Chinese companies say employing 50,000 in Kenya

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.