Kenya is considering offering permanent residency to foreign investors to strengthen Nairobi’s position as East Africa’s investment hub.
The Kenya Investment Authority (Invest Kenya) is working on proposals for a residency-by-investment programme that would grant long-term residency to investors who commit substantial capital and create jobs, reviving a plan first floated in 2019 but never implemented.
Kenya joins a growing list of countries competing for globally mobile investors with immigration incentives besides tax breaks.
The proposal could prove attractive to venture capital firms and startup founders, who need senior investment staff and entrepreneurs to spend years building businesses in the markets where they invest. Unlike traditional foreign direct investment (FDI), venture capital relies heavily on local presence, with partners expected to sit on boards, recruit executives and work closely with portfolio companies.
“We are exploring residency by investment,” Invest Kenya chief executive John Mwendwa told Business Daily in an interview on Thursday. “Directionally, that’s the way investors would like it.”
The agency has yet to determine investment thresholds or qualifying sectors, and Mwendwa said any programme would require legislation because immigration policy falls outside Invest Kenya’s mandate.
“We have to have parameters that make commercial sense,” he said.
The move is part of a shift in how governments compete for capital. Rather than relying solely on tax holidays, countries are now using residency rights to attract investors whose businesses—and tax contributions—are expected to remain for decades.
A win for VCs and startups
For venture investors, immigration certainty has become an important consideration. Fund managers frequently relocate across markets as they source deals and support portfolio companies, while founders need long-term residency to scale businesses after raising capital.
Kenya already hosts regional offices for several international venture capital firms—including Antler, Capria Ventures, Delta40, and Enza Capital—aided by one of Africa’s largest startup ecosystems and a pipeline of fintech, climate and enterprise software companies.
But investors continue to navigate work permit renewals and immigration processes that can complicate long-term expansion.
Kenya currently requires foreign investors to obtain a Class G Investor Permit, available to those investing at least $100,000 in an active Kenyan enterprise, before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship after several years of residence. Permanent residency would offer a faster, more predictable route for investors seeking to establish long-term operations.
Permanent residency would remove much of that administrative burden, potentially making Nairobi a more competitive base against rival investment hubs such as Cape Town, Kigali, and Mauritius, all of which have introduced investor-friendly policies.
South Africa introduced its permanent residence route for investors under the Immigration Act in 2002, allowing foreigners investing at least R12 million ($729,000) to apply for residency. In 2020, Mauritius lowered the minimum investment required for residency from $500,000 to $375,000 to stimulate foreign investment following the pandemic.
The proposal comes as Kenya is reinforcing its position as one of Africa’s leading destinations for venture capital. Kenyan startups attracted $984 million in funding in 2025, the highest on the continent and about a third of all startup investment into Africa, driven largely by climate and energy technology deals.
Kenya has retained its lead into 2026, remaining the continent’s largest startup funding destination in the first half of the year despite a broader slowdown in dealmaking.
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