By Paul Muthaura, Chief Executive Officer, American Chamber of Commerce Kenya
Over the years, I have built, deepened, and deployed capital and worked to strengthen confidence in our markets. That experience has given me a clear view of what mutual prosperity through trade and investment can unlock, and what will define the next chapter of U.S.–East Africa relations.
The American narrative is shifting from aid to trade. The priority now is to ensure that the shift unlocks mutual prosperity, not just market access. For the bilateral partnership to survive and thrive, it must be built on mutual investment, durable commercial co-investment, and local value creation.
East Africa was the continent’s fastest-growing region for the second consecutive year, according to the African Development Bank’s 2026 outlook. Regional growth accelerated from 4.3 percent in 2024 to 6.6 percent in 2025 and is projected to moderate to 5.9 percent this year before recovering to 6.4 percent in 2027.
That growth points to expanding consumer markets, rising demand for infrastructure and services, and businesses seeking capital and international partnerships. Investment into the region will build productive capacity, create jobs, and enable local companies to participate fully in regional and global value chains.
AGOA’s extension offers relief, restoring duty-free access to the U.S. market for African products. But the greater opportunity lies beyond that: long-term investment in manufacturing capacity, infrastructure, logistics, technology and competitive regional value chains. That is what East Africa now represents to investors: a strategic growth market at a time when global companies are reassessing their supply chains and seeking new regional platforms for expansion.
The region’s appeal rests not only on its own growth trajectory but also on its potential as a gateway to the African Continental Free Trade Area’s single market. Investors already see it as one of the continent’s more dynamic regions, an opening to build export-driven growth while deepening East Africa’s role in continental commerce.
That thinking is reflected in seven priority sectors likely to drive growth and investment: manufacturing, the digital economy, energy and infrastructure, agriculture, health, the creative economy, and of course, critical minerals and supply chains. Critical minerals carry weight, as the U.S. and other major economies race to secure supply chains for energy-transition technologies, advanced manufacturing, and strategic industries. For East Africa, the issue is not where raw materials are sourced, but how those supply chains are managed and leveraged in ways that capture more value and jobs for the region.
None of this will happen through declarations alone. Governments must create the conditions in which businesses can invest with confidence: predictable regulation, efficient public institutions, competitive tax and fiscal frameworks, transparent procurement, integrated regional markets and credible pipelines of investment-ready projects.
The United States, for its part, has a strategic interest in East Africa that is best matched by a long-term commercial commitment. The opportunity for American companies and financial institutions lies in tapping into a region rich in innovation, talent, resources, and a fast-growing consumer base.
Private capital is typically cautious and needs risk offsets and predictable policy direction to move. But the private sector cannot wait for governments to complete every reform before acting. East African and American businesses must form partnerships, develop local suppliers, transfer capabilities, and invest in the people and institutions required to sustain growth.
This makes the upcoming U.S.–East Africa AmCham Business Summit, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham Kenya) together with its peers in Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda, a timely opportunity to engage on how to accelerate capital flows to deliver impact. Building on a legacy of high-impact convenings that have generated over US$2 billion in tracked commitments, this year’s Summit is expected to translate into investable projects, commercial agreements, supplier partnerships, and clear commitments.
Two-way trade and investment is the foundation this relationship now needs. The opportunity to build a more balanced and prosperous relationship is already before us. The task now is to convert that opportunity into practical deals, productive investment and mutual prosperity.