More international climate finance.
At a business roundtable the day before, Ruto put Kenya–Russia trade at US$380 million in 2025, with Kenyan exports of US$52 million against imports of US$330 million, and Russian investment in Kenya at about US$22 million. He also pitched Kenya's US$40 billion, ten-year infrastructure plan.
The African Development Bank's latest industrialisation index found Africa produces under 2% of the world's manufacturing output, though value added rose from US$285 billion in 2020 to US$351 billion in 2025.
Source: The Standard, 29 October 2026.
