Investment Opportunities in Bungoma County

These are the key sectors that one can invest in Bungoma County at the moment.

The agriculture sector

Bungoma County is one of the richest Counties in the agricultural sector giving a wide range of investment opportunities in the sector.

It is estimated that Bungoma County produces 1.6 million tons of maize every year. If this produce was to be processed within the County, the projected income is KSh 96 billion per year. Unfortunately, almost 80 percent of this maize is processed outside the county and investing in the mechanism of processing the produce in the county is a good business.

Beans are grown on an approximated 36,000 hectares assuming the second main cash crop while coffee covers 4,965 hectares. Most of these beans go to middlemen and there is no specific center, apart from the National Cereals Board for purchasing the beans.

There is ample room for Horticulture in Bungoma County but the same has not been largely exploited due to poor uptake of value addition initiatives and lack of a clear marketing structure. Despite coffee covering 4,965 hectares, there is no coffee milling company and therefore, starting one is a lucrative business.

Housing and urbanization

After the creation of devolved governments and the emergence of the Counties, devolution has created greater demand for planned developments.

Bungoma County is developing a Master plan for Bungoma town with a view to having a planned urban structure. This will spur growth of Low – cost housing schemes as an investment opportunity for the County government as well as for the interested investors.

It is estimated that 80 percent of Bungoma County dwellers live in mud walled structures but with the evolution in economy, majority of them are moving towards building both permanent and semi-permanent houses hence making the construction industry very lucrative.

There is also an open investment opportunity in the construction of feeder roads within Bungoma County as well as offices for the County officials.