Jobseekers in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Chinese companies operating in Kenya created more than 50,000
jobs in 2018, a new report by Chinese companies in Kenya has showed.
The
report released on Tuesday indicates that there are 106 Chinese
companies operating in Kenya, with nearly 95 percent of their workforce
being Kenyan.
However, the report does not indicate whether the workers were casual labourers or contract workers.
Chinese companies, both private and State-owned, have been increasingly eyeing Africa for investment opportunities.
Their
direct foreign investment into the continent stood at $66.4 billion
(Sh6.9 trillion) between 2005 and 2016, the report states.
The study found that a consortium of Chinese multinationals
under the Kenya-China Economic and Trade Association (KCETA) organised a
career fair that saw more than 50 companies offer employment
opportunities to more than 1,000 Kenyans. The event brought together
firms, including Huawei Technologies, Sinohydro Corporation, ZTE Kenya
Limited, smartphone maker Tecno, Baus Optical, Erdemann property Ltd and
digital pay TV provider StarTimes.
Other
firms that participated in the fair are China Road and Bridge
Corporation— the contractor of the standard gauge railway and real
estate firm Avic International that is putting up a Sh40 billion
47-floor mixed-use complex in Nairobi’s Westlands.
Most
of the jobs created by Chinese firms are in the manufacturing and
service sectors, which account for 62 percent of the total number of
these firms in Kenya.
These firms are however sourcing
most of their supplies from China, meaning local firms are largely
missing out on the opportunity to gain from the big ticket contracts.
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