Top Investment Opportunities in Busia County

Busia County is located in the Western part of Kenya. It has been ranked among the best counties for business investment.

The county’s administrative capital is Busia town with 7 local authorities (Municipal Council of Busia, County Councils of Busia and Teso, Town Councils of Funyula, Nambale, Port Victoria, and Malaba).

According to the third report of Doing Business in Kenya released by World Bank Group placed Busia county at the top of other 11 counties which were assessed in four different areas.

Such impressive ranking means that Busia is investor friendly with great opportunities for jobs. Business ventures have generated profits with markets easily accessible owing to improved road infrastructure

The county is the main point of entry between Kenya and Uganda accounting for the bulk of trade between the two countries. The presence of Lake Victoria has allowed the residents of this region to practice fishing one of the major economic activities in the county.

Rainfall is moderate throughout the year allowing the County to experience conducive conditions for crop agriculture. Cassava, millet, sweet potatoes, beans, and maize is grown in small scale. The country produce is reasonably priced food items and is within the county and in other parts of the country.

The large population in the County has endowed it with a large labor force which if exploited well would allow the county to be a major contributor to Kenya’s economy. The county has also seen a boon in the financial and services sector owing to the large population.

For investors, Busia county is a place to secure investment resources and one will be sure to reap big as far as profits and returns are concerned. Here are some of the main area open for investment:

1. Food security

i)Cassava – Busia is generally a cassava-growing region. The county government is keen on having a cassava processing plant that will enhance value addition to the crop. Investors can also take up the challenge and get involved in the processing of the crop into flour and other finished products.

ii)Rice – A variety of rice is set to be released this year offering rice farmers the chance to plant a high-yielding, disease tolerant and early maturity rice variety. With the ongoing rice farming in Busia, farmers are in a position to supply the new variety of seeds and also get involved in the processing and packaging of the rice for export purposes.

iii)Fish farming – With Busia being close to Lake Victoria there is a supply of fish and involvement of the locals in fishing. This is, however, facing challenges in terms of fish processing and storage. The county is hoping to implement these projects and this is, therefore, an opportunity for investors. In terms of fish capturing, fishermen in the area are also in need of the equipment.

2.Manufacturing

Ginnery – The ginnery revival in Busia County has been a long overdue promise to cotton farmers. The crop thrives in the region and the revival of the ginnery would really help along with the economic development. The cotton yield in the 70’s was about 400kg per hectare and with the improvement in automation in farming the profitability of cotton is bound to be lucrative.

3.Healthcare

The health sector in Busia is currently in need of improvements in terms of purchasing of equipment such as wheelchairs, hospital laundry machines, construction of septic tanks and generally ward equipment for doctors. Besides this, the county is also investing in solid and liquid waste management. Water projects such as pipeline construction and borehole drilling are a part of the development plan which investors can take part in.

4.Affordable housing

The Busia county government is undertaking projects to construct county government houses and maintenance of county government houses. The locals in the region offer an investor market for modernized housing. Besides this, the county is also conducting major upgrading of roads to bitumen standards and constructing of drainages. All these require materials for their implementation.